Chapter 4: Making a Proposal
The room was eerily silent, and although it was only for a short time, the silence made it feel much longer.
The male protagonist still showed no reaction.
After a moment, Yu Ying made a move.
She slowly stepped forward, stopping beside the bamboo bed.
Knowing that the male protagonist wouldn’t respond, she still asked, "I’m going to examine your leg injury now. If you disagree, please say so. If you don't speak, I'll take it as your consent."
'If you don't speak, I'll take it as consent' - a phrase applicable in both ancient and modern times. Though somewhat unreasonable, it proved to be effective.
It wasn’t until Yu Ying lifted the thin quilt that Fu Wei, who had kept his eyes closed, opened them and looked at her. His gaze was still cold and indifferent, with a hint of disgust.
As long as he didn't speak, Yu Ying chose to ignore that look of disgust, taking it as no refusal.
As she reached to lift the quilt, her wrist was suddenly grasped.
Yu Ying was startled and looked at the hand gripping her wrist, a slender and pale hand with distinct bones.
After a brief hesitation, she looked up, meeting the male protagonist's emotionless and indifferent black eyes.
After pondering for a moment, she shared her current situation with him: "The situation now is that I know a bit of medicine. You can either let me try to heal your newly broken leg, which might still be salvageable, or you can live with it for the rest of your life."
Fu Wei's expression remained unchanged, his lips slightly parting, his voice cold: "Get out."
Yu Ying's brow furrowed slightly, aware of the original host's notorious past, making it difficult for him to believe she genuinely wanted to help.
She couldn't force the male lead; for now, she needed to return and rethink her strategy.
With this in mind, Yu Ying didn’t persist in persuading him, only requesting, “Fine, release me now, and I will leave.”
The male lead was once proficient in both letters and martial arts. Now, although he appeared frail, his grip still contained considerable hidden strength.
A few moments later, Fu Wei released her hand and then closed his eyes, feigning sleep.
Yu Ying glanced at her reddened wrist, then at the strikingly handsome male lead, and with a slight twist of her mouth, turned and left the room.
Outside, the grandparents and their grandchildren, carrying baskets, returned home to find the yard surprisingly tidy.
Noticing her grandsons’ pause, Luo Shi asked, “What’s the matter?”
Fu An exclaimed in amazement, “Someone cleaned our yard, pulled out the weeds, and swept the leaves.”
Hearing this, Luo Shi's brow furrowed slightly.
Someone had cleaned their yard?
In Ling Shui Village, there weren’t many kind-hearted people.
If someone really cleaned the yard, it could only be Yu Shi.
But recalling that Yu Shi had been in the Fu family for half a month, making Fu An wash her clothes and bring her food, it seemed unlikely that such a lazy person would do such a thing.
As she pondered this, Luo Shi vaguely saw a figure emerge from the thatched hut where Fu Wei was staying.
The figure looked familiar; who else could it be but Yu Shi?!
Remembering Yu Shi's bad behavior, Luo Shi's heart tightened, and her face tensed as she shouted, "What were you doing in there?!"
Yu Ying, just stepping out of the hut, was startled by the loud voice.
Yu Ying paused for a few moments, noticing the returning grandmother and grandchildren, and seemed momentarily surprised.
Her expression gradually becoming calm, she spoke in the original owner's tone, "Of course, I was trying to treat your crippled son's leg. Since I can't leave, I don't want a husband with a limp. But clearly, he prefers to remain crippled rather than let me treat him."
Saying this, she glanced back at the hut, feigning displeasure, "Now you have no other options. You might as well let me try. The worst outcome would be no different from the current situation."
While speaking, Yu Ying looked at Luo Shi, whose expression was slightly stunned, then averted her gaze, picked up the tree branch at the door, and walked back to her small thatched hut, leaning on it.
Coming back to her senses, Luo Shi, worried Yu Shi might have bullied her younger son, hurriedly picked up a long bamboo stick to find her way and quickly headed towards the hut.
After entering the hut, Luo Shi, unable to see clearly, anxiously asked, "Did that Yu Shi mistreat you?!"
Fu Wei opened his eyes, his gaze indifferent, coldly uttering the words, "No."
Hearing this, Luo Shi also relaxed, "That's good, that's good. I shouldn't have left you alone at home. Next time, I'll have Fu An stay with you."
