The Evil Mother-in-law: Torment Children, Work Hard, Be Rich!-Chapter 312: The Wonders of Fate

Su Chengmin’s teeth-gritting action sent a shiver down Tong Huaqiong’s spine.

Gu Taohua squeezed out the pus from Su Chengmin’s leg, while Tong Huaqiong carefully disinfected it, applied anti-inflammatory ointment, and wrapped it with bandages.

After bandaging the wound, Tong Huaqiong said to Gu Jingzhe, "Help him up and give him the medicine."

Following Tong Huaqiong’s instructions, Gu Jingzhe propped up Su Chengmin, and Gu Taohua brought over a bowl of water, while Tong Huaqiong stuffed the pill into Su Chengmin’s mouth.

No matter how hard they tried, Su Chengmin wouldn’t open his mouth.

"Not opening your mouth, eh? Let me do it."

Gu Taohua spread her fingers and grabbed Su Chengmin’s jaw, forcefully prying his mouth open, and Tong Huaqiong used the opportunity to shove the pill inside.

Tong Huaqiong felt that Su Chengmin’s consciousness was clear; she had seen him trying hard to move his fingers, but was restrained by the wound and couldn’t move.

Tong Huaqiong said, "Xiao Long’s uncle, we saved you. Now you have no choice but to trust us. This pill will help reduce your fever, swallow it quickly. Otherwise, if the fever doesn’t subside, even immortals can’t save you."

Upon hearing Xiao Long’s name, Su Chengmin’s eyes moved beneath his eyelids.

Tong Huaqiong seized the moment to pour half a bowl of water, and Su Chengmin swallowed the pill.

Xiao Long, already awake, watched intently as Tong Huaqiong tended to Su Chengmin’s wounds with a nervous expression.

Seeing Su Chengmin swallow the pill, Xiao Long tightly held Su Chengmin’s hand with one hand, while the other hand rested on Su Chengmin’s forehead.

The soft touch of the small hand made Su Chengmin feel Xiao Long’s presence.

Su Chengmin’s fingers moved slightly, and Tong Huaqiong knew he had heard her words.

Tong Huaqiong touched Su Chengmin’s burning forehead and said to Gu Taohua, "Taohua, go soak a towel in cold water."

Gu Taohua went out and returned with a cold, soaked towel, which she placed on Su Chengmin’s feverish forehead.

Su Chengmin felt a coolness on his forehead, instantly making him feel much more at ease.

Taohua?

The familiar girl was called Taohua.

He remembered now; she was the plump girl from Taohua Dessert.

The last time, he had tricked her out of silver and two boxes of pastries.

Thinking of this, Su Chengmin’s mind, which had been strained, finally relaxed.

He and Xiao Long were safe.

Gu Taohua curiously asked, "Mom, he was shivering a moment ago, why isn’t he moving now? Could he be dead?"

Tong Huaqiong replied, "It seems he’s not that easy to die."

Tong Huaqiong could see that although the young man was unable to speak or was in a mental fog, he was struggling to survive.

Once a person has the will to survive, they won’t die so easily.

"Jingzhe, keep an eye on him, and give him some water now and then. If the high fever persists four hours later, give him more medicine." Tong Huaqiong placed the fever-reducing medicine on the table and instructed Gu Jingzhe.

Gu Jingzhe said, "I understand."

Xiao Long grabbed Tong Huaqiong’s hand and said, "Grandma Tong, my uncle won’t die, right?"

The child’s large, moist eyes gazed at Tong Huaqiong with hope and fear.

Tong Huaqiong felt a surge of compassion for Xiao Long and reached out to stroke his head, saying, "Your uncle will be better by tomorrow morning."

Xiao Long’s face broke into a smile.

Tong Huaqiong asked, "You came from Shengjing, didn’t you?" 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Tong Huaqiong felt that Xiao Long’s accent was very familiar.

When she returned home and saw the nearly completed new residence built by He Chao across the street, she remembered that Mrs. Hong sometimes slipped into an accent similar to Xiao Long’s when she spoke hurriedly.

Mrs. Hong had fled from Shengjing in her early years, so these two must also have come from Shengjing.

Xiao Long nodded, a look of trust in Tong Huaqiong in his eyes.

Tong Huaqiong thought of how Shengjing was home to many powerful families, with officials and generals of imperial lineage concentrated there.

