"Mom, Mom."
Zhulan heard her little girl and quickly wiped her hands, "What's this, why are you crying? Tell Mom who's been bullying you."
Xue Han's little face was streaked with tears, "Mrs. Wu and the others said that Dad is not going to make it, hic."
Zhulan busily patted her daughter's back, the little girl was crying so hard she was hiccupping, "Don't listen to those idle gossips, your dad is doing fine!"
"Really?"
Zhulan smiled, "Really, Mom is brewing medicine for him right now!"
"Then I will go see Dad."
Zhulan hurriedly followed, then paused. It had only been a day, yet she accepted everything so naturally, really taking herself for a mother. Entering the room, Xue Han cautiously touched her husband's head and sniffed, "Dad, get well soon."
Zhulan stroked her daughter's hair, feeling warmth in her heart. The original text had made no small effort to vilify this child, but upon actual contact, the child had a kind heart and was filial, "Don't disturb your dad now, come, Mom has saved a meat bun for you."
Swallowing her saliva, Xue Han stopped crying and looked longingly at the meat bun, then at her father, who was still unconscious on the kang bed, and shook her head "Dad's sick, give it to Dad to eat."
Zhulan's heart melted completely and she gave it to her daughter, "Your dad is sick and can't eat anything too greasy, so you eat it!"
Only then did Xue Han take it, her eyes bending, "Thank you, Mom. Have you eaten?"
"Sweetie, Mom has eaten, now you eat."
Xue Han was about to leave with the bun when Zhulan quickly stopped her, "Don't give the bun to Third Sister, just eat it yourself."
Xue Han blinked, "Mom, Third Sister was beaten so badly she can't get off the kang. If it weren't for my corn cakes, the Wang family wouldn't have had anything to feed her."
Zhulan listened, her heart aching with discomfort. So, it seemed like Xue Han had at least saved Third Sister's, no, Wang Ru's life. Why was she not remembered for the good later on? "Mom knows you have a good heart, but there has to be a limit, right? Giving her corn cakes won't attract attention, but giving her a meat bun won't even reach her mouth before she might get beaten again. Think about it, will Third Sister be able to keep it?"
Xue Han thought for a bit, "The corn cakes were eaten secretly this morning. I was even questioned by Granny Wang when I left. Mom, I'll listen to you, I won't go."
"That's my good girl. Go on then."
"Okay!"
Zhulan was pleased her daughter hadn't attracted any hatred and hadn't wasted food on an ungrateful person, she couldn't help but hum a song.
Then she jumped, startled—her original husband had opened his eyes at some point and was staring straight at her with a somewhat unsettling gaze. Zhulan felt timid, "Awake, are you? I'll go make your medicine right now."
Saying this, she ran out quickly, calling out to her eldest daughter-in-law, "Your dad's awake, hurry up and boil some hot water to make some rice porridge."
Lady Li was startled and bit her tongue while sneaking a bite, her speech a bit slurred, "Okay, okay, Mom."
Zhulan, "..."
She silently repeated to herself three times that they were just making a fuss because they were poor before she calmed down. She really couldn't stand the sight of Lady Li sneaking food.
Zhulan sat on a little stool, staring at the clay pot, her mind uneasy. Her husband's behavior was very strange. According to the original memories, they were a couple since their youth and had weathered storms together, their love as solid as iron. But today, her husband's eyes didn't seem right, not like those of a husband toward his wife, more like a stranger's.
This thought gave Zhulan a fright, and she grew increasingly uneasy. Could he have discovered she wasn't the original owner of this body?
Then she thought again that can't be right. She hadn't had any contact with her husband since morning, the only time being when he was still unconscious. Recalling carefully, it seemed her husband had been acting strange since morning. And there was what the doctor had said about him having many worries—it set her mind racing with speculations, and once the thoughts started, she couldn't calm them.
Lady Li shouted, "Mom, the rice porridge is ready."
"I know, make sure you control your mouth. If I catch you stealing food again, you'll see how I'll deal with you. Got it?"
"Got it, Mom."