My Lady Always Lacks Ambition
Chapter 260 - 259: Misfortune Always Targets the Suffering

Chapter 260: Chapter 259: Misfortune Always Targets the Suffering

Qin Liuxi was impervious to flattery and had a particularly venomous tongue, which really infuriated Third Grandmother Tu and her party considerably.

The Tu Family wasn’t among the top powerful families in Qingzhou Prefecture City, but because they were related by marriage to the Meng Family of the Ancheng Marquis Mansion, and with Third Grandmother Tu originating from the Meng Family, under the favor of Noble Princess Consort Meng, such in-laws as the Tu Family also soared in status, commanding considerable esteem locally.

However, whether this esteem was genuine or simply borrowed influence was indeed debatable.

Because of this, those with discerning eyes did not dare provoke the Tu Family openly, especially Third Grandmother Tu. After all, she had the backing of the Ancheng Marquis Mansion, and her aunt was the much-favored Imperial Concubine. Who wouldn’t give her some respect?

Qin Liuxi did not!

Having provoked Third Grandmother Tu, she saw that the attendant had already brought over the small pot with stored snow water. She took a clean medicine bowl and poured the high-quality pearl powder into it, added the snow water and Jade Snow Skin as well, and stirred it into a paste.

As soon as the bottle of Jade Snow Skin was opened, its unique cool fragrance spread out, instantly invigorating.

Third Grandmother Tu’s eyes reddened, and her heart bled.

Such an esteemed item as the Jade Snow Skin was being so casually mixed into some bowl to form a paste.

Yet what made her even more jealous was seeing that paste being smeared onto the face of a raggedly dressed, impoverished young girl on the couch.

Third Grandmother Tu’s eyebrows furrowed into a chuan character, and somewhat disdainfully she covered her nose with a handkerchief, retreating two steps, as if this would distance her from the impoverished air.

Qin Liuxi applied the pearl powder paste to the long wound, then wrapped it with a light, breathable gauze. Only then did she consider the treatment complete.

Of course, the prescription provided also had effects such as pain relief, sedation, and reducing swelling and had to be taken in conjunction.

Third Grandmother Tu truly felt like spitting out a mouthful of old blood on the spot.

Where did this brazen brat come from, to use an item as precious as the Jade Snow Skin, worth a thousand pieces of gold, on a dead pauper?

Third Grandmother Tu took a deep breath to calm herself, there was still one more thing.

She closed her eyes and spoke, "You’ve already used the Jade Snow Skin, and there are some leftovers. Could you share some with me? The offer I made earlier still stands—I’ll pay tenfold."

Qin Liuxi, however, acted as if she didn’t hear at all, merely checking the pulse of Yan’er, and upon finding it stable, she finally felt relieved.

"This lady..."

Qin Liuxi glanced over, her gaze as sharp as a knife.

Cut by that gaze, Third Grandmother Tu stumbled backward three steps, her face paled, and her heart pounded wildly.

"Even with a hundredfold in silver, I wouldn’t let go of the Jade Snow Skin. Leave," Qin Liuxi said coldly.

Third Grandmother Tu’s face turned from pale to ashen. She walked out and only upon returning to her carriage did she realize her legs had gone weak and her back was chilled.

"Third Grandmother, that fellow is too arrogant, daring to disregard you like that. And the Jade Snow Skin was used on that little girl’s face; it’s truly a waste of heavenly materials," the maid in pink said indignantly.

Third Grandmother Tu kept her eyes closed, calming her wildly beating heart.

After a long while, she opened her eyes and ordered, "Send for He Er, tell him to send a couple of men to follow and watch, and also do some more digging to find out who that injured dead pauper really is."

They actually used Jade Snow Skin to treat her face, what on earth.

Inside the store of Changsheng Hall, Qin Liuxi said to the woman, "Jade Snow Skin is highly effective, but it can’t heal completely with just one application. This medicine needs to be changed several times. But if you go home, you might not be able to keep this medicine safe, and it’s even possible that you can’t protect the lives of you and your daughter."

