Doctor Li had been quite troubled lately, all because his sensible and motivated little apprentice—the future daughter-in-law he found increasingly satisfactory—had somehow attracted a menacing star from who knows where.
At first, he thought this type of young master was merely acting on a whim and would grow tired after a few days of not getting what he wanted. Who knew that person would prove so persistent, finding various ailments to linger here every day? These past few days, he had suffered from practically every possible condition from head to toe, constantly exchanging meaningful glances with Little Xi right in front of him. The only consolation was that the medical hall’s income had multiplied several times as a result. But every time he left, Little Xi would sit in a daze for a long while, then lock herself in the inner room doing who knows what. One day, his curiosity got the better of him, so he pressed his ear against the door to listen for a while and seemed to hear very faint sobbing from inside.
This abnormal behavior greatly raised Doctor Li’s alarm. He felt that if he continued to sit by and do nothing, this future daughter-in-law might be deceived away by someone else. So he made a decisive decision, hastily telling his youngest son Li Yue to put down all his official duties and quickly come to the medical hall to have a look. If they took a liking to each other, they could settle the matter early and prevent that unscrupulous young master from gaining the advantage.
Doctor Li’s youngest son Li Yue had never liked medicine since childhood, being devoted only to books. He had just passed the provincial examination two years ago and now worked as a clerk in the prefecture office, preparing to take the metropolitan examination next year. Doctor Li had always been very proud of this son, but unfortunately, after reading so many books, he had become somewhat bookish. He insisted that his future wife must be able to read and write, preferably someone who could chat with him about ancient and modern affairs. But coming from a merchant family at best, where could he find such a young lady? Thus he had been delayed until age twenty without marrying. So when Doctor Li accidentally discovered Yuanxi’s learning and insight, he felt this was a heaven-sent match and wholeheartedly wanted to arrange it for his son.
On this day, Yuanxi had just finished washing and came out of her room, preparing to enter the outer hall for consultations, when she saw a young man in a long robe with a scholar’s cap standing hesitantly in the courtyard. Upon seeing her appear, his face immediately reddened somewhat, then he bowed to her very formally saying, “Miss, might you be surnamed Xia and named Xi? This humble one is Li Yue. My father summoned me to come. I wonder if you would honor me with a conversation.”
Though not very old, he spoke in a measured manner with somewhat pedantic airs. Yuanxi found this rather amusing, so she returned his bow and said, “So you’re the young master. What instruction do you have for me?”
Li Yue rarely spoke alone with women, so his heart was currently quite anxious. He hid his head in his wide sleeves, then tucked his sleeves and secretly raised his eyes to peek. Seeing the woman before him had an elegant countenance and graceful bearing, his heart beat even faster. He quickly cleared his throat, though his face grew even redder as he said, “My father has mentioned many times that Miss is virtuous and dignified, with learning beyond that of ordinary women. This humble one comes from a respectable family, passed the provincial examination in the xinwei year, currently serves in the prefecture office with adequate income. I wonder if I might have the honor of forming a connection with Miss.”
Yuanxi stared wide-eyed, taking a long time to understand the meaning of his words. She was immediately shocked and dismayed, never having imagined that Doctor Li harbored such thoughts, while she was already a married woman. Thinking this, she suddenly felt very ashamed toward this benefactor who had sheltered her and taught her medicine, and hastily wanted to explain this misunderstanding.
But Li Yue, not knowing her thoughts, didn’t wait for her to speak before urgently asking again, “Li Yue’s feelings are truly sincere. I wonder if Miss could agree.”
“She does not agree!” A sharp voice pierced the air, startling Li Yue into quickly turning around. He saw an extraordinarily dignified young master walking over with heavy murderous intent on his face, followed by an anxiously tugging Doctor Li muttering, “You, you, you—I told you Little Xi isn’t here. If you force your way into the inner courtyard again, I’ll report to the authorities.”
Yuanxi had just opened her mouth to say “I” when that sudden loud shout left her frozen in place. By then, Xiao Du had already stridden over to pull her behind him protectively, glaring fiercely at Li Yue like a hen protecting her chicks.
Li Yue was somewhat bewildered by the sudden turn of events and only now finally recovered his senses. He had heard from his father about some young master pestering Yuanxi—this must be the one before him. So he immediately felt some heroic sentiment to protect the flower, hastily straightening his spine and stiffening his neck: “Who are you? How can you disregard this lady’s wishes and make decisions for her?”
Xiao Du’s lips curved in a cold smile as he pulled the already dizzy and disoriented Yuanxi from behind him to his chest and embraced her: “Because I am her husband!”
At these words, both Li Yue and Doctor Li were simultaneously stunned, then cast doubtful and questioning looks at Yuanxi. Yuanxi suppressed the urge to cover her face and guiltily nodded.
When the several people sat around the table in the courtyard, the scene became quite awkward. The other three each harbored their own thoughts, with only Li Yue—whose first attempt at seeking marriage had ended before it began—sitting to one side in a daze, his face full of disappointment.
Yuanxi poured a cup of tea and handed it to Doctor Li with a guilty expression: “I’m sorry, I should have told you earlier…” But Doctor Li’s anger hadn’t subsided, and he only glanced at her sideways: “If you want to play tricks, close the door and play—why drag others along as company? Forget it, this small temple of mine cannot serve such a great deity as you.”
Hearing Doctor Li’s words implied he wanted to drive her away, Yuanxi became so anxious that tears nearly fell. She hastily pleaded, “I’m sorry, Doctor Li, but I truly had nowhere else to go when I came to this medical hall, and I truly wanted to learn something to support myself. I absolutely didn’t mean to deceive you intentionally.”
