Seeing Yang Dong about to leave, Yang Xiaocui panicked. She couldn’t let him go. If Yang Dong went to find her mother, all her plans would be ruined.

And there wouldn’t be any silver to buy Yang Daniu’s silence.

She hurriedly grabbed Yang Dong and pleaded, "Don’t, don’t go to my mom. If you do, my mom will know I told someone about this and she’ll definitely hit me and curse me. I’m begging you, don’t go."

Confronted with Xiaocui’s words, Yang Dong was undeterred, insisting on confronting her, "No, this can’t just settle like this. How can you not get treated for your illness?"

"Don’t go, really don’t go, I’m begging you. If you really go, life at home will be miserable for me. Please don’t go. I’m coming to you because I want to secretly get myself treated, so if I marry you, I won’t be full of illnesses, and it won’t affect giving birth later."

Yang Xiaocui was still desperately trying to persuade him, afraid Yang Dong would really go and find her mother.

This time, Yang Xiaocui’s words seemed to have moved Yang Dong. He stopped in his tracks, suddenly unsure of what to say. This woman he was supposed to marry—whom he didn’t have much regard for—was considering their future.

At home, his mother hadn’t stopped nagging him about ensuring Xiaocui took care of her health for good childbearing. He agreed but didn’t act much, just following his mother’s instructions by sending boiled eggs for now.

Thinking about it now, Xiaocui wasn’t wrong. If the malnutrition-caused illness wasn’t treated, it wouldn’t do.

After pondering this, his heart softened. If he went to argue with Aunt Lan Hua, Xiaocui wouldn’t have a good time at home. He knew well enough how Aunt Lan Hua could be.

So he said, "Since that’s the case, I’ll listen to you. I won’t go find her. Then I’ll go to town and get medicine for you. Once I bring the medicine back, my mom can brew it, and you can come to my house every morning to take it; this way, your mom won’t find out."

Yang Dong thought the strong smell of brewing medicine at home would make it hard to hide from the family, hence suggesting Xiaocui come to his house where his mom could brew it.

But Xiaocui got anxious at Yang Dong’s kindness. She wanted the silver, not the medicine. Without silver for Yang Daniu, she’d be in trouble.

She quickly said, "No need, no need. Just lend me the silver for the medicine. I’ll handle buying and brewing it myself, avoiding my family’s notice. Don’t worry. If I come to your house every day, my mom will get suspicious, and it wouldn’t be good for others to see either."

Actually, Yang Dong didn’t want Xiaocui coming to his house every day either, to avoid gossip since they weren’t yet married. Frequent visits could lead to rumors.

There was no other way, so he continued suggesting Xiaocui come to his house.

But since Xiaocui said she had a way to avoid her family, he agreed it was better that way.

So he said, "You’re right. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Let’s do this, I’ll still go to town and buy the medicine for you. A girl’s not supposed to go to town—if your mom finds out, it’d be hard for you to explain."

Yang Dong knew Xiaocui rarely went to town. The medicine purchase needed to be done secretly, any unexpected incident could be troublesome.