A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

The bloodstains on Mu Nanzhao's body had been wiped clean.

His mouth and nose finally stopped bleeding, but his breathing remained weak and his pulse was erratic.

At this moment, he was more like a living dead, with one foot in the underworld and the other in the human world, and he could die at any moment.

The old doctor looked up and said, "Zhang Niangzi, Xixi, it's no use both of you staying here."

"Go to that room and rest for a while. If you need anything, I'll call you anytime."

He then turned to Mu Nanzhao, pressing his fingers to his wrist pulse, "He won't die anytime soon."

"When he is about to die, I will definitely be able to gather the whole family to send him off on his final journey."

Aunt Zhang, afraid that Gu Xixi would be upset, quickly scolded, "You old fool, you're spouting nonsense! Bah, bah, bah!"

"You're a doctor, you need to stay by his side, he can't die!"

The old doctor readily agreed, "Alright, I'll say so. I'll call you as soon as he comes back to life."

In the main room, Gu Xixi sat upright on the kang (a heated brick bed), continuing to review An Qinghe's proposal, as if nothing had happened.

Aunt Zhang glanced at Gu Xixi countless times and sighed silently.

She initially knew her future son-in-law had a congenital weakness, but she simply thought he would recover with proper care and grow older. Who would have thought this illness would be so deadly, and so rapidly developing!

Even if Aunt Zhang was completely ignorant, she could roughly guess at this point that the so-called weakness was not so simple.

The most difficult one right now must be Xixi, right?

She doesn't say anything, probably keeping it all bottled up inside.

After hesitating for a while, Aunt Zhang tried to break the silence in a relaxed manner, "Xixi, let Auntie get you something to eat."

"We still have some old pumpkins at home, how about making a pumpkin sweet soup?"

Stone quickly chimed in, "Sweet soup is good! Didn't Sister Xixi say that eating sweet things can make you feel good!"

Gu Xixi looked up and saw two pairs of smiling eyes that also held a hint of unease.

She sighed inwardly.

The old woman and the young child wanted to care for her but were afraid of overdoing it, so they used loud laughter to cover it up.

Although Gu Xixi didn't want to eat yet, she couldn't bear to refuse her family's kindness.

So she smiled and said, "Okay, let's make it together. Let's also make a few glutinous rice balls and cook them in. My master loves to eat these."

Gu Xixi's house was locked up tight that day, and she refused all visitors, no matter who came.

The reason given was that Gu Xixi had recently fallen ill due to overwork and needed to take medication and rest.

The courtyard was quiet; even the lively and playful Stone had quieted down and was sitting obediently inside reading and writing.

The whole family's lunch was sweet pumpkin soup with small glutinous rice balls, except for Mu Nanzhao, who was still unconscious.

In the evening, Gu Xixi went to the west room to deliver dinner to the old doctor.

At this point, Mu Nanzhao had essentially lived an extra afternoon.

The old doctor recognized who it was and first shook his head at Gu Xixi.

Gu Xixi put down the tray and asked, "Has he not gotten any better at all?"

"No." The old doctor got up, stretched his back and legs, and walked to the table to sit down.

As a doctor, I naturally have to tell the truth. "His pulse was like a string about to snap, ready to break at any moment. If that moment came, even if my master or your grandmaster came back to life, they wouldn't be able to save him."

Gu Xixi placed the bowl and chopsticks in the spot where the old doctor was used to touching.

"Is there really no room for maneuver?"

The old doctor picked up the bowl and slurped down the porridge, exclaiming, "Yes, there is!"

Gu Xixi looked up in surprise, "What? What other medicine or method do we need?"

The old doctor swallowed and said, "Didn't you give him the medicine?"

"According to you, whether he lives or dies depends on him."

Gu Xixi looked at the wooden bed on the other side from a distance.

She could hardly sense any signs of life in Mu Nanzhao.

The old doctor remembered something else, "Oh, and one more thing, you need to be mentally prepared."

Gu Xixi turned to the old doctor and said, "Please speak."

The old doctor said, "The poison he was given is extremely potent and has been eroding his internal organs for a long time."

"Perhaps he survived by sheer luck, but he wasn't truly alive; he was like a living dead, lying in bed, oblivious and unaware."

"That's a possibility."

Gu Xixi hesitated for a moment and said, "You mean... a person in a vegetative state?"

"A person in a vegetative state?" the old doctor repeated with amusement.

"A person in a vegetative state is unaware, unaware, and heartless from the inside out. They are indeed like plants and trees. The term 'vegetative state' is very vivid and apt."

The old doctor relapsed into his old habit: "I've never had the chance to study how to treat vegetative state patients."

"Xixi, what if he succeeds..."

“Master!” Gu Xixi interrupted the old doctor, “Some people are unconscious, but they are only unable to move because their bodies are confined. In fact, they can still hear the sounds of the outside world.”

"He's not dead yet, and you're already planning to study him? What if he hears this? When he wakes up, will you have the nerve to face him?"

Knowing he was in the wrong, the old doctor lowered his head and said in a meek voice, "This child is, after all, your betrothed, disciple. I was wrong; I shouldn't have lost my temper and talked nonsense."

He rubbed his hands like a child who had done something wrong, looking extremely pitiful.

"Xixi, don't be angry."

Gu Xixi said seriously, "I'm not angry with you. You worked day and night to save him. No one has sacrificed as much as you have."

The old doctor looked somewhat awkward. "I know my apprentice won't take it to heart. It's just..."

"It's just that...could you please not tell your aunt what I just said?"

The old man's voice grew softer and softer until it was barely a mosquito's hum.

Gu Xixi's slightly furrowed brows suddenly relaxed.

It turned out to be the case.

Taking advantage of the fact that the old doctor was blind, she gave him a few meaningful glances.

"Master, are you very afraid of my aunt?"

The old doctor muttered, "Of course I'm scared. She almost sent me back to Stone Village!"

Gu Xixi naturally agreed to the old doctor's request.

That night, Aunt Zhang made an excuse to insist on sleeping with Xixi.

The real reason was that he was worried that Gu Xixi might overthink things if she was alone.

"You slept like this when you were little."

Gu Xixi lay on the pillow and smiled, "My mother passed away early, and everyone says that I am the child you raised single-handedly."

Aunt Zhang chuckled a few times, then reached out and gently patted Gu Xixi from under the blanket.

Just like how I coaxed Gu Xixi to sleep countless times when she was young.

"Sleep well, so you can grow up quickly."

“My Xixi has grown up so much. In about half a year, Xixi will get married, and then we won’t have many chances to lie down and talk like this anymore.”

Gu Xixi said, "I don't want to get married."

A year is too short, there are too many things to do, except for getting married.

Aunt Zhang slapped her and scolded, "Nonsense! How can a girl not get married?"

"Once Xiao Chen recovers, your relationship..."

Aunt Zhang realized she had said the wrong thing halfway through her sentence.

Xiao Chen's fate is currently unknown, and she came to comfort Xi Xi, so she shouldn't have brought up Xiao Chen and the marriage at this time.

After a moment of silence, Aunt Zhang was about to say something to make amends.

Gu Xixi said softly, "Auntie, he's not someone who gives up so easily."