The Despised Son-in-Law Becomes the Ruler

Episode 1

"Master Vin, your mother's illness has worsened, and the malignant tumor assailing her has begun to spread. It would be advisable for you to settle her medical expenses promptly so that the necessary surgery can be undertaken to save her life," said the doctor to Vindra, repeating the urgent message for what seemed like the umpteenth time during their hospital visit for treatment.

In that instant, Vin was struck speechless, especially upon seeing the considerable cost of his mother's surgery. Tears unconsciously wet his cheeks, accompanying the despair of not wanting to lose his mother, yet not knowing where to turn to for the money that was urgently required.

One hundred million is by no means a small sum. Even if Vin were to toil day and night, he could not amass such an amount in the desperately short time frame available.

Vin was but the adopted son of Ningrum and Aryo. However, merely a year ago, Aryo disappeared without a trace, leaving behind a pile of debts that weighed heavily upon the Gultom family.

At the time, Vin, having just completed his education, found himself stepping into his father's shoes as the family's mainstay.

Ever since his adoptive father left, Ningrum's health started to decline. Vin had to make repeated trips to the hospital for her checkups, which invariably concluded with the doctors affirming that she was suffering from a malignant tumor. Due to limited finances, Vin had no choice but to request outpatient care for her.

For his mother's sake, Vin depleted all his savings, and even fell into the trap of numerous online loans to afford her medical treatments.

Because of Aryo's debts, Vin also felt compelled to marry Sifa, the daughter of the Gultom family, as a condition for settling his adoptive father's debts.

As a result of his circumstances, Vin became a scorned son-in-law in the Gultom household, and with his wife who bore no love for him, Vin truly felt like rubbish within the family.

Vin trudged down the hospital corridor, crumpling a piece of paper with the amount due for his mother's surgery clutched in his hand.

"Where can I possibly find the money? I cannot bear the thought of losing my mother," Vin muttered to himself, ruffling his own hair in a state of frustration, before striding away from the hospital.

After hours of anguished thought, Vin finally decided to approach his Uncle Petrik, a relative on his father's side, hoping that they would lend him the money required for his mother's surgery.

No matter what, Vin was determined to ask for help, even if it meant discarding his pride and swallowing his shame, especially given the circulating rumors about Uncle Petrik's infamous stinginess.

Knock...

Vin knocked on his uncle's door, and it was his aunt, Arum, who answered, folding her arms across her chest in disdain at Vin's arrival.

"You! What brings you here?" snapped Arum brusquely.

"Auntie, I've come to ask for a favor, to borrow some money—" Vin started.

"There's no money here. I know you've come here to borrow, but what could you possibly offer as collateral?" Auntie Arum cut him off before he could finish.

"Auntie, please, just this once. Mother needs to undergo surgery soon, or she could die," Vin pleaded like a beggar for his aunt's assistance, only to have Arum scorn and berate him.

Shortly afterward, Uncle Petrik emerged. "What's going on here?" he asked.

Vin hurriedly approached Petrik and knelt before him, "Uncle, please help mother. She's in critical condition and needs funds for the surgery. I beg you, help her," Vin pleaded, seeking compassion from his uncle, who was his father's own brother.

To his shock, Uncle Petrik suddenly kicked him sprawling backwards. "You're here just to beg for my money. Hmph, I'll never part with a single penny. I don't trust you can repay it. Better that you leave now; this house has no room for beggars like you."

"Uncle, please, mother urgently needs that money. If she doesn't undergo surgery soon, she could pass away. Please, help me just this once," Vin continued to plead, embracing his uncle's legs in desperate hope.

"Bah, she'd be better off dead than being a burden. Even if you borrow the money, how will you repay it? You struggle to feed yourself day-to-day, and yet you have the audacity to borrow for a surgery. Throw him out, Pa. I don't want him stepping foot in this house again," scorned Arum with contempt.

"Security. Get this beggar out, and ensure he doesn't enter again," Arum bellowed for the guards. Vin was forcibly dragged out by two security officers, his pleas falling on deaf ears.

