Chapter 16 How could I let you draw that kind of thing, you're such a young lady...

After the doctor treated Tang Li and left, Tang Li lay on the bed with his eyes closed, his face pale and swollen, and his breathing was hoarse.

Zhu Niang said that her father accidentally fell into the water while fishing and struggled for a long time before being rescued. He almost died.

Qingduo held his right hand tightly in her palm, but found that the warmth she was giving him was being sucked away by an endless abyss. Her father's hand was still cold and damp, and trembling slightly, which made her more and more panicked.

Both she and her father were very healthy and rarely got sick. Occasionally, when her father caught a cold, she would brew a decoction of cinnamon twigs and make a pot of hot porridge. This method, taught to her by her father, was cheap and effective. After drinking it, and then covering him with blankets, he would quickly sweat and the fever would subside. Her father always proudly said:

"With our Ah Zhao here, no matter what illness comes, we can drive it away!"

But this time, she didn't know how to drive away the illness.

Zhu Niang took out her handkerchief and wiped her red eyes from crying: "A Zhao, when someone first sent word that he was dying, I almost fainted. I thought that no matter what, I had to let you see your father one last time, so I ran to find you. Luckily, you were there. You called a doctor, treated him, and bought medicine, and I gradually felt relieved."

Qingduo remained silent. After hearing Zhu Niang's message, her first reaction was to run to their residence. It was Fang Qing and the steward, Uncle He, who helped them arrange for a highly skilled doctor from Wuzhou to save her father.

If she hadn't married into the Zeng family, and this incident had happened, both she and Aunt Zhu would have lost their composure, and the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Qingduo felt a wave of fear wash over her. She was deeply grateful to the Zeng family. From the time she got married until now, the Zeng family had given her far more than she had ever given back.

Zhu Niang walked to Qing Duo's side and hesitated, saying, "A Zhao, your father... I'm afraid he'll need to rest for a while."

"Mmm." Qingduo responded, tucking her father's hand under the covers and tucking the covers in tightly.

Zhu Niang sighed and said, "Now that things have come to this, I can't hide it from you anymore."

"He promised to paint a picture for someone, and they gave him two hundred taels of silver in advance. There are only five days left until the agreed deadline, but your father is like this, how can he paint! Alas, he will definitely break the contract!"

When Qingduo heard "two hundred taels of silver", she was shocked. Before she got married, her father gave her all the fifty taels he had earned from selling his paintings. Fifty taels for a painting was already surprising enough, but someone actually offered two hundred taels of silver to buy his painting, and it was just a deposit!

She knew her father's painting skills far surpassed her own, but she never dared to dream that a painting could be worth several hundred taels of silver.

It was truly heartbreaking to miss out on the "two hundred taels," but with his skills, he could earn it back quickly. Qingduo said, "Breaching the contract is no big deal! Just return the money to them!"

Zhu Niang said with difficulty, "The problem is... your father has spent all of this money."

Qingduo stared in disbelief: "It's all gone?" Zhuniang nodded.

"That's two hundred taels!" Qingduo exclaimed incredulously. "No matter how he spends it, could he really squander two hundred taels so easily?"

The memory of her father falling into the water while fishing flashed through her mind, and she casually remarked sarcastically, "Did he buy a boat or something?"

“No one knows a father better than his son! He just bought a boat!” Zhu Niang replied.

In shock, Qingduo's eyes widened to the largest size she had ever seen: "A ship?"

What does he need a boat for???

"fishing."

Qingduo narrowed her eyes. What kind of fish can't be caught on the shore? Why do you have to buy a boat? Never mind, now is not the time to talk about this. She still had questions to ask. She said, "A boat won't cost more than two hundred taels. What about the rest of the money?"

"He bought a silk cushion, a raincoat adorned with peacock feathers, a fishing rod inlaid with jade, and a ceramic 'fish basket' to hold fish."

Qingduo felt her temples throbbing uncontrollably. A fishing rod inlaid with jade? She only knew that people of high status wore jade thumb rings to show their status. What? Did the fish caught with it suddenly become noble fish once they came ashore?

Her anger burned even brighter. She pressed her temples, closed her eyes, and said painfully, "Forget it, I've already bought them. Although it's troublesome, it's not impossible to deal with them. I'll sell them to pay off the debt."

She looked at Zhu Niang and asked, "Where is the boat?"

It sank.

"Oh," Qingduo responded subconsciously, then realized what she meant and turned pale with shock, speechless.

"!!!"

Silence speaks louder than words.

Zhu Niang thought she hadn't heard her clearly, so she repeated, "The ship sank, and everything is gone."

Ugh! Headache!

Qingduo spread her five fingers and pressed them against her scalp in despair. Her skin was like the soil of Jinan, covered with springs, and every drop of blood seemed about to burst through her skin and gush out.

Zhu Niang sighed in her ear, "Well, it's alright. Although everything is gone, your father is still alive. Consider it a loss to avoid further disaster."