These families, dazzling in glory, would become worth less than dirt when disaster struck, hounded like stray dogs.

Tong Huaqiong suspected that this man and boy were descendants of one such family, likely survivors who narrowly escaped the catastrophe befalling several prominent families.

Gu Taohua took the opportunity to ask, "What is your uncle’s name?"

After spending several hours with the Gu family, Xiao Long had already considered Tong Huaqiong and the others as his own, so he told Gu Taohua his uncle’s name was Su Chengmin.

Gu Taohua said to the feverish and nearly delirious Su Chengmin, "Su Chengmin, you can’t die, you still owe me silver."

Su Chengmin.

Tong Huaqiong searched Tong Dajiao’s past life memories in her mind.

But she found no trace of anyone named Su Chengmin.

Neither was there any trace of Xiao Long.

Xiao Long had been discovered by Man Er in a mountain cave, crying, so could he be connected to Man Er’s past life?

Tong Huaqiong believed that destiny wouldn’t bring these two into her life for no reason.

Even while lying in bed, Tong Huaqiong continued to search Tong Dajiao’s memories.

Through those memories, she learned that Tong Dajiao had only heard of Man Er again after moving to the Capital with Gu Jingzhe, who had been appointed a court official after passing the imperial examinations.

It started with a massive debate in court sparked by the newly crowned emperor’s intention to crown a commoner girl he met in civilian life as empress.

The young emperor wanted to make this girl his empress, but the ministers fiercely opposed the idea, citing her lowly origins, as she had been a child bride and had lived in a brothel, which would disgrace the Royal Family.

Originally, Gu Jingzhe sided with the young emperor, but when he discovered the emperor insisted on making Man Er the empress, he changed his mind and became a firm opponent of the decision.

The girl the emperor wanted to make empress was actually Man Er.

In the end, the young emperor compromised, crowning a girl from a prominent family as empress, and made Man Er an Imperial Concubine.

From then on, all who opposed making Man Er the empress became thorns in the emperor’s side, especially the wavering Gu Jingzhe.

Man Er, the sweetheart from his youth, was forced to become a concubine. In defiance of the ministers, the emperor not only cultivated his own new power but also excessively favored Man Er.

He made Man Er’s son the Crown Prince, granted Man Er powers beyond that of an Imperial Concubine, turned the empress into a figurehead, and aggressively suppressed the empress’s family.

When the Gu Family was ransacked, the empress, implicated in the scandal, voluntarily relinquished her title, and the emperor wasted no time issuing a new decree to crown a new empress.

Tong Dajiao never found peace, even in death, when she heard Man Er had become empress.

Tong Huaqiong broke out in a cold sweat.

This meant that Xiao Long might well have Royal blood.

In a past life, Man Er met them when lost in the civilian world, and in this life, they’ve been entangled with Man Er again.

This storyline was something Tong Huaqiong didn’t even need to live through personally.

Fate is truly marvelous like this.

Tong Huaqiong worried whether Xiao Long’s existence might bring disaster to her and the group of bad bamboo.

After all, in the past life’s story, Man Er was the main character, while supporting characters like Tong Dajiao were destined to be cannon fodder.

In the past life, Tong Dajiao and others suffered because of their actions.

In this life, what had she, Tong Huaqiong, done wrong to bear the crime of harboring a wanted criminal of the court?

If this child named Xiao Long were the young emperor who succeeded the throne in the previous life, how did he end up lost in the civilian world now?

Tong Huaqiong searched Tong Dajiao’s mind.

Tong Dajiao was no more than a farmer’s wife in her past life, literate but muddleheaded about many things.

She only knew the young emperor who ascended the throne was the son of the deposed Crown Prince.

When the Crown Prince rebelled and was executed, his son fled to the civilian world and was summoned back by the old emperor years later to inherit the throne.

As for how the deposed Crown Prince’s son became emperor or where the other sons of the emperor went, Tong Dajiao’s memory was completely blank.

Since Tong Huaqiong arrived here, she had never inquired about who the emperor or Crown Prince of this era was.

After all, they were too far removed from her life, and unless the emperor died and the entire empire entered mourning, even peasants in remote corners would be informed to mourn, Qinghe Bay would never receive any news about the emperor.

Tong Huaqiong never expected she might become involved with the Royal bloodline.