Chapter Eighty-Eight: The Bashful Illness

“Madam, could I possibly...”

Seeing the atmosphere ease, Jiang Fuan wanted to discuss with Madam Lu and ask if he could go in first to see Xue Xiaorong, but before he could finish, Madam Lu shot him a glare.

“I am not your madam! And I have not agreed to let you date my daughter yet! If this boy is lying about being able to cure me, then you can forget about ever seeing my daughter again for the rest of your life!”

Pointing at Qin Tian, Madam Lu snarled at Jiang Fuan.

Jiang Fuan’s heart lurched. He hurried to Qin Tian’s side and asked uneasily, “Qin Tian, can you really cure Madam Lu’s illness?”

This concerned his own happiness!

If he had left just now, then so be it; he could have gritted his teeth and endured a period of despondency until it passed.

But now that a sliver of hope had appeared, a blazing fire had lit up inside him. He did not want that flame of hope to be extinguished.

Nothing in this world was more painful than being given hope, only to be cast back into despair...

“It’s fine.” Qin Tian signaled for Jiang Fuan not to worry. In truth, Madam Lu’s illness was very easy to treat.

Jiang Fuan clenched his jaw. He and Qin Tian had no prior acquaintance and were meeting for the first time today. Qin Tian was already doing him a great favor by willing to help; he ought to trust him!

“Madam Lu, shall we find a room so I can treat you? As for the young people’s matters, let the young people settle them themselves. What do you think?” Qin Tian said.

His meaning was clear: do not stop Jiang Fuan from seeing Xue Xiaorong for the moment.

“Hmph. Go inside!” Madam Lu gave a cold snort.

After that, Snake Brother and the others temporarily withdrew. Yet when Snake Brother looked at Qin Tian, his eyes were full of gloom.

Qin Tian had noticed Snake Brother long ago. He merely smiled indifferently at that; such a minor character was not worth putting in his eyes.

“Rongrong!” The moment Jiang Fuan entered the ward, he saw Xue Xiaorong lying on the bed, her face deathly pale.

“Rongrong! Why were you so foolish!” He rushed to the bedside at once. Seeing the gauze wrapped around Xue Xiaorong’s wrist, he was at a loss.

“What are you doing in here?” Xue Beiping frowned slightly. Though he was not as hostile toward Jiang Fuan as Madam Lu, he also had no favorable impression of him.

“Old Xue, come here.” At that moment, Madam Lu beckoned to Xue Beiping.

Xue Beiping, puzzled, walked over to her side.

Madam Lu pulled Xue Beiping into a corner and whispered something into his ear.

It could be seen that Xue Beiping’s expression shifted from surprise to suspicion, then to hesitation, while he kept glancing toward Qin Tian.

When Xue Beiping looked at Qin Tian, there was a trace of scrutiny in his eyes.

“Is he reliable? He’s so young. Could he be deceiving you?” After hearing the whole story from Madam Lu, Xue Beiping frowned and said, “You know as well as I do that my illness has gone untreated for many years. The doctors said it was congenital, something I was born with.”

“Besides, the medical records for this illness could never possibly have been leaked, yet that boy could tell at a glance that I was sick. He does have some skill...” Madam Lu analyzed.

“So the condition for exchange is that we don’t stop Rongrong and that Jiang Fuan from seeing each other?” Xue Beiping asked.

“Mm. If my illness is truly cured, then let them be,” Madam Lu said.

This ailment had tormented her to the point of sheer agony. If someone could cure her, she would even be willing to hand over her entire fortune!

“Isn’t that basically selling your daughter to pay for treatment?” Xue Beiping’s expression turned odd.

“Watch your mouth!” Madam Lu shot him a glare.

Xue Beiping gave an awkward smile and quickly lowered his head obediently.

“You, come out with me now. We’re going next door for treatment.” Madam Lu pointed at Qin Tian.

Qin Tian nodded. Just as he was about to leave, Jiang Fuan grabbed him.

