Font Size:
As Shen Zhu ran away crying, those who already felt that the Shen family had suffered a great loss were even more sympathetic towards them. They thought to themselves how unfortunate the Shen family was—both of their best children encountered setbacks in their marriages. It was simply too embarrassing. Simultaneously, they started to look down on Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er.
The Shen family felt very embarrassed hearing others’ discussions. This time, they had truly lost face.
However, Shen Youfu and the few others who knew the inside story were secretly delighted. They thought that this time, they had succeeded halfway. The villagers’ opinions were all in favor of the Shen family. If the engagement was broken off, it would be a sure thing, and no one would say the Shen family was unkind.
On the other hand, the Xiao family was both angry and worried, not understanding how things had escalated to this point. They only hoped that their daughter or Song Dashan would wake up soon to clarify what exactly had happened.
However, Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er remained unconscious. Song Dashan’s face was still pale, while Xiao Ping’er’s injury, though no longer as dark, had not improved much. Both had a slight fever and were given large bowls of medicine.
As night fell, the crowd of onlookers had long dispersed, yet the two still had not woken up.
Physician Huang stayed behind to observe the pair. He noticed that their fevers had subsided, but there was still no sign of awakening. He was puzzled. Although the snake was venomous, it shouldn’t have been fatal. The poison should have been neutralized by now, and they should have at least shown signs of waking up. But there were none. Could it be that there was still some poison in their bodies? Physician Huang thought to himself that he couldn’t detect it if there was.
Su Zhi and her family had gone home once but then returned. Given the circumstances, even though they had split from the main family, they still needed to support them.
Su Zhi looked at Xiao Ping’er’s parents and thought they were truly unfortunate. They had been very pleased with the marriage arrangement to Shen Ziju, but now this incident had happened. It seemed their daughter would not be able to keep this husband. Not only would she lose her husband, but her reputation might also be ruined. Finding another good family would be extremely difficult. The most uncontrollable thing in this world is gossip. So many people knew about this incident, and Baihua Village wasn’t far from Riverside Village. There were many relatives between the two villages, and it wouldn’t be long before everyone knew about this.
Su Zhi had a hunch that this incident was related to the Shen family. Although it’s hard to truly know someone’s character, she couldn’t believe that Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er would meet secretly in the woods. Both were honest people. Song Dashan had a beautiful and talented fiancée, and Xiao Ping’er had a similarly accomplished fiancé. Why would they abandon good matches for something questionable?
However, no one knew what really happened. Su Zhi only had a feeling, and she wasn’t about to act on it without proof. It was better to wait for Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er to explain things themselves.
“Zi’an’s wife, they still haven’t woken up. Do you have any remedies that could wake them up? If you do, please bring them out.”
Physician Huang, although puzzled by the depth of Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er’s unconsciousness, thought they might wake up after a while and wasn’t too anxious. He asked Su Zhi this to see if she had any other remedies. Su Zhi always claimed she couldn’t treat illnesses but had a few medicinal recipes. He already knew about the ones that could cure rashes and scars, and another that could relieve pain quickly. He was curious if Su Zhi had any other medicines. If there was one that could wake people from unconsciousness, that would be ideal.
To put it bluntly, Physician Huang was also a bit worried that Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er still had residual poison in their bodies.
Su Zhi noticed everyone looking at her. She raised an eyebrow and thought to herself that they truly regarded her as a miracle doctor, constantly asking for prescriptions one after another. She had already seen that these two were fine, and waking up was just a matter of time. Naturally, she wouldn’t take out the spiritual spring water to show off at this moment.
Aunt Xiao stood up from beside Xiao Ping’er’s bed, came over, and held Su Zhi’s hand, saying, “Zi’an’s wife, if you have any way to help, please save your sister Ping’er. Aunt thanks you here!”
Xiao Dalu also said, “Sister-in-law, do you have a way to save my sister? Please save her!”
Su Zhi thought that Xiao Ping’er was really fortunate. Although she was just a daughter, her parents and brothers truly loved her. Such honest people, in order to secure a good marriage for their daughter’s future, even when she had done something despised by others, her family still believed in her and worried about her. That was truly happiness. Su Zhi thought this was much better than her own family’s support.
“Zi’an’s wife, if you have a way, please save them,” Shen Youfu said. He also felt uneasy about the situation. He had agreed to the idea this time, but he was a person who remembered kindness. For the sake of his son’s future, he had broken off the engagement, but he didn’t want anything bad to happen to Xiao Ping’er. He feared that if something happened to Xiao Ping’er and Song Dashan, he could deal with the Xiao and Song families, but Heaven would not forgive him.