She couldn't agree; the money was real, but her father was the real "disaster."

A sense of powerlessness washed over her. How was she supposed to pay back the two hundred taels? She remembered something and immediately said, "Father gave me fifty taels before, which can be used to pay back this money."

Zhu Niang sighed, "This is the one that costs fifty taels! The deposit was two hundred and fifty taels, and he gave you fifty taels!"

Oh, so she and her father owed a total of two hundred and fifty taels of silver.

Wait a minute, so much silver, and her own father only gave her one out of five? He'd rather "spend a fortune" on fish than give her any?

The fish was actually slightly better than him!

Oh! This damn headache!

Qingduo clutched her head, feeling a splitting headache. Just then, a figure appeared before her eyes, smiling like a warm spring breeze.

Zeng Qingqing! The little Qingduo in her mind rushed up and hugged him, crying pitifully, "Waaah, husband, please help me! If we can't pay back this money, my father's daughter, your wife, will be sold to pay off the debt, and I'll be just like Dou E in the play! I'll die unjustly, like snow falling in June! My father will never be an official, so you must study hard, pass the imperial examination, and become an official to clear my name!"

He chuckled softly, stroked her head, and said gently, "My lady, I'm here for you."

In the days since she married him, whether she was unwilling to consummate the marriage or was drunk and causing trouble, Zeng Zhengqing understood and tolerated her. He was much more reliable than her own father!

Qingduo's troubled heart gradually calmed down. She suddenly realized that she was now the young mistress of the Zeng family. She had no money, but the Zeng family had money!

She suddenly stood up and said as she walked, "Aunt Zhu, I'll ask Fangqing to go back and get the money. Tell the person who bought the painting that my father is unwell and can't paint it, and return the deposit to him!"

That evening, Zhu Niang took the silver Fang Qing had retrieved and went out to return the buyer's deposit. Qing Duo stayed by Tang Li's side. At dusk, he developed a high fever, his cheeks turned crimson, and he mumbled incoherently. Qing Duo leaned down and heard him murmur, "Fish! Fish!" Instantly, she felt a surge of anger.

She placed a wet wipe on his forehead and mumbled, "Can Yu'er change your wet wipe to cool you down?"

She then used mugwort to burn the Yongquan acupoint on the soles of his feet. She pinched her nose with one hand and said in a shrill voice, "Can Yu'er tolerate your smelly feet and warm you up?"

Fang Qing gently lifted Tang Li's body, and Qing Duo spooned the cinnamon twig soup into his mouth one spoonful after another. She then murmured, "Can Yu'er make you cinnamon twig soup and feed you medicine?"

Fang Qing bit her lower lip hard, trying to suppress her laughter. Her lips were taut, and she dared not utter a sound, lest she burst out laughing. She had never seen her daughter and Yu'er vie for attention. After feeding Tang Li the medicine, she gently put him down, took the basin of water to the yard, and burst out laughing as soon as she stepped out of the house.

After finishing these tasks, Tang Li's fever subsided slightly, but he was still drowsy and asleep. Qing Duo looked at him with a mournful expression, as if she was waiting for Tang Li to wake up so she could ask him, "Which do you love more, me or Yu'er?"

"Aunt Zhu is back!" Fang Qing called out from the courtyard. Qing Duo stood up upon hearing this and saw Aunt Zhu returning with a package containing silver, looking exhausted. Her heart sank, and she stepped forward to take the package and set it aside.

"How is it?" she asked.

Zhu Niang shook her head: "The buyer won't agree."

"He thinks it's too little?" Qingduo gritted her teeth. "Then pay more! After all, we breached the contract first! You wait here, I'll go back to the Zeng family to get it." With that, she was about to rush out.

Zhu Niang quickly stopped her and said, "Little ancestor, let me finish! The one who bought the painting is the second young master of He Bao Lou Pawnshop. He usually enjoys collecting all kinds of calligraphy and paintings. When he heard about this, he said that he only wanted to paint. If he can't paint it now, he would rather wait for your father to recover before painting it, rather than accept a refund."

Qingduo's mind returned to normal: "Since he said that, then we'll wait until Father is better before drawing for him."

Although her father only had "Yu'er" in his heart, she couldn't stop worrying about her own father. She would rest here tonight, taking care of him for the first half of the night, while Aunt Zhu would take care of him for the second half. After a busy day and staying up all night, she fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Before falling asleep, she thought of something: Ever since Zeng Zhengqing started sharing a bed with her, he seemed to have trouble sleeping. Either he would get up to cover her with a blanket, or he would take care of her when she was drunk or had a stomachache.

She stayed up all night sewing socks for him, and when she fell into a deep sleep the next day, he wouldn't wake her up, so she could catch up on her sleep. But he had to go to the shop the next day, and he was exhausted and couldn't get enough rest. He must have had a very hard time.

Poor Qingqing, Qingduo's last thought before falling asleep was: I must treat him with even more care.

