Shen Wei’s youngest daughter was obtained by his wife, Lady Pu, through prayers at a Taoist temple.

Rumors outside claimed the Shen family had a secret formula for bearing sons. This formula did indeed exist.

Lady Pu used the formula for her first two pregnancies and gave birth to two sons as desired. She didn’t use it for the next two pregnancies, and the results were still two more sons.

The couple hoped left and right, both hoping the next pregnancy could yield a daughter.

When pregnant with the fifth child, Lady Pu immediately went to the Taoist temple to pray for a daughter.

She stayed for half a month. The night before leaving the temple, Lady Pu dreamed of an immortal herb. When she returned, she told him this pregnancy would definitely yield a daughter.

After ten months of pregnancy, it was indeed a daughter.

But this daughter was different from other children from the moment she left her mother’s womb.

She was very well-behaved—ate when full, slept when awake, never caused any trouble. Back then, when Shen Wei returned from the ministry, the first thing he’d do was hold his daughter.

By age three, she remained obedient.

When Lady Pu went out visiting or attending banquets, the daughter would follow her every step. At banquets, other children couldn’t sit still and clamored to go out and play. She didn’t.

She always sat quietly and peacefully.

When others asked her something, she’d answer. When no one paid her attention, she’d prick up her ears and listen to the adults talk.

After returning home, Lady Pu would always boast to him that their daughter was so obedient—so many ladies and madams envied them.

Hearing this, he felt proud too.

He was proud not only of his youngest daughter’s quiet obedience, but also of her intelligence.

From the time this child began learning characters with a teacher, whenever she had nothing to do, she’d burrow into his study and stay the entire day, reading those abstruse and difficult medical texts.

Whenever the maids and servants couldn’t find the young miss, they only needed to ask at his courtyard and were guaranteed to find her.

Shen Wei initially didn’t take it seriously. He thought how long could a child’s temperament persist? Once she found it uninteresting, she’d naturally play with other novel things.

Who knew she’d persist for many years?

She’d always slip into the study after he left and quietly leave before he returned.

Lady Pu was busy with household affairs, her feet not touching the ground. Better for their daughter to stay in the study than cause trouble outside, so she let her be.

When he taught his four sons medical arts, this girl also liked to crowd in and listen. If they wouldn’t let her listen, she’d open her mouth and wail.

Shen Wei had no choice but to add a small table in the study along with a set of brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.

After finishing the lesson, the four sons would run off with a bound, but she’d still linger and refuse to leave.

Asking questions here and there, she had to understand everything he’d just taught before she’d be satisfied.

At age five, their daughter became obsessed with medicinal herbs, constantly running to the Bai residence, following behind Bai Zhenshan’s rear end just like she followed her mother’s rear end—never leaving his side.

Bai Zhenshan managed all the Shen family’s medicinal herb business and had no time to indulge the master’s young miss, so he tossed her to his wife, Lady Sun.

Lady Sun didn’t dare neglect her. Whatever the master’s young miss wanted, she’d give her.

Their daughter wanted to see medicinal herbs, so Lady Sun had people bring them out, displaying them one by one before the daughter for her to examine.

When their daughter said she wanted to taste them, Lady Sun didn’t stop her, letting her do as she pleased.

Half a year later, one afternoon, he was busy at the Imperial Medical Academy when a servant from the Bai household found him, saying the young miss had been poisoned and lost consciousness.

He was so frightened he dropped what he was holding and ran.

By the time he reached the Bai household, their daughter had awakened, her face deathly pale.

The first thing she said upon seeing him was: “Father, datura flowers are poisonous. Small doses stop pain and coughing, external use can anesthetize. The dosage absolutely cannot be too much, and they must be cleaned thoroughly.”

Shen Wei was stunned on the spot. This child was still so young—how did she know these things?

And it wasn’t just these things. Upon inquiry, he learned this girl already recognized over six hundred common medicinal herbs and knew the properties and effects of each herb without the slightest error.

That night, he drank with Bai Zhenshan.

Zhenshan said: “The young miss probably has exceptional innate talent. If the master cultivates her well, our family might produce a divine physician.”

Hearing this, Shen Wei only sighed.

What use was a divine physician when she was still just a girl?

Girls should be well-behaved and obedient, bringing joy to their parents’ knees, being her father and mother’s little cotton-padded jacket. In the future, she should listen to her parents, find a well-matched husband, support her husband and teach children, and live harmoniously for a lifetime.

“Master, let her learn.”

Zhenshan urged again: “Even if she marries in the future, having some medical skills will make her in-laws respect her more, won’t it?”

Shen Wei felt these words made sense and went back to discuss it with Lady Pu.

When Lady Pu heard, she was delighted. She said in the past she herself would forget to eat when she saw medical texts, constantly pestering her father and brothers to teach her medical arts.

Shen Wei thought about how his first wife had relied on this bit of medical skill to marry into the Shen family and establish a firm foothold there. His heart immediately softened.

From that point on, Shen Wei began earnestly teaching his daughter.

Through this teaching, Shen Wei was shocked again.

In medical arts, this child far surpassed her four brothers by an unknown degree.

Any medical text—as long as she’d read it three times, you could ask her what was written on any page and she could recite it backward and forward.

Every acupoint in the human body—after memorizing them three times, she could accurately mark them without error.

At night, their daughter read with him. During the day, she stayed by Bai Zhenshan’s side.

After that poisoning incident, Zhenshan directly had people open the storehouse doors, allowing their daughter to look and taste to her heart’s content. He also earnestly taught her to distinguish the quality of the same medicinal herb.

Shen Wei didn’t know what other families’ girls smelled like.

He only knew his own little girl had only one smell year-round: the smell of medicinal herbs.

When learning acupuncture, a girl’s hand strength was small, and the force of inserting needles was clearly insufficient.

This girl requested that Bai Zhenshan find her a woodworking master to teach her wood carving. Each knife stroke carved down practiced the skill in her hands.

She practiced like this for five years.

Five years later, this child used needles quickly, accurately, and decisively. Just watching her use needles from the side, he found it pleasing to the eye.

Looking at his four sons again…

Comparing goods requires throwing some away. Comparing people requires some to die.

Shen Wei’s heart felt all kinds of uncomfortable. Indeed, Bai Zhenshan had predicted correctly—the Shen family would definitely produce a divine physician in the future.

But why did it have to be a girl?

If only it were a boy—how wonderful that would be!

…

Once she came of age, matchmakers began calling at the household.

The Shen family’s legitimate only daughter who also understood some medical arts—how many prestigious families had their eyes on her? During those two years, matchmakers practically wore down the household’s threshold by three inches.

Shen Wei and Lady Pu’s eyes were dazzled by choices.

But their daughter disagreed with this one and disagreed with that one.

Upon careful inquiry, she fundamentally didn’t want to marry.

How could a young lady not marry?

Her parents could afford to support her, but outsiders would gossip. Moreover, her brothers and sisters-in-law wouldn’t agree!

So he and Lady Pu took turns persuading her, and her brothers and sisters-in-law also came forward to advise.

For the first three days, this child didn’t say a word, letting them talk until their lips were worn out and their saliva dried.

On the fourth day, she left a note and ran off with Bai Zhenshan.

On the paper she wrote that she wouldn’t marry in this lifetime—she only wanted to learn medical arts well and become a physician in the future.

But from ancient times until now, what woman showed her face in public to practice medicine?

Only then did Shen Wei feel regret.

He and Lady Pu had indulged her since childhood—actually, they’d harmed her.