Chapter 57 Medicine: “I’ve never slept with her.”

Chapter 57: Medicine: "I have never shared a room with her."

Tian Qin shuddered in shock.

Although she had mentally prepared, the pace was still terrifyingly fast. He said he would handle it, and in an instant, the corpse was delivered.

"Scared?"

Xie Tanwei casually put down his brush, looked clear and simple in the spring sunlight, "If you're afraid, you don't have to look. It's just filthy stuff; showing you is proof I didn't lie to you."

What he was writing now was the death announcement, to be sent to Li Fu's family, with the cause of death being accidental drowning in a well.

Tian Qin said, "Brother-in-law chose drowning."

He seemed thoughtful: "You should be satisfied, your maidservant was drowned in a well by them in a previous life."

Tian Qin's pale knuckles clenched audibly.

"Brother-in-law sees everything clearly, knows everything."

"Revenge taken?"

Xie Tanwei gave a faint, careless smile, "An eye for an eye, interesting. It's not that there's no retribution—the time just wasn't right."

He wiped the ink off his hand, then came over and took her hand, "Come on, we'll take a quick look."

Only then did Tian Qin realize why the well in the courtyard was so cold—it held a body that had just stopped breathing not long ago.

He pulled her to the well. The dark hole seemed bottomless, moss and damp insects clinging to the walls, a thick, humid chill—an unseasonable coldness.

"Exactly the same death as your maidservant's previous life. Your maidservant struggled exactly as long as Li Fu did. Absolutely fair—I had someone calculate the exact time."

Xie Tanwei showed little emotion, looking down at the bloated, white corpse in the well water, cold and detached, as if making small talk.

"Satisfied?"

Tian Qin felt a wave of nausea. She told herself this was an enemy and forced herself to glance at the well water.

The dead body floated in the well like algae.

The water was extremely clear, rippling slightly, reflecting her and Xie Tanwei's dark shadows. Xie Tanwei's clear, bright face overlapped on the ghastly corpse, light and dark intertwined.

"Thank you, Brother-in-law."

She said, with mixed emotions.

Xie Tanwei suddenly grabbed her waist, pulling her close, and said calmly, "So, little sister, have you forgiven me? Are we square on the past life?"

Tian Qin, with the back of her head forcibly held in his hand, closed her eyes tightly, afraid of worsening her nausea.

"Zhaolu's revenge is settled."

"But there's someone else?" He shrewdly guessed her unspoken meaning. "Who? Your sister and me?"

Tian Qin placed her hand on his chest, her eyes red-rimmed, stubbornly resisting, "Brother-in-law said, whatever I want, you would grant me."

Xie Tanwei kissed her with eager satisfaction, both fervent and filled with cold disgust, "Don't be greedy, little sister. Brother-in-law's life cannot be given to you—otherwise, how else could I spend my life with you?"

Tian Qin nearly fell into the well and joined the corpse.

Her most vulnerable abdomen was firmly held by him; even jumping in to die was impossible.

How ironic: a corpse lay in the courtyard well of a man of integrity.

And that very man of integrity was embracing his wife's sister, leisurely talking about love, never afraid even when waking from midnight dreams.

The purest and the filthiest combined in one person.

Those who couldn't defeat him in life were useless even as ghosts. Li Fu was a servant of the Xie family in life, and remained a servant in death.

...

When Li's family heard of their son's sudden death, it was like a bolt from the blue. After climbing the ranks in the Xie family for over a decade, he had finally become the head steward, and now he was suddenly dead.

The Xie family's explanation was that he had drunk too much and fallen into a well. They offered a staggering amount of money as compensation. The Li family accepted the silver banknotes, their grief slightly alleviated.

Li Fu had previously been an accountant. Xian Qiu found him useful because of his skill with numbers. His sudden death left Xian Qiu without a handy tool; she considered it bad luck but was not particularly distressed.

The well in front of the study courtyard was sealed with mud and stone after the body was retrieved, and a miniature landscape with potted plants was built in its place.

For the vast and ever-changing capital city, the death of a servant was trivial.

Many people thought the Li family was lucky. Li Fu had brought about his own death by stealing wine, yet the Xie family was generous enough to give so much money. Truly fortunate—one family member died and the rest rose in status.

Tian Qin sat idly in the bamboo grove of the painting garden, watching Zhaolu busily working, her expression inscrutable.

After two lifetimes, she had finally avenged Zhaolu.

Though Zhaolu herself did not know.

Zhaolu noticed her melancholic look and approached with concern: "Miss, what's wrong?"

Tian Qin was silent, staring at Zhaolu. Zhaolu had no memory of the past life; there was no need to bring up those past events.

"Nothing."

She felt pathetic, only able to take the life of a small fry like Li Fu, unable to shake that great mountain any further.

Hard confrontation was not the way. Li Fu's death was the best proof—the entire dynasty was under Xie Tanwei's shadow. Taking a life was a snap of his fingers.

She was stuck in a quagmire, so she followed her previous method: daily routine, obedient and proper, reporting everything and seeking approval for every matter, either accompanying Xian Qiu or idling in the painting garden. She absolutely avoided doing anything he disliked, to avoid being scolded.

She faced a terrifying madman with the face of a Bodhisattva and the heart of a scorpion.

This method worked. She was obedient enough, and the other party did not appear in the painting garden for several days, and all was peaceful.

After struggling and suffering enough, Tian Qin had finally learned the survival rule: compliance is her camouflage. Enough obedience means enough safety; no resistance, no punishment.

But that didn't mean she had completely given up.

In the midst of extreme danger and suffering, as long as she had a breath left, the hope of escape would never die.

In reality, the difficulty of escape far exceeded her imagination.