She slept soundly through the night, without a single dream, momentarily forgetting where she was. But Fangqing woke her up softly: "Young Madam, Master Tang is awake."

Qingduo thought for a moment before realizing what had happened during the day. She sat up abruptly, ignoring her rapidly beating heart, and rushed into Tang Li's room in her slippers. Sure enough, she saw him with his eyes open, struggling to look at her.

"Father! Father! It's me, A-Zhao!" Qingduo exclaimed joyfully. "You're finally awake! You scared me to death!" Before Tang Li could reply, she looked up and urged Fang Qing to fetch the doctor.

Tang Li tried to raise his right hand, but found himself unable to do so, his hand trembling violently. Qing Duo quickly grasped his hand, and those familiar hands finally regained their warmth.

"That's great!" Qingduo thought with relief. In the end, she had driven away the illness.

*

When Qingduo returned, it was the fourth day since Tang Li fell into the water. Tang Li was eating breakfast, holding a bowl in his left hand and a spoon in his right. It was unclear whether his left hand, right hand, or both hands were trembling. It was as if the bowl and spoon in his hands were not a bowl and a spoon, but a pair of "ringing bells," jingling and clanging.

Seeing the spoonful of porridge he scooped up trembling in the air, about to spill onto the quilt, Qingduo couldn't help but reach out to take the bowl and spoon, saying, "Dad, let me feed you!"

Tang Li seemed unwilling, humming something in his throat, but he couldn't resist Qing Duo's insistence, so he had no choice but to let her feed him spoonful by spoonful.

Eating just a bowl of porridge felt like fighting a fierce battle. Tang Li was covered in cold sweat. Qingduo helped him lie down, wrung out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his face, and waited until he fell asleep before quietly going out to the kitchen to find Zhu Niang, who was brewing medicine.

"Aunt Zhu, why is my dad's hand still shaking?"

Zhu Niang added a piece of firewood to the stove and sighed, "I'm afraid it won't be better anytime soon."

Qingduo was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "What did the doctor say?"

"They said it was something like 'cold evil entering the body, causing obstruction of the meridians.' My understanding is that I got sick from being in the water and getting cold. I asked him when I would get better, and the doctor said it could take several hours, several days, or even several months."

"It might even damage your meridians, and you'll never fully recover," she said softly.

The firewood seemed startled, and a spark popped in the stove. The fire warmed her body, but Qingduo felt her heart couldn't find warmth.

My father was exceptionally talented in painting, but due to unforeseen circumstances, he stopped painting. Now, after finally coming to his senses, he's started painting again, but unexpectedly, this has happened. Voluntarily giving up painting and being unable to paint are two completely different things. Is the heavens jealous of talent? Is God truly determined to push my father to the brink of despair time and time again?

Tears silently slid down her cheeks, making her face itch. She didn't bother wiping them away, letting them fall "plop, plop." She remembered a time when her friends from the village mocked her for her dilapidated home, and she went home and wailed.

Her father knelt down to comfort her, saying with heartache, "Oh dear, our little girl has lost so many little pearls!"

She cried even harder: "Why isn't it a pearl! If it were a pearl, our family wouldn't be poor! Waaah—"

Her father hurriedly wiped her tears with his sleeve, saying, "Oh, don't cry, don't cry. It's all my fault for talking nonsense!"

The smell of soybean oil wafted from his cuffs. Qingduo turned away in disgust and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She didn't know when it started, but her father's cuffs had changed from the smell of ink to the smell of soybeans.

"How about Dad teaches Azhao to paint flowers, birds, fish, and insects? Painting can earn you money!"

"No!" she clearly remembered protesting firmly at the time. "If painting could really make money, why are we still so poor? You're lying!"

Father wasn't lying. Qingduo looked at her hands. She had always been stubborn and refused to learn painting from her father, but she had indeed made a living with this skill.

A surge of courage rose within her, and she made up her mind to learn painting from her father and carry on his artistic legacy!

As for the painting that Dad owes to that second young master—

“Aunt Zhu,” her voice was very calm, “there’s no need to wait for my father to recover. I’ll paint the painting that’s owed to that person!”

Zhu Niang looked up at her with a surprised expression, her face strange, and stammered, "This, this isn't quite right..."

"What's wrong with it? It's just a painting!" Seeing that Zhu Niang remained silent, Qing Duo squatted down and shook her body affectionately, "Aunt Zhu—"

"No!" Zhu Niang was shaken until she was dizzy, but she still wouldn't give in.

"You're worried that my painting skills aren't as good as my dad's, and that it will be exposed, right? Don't worry, I'll learn to paint from him diligently!"

"no!"

"Why is that!"

Unable to resist her persistent nagging, Zhu Niang blurted out, "Because the Second Young Master and your father ordered a pornographic picture!"

Looking at Qingduo's increasingly frightened gaze, she sighed:

"How can we allow a young woman like you to draw erotic pictures!"

A note from the author:

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