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He understood at once, and his guess was almost certainly right. It seemed the division of the household could not wait until he finished next year's prefectural examination.

"Since Dad is keeping it from us, let's pretend we don't know for now." Zhou Jinian thought it over. Xie Ning was more attentive than he was, and they were already married, so he did not intend to keep everything from him.

"At the end of the month, I'll go into town to collect my pay for copying books and buy some grain to keep at home. You're attentive, so help me look after Father and Dad. Once I've saved enough silver, we'll divide the household and move to town."

"Hmm?" Xie Ning's eyes widened, but he immediately said, "Whatever you say."

He really was sweet and obedient. Zhou Jinian turned to draw water from the well.

Xie Ning followed behind him, already thinking about what he could do in town to help ease the family's burden of food and clothing.

"Jinian!" The call brimmed with delighted excitement.

"I'll make more steamed dried eggplant. Will you take me into town to sell it? We can save up silver together."

Zhou Jinian turned around. Ever since the founding of Great Qing, sons had been taught that the man heading the household went out to earn a living, so hearing his young husband say, "We can save up silver together," surprised him-a surprise that touched him.

"No. We'd have to set out before dawn, and it's hot on the road. Once we reach town, there won't be a pool for you to rest in." Zhou Jinian voiced his concerns, but Xie Ning's intentions were good, so he added, "Go ahead and make it. I'll take it there and sell it for silver."

Xie Ning was dejected, frustrated that he had been afflicted with this poison. Jinian was a scholar. How could he ask him to trade with people?

In the Great Qing Dynasty, there was a saying: "Scholar-officials do not mingle with artisans and merchants."

On the other hand, he felt a little sweetness in his heart. Although Jinian was reserved and seldom smiled, he truly treated him extremely well. He did not mind that Xie Ning could not bear the light or do housework, and when he looked at his "ugly" face, there had never been any disgust in his eyes. Now he was even willing to set aside a scholar's pride.

He had been afflicted with this fish poison, yet through an odd turn of events, he had married Jinian. This fish poison-he could bear it.

Zhou Jinian carried the water back to bathe. He had no lofty pride to speak of. Having lived for decades and held high office, why should he, Zhou Jinian, care how others saw him?

Xie Ning sat hunched on a low stool with his hands tucked against his chest and his chin resting on his knees, wondering how he could spend a whole day in town without needing water.

He thought about it for two days, until all the steamed dried eggplant was gone, without finding a solution. Instead, his dad, Lin Jin, fell ill.

Lin Jin had bent over working in the fields under the blazing sun. After two days of strenuous labor, on the third morning his back finally hurt so badly that he could not get up.

Why did grain matter so much to Zhou Sanfeng? Because his husband and two sons needed to eat. Now his husband could not even sit up, and with grain still stored at home, the fields were no longer so important.

Physician Hu had spent the whole month running to the Zhou household. He earned silver from it, but they were from the same village, after all. With members of the Zhou family falling ill so frequently, his healer's compassion made the money painful to earn.

"An old ailment has flared up. If he keeps working, he can forget about ever sitting up again for the rest of his life." Physician Hu rummaged through the medicine basket he carried and took out several plasters for back pain.

"Jinlang isn't even forty yet. Physician Hu, please treat him!" Zhou Sanfeng frowned in distress, his face a picture of misery.

"Now you remember he isn't even forty? Why didn't you know to let him rest before?" Physician Hu was blunt, but he was kindhearted.

"It isn't hard to treat. If he recuperates fully this time, he'll be fine afterward. Take two taels of creeping fig vine, decoct it in water, and mix in brown sugar before drinking. One dose a day." Physician Hu added sternly, "Injuries to the sinews and bones take a hundred days to heal. His lower back has an old ailment. It won't be cured completely without half a year of rest. He must avoid overexertion! Have you remembered that?"

"Yes. Thank you, Physician. Here's your fee. I'll go with you to get the medicine." Zhou Jinian took out some broken silver and offered it to Physician Hu.

"Ten plasters aren't worth much. You can gather the herbs on the mountain yourselves. Gather some extra for me to cover the cost of these plasters. Which of you will come home with me? I'll show you how to identify them." Physician Hu shouldered his medicine basket and went out through the door without accepting the money.

Xie Ning followed. "I'll go. I often gathered herbs when I was little. I know my way around them."

Xie Ning was considerate, too. He took Physician Hu's medicine basket from him to carry it and followed him to learn to identify the herb.

Identifying medicinal herbs required smelling their scent and distinguishing their shape. Once Xie Ning knew what to look for, he plunged into the mountain behind the village. Creeping fig vine was easy to recognize. It was a creeping shrub that adapted well to life deep in the wild mountain woods. Xie Ning searched the mountain on an empty stomach.

Back at home, Grandmother Zhou heard that the third branch's husband was bedridden with back pain and came to have a look. Seeing Lin Jin's deathly pale face and pain-pinched brow, she pursed her lips without saying anything. Naturally, she did not offer any money for treatment either, and simply turned and left.

Though his mother's attitude chilled Zhou Sanfeng's heart, his concern for his husband meant that chill lasted only a moment. Most of his attention remained on Lin Jin.

Meanwhile, Zhou Jinian went to barter grain with the villagers for brown sugar. A question lingered in his mind: why was everything unfolding in this life unlike anything he had experienced in his previous one?

If that was the case, he could only carry his memories of his previous life into an entirely new life and face it anew. Could Heaven truly have eyes, refusing to allow cheating?

If that really was the case, he could only focus on living well in the present, because the unexpected always struck suddenly. Only by becoming strong enough could he keep such surprises from bringing pain to his family.

Xie Ning cut a basketful of creeping fig vine and headed straight to Physician Hu's house without stopping.

"You gathered the right plant. Use only the vine, about this much..." Physician Hu pinched a vine to demonstrate the length. "Decoct it in a bowl of water. Once the water turns cloudy, mix in brown sugar and have him drink it. You can also heat some sea salt in a pan, wrap it in a thin quilt, and apply it hot to his lower back. Is there anything you don't understand?"

Panting, Xie Ning nodded. "I understand."

"Go home and brew the medicine. Take all the vines with you. Gather more another day when you have time, and bring them to me along with my basket." Physician Hu waved him away.

Xie Ning thanked him and hurried home. He had gone up the mountain just after dawn, and now it was past noon. He was exhausted and hungry, but more importantly, his skin was beginning to itch and burn. The poison was about to flare up again.

Back at the Zhou courtyard, he rushed straight into the kitchen and began brewing the medicine. Zhou Jinian followed him in. "I'll do it. Go rest in the water for a while."

Since marrying into the family, Xie Ning had enjoyed so many good days. This time, the suffering was only half what it used to be. He could endure it.