Not faking illness
Xueya woke up at noon on the second day. During her unconsciousness, Lin Yi took care of changing their clothes and cleaning and grooming them, and thus gained three points of goodwill.
[The host sacrificed himself to save others and treated his subordinates kindly, increasing his character's goodwill by three points. His current goodwill value is -27.] The system notification sounded in his ear.
After Xueya fell into the water yesterday, she started having a fever last night. Lin Yi soaked a handkerchief every hour to wipe her down to bring down the fever. She didn't get a good night's rest and was yawning incessantly. She touched the little girl's forehead and felt that the temperature was no different from normal body temperature. She threw the handkerchief into the basin, sat down at the table, and said lazily, "Why do I lose 5 points for saying 'get lost,' but only 3 points for saving someone?"
[Even if the host doesn't intervene, she will receive treatment from other characters. These three points are to encourage the host to continue their efforts. Please do not question the system's calculation rules.]
Lin Yi grasped the key point in the question: "If I save people that others can't or won't save, will I get a higher merit value?"
Theoretically speaking, that's correct.
“I have another question,” Lin Yi covered his mouth and yawned again, “You always use goodwill points to limit me, so conversely, what will I get if I have a higher goodwill point?”
[The host can create a more vivid and three-dimensional character, making Qiu Qingye's character more profound.]
"And then what? Qiu Qing has also become more sophisticated. What good will that do me?"
Once the Goodness Value reaches a certain level, the host can freely control the plot.
"Freedom of control... the kind of control that doesn't require playing a villain?"
[...The host's expectations are a bit too optimistic.]
"Then tell me, what kind of freedom is considered 'not too wonderful'?"
The current system cannot answer this question, but the goodwill value is very useful to the host.
That was as good as saying nothing. Lin Yi waved his hand and ignored it, then lay down on the table to catch up on sleep.
"Miss...?" Xueya slowly woke up, her voice still weak and feeble.
"You're awake." Lin Yi sat up in surprise, came to the bedside and stopped her from getting up. "How are you feeling?"
Xueya shook her head, indicating that she was alright. "Miss, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. I failed to catch any fish and even fell into the water, delaying my service to you..."
Lin Yi's heart was squeezed lightly. What kind of time is this? After hovering on the brink of life and death, this silly girl was thinking about her master not getting to eat fish, instead of feeling aggrieved because she had fallen into the water.
She softened her tone, as if afraid of frightening the person, and gently put her arm around her: "Silly girl, were you frightened yesterday? It's alright now, it's all in the past."
Xueya froze in her arms, motionless for a while before starting to sob.
That chubby little face scrunched up like a freshly steamed bun, with water droplets from the steamer rising and falling back down, wetting the dough and forming streaks of water.
Xueya cried a few times and then fell silent. Perhaps as a servant, she never dared to be presumptuous in front of her mistress.
Lin Yi wiped away her tears and said gently, "You can cry a little longer. It's not shameful. I won't tell anyone."
Although Xueya was still sobbing a little, she had stopped crying. "Xueya is not wronged, I won't cry anymore. Thank you, Miss, you are so kind to me."
She spoke sincerely, without a trace of sarcasm or flattery. Lin Yi inwardly condemned Qiu Qingye. Look at her, look at her! Such a good girl, loyal to her master, yet so naive and easily fooled. If she were his own maid, he would definitely pamper her, feed her until she was plump and healthy, how could he bear to let her go fishing in the river? Let alone poison people. This original owner of the body was truly a scoundrel!
After he finished cursing, Lin Yi sneezed loudly.
"Miss, have you caught a cold?"
"It's nothing, maybe someone cursed at me." Lin Yi patted her hand. "Lie down a little longer, I'll go make you some medicine."
"No, Miss! How can you let me do such a thing? I'll do it myself."
Lin Yi held down her fidgeting hands and feet, saying in an unquestionable tone, "If I say it's okay, then it's okay. Lie down here obediently, or I'll punish you."
Xueya seemed to have thought of something, and obediently stopped moving.
Lin Yi studied forensic medicine. Even though he took basic pharmacology courses, they were all Western medical theories, and he had never been exposed to Chinese herbal medicine.
As she was worrying while tending the medicine stove, she saw Cang Xie sneakily peeking out from the courtyard gate.
Lin Yi waved to him: "You've come at the right time, come over here quickly."
Cang Xie was caught peeping and didn't know whether to stay or leave. Lin Yi called out to him, so he had no choice but to go over, and his ears quickly turned two shades of red.
Cang Xie bowed and clasped his hands in a standard greeting: "Miss Qiu, I've come to see if Miss Xueya has woken up yet."
"She's already awake and lying in the room. Do you know how to brew medicine? I don't know how to use this stove."
Cang Xie took the medicine packet from her hand: "I know how, I'll decoct it." A couple of years ago, Xie Chengnan had spent a lot of time seeking medical treatment for the young master's illness. Doctors came one after another, and prescriptions were changed one after another. Cang Xie had decocted medicine a lot, so she was naturally skilled.
Lin Yi was quite content not having to lift a finger. But when a person is idle, fatigue quickly takes over their body.
