The autumn rain had been incessant, leaving several days of dampness, but today it finally cleared up.
The people at the medical clinic came and went, but in the back courtyard, the woman on the sickbed remained unchanged.
Hearing her cough again, Ji'an handed the freshly decocted medicine to the female physician beside him and sighed, "Master says she has a heart ailment, and it's likely to cost her life. Go and persuade her."
"How?"
"As a fellow woman, say something that moves her with emotion and reason."
The masked female physician chuckled, "Won't work. Better she nurse her health and poison that wretched man to death."
"That would be repaying kindness with enmity."
"Who asked him to save her? If he truly saved her without expecting anything in return, why does he now demand her body in marriage? It's just lust at first sight. Don't put Zhang Tu on a pedestal. That little lady is about to smash her bowl again. Go get another one."
The bamboo curtain swayed, and the apprentice named Ji'an halted his steps. His footsteps abruptly ceased, replaced by an annoying urging:
"Miss, it's time to drink your medicine."
Zhao Wan Niang opened her eyes on the couch. An inch away, a cloud of medicinal steam pressed before her face.
The wind under the curtain scattered this hazy vapor, and in the cramped, dark room, a strikingly clear and beautiful face emerged.
Days of illness had worn her down, making her weaker yet more pitiful and moving.
The young girl's eyes were vacant. Faced with the medicine brought to her lips, as usual, she clenched her teeth tightly, refusing to drink no matter how the female physician urged.
She stared at the dust floating in the air, her heart drifting along, leaving only a light shell of a body lingering in this bitter place.
Tasting the blood on her lips, she murmured to herself, then looked with disgust at the swaying medicinal broth and forcefully threw it aside.
The bowl shattered into pieces, but its crisp sound was satisfying. The old physician outside heard it and added another charge to Zhang Tu's account.
In less than a month, Zhang Tu had already spent ten silver taels on her—for an ordinary family, that would cover half a year's expenses.
Ji'an brought a new bowl, still grumbling, "What a spendthrift woman. If she weren't good-looking, I wouldn't take her even for free."
The female physician beside him shot him a glare. Ji'an remembered something and quickly waved his hands, forcing a flattering smile, "Misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding."
Bowl after bowl of prepared medicine came, but Zhao Wan Niang simply wouldn't drink a single sip. Seeing her near death from illness, the old physician sighed:
"Miss, we're doing this for your own good."
To be precise, it was also for their own good.
If she died, that mad dog Zhang Tu would surely wreck the pharmacy.
Surrounded by several people, Zhao Wan Niang lowered her head, her voice hoarse and weak, "If you keep forcing me, I'll bite off my tongue and kill myself right now."
She lay on the bed, her back drenched in cold sweat. The half of her face exposed showed eyes as cold as ice, almost devoid of any emotion, as if nothing could enter her sight, even her own life was merely optional.
"Miss..."
"Get out!"
Zhao Wan Niang gasped for breath, at the end of her strength.
The shadows on the floor dwindled by two, leaving only one.
She lifted her eyelids and demanded, "Are you laughing at me?"
Not far from her, the masked female physician stood motionless for a long time. When a pillow was thrown at her, she caught it steadily, then let out a strange laugh, "So you still have strength."
She placed the medicine heavily on the tea table.
"What are you doing?"
"Since you won't die anytime soon, drink or not, it's up to you."
Hearing the young woman's slightly mocking tone, a nameless fury welled up in Zhao Wan Niang's heart.
These people were crude, vile, and lowborn! She was originally a proper young lady from a respectable family. If not for that great flood in the mountains, how could she have fallen to this?
Zhao Wan Niang closed her eyes. In the darkness, there was the rumbling of water, chaotic shouts, and a suffocating pressure. Everything was sticky and damp, and she felt as if she had returned to that day.
Her secret romance was exposed.
For Gu Lang, she knelt before her father, pleading bitterly. Her father, who had always doted on her, slapped her twice instead.
"Nonsense! Do you think marriage is a game? A poor scholar wants to marry the daughter of the Zhao family?"
"Even if he married into our family, I wouldn't approve!"
The young girl saw stars, her ears ringing. Losing her strength, she collapsed to the ground. Her mother hugged her with concern, stroking her swollen cheek, sighing repeatedly, "You don't manage the household, so you don't know the cost of food and oil. Look at what you eat and wear—everything is fine. He's just a scholar with a degree; aside from good looks, he has nothing to offer. If you're determined, prepare to eat chaff and swallow vegetables in the future!"
She couldn't listen to any of it. Clutching her mother's sleeve and crying, she said, "Daughter can endure hardship! Gu Lang is no ordinary fish in a pond; given time, he will surely top the imperial exams!"
To her surprise, her mother sneered, "I heard that same line from someone over a decade ago."
"Your aunt lost her head and married a poor scholar. What happened? She was originally a well-bred lady, but when I went to see her later, she was grubbing in the dirt. It's because I care for you that I won't let you follow that path. You're young now; when you grow up and marry a wealthy husband, you'll understand your mother's heart."
"Father and mother are doing this for your own good. How could we push you into a pit of fire?" Her father bent down to help her up. "You misjudge people, you're easily fooled, and your mind is restless. Stay indoors for a while. Your mother and I have discussed sending you to the mountains for a period of quiet reflection to calm your mind. Then we'll bring you home."
"No! Gu Lang said he would come for me! He would give you an explanation!"
She wanted to argue further, but her mother covered her mouth, speaking with a hint of tears, "Say no more! Do you want to anger your father to death? You're our only child—how can you be so unfilial?"
Zhao Wan Niang looked around.