Wife, Don't Be Like This!

Chapter 6 - The Hearts of Scholars Are All Dirty

Song Hongtao and Yang Shi didn't notice this middle-aged man's action, and bowed as they welcomed him into the reception hall.

Servants bustled about, and rustling sounds were endless. Song Yan listened for a bit and learned that this middle-aged man had come from Dongling.

Dongling was the imperial capital of the Ning Kingdom.

After composing himself, Song Yan returned to the small courtyard. Given Duke Song's status, it was quite normal for a great personage to visit. He, a mere concubine's son, was not qualified to receive important guests. No matter who this person was, it had nothing to do with him.

Right now, he only hoped that the next few days before he married into the Luo family could pass peacefully.

So he thought.

...

The Luo Mansion.

Luo Yuheng hid behind a large tree, stealthily peeking out with half her face, furtively spying on a side courtyard.

It was clearly her own home, yet she was acting like a thief.

That was Luo Tianyi's courtyard. When she saw Luo Tianyi hang a menstrual sash, which was still slightly pink even after washing, inside the house to dry, Luo Yuheng felt slightly relieved. From the looks of it, although Luo Tianyi had a man she was interested in, she hadn't been stupid enough to get herself pregnant... Thinking back, the unnatural swaying of her bottom was probably just due to the arrival of her monthly period.

Truly disappointing.

Ai!

Luo Tianyi sighed softly, her expression slightly helpless.

She was a Ninth-Rank martial artist; Luo Yuheng's every move could not escape her perception. At first, she thought someone was planning to harm her, but after discovering it was her mother, she just let her be... It's just that, being constantly stared at by her mother like this, Luo Tianyi always felt as if she had thorns on her back. The strange gaze made her feel uncomfortable all over.

Not long ago, she really couldn't take it anymore and flashed in front of her mother. The result was that Luo Yuheng acted like a mouse that had seen a cat, let out a shriek, immediately looked up at the sky and started whistling, putting on an act of admiring the blazing sun overhead.

But, if you're going to whistle, at least make a sound. The 'hu-hu-hu' sound was embarrassing just to listen to.

Then she was stung by the scorching sunlight and was defeated after not lasting very long. Her two eyes were red and tears were about to roll down, yet she still had to force herself to pretend she had just noticed Luo Tianyi, asking in surprise: "Oh, you need something?"

Her own mother, when would she ever grow up a little? And she wasn't talking about her figure.

Sometimes, when standing together with her mother, Luo Tianyi even suspected who was the daughter and who was the mother.

The sound of light footsteps came from the front courtyard, attracting Luo Yuheng's attention. Soon, a tall, curvaceous figure walked briskly from the front courtyard. Her black hair flowed behind her. In her twenties, her fair cheeks, though not as stunning as Luo Yuheng's or her daughter's, were still delicate and lovely.

This was Luo Yuheng's personal handmaiden, Gu Banxia.

She was taken in by Luo Yuheng at a very young age, and their bond was quite deep. As Luo Yuheng was demoted time and again, with her master's personality, who knows which day she might get her entire nine clans exterminated... uh, maybe just one clan.

In short, everyone was afraid of being implicated. Those who could leave left, those who could run ran. They had been replaced batch after batch.

And Gu Banxia had always been there.

Even the young masters and misses like Luo Tianshu and Luo Tianyi would call her "Sister Xia."

It's just that, after looking at Gu Banxia, looking at Luo Yuheng, Luo Tianyi then looked down at her own chest and felt a little sad.

Gu Banxia walked quickly to Luo Yuheng's side and whispered a few words in her ear. Luo Yuheng's expression suddenly changed, and she strode quickly towards the front courtyard.

Could it be... the medicine Young Master Song gave?

Luo Tianyi was stunned for a moment, then reacted. Three days had passed since they found people to test the medicine. Her heart stirred slightly. If the medicine was useless, she feared her elder sister wouldn't live for long, and as for Song Yan, he would be trapped in the Duke's mansion for the rest of his life. If the medicine was useful, her elder sister would be saved, and Young Master Song could also break free from the shackles of the Duke Song's mansion, marry her elder sister, and they would be family from then on.

Thinking this, a curve formed on the corners of Luo Tianyi's mouth, and she walked towards the front courtyard with light steps. When Luo Tianyi reached the front courtyard, she found that it was already full of people. Her two older brothers and one younger brother were all present. The middle-aged man from before was also there. Beside him stood an old man in his fifties or sixties. Although he had a beard, his temperament was slightly feminine.

Luo Tianyi had always prided herself on being quite talented in the path of martial arts, having become an Eighth-Rank martial artist at a young age, and had recently had another breakthrough, but facing this old man, she couldn't see through his origins at all.

At a glance, the man was no different from an ordinary old man, but Luo Tianyi had a strange feeling that she probably wouldn't last ten moves against him. This was the intuition of a martial artist, and this intuition had become increasingly strong with her breakthrough in cultivation.

In front of everyone, there were also three physicians.

Two of them were the Luo family's physicians, and one was the doctor from Ningping County's Ji'an Hall. All were highly skilled and reputable. But at this moment, all three physicians were extremely emotional, their faces flushed red from excessive excitement.

"Three doctors, what is the situation?" Taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing the agitation in her heart, Luo Yuheng asked in as steady a voice as possible.

"Reporting to Madam, great news, great news!" one of the family physicians said with a trembling voice.

