Luo Qingqing tightened her cloak and picked up an oil lamp before stepping outside.
A faint sobbing sound came from the kitchen. Could a stray cat have gotten in?
Following the sound, Luo Qingqing walked over quietly, only to see Gu Jing’an sitting slumped against the stove. His face was deathly pale, and his forehead was covered in dense beads of sweat. He looked as if he was struggling to breathe.
Luo Qingqing had never seen him like this before. He looked so fragile it made her heart ache. She spoke carefully, afraid of startling him. “A’Jing?”
Her voice trembled.
Gu Jing’an jolted awake and turned his head away stiffly. “Qingqing, it’s cold outside. Go back inside.”
As soon as he finished speaking, another cough rose in his throat. But with Qingqing still there, he forced himself to bite down on his hand and suppress the sound.
The young woman moved closer and sat beside him, opening her cloak to wrap him inside. “A’Jing, what’s wrong? Tell me, alright? I’m really worried about you.”
That was the warmth he longed for. He could not bring himself to push her away. His little wife could always so easily break down all his defenses.
“Qingqing, I… cough cough cough.”
He still ended up coughing. She would be angry, wouldn’t she? Angry that he had hidden it from her.
“So your cough never healed, did it?”
“Yes.”
“So every night, you come out here to cough?”
“Yes! I only cough for a short while each time, it gets better quickly. Qingqing’s nourishment therapy is very effective.”
Gu Jing’an spoke urgently. He feared she would be angry, feared she would stop paying attention to him. If she ever truly ignored him, he felt he might lose control completely.
“You should have worn more clothes when you came out. Let’s go back to the room first.”
Luo Qingqing picked up the oil lamp and walked ahead. The warmth in his arms was gone, and Gu Jing’an quickly followed behind her.
“System, can I wish for Gu Jing’an’s cough to be cured?”
When she had caught a cold before, even three days of coughing had felt unbearable. His illness must have existed even before she married into the household.
System: “Wishes cannot be granted. This is tied to future plot development, and I cannot interfere.”
Luo Qingqing settled for a second option. “Then give me a medical book. One with video tutorials!”
She only recognized a few medicinal herbs, because an old physician at a herbal shop near her uncle’s home had once taught her. She did not know how to take pulses, but she was willing to learn.
“The medical book and medication to relieve the cough have been placed under your pillow. There are only three doses, one pill each time. After that, you will need to prepare the medicine yourself according to the prescription.”
“Thank you, thank you!”
Once they returned to the room, Gu Jing’an held her hand. “Qingqing, I can explain.”
“Sit on the bed first.” She needed to distract him so she could retrieve the medicine from under the pillow.
Luo Jingqing took out a small white pill and handed it to him. “Take this. It will help you feel better.”
Gu Jing’an took it without hesitation and swallowed it with tea.
“Aren’t you afraid I might poison you?” Luo Qingqing asked with a light laugh.
“You wouldn’t. Even if it were poison, I would still take it,” he said. Because it is you who gave it to me.
His gaze was filled with longing and endless tenderness. Luo Qingqing could not resist him like this. She used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead and asked, “Tell me. What exactly is this cough of yours?”
“I was poisoned with a cold toxin. The cough is caused by residual poison that has not been fully cleared.”
So the male protagonist in novels always had to be poisoned with some strange toxin to qualify as the male lead?
Luo Qingqing now deeply regretted skimming the original book when she read it, which had caused her to miss many important details.
“When was the cold toxin inflicted? What medicinal materials are needed to fully remove it?”
“It was given four years ago. My master used a method of using poison against poison to remove most of it, but the remaining toxin has taken root deep inside my body. It will likely be very difficult.”
Luo Qingqing thought for a moment. Now that she had successfully become the female lead, she should at least have some form of plot armor. Combined with the medical book from the system, it should be possible to resolve it.
“A’Jing, do you trust me? I will definitely cure you.”
“I trust you.”
Gu Jing’an lifted Luo Qingqing’s hand and pressed a reverent kiss to it. After taking the pill, the burning sensation in his lungs had clearly eased. His little wife truly had abilities.
“A’Jing, if you ever catch the person who poisoned you, you must hand them over to me.”
Gu Jing’an’s methods were ruthless. He would not spare anyone who harmed him.
“What would Qingqing do with them?”
Luo Qingqing smiled slyly. “You’ll find out later.”
She was not some saintly, naive heroine. Once those people were caught, she would make them taste poison themselves, making them wish for death yet unable to die. However, she had not yet begun researching poisons, so there was no need to tell A’Jing for now.