Fu Wei remained silent, his face still cold and detached, seemingly uninterested in anything.
Fu An glanced at his uncle, recalling the way his uncle used to be.
The previous uncle was very cruel, not only verbally abusing their grandmother but also bullying their father, making him take his place for hard labor. He would also bully Fu An and his sister when their father and grandmother were away.
Although Fu An didn’t feel much for this new, better-looking uncle who spoke little, he preferred him over the previous one. At least this uncle didn’t insult their grandmother or abuse him and his sister.
Luo Shi, unsure how to interact with this son, asked a few questions before leaving to prepare lunch.
The so-called lunch was nothing more than wild grass soup and wild grass cakes.
Previously, they had saved a few coins, but it was all spent on treating her younger son's leg.
Initially, Luo Shi couldn’t accept the news of her son being switched at birth, even feeling resistant.
But when she later learned that her biological son's legs were broken, possibly by the son who was mistakenly raised for twenty years, she felt a turmoil of emotions.
Knowing the vicious nature of her foster son and that he could do such a thing, Luo Shi gave up on him completely, filled only with guilt towards her biological son.
Out of guilt, she spent all her savings trying to heal her real son's leg, but it was in vain and showed no improvement.
If there was a chance to heal her biological son's leg, she would be willing to risk everything, even her life.
Holding a wild vegetable bun, Luo Shi couldn’t help but think of what Yu Shi had said earlier.
"The worst outcome would be the same as it is now. It's worth trying even if it's a long shot."
Yu Shi's father was a royal physician. Although he made a misdiagnosis once, it doesn’t negate his previous contributions.
Growing up in such a family, Yu Shi, exposed to medicine from an early age, might have better medical skills than the barefoot doctors in Yu County.
Ling Shui Village is under the jurisdiction of Yu County in Cang Wu Prefecture.
Cang Wu Prefecture is wild, and Yu County is the most remote area of the prefecture. Skilled people rarely come to such desolate places, so the local doctors can only treat minor colds and fevers.
If they can't cure an ailment, they first exploit the patients for money, and when there's nothing left to take, they tell the family to prepare for the worst.
How could people not know their true nature?
Who would resort to such useless lifelines unless utterly desperate?
Now another lifeline has appeared before Luo Shi, and she is unsure whether to grasp it.
After preparing the wild vegetable cakes, Luo Shi had her grandson take them to her son. Hesitating for a long time, she finally took two cakes and groped her way into the hut she used to live in.
Yu Ying was changing the medicine on her foot when she heard someone at the door. Turning her head and seeing Luo Shi, she wasn’t too surprised.
The words she had spoken earlier in front of the hut were meant for Luo Shi to hear.
If Luo Shi truly cared about her biological son, she would seek out Yu Ying today, if not today, then tomorrow.
Luo Shi placed the wooden bowl on the fire and after a moment of hesitation, asked, "Can you really heal Er Lang's leg?"
After changing the medicine, Yu Ying replied, "I can treat him, but there are conditions."
If she didn’t ask for something in return, Luo Shi would never believe her.
Sure enough, hearing this, Luo Shi’s suspicions lessened, but then she thought about her empty pockets and her blindness – what could she possibly offer Yu Shi to negotiate terms?
Initially wary, now feeling uneasy, Luo Shi hesitated before saying, “I don’t have any money, just these two dilapidated thatched huts. I might not be able to meet your expectations.”
Yu Ying smiled, “I don’t expect you to offer money. What I want is to have authority in this household, to be the one managing this family.”
Only with the cooperation of the Fu family could she gradually improve her impoverished circumstances.
Luo's brows furrowed, puzzled, she said: "In our current situation, what difference does it make whether I run the household or not?"
"It makes no difference to you, but it does to me. If you agree to my terms, not only can I help heal Erlang's leg, but I might also be able to treat your eyes."
Yu Ying had grown up in a traditional medicine clinic and her grandfather had taught her all he could. During her studies, her knowledge far surpassed her peers.
Moreover, during her university years, Yu Ying would return to her family's clinic each summer to help. She often saw elderly patients with eye or leg problems receiving treatment, making her quite skilled in treating elderly eye conditions.
Luo was stunned for a moment before finally saying, "Just treat Erlang's leg, my own condition doesn't matter."
