Chapter 17 Restoration of Reputation

Ziyan quickly lowered her head to wipe the cold sweat from her face, feeling self-reproachful and deeply apologetic as she respectfully said to the madam, "Madam has always been fair and just. She has never withheld food and clothing from her children. I have already passed on the madam's instructions to the maidservants. It may be those maidservants who have withheld the food and clothing behind the madam's back. Please rest assured, madam. I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and ensure that Miss Xiaoyue gets justice."

Listening to her words, it seemed like she was praising the madam while also speaking up for Xiaoyue. Those who didn't know might actually believe Ziyan. However, Xiaoyue coldly observed their performance, not expecting them to genuinely treat her well.

Madam Gao felt satisfied with Ziyan's words and decided to go along with it, saying straightforwardly, "Since it was the negligence of the servants, Ziyan, you must investigate this matter thoroughly. Don't let the blame fall on the eldest miss. If she is labeled as mistreating her stepdaughter, it will tarnish the reputation of our family. The eldest miss is a well-bred lady from a noble family. If she is accused, how will she face the madams in the capital in the future? It will bring shame to our family."

"Auntie is right. I will follow your instructions," Ziyan lowered her head, her eyes flashing with a cold resentment, which shot like a curved blade towards Madam Gao and Xiaoyue.

Xiaoyue never expected the madam to treat her well, nor did she expect anyone in the family to stand up for her. Madam Gao's words were just using her as a pawn to compete against the madam. She didn't genuinely care about her.

She also didn't believe that her father would reprimand the madam for this. Her father had always been biased and extremely harsh towards her, so she was not interested in pursuing this matter further. Instead, she looked at everyone earnestly and finally said to her father, "Father, I am not someone who nitpicks, but there is something I need to make clear to everyone. That is the matter of my chastity. I believe, for the sake of the family's reputation, please order that no one mentions the matter of my chastity again. If the eldest young master and the fifth miss keep harping on it, day and night, even if I haven't lost my chastity, people will still think I have. What will others think of the Shangguan family? They will think that the Shangguan family is lax in discipline, from the general to the maids, everyone is disrespectful. Whoever makes a mistake will bring shame to the family, and even those who haven't made a mistake will be affected. This will have a significant impact on the family's reputation."

"As the saying goes, we all share the surname Shangguan and are all in the same boat. If everyone doesn't work together to steer this boat well, and someone is only concerned about their own interests and causes chaos on the boat, once it capsizes, everyone will perish. Looking up, those families that have thrived for centuries have done so because the family is united. Those families that have internal conflicts and attack each other cannot pass on their legacy for more than a few generations. For the honor and future of our Shangguan family, I hope father will order that no one mentions today's events again!"

Xiaoyue's words shocked Shangguan Yun greatly. He never expected this useless daughter to speak such profound truths.

Before he could speak, the old madam sitting at the head suddenly slammed the teacup in her hand and looked at Xiaoyue approvingly, nodding coldly, "This girl speaks the truth. If one prospers, all prosper; if one suffers, all suffer. If you keep fighting among yourselves, no one will have a good life. Except for your father, the Shangguan family has produced many medical experts. You siblings should compete in medical skills, not involve yourselves in these vulgar matters. From now on, no one is allowed to mention today's events. Anyone who does so will be opposing me. Yinxue, do you understand?"

The old madam looked at the madam with a hint of warning in her eyes.

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked. The old madam actually praised Xiaoyue.

Madam's face darkened upon hearing the old madam's words, as she glared at Shangguan Di and Shangguan Qiuyue, "You two straightforward ones, from now on, you are not allowed to mention this matter, not even as a joke. Xiaoyue is your elder sister. You should take her as an example and unite to learn medical skills, striving to promote the medical skills of the Shangguan family."

Shangguan Di and Shangguan Qiuyue quickly lowered their heads and remained silent. However, upon hearing that they should take Xiaoyue as an example, the corners of their mouths curled up disdainfully. Shangguan Qiuyue muttered discontentedly, "We are supposed to learn from a useless person. What does she know? She knows nothing. Everyone in this family is better at medical skills than her. Why should we learn from her? She should be learning from us."

Although she spoke softly, everyone heard her clearly.

Madam Gao glared at Shangguan Qiuyue, and Shangguan Yun cleared his throat, assuming the posture of the family head, and said, "It's been a long time since I assessed your medical skills. I wonder if your medical skills have improved recently?"

After speaking, he looked at Shangguan Yuqing with a loving expression.

Shangguan Yuqing remained silent, and Shangguan Qiuyue quickly praised her, "Father, you can assess as you please. Second sister's acupuncture and moxibustion skills have greatly improved recently. She is already proficient in various acupoints and knows how to use them for treatment. Last time, when mother was suffering from a cold, no matter how much medicine she took, she didn't get better. Thanks to second sister's acupuncture on her acupoints, mother's cold quickly improved. Second sister is truly a medical genius, she learns everything quickly."

When Shangguan Qiuyue praised herself, Shangguan Yuqing blushed and quickly praised Shangguan Qiuyue, "Sister is really modest. Your detoxification skills have also improved a lot. Last time Aunt Zhou was bitten by a poisonous snake in the garden. Luckily, you used your wit and knew how to use eggs to detoxify. Aunt Zhou's poisoned blood was forced out, and she was fine."

When Shangguan Yun heard this, he looked at Shangguan Qiuyue with great appreciation and said, "How does the egg detoxify snake venom?"

Although he was the head of a family of medical experts, he didn't practice medicine. He had loved martial arts since he was a child and later became a top martial arts scholar. He then joined the army, eventually becoming a general, but he was completely ignorant when it came to medical skills.

Liu Yue watched this heartwarming scene of filial piety and felt very bitter and unpleasant.

At this moment, Shangguan Qiuyue arrogantly glanced at her and proudly said, "I found this method in an ancient book. I just tried it casually and didn't expect it to work. The method involves making a hole in the egg, aligning it with the wound, and waiting for the egg yolk and egg white to gradually turn black. I would then immediately replace the egg and continue to suck on the wound until the last egg did not turn black. That day, I replaced a total of eight eggs before Aunt Zhou's snake venom was completely sucked out."

"Qiuyue is truly amazing. She has had a talent for medicine since she was young. Seeing how successful you all are makes me proud as a father. You must practice medicine diligently and bring honor to the Shangguan family. Di, if you don't like medicine, come to the military camp to learn military strategy from me. As long as you're willing to learn, I will wholeheartedly support you. I will find more good medical teachers for you all. The children of the Shangguan family must be the best in the capital." Shangguan Yun felt very satisfied and appreciative as he looked at Shangguan Di and the others while stroking his short beard.