“I won’t.”
Shen Bashan muttered in a low voice.
“But she is such a small child, how could she possibly…”
“You think you can? You think you are the most capable in this whole family? You worthless brat, get the hell away from me. All you do is play cards or visit brothels all day. I’m sick of looking at you.”
The old man raised the copper-headed pipe in his hand, making a gesture as if he were about to strike Shen Bashan’s head.
Shen Bashan hurried to dodge.
He knew his father’s temper better than anyone; if that pipe actually hit his head, wouldn’t it split his skull open?
Furthermore, his own wife was both a doctor and a Saintess of some Evil Cult.
She was an expert at researching medicines that were incredibly bitter and agonizing to take, yet capable of curing illnesses.
However, Shen Bashan was so busy dodging the pipe that he forgot the other key piece of information the old man had blurted out in his excitement… visiting brothels.
Those two words drifted into Su Lianyue’s ears like a sudden clap of thunder, causing her gaze to turn icy in an instant.
“Visiting brothels? Well done, Shen Bashan. You’ve certainly got some nerve.”
“No, no, wife, listen to me. I only… I only took Yu’er there. Yu’er wanted to go.”
“Whaaat?”
Standing off to the side waiting to enjoy the drama, Shen Yu realized her father had just dragged her down with him.
She stood frozen in place, utterly stunned.
Although it was the truth, how could her father say it so easily without feeling any pressure at all?
“And Yu’er said so herself, we were strictly wholesome. We just drank some tea, ate some snacks, and watched the new top courtesan sing and dance. Those courtesans are nowhere near as beautiful as you, wife!”
Shen Bashan gave a fawning smile as he looked at his wife, but Su Lianyue’s eyes remained cold.
She wasn’t moved in the slightest by his flimsy excuses.
In fact, a hint of killing intent began to flicker in the way she looked at him.
“Head of House, save me!”
Shen Bashan was out of options.
His massive, bear-like frame dove behind his daughter to hide, looking as pathetic as a tiny Siberian hamster.
“Dad, so you recognize me as the Head of House now? Why the change of heart?”
“It’s hard not to. If I don’t, I’m going to die right here.”
Hidden behind Shen Yu, Shen Bashan glanced at the old man who was nonchalantly puffing on his pipe.
He couldn’t help but inwardly curse the old man for being so devious.
It was a brilliant move of driving the tiger to devour the wolf—accidentally letting the truth slip so his wife would force him to acknowledge Shen Yu’s status…
They said that when the old man caused trouble in his youth, he already possessed the presence of a dragon.
With just a few words, he could turn the entire Two Capitals and Sixteen Prefectures of the empire upside down.
Looking at it now, that was clearly no exaggeration.
“Hey! It’s fine. From now on, we’ll each have our own terms. In public, I’ll call you Uncle and you’ll call me Head of House. At home, you’re still my dad and I’m still your daughter.”
“And about this matter, Mom, I’ll make the call. This thing with my dad can be seen as a big deal or a small one. Since I’m the Head of House now, listen to me. Let’s just drop it. Give the Head of House some face… Ow.”
Before Shen Yu could finish her sentence, her mother’s affectionate palm pressed against her forehead with moderate force, shoving her aside.
“Stay out of this, you brat, or I’ll beat you too.”
“Yes. Sorry, Mother.”
Shen Yu quickly retreated to the side.
Using her cute appearance, she exhausted every trick in the book to look pitiful, hoping to evoke Su Lianyue’s maternal instincts so she wouldn’t get caught up in the punishment.
After all, Su Lianyue was a doctor.
She could easily stab someone twenty times and ensure they only suffered minor injuries.
“Wait… Wife, listen to my explanation! Ow! Wife, put the knife down! Shen Yu… Yu’er, daughter! Help your dad!”
As Shen Bashan was being chased and beaten by Su Lianyue, one thing finally clicked.
His father had succeeded in making him recognize Shen Yu’s status as Head of House while also ensuring he got a beating for visiting a brothel.
He hadn’t gained a single advantage; all the benefits had been snatched away by the old man for his granddaughter.
