An ugly girl starts off, then becomes a beauty

The epidemic was ferocious, and it was the New Year's festival. The poor people had to survive the winter and this disaster. Gao Hengjiu had been at the starting point of Huiyang, and had experienced the widespread grief and suffering. As a doctor with a kind heart, he must have been even more heartbroken.

He had no choice but to run around looking for medicine.

But after traveling all over Huiyang and even to Guanjia Village in Weinan, the medicinal materials he obtained were still far from enough. He had no choice but to ask someone to go back to Chang'an first, and, relying on the friendship he had with his former patients, go door to door to beg for medicine in front of the homes of the powerful and wealthy. However, despite all his efforts, he still only got a few.

Finally, he had to come back in person. The first person he found was Nie Ce.

Sang Ling certainly would not hesitate, not to mention that this Guizhi Fuzi Decoction was made by Gao Heng. That afternoon, Cheng Ni delivered the boxes of herbs to her cousin's carriage.

Sang Ling had done this privately, without making it public, and had originally intended to let it pass quietly. But somehow, two days later, the news got out, and even reached Madam Zhaoyu.

"It was your third aunt who came and told me that you gave away the medicine in the mansion?" Madam Zhaoyu summoned Sang Ling to question him early in the morning.

Even so, the mother-in-law's tone was still gentle. Sang Ling lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before answering, "Yes, my cousin came to ask for medicine the day before yesterday, so I used my own money to buy some from the merchant."

No matter how dumb a person is, he would not think of sending the medicinal herbs from the Marquis' Mansion. Besides, she had just taken over the household affairs, how could she have the courage to do such a thing?

But how did Cai know about this?

Madam Zhaoyu nodded when she heard this and did not ask any further questions.

It was originally the daughter-in-law's own money, so how she used it was her own business. Moreover, she was helping the Gao brothers, so Madam Zhaoyu would not interfere. After a pause, she quietly changed the subject, "It's resold by the merchant, so what's the price?"

In critical moments, medicine is more valuable than gold, and everyone knows this.

Sang Ling was still thinking about Madam Zhaoyu's first words, and replied with a not-too-strong smile, "I found the Qiu family in Jiantai. Mr. Qiu was my classmate in the Zhi family's house, and he is also friends with the Marquis, so the price is not bad."

Madam Zhaoyu nodded, and sighed a few words about the many disasters in the past two years, and then remained silent. It seemed that she didn't intend to ask more questions. Sang Ling swallowed his saliva and returned to the previous topic, "But - Mother, how did Third Aunt know about this?"

The light in the hall shone through the gauze curtain, half-hiding the beautiful face of the Second Young Master's wife. The voice she spoke seemed to be emotionless, "I didn't tell anyone about what happened that day. Only Cheng, Xing, and Shi, who were with me, knew about it. And it was Cheng who went to buy the herbs."

Madam Zhaoyu understood immediately - was it Aunt Shi or Aunt Xing? One of them mistakenly thought that Sang Ling took the medicine from the mansion and spread the news, in order to sow discord between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law?

She leaned forward slightly and thought - Xing Yu and Shi Hong had always followed her and knew her personalities well. They were never talkative. Even if they had misunderstood that the Sang family girl had taken the traditional Chinese medicine, they should have reported it to her directly. Why did they need to spread the news outside and ask Cai to complain?

"Are you saying that someone has been bribed?" There was a hint of coldness in the eldest lady's voice.

If not, there would be no other reason. It is probably because they thought that Sang Ling took the medicine from the mansion, and many people handled it, so many people knew about it, so they dared to spread it unscrupulously.

Although Sang Ling did have this intention, she still couldn't separate the relatives. After all, Shi and Xing had been with Madam Zhaoyu longer than she had, so she stammered, "It's hard to say for sure. Our people may not have the intention to do this. The only thing we're afraid of is that they're being used by others."

If that's the case, how could someone who could even pry open Shi and Xing be Cai? Madam Zhaoyu's eyes were slightly out of focus, and she sneered after a while.

When Sang Ling saw this expression, he had the same answer in his mind.

In the two governments, who else likes to use Cai as a tool the most?

Although neither the mother-in-law nor the daughter-in-law said it explicitly, they both knew it. Sang Ling was silent for a while, then whispered, "Mom, I think - in order to avoid alerting the enemy, there is no need to clarify that I bought the medicine myself, what do you think?"

The informers might not be just Shi and Xing, so a thorough investigation is still needed. Therefore, she will bear the responsibility silently for the time being. It will not be too late to clear her name after the traitor is caught.

After sorting out her thoughts, Madam Zhaoyu expressed her agreement.

He couldn't help but look at Sang Ling for a while again, and still sighed in his heart: This daughter-in-law's thoughts are even deeper than I think.