He personally led his men to Bai Cao Tang. The clinic was empty at the moment. As soon as the doctor saw them, he greeted them with a smile, "Are you here to buy medicine or to see a doctor?"
"To see a doctor," Li Zixin answered without hesitation.
"This way, please." The doctor immediately gestured for them to sit on the stools nearby.
As soon as the two sat down, Li Zixin extended his hand for the doctor to take his pulse. The doctor examined his pulse back and forth, his brows furrowing gradually. "May I ask where you feel unwell?"
"I feel unwell in my heart," Li Zixin said, looking at him steadily.
The doctor involuntarily showed a confused expression. "I just took your pulse, and you are in good health, with no problems at all."
Li Zixin sighed helplessly, feeling that they were not on the same wavelength. He got straight to the point: "Let me introduce myself first, I am the master of the Li family from the east of the city. Our family urgently needs a son. Isn't it said that doctors have benevolent hearts? Your actions are unacceptable."
The doctor felt a moment of guilt but quickly composed himself. "So it's Master Li, nice to meet you, nice to meet you. But what do you mean by your words, Master Li? I don't understand."
Li Zixin looked at him with a smile that was not a smile. "If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it. Why did I specifically seek you out today instead of going to another clinic?"
The doctor fell silent. To be honest, he couldn't afford to offend Li Zixin. After all, he was the county registrar, and his wife's uncle was the magistrate. After a slight hesitation, he looked at him apologetically. "Please wait a moment."
With that, he quickly left and soon returned with twenty silver ingots, presenting them to Li Zixin respectfully. "This is the silver that your two concubines gave me. At the time, they said they didn't want children for the time being. In this day and age, no woman doesn't want children. I thought it was your intention, so I took the liberty of prescribing medicine for them. Please, sir, be magnanimous and spare me this once."
Li Zixin was speechless for a moment. He had come to test the doctor, thinking that Li Changqing's words were false. He also thought the same as the doctor: shouldn't these two concubines, upon entering the Li family, quickly give him a son to establish their position? He hadn't expected them to do the opposite.
In the end, he took the twenty silver ingots, warned the doctor not to speak carelessly outside, and then left.
The doctor watched his angry back, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and felt a lingering fear.
As soon as he returned to the mansion, he immediately went to the courtyards of the two concubines. With a grim face, he sat in the main seat. Originally, the two concubines were happy to hear that he was coming. They tidied themselves up and happily came to see him.
But looking at his expression, the two exchanged glances and felt that something was wrong. Neither of them spoke first.
"Kneel," Li Zixin said calmly after a while.
The two thought they had misheard, as they had been living under Li Zixin's favor for so many days.
"I told you to kneel, didn't you hear me?" Li Zixin suddenly stood up and shouted loudly.
The two instinctively knelt down, trembling, not knowing where they had gone wrong.
Looking at their confused faces, Li Zixin's anger flared. "You still don't know what you did wrong? Then I'll tell you, I went to Bai Cao Tang today, and the doctor told me that you two have been using contraceptive soup. Don't you know the purpose of your entering this household? Do you believe I'll kick you out right now?"
Upon hearing this, Concubine Liu immediately burst into tears and stepped forward to hug his leg, crying, "How could we be ungrateful and not want to have a son for you? But we want to live more!"
Seeing that their secret was exposed, Concubine Wu also quickly pleaded, "When we first entered the household, we wanted to get pregnant quickly, but we were more afraid of losing our lives once the child was born."
Li Zixin paused upon hearing this. He suddenly felt a pang of guilt. He didn't know how they had learned this. Then he thought, that's not right. Only he and his wife knew about this. How could they have found out?
He quickly voiced his doubts. The two immediately recounted the conversation they had overheard between the two maids that day.
Li Zixin slowly sat down. It was clear that someone wanted to sow discord between them. After much thought, he suspected Li Changqing. After all, this idea had been around for a long time. His wife would not act rashly. Only Li Changqing couldn't stand to see them do well. If he couldn't have a son in his lifetime, it would only benefit Li Changqing.
What he didn't know was that while he was lost in thought, the two women exchanged glances and understood each other's expressions. They had carefully observed Li Zixin's expression just now. Although his guilt flashed by, it was still noticed by the two of them. At this moment, their hearts were cold. They were determined that as long as they lived in the Li mansion, they would never get pregnant again. Sudan Novel Network.
Li Zixin, who had snapped back to reality, saw the two looking at him with pitiful eyes and sighed. To be honest, after so many days of companionship, he had some feelings for them. If he had to get rid of them, he wouldn't want to.
But if he didn't get rid of them, he wouldn't be able to explain it to Wu Lian'er and the Wu family. With a hint of softness, he said, "Don't listen to others babbling. I did consider having your children adopted by my wife, but I never intended to take your lives. Just obediently give birth to children for me, and I will ensure your safety."
The two immediately expressed their gratitude, then flattered Li Zixin so much that he left with satisfaction.
When only the two of them were left in the room, they saw worry in each other's eyes. They didn't believe Li Zixin's words. At this moment, they felt like they were in the same boat. This was their first encounter with the deceit and intrigue of a wealthy family. Who would have thought they would be thrown into a deadly situation right from the start?
Li Zixin, unaware of the sisters' tearful reunion, ordered someone to summon Li Changqing and gave him a stern lecture.
Li Changqing never expected that his small scheme would be discovered by his father so quickly. As soon as he left the main courtyard, the news of Li Zixin's reprimand spread throughout the Li mansion. That day, their not-so-lavish lunch was even worse. They wanted to make a scene, but after much deliberation, no one stood up for him. Instead, they might be reported by the servants. He felt a sense of powerlessness.
Was he to be confined to this small courtyard and live a difficult life? The couple couldn't accept it. When Liu Wenwen went out, she accidentally overheard someone say that there was an old man in the city who was a very skilled doctor. He specialized in prescribing medicines that were not found on the market and that doctors couldn't detect, causing people to die invisibly.
She immediately stopped the two, gave them ten taels of silver, and asked them to tell her where he was. Following their directions, when they found the place, they saw a dilapidated, small hut.
The two suppressed their discomfort and nervously stepped forward to knock on the door. Soon, a small old man stood at the door, just as described by others. Half of his face was disfigured, pitted and uneven, causing fear at first glance.