Yu Ying thought for a while and then, speaking as the original host, said: "That won't do. If you truly go blind, who will take care of me? Besides, if you become blind, am I expected to take care of you?"
Luo was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.
"You can leave now. After I've rested, I'll examine both of you tomorrow."
Luo pondered for a moment, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent and turned to leave the room.
After Luo left the room, Yu Ying quietly exhaled a breath of relief.
She had wanted to treat their ailments, but persuading them to accept treatment proved more challenging than prescribing the right medicine.
Her stomach growled with hunger. Yu Ying glanced at the bowl on the fire, hopped over on one foot with her grass shoe, and picked up a dry wild grass cake without complaint.
Despite not being fussy, she found the wild grass cake extremely unpalatable.
Not only was it dry and bitter, but it also had a throat-scratching effect, devoid of any other flavor.
She had hoped to gradually improve their living conditions, but now realized that once her foot healed, a trip to town was essential.
First, she needed to exchange the silver leaves for circulating currency, then buy some basic necessities.
Salt was a must-have; otherwise, continuing to eat grass-like meals without any salt intake would deplete her body, just like the three generations of the Fu family, making recovery difficult.
At dusk, Fu An brought in cool water for his uncle to wash and then left.
The uncle, preferring to be independent, always washed himself and even shaved his beard in the morning. Apart from eating and his mobility issues, he didn't like to trouble others.
After waiting outside for about half an hour, hearing two knocks on the bed – "thud thud" – Fu An lifted the curtain and entered to remove the water.
Hearing the sound of water being poured out, Luo knew her son had finished washing and groped her way into the room.
She sat down on a bamboo stool, while Fu Wei sat on the bamboo bed. The mother and son remained in silence, wordless.
Moments later, Luo hesitantly spoke, "Erlang, why don't you let that Yu lady treat your leg?"
Fu Wei turned his head to look at the elderly woman with graying hair. After a long silence, he finally said, "Do as you wish."
His voice was indifferent, devoid of any fluctuations or emotions.
Such apathy made it seem as if the leg in question wasn't his own.
Chapter 4: Making a Proposal
The room was eerily silent, and although it was only for a short time, the silence made it feel much longer.
The male protagonist still showed no reaction.
After a moment, Yu Ying made a move.
She slowly stepped forward, stopping beside the bamboo bed.
Knowing that the male protagonist wouldn’t respond, she still asked, "I’m going to examine your leg injury now. If you disagree, please say so. If you don't speak, I'll take it as your consent."
'If you don't speak, I'll take it as consent' - a phrase applicable in both ancient and modern times. Though somewhat unreasonable, it proved to be effective.
It wasn’t until Yu Ying lifted the thin quilt that Fu Wei, who had kept his eyes closed, opened them and looked at her. His gaze was still cold and indifferent, with a hint of disgust.
As long as he didn't speak, Yu Ying chose to ignore that look of disgust, taking it as no refusal.
As she reached to lift the quilt, her wrist was suddenly grasped.
Yu Ying was startled and looked at the hand gripping her wrist, a slender and pale hand with distinct bones.
After a brief hesitation, she looked up, meeting the male protagonist's emotionless and indifferent black eyes.
After pondering for a moment, she shared her current situation with him: "The situation now is that I know a bit of medicine. You can either let me try to heal your newly broken leg, which might still be salvageable, or you can live with it for the rest of your life."
Fu Wei's expression remained unchanged, his lips slightly parting, his voice cold: "Get out."
Yu Ying's brow furrowed slightly, aware of the original host's notorious past, making it difficult for him to believe she genuinely wanted to help.
She couldn't force the male lead; for now, she needed to return and rethink her strategy.
With this in mind, Yu Ying didn’t persist in persuading him, only requesting, “Fine, release me now, and I will leave.”
The male lead was once proficient in both letters and martial arts. Now, although he appeared frail, his grip still contained considerable hidden strength.
A few moments later, Fu Wei released her hand and then closed his eyes, feigning sleep.
Yu Ying glanced at her reddened wrist, then at the strikingly handsome male lead, and with a slight twist of her mouth, turned and left the room.
Outside, the grandparents and their grandchildren, carrying baskets, returned home to find the yard surprisingly tidy.
