Chapter 17

Yu Li knew that the situation with Gao Xuelian would be incredibly cruel for her big brother.

A man who works hard to support his family, enduring hardship and keeping silent while his wife causes trouble—he can bear it for the sake of his children. But now, telling him that the child might not even be his? Who could handle that?

However, the longer such matters are delayed, the bigger the tragedy will become.

She decided that after telling her big brother, she would keep it a secret and never mention it again, to avoid people gossiping about Yu Tuanjie.

“Big brother, the other day when you and Bench went to the town hospital for a blood test, I saw the doctor check your blood types. Yours is different from Bench’s. I don’t know if his blood type matches Big Sister-in-law’s. Also, I ran into Aunt Xu. Do you remember her?”

Yu Tuanjie immediately responded, “Of course I remember. Aunt Xu helped deliver both Bench and Shiliu. She even told me a few times that Bench didn’t seem like a premature baby. I said that we treat our daughter-in-law well and always make sure Xuelian gets the best food…”

Suddenly, he stopped, his face turning pale with shock.

Yu Li calmly said, “Big brother, Aunt Xu said that not only do the dates not match, but Bench doesn’t look like a premature baby. Also, Big Sister-in-law must have had a miscarriage before giving birth to Bench. Aunt Xu said any experienced doctor would be able to tell right away.”

Yu Tuanjie instantly gritted his teeth. Even though he knew his sister was telling him this to save face, he was still shocked and angry, filled with deep resentment.

He struggled to suppress his emotions, “Little sister, I understand. I will investigate this matter further… Don’t worry, I won’t be so foolish to keep being deceived!”

Yu Li had said all she needed to. Seeing the tears welling up in her big brother’s eyes, she couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of pain.

This was the big brother who had always loved her since they were kids.

In just a few years of marriage, though still under thirty, he had aged so much.

“Big brother, I know that in our village, people place a lot of importance on marriage and fear being ridiculed. But if we persist on a wrong path, living a confused life, is that really a good thing? Life is short, just a few decades. We should choose to live a happier life.”

Yu Tuanjie nodded. “Little sister! I understand. I know you mean well. You’ve made me think carefully!”

Once Yu Li left and closed the door, Yu Tuanjie collapsed onto the bed in exhaustion.

How could he believe it? How could Gao Xuelian, this woman, treat him this way?

Tears silently streamed down his face as he closed his eyes, feeling like his throat was blocked with cotton.

But after enduring the night, the next morning, he still got up early and, along with his mother, Chen Ailan, prepared food to take to the workers at the excavation site.

Today, they were making sesame pancakes, plus a large pot of mixed noodle soup, which was packed into a big wooden barrel and transported over.

Since there wasn’t enough time, Yu Li took on the task of cleaning the kitchen after their work.

There were no field chores today, so Yu Fendou went to clear land on the mountain, planning to plant fruit trees and raise chickens and ducks!

Wang Xinghua hadn’t yet started work, so she joined Yu Li in the kitchen to wash dishes.

“Little sister, don’t wash the dishes. Your hands will get wrinkled and look bad. Just sweep the floor. I’ll do the washing.”

Wang Xinghua clearly wasn’t in a good mood, but still showed such care.

Though she was in her twenties, she was more concerned about Yu Li’s delicate hands than her own.

Yu Li’s heart ached, “Second sister-in-law, I know you’re upset about what Big Sister-in-law did to Shiliu, poisoning her. Don’t worry, big brother said he’ll handle it properly!”

Wang Xinghua’s eyes immediately turned red, and she wiped them with the back of her hand, choking up as she said, “I know I gave birth to a daughter, but Gao Xuelian could have easily given birth to a son for the family. But my Shiliu is also a person.

I give all my salary to Mom. It’s for the whole family. Why does she think only Bench can eat and drink from the family, but Shiliu can’t? How can she be so cruel…”

Yu Li’s heart ached even more as she recalled the events of her past life. Second brother and second sister-in-law had given everything for Bench, only to end up with nothing in the end!

These ungrateful mother and son—she swore never to be involved with them again!

