Upon hearing this, Yu Wanzhu nodded. Since Song Yubai had told her to come find him, she might as well go ask what was going on.
After the meal, Song Xiaolan brought her the brewed medicine. It had a sedative effect, and after drinking it, she slept again, waking up in the mid-afternoon.
She dressed and went out to the courtyard. By now the sun had already set, and the chill in the air made her shiver involuntarily.
The chickens and ducks had also returned from the fields, and Song Xiaolan, along with her younger brother and sister, was herding them into their pens.
Yu Wanzhu paused to watch for a moment, a faint smile curling at the corners of her lips. A quiet sense of peace and stability welled up in her heart. She wrapped her clothes tighter around herself and walked toward Song Yubai's room.
—"You said borrow money?"
Yu Wanzhu deeply suspected that she must have missed something during the two days she had been unconscious.
Song Yubai asking her for money?
She stared at him suspiciously for a long while, but he remained perfectly composed, his expression utterly unperturbed, forcing her to believe that she hadn't been hearing things.
After a long moment, she finally said, "How did you know I'd have any?"
Song Yubai's gaze remained fixed on the book in his hands, not even lifting his head as he said flatly, "A guess."
Yu Wanzhu rolled her eyes. "And if you'd guessed wrong? Were you planning to pawn yourself off to the medical clinic?"
"Seven taels of silver is nothing. They're not worthy of that."
Yu Wanzhu: "…"
Fine then. Even owing on credit, he could be this self-righteous.
"Song Yubai, let me be straight with you. I still have ten taels of silver on hand. Tomorrow I'll have Xiaolan deliver the medicine fee to Dr. Zheng. That leaves three taels, and with the New Year approaching, we'll need to buy more rice and grain."
"But don't worry—if the silver runs out, I still have ways to earn more. You just focus on your studies for the imperial examination."
Yu Wanzhu sighed. The silver had suddenly shrunk by more than half, so she'd need to think of a way to make money.
Hearing her say this, Song Yubai set down his book and said with great solemnity, "I understand. This time, I owe you. In the future, I will repay this debt along with the favor of the examination spot."
Yu Wanzhu was stunned for a moment before saying, "You… you've come around?"
Song Yubai nodded. "What you said that day was right. I can't afford to wait, so I need to find ways to make myself stronger, so I can protect my family instead of letting others bully us."
He met Yu Wanzhu's gaze and said calmly, "So I'm very grateful that you're willing to help me."
Yu Wanzhu was propping her chin on her hand as she watched him. At his words, she burst out laughing, her eyes glinting with teasing. "Well, well—the sun really does rise from the west. Song Yubai, is this really you?"
Hearing her teasing remark, Song Yubai surprisingly showed no sign of irritation. He merely raised an eyebrow and said, "A wise man adapts to circumstances. What's wrong with that?"
Yu Wanzhu stopped smiling and said seriously, "The student is teachable!"
Her tone was filled with approval.
Song Yubai's brow furrowed. "Yu Wanzhu, don't you dare provoke me on purpose!"
And she had, indeed, been provoking him on purpose.
But she could see that while there was still displeasure in Song Yubai's eyes, the disgust he used to direct at her was gone. She knew then that he had truly come around and would no longer be at odds with her.
The sky was growing dark, and the room was dimming.
Yu Wanzhu rose to light the lamp, but as soon as she stood up, a wave of dizziness hit her. She swayed, and it took a long moment before she recovered enough to go light the oil lamp.
Song Yubai glanced at her head, wrapped up like a zongzi. "You injured your head—you can't be careless. Don't go up the mountain for the next couple of days. Rest and recover properly."
Yu Wanzhu nodded. "Mm, it's getting late. I'll head back to my room first."
With that, she turned and walked out.
During the two days she had been unconscious, Mrs. Xu had been the one taking care of Song Yubai. Since he had someone looking after him, she wouldn't go out of her way to fawn over him.
"Yu Wanzhu—"
Just as she reached the door, she heard Song Yubai call out to her again. She turned back and asked, "Is there something else?"
Beneath the dim oil lamp, Song Yubai's expression seemed somewhat unnatural. He looked at Yu Wanzhu, seeing that on her swollen face, her eyes were still clear and bright—but within them, he could discern nothing but confusion, nothing more.
A sudden restlessness stirred within him, and the words slipped out before he could stop them. "So you truly have no feelings for me anymore?"
Yu Wanzhu was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and replied, "That's right."
As if afraid he wouldn't believe her, she quickly added, "Don't worry. In the past, it was me being one-sided. Now I've come to my senses, and I certainly won't pester you any longer."
For some reason, those words grated on Song Yubai's ears.
He frowned and said in a low voice, "It's good that you've thought it through. Once my leg heals, we'll go through with the He-li. We'll go to the prefectural office together to sign the papers. After the He-li, you'll be free."
Yu Wanzhu smiled cheerfully. "That's perfect. Until the He-li, I'll take good care of the household. You focus on your studies—we all believe you'll pass the examination."
Looking at her open and honest smile, Song Yubai found himself at a loss to describe his feelings. He merely said flatly, "Mm. I won't let any of you down."
And with that, the two had reached an agreement, finally able to coexist peacefully.
Yu Wanzhu left, satisfied.
That evening, she thought to herself that having been unconscious for two days without any exercise, her weight shouldn't have decreased at all.
But when she stepped onto the scale, the number displayed was 87.5 kg.
She had lost a full three jin!
Just three more jin, and she would earn the Slimming Candy.
The System tasks were also getting increasingly difficult, starting from the initial one jin and gradually growing to the current six jin—only by losing six jin could she obtain the task reward.
Alas, the road ahead was long and arduous…
But Yu Wanzhu wasn't discouraged. Fat didn't accumulate in a single day, and losing it required a gradual approach. At her current rate of weight loss, it could already be considered remarkably fast.
……
The next day, after finishing breakfast, Yu Wanzhu took her medicine and slept again. When she woke up, Song Xiaolan had just returned from the prefectural city.
She had gone to the prefectural city that day for two reasons: first, to return the remaining seven taels of silver to Dr. Zheng, and second, because Yu Wanzhu had given her an extra tael of silver to buy more rice and grain supplies.
Yu Wanzhu had also specifically instructed her to take an oxcart on the way back, so the load wouldn't be too heavy.
Song Xiaolan had just set down her bamboo basket when she raised her voice to call out to Song Jun and Song Xiang, "Ajun, Axiang, come quickly! See what goodies Second Sister brought you?"
As she spoke, she pulled out two skewers of candied hawthorns wrapped in reed leaves from the basket, a smile spreading across her face as she waited for the two little ones to come over.
The two children rarely had snacks, and when they saw the bright red candied hawthorns, their eyes went wide with excitement.
Song Jun took the candied hawthorn but couldn't bear to eat it, turning it over and over in his hands to admire it.
Song Xiang's eyes and heart were completely fixed on the candied hawthorn. Once she had it in hand, she first gave it a cautious lick before breaking into a sweet smile and saying, "So sweet! Thank you, Second Sister!"
Mrs. Xu was delighted to see the children so happy, but she still couldn't help scolding, "Xiaolan, that was silver given by your eldest sister-in-law. How could you spend it carelessly?"
Hearing this, Song Xiaolan pouted in grievance, and the two little ones were so frightened they held up their candied hawthorns, not knowing what to do.
Yu Wanzhu's voice came from inside the room, "Mother, it's fine. Don't scold them. I already told Xiaolan she could buy whatever she wanted. Besides, how much could a few snacks for the children cost?"
As she spoke, she walked out.