Super-Fertile Darling: Forced to Marry the Heirless Tyrant

Ji Qingwu had Manager Mi take Jiu Jiu inside first.

Huang Zhitang whispered a reminder in Song Wei’s ear, "That’s Ji Wu."

Song Wei asked skeptically, "Are you sure you’re not mistaken?"

After all, Ji Qingwu had just gotten married yesterday. It was baffling that she would show up this morning at a clinic where she hadn’t been seen for over ten days.

Huang Zhitang nodded firmly. "It’s her."

There were few women in all of Lin’an City with such beauty. He wouldn’t mistake her for someone else.

Song Wei sized up Ji Qingwu for a long moment.

His rank was low, and he navigated the court entirely through his father-in-law’s influence. He hadn’t had the chance to see this Fifth Miss Ji’s face clearly before, but he’d heard plenty of rumors.

"Miss Ji." Song Wei said in a strange, mocking tone. "No, wait. I should be calling you Lady Wei now."

Ji Qingwu gave him a cool, indifferent glance.

Song Wei met her gaze, his eyes filled with disdain.

The salacious tale of how the Empress Dowager’s niece had tried every trick to seduce Emperor Wu Su after entering the palace, only to annoy the Emperor so much that he had her thrown out of Zhaoyang Hall, had long made the rounds among official families.

Song Wei said, "Lady Wei, you’re certainly a more familiar face to the Emperor than I am. But if you were to appear before him again, I fear the shock might just jolt him awake."

He thought mentioning this would be enough to make her lose face completely.

But Ji Qingwu merely curved her lips into a smile. "Oh? If that were truly the case, my skills would rival those of Hua Tuo reborn. By that logic, I would be the Emperor’s savior."

Song Wei hadn’t expected her to feign ignorance and dare to respond to such a taunt.

’She really must think she’s untouchable with Wei Ting backing her up, showing no respect for the comatose Emperor Wu Su.’

Song Wei’s eyes darted about. Wei Ting was no longer in the Imperial City; he was on his way to the Northern Border. ’The person backing me is the most powerful in the entire city,’ he thought. ’I have no reason to fear this young woman.’

"You insolent woman! Even if you’ve married up and are now the wife of General Zhenbei, I’m not afraid of you! You will pay the price for my child’s life. You must atone for it!"

The attendants Song Wei had brought with him all surged forward, waiting only for his command.

Mo Lingling pulled a dagger from her sleeve. It was the ancestral short blade belonging to Duan Mingfeng, which he had left with her.

Ji Qingwu caught the movement out of the corner of her eye and quickly grabbed her arm. "Lingling, it’s not time for that yet."

It wasn’t yet time for such a major confrontation. If they struck first, they would lose the moral high ground, even if they were in the right.

Then she turned her head to face the group of men glaring at them like hungry tigers.

"Righteousness isn’t determined by who has the loudest voice or the most men. As a court official, Mr. Song, you should understand that principle."

She continued in a steady tone, "On what grounds do you claim the child was lost because of this medicine? Based on a few words from this old man?"

Huang Zhitang immediately shot back, "You’ve only been practicing for a few years, yet you dare question me? I have been a doctor for over forty years! I would never misidentify an herb."

The smile on Ji Qingwu’s lips widened.

"Your advanced age only means you’re halfway to the grave. It doesn’t mean your medical skills are superior."

Mo Lingling nodded in emphatic agreement. "Fifth Missy is right. If this is a contest of shamelessness based on age, we certainly can’t compete with you."

Ji Qingwu continued, "However, the fact that Doctor Huang can even recognize the rare red living hemp leaves shows you do have some experience. But do you know where this herb grows?"

Huang Zhitang’s expression soured. "I only concern myself with using herbs. Why would I need to know where they grow?"

Ji Qingwu’s expression was composed. "Red living hemp leaves are shaped like scorpions and grow beside ditches. They are inherently toxic and do not grow in our Beili. This herb was not in the prescription, and our clinic has never stocked it."