Upon closing the door with a violent slam, Arum left Vin with one last instruction, "Leave now, and never return." The security's dismissal was accompanied by a forceful toss of Vin from the gates.

"Uncle, I just wanted to borrow, not beg. I would have repaid it," Vin said faintly, before he rose and left his uncle's property—a family legacy in which, unfortunately, blood ties bore no weight.

Vin's phone rang incessantly, with debt collectors from various online loans threatening him over past due payments, even warning of dire consequences if he failed to settle. As if on cue, the landlord of his mother's rental space also demanded overdue rent.

At rock bottom and with nowhere left to turn for money, Vin decided to reach out to his wife, hoping against hope that Sifa might be willing to help.

He pressed the call button on Sifa's name on his phone screen.

"Hello, what do you want?" Sifa's voice came through, laced with annoyance.

"Sifa, may I speak to you?"

"Speak. What is it?"

"Sifa, could you lend me money for mother's surgery? I promise to work hard to repay you," Vin implored, dignity forsaken in the dire necessity to ask his wife for funds.

"How can you even take your mother to the hospital when you don't have money yourself? I'm in a meeting; don't disturb me." With that, Sifa concocted an excuse to hang up without offering an answer.

Vin gazed at the now-silent phone displaying a 5% battery reminder. With a weary sigh, he switched it off to avoid further calls; his head ached from the relentless dunning.

Utterly perplexed, Vin decided to seek out Regina at a bar, hoping his former girlfriend might be willing to lend him the money he so desperately needed.

He found Regina cozily seated with Martin, the friend who had backstabbed him by carrying on an affair with his girlfriend.

"Vindra! What brings you here?" Regina asked, visibly taken aback by Vin's presence.

The sight of Regina and Martin together reignited a spark of jealousy in Vin's heart, but he kept it hidden.

"Regina, I'm here to ask for your help. Will you lend me money for my mother's treatment? I'm sure you can spare it. I'll repay you as soon as possible," Vin said, his voice filled with hope.

"What? You want to borrow money from Regina? Have you no shame, Vin, asking an ex-lover for money? No wonder Regina left you for me; you're too poor and have no self-respect," Martin sneered. Vin could only contain his anger, trying to maintain his dignity in the face of such humiliation.

"Money? What guarantee could you give? These days, there's no cash without collateral. Forget it, Vin. I don't have money to lend you. Just leave, we have nothing to do with each other anymore. And here, take back this cheap trinket you once gave me; you could pawn it, though it's probably worth next to nothing." Regina said dismissively, flinging the gem at Vin.

With no loan forthcoming, Vin's hope faltered, and he turned to leave after Regina's harsh dismissal.

"Hold on, Vin! I might be willing to lend you some money, but with one condition," Martin called out, stopping Vin in his tracks.

"Really? What's the condition?" asked Vin, barely containing his impatience, his mind shifting gears at the thought that Martin might still regard him as a friend.

"Kneel before me," Martin demanded with a smug, scheming smile, stunning Vin with such a humiliating request. Yet, desperate, Vin reluctantly sank to his knees.

Martin's friends erupted into laughter, joining in the mockery along with Regina and Martin himself. Taking a cup nearby, Martin filled it with his own urine, laughing mockishly as he squatted in front of the kneeling Vin.

"Drink this, and you'll get the money," Martin commanded, offering the vile cup to Vin. The onlookers laughed harder.

Vin, feeling utterly debased, slapped the cup away with rejection, sending it crashing to the floor.

"Fool, how dare you spill it," Martin spat in Vin's face.

"Beat him, teach him a lesson about who he's messing with," Martin ordered his friends who began to assault Vin.

Punch after punch, kick after kick, the gang overpowered and beat Vin senseless, leaving him battered and bruised on the floor.

By sheer chance, some of Vin's spilled blood trickled onto and seeped into his gifted gemstone. And in that moment, the long-dormant stone burst into activity, transforming and wrapping around Vin's finger to form a ring with a glowing red gem.

On the brink of consciousness, Vin faintly heard a voice, "I am the medical fairy, and you are the chosen descendant." As the voice faded, a deluge of information from his ancestors flooded into his semi-conscious mind.