The man dragged Dr. Lin back in a hurry. As soon as they reached the door, he saw his mother lying unconscious on the ground. There was also a terrifying - looking man standing beside her. Immediately, he rushed forward.
"What did you do to my mother?" The man reached out his hand towards Zhao Zongying, trying to push him.
"Wait..." Before Zhen Xiaoyu could finish her words, the rest were swallowed back into her throat by the unexpected turn of events in front of her.
The man had already been subdued by Zhao Zongying. With his hands locked behind his back, he was forced to kneel on the ground, completely unable to move.
Dr. Lin, who had been out of breath just now, was so shocked by this scene that he even forgot to breathe. He gasped inwardly. He was sure he had added tendon - weakening powder to this guy's medicine. How could he still be so strong?
"Let me go! If anything happens to my mother, I won't let you go even if I become a ghost!" The man struggled desperately.
Dr. Lin came to his senses and quickly stepped forward to check on the man's mother.
"A Man, let him go first." Zhen Xiaoyu quickly said to Zhao Zongying.
Zhao Zongying glanced at her and then let go.
Zhen Xiaoyu then explained to the man, "Don't misunderstand. My A Man just saved your mother. She had even stopped breathing before. It was he who noticed that your mother still had a faint pulse. If we hadn't given her first - aid in time, even if Dr. Lin had come back, it might have been too late."
The man still had a skeptical look on his face. He looked at Dr. Lin, believing only in the doctor's diagnosis.
Dr. Lin had finished feeling the pulse. He let out a breath and said, "The pulse is relatively stable, but the qi and blood are a bit blocked. Li Wei, carry your mother to the wooden couch. I'll give her acupuncture now."
The man named Li Wei's expression relaxed. He stepped forward, picked up his mother, and carried her to the wooden couch.
Dr. Lin took out a set of silver needles from a cabinet against the wall. He lit a candle, roasted the needles over the flame, and then inserted one into the old woman's finger.
Zhen Xiaoyu stood beside, watching with curiosity written all over her face.
While she was watching Dr. Lin giving acupuncture, Zhao Zongying on the side was watching her.
Seeing her round, clear eyes, as if washed by water, staring at Dr. Lin's hands like a curious child, the look in his eyes softened involuntarily.
After Dr. Lin finished the acupuncture, he went to prepare the medicine. He wrapped up several packages of herbs and instructed Li Wei, "Decoct one package of herbs twice a day. Finish all three packages and then bring your mother here for a follow - up consultation."
"Dr. Lin, the consultation fee..." Li Wei looked embarrassed.
"Same old rule. Just keep it on the account. Pay it off when you have the money." Dr. Lin said without looking up.
Li Wei bowed gratefully to Dr. Lin. "Thank you, Dr. Lin. Thank you, Dr. Lin."
"Go. Take good care of your mother. Don't let her get too tired."
Li Wei carried his mother on his back and left.
"Dr. Lin, do you always keep accounts like this?" Zhen Xiaoyu looked at the thick account book beside Dr. Lin.
"They are all poor people in the neighborhood. They can't afford medical treatment."
"Them? So there's more than one person. Dr. Lin, won't you starve to death doing this?"
Dr. Lin looked at Zhen Xiaoyu impatiently. "Since you know the situation here, Second Miss, could you advance some food expenses for me?"
"You should have said so earlier. I'll go in and get it for you." Just as Zhen Xiaoyu was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something. She turned around and scanned half a circle, then her gaze fell on Zhao Zongying.
Zhao Zongying casually glanced out of the door. He lowered his eyes and walked back slowly.
Zhen Xiaoyu walked behind him. Looking at his feet, she noticed that he walked with one foot lighter and the other heavier. The center of his body's weight was on his uninjured right foot.
When they walked into the thatched cottage, Zhao Zongying suddenly stopped.
"Two months." He suddenly spoke.
"What two months?" Zhen Xiaoyu didn't react.
