This long string of words made everyone completely believe that Tang Yunshu was truly better. Even Tang Dashan, a grown man, was so moved that tears rolled down his face.
Seeing this, Zhao Lanzhi teased him, “You said I was crying too hard—look at yourself, aren’t you crying too?”
Tang Dashan wiped his face and grinned happily. “These are tears of joy!”
After saying that, he looked at his sons. The boys also wiped their tears and said in unison, “We’re happy too.”
Seeing everyone so joyful, Tang Yunshu smiled along with them.
She had just tried to sit up when she felt this body was far too weak. A wave of dizziness hit her, and she lay back down again.
Zhao Lanzhi hurriedly supported her youngest daughter and said, “Tangtang’s body is weak—don’t get up yet.”
Not seeing her eldest brother, Tang Yunshu asked, “Mother, where’s Eldest Brother? Why haven’t I seen him?”
Zhao Lanzhi replied, “You probably don’t remember. Your eldest brother injured his leg while hunting in the mountains earlier. He’s lying in that room. He must be terribly worried right now.”
Then she turned to the fifth son. “Fifth, go tell your eldest brother that your little sister is fine now.”
“Yes, Mother. I’ll go right away,” the fifth brother answered, then hurried off to the other room.
On the way, he also told the people gathered in the courtyard, “Thank you all for your concern. My little sister is awake, and she’s not foolish anymore—she’s all better. Please go home now.”
The villagers didn’t quite believe him when they heard that the little fool was no longer foolish. They muttered among themselves as they headed back home.
Tang Yunshu then asked, “Mother, what happened to me? Why is my body so weak?”
The third brother quickly answered, “Little sister, today you took a stick to hit the ox. The ox got angry and chased you. You panicked and fell into the river. When I heard the news, I ran over, pulled you out, and carried you home. At the time, I really thought this time you would… you would… It scared me half to death.”
Tang Dashan quickly added, “Wife, do you remember what that Daoist said? He said our daughter would face a calamity at age thirteen, and that she had lost one soul and one spirit of her three souls and seven spirits. If she could survive this ordeal, her soul and spirit would return, and she would have a future of great wealth and fortune. That Daoist really was accurate—this year Tangtang just turned thirteen.”
Zhao Lanzhi also agreed, “That’s right. Her soul and spirit have returned, so our daughter isn’t foolish anymore. She’ll surely have a life of great wealth and fortune. This is wonderful.”
Only then did Tang Yunshu understand what had happened. She also became curious about who had given her such a nice name, since she felt that a poor farming family probably wouldn’t be able to come up with a name like this.
Zhao Lanzhi told her that the name Tang Yunshu had been given by the Daoist.
Seeing that her youngest daughter looked a little tired, Zhao Lanzhi said, “Tangtang, rest for a while. Mother will go make some food and steam an egg custard for you.”
At dinner time, Zhao Lanzhi brought over a bowl of white rice porridge and a bowl of egg custard.
Tang Yunshu said, “Mother, I want to get up and eat with everyone.”
After calling out “Father” and “Mother” the first time, the words now came more and more naturally to her.
“Alright. Come—Mother will help you up. Slowly now.”
Tang Yunshu had never been this physically weak in her previous life, and she truly found it hard to adapt to this body.
After falling into the water, she had caught a chill. She felt dizzy and had a low fever.
When she reached the dining table, she saw that everyone else was eating coarse-grain wild vegetable porridge. There was hardly any grain in it—almost all wild vegetables. Only she had white rice porridge and egg custard. She was deeply moved.
In her previous life, Ling Xiao had never experienced family affection since she could remember. Her adoptive father said she had been picked up from a hospital trash bin. Along with her, there was also a boy who had been taken in and raised.
Their adoptive father took them abroad, where they trained in various skills every day.
From a young age, they studied academic subjects—both Chinese and English—as well as martial arts, sanda, combat fighting, shooting, and throwing darts.
When the adoptive father discovered her extraordinary photographic memory, his demands on her became even harsher. He even made her learn medicine—both traditional Chinese medicine and Western medicine.
Once a month, he arranged sparring matches between them. The one who lost wouldn’t get any food that day.
There was no familial affection between her and her “brother.” They treated each other as rivals—only the winner got to eat meat and fine dishes.
After turning sixteen, they began carrying out missions. When she was twenty-eight, she was ambushed during a mission and blown to death by a bomb, which led to her transmigrating into Tang Yunshu’s body.
Now, feeling a kind of family affection she had never experienced before, her heart softened. She yearned for this warmth far too much.
Looking at the porridge and egg custard in front of her, her throat tightened, and she found it hard to swallow.
Tang Dashan looked at his youngest daughter with smiling eyes and said, “Tangtang, eat up. Your body is weak—you need to eat more good food. I should’ve given you meat, but it’s all Father’s fault for being useless and unable to give you a better life, making you suffer along with us.”
Tang Yunshu smiled and said, “Father, it’s not your fault. It’s because my body wasn’t strong and dragged the family down. Once I recover, I’ll definitely make our family live a good life.”
That night, Tang Yunshu felt her whole body burning hot. Her head was spinning, and she didn’t even have the strength to open her eyes. She knew she had a fever.
She couldn’t help thinking, There aren’t any fast-acting fever medicines in ancient times. If only I could go back to my villa.
But to her surprise, she actually returned to her villa.
She had no energy to think further. Dazed, she supported herself against the wall, walked to the medicine kit, opened it, took fever and cold medicine, poured herself a glass of water, and swallowed the pills.
She thought to herself, I need to hurry back to the Tang household. If someone notices I’m gone, that’ll be trouble.
In the next instant, she returned to the Tang family’s kang bed. Not long after, she fell into a deep sleep.
Sleep truly was the best medicine.
In the middle of the night, she vaguely felt a hand gently touching her forehead. She knew it must be her mother, so she continued sleeping peacefully.
Zhao Lanzhi gently touched her youngest daughter’s forehead. Feeling that it wasn’t as hot anymore, she finally felt at ease and went back to her room to sleep.
The next morning, everyone else in the Tang household got up early. Only Tang Yunshu was still sleeping.
Afraid of waking her, no one dared make a sound. They all tiptoed out to work.
Zhao Lanzhi went to the river to wash clothes and happened to run into some women from the village.
One woman asked, “Dazhuang’s mother, is your youngest daughter really better? She’s not foolish anymore?”
Another followed up, “Yes, is your Tangtang really cured? How could falling into the water once cure her foolishness?”
Everyone asked questions one after another. Zhao Lanzhi wasn’t annoyed at all. Her daughter was no longer foolish—she was happy beyond words—and this was the perfect chance to clear her daughter’s name in front of everyone.
“My daughter really is better—not foolish anymore. She just caught a chill after falling into the water yesterday, so her body is still a bit weak. Once she recovers from the cold, I’ll bring Tangtang out for you all to see. You’ll know then. My daughter even said that once she’s well, she’ll be a good daughter to her father and me.”