The old man was truly insidious…
Was this what his daughter often called the art of reading people, social maneuvering, Dark Psychology, and fatherhood game theory?
It was too dark…
He could hardly see the light anymore.
“No! Wife, don’t gouge my eyes out…”
***
On the other side, Shen Yu poured a cup of tea for the old man and asked in a soft tone, “Grandpa, how much do you know about the Princess’s illness?”
After all, she was the old man’s precious granddaughter.
With her talent for acting spoiled, she could always coax a smile out of the stern old man.
“That little wretch won’t live long. According to what the Imperial Physician from the palace said… her airways are obstructed, her wheezing sounds like a bellows being dragged through the corners of the Golden Palace; the rattle in her throat during a cough is like young silkworms eating mulberry leaves, a continuous thread of sound. It’s all very poetic, but the bottom line is she can’t catch her breath. When it’s severe, she could even suffocate to death.”
“You don’t actually have to cure her. Your mother is a good doctor and has many types of Tiger-Wolf Medicine that can easily keep her alive. Just help the Shen Family get through this crisis. The Shen Family will figure out the rest later.”
Shen Qingtian didn’t have much confidence in his granddaughter’s ability to actually cure the illness, but keeping the little wretch alive for a year or two shouldn’t be an issue.
Because Shen Yu enjoyed studying medicine, the Shen Family was very supportive of her.
Furthermore, the reason Shen Bashan and Su Lianyue had ended up together was that Su Lianyue had used her superb medical skills to save Shen Bashan’s life.
Thus, Su Lianyue was both Shen Yu’s mother and a master who taught her everything without reservation.
It was just that Shen Yu had no interest in those lethal poisons that were as fierce as tigers.
Instead, she was interested in medicines that could cure colds, fevers, coughs, plagues, and various other ailments.
Shen Yu was exceptionally gifted.
Somehow, when the poisons Su Lianyue designed to kill with a single drop ended up in Shen Yu’s hands, they transformed into life-saving antidotes.
Over the years, Shen Yu had saved many people, significantly reducing the mortality rate of the labor force and young children in this bitter, cold border region.
For Qingfeng Village, the Shen Family, and the great landlord Su Family, this was a good thing.
If the Shen Family hadn’t suffered this upheaval, Shen Yu might have truly become a world-renowned doctor.
It was just a pity… that Empress was inhuman, insisting on making an example out of Qingfeng Village.
“Asthma?”
Shen Yu lowered her eyes, lost in thought.
“Regardless of the illness, you must not use those modified Tiger-Wolf Medicines of yours recklessly. Remember, you must keep her alive for at least a year. You have to give the Shen Family enough breathing room!”
Shen Yu naturally knew exactly what the “Tiger-Wolf Medicine” Shen Qingtian referred to was.
It wasn’t actually Tiger-Wolf Medicine, but rather Penicillin that Su Lianyue had extracted by trial and error.
Sometimes Shen Yu wondered if her mother was a genius.
Su Lianyue had originally thought that the liquid from moldy oranges would surely be an invisible killer, but unknowingly, she had created the strongest antibiotic.
However, because the purity wasn’t high enough, even with Shen Yu’s refinements, it still carried significant risks compared to modern versions.
Due to the unstable quality, during an epidemic following a flood, Shen Yu’s Penicillin had caused several critically ill elderly patients to pass away after failing to respond to emergency treatment due to adverse reactions.
Shen Yu had blamed herself for a long time…
Yet, the families of those elderly people didn’t harass her.
Instead, they held Shen Yu’s hand and thanked her repeatedly.
It wasn’t because they were afraid of her, but because Shen Yu had simultaneously saved countless other families… the entire village, including children and young laborers, totaling one hundred and ninety people.
Without Shen Yu, the entire village would have likely been wiped out by the plague.
One had to realize that in places beyond this bitter border region, within the Two Capitals and Sixteen Prefectures, even with the Imperial Academy of Medicine taking action, the death toll from a plague would be in the tens of thousands.
In this place where the members of the Imperial Academy of Medicine refused to come because it was remote, backward, and impoverished, the death toll was only a few people, and they were all elderly with weak constitutions…
All of this was thanks to Shen Yu.