To break free from the Xie family, she first had to get rid of that invisible, malicious chain—the Love Gu. Otherwise, no matter where she went, there would be a rope around her neck, and she would be dragged back like a dog at any time.

Getting rid of the Love Gu was no easy task.

Tian Qin knew nothing of medicine, and even a skilled physician would struggle to master such an evil and bizarre Gu technique. The Xie residence had a private pharmacy, filled with all kinds of precious herbs. Tian Qin realized belatedly that the pharmacy had "purple ginseng fungus," a medicine for postpartum weakness and hemorrhage, and it was in abundant supply—no need to save up hard-earned money and buy it from outside.

She felt like a joke, her previous life was a total joke.

When she asked Steward Li Fu to buy purple ginseng fungus, he probably thought she and her maid were jokes too—the family pharmacy had the life-saving medicine, but the master just wouldn't hand it over.

The scale in Tian Qin's hand trembled, nearly spilling the herbs.

Xie Tanwei noticed. "Tired? Take a break. There's no rush to prepare your sister's medicine."

Tian Qin looked up at the tall, dense rows of medicine cabinets like a chessboard grid, and said, "I'm not tired. It's more important to cure my sister quickly. I'm happy to help in the pharmacy."

Xie Tanwei smiled in relief. "Saying that makes us sound like her servants. Your sister's illness is congenital—it won't be cured overnight. If you tire yourself out, that'll just cause more trouble."

Tian Qin thought to herself that he denied it verbally, but his attitude when preparing medicine for Xian Qiu was earnest and focused, his measurements were precise. He probably wanted to cure Xian Qiu sooner, to have a true married life, to have a legitimate heir, and to kick me out as dead weight.

Then it struck her like a blow—no, that wasn't right.

With Xie Tanwei's divine medical skills, if he wanted to cure someone, he always had a way. A 'stone woman' wasn't beyond fixing.

He might be playing a double game again—playing the devoted husband staying up all night to prepare medicine for his wife, while deliberately controlling the treatment to prolong her illness.

Honeyed words, pretending to be innocent and affectionate—that was his specialty. She had been fooled by his façade so many times; how could she still naively think he was simply 'helpless'?

Tian Qin suppressed her emotions and pretended to calmly wrap the medicine she had just prepared. "It's not entirely for my sister. Being able to stay quietly with you in the pharmacy and smell the herbs is itself a pleasure."

Xie Tanwei said, "Having you keep me company is the real pleasure."

Tian Qin added, "When brother-in-law and sister have a child, I could watch over the child every day and play with them."

Xie Tanwei's tone was light. "Let fate decide."

Tian Qin watched his impenetrable demeanor, her brows furrowed deeper. "Sister is suffering a lot. Besides taking your medicine, she's been seeking help everywhere. The last few days she secretly told me there's a clinic south of the capital she wants to try, and made me swear to keep it a secret from you."

He smiled gently, with a teasing reproach. "If it's a secret, then why tell me?"

Tian Qin's lips trembled. "I wouldn't dare deceive you, brother-in-law."

"You wouldn't dare deceive me? Not even once?" Xie Tanwei teasingly pinched her cheek, partly in jest, partly serious. "I'm not exaggerating—in the capital, if I say I'm second in medicine, no one dares call themselves first."

He was calm and composed, his words clear and far-reaching, gentle yet carrying a steadfast conviction. She knew he wasn't boasting.

Tian Qin was even more certain he was deliberately prolonging Xian Qiu's illness. She rubbed her pinched cheek, looking wronged. "My sister has never experienced Love Gu, so how would she know of your divine skills? If she doesn't consult some white-bearded 'miracle doctor' at an outside clinic, she'll never feel at ease."

She deliberately emphasized the words 'Love Gu'.

"Let her be. Even if she wastes her time, it's up to her."

Xie Tanwei spoke with confidence.

As for the Love Gu—he had placed it on her. So be it. It wouldn't become leverage against him, and she didn't have the guts to speak of it outside.

Tian Qin rambled on while wrapping medicine, mentioning that the clinic was called Qianjin Hall, run by an old white-bearded physician who had been taking pulses for decades, with rich experience and wondrous healing skills.

Xie Tanwei showed little interest in such matters, answering distractedly, until Tian Qin finally said, "...Tomorrow I'll go to Qianjin Hall to make a secret inquiry for my sister."

He paused in his work, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing a slender forearm, and asked with a smile, "Going out again?"

Tian Qin's heart skipped a beat at his words.

"Yes." She fiddled with the dried leaves in the herbs, acting normal. "Sister needs to send someone trustworthy to check it out. She's anxious—what if it actually works?"

"Would I not know if it would work?" Xie Tanwei dropped the scale, the strong medicinal scent clinging to him. He pinched her waist and pulled her into his arms, whispering in her ear:

"I've never shared a bed with her."

Tian Qin stumbled backward, hitting the edge of the table, gasping sharply. Her face flushed bright red, and she said angrily, "Brother-in-law! I'm speaking seriously—don't be improper, or I won't tell you my sister's secret."

Xie Tanwei coiled a strand of her hair with a cold confidence. "That's hardly a secret. You're being too coy. I'll allow many things, but going out alone—no."

He shut that down completely.

Through her act, he saw straight into her heart.

No going out, period. No amount of sweet talk will change that.

Tian Qin was momentarily speechless.

She let out a soft breath. In the silent pharmacy, dust motes drifted around them in the bright sunlight.

"You misunderstand." Her explanation was weak.

Xie Tanwei ignored it. "Don't you know the rules by now?"

Tian Qin's shoulders sagged. "I know."

He patted her shoulder. "Then be good. No tricks."