The woman’s complexion turned pale, and she seemed to want to say something, her lips quivering.

Looking at her daughter who was peacefully asleep, she swallowed her saliva and said, "Young Master, must we use this medicine for my Yan’er’s face? I know it must be very precious; we are just ordinary farmers, I’m afraid..."

"How much silver do you have on you?" Qin Liuxi asked with a smile.

The woman was taken aback, hastily feeling for the silver coins on her. After searching her person, she could only open her hands to reveal a pitiful amount of copper coins before Qin Liuxi.

Her face flushed as she said, "This is, this is all I have."

Manager Ye’s breathing hitched.

Honestly, not to mention Third Grandmother Tu who was willing to pay ten times the price, even he was starting to bleed profusely in his heart.

Qin Liuxi took the copper coins from her hand, leaving one behind, and closed her hands, saying, "This is enough."

The woman was stunned, her eyes turning red.

Enough? Far from enough, even selling themselves wouldn’t cover it.

She knelt down and knocked her head on the floor three times, saying, "Young Master, you have a kind heart, I understand, but I cannot trouble you. If my Yan’er’s face stays like this, I am content and accept it. The daughter of a farming family, even if her looks are poor, can still live her life."

"I’ve said I would restore her appearance; if you’re worried about involving me, there’s no need to say more. For now, you two can stay at Changsheng Hall. There are doctors here who can change Yan’er’s medicine, and you won’t have to worry about someone snatching it away," Qin Liuxi said, giving Manager Ye a glance.

Manager Ye shivered and hurriedly said, "That’s right, Changsheng Hall has rooms available for patients to stay temporarily."

The woman hesitated.

Si Lengyue, noticing this, drifted to Qin Liuxi’s side and said, "Master Qin, she has concerns. Third Grandmother Tu will not tolerate this, and she will surely investigate. If she traces it to this woman’s husband’s family, I’m afraid they would come and make a scene."

"It won’t just be making a scene, it would mean losing their lives," Qin Liuxi said, his eyes icy.

Si Lengyue frowned, "What do you mean?"

"Third Grandmother Tu does not want to miss out on Jade Snow Skin. If she lets the woman take the medicine away, she will assuredly visit the woman’s house. With just a few words and some small favors, she could get her hands on the medicine," Qin Liuxi said indifferently. "She only gave birth to Yan’er, and in her mother-in-law’s eyes, she’s like a chicken that doesn’t lay eggs. Since it doesn’t lay eggs, getting rid of it wouldn’t matter. With a son and some silver, they can find a new bride and have a brood of children, what’s to stop them? Men’s heartlessness is just like this."

Speaking, she then looked towards Si Lengyue, "There are few people in the world as deeply affectionate as your father."

Si Lengyue’s gaze warmed, but then thinking of the woman’s husband’s family, she said, "But even if they don’t go back and stay here instead, with a little guidance from the Tu Family, the woman’s husband would likely come to cause trouble."

"Changsheng Hall is not a place anyone can cause trouble in," Qin Liuxi said with a detached look.

Si Lengyue said, "Although Changsheng Hall isn’t afraid, to avoid trouble, we still need a plan. You say you’re not afraid of trouble or strife, but worry about their lives being out of their control. You should know, in the eyes of many men, their wives and children are theirs to do with as they please. If he really insists on taking them away, you as an outsider, even Changsheng Hall, can’t really say anything. In farming households, there are many cases of husbands beating their wives or even to death without causing much fuss; even brought to court, they might just get a few hits with the plank and have the case considered closed."

Si Lengyue spoke in a light tone, but it carried a feeling of helplessness and sighs. In such times, the fate of women is seldom in their own hands.

And in farming families, it’s even more so. Misfortune often breaks where the cord is weakest, and calamity tends to fall upon those who are already suffering.