“Dad, Mom, and Grandpa, from today on, I’m disowning you. From now on, we’ll each go our own way. Dad, in private I’ll still call you ‘Dad,’ but in public, we have to refer to each other as uncle and niece…”
Reeking of alcohol, Shen Yu returned home.
The moment she stepped through the main gates of Qingfeng Village, she stood before her own father, mother, and grandfather and spat out these words that could make anyone die of laughter from her lack of filial piety.
The three of them failed to react for a moment, wondering if something was wrong with their ears and they had misheard.
However, Shen Yu’s mother, Su Lianyue, was the quickest to react.
In the next second, she snatched up a broom and, without a shred of mercy, swung it down toward Shen Yu’s upturned backside.
“Don’t hit me yet! Let me finish! I want to participate in the Imperial Examination newly established by the Empress. I’ll be Entering Officialdom through Medicine to save Qingfeng Village. Mom, don’t worry, I’m confident I can… Ow! Wait, why are you hitting me even harder?!”
Before Shen Yu could finish her sentence, her mother’s broomstick swung with even more vigor.
The whistling sound of wind rushing past her ears accompanied every strike, each landing perfectly on the meatiest part of Shen Yu’s rear.
It was enough to avoid any vital organs, yet ensured Shen Yu’s tears would flow from the pain.
“Alright, alright! Stop, stop!”
In the end, Shen Bashan still doted on his daughter.
Seeing the tears in the corners of her eyes, he ignored his wife’s resentful gaze and hurriedly called for a halt.
“Why didn’t you know to run?”
Shen Bashan looked at his daughter’s pitiful state and couldn’t help but lower his voice, questioning her with a look of disappointment at her lack of sense.
“Keep your voices down. I’m an old man; I can’t handle you youngsters making such a racket.”
The grandfather, sitting in his grand armchair, finally spoke.
The moment he opened his mouth, even the hot-tempered Su Lianyue, who feared nothing in heaven or earth, fell silent.
“Dad, isn’t this girl just causing trouble? No matter how big the family’s problems are, it’s not a little girl’s turn to step up, is it?”
As Su Lianyue spoke, she looked her daughter up and down.
Watching her hold her backside while constantly hissing in pain, a flash of pity crossed her eyes.
But she grit her teeth, refusing to voice the heartache she felt for her daughter.
At a time like this, one had to be firm!
“Then you tell me, what should we do? Yu’er has grown up; she knows how to look out for the family. I am very pleased.”
Shen Yu’s grandfather, Shen Qingtian, narrowed his eyes at his precious granddaughter.
But in the next second, his tone suddenly shifted, making Shen Yu shudder uncontrollably.
“But! Yu’er, do you realize that your grandfather is the Imperial Court’s greatest headache? You participating in the Imperial Examination is no different from a sheep entering a tiger’s den. They perform an Ancestral Check. You need joint guarantees from your neighbors, a Certificate of Clean Background issued by the local government, and at least two active officials to act as guarantors. Which of those steps wouldn’t completely block us?”
The moment Shen Qingtian said this, the entire room fell into a long silence.
The Shen family and Qingfeng Village had already been backed into a corner.
No matter which path they chose, it was a dead end.
Only this high-risk strategy—sending Shen Yu into the Imperial Examination to enter the Imperial Court and work from the inside—had instead become the most likely way to save the Shen family and Qingfeng Village.
Was it better to sacrifice Shen Yu alone to save the entire family and the village, or for everyone to die together in a “happy” reunion?
Undoubtedly, the answer was already clear within the question itself.
“My maternal grandfather has a way! He’s a landlord, and he’s bribed many of those dog officials before. Over the years, he’s also invested in many scholars… although those guys all turned into ungrateful wretches after rising to power, it’ll be no problem for my maternal grandfather to push one more person up. I won’t be ungrateful like those scholars. As long as I rank high in the exams, I can definitely protect our family.”
“Bullshit!”
Su Lianyue’s pretty face was full of indignation.
She raised the broom and pointed it at Shen Yu, the head of the broom only inches away from her daughter’s delicate nose.
“You’re just full of wicked ideas! Do you think your maternal grandfather would ever agree? If you dare mention this to him, I’ll have your uncle break your legs.”
“Oh, Mom!”
Shen Yu lunged straight into Su Lianyue’s embrace.
This sudden hug from her sweet, soft daughter caused Su Lianyue’s heart to instantly melt.
She was someone who talked tough but had a soft heart; being held gently by her precious daughter completely broke her defenses…
Wasn’t Su Lianyue just putting on a brave face herself?
Under the celestial might of the Imperial Court, no matter how capable she was, the only method she could think of was to send her precious daughter far away before the court could make its move.
Su Lianyue was most skilled in Alchemy and Sorcery, and she was the one in the family who understood her daughter’s medical skills best.
If one were to say that the Grand Princess’s chronic illness could only be cured by one person in the world, that person would undoubtedly be her precious daughter.
But… as a mother, how could she bear to let the flesh of her own flesh risk her life to fight for them?
“It’s because your mother has no ability. I can’t protect you.”
The fiery Su Lianyue stroked her daughter’s head and, for the first time, shed tears.
Even Shen Bashan had never seen her like this.
“Enough! Regarding this matter, I am actually the angriest. I think this girl is even more unfilial than your parents do.”
“But… Qingfeng Village is our foundation. If the village is gone, it won’t just be our Shen family facing total destruction. The Dog Emperor is inhuman. I am the person in this world who hates her the most, and I am the one she hates most in return.”
“Now we have to bow our heads and use the life of that little brat by her side as a bargaining chip to trade for a glimmer of hope. This is reality.”
Although Shen Qingtian didn’t glare with rage like Shen Bashan, Shen Yu knew him best.
When her grandfather was at his angriest, he was often at his calmest.
The people of Qingfeng Village all said he had the bearing of a dragon; otherwise, he couldn’t have shouldered the burden of leading an uprising.
Whether Shen Yu was the eldest miss of a bandit den or a Princess who was above ten thousand and below only one person, it had all depended on a single thought from Shen Qingtian back then.
For a man like him, the calmer he was, the more dangerous he became.
“The wheel of fortune keeps turning.”
Shen Qingtian narrowed his eyes, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest of his chair.
Standing to the side, Shen Bashan didn’t dare to be slow, hurriedly offering his father a lit tobacco pipe.
Shen Qingtian held the long pipe with one hand and took a slow puff.
“Yu’er, how certain are you that you can cure that little brat?”
What Shen Qingtian was referring to was, of course, the current Grand Princess, the future Crown Prince of the empire.
“Ninety percent!”
In truth, Shen Yu was uncertain in her heart.
In her estimation, the probability of curing the Grand Princess was only fifty-fifty.
But right now, every move she made affected the whole.
Therefore, the probability had to be ninety percent.
She was only allowed to succeed; failure was not an option!
Otherwise… the entirety of Qingfeng Village would be wiped out. Her parents, her grandfather, her uncles… and the hundreds of men and women of the village who had watched her grow up and called her “Eldest Miss” would all be finished.
As for others who would be implicated, there would be more than ten thousand.
Once the celestial might of the Imperial Court arrived, nearly ten thousand heads would roll.
“Sigh…”
Shen Qingtian looked at his precious granddaughter and let out a long sigh.
“I am old. The position of the sole head of Qingfeng Village will be handed over to Yu’er alone from now on.”
“Wait… what? Dad? What about me?”
“Get lost! Yu’er can save the Shen family by curing the little brat next to the Emperor. Can you? Do you even know how to practice medicine?”