Ye Wanmian almost forgot that the town was filled with patrolling officers and soldiers today. The crown prince of the current dynasty was still missing.
She wondered why these officers and soldiers had come to search here. Could it be that they had discovered her identity and wanted to capture her and hand her over to Lieutenant Chen in Xuanzhou?
If she were captured, there would be only one dead end waiting for her!
Xiao Jingcheng had been paying close attention to Ye Wanmian's reactions. Naturally, he saw the undisguised panic and fear on her face.
This woman was afraid of the officers and soldiers?
Why?
Could it be that his being chased and killed and ending up in this state were really related to her?
Just because they had delayed opening the door for a moment, the knocking on the door grew louder: "Open the door quickly, or don't blame us for being rude!"
Ye Wanmian didn't have time to think about anything else. She quickly tidied up her clothes and hair, picked up a cloak, and rushed out.
"Coming, coming. I'm coming. Please wait a moment, sir!"
She deliberately lowered her voice, making it sound a bit hoarse.
Outside, they might have been impatient. As soon as Ye Wanmian pulled open the bolt, a strong force pushed the door open, causing her to stumble back a few steps. The officers and soldiers in armor and carrying weapons immediately rushed in.
"Why did you take so long to open the door?!" the leading officer coldly questioned Ye Wanmian.
Ye Wanmian bent slightly and lowered her head, pretending to be obsequious. In fact, she was hiding her face. She said with a forced smile, "Please don't blame me, sir. I had already gone to bed, so I was delayed for a moment."
The other man just glanced at her casually, then strode towards the house and said, "Search it."
Xiao Jingcheng's hearing was much sharper than usual now. When he heard the voice of the leading man, he stood up from the ground in great surprise.
It was Bu Hua, the right guard commander of the Eastern Palace who had accompanied him on his inspection tour to the south of the Yangtze River!
He had been chased and injured and fallen off a cliff, which must have caused quite a stir. Bu Hua must have come to look for him!
At this moment, the impulse to recognize each other immediately occupied Xiao Jingcheng's heart. He forgot his own situation. When the familiar figure stepped into the house, he jumped up and rushed forward.
[Bu Hua, I'm here!]
"Woof, woof woof woof!"
The suddenly barking yellow dog startled the soldiers who had rushed into the house to search. Bu Hua frowned, glanced down contemptuously, and then mercilessly kicked out!
"A good dog doesn't block the way."
Bu Hua was a military general, and this kick was extremely powerful. The yellow dog only had time to let out a whimper before being heavily thrown backward onto the ground and immediately falling silent.
"Da Huang!"
Ye Wanmian had sensed something was wrong when she heard the dog barking. When she followed Bu Hua into the house, she happened to see this scene. After letting out a scream, she rushed forward without hesitation.
She tightly hugged the unconscious yellow dog into her arms and choked out, "Da Huang? Da Huang? Wake up quickly. Don't scare me..."
The officers and soldiers who had rushed into the house to search seemed to turn a blind eye to this scene. Bu Hua didn't even give Ye Wanmian and the yellow dog a single pitying look.
"Sir, we've searched. There's nothing."
Bu Hua coldly said, "Let's go."
Watching these barbaric and unreasonable people make a ruckus and then try to leave, Ye Wanmian's anger welled up: "Stop! Do you think you can just leave like this?!"
"You broke into a civilian's house and searched randomly. My Da Huang was just being loyal to its master and barked a few times when it saw strangers. What's wrong with that?"
Bu Hua stopped, turned back, and looked down at Ye Wanmian holding the yellow dog. He laughed contemptuously without a care: "What? Do you want me to kneel down and kowtow to your dog to apologize?"
"They say you should respect the owner when beating a dog. We are the personal guards of the Eastern Palace. And you, a country woman, do you deserve that?"
These familiar words immediately made Ye Wanmian think of everything that had happened in the capital two years ago. She gritted her teeth in hatred.
These officers and soldiers were searching house by house to find the whereabouts of the crown prince, which meant they were also brought by the crown prince from the capital.
Like master, like dog. No wonder they were the personal guards of that man. They were equally detestable!
Seeing Ye Wanmian with her head down and not saying a word, Bu Hua thought she was scared. He led his men away in a rush, not even bothering to close the door for her when they left.
Plop.
Plop.
Scalding tears dripped from Ye Wanmian's eyes and landed on the back of her hand.
The grievances of being forced to hide for the past two years uncontrollably welled up from the bottom of her heart. She hugged the yellow dog in her arms and cried uncontrollably.
Why, why had she already hidden in the remote Cangzhou, but that damned crown prince still wouldn't let her go? It was okay for him to disturb her in the nightmare today, but his men had also injured her Da Huang!
Why did the crown prince get to do whatever he wanted? Why was his every word regarded as the truth?
Apart from his noble birth, what was there about him that deserved respect?
She must have been blind to have taken a fancy to him and written love letters to him!
Why didn't the heavens just strike him dead with a thunderbolt?
The tears dripped down and landed on the yellow dog's face, bringing back Xiao Jingcheng's almost dissipated consciousness.
Although he was unconscious, he hadn't completely lost his hearing. He had also heard the words Bu Hua had said to Ye Wanmian just now. But he didn't have the time to get angry now. His internal organs felt like they were being burned by a raging fire, causing him indescribable pain. He let out a whimper in discomfort.
Ye Wanmian suddenly woke up. She saw that the yellow dog's eyes were hazy, there was blood at the corner of its mouth, and it kept making low whimpers of discomfort. It looked like it was on the verge of death.
Ye Wanmian didn't have time to think about anything else. She immediately untied the rope around the dog to make it breathe more smoothly.
The kick from the officer and soldier had injured its internal organs. It wasn't suitable to move it too much at this time. She remembered that there was notoginseng, a medicinal herb for treating internal injuries, among the herbs drying in the yard. She got up and rushed outside, grabbed a dried piece, and quickly returned to the house.
But then she was in a dilemma. It was too late to boil the medicine now, and the yellow dog wasn't fully awake, so it would be difficult for it to chew the medicinal herb. After thinking for a moment, she put the notoginseng into her mouth and chewed it up. Then she pried open the yellow dog's mouth and force-fed the medicine to it with some water.
After all the trouble, only most of the medicine got in, but it was enough for a dog.
Ye Wanmian fetched a handkerchief and wiped the yellow dog's lips. She gently held it in her arms, let its head rest on her thigh, and gently stroked it. She choked out:
"Da Huang, you're all I have left. You must be okay."
Although the pain in Xiao Jingcheng's internal organs still persisted, the girl's embrace was extremely precious to him at this moment. It dispelled the cold and discomfort all over his body.
Her gentle caress involuntarily made him recall the scene many, many years ago when his mother had held the young him in her arms to comfort him.
At that time, his mother had doted on him very much. She would be extremely worried if he got hurt. But since he had been crowned the crown prince and moved into the Eastern Palace, his mother had become increasingly cold and strict with him. She had never shown him a kind face again.
"Da Huang, don't be afraid. Usually, it's you who protects me. Now it's my turn to protect you. I will, I will definitely not let anything happen to you."
The girl whispered softly in his ear, then bent down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.
A fragrance belonging to the girl wafted into his nose.
It seemed... to be the smell of light cherry blossoms.