Chapter 5: Could This Be Fate?

In their conversation, Shi Qingluo discovered that Mother Xiao was kind-hearted and not one to hold grudges, making her an easy person to get along with.

Younger Sister Xiao was shy by nature, gentle and hardworking.

Although Xiao Erlang was only eight years old, he was remarkably sensible—a complete opposite to the brats of the same age in modern times.

Shi Qingluo was born into a wealthy family. Her parents had a political marriage, each with their own careers. They gave her the best education and were generous with money, but they spent little time with her.

As a result, she had developed an independent and strong-willed personality from a young age.

If she had encountered an overbearing mother-in-law and sister-in-law, they probably wouldn't have gotten along.

The Xiao family was just right; she could protect them, and they would have someone to rely on.

She just didn't know what that unconscious Scholar Xiao was like.

Judging from the gossip and the words of Xiao Erlang and the others, he should be a protective and responsible man.

Otherwise, he would have followed his wealthy father to the capital instead of separating from the family to follow his impoverished mother, still having to care for his underage younger siblings.

She thought for a moment and said, "When I was at the Daoist temple, my master once refined a medicine specifically for reducing fever."

"If you trust me, I can take a look at Scholar Xiao and try giving him some."

After their conversation just now, Mother Xiao also knew that Shi Qingluo was from the neighboring village and had lived at the Daoist temple with that old immortal since childhood—the Shi family daughter who had nearly been married off as a burial companion.

Although she was soft-hearted and kind, her intuition was sharp; she could sense Shi Qingluo's good intentions.

Being able to make her family call off the engagement on their own initiative meant she surely had some ability.

Moreover, the doctor had come to see Dalang this morning and told her to prepare herself mentally. If the high fever couldn't be brought down, he likely wouldn't wake up and wouldn't live much longer.

Now that Shi Qingluo had medicine refined by that old immortal, she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope, like clutching at a final straw.

"I believe you, I believe you, Miss."

"Please, Miss, help take a look at Dalang. If he can break the fever and wake up, I'll work like an ox or a horse to repay you."

As Mother Xiao spoke, she moved to kneel before Shi Qingluo, showing that for her son, she was willing to do anything—a truly compassionate mother's heart.

Shi Qingluo hurriedly stopped her. "No need for that. Let me take a look first."

Although she had the idea of marrying into the family, if that Xiao Dalang wasn't to her liking or was too ugly, she still wouldn't consider it.

After all, although she was eager to marry out to escape the Shi family and facilitate her career, she still had standards—and she was a total sucker for good looks.

Following Mother Xiao into a room, she looked at the person on the bed, a flash of surprise in her eyes.

The person on the bed had his eyes tightly shut, a youth of about sixteen or seventeen.

Fair-skinned with regular, handsome features, he was very good-looking.

At this moment, his face was flushed from the fever, adding a touch of color.

His appearance completely hit Shi Qingluo's aesthetic sweet spot.

Visually, he wasn't short either; aside from being a bit thin, he was a beautiful young man.

Shi Qingluo hadn't expected Xiao Dalang to look this good.

She reached out to touch his forehead—burning hot, probably 39 degrees Celsius (102°F) or higher.

"His fever is very severe; he can't go on like this."

She withdrew her hand and continued to Mother Xiao, "My medicine should work on him. Do you want to try?"

Mother Xiao nodded without hesitation. "We'll try."

They had nothing to lose now. Their son was nearly being burned to death, they had no money for more medicine, so they might as well take a gamble.

Shi Qingluo nodded. "Alright, go pour half a bowl of warm water. I'll give him the medicine."

Mother Xiao immediately told her daughter to fetch water.

Shi Qingluo reached into her sleeve and took out a potent fever-reducing pill—actually retrieved from her space.

Earlier when she changed clothes, Mother Xiao had been outside, so she assumed the medicine had been taken out when Shi Qingluo changed.

Right now, Xiao Dalang was unconscious and couldn't swallow, so when the water arrived, Shi Qingluo crushed the pill into powder and dissolved it in the water.

Then she had Mother Xiao support Xiao Dalang and feed it to him. After all, this was ancient times; they still had to observe propriety between men and women.

After the medicine was fed, Mother Xiao and her two daughters waited with anticipation.

Shi Qingluo also left a few anti-inflammatory pills and another fever reducer, telling Mother Xiao to feed the anti-inflammatory pills after a while.

If the fever returned, give another fever reducer; if not, don't.

Mother Xiao thanked her profusely.

Shi Qingluo remembered she still needed to catch fish; otherwise, it would be too late when the sky darkened.

Her washed clothes were still drying in the courtyard, so she said goodbye and went to catch fish first.

Hearing she was going to catch fish, Xiao Erlang couldn't resist wanting to follow.

Just now, his sister Xiao Baili had massaged his legs, and they didn't hurt anymore.

Shi Qingluo quite liked this child, so she took him along.

With Shi Qingluo there, Mother Xiao agreed.

At the riverbank, Shi Qingluo picked up a sharp branch, rolled up her trouser legs, and waded into the water.

After a while, she had speared several fish.

Xiao Erlang's eyes shone brightly as he helped collect the fish, excitedly saying, "Sister, you're amazing!"

Shi Qingluo smiled confidently. "Of course!"

After catching five fish, they carried the wooden bucket back to the Xiao residence.

A horse carriage was parked at the Xiao family gate at this moment.

The two had just reached the courtyard gate when Mother Xiao's miserable crying rang out from inside.

"Don't! Please don't take Baili away! She's not marrying!"

This was Little Sister Xiao's pleading voice. "Aunt, I don't want to marry! Please let me go!"

A sharp, vicious voice: "Pah, ungrateful wretch. The Wu family in the county town is a wealthy household. Marrying into their family is that girl Baili's blessing."

"She belongs to the Xiao family. The Old Matriarch has decided she will marry, so she must marry. You, this cheap servant, blocking the way is useless."

Then came Mother Xiao's voice, desperate and angry. "Ah, I'll fight you to the death!"

The two of them pushed open the courtyard gate and saw Mother Xiao ramming headfirst into a sturdy woman.

The sturdy woman and another middle-aged woman were dragging Xiao Baili, one on each side.

There were also a few people standing in the courtyard. Coincidentally, Shi Qingluo recognized them—the old mama from the Wu family who had nearly taken her away last time.

At the same time, she felt speechless. Was this fate?

She had called off the engagement here and avoided being married off to the Wu family as a burial companion, only for the Xiao family's younger sister to be forcibly taken instead...

Mother Xiao knocked the sturdy woman down, but fell to the ground herself.

"You cheap slut, you've got some nerve. Let me teach you a lesson."

The sturdy woman's face darkened. She climbed up from the ground and lunged, mounting Mother Xiao to beat her.

Who knew her hand had just risen, not yet landing on Mother Xiao's face, when someone grabbed her arm from behind.

She turned to see a strange young girl, dressed like a villager.

She frowned and said fiercely, "Who are you? Mind your own business, or I'll beat you too."

Seeing Shi Qingluo appear and actually hold back her eldest aunt, Mother Xiao grew tense.

This sister-in-law of hers was a notorious shrew in the village, vicious in both cursing and hitting. She didn't want the young girl to get dragged into a beating.

So she hurriedly looked at her eldest aunt and said, "She's just a passerby. If you want to hit someone, hit me. It has nothing to do with her."

Today's update ends here. Thank you for the rewards and votes, dear readers~~ Tomorrow's update at 11:30 AM~

(End of Chapter)