Ruan Xiang Yin did not expect that when she woke up, everything would be settled.

Ruan Xiang Yin’s parents agreed to the marriage of the two people and the wedding date was set in half a month’s time. 

Liu Cai Lian’s identity as Dong Fang Tang’s fiancée was also confirmed to be fake. 

All these really made her unable to believe that things could be solved so easily.  Could this be considered as Dong Tang Tang’s good luck?

After she woke up, she actually asked Dong Fang Tang about his real fiancée but he just smiled and told her that when the time comes she would naturally know.   It was really difficult to understand what tricks he was playing.

 

***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***

 

Her eyebrows wrinkled.  Holding the empty bowl from which Dong Fang Tang had just drank his medicine, Ruan Xiang Yin walked out of the room and went in the direction of the kitchen.  In fact, she could have let the maids do these things and it was not necessary for her to do it herself.  However, she just wanted to go to the kitchen to prepare some medicinal soup as nourishment for Dong Fang Tang.

“Third Furen,……there is a lady in the hall asking for you and she said she came from the Long Feng Restaurant in Gangling City.  She said her name is Dong Mei and she is Third Furen’s old acquaintance.”

“Dong Mei?  Uncle Jiang, thank you.  I’ll have to trouble you with this.”

After Ruan Xiang Yin handed him the empty bowl, she rushed happily towards the hall with hurried footsteps.

“Third Furen, please walk slowly!  Not so fast!”  Uncle Jiang looked at her from behind with fear.

It could be seen that this person Dong Mei must have a good relationship with the Third Furen.  If not, why does the Third Furen who had always been calm, feel so happy now?

When she reached the hall and saw Dong Mei, she took Dong Mei to the side patio so that they could talk in private.  After ordering snacks and tea, she could not help but ask.

“Dong Mei, why are you here?”

“It was the Third Young Master who requested for me to make this trip.  Anyway, I also wanted to see you, so I came.”

They have not met for a year and now they are meeting again.  With the knowledge that she is doing well, Dong Mei felt rest assured.

“Why did Dong Fang Tang request for you to come?”  Ruan Xiang Yin asked curiously.

“There is something that the Third Young Master wanted me to explain to you personally.”

“What is it?”

“The silver bracelet on your left wrist originally belonged to me.”

Dong Mei’s words gave her a shock.  Dong Mei was pointing a finger at the silver bracelet on her left wrist.  Dong Fang Tang had put this silver bracelet on her while she was still in deep sleep.

“You mean, you were his fiancée?  Then why did you……..”

Ruan Xiang Yin was really shocked.  Since she was Dong Fang Tang’s fiancée, then why did she marry Wang Qin?

“In the eyes of the people, they may think I am stupid for giving up the chance of being Dong Fang Tang’s wife and the Third Furen of the Dong Fang Residence.  But I can tell you, Xiang Yin, I don’t regret my choice.  Since I was young, I already knew I have a fiancé by the name of Dong Fang Tang and I also know that he didn’t know about me.  As long as I go to him and request for marriage before he is 25 years old, I will have the chance to be his wife.  My father was a County Officer but because he was too honest, he offended a lot of people.  Later, he decided to live in seclusion in the forest.  He was a friend of Third Young Master’s father and so they had agreed to this marriage.”

Dong Mei glanced at the surprised look on Ruan Xiang Yin’s face when she spoke of the origin of this marriage agreement.  After taking a sip of the tea, she continued. 

“After our family resumed civilian status, our days passed with hardships but we were carefree. It so happened at that time, we lived next to Wang Qin.  His whole family took good care of us and our love for each other grew as time passed.  Just at that time, the Third Young Master found me.  That was about six years ago.”

“Wait!  Wait!  You said Dong Fang Tang found you?”

Listening up to here, Ruan Xiang Yin could not help but feel puzzled.  According to logic, how could Dong Fang Tang know that his fiancée is her?  The marriages of all four Dong Fang siblings were arranged by their parents, so by right, he should not have known about this.  She knew about this matter because Luo Bing Er told her everything after she woke up.

“That’s right.  Third Young Master is very smart.  He knew very well about his father’s friendship with his friends, so he came to me and probed about the silver bracelet.  At that time, I readily admitted and I also tried to find out whether he was willing to go through with this marriage.  Actually, at that time, I was still struggling in my heart.  After all, Divine Doctor Dong Fang Tang is a man whom all maidens hoped to marry but I was also unable to put down my feelings for Wang Qin.  Just as I was struggling to make a decision, Third Young Master said he was unwilling.”

In her opinion, the Third Young Master is the smartest and most astute of the brothers otherwise he would not have the foresight to actively seek out his fiancée.

“What?!  Do you mean to say Dong Fang Tang had rejected the marriage agreement?!  Why?  It was a marriage agreement set by his father before his death!”  Ruan Xiang Yin did not understand and asked.

“Xiang Yin, ask yourself…..if your father had made a marriage agreement on your behalf and you have to marry someone whom you have never met, will you be willing?  As far as I know, members of this Dong Fang Family hated these marriage agreements.  The Eldest Young Master’s present wife is also not the marriage partner that was initially chosen for him by his father, the late Imperial Tutor.”

