The commotion had lasted well into the night. By the time Zhou Laosan was finally taken away, the sky was already beginning to lighten.
Returning to her room, Bai Qianqian suddenly remembered that Zhao Anyao was still hiding under the bed. She hurried over to pull him out.
The boy looked pale and shaken, his small body shivering from the cold. He had been terrified, and Bai Qianqian decided to hold him close and fall asleep for a while.
“Yao’er must have been scared out of his wits,” Auntie Liu said later that morning. “You should call out to his soul tonight. Children can’t handle this kind of shock. Even I found yesterday’s events terrifying. It’s a good thing you’re so capable. Any other widow and child would have been ruined by those two beasts.”
Auntie Liu had joined the fray the previous day, but since her relationship with the couple had improved recently, she brought over a few eggs to help Bai Qianqian recover from the shock.
“I’m going to take him to see Physician Gu,” Bai Qianqian said, her voice laced with worry. “A child’s constitution can’t withstand both the fear and the cold. It would be disastrous if he developed a fever in the middle of the night.”
“You’re such a good stepmother,” Auntie Liu remarked. “Yao’er is truly blessed.”
She never expected Bai Qianqian to change her nature so completely after recovering from her illness. Now, she truly cared for her stepson as if he were her own. Yao’er’s face had filled out, and it was clear his life had improved significantly.
“He’s such a sensible child. He helps me out so much,” Bai Qianqian said softly. “I was foolish before. Now, it’s only right that I treat him well.”
Her words were sincere. Since arriving in this world, Zhao Anyao was the only child who had ever stayed by her side.
The rest of the villagers shunned her, and while she tried not to let it get to her, the isolation still left her feeling like an outsider. Yao’er’s presence provided a small measure of comfort. At first, she had cared for him out of guilt, but now she truly wanted the best for him.
“I’m glad you’ve come to see the truth,” Auntie Liu said, her expression softening with relief. “I won’t keep you any longer. I have chores to finish, and you shouldn’t delay taking the boy to see the physician.” With that, she picked up her basket and headed back home.
Bai Qianqian wrapped Zhao Anyao tightly in a padded coat, then set off toward Physician Gu’s house.
As they passed the mute girl’s dwelling, Bai Qianqian couldn’t help but glance at it. The thick snow lay undisturbed on the dilapidated thatched roof, looking as though no one had cleared it in days.
Could the Du family have taken her back?
But then she thought of the Du couple—one a self-righteous hypocrite, the other a greedy, spiteful woman. The idea of them welcoming the girl back was impossible. A cold knot formed in her stomach.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bai Qianqian pounded on the door. No one answered.
A cold dread settled in her chest. The door was barred from the inside, meaning someone was definitely in there. Yet the mute girl hadn’t stirred, even after such a loud knocking. Something was horribly wrong.
She let go of Zhao Anyao’s hand and threw her weight against the wooden door. Thud! The flimsy wood gave way with a crash, and she tumbled into the room.
The impact left her dazed. After a moment, she scrambled to her feet and saw the mute girl lying on a straw-covered wooden plank, covered by a tattered quilt, completely unconscious.
“Oh no!” Bai Qianqian rushed to her side, touching the girl’s burning, flushed cheek. She was delirious. If they didn’t get her help now, she might not survive.
“Anyao, grab my clothes,” Bai Qianqian said. “I’m going to carry A-Xiu. We need to find Physician Gu!”
She hoisted A-Xiu onto her back. The girl wasn’t heavy, but the urgency of the situation made every second count.
Zhao Anyao didn’t say a word, just clung tightly to her as she hurried through the village. It wasn’t a large place, but it still took them ten minutes to reach Physician Gu’s house.
“What’s happened?” the physician asked, his eyes widening at the sight of Bai Qianqian carrying one person while another trailed behind. The scene was grim.
“She’s running a fever!” Bai Qianqian exclaimed, settling the girl inside the room. “Physician Gu, please help her bring it down! If it keeps rising, she might not make it.”
The experienced physician assessed the situation with a single glance.
“Wring out a cloth and place it on her forehead,” he instructed Bai Qianqian, then went to retrieve his silver needles for acupuncture.
Once he finished, he turned to the pair. “Watch her closely and don’t let anyone disturb her. I’ll go brew some medicine.”
Bai Qianqian watched as the redness in the girl’s face began to fade, and she felt a wave of relief. The girl’s life had been as bitter as a gourd, yet she could not even speak.
She had helped her sew clothes before, and the thought of her slipping away so quietly was unbearable.
“Feed her this later,” Physician Gu said, handing over the brewed herbal medicine. “If her fever doesn’t return tonight, she’ll be fine.”