Noticing her grandsons’ pause, Luo Shi asked, “What’s the matter?”
Fu An exclaimed in amazement, “Someone cleaned our yard, pulled out the weeds, and swept the leaves.”
Hearing this, Luo Shi's brow furrowed slightly.
Someone had cleaned their yard?
In Ling Shui Village, there weren’t many kind-hearted people.
If someone really cleaned the yard, it could only be Yu Shi.
But recalling that Yu Shi had been in the Fu family for half a month, making Fu An wash her clothes and bring her food, it seemed unlikely that such a lazy person would do such a thing.
As she pondered this, Luo Shi vaguely saw a figure emerge from the thatched hut where Fu Wei was staying.
The figure looked familiar; who else could it be but Yu Shi?!
Remembering Yu Shi's bad behavior, Luo Shi's heart tightened, and her face tensed as she shouted, "What were you doing in there?!"
Yu Ying, just stepping out of the hut, was startled by the loud voice.
Yu Ying paused for a few moments, noticing the returning grandmother and grandchildren, and seemed momentarily surprised.
Her expression gradually becoming calm, she spoke in the original owner's tone, "Of course, I was trying to treat your crippled son's leg. Since I can't leave, I don't want a husband with a limp. But clearly, he prefers to remain crippled rather than let me treat him."
Saying this, she glanced back at the hut, feigning displeasure, "Now you have no other options. You might as well let me try. The worst outcome would be no different from the current situation."
While speaking, Yu Ying looked at Luo Shi, whose expression was slightly stunned, then averted her gaze, picked up the tree branch at the door, and walked back to her small thatched hut, leaning on it.
Coming back to her senses, Luo Shi, worried Yu Shi might have bullied her younger son, hurriedly picked up a long bamboo stick to find her way and quickly headed towards the hut.
After entering the hut, Luo Shi, unable to see clearly, anxiously asked, "Did that Yu Shi mistreat you?!"
Fu Wei opened his eyes, his gaze indifferent, coldly uttering the words, "No."
Hearing this, Luo Shi also relaxed, "That's good, that's good. I shouldn't have left you alone at home. Next time, I'll have Fu An stay with you."
Fu Wei remained silent, his face still cold and detached, seemingly uninterested in anything.
Fu An glanced at his uncle, recalling the way his uncle used to be.
The previous uncle was very cruel, not only verbally abusing their grandmother but also bullying their father, making him take his place for hard labor. He would also bully Fu An and his sister when their father and grandmother were away.
Although Fu An didn’t feel much for this new, better-looking uncle who spoke little, he preferred him over the previous one. At least this uncle didn’t insult their grandmother or abuse him and his sister.
Luo Shi, unsure how to interact with this son, asked a few questions before leaving to prepare lunch.
The so-called lunch was nothing more than wild grass soup and wild grass cakes.
Previously, they had saved a few coins, but it was all spent on treating her younger son's leg.
Initially, Luo Shi couldn’t accept the news of her son being switched at birth, even feeling resistant.
But when she later learned that her biological son's legs were broken, possibly by the son who was mistakenly raised for twenty years, she felt a turmoil of emotions.
Knowing the vicious nature of her foster son and that he could do such a thing, Luo Shi gave up on him completely, filled only with guilt towards her biological son.
Out of guilt, she spent all her savings trying to heal her real son's leg, but it was in vain and showed no improvement.
If there was a chance to heal her biological son's leg, she would be willing to risk everything, even her life.
Holding a wild vegetable bun, Luo Shi couldn’t help but think of what Yu Shi had said earlier.
"The worst outcome would be the same as it is now. It's worth trying even if it's a long shot."
Yu Shi's father was a royal physician. Although he made a misdiagnosis once, it doesn’t negate his previous contributions.
Growing up in such a family, Yu Shi, exposed to medicine from an early age, might have better medical skills than the barefoot doctors in Yu County.
Ling Shui Village is under the jurisdiction of Yu County in Cang Wu Prefecture.
Cang Wu Prefecture is wild, and Yu County is the most remote area of the prefecture. Skilled people rarely come to such desolate places, so the local doctors can only treat minor colds and fevers.
If they can't cure an ailment, they first exploit the patients for money, and when there's nothing left to take, they tell the family to prepare for the worst.