Zhao Zongying glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "I'll act as your husband well for these two months. I always keep my promises, so you don't have to keep an eye on me all day long."
Zhen Xiaoyu's eyes lit up. She asked in surprise, "You really agreed?"
"I have a condition."
"What condition?"
A dark light flashed in Zhao Zongying's eyes. "Take me to Zou City."
Zhen Xiaoyu was stunned for a moment. "Now?"
"As soon as possible." Zhao Zongying walked to the bed and sat down to meditate.
Why did he have to go to Zou City? Zhen Xiaoyu was completely confused. She had no impression of Zou City, and no one had mentioned this place name when the readers in the comment section were discussing the plot.
She could only guess from Zhao Zongying's reaction that there should be someone he knew there.
But that didn't matter. Now she had a better way to brush off the killing intent. Even if the big villain wanted to leave now, she would let him go. Since he had voluntarily proposed to be a fake couple for two months, of course she would take advantage of this opportunity.
It was just right for her to improve the relationship with the big villain during these two months. Next time when she burned down another bandit's den, she could go to the big villain and ask for shelter.
She rummaged through her bag and took out two one - hundred - tael silver notes. She took them to Dr. Lin.
When Dr. Lin saw the amount on the silver notes, his hands trembled. He managed to maintain his calm on the surface and said, "Just ordinary food. There's no need for this much. Don't you have any small change on you?"
"I said it's an advance for you. Take it. All the expenses will be deducted from it. Tell me when the money runs out."
At this point, Zhen Xiaoyu deliberately paused and lowered her voice. "The prices in the town must be high. Dr. Lin, don't be stingy and buy cheap things. If my grandfather sees only cheap things on the bill, he'll think you've treated me badly."
Dr. Lin was stunned. Did she mean what he thought she meant? This Second Miss was actually teaching him to cook the books...
"The money is already in your hands. Go buy some vegetables quickly. I'll watch over here for you." Zhen Xiaoyu urged.
Dr. Lin was reminded by her. He asked curiously, "Did you really save Li Wei's mother? What kind of first - aid method did you use?"
"I'll teach you this first - aid method later. It's something ordinary people can do. Now go buy vegetables quickly."
Under Zhen Xiaoyu's repeated urging, Dr. Lin finally went out again.
In an old house, after Li Wei put his mother on the bed, he quickly started a fire to decoct the medicine.
After taking a dose of the medicine, Aunt Li regained some energy. She even got up to cook lunch.
When Li Wei came back from chopping firewood and saw that his mother had prepared the meal, he was a bit anxious. "Mother, why did you get out of bed? Dr. Lin told you to rest well!"
"I feel better, son." Aunt Li forced a smile.
Li Wei sighed helplessly. After lunch, he told Aunt Li that he was going to the street to sell firewood. He picked up a load of firewood in front of the house and was about to leave.
Aunt Li chased after him for a few steps and shouted, "Son—"
Li Wei turned around and saw that his mother was in tears. He quickly put down the load and walked up to support his mother. "Mother, are you feeling unwell?"
Aunt Li shook her head but couldn't stop crying.
"I'm not feeling unwell. Mother, why are you crying? I'm just going to the street to sell firewood. I'll be back as soon as I'm done." Li Wei said helplessly.
"I saw a ghost today. He's coming to take my life. I won't have the chance to see you get married and have children in the future." Aunt Li looked at Li Wei with a lingering look in her eyes.
Li Wei was stunned for a moment. As if thinking of something, he quickly asked, "Is the ghost mother mentioned the one you saw at Dr. Lin's place?"
Aunt Li nodded with a sob.
"Mother, he's a living person. He just has a lot of scars on his face, so he looks scary." Li Wei explained with a mixture of laughter and tears.
"A living person?" Aunt Li was shocked.
"Sir, where is the person with a lot of scars on his face you mentioned?" A voice came from the side.
Li Wei turned his head and saw a handsome man in a cyan long robe walking towards him.
"What do you want with him?" He looked at the man warily.