WBSGVS Chapter 52 V1

Cheng Zhaoyang found himself in the embrace of a beautiful woman, but he felt no joy at all. Her cries made his scalp tingle.

He almost wanted to push her away. There was no way he could give her money!

But this woman was Luo Qingli, the wife he had ‘given his life’ for, and especially since she had just expressed some doubts, he couldn’t bring himself to push her away. He could only stand there stiffly, incredulous as he asked, “How could you be so seriously ill?”

As Qingli was about to speak, she was suddenly seized by an uncontrollable fit of coughing. She hurriedly pushed away from Cheng Zhaoyang, covering her mouth as she coughed painfully.

After the coughing fit subsided, she weakly collapsed back onto the bed, tears streaming down her face as she looked at the man before her. “I don’t know. I’ve been feeling unwell for a while, and that day you scared me so much that I rushed home, fell asleep, and then woke up feeling hazy…”

Her voice was exceptionally weak, her throat hoarse, and her eyes glistening with tears.

Cheng Zhaoyang didn’t doubt her; he just found it hard to accept that she was this sick. He forced a smile to comfort her, saying, “Don’t worry, your parents care for you so much; they wouldn’t want to neglect your treatment.”

Qingli wiped her tears and gently nodded, looking despondent. “They want to help me, but there’s no money. Husband, all the family funds have gone to you. I see that your leg has healed quite a bit; surely there’s some left over? Could you lend me some for now?”

No!

Cheng Zhaoyang didn’t want to!

They had plenty of silver. Over the past two years, the Luo family had given him almost three hundred taels. His leg didn’t require that much; it had never truly healed, and after it became crooked, he didn’t continue treatment. A portion of the money was saved, and some had been given to Cheng Zhaohua to make friends at school.

There was no way he could just take back the silver that had been spent.

Furrowing his brow, he said, “The family expenses are high, and the second son still needs to go to school, so our remaining funds are limited. Isn’t your father still teaching? He should be receiving quite a bit of tuition, right?”

Qingli’s tears flowed faster as she looked at him with a pained expression. “But that money is paid quarterly; we just paid a month ago. My uncle came back saying they were short on funds, and you told me to give it to him. Husband, do you… not want to help?”

“Of course not!” Cheng Zhaoyang immediately denied it, forcing a smile as he said, “How could that be? It’s just that we don’t have much left. I have a little surplus here; you can use it for now, and I’ll work hard to earn more.”

Reluctantly, he took out some loose silver and a few copper coins from his pouch. Initially intending to give her the coins, he saw Qingli staring fixedly at the silver, and he felt a pang of regret as he handed it over.

Qingli blinked and pointed at the copper coins. “Husband, you don’t need to spend anything on your work; please give me those too.”

Cheng Zhaoyang froze in his tracks.

“Cough, cough…” Qingli turned her head and coughed a couple of times, her face pale where it was supposed to be white and red where it was supposed to be flushed as if she were on the verge of collapse.

Cheng Zhaoyang had no choice but to hand over the remaining copper coins as well. His expression was no longer good, and he forced a smile, saying, “You can keep this; although it’s not much, it should last you for a while. It’ll be fine once your father receives his tuition.”

Qingli trembled as she reached out to take it but then weakly put it down. A faint smile formed on her lips as she said softly, “Thank you, husband. Even though you earn little and spend a lot, it’s already very nice that you can still spare something for me. But these silver coins… the doctor said I’m very ill, and the medicine is expensive. I’m afraid I won’t last until my father receives his tuition…”

Cheng Zhaoyang’s expression changed slightly, and he felt a surge of shame and anger. He didn’t earn much, but… there was no “but.” He truly didn’t earn much.

Feeling frustrated, he heard her words and noticed something was off. He couldn’t help but look at his wife again. He hadn’t seen it before, but there were now bloodshot lines in her eyes, and it seemed she was very sick. His heart sank, sensing something bad was coming, and he didn’t want to stay any longer, fearing that if he did, he would have to dig into his pockets again.

He gently patted her hand, reassuring her, “You’ll be fine; you’ll recover quickly. You might even be better by tomorrow. There’s still a lot to do at home. You should sell Wanchun; everything here is a mess.”

Qingli sighed, “There’s nothing I can do. I don’t want to, but my father has run out of options and can only sell her. Husband, once I recover and earn some silver, I’ll buy her back.”

