The Heroine Fell Deeply For Her [Quick Transmigration] 150

Chapter 150: Taken Home by the Princess Part 38

The group chatted excitedly, completely forgetting about Tao Ning eating in the corner.

The merchant in blue, feeling outnumbered, gave up and started eating his meal.

After finishing, Tao Ning took the medicine and returned to the village.

It was still early, and Qiao Xin was playing with a small, fluffy puppy that had wandered over from a neighbor’s house. The puppy, less than three months old, was incredibly cute.

Qiao Xin tickled its nose with a blade of grass, and the puppy sneezed, tumbling over.

Its fluffy body rolled on the ground, and it let out a disgruntled whimper.

Qiao Xin burst into laughter.

After a while, she stood up, smoothing her skirt, and looked towards the room that had been quiet all morning, a worried expression on her face.

She had heard the other young woman was ill, but how serious could it be for her to be so quiet all day, not even asking for food or water?

Qiao Xin was worried and wanted to check on her, what if she was awake but couldn’t speak? She might die of thirst.

Just as she made up her mind, the puppy’s playful barks came from outside.

As Tao Ning reached the familiar gate, a fluffy ball of fur rushed out, barking at her excitedly.

Tao Ning walked past it, but the puppy, small but brave, grabbed the hem of her skirt.

Tao Ning tugged on her skirt: “Let go.”

Puppy: “Woof!”

Tao Ning gave up, dragging the furry creature along as she entered, the puppy’s short legs struggling to keep up.

Unable to cross the threshold with its short legs, the puppy reluctantly released its grip, tumbling over the threshold before catching up to Tao Ning.

Qiao Xin said in surprise, “You’re back? That was fast!”

Tao Ning, holding the medicine, explained, “I met an ox cart on my way back and hitched a ride.”

This wasn’t unusual, and seeing Tao Ning’s clean forehead and clothes, Qiao Xin believed her.

Seeing the package in her hand, she offered, “I’ll brew it for you, I’m brewing medicine for my grandmother later anyway, did the physician give you any instructions?”

There was no physician, the physician was standing right before her. Tao Ning glanced at the herbs in her hand.

Qiao Xin, simple and enthusiastic, unlike the reserved young ladies of the capital, took the package from her: “Brewing medicine takes time, you should go look after your sister.”

Tao Ning, her hands empty, her thoughts exposed, could only tell Qiao Xin how to brew the medicine and went inside.

Qin Yang was still unconscious, days of exhaustion finally catching up to her frail body.

The blanket covering her was like a heavy cloud, almost suffocating.

Tao Ning sat by the bed, moistening Qin Yang’s dry lips with water, then checked her pulse, releasing her hand after a while, sighing softly.

The poison Qin Yang had been afflicted with since childhood was beyond the imperial physicians’ abilities, requiring rare and precious ingredients for even a chance of a cure. It would have been easier to manage in the palace, and she had already formulated most of the antidote.

The herbs she had gathered were just a temporary solution, suppressing the poison’s effects, and even if Qin Yang didn’t say anything, Tao Ning knew she had to return to the capital.

The smell of medicine gradually intensified outside, and Qiao Xin’s grandmother, waking up from her nap, walked towards the kitchen, leaning on her cane, asking her granddaughter, as usual, if she could add honey to her medicine.

Qiao Xin, busy by the stove, her face flushed from the heat, replied loudly, “No, Grandma, this is for the other young lady, not for you.”

Grandmother hummed, pointing at another pot: “Then can I have honey in my medicine today?”

Qiao Xin continued loudly, “Not today, maybe tomorrow.”

Grandmother: “Tomorrow then?”

Qiao Xin nodded, her voice even louder: “Yes, tomorrow, the physician said not today.”

Grandmother, having forgotten if she had heard this yesterday, reluctantly left, sitting under the eaves and watching the puppy chase grasshoppers.

A sound came from the distance, and Tao Ning opened the door, carrying a wooden basin, filled it with water, then returned to the room, closing the door silently.

Grandmother muttered softly, “This one looks unfamiliar, but that one… I’ve seen her somewhere before…”

After the medicine was brewed, Qiao Xin brought it over and knocked on the door.

Tao Ning opened the door, and Qiao Xin glanced inside, seeing the slender figure sleeping peacefully on the bed, her skin as translucent as porcelain.

She didn’t seem that ill. Her grandmother, with her leg pain, also tossed and turned in her sleep, occasionally moaning, and she herself, when she had a fever, would kick off the blankets and toss and turn from the discomfort.