"Madam Song’s miscarriage has nothing to do with the prescription from our clinic. It wasn’t caused by a conflict between herbs, but by poisoning."

It wasn’t a miscarriage from some potent drug; she lost the baby because she was poisoned.

Ji Qingwu said, "Doctor Huang, you don’t even understand such basic pharmacology. What right do you have to stand here and question me?"

One by one, she calmly laid out her questions.

"Why did it appear in the dregs of Madam Song’s medicine? Is this a case of the thief crying ’stop thief’?"

Huang Zhitang retorted, "Stop your sophistry! It is recorded in medical texts that this herb conflicts with madder root. When mixed, they become a potent abortifacient for women."

He pulled a book with a blue cover from his robes and showed it to the surrounding crowd.

He shouted, "This medical text was written by Lin’an’s greatest miracle-working doctor, Le Xi! All of you, take a look! See if it’s not exactly as I’ve said."

A few people leaned in to look and nodded. "It’s true."

Huang Zhitang looked at Ji Qingwu with contempt. "Tell me, are you more skilled, or is the miracle-working Doctor Le Xi more..."

"I am."

Ji Qingwu cut him off before he could finish.

She lifted her chin slightly, her eyes shining. "In this field, I am the best."

Le Xi was Lin’an’s most renowned miracle-working doctor. The onlookers indignantly pointed at Ji Qingwu, calling her arrogant.

Huang Zhitang shoved the medical book in his hand right in Ji Qingwu’s face.

"You... you... You’re the truly shameless one!" the old doctor exclaimed, agitated. "A wet-behind-the-ears brat like you who doesn’t know her place dares to question a miracle-working doctor!"

"She is!"

Just then, a voice boomed like a great bell.

Everyone turned, their eyes filled with anger, looking ready to start a shouting match, but they all abruptly fell silent.

Huang Zhitang’s mouth hung open in shock, his beard trembling on his chin.

Ji Qingwu also looked over. An old man dressed in coarse gray clothes, his silver-gray hair coiled into a bun on his head and fastened with a wooden pin, had appeared behind the crowd.

The old man had a refined and handsome face. Time had been exceptionally kind to him; one could still see traces of his remarkable youthful elegance in his current appearance.

He walked forward with his hands behind his back. Two attendants in plain clothes followed him, watching him closely—not as if they were protecting him, but rather as if they were preventing him from running away.

Seeing this elder appear, everyone was too stunned to speak. The silence that fell over the area was almost eerie.

Even from several yards away, Ji Qingwu could smell the faint, bitter scent of medicinal herbs on him.

Considering his age and the crowd’s reaction, she guessed who he was.

Ji Qingwu smiled faintly. "You must be Doctor Le."

Le Xi didn’t answer. Instead, he looked Ji Qingwu up and down, examining her several times from head to toe.

But his gaze held no hostility or contempt. In fact, it seemed to carry a hint of gratification and satisfaction.

Huang Zhitang had lost his earlier arrogance. He said respectfully, "Doctor Le, what brings you back to the city today?"

Le Xi had no fixed residence and loved to wander, often as elusive as a divine dragon that shows its head but never its tail.

Unless there was a life-threatening, complex case in the city, it was nearly impossible to persuade him to return.

Le Xi’s gaze fell on the medical book Huang Zhitang was holding up.

He spoke, "Only a bunch of idiots like you would treat this thing as gospel."

He looked at them as if they were fools. "I have no idea who stole the few pages of rough drafts I wrote in my spare time and published a book I didn’t even know existed."

To think that something he wrote casually could become a widely circulated textbook—it was a testament to his skill.

Le Xi, with his hands behind his back, put on a stern face and lectured them, "I’ve been waiting all this time for someone to spot the errors in it, but none of you have. It just goes to show you’re all a bunch of quacks."

Ji Qingwu’s lips curved into a slight smile.

For his age, Le Xi’s hearing and sight were remarkably sharp. The moment a faint smile appeared on Ji Qingwu’s face, he turned his head toward her.

"You must be Ah Wu, then?"