How could people not know their true nature?
Who would resort to such useless lifelines unless utterly desperate?
Now another lifeline has appeared before Luo Shi, and she is unsure whether to grasp it.
After preparing the wild vegetable cakes, Luo Shi had her grandson take them to her son. Hesitating for a long time, she finally took two cakes and groped her way into the hut she used to live in.
Yu Ying was changing the medicine on her foot when she heard someone at the door. Turning her head and seeing Luo Shi, she wasn’t too surprised.
The words she had spoken earlier in front of the hut were meant for Luo Shi to hear.
If Luo Shi truly cared about her biological son, she would seek out Yu Ying today, if not today, then tomorrow.
Luo Shi placed the wooden bowl on the fire and after a moment of hesitation, asked, "Can you really heal Er Lang's leg?"
After changing the medicine, Yu Ying replied, "I can treat him, but there are conditions."
If she didn’t ask for something in return, Luo Shi would never believe her.
Sure enough, hearing this, Luo Shi’s suspicions lessened, but then she thought about her empty pockets and her blindness – what could she possibly offer Yu Shi to negotiate terms?
Initially wary, now feeling uneasy, Luo Shi hesitated before saying, “I don’t have any money, just these two dilapidated thatched huts. I might not be able to meet your expectations.”
Yu Ying smiled, “I don’t expect you to offer money. What I want is to have authority in this household, to be the one managing this family.”
Only with the cooperation of the Fu family could she gradually improve her impoverished circumstances.
Luo's brows furrowed, puzzled, she said: "In our current situation, what difference does it make whether I run the household or not?"
"It makes no difference to you, but it does to me. If you agree to my terms, not only can I help heal Erlang's leg, but I might also be able to treat your eyes."
Yu Ying had grown up in a traditional medicine clinic and her grandfather had taught her all he could. During her studies, her knowledge far surpassed her peers.
Moreover, during her university years, Yu Ying would return to her family's clinic each summer to help. She often saw elderly patients with eye or leg problems receiving treatment, making her quite skilled in treating elderly eye conditions.
Luo was stunned for a moment before finally saying, "Just treat Erlang's leg, my own condition doesn't matter."
Yu Ying thought for a while and then, speaking as the original host, said: "That won't do. If you truly go blind, who will take care of me? Besides, if you become blind, am I expected to take care of you?"
Luo was at a loss for words, unsure how to respond.
"You can leave now. After I've rested, I'll examine both of you tomorrow."
Luo pondered for a moment, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent and turned to leave the room.
After Luo left the room, Yu Ying quietly exhaled a breath of relief.
She had wanted to treat their ailments, but persuading them to accept treatment proved more challenging than prescribing the right medicine.
Her stomach growled with hunger. Yu Ying glanced at the bowl on the fire, hopped over on one foot with her grass shoe, and picked up a dry wild grass cake without complaint.
Despite not being fussy, she found the wild grass cake extremely unpalatable.
Not only was it dry and bitter, but it also had a throat-scratching effect, devoid of any other flavor.
She had hoped to gradually improve their living conditions, but now realized that once her foot healed, a trip to town was essential.
First, she needed to exchange the silver leaves for circulating currency, then buy some basic necessities.
Salt was a must-have; otherwise, continuing to eat grass-like meals without any salt intake would deplete her body, just like the three generations of the Fu family, making recovery difficult.
At dusk, Fu An brought in cool water for his uncle to wash and then left.
The uncle, preferring to be independent, always washed himself and even shaved his beard in the morning. Apart from eating and his mobility issues, he didn't like to trouble others.
After waiting outside for about half an hour, hearing two knocks on the bed – "thud thud" – Fu An lifted the curtain and entered to remove the water.
Hearing the sound of water being poured out, Luo knew her son had finished washing and groped her way into the room.
She sat down on a bamboo stool, while Fu Wei sat on the bamboo bed. The mother and son remained in silence, wordless.
Moments later, Luo hesitantly spoke, "Erlang, why don't you let that Yu lady treat your leg?"
Fu Wei turned his head to look at the elderly woman with graying hair. After a long silence, he finally said, "Do as you wish."
His voice was indifferent, devoid of any fluctuations or emotions.
Such apathy made it seem as if the leg in question wasn't his own.
