Tang Linglong had previously told Mrs. Zhang about Tang Dahe’s impending death. Now that Tang Dahe had survived, Mrs. Zhang began to worry about the accuracy of Tang Linglong’s prophetic abilities.
“Mother, don’t worry. This was just an accident,” Tang Linglong whispered. “Uncle survived thanks to us.”
“How so?” Mrs. Zhang didn’t understand.
“If I hadn’t exchanged marriages with Tang Yiren, Tang Yiren would have had no reason to seek out Song Lichuan. Without Song Lichuan’s help, she wouldn’t have been able to obtain the ginseng. And without the ginseng, wouldn’t Uncle have died?”
Mrs. Zhang suddenly understood. “That’s right. So your uncle survived because we exchanged marriages in advance. If we hadn’t, he would have surely died.”
“Exactly,” Tang Linglong continued, painting a rosy picture for Mrs. Zhang. “The Wen family may be poor now, but they will surely rise to prominence in the future. When that happens, they might even help promote Elder Brother.”
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Zhang envisioned the glorious scene of having an official son-in-law after Wen Shuyu passed the imperial examinations. Her earlier doubts vanished instantly.
In another room of the Tang family’s old house, Tang Yiren sat by the bed, looking at Tang Dahe’s pale face, her eyes filled with relief after narrowly escaping disaster.
Tang Chunsheng had escorted the doctor back and was on his way to fetch the prescribed medicine.
Tang Qiusheng had seen off his childhood friends, thanking them earnestly for their help and promising to invite them for a meal once his father’s condition improved.
Only Tang Yiren and Mrs. Tang remained in the room. Mrs. Tang brought in a bowl of warm water and fed Tang Dahe spoonful by spoonful. At this moment, Tang Dahe had lost too much blood and was in a deep sleep.
“Daughter, if it weren’t for you, your father wouldn’t have made it. Although the outcome is good, looking back now, it’s truly frightening. If you hadn’t found the ginseng and had encountered a fierce tiger in the mountains, you might not have returned, and your father might not have survived. Wouldn’t our family have lost two members at once? Daughter, please don’t take such risks in the future.”
“Mother, if it happened again, I would make the same choice. I am your daughter, and as long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will do everything in my power to protect you, even if it costs me my life. Besides, I believe Heaven is fair. It would never allow a filial child to die with regrets.”
Mrs. Tang had always been fierce and domineering, with both her husband and sons obeying her. However, witnessing her husband on the brink of death, she felt as if the sky had collapsed, her mind unable to think clearly. At this critical moment, the daughter she had always protected stepped up, shouldering the family’s burdens and becoming her pillar of support. In that moment, her anxious heart finally settled.
Tang Chunsheng returned with the medicine prescribed by the doctor. Before preparing it, he handed a small bottle to Tang Yiren and said, “Little Sister, you’re injured. I bought this ointment for you. Apply it yourself, and if there are places you can’t reach, ask Mother to help. You’ve suffered a lot this time. No matter how much I say, it won’t change the fact that you took such a risk. I just hope that if something like this happens again, you’ll come to me first. These are the responsibilities a son should bear, not something a young girl like you should endure.”
“You are Father and Mother’s child, and so am I. Why shouldn’t I share the burden? At the very least, I promise you that if anything like this happens again, I’ll discuss it with all of you first. We siblings will take care of and honor our parents together.”
“That’s more like it!” Tang Chunsheng patted Tang Yiren’s head, his face full of honest smiles.
Tang Yiren looked at this youthful face, a nostalgic expression flashing in her eyes.
In her previous life, after her father died tragically, her mother began to act a bit crazy. At that time, she was already married into the Wen family. She had wanted to come back to take care of her mother, but that old woman from the Wen family said something about a married daughter being like spilled water, dumping all the household chores on her. She and Wen Huihui took turns watching her, not giving her a chance to sneak out to find her mother.
She always hurried through her work, taking advantage of when they were asleep to slip out and find her mother. Then one day, her mother’s madness subsided; she could recognize people again and take care of herself. But then, her eldest and second brothers started having accidents one after another. Within just three years, she lost her father, mother, and both brothers, becoming a helpless orphan girl who could only rely on her in-laws.
Back then, she was blinded and couldn’t see through many things. By the time she could see clearly, everything was too late.
Now, heaven had given her a chance to be reborn. She could wholeheartedly care for and protect her family. Perhaps this was the meaning of her rebirth.
As for that man Wen Shuyu and the mess of his family, if Tang Linglong wanted them so badly, she could have them. Tang Yiren hoped Tang Linglong wouldn’t regret it one day.
“Silly girl, were you scared silly? Why are you crying?” Tang Chunsheng looked at her with concern.
Tang Yiren touched her cheek and only then realized she was already in tears.
As soon as she regained her memories, she was faced with Tang Linglong’s plan to swap marriages, leaving no time to think of anything else. Then she encountered the life-and-death danger her father faced, feeling as if she were walking a tightrope on one foot, utterly exhausted in body and mind. Now that she had overcome the hardship and calmed down, it was as if all her strength had been drained away—no wonder she showed a vulnerable side.
“Who’s crying?” Tang Qiusheng came in carrying firewood.
He carried the firewood into the kitchen.
“Just now, after seeing Tang Jun and the others off, I remembered we were out of firewood at home, so I went into the mountains to chop some. Otherwise, we wouldn’t even have firewood to boil the medicine.”
Tang Qiusheng wiped his sweat as he asked Tang Chunsheng and Tang Yiren, “Big brother, little sister, is Father definitely out of danger now?”
“The bleeding has stopped. The doctor said the ginseng can save his life, and with the medicine he prescribed, as long as we take good care of him these next few days, he’ll recover and be out of danger,” Tang Chunsheng said.
“Little sister, how did you know there was ginseng in the mountains? When I went to chop firewood just now, I passed through the village and heard people say Song Lichuan helped you find it. Is that true?”
“I found the ginseng myself. I suddenly remembered seeing it before when I was picking mushrooms, but at the time, I didn’t know it was ginseng. When the doctor described what ginseng looked like, I remembered and hurried to the mountains to look for it. After I picked the ginseng, I encountered a tiger. If it weren’t for Brother Song appearing, I would have been eaten by the tiger, so saying he helped me find it isn’t wrong either,” Tang Yiren said. “He was injured while fighting the tiger. Big brother, can you give him the medicine you just gave me?”
“Everything was chaotic earlier, but I vaguely overheard a few words saying that Grandfather decided to swap your marriage with Tang Linglong’s, and your fiancé is now Song Lichuan,” Tang Chunsheng asked. “What’s going on?”
“Yesterday Tang Linglong fell into the water, and Wen Shuyu saved her. They had physical contact—have you forgotten?”
Tang Chunsheng and Tang Qiusheng showed displeased expressions.
Of course they hadn’t forgotten.
After the incident yesterday, the two had scolded Wen Shuyu for a long time, saying he usually couldn’t even lift a firewood axe, yet yesterday he had the nerve to jump into the water to save someone.
However, they never expected things to progress in this direction. They had originally thought yesterday’s incident would just lead to a few more idle remarks and wouldn’t affect anything.