Chapter 117 Recovery: “This is the last time I save you.”

Chapter 117: Recovery: "This is the last time I will save you."

Tian Qin, at her most destitute, encountered an old enemy, receiving charity with unbearable awkwardness. Her broken body was utterly exhausted, and she felt dizzy and dazed. She lay on the bed unable to sleep. The darkness of her blindness only deepened her loneliness and humiliation.

Recalling her recent confrontation with Xie Tanwei, she coldly sneered, "Thank you, Lord Xie, for still deigning to visit me." After all, when the Xie family had ruthlessly cast her out, she had obediently waited in a dark corner to die, and he had come looking for her.

Aside from humiliating her with words like, "Leaving me, you don't want to live?"—twisting the truth—Xie Tanwei also spoke some ambiguous words of warmth, consistent with his usual style of mixing cold with warmth, a slap followed by a sweet treat.

"I told you to leave the Xie family, not to go and die."

"Getting hit on the head by a brick is just a minor injury; it's not worth losing your life over."

"I don't owe you anything. This is the last time I'll save you. Treasure that little life of yours. After this, we're even, and you no longer have the right to hate me over the past."

Tian Qin sighed faintly, explaining weakly, "I stopped hating you long ago. You're no different from a stranger to me."

But Xie Tanwei insisted, "You hate me."

…

Nanny Chen and Bo Ge went around borrowing money from neighbors. Returning to the clinic at dawn empty-handed and disheartened, they were pleasantly surprised to see Tian Qin's condition improving, as if she had miraculously regained her vitality.

The doctor exclaimed, "What the hell? This is insane. Last night, this girl was on the verge of death, and today she's radiant. Could it be a final flicker of life?"

The doctor's doubts soon found answers. He received a large sum of money for the treatment—an amount so terrifyingly huge that the donor stayed anonymous, but provided a list of medicinal herbs including Jiulongpan and a series of precise and sophisticated treatments, demanding he heal the girl and keep it strictly confidential.

The doctor was frightened by the extremely generous silver. The donor was a powerful figure, an expert.

"Last night… I thought of a new treatment method, applied it to the girl, and it unexpectedly worked."

At the mysterious employer's request, the doctor fabricated a plausible lie to fob off Nanny Chen and the others, taking credit for the success himself.

Nanny Chen and Bo Ge exchanged glances, crying tears of joy, and knelt repeatedly to kowtow in thanks. The doctor helped them up, feeling guilty. The girl's blocked meridians had clearly been cleared by the master last night; his own pathetic skills could never have achieved such a miracle.

"Sir, you have a benevolent heart! Sir, your kindness will be rewarded. You will surely become wealthy and prosperous, and your family will be blessed!"

Bo Ge wiped his tears. This doctor had shown a mean face a few days earlier, but now suddenly had a change of heart. Perhaps Heaven couldn't bear to take Tian'er away.

Another problem lay before them. Even after pooling all their resources, they couldn't scrape together the medical bill, let alone the expensive Jiulongpan. Even if the doctor possessed miraculous skills, how could they buy the medicine?

The doctor waved his hand, brushing aside the matter of money lightly.

"First, we save the patient."

The crushing financial pressure, like a mountain crushing them, was thus set aside.

Nanny Chen and Bo Ge looked at each other in confusion, and even Zhaolu and Wan Cui felt it was bizarre.

"Could it be…?"

It couldn't be ruled out that Xian Qiu had a sudden change of heart and paid the fee.

But the thought was dismissed in an instant. How could it be? Given Xian Qiu's cruel and mean demeanor, severing sisterly ties, it was impossible for her to step in to save someone and not leave her name.

Nobody could figure it out.

Regardless, as long as Tian Qin survived, that was enough.

Tian Qin lay in the medical clinic for over a month, gradually recovering. She struggled back from death's door, her fragile life barely saved.

