Call Me Daddy

As the only doctor in the village, Doctor Li was usually busy searching for herbs in the mountains and preparing medicines, and had little contact with the villagers. Even so, he had heard plenty of gossip about the Su family from his elderly wife.

For instance, that Old Su patriarch was biased, and his new wife was harsh, mistreating the older sons, especially the second son, who was basically considered the second workhorse of the family.

In fact, he was even less valued than the old workhorse.

As one of the family’s most important assets, the old workhorse received the finest fodder. During busy farming periods, to avoid overworking the precious animal, it was given a day off after several days of work. Meanwhile, Su Aobai, who hardly had any rest, was fed even less than the laziest of the family, Su Youliang.

Doctor Li had never personally witnessed how harshly Li Shi treated the two older children before; today, he saw it with his own eyes.

It turned out that the second son had always endured his illnesses alone. Even when he injured his leg while repairing the roof in the heavy rain, it was still considered his fault. A grown man of 8 feet, who was so frightened by a woman that he didn’t dare to resist. How had Li Shi treated this stepson throughout his life?

It seemed that Li Shi was even more cruel and vicious than the rumors suggested.

Doctor Li wasn’t one to gossip, but unfortunately, his wife was the village’s biggest busybody. While he himself avoided spreading rumors, he would often share his observations from treating patients with his wife at night. The old man might not have realized that most of the gossip circulating in the surrounding villages came through his wife, processed and spread further.

“Doctor Li is here!” Su Youtian ushered the thoughtful Doctor Li inside.

“Doctor Li, please take a look at my second brother. Is his leg beyond treatment?”

Su Youtian pointed at his brother’s right leg, taking a sharp breath. Why did it seem that my younger brother’s injury had worsened during the short time I had been away?

Doctor Li’s expression was equally grave. He opened his medical kit and took out a slender silver needle, which he inserted into the lower end of the right calf. After withdrawing the needle, dark-colored blood oozed out, and the part of the needle that had been inside also turned black.

“You’ve been poisoned!”

Doctor Li examined the swollen, bruised calf.

The wound from yesterday had already become infected and was oozing pus. If it were only this, removing the necrotic flesh with a knife and applying some medicinal ointment would usually suffice, provided it didn’t become infected again. However, besides the infection, there was also evidence of poisoning.

Moreover, the flesh on the calf appeared to have necrotized, likely due to the wound being covered for too long. When Doctor Li tested the wound by pinching it, Su Aobai showed no reaction, not even a sense of pain. Doctor Li could not think of a treatment method.

“Poisoned!”

The people in the room displayed shocked expressions.

“Impossible…”

Su Aobai looked even more astonished.

“Last night, I only had a bowl of porridge and some salted vegetables. Everyone in the family ate the same, and since then, I haven’t had anything else. No water, not even a bowl of it.”

He trembled with anxiety, counting on his fingers the food he had consumed from last night until now.

Doctor Li glanced at Su Kuishan and Li Shi with surprise.

If he remembered correctly, Su Youniu was the most hardworking and strongest laborer in the Su family. During busy farming seasons, did his dinner really consist of just a bowl of porridge?

(T/N: Reminder: In this world Su Aobai’s body’s name is Su Youniu.)

Now it was already noon, and the second son, who was ill, hadn’t even had a sip of water. Even the most frugal of employers wouldn’t mistreat their hired hands this way.

Suddenly, Su Aobai seemed to think of something, but he quickly shook his head and looked extremely sincere.

“No, wait. I also drank some medicinal soup that Mother made for me, but she wouldn’t poison me.”

Of course, it wasn’t Li Shi who had poisoned him. In reality, everyone’s body accumulates some toxins. The so-called ‘cleansing the marrow’ in cultivation was about expelling these toxins from one’s body. Su Aobai had concentrated these residual toxins in his leg and had also left some in his stomach. Doctor Li could diagnose the poisoning from his pulse.

Sure enough, after Doctor Li examined his pulse, he couldn’t help but glance at Li Shi.

It was clear that Su Aobai had ingested something he shouldn’t have, though it was unclear why so many toxins had accumulated in his leg.

***

“Don’t look at my Mother. She definitely didn’t poison me!”

Su Aobai insisted passionately on his stepmother’s behalf. With his continuous explanations, everyone’s gaze shifted squarely to Li Shi.

This was experience Su Aobai had gained from several lifetimes.

In one world, he had a fiancée who had been betrothed to him since childhood. She was gentle and sensitive, and clumsy Su Aobai often inadvertently triggered her sensitivities, causing her to cry.

When the destined male protagonist appeared, the fiancée naturally developed feelings for him. Although Su Aobai and the destined male lead had no personal grudge, the fiancée’s constant crying and her insistence in front of the protagonist that Su Aobai had never harmed or bullied her led the destined male lead to hate him.

He believed Su Aobai must be secretly mistreating the kind girl.

It was then that Su Aobai realized that sometimes, what seemed like an explanation was actually a knife twisted in his back.