“What happened next?”  Ruan Xiang Yin had to ask.

“At that time, the Third Young Master’s rejection of the marriage agreement brought me relief.  He told me he wanted a woman who can accompany him to practice medicine and save the world, one who has the ability to protect and take care of herself.  At that time, I knew I didn’t have the ability to be Third Young Master’s wife, so I returned the silver bracelet to him so that he will be able to find a woman who can match him…….until you appeared.”

After Dong Mei finished speaking, she looked intensely at Ruan Xiang Yin.  This was also the reason why she had helped Third Young Master to keep Ruan Xiang Yin in Gangling City.

After listening to Dong Mei, Ruan Xiang Yin became silent for a long time.

“Xiang Yin, there’s something that I had always wanted to apologize to you.”

“What is it?”  She asked in surprise.

“A year ago, if I had not advised you to take Miss Liu and her maid with you up the mountain, that accident would not have happened.”

She had always felt guilty regarding this matter.  If at that time, she had not spoken on behalf of Miss Liu, she believed Xiang Yin would have ignored both the Mistress and her maid. 

“Let bygones be bygones.  Don’t mention it again.”   Ruan Xiang Yin said.

“I’ve already done what Third Young Master requested, so it’s time for me to leave.”

“So fast?  You’ve just arrived, why don’t you stay for a few more days?”

“No, Wang Qin and Bin Er are waiting for me.  If you’re free, come to Gangling City to visit us.  Zhang Zhen and Zhang Sheng miss both of you very much.”

Dong Mei was insistent and was unwilling to stay longer.  Ruan Xiang Yin could only order a carriage to send her back and then she returned to Lan Yi Courtyard.

When she entered the bedchamber, Dong Fang Tang was sitting on a couch holding a medical book in his hand.  Upon seeing her unusual expression, he asked with concern.

“Xiang Yin, what’s the matter?”

Ruan Xiang Yin walked towards him and sat down beside him.  Her clear eyes looked straight at him.

“Let me ask you…….if I don’t want to accompany you to practice medicine and save the world, will you still choose me?”

Dong Fang Tang smiled and stretched out his arms to pull her into his embrace, then said softly.

“If you are unwilling, then can you promise me one thing?  Just like in Gangling City, Long Feng Restaurant…..every two months, we will stay in different branches of the Long Feng Restaurants in the country so that you will not feel too tired.”

“Dong Fang Tang, do you really think I’m someone who is unable to endure hard work?”

She was displeased and lightly thumped her chest in annoyance without realizing that she was the one who had brought up the argument first.

“No, it’s because I can’t bear to let you feel too tired.”  Dong Fang Tang stroked her silky fine hair and said with a smile.

“Dong Fang Tang, why are you so good to me?”  She sighed in his arms.

“Do you remember the first time we met?  At that time, I was deeply impressed by your cold and stubborn appearance.  I told myself that if we are fated to meet again, I will not let the chance pass again.”

Feeling slightly shameful, he expressed his love for her that he had kept in his heart for so many years.

She was so shocked that she sat up from his arms.  Her pair of bright eyes stared at his flushed face with surprise and involuntarily the corners of her pink lips lifted.

My Goodness!  Five years ago, he was already……..

“Dong Fang Tang, if the accident that happened a year ago, is repeated…..will you save the other person first or will you save me first?”

Ruan Xiang Yin’s clear eyes looked intensely into his eyes and asked the question that had always been a tight knot in her heart.

His big hands lightly stroked her fine cheeks, his gentle face carried a serious expression and he replied firmly.  “I’ll choose according to the situation. If it is the same situation as a year ago, I’ll save others first.  If it’s too late to save you, I’ll jump and die with you.”

A year ago, if Chief Guard Qin had not held him back, he would have jumped into the sea to follow her.

She stared at him for a long time and she could not help but sigh. 

He is truly the Dong Fang Tang that she knows.

Forget it!  Loving this kind of selfless man, she has to accept it!

“Dong Fang Tang, you are regarded as the Divine Doctor in everyone’s eyes and I really don’t know whether it’s my luck or my misfortune to love you.”

He pulled her into his arms once again and whispered softly next to her lips.

“Xiang Yin, thank you for willing to love me and staying by my side.”

“My parents and I are very pleased with the name Divine Doctor and Heroic Companion.  Let’s make this name even greater and more famous!”

His reply was to lean forward to kiss her on her pink lips and place a hand lightly on her belly.

Life as it is now, what more can one wish for?

 

***#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#***

 

Many years later, no one in the Imperial Kingdom did not know of the name the Divine Doctor and his Heroic Companion.  Whenever the names were mentioned, everyone would show a thumbs-up sign.

It was heard that the Dong Fang couple was always accompanied by two clever and quick-witted children, a male and a female.  During consultations, the two children helped around a lot and the four people traveled all over the country.

Every year, apart from returning to the Dong Fang Residence, the place they frequented the most was the Long Feng Restaurant in Gangling City.

If patients were unable to locate the couple, all they had to do was to wait regularly at these two places and they would surely meet them.

 

***#*#*#*#*#*** END ***#*#*#*#*#***