The doctor tended to her diligently every day, working tirelessly, never mentioning money again. The expensive, high-grade Jiulongpan was used daily without regard for cost. Bo Ge and the others were deeply puzzled, but they were too delighted by this good fortune to ask questions, afraid that if the doctor settled accounts, he would kick Tian Qin out.

The doctor's medical skills had improved dramatically. His prescriptions were as if guided by a divine hand, a miraculous art of revival. The same quack who had previously jabbed needles into wrong acupoints, following a "secret manual," now removed the stagnant blood from Tian Qin's body, bringing a dead person back to life. In response, the doctor stammered that he had stumbled upon an ancestral medical text.

"There are still many good people in this world," Bo Ge muttered as he pushed open the door. Inside, Nanny Chen and Zhaolu were feeding Tian Qin thick chicken soup. Tian Qin's chapped, pale lips were moistened with the soup's oil, showing signs of life.

"Mother, Tian'er."

Bo Ge set down the wild fruits he had picked from the mountains, washed them, and placed them by Tian Qin's pillow. He was slightly surprised. "Mother, did you have money to buy chicken soup?"

Nanny Chen smiled kindly. "It was sent by the doctor. He said it was made at home. The doctor is truly a good man."

"That's so nice." Even someone as slow as Bo Ge realized the doctor was being overly kind. Not only the chicken soup, but the corners were neatly stacked with various precious tonics, silk garments, fine ingredients, and rare medicines. When asked, the doctor said his family had come into some money.

"Do you feel better today?"

Bo Ge took over the chicken soup from Nanny Chen and continued feeding Tian Qin.

Tian Qin, blind, groped for the spoon aimlessly. "It's fine, I can eat by myself."

Bo Ge stared at the thick gauze on her head, guilt washing over him. "You're injured. Don't move around."

Wan Cui chimed in, "The young lady's almost better. The doctor said that in two days, after the gauze is removed, she can go home. As for the medical bill, we'll discuss it later."

Everyone was moved by the doctor's noble character, tears streaming down their faces.

The only downside was that the doctor was powerless to treat the young lady's eyes. He said that curing her eyes required extremely high medical skills to clear the stagnant blood blocking the meridians in her eyeballs.

Tian Qin was blind. Bo Ge didn't disdain her at all; instead, his determination to protect her for life grew even stronger.

Two days later, Tian Qin limped as the others helped her into an ox cart, returning to the thatched cottage.

Tian Qin's eyes were afraid of light, so Nanny Chen cut a thick black cloth to cover them. The ox cart was also padded with cotton cushions. Bo Ge pulled the cart, while Zhaolu and Wan Cui followed behind, carrying the precious gifts and tonics given by the doctor.

Home, long absent, was finally revisited.

Bo Ge mixed mud himself to repair the collapsed wall, though it was crooked and barely qualified as a fence. Zhaolu and Wan Cui bought some seeds and planted vegetables in the garden. The small home on the brink of the cliff was gradually being rebuilt.

Nanny Chen remained suspicious about the medical bill and herbs. When no one else was around, she asked Tian Qin if Xian Qiu had come.

Tian Qin sighed. It wasn't Xian Qiu who came, but it was almost as if Xian Qiu had come herself.

"He gave me acupuncture and fed me medicine," she said. "Don't misunderstand. He was just annoyed that we were bothering him and affecting the Xie family's reputation. He used this money to completely buy off the past relationship."

After all, the day Nanny Chen had intercepted the Xie family madam's sedan chair, it had been labeled as a greedy and extortionate demand.

Nanny Chen was silent for a long time after hearing this.

"The Lord did this to protect the Lady. That day, Bo Ge and I were too rash in stopping the sedan chair."

Tian Qin said, "Of course he protects Xian Qiu. Maybe Xian Qiu is already carrying the Xie family's legitimate eldest son."