“Okay.” Cheng Zhaoyang immediately nodded. He felt no interest in Wanchun’s future; he was only focused on saying, “I’ll take my leave now.”

However, Qingli was unwilling to let him go that easily. She immediately looked at him, eyes wide with expectation. “Husband, will you come to see me tomorrow?”

Cheng Zhaoyang’s smile faltered slightly. “Tomorrow, I might…”

Qingli’s gaze fell in disappointment. “Even now that I’m like this, you don’t want to come see me? Cheng Zhaoyang, didn’t you say I mean a lot to you? Is there anything more important than your life?”

Cheng Zhaoyang quickly corrected himself, saying, “Of course not! I was just thinking it might rain tomorrow. I’m afraid that coming over will worsen your condition. If it doesn’t rain, I’ll come to see you.”

“Alright, it’s a promise.” Qingli smiled faintly, looking both weak and beautiful.

Cheng Zhaoyang felt a stir in his heart, his previous reluctance easing a bit, secretly feeling it was a pity.

He strode out. As soon as he stepped outside, the fresh air made him feel much better, immediately deepening his aversion to the house. He walked even faster, not noticing that his father-in-law, who had always been warm to him, now regarded him with indifference.

When he returned to the Cheng family, Xiong Shi immediately came over to inquire about the situation. As soon as Cheng Zhaoyang explained, she exclaimed, “No, no! How could the Luo family be out of silver? Are we supposed to provide the funds for her medicine?”

Cheng Yue’er chimed in, “Big brother, if that’s the case, it’s too unfair, isn’t it? What if the money doesn’t cure her? Isn’t that money down the drain?”

“Exactly!” Xiong Shi thought about their family possibly having to pay, and it made her feel pain in her heart. She protested, “Who knows how much silver she will need this time? If the Luo family has no money, they can always borrow some!”

Cheng Zhaoyang didn’t want to contribute either. Seeing that his mother and sister were resistant, he nodded in agreement, “Alright, then we won’t contribute.”

The next day, Cheng Zhaoyang still went to see Qingli, but this time he stubbornly insisted that the family had no silver.

Qingli didn’t press the issue and accepted his answer, though she repeatedly lamented how poor his family was, unable to even provide for her medical expenses.

For the next ten days or so, Cheng Zhaoyang didn’t visit again.

The Luo family repeatedly went to fetch herbs and invited doctors every few days. Qingli’s condition had worsened from a simple cold to a lung ailment. It wasn’t tuberculosis, but her long-term illness had caused serious issues with her lungs.

This meant her situation was becoming increasingly dire. The doctors warned that lung diseases required careful management and would likely need ongoing treatment.

Those around them observed the situation with concern.

In less than three years, the man who was once willing to give his life for Luo Qingli had become indifferent to her plight.

Luo Yuzhi looked increasingly haggard. Although he continued teaching, the worry for his daughter was evident, and many of his students felt sympathy for him, even sending gifts privately.

Luo Yuzhi firmly rejected their offerings, stating that he could still manage and that copying texts could earn him some income.

This touched many hearts and the news spread. When compared to the Cheng family, who realized that Luo Qingli needed money for her illness, the lack of visits from them was truly disheartening.

However, the Cheng family was thick-skinned and didn’t care about these perceptions; they acted as if they hadn’t heard anything and continued their lives as usual.

Except that the household had become a bit chaotic.

During this time, Qingli didn’t merely pretend to be ill. She occasionally got up to walk around, giving the impression that she might be getting better, only to fall ill again a few days later, as if the cold wouldn’t leave her.

Luo’s mother made her new clothes, which were looser than before. When she wore them, her frail figure became even more apparent. Visitors to the Luo family often expressed sympathy upon seeing her.

“I can’t believe Cheng Zhaoyang is this kind of person!”

“Who would have known? After all, he once injured his leg to save the daughter of the Luo family. Perhaps that’s what caused his change in character?”

No one speculated that this was a lie; who would dare think such a thing? They were all common folk just trying to live their lives peacefully.

Associating with bandits was too terrifying a thought.

After these days, Luo’s mother had learned to respond calmly. It wasn’t time yet, so she simply said, “That child is just busy; it’s not that he doesn’t want to come over.”

Others laughed, thinking the Luo family was naïve, still trying to defend their son-in-law despite everything.