She first squatted in the yard weeding for most of the day, her legs and arms aching terribly. Then she stayed up all night taking care of Xueya. As long as she was awake, her heart could not find peace.
The main reason she agreed to weed Xie Chengnan's house yesterday was to test the system's restrictions on her actions. The reason she wanted to do this now was that she also wanted to take advantage of the situation.
Given Xie Chengnan's dislike for Qiu Qingye, she would inevitably face his harassment in the Xie household. Lin Yi then sought a way to resolve this once and for all, so that he would never dare to order her around or make things difficult for her again.
After much deliberation, she realized that if she were injured while fulfilling Xie Chengnan's request, he would certainly be less inclined to continue making things difficult for her. Furthermore, if she publicized the matter, the Qiu family would be the first to object. Out of consideration for the Qiu family, Xie Chengnan would likely be more restrained in his actions in the future, and it would be best for him to keep his distance.
Agreeing to weed was a great opportunity. A new bride who had just married into the Xie family was asked by her husband to weed on the second day of her wedding, and even fell ill from exhaustion. If word got out, the Yong'an Marquis's family would lose face. Everyone's spit could drown Xie Chengnan. She didn't believe anyone would dare to make things difficult for her again.
Lin Yi was certainly not foolish enough to actually exhaust himself. He feigned exhaustion, using a mix of truth and falsehood to create a self-inflicted injury that was enough to fool everyone.
She just hadn't expected that Qiu Qing, being a pampered young lady, had probably never experienced the slightest bit of hardship. If it were her old self, even after three days and nights of writing a thesis, she could simply fall asleep and recover. But now, after only a day of housework and caring for a patient, she was already this exhausted.
Lin Yi felt a chill run through her body. She sensed something was wrong—there was no need to pretend, she was genuinely about to fall ill.
Lin Yi felt dizzy and weak, so he hurriedly gave Cang Xie a few instructions and went back to his room to rest.
She lay on the bed with her eyes closed, and before she drifted off to sleep, a moment of clarity crossed her mind. It suddenly occurred to her that if every action she took had to conform to Qiu Qingye's predetermined plan, then what need was there for a "goodness value"? Because "goodness" was precisely the word that contradicted Qiu Qingye's plan. The system had set this value precisely because it wanted her to make different moves to change Qiu Qingye's behavior.
Since that's the case, she no longer needs to worry about whether it will be out of character...
"One gets better, and then another gets sick?"
The young marquis's tone was indifferent, revealing neither joy nor anger. Cang Xie lowered his head even further: "Yes."
"How was it discovered?"
"I went to Miss Qiu's courtyard to check if Xueya had woken up. I saw that Miss Qiu was about to brew medicine, so I brewed it for her. Miss Qiu seemed to be feeling unwell. After chatting for a few minutes, she went back to her room and did not come out until the medicine was ready. I was a little worried, but I dared not enter Miss Qiu's boudoir rashly."
"You seem to have quite a few people you're worried about," Xie Chengnan said casually.
Cang Xie quickly curtsied and said, "Your subordinate knows his mistake."
"Just kidding. Why are you always so afraid of me? Did I bully you a lot when we were kids?"
"No, the Marquis has always been very good to me since I was a child. It's just that there's a proper order of seniority..."
"Don't let me hear you say that again," Xie Chengnan interrupted impatiently. "The hierarchy is between masters and servants, not you and me. How many times do I have to tell you?"
"It's one thing to put on an act in front of outsiders, but if you continue like this in private..."
Xie Chengnan put on a stern face and, feigning seriousness, reached out and wiped his neck.
However, he had no ruthlessness in his heart, so his words were not convincing at all.
Cang Xie smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Yes."
In return, Xie Chengnan kicked him mercilessly. "No need to call a doctor yet, I'll go take a look. If you're alright, you can rest—and don't say anything more."
Cang Xie swallowed back the half-spoken "yes," the words lingering on his lips before finally settling into a single "good."
Even in her sleep, Lin Yi could clearly feel the soreness in her muscles, as if all the strength had been drained from her body. Her mind was a complete mess; she vaguely knew she was dreaming and wanted to wake up, but her limbs and body were too heavy and numb to move. She felt like a fish on a chopping board, unable to return to the sea no matter how much she struggled, unable to escape the fate of being torn apart and severed.
In that drowsy state, it seemed as if something gentle landed on her forehead, lightly brushing it away, bringing a warm and comfortable feeling like a spring breeze. But that breeze was fleeting, leaving her inexplicably longing for it.
Xie Chengnan withdrew his hand and muttered to himself, "He doesn't have a fever."
"Hey, Qiu Qingye, wake up, don't sleep."
"Did you hear me? Wake up!"
"Don't……"
Xie Chengnan leaned close to her lips and heard her unconscious murmur.
"No...no..."
Don't go.
To Xie Chengnan, what she meant was 'Don't call me.'
"She can sleep quite a bit." He looked her up and down again to make sure she was asleep and not sick before turning to leave. Before leaving, he casually closed the window that he hadn't had time to close.
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