Nanny Chen tenderly smoothed Tian Qin's hair. The Lord's sudden intervention had truly startled everyone. However, after saving Tian Qin, he disappeared without a trace, clearly intending to sever all ties and have no further involvement. They could continue their own small life.

"Forget it. The Lord has gone above and beyond. We can't ask for anything more from the Xie family. From now on, we'll live our own life, self-sufficient."

Tian Qin gladly agreed.

Tian Qin lay on the couch recovering for another half month, her eyes still blind.

From the initial extreme despair and rage, she gradually came to accept the reality of her blindness. She found a tree branch to use as a cane, learned to navigate and walk in the darkness, and did what she could to help Nanny Chen with household chores, such as picking vegetables and washing rice.

She had always been thin and frail, and now, blind and emaciated, she seemed even more pitiful.

The marriage between Tian Qin and Bo Ge was set in stone. A woman like her, broken and unlucky, having lost her chastity, had nowhere to go except with Bo Ge.

In the past, she could still hold onto the idea of never marrying, relying on her stubborn will to live on her own. But now, with her blindness, she had to depend on a man to survive. Besides, she had gone blind saving Bo Ge, so it was only right that he support her for the rest of her life.

Through this ordeal, the family grew closer.

Bo Ge no longer felt shy about the boundaries between men and women. He dressed Tian Qin, fed her medicine, and wiped her face—efficiently and naturally. However, he had little time to develop their relationship. During the day, he rushed through the streets and alleys trying to make a living, paying off the debts incurred for Tian Qin's treatment, and at night he was dead tired.

"A pear. Just bought it. Really sweet."

One day, as Tian Qin fumbled to fold clothes, Bo Ge pressed a cold fruit into her hand. Tian Qin lifted it shakily to her mouth and took a bite. Juice burst out—it was indeed perfectly ripe.

"Two people shouldn't share a pear," she said, suddenly remembering something and stopping mid-bite. "Have you eaten?"

Bo Ge let out a simple, honest laugh. "I did. But not alone—Ma had some too."

A pear shared among three people wouldn't count as "parting."

Bo Ge carefully helped Tian Qin outside to enjoy the evening breeze. His coarse cotton clothes fluttered in the wind. The sunset was magnificent, blazing red like fire, and the clouds, like scattered brocade, shone with brilliant light, bathing everything in a rosy glow. Such a beautiful scene, but Tian Qin couldn't see it.

Bo Ge’s heart ached with helplessness.

There might be a skilled doctor out there who could cure Tian Qin's eyes, but he had neither money nor power—he only knew how to make steamed buns.

Tian Qin slowly sat down on a rock, listening to the sounds around her: the fading chirp of cicadas, the babbling brook, the long honks of wild geese, and not far away, the sound of Nanny Chen's cooking in the kitchen. She felt a peace and tranquility she had never known before.

"Bo Ge is a poor boy, not like those frivolous young masters from wealthy families. He knows how to treat a woman right, and he's down-to-earth. A rich young master is like a flower in a mirror, the moon in water—you can never grasp it. But Bo Ge's calloused, dark hands can bear the weight of life and warm a person's heart."

Nanny Chen's words still rang clearly in her ears.

"Tian'er." Bo Ge called out tentatively, interrupting her thoughts, as if still not quite daring to use such an intimate address. "Are you happy with me? Content?"

Though Tian Qin couldn't see, she could imagine how much courage he mustered to ask that.

"Why do you ask so suddenly?"

"Your eyes are ruined. I wish I could gouge out my own to give to you. Your head was split open—I wish it had been my head. Give me a chance to atone. Let me take care of you for the rest of my life! I'd rather eat chaff and drink water myself, as long as you eat well. I—"

Bo Ge's words were plain and unadorned.

Tian Qin listened patiently and quietly until he stammered his way through the entire confession.

"So… will you marry me?"

His heart stopped. He clenched his fists tightly, waiting for her answer.

Tian Qin smiled gently. From her gentle smile, the answer was obvious.