Shut up, you fool!

Li Shi was enraged, unable to believe that even her biological third son was looking at her with suspicion.

***

The more the second son spoke up for her, the more suspicious everyone’s gaze became. In the end, Li Shi couldn’t tell whether her stepson was genuinely speaking up for her out of kindness or if he was deliberately trying to frame her.

Perhaps because the original person was known for his honesty, everyone, including Li Shi and Su Youliang, thought he lacked cunningness and was merely foolish, well-meaning but prone to making things worse.

Moreover, since Su Aobai had been poisoned for no apparent reason, he certainly wouldn’t have poisoned himself. So, who in this household was most likely to have done it?

To be honest, if Li Shi wasn’t sure she hadn’t done it herself, she might even start doubting herself.

“Medicine? What kind of medicine did your second son take?” Doctor Li needed to find out what had been poisoned in order to counteract it.

“It was just some herbs we gathered from the mountains, the most common cooling and refreshing herbs. We used to boil them in the summer for the whole family when no one was sick. How could they possibly be poisonous?”

As she spoke, Li Shi sounded a bit guilty. She had barely paid any attention to Su Aobai. The medicinal soup she had prepared that morning wasn’t made from cooling and refreshing herbs but was instead a random mix of pigweed picked from the grass her granddaughters had gathered, with some ashes added.

“How can you make your own medicinal soup like that? If it’s not suitable for the condition, it can cause fundamental damage.” Doctor Li disapproved.

Villagers often tried to save a few coins by picking their own herbs, but they often didn’t know the properties of the herbs. Additionally, if the herbs weren’t processed correctly, they could become toxic, ultimately failing to cure the illness and causing more harm.

“What about the dregs of the medicine?” Doctor Li asked.

“It’s gone.” Li Shi shrugged her shoulders and looked around nervously.

Her guilty appearance seemed to make her suspicion of poisoning in the medicine more believable.

“It was just some ordinary herbs!” Li Shi emphasized again.

Su Youliang looked at his mother with helplessness.

He understood better than anyone how much his mother disliked Su Youtian and Su Youniu. Among the two older brothers, Su Youniu was actually the easiest to fool. Such a fool posed no real threat to the two younger brothers. Poisoning him would only create a troublesome mess that couldn’t be easily shaken off. Fortunately, his mother had likely not left any evidence that could easily point back to her.

“Doctor Li, Youniu was raised by Li Shi since he was young. She would never poison this child. I think it’s possible that a few toxic plants were accidentally mixed in with the herbs or that our second son might have come into contact with something dirty.”

Su Kuishan stepped forward to speak on behalf of his wife. Their son had just become a scholar, and they couldn’t afford any scandal of the biological mother harming her stepson.

Since the head of the household was supporting Li Shi and the situation was based on speculation, who could convict her?

Doctor Li sighed inwardly. Indeed, the situation in the second family branch was even more difficult than the village gossip suggested.

“If we can’t find the source of the poison, I can only attempt to detoxify as best as I can. The toxicity has mostly accumulated in the injured right leg, with very little affecting the internal organs. I must warn you that since you called me too late, even if I manage to detoxify, your second son’s health won’t fully recover, especially his leg, which may not return to its original condition.”

Doctor Li’s meaning was clear; while his life could be saved, he would likely end up a sickly person and would probably never be able to work as he used to, with a permanently injured leg.

“Moreover, the cost of the treatment isn’t a small amount. It will require at least 20 taels of silver.”

Doctor Li had planned to add some restorative nutrition to the medicine, but given the couple’s attitude, they likely wouldn’t think to provide him with eggs or a chicken to kill for him.

“20 taels!”

Li Shi’s voice trembled with surprise.

“Treat him, let’s treat him.” Su Kuishan gritted his teeth as he spoke. If he chose not to treat, the entire village would gossip behind his back.

“Where will we get the money?” Li Shi wanted to protest further but was restrained by her third son’s hand on her shoulder.

With Doctor Li still present, his mother’s display of prioritizing money over Su Youniu would only reinforce the idea that Su Youniu had been harshly treated and nearly poisoned by her.

Under the silent pressure from her son’s gaze, Li Shi took a deep breath, put on a stern face, and remained silent.

“Alright then, I will prepare the prescription. When you provide the money, let your eldest son accompany me to collect the medicine.”

Doctor Li looked sympathetically at Su Youniu, who still seemed naively unaware of his predicament. This simpleton seemed to have been moved by his parents’ willingness to spend 20 taels on his treatment, believing they cared for him deeply.

It was both pitiful and somewhat amusing to see a grown man with his head down, secretly wiping away tears with his sleeve.

Even Doctor Li, despite his years of experience, was touched by Su Youniu’s innocence.

He felt that Su Youniu, contrary to the village rumors of being foolish, was actually excessively filial and had an unwavering trust in his parents.

The old doctor reflected with a sigh, realizing that his image of Su Youniu had completely transformed.