Shen Zhang shi stood beside him, wanting to say something, but in the end, she said nothing. She just glanced at Xiao Ping’er and frowned slightly.
Su Zhi looked at Xiao Ping’er and Song Dashan. For convenience in taking care of them, the two were now placed on the same kang bed, separated by a screen. She saw that both their faces were as pale as snow, and their lips were blue and white. She thought that since Physician Huang had already detoxified them, they should be fine. She didn’t need to use the spiritual spring’s immortal lotus. But then she reconsidered. If something unexpected happened and they had an accident in front of her, she wouldn’t feel good about it.
Su Zhi was still hesitating when the sound of crying came from outside. It turned out to be Song Dashan’s mother. Someone had sent her a message, and she had just learned that her son was in trouble here. He was her only son now, and she couldn’t bear to lose him, so she cried as if the sky was falling.
“Zi’an’s wife, do you have any way to save him? If you do, please save him,” she pleaded.
Physician Huang, standing nearby, spoke up. He wasn’t a bad-hearted person; although he was just a rural doctor and not particularly skilled, he loved practicing medicine. He was especially interested in Su Zhi’s prescriptions, so he persistently hoped Su Zhi would show her skills again.
Upon hearing Physician Huang’s words, Aunt Song turned away from her son and approached Su Zhi, attempting to kneel before her to beg for her son’s life.
Su Zhi was startled and quickly stepped aside, trying to pull her up.
“Alright, I’ll give it a try.”
Su Zhi thought to herself that Song Dashan was a good young man. He had often come to help with tasks at her home, and this time he seemed to be genuinely wronged. If something were to happen to him, she would indeed feel guilty. Everyone in the village knew she had medicinal prescriptions, and she had considered using these so-called medicines to win people over and enhance her family’s reputation. Saving Song Dashan wouldn’t be a big deal.
As soon as Su Zhi spoke, Aunt Song and the Xiao family started expressing their gratitude, almost treating Su Zhi as a deity who had descended to earth, just short of kneeling before her.
Su Zhi asked Physician Huang for a few medicinal herbs, then asked Shen Zi’an to accompany her back home, saying she needed to gather some additional herbs to prepare the medicine.
Shen Zi’an went home with Su Zhi without questioning her. He trusted his wife very much now; if she said she could treat the illness, then she definitely could.
Su Zhi returned home and because Shen Zi’an had gone to the mountains to gather some herbs, she found several types that were harmless even if consumed by healthy individuals. Using the spiritual spring water, she added some lotus flower pollen and didn’t need to cook them for long. Once she deemed the herbs ready, she poured the medicine into an earthenware pot and brought it back with Shen Zi’an to the old Shen family residence.
Su Zhi divided the medicine into two bowls and had someone feed them to Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er.
“Alright, whether it works or not, we’ll know soon,” she said, not elaborating further. She and Shen Zi’an stood by, watching, expecting them to wake up shortly.
Aunt Song and the Xiao family once again showered Su Zhi with profuse thanks. They each took their places beside their respective children, eyes fixed on them without blinking, eagerly awaiting their awakening.
The Shen family members also watched silently. As the “victims” in this situation, they didn’t know how to face Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er lying on the kang. Regardless of how these two ended up in the woods or fell onto the kang, whether they met in secret or by chance, in their hearts, it was clear that Xiao Ping’er’s hopes of becoming Shen Ziju’s wife were now slim. Moreover, with the current situation between Xiao Ping’er and Song Dashan, Song Dashan’s marriage with Shen Zhu was also affected. Whether Xiao Ping’er would marry into the Shen family or not, it would be awkward for Song Dashan to face Shen Ziju in the future, thus complicating his marriage with Shen Zhu as well.
In the minds of the Shen family now, these two individuals would no longer have any relationship with them in the future.
The spiritual spring’s immortal lotus was indeed a miraculous elixir. In just a short while after taking it, Song Dashan and Xiao Ping’er began to stir. Almost simultaneously, they opened their eyes.
Everyone in the room watched as Song Dashan’s mother, overcome with emotion, hugged her son and started crying. Aunt Xiao did the same. Xiao Da Lu and uncle Xiao stood by, their eyes reddening with tears as they watched.
Su Zhi glanced at the Shen family members and noticed they seemed tense. She wondered why they were nervous; it seemed there was more to this situation than met the eye.
Song Dashan looked at his mother and asked, “Mom, why are you here? What’s happened to me?”
Feeling weak all over, and noticing the room was lit with lamps indicating it was evening, he realized he wasn’t at home. Turning his head, he saw several people in the room—it wasn’t his family’s place, but rather the Shen family’s. He quickly tried to sit up, feeling a bit shaky all over.