This was the first time she had seen such a quiet patient.

Qiao Xin asked, “Is she feeling better?”

Tao Ning’s smile was tinged with worry: “We might have to impose on you for a few more days, Miss Qiao.”

Qiao Xin didn’t mind: “Don’t worry about it, just stay, no one’s home now, it’s more lively with you and your sister here.”

The door closed again, and Tao Ning walked inside with the medicine, sitting down by the bed.

Qiao Xin, often caring for her grandmother, was meticulous, the medicine not only strained clean but also cooled to a comfortable temperature.

Adjusting Qin Yang’s position, Tao Ning carefully spooned the medicine into her mouth.

Perhaps due to childhood trauma, Qin Yang resisted the bitter taste, her jaw clenched tightly, the medicine dripping from the corners of her mouth.

Tao Ning put down the bowl and wiped the medicine from Qin Yang’s lips and chin with a handkerchief.

She couldn’t refuse the medicine in her condition, it would only make her sicker.

After a moment of thought, Tao Ning took a mouthful of the medicine, leaned down, and kissed Qin Yang, her tongue gently prying open her lips, transferring the medicine.

Qin Yang, unconscious, instinctively swallowed the bitter liquid.

After several repetitions, the bowl was empty, and Tao Ning carefully wiped Qin Yang’s lips.

In the evening, Qiao Xin knocked on the door, calling Tao Ning for dinner.

Tao Ning, worried about Qin Yang, ate quickly, returning with a bowl of porridge and another dose of medicine.

Qiao Xin had slaughtered the pheasant, which had been fattening up for winter, already planning how to cook it.

Stewed or roasted, both delicious, unable to choose, she decided to do both, the cool weather preventing spoilage.

But considering the two patients at home, and her grandmother’s bad teeth, she used two pheasant legs to make a pot of porridge, sharing some with Qin Yang.

Tao Ning returned with the food and fed it to Qin Yang using the same method as before.

After finishing, she checked Qin Yang’s pulse again, her usually furrowed brows finally relaxing slightly.

With Qin Yang unconscious, shielded from the outside world, it was a rare moment of peace.

Staring at Qin Yang’s sleeping face for a moment, Tao Ning also slipped under the covers, flicking a copper coin to extinguish the candle, which landed on the table with a soft clink.

Another night passed, and Qiao Family Village awakened to the rooster’s crowing.

Tao Ning brought the porridge and continued feeding Qin Yang, taking a sip first before transferring it.

As she fed her, she wondered when Qin Yang would wake up and what was happening outside.

In the courtyard, Qiao Xin was pouring out the brewed medicine when the puppy from next door came to visit again, and she gave it a pheasant bone to chew on.

The puppy, overjoyed, wagged its tail excitedly.

Qiao Xin: “I saved this for you, don’t break your baby teeth.”

Avoiding the enthusiastic puppy, she carried the medicine towards the house, noticing the door wasn’t closed but slightly ajar, pushing it open.

Light streamed in, illuminating the scene inside.

Tao Ning sat by the bed, leaning over the sleeping figure, their lips pressed together. The sunlight was bright, and Qiao Xin even saw Tao Ning’s tongue slip between Qin Yang’s lips, their embrace intimate.

Qiao Xin’s mind went blank, her face flushing. As a young woman who had just come of age, this was a scene she had never witnessed before.

Tao Ning, feeding Qin Yang porridge, heard the gasp and glanced towards the door, then, after carefully feeding the last spoonful and wiping Qin Yang’s lips, she turned to look at the doorway.

The figure was gone, only a bowl of steaming medicine remained.

Tao Ning picked it up, tested the temperature, and fed it to Qin Yang.

Taking the empty bowl to the kitchen to wash it, she only saw Qiao Xin’s grandmother sitting under the eaves, her eyes closed, a dog in her lap, Qiao Xin nowhere to be seen.

She looked around, unable to find her, and not wanting to disturb the sleeping old woman, she filled the basin with water and washed the bowl.

It wasn’t until evening that Qiao Xin returned, humming a tune and tossing a pouch of coins in the air.

After greeting her grandmother, she went straight to the kitchen, and soon, the aroma of food filled the courtyard.

“Knock, knock.” Tao Ning, dozing off by the bed, was startled awake by the knocking, realizing it was already dark.

Opening the door, it was indeed Qiao Xin, her eyes bright, pointing towards the brightly lit main room: “Dinner’s ready.”

Tao Ning stepped out, glancing at the still unconscious Qin Yang before quietly closing the door.

