The doctor arrived, an old man who immediately asked, "How are your stools?"
Ling Yao felt a bit numb, casting a resentful glance at Xiao Shan, who was listening nearby.
Although she felt she might have a slight issue, what was the point of him calling a doctor at the drop of a hat? She had simply eaten a bit too much and could control it herself.
Why invite such a silly old man?
Asking a little fairy about her "stools," how was she supposed to answer?
What's more, Xiao Shan stood there like a tree stump, listening intently.
"You go out," she yelled at Xiao Shan.
"Why?" Xiao Shan asked, confused.
Was there something he couldn't know? Did she really feel unwell and was hiding it from him?
"Go get me a cup of water, I want to drink."
So that was it.
Xiao Shan went out to get her water.
Ling Yao seized the opportunity to quickly tell the doctor, "Doctor, I've been eating a lot lately, so naturally, I'm excreting more, but it's all normal. There are no other problems."
Doctor Xu nodded gravely, stroked his beard, and then took her pulse.
There seemed to be no problem, which was strange. For such a young girl to eat so much was indeed very unusual.
Xiao Shan came in, handed the water to Ling Yao, and seeing the old doctor's solemn expression, couldn't help but ask, "Is something wrong?"
Doctor Xu pondered, then asked again, "How are your stools?"
Ling Yao choked on her water, coughing.
Xiao Shan quickly patted her back, "You're so careless, choking even while drinking water."
Ling Yao's eyes watered from the coughing, and she was furious. She shoved the cup at Xiao Shan fiercely, "Do you want to scald me to death? Go get another cup!"
Her long-lost temper flared up again. Xiao Shan smiled and, without a word, took the cup and went out.
Doctor Xu watched, shaking his head secretly: Truly spoiled.
"Doctor, my stools are perfectly normal, you've already asked!" Ling Yao gritted her teeth.
"Whether it's normal or not isn't up to you to say. Grandpa needs to see."
What? He still wanted to see her stools?
Absolutely not!
"I'm not sick, you can leave!"
"Whether you're sick or not isn't up to you to decide either."
Quack doctor, definitely a quack doctor! She missed Qing He, she missed Ling Long.
When Xiao Shan came back in, he saw Ling Yao with a stern little face, looking like she was enduring something, while the old doctor was slowly packing his medicine box.
"Xiao Shan, I'm not sick, make him leave!"
Doctor Xu sighed, "Alas, illness isn't frightening. What's frightening is overlooking it, misdiagnosing, delaying treatment, and causing irreversible damage. That would be a pity."
Xiao Shan's brows furrowed sharply, "What do you mean? Doctor, speak clearly."
"I'll be blunt. For such a small child to eat so much in a day and still be so thin is absolutely abnormal. Not being able to find the illness isn't a good thing. If you hide your illness, it will only worsen."
Xiao Shan understood. It must be that the girl wasn't cooperating, no wonder he was sent out to get water so many times.
"Xue Niang, don't make me worry."
She was perfectly fine, this doctor was just exaggerating. But seeing the worry on Xiao Shan's face, she couldn't help but compromise.
She couldn't bear to see him frown.
Finally, Ling Yao, in utter "shame," with Xiao Shan personally attending to her, provided a stool sample for the old doctor to examine.
She used to think peeing for him was the ultimate humiliation of her life, but now, there was only more humiliation, no most humiliation.
She closed her eyes, lying stiffly like a mummified corpse, her two stiff hands by her sides, listening to the old doctor's conversation with Xiao Shan.
Then, in the end, nothing was found!
The old quack's final diagnosis: her stomach had been stretched. It was originally the size of an egg, but now it was as big as a water ladle.
She needed to gradually control her diet and let her stomach shrink back to its original size.
Ling Yao burst into tears of grievance on the spot.
Quack doctor, definitely a quack doctor!
After the doctor left, Xiao Shan came to comfort her. Ling Yao turned her back, ignoring him.
Xiao Shan took out the iron box he had dug up.
"Do you want to see what Father left behind?"
Ling Yao stirred. She wanted to see, but the events just now made her feel deeply humiliated. She pricked up her ears and heard Xiao Shan open the box, and then he let out a sound of confusion.
"Huh? What's this?"
But he didn't say what it was, only the clanging sound of things being dropped into the iron box.
Then, Xiao Shan fell silent.
Ling Yao slowly turned her head and saw him staring blankly at a yellowed letter.
"What did Grandpa say?"
Xiao Shan looked up, his expression unchanged, "So he really wasn't dead back then!"
As for whether he was still alive now, he didn't know.
He was probably dead. Otherwise, with the formidable reputation of Divine Martial General, he wouldn't have failed to investigate him.
Ling Yao snatched the letter.
The letter was simple, stating that he had to go to the capital for some business. If he didn't return, they were not to look for him anymore.
He asked Xiao Shan to use the silver in the box to marry a wife and live a good life.
The silver in the box, after so many years, had turned black. It was all in broken pieces, some large, some small, clearly saved up bit by bit.
"This is the silver I earned working for others and brought home. Father had been saving it," Xiao Shan said, his voice a little low.
Ling Yao raked the silver into her hands. "Since it's for marrying a wife, and you married me, it's mine now."
Xiao Shan let out a laugh, "Yes, yours."
"What was Grandpa doing in the capital back then? Did he know anyone there?"
Ling Yao thought of Chen Dali's words again.
That madman said Grandpa had sold his pregnant wife to a rich man from out of town.
Why would a rich man from out of town buy a woman who was about to give birth?
Was that rich man from the capital?
The Left Prime Minister, under the command of Queen Zun Qirong, found a pregnant woman from Suiye who was about to give birth, and extracted her from the womb according to the expected birth time of the Great Yao Divine Lord!
Feng Shijin's words suddenly came to mind.
Ling Yao shivered involuntarily.
"What's wrong? Are you cold? Quickly cover yourself with a blanket."
Ling Yao pressed down on the hand Xiao Shan extended: "A Shan, where is that madman?"
Xiao Shan's gaze turned cold, "He was dealt with, naturally."
Dealt with? So quickly.
Yes, that person had hurt her. How could Xiao Shan allow him to live?
Seeing Ling Yao's displeased expression, her frail little body truly evoked pity. Xiao Shan pulled the blanket over and draped it on her.
"Tomorrow, you rest well. I'll go and repair the graves, and then we'll leave."
"We're not staying long?"
"What's there to stay for? You got hurt as soon as we returned. It's clearly not a good place."
"A Shan, don't dismiss everything because of one bad person. Your childhood friends were all very sincere and looked forward to your return. The villagers are still simple and honest."
Since Ling Yao's rebirth, her heart carried a sense of gratitude and contentment. She viewed people and things with less prejudice and more tolerance.
She was diligently getting to know this world anew. There were bad people everywhere, but there were still more good people.
But for some reason, Xiao Shan disliked the place where he grew up intensely. Had something happened?
Ling Yao's words surprised Xiao Shan and also made him fall into thought.
Why did he feel this place was bad?
That's right, it was because Baiyang Village had a bullying village chief. This had almost become a shadow of his childhood, causing him to forget the happy times playing with his friends.
He had once taught Xue Niang to overcome things that frightened him, but he himself...