"This time there were three patients. One of them, a man of about fifty, has been tormented by consumption for more than two years, coughing up blood all day, and was on the verge of death."

"On the night of the first day, after taking the medicine for the first time, the frequency of his coughing began to decrease significantly after about an hour. On the second day, he continued the medicine, and the symptom of coughing up blood was also significantly reduced. On the third day, after taking the medicine, the symptoms improved once again..."

"The remaining two patients were a woman of about thirty and her daughter. Their symptoms were milder. On the night they first took the medicine, they already stopped coughing much. After three consecutive days of medicine, their consumption symptoms have mostly disappeared. It's just that consumption is a stubborn disease. Unless it is completely cured, it will still recur."

"Madam, the First Young Miss's illness can be saved!"

The doctor's voice echoed in everyone's ears. The hearts that had been hanging in their chests finally settled down. Looking at each other, they could see the incredulous joy on each other's faces. Luo Yuheng's eyes grew sour, her eyes moist, and tears almost rolled down. In all these years, this was the first time she had heard truly good news.

Even the middle-aged man, who had always been very calm, showed a trace of relief deep in his eyes. It was originally a desperate attempt of treating a dead horse as if it were alive, but who would have thought that those strange tablets were actually useful.

In an instant, everyone's impression of Song Yan changed drastically. Could it be that this concubine's son, who had always been looked down upon by the Song family, was actually a divine physician?

A divine physician who could even cure consumption, if placed in any family—no, even the imperial family—would have to be well provided for. Didn't you see that when Sun Shuji entered the imperial palace, even the Ning Emperor had to treat him with courtesy, without the slightest neglect?

After all, who could guarantee they would be free from illness their entire life? At a critical moment, that could save one's life. Yet such a divine physician was actually imprisoned in a small courtyard by the Song family, and they even wanted to marry him into the Luo family. That fool Song Hongtao truly has eyes but can't see.

Since you, the Song family, don't care, then we, the Luo family, will gladly accept him.

Luo Yuheng giggled foolishly, laughing so hard she trembled. She felt she had struck it rich this time. She had a hundred ways to make Song Yan completely forget the Song family and be devoted to the Luo family. A hundred ways!

"Tianshu, go to the Song family at once and tell them that we, the Luo family, agree to this marriage." Luo Yuheng immediately commanded Luo Tianshu. A divine physician of this level couldn't be let go to someone else.

"No, first go prepare the betrothal gifts. Tianquan, you go find good matchmakers. I want three."

"Tomorrow, present the betrothal gifts to the Song family with the highest specifications. We must make Song Yan feel the importance our Luo family places on him. There cannot be the slightest neglect."

"As for Tianyang..."

Luo Tianyang looked at his mother eagerly, also wanting something to do. His eldest and second brothers both had jobs; if he had none, it would make him feel useless in this family.

"You just stay at home. As long as you don't cause trouble, it'll be fine."

Having spoken, Luo Yuheng stood up gleefully. She had too many things to do. She had to go tell Tianxuan the good news, and also find a master to calculate an auspicious date. Oh right, according to the rules, before the wedding, the bride's side also has to arrange for a bed-warming maid to be sent over...

She glanced lightly at Luo Tianyi. This damned girl couldn't even suppress the upward curve of her lips.

Luo Tianyang, who was left behind, had a long face. He thought for a moment, then also turned and left. Not long after, he arrived at a certain place. The air was filled with a foul stench. As soon as he arrived, with a buzz, a large clump of flies flew out.

This... was the latrine.

In the summer, the smell here was even more nauseating.

Luo Tianyang's brow was tightly furrowed, his mind pondering a very important matter: For the three jin of shit, should he choose the runny kind or the thick kind?

A real man, he had to do what he said and not go back on his word!

After pondering for two and a half hours, Luo Tianyang decided that the runny kind was better. After all, while performing a high-difficulty maneuver like a handstand, wasn't it normal for it to all spill out by accident?

This wouldn't be him not fulfilling his promise. If it spills, there's nothing anyone can do about it.

I am so shameless, so despicable, so clever.

It's all that teacher, Master Chen's fault. My pure self must have learned to be bad from him.

As expected, the hearts of scholars are all dirty.

...

On the other side, the Yicui Pavilion.

Two old men, with a combined age of at least one hundred and twenty, were grabbed by the neck by a pimp and thrown out like little chicks. They were bruised and swollen, with marks of being beaten all over their bodies. Even their originally expensive silk robes had been stripped off, and their neatly combed hair buns were as messy as a bird's nest.

Pah, two old perverts, coming to whore without any money? Dressed like decent human beings, but they didn't even have a single copper coin in their pockets. And they ordered twelve girls as soon as they came up. Weren't they afraid of throwing out their old backs?

What's even more outrageous is, after enjoying themselves, these two actually took out a wad of joss paper to pay the bill.

What bad luck.

You couldn't do something this wicked without having a ten-year cerebral thrombosis.

If it weren't for the fact that these two old men were older than each other and they were worried they might die in the Yicui Pavilion, they would have at least crippled one leg of each man.

The two old men, however, were completely unconcerned. Looking at each other, they could see the other's sorry state. After a few breaths, the two couldn't help but burst out laughing:

"Lord Lu, I understand now. That Zhang San didn't break the law at all."

"He would just get beaten up."

"Sss, that hurts. That detestable whelp, daring to play a fool of this old man. This matter isn't over."

The next day, the Yicui Pavilion was sealed. The crime was harboring a criminal wanted by the imperial court!