Qiao Xin suddenly said, “I understand now, you’re feeding her mouth-to-mouth because you don’t have a medicine dropper, we have one, I’ll find it for you later. You and your sister have such a good relationship, I’m an only child, I also want to experience having someone to grow up with.”

When her grandmother was ill, unable to take medicine herself, Qiao Xin had fed her mouth-to-mouth, and she had eventually recovered.

Tao Ning, however, said, “No, she’s not my blood sister.”

Qiao Xin looked at her, puzzled: “But you said she was your sister?”

Tao Ning: “‘Sister’ has more than one meaning.”

Normally, Qiao Xin wouldn’t pry, but today, she felt a strange urge to know.

She asked nonchalantly, “What other meaning could it have?”

Tao Ning said gently but firmly, “To me, it means ‘wife.'”

Qiao Xin: “…”

She fell silent, a rare quiet meal.

After dinner, Qiao Xin followed Tao Ning to the kitchen, watching as she warmed the medicine, the care in her eyes genuine.

As the fire crackled, Qiao Xin suddenly said, “Why did you tell me directly? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell others?”

Even in the relatively open-minded Yu Dynasty, this kind of relationship was still taboo, something she had only heard mentioned in passing by storytellers, eliciting laughter from the audience.

More often than not, she was told that a woman’s duty was to be a wife and mother, her own mother agreeing, urging her to find a good husband.

She had thought then, A good husband? A good wife is more like it.

Even Qiao Xin, despite her straightforward nature, wouldn’t be so blunt with a stranger.

Tao Ning: “Whether you tell others is your decision, but not being honest with you would be wrong of me.”

Qiao Xin snapped a chili stem in half: “Okay, I think I understand how I felt a few days ago.”

Love at first sight, before even knowing the person’s character, and not being too disappointed after getting to know her, although still slightly disappointed, only confirmed her good judgment.

Having loved someone so open and upright wasn’t a bad thing.

Thinking this, Qiao Xin felt better.

She said, “Everyone does foolish things when they’re young.”

Tao Ning was amused by her words, a teenager speaking like an old woman: “We’ve promised to be together, and we’ll remember your kindness.”

Qiao Xin, seeing Tao Ning turn around, straightened up, slightly embarrassed: “I just lent you a room, and you two don’t eat much. Besides, that pheasant was enough for us for days, no need to be so polite.”

Tao Ning: “It’s easy to add flowers to brocade, but difficult to offer fuel in snowy weather. Miss Qiao, with your kind heart, wouldn’t consider this a favor.”

Qiao Xin blushed, scratching her head, unexpectedly feeling quite proud of herself.

Soon, Tao Ning left with the medicine. The nights were getting colder, a chill entering the room whenever the door was opened.

Qiao Xin shivered, rubbing her arms, and returned to her room to sleep.

On the third day of her unconsciousness, Qin Yang finally woke up.

She heard muffled voices, then footsteps approaching, the door opening.

A familiar medicinal scent filled the room, the same scent from her dreams these past few days, and hearing the clinking of a spoon against a bowl, she realized it wasn’t a dream, someone had been feeding her medicine.

Tao Ning, having cooled the medicine, was about to feed it to Qin Yang when she turned and saw Qin Yang’s open eyes, her own eyes lighting up.

Putting down the bowl, she hurried to the bedside: “Changyi, you’re awake! How are you feeling? Are you still uncomfortable anywhere?”

Tao Ning helped her sit up, and Qin Yang, her body weak after days of being bedridden, leaned against her: “I’m fine, the poison has been suppressed. How long have I been asleep? This medicine, did you call for a physician?”

An ordinary physician wouldn’t be able to detect the lingering poison, let alone prescribe the right medicine to suppress it, she hadn’t expected such a skilled person in this remote village.

Tao Ning answered her questions one by one: “You’ve been asleep for three days, including today. I didn’t call for a physician, I prepared the medicine myself, and it seems to be working.”

Qin Yang was surprised: “You prepared it?”

Tao Ning had mentioned wanting to cure her, even reading many ancient texts, and Qin Yang, not wanting to disappoint her, had helped gather them.

She hadn’t expected Tao Ning to be so talented, not just talking the talk.

Tao Ning picked up the bowl, blew on the medicine, and fed it to her: “Yes, I got the herbs from the town, I wouldn’t dare try anything I’m not sure of on you.”

“I underestimated you.” Qin Yang wanted to feed herself, but her hand was too weak to lift, so she could only lean against Tao Ning and take the medicine obediently.