“Brother-in-law, just do your best! Even if you fail, I won’t blame you. At least you were willing to help me!” Jiang Fuan said, holding Qin Tian’s hand.

“...” Qin Tian was speechless. How had he suddenly become a brother-in-law?

“Cousin, what did you call him?” Jiang Yingying on the side widened her eyes.

“You two, I understand.” In truth, Jiang Fuan had long since noticed that when Jiang Yingying looked at Qin Tian, there was a light in her eyes—clearly the thing called love, though Jiang Yingying herself might not even know it.

“I... you...” Jiang Yingying was furious.

Jiang Tianxiang watched the scene with a smile, saying nothing.

“Enough nonsense. Are you going to treat me or not?” Madam Lu urged.

“What’s the rush? It’s only one needle.” Qin Tian looked at Madam Lu and said. Honestly, why rush him like that? Was she hurrying him to the grave?

Madam Lu turned and went into the neighboring room. Qin Tian, seeing this, again signaled to Jiang Fuan not to worry, then followed her in.

Xue Beiping trailed behind Qin Tian. He had just started to follow inside when Qin Tian, already inside, slammed the door shut with a bang, nearly flattening Xue Beiping’s nose.

“Idle people keep out!” Qin Tian’s voice came from inside, accompanied by the sound of the door being locked.

Madam Lu frowned slightly, feeling that Qin Tian did not look like he was here to do anything good.

“Are you really here to treat me? Boy, let me warn you, don’t try anything funny.” She pointed at Qin Tian and said.

“Take it off,” Qin Tian said.

“What?” Madam Lu froze.

“Take it off. Otherwise, how am I supposed to treat you?” Qin Tian repeated.

“You want to examine me and still need me to take off my clothes?” Madam Lu looked at him in disbelief.

Qin Tian took out a silver needle from his chest and waved it in front of her. “If you don’t take off your clothes, how am I supposed to use acupuncture on you?”

“Acupuncture works?” Madam Lu did not believe him. She had tried acupuncture long ago; it had no effect whatsoever. At present, she had only been taking medication to ease the pain.

“Who is treating whom here? Why do you have so much nonsense? Can’t you just listen to the doctor properly?” Qin Tian said impatiently.

This Madam Lu was truly troublesome.

“Boy, if I find out you have foul intentions, I’ll peel your skin off!” Madam Lu clenched her jaw and removed her outer garment.

“Don’t worry. I’m not interested in middle-aged ladies,” Qin Tian said flatly.

Though he said that, he was still somewhat startled by the smoothness of her skin; there was not a single wrinkle on it. Wealthy people truly knew how to maintain themselves.

Madam Lu wore a furious expression. She had always been very confident in her looks and figure; she was in no way comparable to some middle-aged lady.

“Ah!” Before Madam Lu could react to her anger, she let out a cry.

Qin Tian seized her arm, turned her body around, and pinned her other arm as well. Like a guard holding a prisoner, he pressed her firmly in place.

Then he inserted a silver needle into her back.

“Ah!” Madam Lu cried out again, this time with a hint of pleasure, a trace of relief mingling with the pain.

“See if your chest still hurts now,” Qin Tian asked, simultaneously releasing her arms.

Madam Lu turned her head and looked at Qin Tian. A faint flush colored her cheeks, but she truly felt that she seemed to be better, so she clenched her jaw and, right in front of Qin Tian, kneaded her chest.

The moment she did so, Madam Lu was shocked to discover that it really no longer hurt!

Yes, Madam Lu’s illness was a condition similar to engorgement, causing her chest to ache and swell in a persistent dull pain.

Especially in summer, and just before rainy weather, the swelling pain became even worse!

At such times, Madam Lu would be in such agony that she wished she could take a knife and cut a slit across her chest!

She had seen countless doctors without cure, yet she never imagined that Qin Tian would simply prick her once with a needle, and then it would be gone!

How utterly miraculous was that?