He had practiced in the village for years and had seen many such cases; he knew exactly how to treat it.
Understanding his need to avoid any appearance of bias or suspicion, Bai Qianqian accepted the medicine and carefully fed it to the mute girl.
Just as Physician Gu was about to leave, she called out, “Doctor, please check my son as well. He was terrified yesterday and got chilled. I’m worried he might develop a fever too.”
Physician Gu’s mind immediately went back to the previous night. He had bandaged a man who’d been hacked with a blade, and in the process, he’d heard all about what had happened.
He hadn’t expected the very person who had maimed the bandit to show up at his door today. Talk about a strange coincidence.
Remembering the man Bai Qianqian had hacked was a menace to the village, he silently praised her as a true heroine before taking Zhao Anyao’s pulse.
“I’ll prepare a formula for him,” Physician Gu said. “He should drink a bowl after his meal and then get some good sleep. He’ll be fine.”
“Thank you, Physician Gu!” Bai Qianqian said. “How much do I owe you for the medicine for both of them? I’ll pay it all together.”
Physician Gu frowned slightly. “You’re paying for the Du family’s eldest daughter? It’s better to bring her parents here. They’re her parents, after all; they won’t refuse to pay.”
He reminded her of this, recalling her act of righteousness the day before.
“I’ll pay for now,” Bai Qianqian decided. “When she wakes up, I’ll carry her back to the Du house and get the money back.”
She wouldn’t let that couple off easy; they would be paying for the medicine one way or another.
Suddenly, Zhao Anyao spoke up. “Sister A-Xiu is awake!”
The mute girl on the bed had indeed opened her eyes, her expression vacant as she tried to understand how she had ended up here.
“Don’t throw off your blanket,” Physician Gu warned, trying to stop her. “The draft will bring the fever right back.”
Bai Qianqian gently pulled the blanket back over the mute girl. “You were delirious with fever just now. It’s finally broken, so don’t get up. Just rest a bit longer.”
“Ah…”
“Drink some water,” Bai Qianqian said, holding a cup of warm water to the girl’s lips.
The mute girl drank, and her throat immediately felt soothed.
“Rest for now. I’ll take you home later.”
At Bai Qianqian’s words, the girl quickly drifted back into a deep sleep.
Physician Gu, though busy drying herbs, kept a watchful eye on Bai Qianqian. He noticed she was truly different from before. However, in his years of practice, he’d seen stranger cases than this, so he didn’t find her behavior unusual.
“Your mind seems much clearer now,” he remarked. “You’ve earned a good amount of money selling cakes lately. It’s time to pay back the medicine you owe me.”
Bai Qianqian hadn’t expected him to bring it up. She recalled that the original owner of this body had indeed stiffed him several times. Physician Gu was a gentle man who had often treated villagers for free, leaving him quite poor.
She decided to pay off all her debts in one go, adding extra coins as interest.
Physician Gu tucked the coins away and returned to his herbs.
By the time the mute girl awoke again, she had regained some of her strength. Bai Qianqian decided to take her back to the Du residence.
Zhao Anyao followed behind, carrying the medicine as Bai Qianqian supported the heavily bundled girl and knocked on the Du family’s front door.
“Who is it?” Madam Zhou’s voice shrilled from inside. “In this freezing snow…” After a moment, the door creaked open.
“You! Madam Bai!” Madam Zhou’s voice immediately turned sharp. “How dare you show your face here? I’ll—”
She stopped, her gaze falling on the girl. “A-Xiu? Why are you here? Didn’t your father say you should visit less? What if you bring bad luck to your younger brother…”
Madam Zhou stood firmly in the doorway, blocking the entrance as she kept chattering, making no intention of letting them inside.
“Cut the nonsense,” Bai Qianqian snapped, interrupting her. “Can’t you see A-Xiu is sick? Let her in! And while we’re at it, you’re going to pay me back for the medicine!”
“Medicine? What medicine?” Madam Zhou sneered. “Everyone in this village suffers through a little fever and headache. A-Xiu was never this fragile. You’re just here to extort money!”
Madam Zhou had no intention of spending a single coin on her stepdaughter, the mute girl. If not for saving face, she would have cut ties with them long ago.
“How can you call yourselves parents?” Bai Qianqian retorted. “A-Xiu lay sick in her room for two days, and you didn’t even check on her! If I hadn’t taken her to Physician Gu, she would have been dead by now. And yet you’re blocking the door? Aren’t you afraid A-Xiu’s biological mother will return from the grave to haunt you?”
“Who would believe you’re telling the truth?” Madam Zhou scoffed, refusing to budge from the doorway.