She quickly comforted Wang Xinghua: “Second sister-in-law, I know you’re the gentlest person, but being gentle alone isn’t enough. You need to be strong! This time, I will stand by you. We’ve traced the source of Shiliu’s poisoning, and we just need to stay away from these people. If Big Brother and Big Sister-in-law divorce, we’ll still be a family. If they don’t want to divorce, we can split the family!”

With Yu Li’s reassurance, Wang Xinghua felt much better.

She couldn’t help but feel emotional. Although Big Sister-in-law was a troublemaker, her parents-in-law, husband, and little sister-in-law were all good people!

Yu Li helped Wang Xinghua clean the kitchen. As she thought about the medical books she had read, she couldn’t resist grabbing Wang Xinghua’s hand.

“Second sister-in-law, I’ve been learning Chinese medicine on my own, and I’m not sure if it will help, but would you let me practice on you?”

Wang Xinghua, being soft-hearted, readily agreed.

In this era, many people taught themselves due to limited access to formal education. Many learned from a single book.

There were several famous books circulating among the people.

One of them, The Collection of Famous Secret Recipes by Old Chinese Doctors, was rich in Chinese medicine knowledge. Many barefoot doctors learned by reading these books while treating patients.

So Wang Xinghua didn’t think much of it.

Yu Li quietly checked Wang Xinghua’s pulse and asked about her menstrual cycle and other details. After analyzing all the symptoms, she was nearly certain of the diagnosis.

“Second sister-in-law, based on what I’ve read in the book and comparing it to your situation, I think you might be dealing with infertility. Your emotional state is out of balance, causing your liver to lose its function, and your periods come every 40 to 50 days, with abnormal blood flow and color. This has affected your ability to conceive after having Shiliu. You’re gentle by nature, but you tend to internalize your frustrations, which builds up inside, right?”

Wang Xinghua was stunned, suddenly realizing that what Yu Li said was true.

“Yes, after I had Shiliu, Big Sister-in-law… she often made things difficult for me. I had to endure for the sake of peace, but it made me feel really uncomfortable inside. I know that our mom and your second brother have tried their best. If I didn’t tolerate it, life wouldn’t be livable.”

Yu Li told her, “For your condition, you’ll need some medicine to balance things out. But more importantly, you must relax your mind. Let me teach you something. The next time you see Big Sister-in-law, give her a good slap across the face! Got it?”

Wang Xinghua was taken aback. “Ah… I… I…”

Yu Li interrupted her, “Will you do it or not? If you don’t, you’ll just keep feeling miserable every day, bottling up all this resentment. If you slap her, you’ll feel relieved!”

Wang Xinghua hesitated for a moment. Thinking of how Shiliu had been poisoned, she gritted her teeth and said, “Fine, I’ll do it!”

Yu Li, using the knowledge she had learned, gave Wang Xinghua a prescription.

“1g Guangmuxiang, 10g Angelica, 3g Bupleurum…”

Wang Xinghua took the prescription and, on her way to work, got the medicine from the town.

That evening, she began preparing and cooking the medicine herself.

Meanwhile, the Gao family took Bench away, and just two days later, Gao Xuelian was released from detention.

Gao Daliang immediately took Gao Xuelian back to his home.

“This time, you definitely can’t go back easily! Either Yu’s family compensates you with fifty yuan, or they hand over all the money to you! Otherwise, let Yu Tuanjie, that useless fool, be laughed at for the rest of his life!”

Gao Xuelian had spent a week in detention. At first, she was arrogant and fierce, but after a few lessons and being denied food, she had lost weight, starving down to skin and bones. She had lost eight pounds in seven days and reeked of filth!

Filled with hatred, she teared up and said, “Brother…”

She threw herself into Gao Daliang’s arms, gritting her teeth as her shoulders trembled, “It’s not just Yu Tuanjie, that useless fool! The entire Yu family is bullying me, especially that little slut, Yu Li! I can’t let her marry that man with the surname Lu! Otherwise, will I have any future left?”

Seeing his sister crying so pitifully, Gao Daliang couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

He quickly comforted Gao Xuelian, “Don’t worry, I’ll find someone to ruin her. Let’s see if that Lu guy will still marry her!”

No matter how beautiful a woman is, once she’s sullied, she’s nothing but a torn piece of cloth. Who would want her?