Volume One, Chapter 13: Unconsciousness

When young Dong Jianbei was at his ancestral home, he wholeheartedly supported giving things to his grandparents.

At that time, the original owner had little concept of money and did his best to show filial piety to his grandparents, allowing the old Dong family to spend freely.

This led to the money running out, and the original owner was sent to the countryside, while Dong Jianbei was raised by his stepmother.

The original owner’s father, Dong Ercheng, was reassigned to the Hainan Steel Plant, losing his once respectable job. Life worsened day by day, and only then did he realize the true meaning of the 1,600 yuan compensation.

Dong Jianbei immediately wrote a letter demanding the original owner repay the money, but as a sent-down youth in the countryside, the original owner had no money to return. He had to work tirelessly picking cotton and planting trees to finally settle the debt.

However, the rift between the siblings never healed, even when the original owner later voluntarily covered Dong Jianbei’s university living expenses and tuition.

That fracture was like the great rift valley in the northwest—deeply embedded in their hearts, impossible to mend.

Dong Qianqian knew about this. The original owner was at fault, but was everyone else blameless? Why should all the consequences fall on the innocent original owner?

Moreover, after the original owner rejected the marriage arrangement, the ultimate beneficiary was not the original owner. The compensation should have been split equally between the siblings. Why should Dong Jianbei claim it all?

The original owner was not a foundling; she had lived with her mother for thirteen years and was the one who suffered most after losing her mother.

Dong Jianbei had no impression of that mother and never paid respects to her, but showed great respect to their stepmother.

The original owner had spent her whole life sacrificing to be a fair and selfless sister to him.

Dong Qianqian absolutely refused to do such things; she was no submissive sister.

What’s hers, she would fight for every bit of it. The saintly, pure, selfless sacrifice storyline was for others.

No one in this world sympathized with the original owner, so she would be the one to reclaim everything that belonged to her.

Thinking this, the howling north wind outside the cafeteria no longer felt cold to her.

She donned a thick felt hat and plunged headlong into the biting wind. She had to find a way to exchange the extra pots and pans for some money during the nurses’ rounds at noon.

But as she stepped out of the hospital, she saw a crowd murmuring among themselves.

Since the spy incident, she had been especially alert to her surroundings, paying close attention to people’s every move. She slipped quietly into the crowd.

After a moment, she realized the commotion was about a steel plant official surnamed Dong who got into an argument with a nurse over registration issues.

The matter escalated to the hospital director, and the whole hospital was stirred up, even attracting the attention of the dean.

Dong, steel plant official, registration issue—Dong Qianqian knew her stepmother, Lin Xuehua, had fainted.

Could it be that she happened to be in the same hospital? What a coincidence. She should have chosen a hospital farther away.

If that official Dong was indeed Dong Ercheng, then her feigned illness and hospital stay to create an alibi was useless.

She had just registered her household booklet, but her home was robbed, everything vanished without a trace, yet she still possessed the missing household booklet.

If this were discovered, even a fool would know something was wrong.

As Dong Qianqian tried to unravel this tangled mess, perhaps siblings really had some mysterious connection.

Suddenly, she looked up and saw Third Aunt Lin Xi carrying a chubby baby with pursed lips that could hold an oil bottle.

They had just gotten off at the bus stop beside the hospital and were struggling to reach the entrance.

An encounter was imminent, and Dong Qianqian had no time to steal the hospital admission list.

In desperation, she used a silver needle from her secret stash to prick the Tianzhu acupoint on her neck. Under the watchful eyes of everyone, she spat out a mouthful of fresh blood and feigned unconsciousness.

This trick was learned from Li Fei, who often used it to frame other palace concubines. It never failed.

When chaos was about to erupt, if a bigger news story overshadowed it, people would temporarily forget many doubts.

Everyone watching the once lively young girl suddenly spit blood and faint was thrown into panic.

Nurses and doctors called to her, but no one dared get close to carry her into the ward.

At that time, contact between men and women was heavily scrutinized; a slight misstep could lead to charges of impropriety.

So the group of men only dared to watch from five meters away, afraid to approach closely.

Among them, a small figure squeezed through.

Upon seeing the face of the person lying on the ground, he immediately howled, crying out, “Sister!”

Maybe there really was a special sibling connection; Dong Jianbei had been drawn by the crowd at the door.

He insisted on walking down himself, while Third Aunt Lin Xi hoped he would.

She had carried him all the way from the donkey cart in the county town to the city, finally finding the right address.

After knocking for a long time with no answer, a passing elderly man told her that the couple had been admitted to the hospital the previous day due to the shock of a home burglary.

Lin Xi, hoping to get a sip of warm water, had no choice but to bring the noisy Dong Jianbei to this unfamiliar maternal and child health hospital.

After the journey, she felt her waist was no longer hers. Having raised two children, she had never been this exhausted in a single day.

He was truly heavy! Heavier than a piglet! This day and night felt like it took half her life!

Compared to Lin Xi’s brief complaints when just carrying him, being crushed under the sixteen-pound Dong Jianbei on her chest made Dong Qianqian feel like she was done for.

Fortunately, doctors and nurses arrived in time and quickly moved the little bundle aside.

Only then did Dong Qianqian manage to breathe fresh air and feel her life was spared.

The little chubby one was so heavy that her face turned red from the pressure, and she felt her breath stuck in her throat, struggling to catch air.

Doctor Sun hadn’t even had breakfast yet. Seeing the black blood on the ground, he didn’t have time to calm down and observe but took her pulse on the spot.

He couldn’t detect a pulse, which startled him greatly; only the dead show no pulse.

Strangely, the girl’s heart was still beating, and her breathing was steady. Aside from the absence of a pulse, she was basically healthy.

But if she was truly healthy, how could she suddenly spit blood and faint? Remembering she had mentioned congenital asthma, could it be related?

But asthma didn’t manifest like this! Doctor Sun was baffled; medical books didn’t describe this. He reluctantly took the pulse on the other hand.

The head nurse saw Doctor Sun’s predicament—after all, he had spent his career in gynecology.

Being thrust into an emergency like this and unable to diagnose was understandable. She tactfully suggested transferring the patient to another hospital.

Lying on the icy ground, Dong Qianqian’s mind raced. Transfer! Transfer was perfect!

As long as she wasn’t in the same hospital as her stepmother, the chances of her being exposed would lessen.

No one would bother to check the previous page of the admission list. If she could steal back the list, she could still keep up the lie.

She was eager to agree on behalf of Doctor Sun, who gratefully accepted the out.

They immediately instructed the head nurse to send this difficult patient to another hospital.

But as they boarded the vehicle, Dong Jianbei clung to one of Dong Qianqian’s shoes and refused to let go.

Whenever anyone moved him, he burst into tears, afraid she would be taken to an unknown place and sold.

“Xiao Bei, let go. Sister is going to the doctor. Third Aunt will take you to find Mom and Dad, okay?” Lin Xi coaxed patiently while trying to pry the chubby boy’s legs from Dong Qianqian.

Though she didn’t understand why the family believed Dong Qianqian had been kidnapped and missing, her sudden appearance at the hospital was a relief.

At least she was still alive, even if sick, which meant one fewer grievance when making amends.

What mattered most to her now wasn’t Dong Qianqian’s transfer but the loss of Dong Shuanghuan, her second sister-in-law’s cherished treasure.

She couldn’t face the anger of Second Uncle and Second Sister-in-law alone. Taking Dong Jianbei along might help calm their tempers.