Chapter 2012
The Prodigal Son 6
Upon receiving news of the Imperial Concubine's childbirth, Liu's mother immediately went to the palace.
Liu Dong secretly followed her into the palace.
Liu Qiu realized she had come along; otherwise, she wouldn't have known her sister was in such danger.
Good heavens, three out of the four midwives have been bribed and are carrying drugs that could harm pregnant women.
Liu Tong unleashed her finger-flicking technique, tearing through the clothes of the three midwives and spilling out all the medicinal powder they had hidden.
Upon seeing the powder, everyone present understood immediately.
The emperor immediately ordered the arrest of the three midwives.
The imperial physician examined the medicinal powder and found that it was all harmful to the postpartum woman.
The emperor was furious.
You must know that this is his only son. The emperor would never let anyone who dares to harm him and his mother get away with it.
Emperor: "Take them away. You must find the mastermind behind them. I will exterminate their entire families!"
His men immediately dragged the three midwives away.
The three midwives were just ordinary people and couldn't withstand the torture. Before long, they revealed the mastermind: two imperial concubines and one member of the royal family.
The emperor directly gave poisoned wine to the two concubines, and their families were also implicated. Although they were not executed along with their entire clan, they were exiled and three generations of their families were barred from taking the imperial examinations.
Members of the imperial clan were expelled from the family genealogy and demoted to commoners.
This time, the emperor acted swiftly and decisively, which shocked many people.
Many people withdrew their hands that were itching to make a move.
Although there was only one midwife, with the help of Liu's mother and other palace maids, the child was born smoothly.
It's a boy who weighs seven pounds.
The emperor was overjoyed and immediately named the child crown prince.
Consort Liu was also promoted to Empress Liu.
The Liu family's fortunes rose once again.
More and more families want to marry into the Liu family. Now, Liu Tong is the only unmarried member of the Liu family, so everyone's target is naturally him.
Liu Dong had no desire to get married and was so frightened that she left a note and ran away.
Since he wasn't home, the wedding had to be put on hold.
Liu Dong traveled westward, retracing the Silk Road once traversed by Zhang Qian.
He went much further than Zhang Qian, going straight to the territory of the Roman Empire.
This place is still a slave society.
Liu Tong didn't do much; he simply found a few people he found agreeable and taught them some basic knowledge of the Great Xia Dynasty and the idea that "kings and nobles are not born with a special destiny."
After that, what happened to the country was beyond Liu Dong's control.
However, he knew that soon after he left, several forces rose up in rebellion.
Four years later, Liu Dong returned to the Central Plains.
Liu Dong changed into a Taoist robe, held a whisk in his hand, and arrived at the gate of the Liu family with the appearance of a Taoist master.
"Amitabha Buddha. Gentlemen, please make an offering." Liu Dong said to the gatekeeper with a smile.
The gatekeepers were stunned. Why did this Taoist priest look so familiar?
He looks just like their third young master!
Liu Tong: "What, don't you recognize me?"
The gatekeepers then realized what was happening, and one of them shouted as he ran inside, "The Third Young Master is back! The Third Young Master is back!"
The Liu family held a family banquet, and even Liu Yu'er, who was already married, returned home with her husband, Lu Zhiyuan.
Liu Dong coldly observed the interaction between Liu Yu'er and Lu Zhiyuan, and could only describe it as a respectful exchange between strangers.
When the two siblings were alone, Liu Qiu asked Liu Yu'er, "You and Lu Zhiyuan seem like familiar strangers! What have you two been doing all these years?"
Liu Yu'er: "It's nothing, just the usual things that married couples do. He's an official outside, and besides having and raising the children, I usually do things that I like." Liu Yu'er had thought about getting along well with her husband after marriage, but since he wasn't cooperating, she stopped caring about Lu Zhiyuan.
Lu Zhiyuan was forced to marry his wife by the Duchess of Chengguo, and he harbored resentment towards her from the very beginning.
He won't like whoever he marries.
Unable to resist his mother, he could only vent his frustrations on his wife.
This man is unbelievable!
Liu Yuer gave up on Lu Zhiyuan in just one month.
In her heart, this man was just her "husband".
In Lu Zhiyuan's heart, Liu Yuer was only his "official wife".
Aside from the first and fifteenth of each month, when he would go to Liu Yu'er's courtyard to share a bed with her as per custom, he would not come to see Liu Yu'er at other times.
However, this man was not cunning. Perhaps he still had feelings for Wen Xinyi. Apart from his wife Liu Yuer, he did not seek out any other women.
On days other than the first and fifteenth of the lunar month, Lu Zhiyuan lived in the study in the front yard.
Lady Cheng was very dissatisfied and sent two beautiful maids to Lu Zhiyuan, asking them to become his concubines.
But Lu Zhiyuan turned around and handed the two maids over to Liu Yuer, letting her handle them.
Liu Yuer: "..."
What could Liu Yu'er do?
Should the two maids be returned to the Duchess of Cheng?
The Duchess of Chengguo would definitely not take it back; as her daughter-in-law, she might even be scolded.
Liu Yu'er could only keep the two people in her courtyard and raise them for two years before sending them off to get married.
Lady Chengguo said nothing after learning about this.
She felt guilty towards her daughter-in-law, Liu Yuer.
She couldn't stand seeing her son treat his wife so coldly.
Fortunately, my daughter-in-law is a lucky woman; she became pregnant after only one night of marriage and gave birth to triplets.
Two sons and one daughter were born.
We have both a son and a daughter!
Lady Cheng was satisfied.
Let the son become a monk if he wants; the Lu family already has a bloodline heir.
Lady Chengguo focused all her attention on her grandchildren, so Liu Yuer entrusted the children to Lady Chengguo to take care of.
She wasn't afraid that her children wouldn't be close to her; the Duchess of Chengguo knew how to maintain proper boundaries.
Furthermore, there were no conflicts between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and the Duchess of Chengguo would not allow her grandchildren to be distant from their mother.
With less time to spend with her child, Liu Yuer had more time to do her own things.
She said she put all her energy into medical research.
As for poison techniques, Liu Yuer had already grasped the basics and did not pursue further research.
The main problem is that even though I've learned poison techniques, I have nowhere to use them.
Lu Zhiyuan only had one wife, and there were no other women in his household. The kind of domestic power struggles described in storybooks simply didn't exist.
Liu Yu'er sighed: "Heroes have no place to use their talents."
Liu Yu'er then devoted all her attention to studying medicine. Although she didn't use it often, it was still more frequent than using poison.
Before leaving the capital, Liu Tong wrote down "Ping Yizhi's Medical Summary", "Xue Muhua's Medical Book", and some modern Chinese medicine books for Liu Yu'er.
Liu Yuer has worked hard in her research over the years, and her medical skills are definitely no less than those of famous doctors like Xue Muhua and Ping Yizhi.
Liu Yuer also taught her daughter medicine. When the Duchess of Cheng found out, she turned a blind eye and didn't say that this was something a noble lady should learn.
This time when she returned home, Liu Yuer gave Liu Qiu a big surprise.
Liu Yu'er: "Brother, I've figured out a way to prevent smallpox." (End of Chapter)