From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 386: Chapter 387: Cherishing Life

Before her rival could fly into a rage, Li Cuicui made a smug gesture. "Our Gu family is truly blessed with descendants. This old lady alone has given the Gu family seven sons and a daughter.

Now, I have so many grandsons that this old lady sometimes can’t even recognize them all.

It can be a bit of a headache sometimes. With so many children and grandchildren, there’s just so much to manage. I have no time to worry about other people’s business. We’re both people, but tell me, why are our fortunes so vastly different?"

Old Mrs. Ning’s buttons were pushed one after another. Having her greatest insecurity—her sparse family line—pointed out and being mocked so openly by Li Cuicui, she felt as if everyone around her was laughing at her.

Jin Qianqian chimed in, "Well, she *is* trying hard to have more descendants. Why else would she have been in such a rush to welcome that Xiao Family’s daughter into the fold?"

At this, she turned to the Ning mother and daughter-in-law with a look of pure curiosity. "Your family’s Aunt Xiao was taken away by the Shuntian Prefecture, wasn’t she? Has a verdict been reached? How did she manage to poison Lord Niu so quietly, without anyone noticing?"

The onlookers were stunned. So, the family of the person at the center of all their gossip was right here.

Everyone had been gossiping about a vicious woman like the Xiao Family’s daughter, wondering what kind of lover would drive her to concoct such a venomous plot.

Some even speculated that she hadn’t acted alone—that her lover must have been involved. Why else would he have taken her in during a mourning period? And now, they were finally seeing the people involved in the flesh.

The moment Jin Qianqian asked her question, the Ning mother and daughter-in-law knew they were in trouble.

Under the weight of the surrounding stares, they couldn’t even open their mouths to defend themselves.

Just then, the Shopkeeper stepped forward to smooth things over. "It was all just a misunderstanding. Everyone, please break it up.

Ladies, if you’d like to look at some jewelry, one of our waiters would be happy to give you a detailed tour of our collection."

Although he had been listening with great interest from the sidelines, he had a business to run. If things got too ugly, the shop’s owner would surely hold him responsible.

He was afraid the mother-and-daughter-in-law duo would fly into a rage out of sheer humiliation, which was why he had hurried to intervene.

Feeling utterly disgraced, the Ning mother and daughter-in-law scurried out of the shop. Seeing that the show was over, the other onlookers dispersed as well.

Jin Qianqian casually asked the Shopkeeper, "They weren’t here to buy jewelry, were they?"

The Shopkeeper, who had already gleaned her identity from the brief exchange, said, "Mrs. Gu, shall we just look at the jewelry..."

Jin Qianqian said, "In that case, bring out the pieces they were looking to buy. I’d like to see them."

The Shopkeeper hesitated. "...They were here to pawn jewelry."

"Oh..." Jin Qianqian knew she wouldn’t get any more information out of him. She pointed to two sets of jewelry that would suit Li Cuicui. "Send these to the Gu Mansion. The steward will settle the bill."

"Of course," the Shopkeeper quickly agreed. Everyone knew the woman before him was wealthy. She had bought up so many storefronts in one go; her family’s fortune was clearly substantial.

Li Cuicui wasn’t paying attention to any of this. She was still preoccupied with how she was going to comfort her Seventh Wife later.

By the time she came to her senses, they were already outside the shop. "Qianqian, if that boy, Seventh, acts up, you write and tell me. I’ll sort him out."

Jin Qianqian, "..."

"You don’t have to cover for him. Is someone trying to become his concubine?" It took a long time for Jin Qianqian to finally convince Li Cuicui that her seventh son’s heart hadn’t strayed.

But that night at dinner, she still pulled Ancient Wen Heng aside and lectured him for a good long while.

She only let him return to his room after he had made repeated promises.

"I can’t believe my own mother trusts you more than me," Ancient Wen Heng said as he entered the room, hugging his wife and looking for comfort.

Jin Qianqian said, "She’s just once bitten, twice shy. Did she tell you not to be like that good-for-nothing father of yours?"

Ancient Wen Heng lightly tapped Jin Qianqian’s forehead. "Were you eavesdropping?"

Jin Qianqian rolled her eyes at him. "Do I look like the kind of person with no class?

I didn’t have to. It was easy enough to guess, all right? Besides, your mother indirectly helped clear our name today.

I recall that it wasn’t just the Ning women at the shop today. The female relatives from several other official families were there too."

Ancient Wen Heng asked, "Will this interfere with your plans?"

Jin Qianqian shook her head. "It won’t have much of an impact. The case of the Xiao Family’s daughter is the talk of the town right now. Everyone’s attention won’t shift away from it anytime soon.

By the time they realize what’s happening, we might have already left the capital."

* * *

A new topic of gossip always got people excited.

Two heads are better than one, and with so many people dedicating their minds to figuring it out, someone eventually thought of the doctors.

The ability to take a life so quietly that even the Shuntian Prefecture was stumped made everyone feel uneasy. Who was to say that someone close to them wouldn’t try a similar trick?

Everyone cherishes their own life, so business at every clinic in the city boomed overnight. The lines to see a doctor stretched on and on.

And the most common question was, "Are you sure there’s nothing else wrong with me? I feel like my wife has been acting secretive lately. Am I going to end up dying quietly, just like Lord Niu?"

"Doctor, I think my daughter-in-law is trying to kill me! Quick, check me! Have I been poisoned?"

"..."

The doctors wanted to roll their eyes. Every patient was hale and hearty; they were just wasting their time. If it weren’t for the extra Silver they could earn, they wouldn’t have bothered listening to so many people repeat the same nonsense over and over.

The worst part was that if they didn’t give a definitive answer, these people would just keep nagging, asking endless questions, and even start to doubt their medical expertise.

After half a day of this, some doctors felt a persistent ringing in their ears. If this kept up, it wouldn’t be the patients getting sick—it would be the doctors who’d be the first to drop.

Then there were the morbidly curious ones. Not only did they ask about their own health, but they also tried to find out what kind of poison could be used to murder someone for their money so flawlessly.

They were left speechless by these people. They were doctors who saved lives, so why were people looking at them with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion?

"Doctor, are you absolutely sure there’s nothing wrong with me?" Old Mrs. Ning had finally reached the front of the line after a long wait and refused to accept his answer.

"You’re getting on in years; it’s natural for the body to have some aches and pains. All medicine has its side effects, so just go home and get some rest." The old doctor rolled his eyes. ’As if a half-blind old woman like you is even worth scheming against,’ he thought.

Ever since the news about Xiao Wanyu broke, Old Mrs. Ning had been on edge day and night. This was already the fifth doctor she had seen.

Although every one of them had told her there was nothing seriously wrong, she refused to trust their skills and simply continued her quest for a diagnosis.

She hadn’t expected that after waiting in such a long line, she would still receive the same dismissive response.