Seeing this, Xiao Du became displeased. Why should his own wife humble herself and apologize to this old man? Moreover, this old man had been harboring bad intentions behind the scenes—if he had arrived later today, this wife might have become someone else’s. So he frowned angrily and grabbed Yuanxi’s hand: “Stop wasting words with him. If you want to practice medicine, I’ll help you open several clinics. What’s worth treasuring about this kind of small medical hall that can’t make it to the main stage?”
Doctor Li became so angry his beard nearly stood on end. No wonder Little Xi refused to go back no matter what—this person was so unreasonably brutal, he must usually beat and scold her frequently, driving her away before being forced to come and sweet-talk her. Thinking this, he couldn’t help but side with Yuanxi again, feeling sorry for her and crying injustice: How could such a good woman be ruined by this wastrel?
So he shouted at Xiao Du: “Young master, this old man can see quite clearly that Little Xi simply doesn’t want to go back with you. Forced melons aren’t sweet, and you needn’t bother coming to run to this small medical hall that can’t make it to the main stage every day.”
Xiao Du glared with both eyes and slammed the table hard, making Doctor Li shudder with fright. Yuanxi, afraid he might really smash up the medical hall if provoked, quickly said to Xiao Du: “You go back first. I’ll explain everything clearly to them here. Also, you’re not allowed to pursue today’s matter with them, or I’ll never forgive you.”
Xiao Du immediately felt very wronged—clearly they had coveted his wife first, but now it seemed like he was the one bullying others with his power. But since Yuanxi had spoken, he had to comply, so he very reluctantly shuffled out the door.
But thinking that his wife had actually been targeted by someone made him feel uncomfortable all over. If he hadn’t promised Yuanxi not to pursue the matter, he would really want to flay that boy alive. That night he couldn’t sleep no matter what, and finally made a decision: you can’t catch wolves without giving up children—to coax his wife back, he had to be ruthless.
The next day, when Xiao Du appeared again at the medical hall entrance, almost everyone had grown accustomed to it. Doctor Li was packing his medicine box preparing to go out, too lazy even to lift his eyelids toward Xiao Du, only calculating in his mind: Today a wealthy merchant in the city was paying a high price for him to make a house call. If he could establish this connection, the medical hall’s future would be bright, so he had no mind today to watch this young couple’s antics.
Xiao Du’s tall figure blocked the desk. Yuanxi rubbed her forehead and sighed softly. Before she could speak, Xiao Du had already rolled up his sleeves with a smug expression: “My arm is injured!”
Yuanxi hadn’t expected that today he was actually truly injured. She quickly approached to look and indeed saw his arm loosely wrapped with gauze, his inner garment already soaked with blood. When she reached out to touch it, he immediately winced and frowned as if in great pain.
Seeing this made Yuanxi’s heart ache, and she couldn’t help but shed tears. Xiao Du used his other hand to gently wipe away her continuously falling teardrops, leaning close to her ear: “If I had known this would make you feel sorry for me, I should have injured myself earlier.”
Only then did Yuanxi understand, angrily raising her head: “Are you crazy? Why would you hurt yourself!”
But Xiao Du sighed: “No matter how severe the wound, it can’t compare to the pain of the knife you carved in my heart.”
Yuanxi’s heart jumped violently, but she only worried about his injury, fearing the wound might worsen. She quickly dragged him to the inner hall to apply medicine. Fortunately, no patients had come to the medical hall yet, so Doctor Li let them close the door and handle it themselves, saving outsiders from seeing anything strange.
Entering the inner hall, Yuanxi helped him remove his upper garment, then took wound medicine to carefully apply it for him, wrapping it round and round with gauze. She was afraid of hurting him, so she didn’t dare use force. By the time she finished bandaging, she was already covered in sweat.
But Xiao Du had been smiling the whole time, watching her concentrate on bandaging for him, feeling those warm fingertips gently sliding across his skin, his heart itching unbearably. He grasped her hand: “Xi’er, come home with me. I know you still care about me.”
But Yuanxi only lowered her head: “We agreed not to mention this again.”
Xiao Du refused to let her off easily, pressing her hand tightly against his bare chest: “Xi’er, can you listen to a few words from my heart?”
Yuanxi felt his burning skin pulsing under her palm, making her body somewhat weak. Then she heard Xiao Du say softly: “Actually, ever since that day I learned about my origins, I still haven’t figured out whether I should be surnamed Xiao or Zhao.”
Yuanxi hadn’t expected him to bring this up, so she raised her head and stared at him blankly. Xiao Du’s expression became somewhat desolate as he slowly continued: “Don’t you think it’s ridiculous? I’ve lived all these years not even knowing what my surname should be. Even if I had children, I wouldn’t know what surname my children should have. The woman I thought was my mother views me as an enemy. The man I thought was my father lost his real child because of me. The brother I thought I had has been secretly trying to kill me…” He laughed self-mockingly, then his eyes suddenly became gentle again as he looked at Yuanxi: “So, Xi’er, do you understand? In my life, only you are real. You are my wife. You said you would stay with me and give me a home. If I lose even you, what meaning would there be even if I gained all the rivers and mountains under heaven?”
Yuanxi’s hand pressed against his chest trembled continuously. All the mental defenses she had forcibly built up had already collapsed thunderously. She was already in tears but still struggled: “But… but…” Xiao Du pulled her into his embrace and gently kissed her lips, her eyes… continuously giving her stabilizing strength. She heard him use a voice so tender it could drip water whisper in her ear: “I told you, I don’t care about anything else. I only care about you. Where you are is my home.”