Doctor Wang could hardly believe his ears. He asked again, "Are you sure? Do you really want to learn medicine from me?"
Xiao Jingcheng also looked at Ye Wanmian in shock.
He had thought this village woman knew something about medicine. But it turned out that she had just been treating the dying dog as if it were alive last night!
This was a decision Ye Wanmian had made after thinking all night. So without hesitation, she nodded firmly and said, "Yes."
Doctor Wang beamed from ear to ear. "Good, good, good. I'll take a look at your Huanghuang right away!"
Doctor Wang was about to examine Huanghuang immediately. But as soon as he bent down, he met a pair of cold, beady eyes.
He wondered if it was just his imagination, but those eyes were full of scrutiny and suspicion.
Xiao Jingcheng was indeed doubting Doctor Wang's medical skills.
In the capital before, the best imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy had always diagnosed his pulse. And this man was just a rural doctor. How could his medical skills be compared with those of the imperial physicians?
Could he bear the consequences if he made a misdiagnosis?
Doctor Wang: "..."
"Your Huanghuang doesn't bite, does it?" he asked Ye Wanmian uneasily.
Ye Wanmian knew what Doctor Wang was worried about. She wanted to say it didn't bite, but thinking about its strange behavior in the past two days, she hesitated.
"Let me talk to it?"
She squatted down halfway and said to the yellow dog, "Huanghuang, this is Doctor Wang. He's the best doctor in Dongli Town. It was him who saved you yesterday when you were almost killed by the poison. Let him take a look at you and don't hurt him."
The medicine boy, Qi Wen, happened to pass by. Hearing Ye Wanmian talking to the puppy as if it could understand, he teased:
"Mrs. Jiang, do you think the dog can understand you when you talk to it like this?"
The next moment, the yellow dog bared its teeth and let out a fierce growl at Qi Wen, scaring him.
"Don't tell me it really can understand?"
Ye Wanmian held back her laughter and said, "Huanghuang seems to have become more intelligent since it was poisoned yesterday. It can understand what we say. Don't speak ill of it in front of it."
The yellow dog gave Qi Wen a disdainful look and then ignored him. Instead, it condescendingly lifted its left front paw towards Doctor Wang.
Qi Wen subconsciously reached up and touched his face.
He always felt that the look Huanghuang gave him just now was full of contempt.
It was really strange.
Doctor Wang was also very surprised, but he didn't say anything more. Instead, he really began to carefully examine Huanghuang's condition.
While feeling the yellow dog's abdomen, Doctor Wang frowned and thought deeply. Ye Wanmian also watched him nervously.
Internal injuries were the most difficult to treat. After all, they were injuries to the internal organs and couldn't be seen with the naked eye. Often, a person might seem fine on the surface, but then suddenly vomit blood and die a few days later.
Ye Wanmian knew about herbs and their properties, but whether they were suitable for the condition was another matter.
Fortunately, after Doctor Wang had a look, he nodded and said, "You administered the medicine in time last night. It's not in serious condition now."
Ye Wanmian and Xiao Jingcheng couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
After examining Huanghuang and fulfilling his promise to Ye Wanmian, Doctor Wang began to ask her to fulfill her promise.
"Since you want to learn medicine from me, shouldn't you perform the apprenticeship ceremony and offer me a cup of tea to show your respect?"
Ye Wanmian smiled and said, "Of course."
She trotted off to pour a cup of tea. Then she came back, knelt in front of Doctor Wang, and bowed respectfully.
"Master, please accept this bow from your apprentice."
Ye Wanmian's apprenticeship ceremony was very simple. She presented the tea and kowtowed three times to Doctor Wang. After Doctor Wang drank the tea, the ceremony was over.
Then, Doctor Wang called Ye Wanmian over, took out a few books, and handed them to her. He said, "Since you know about herbs, I don't need to teach you how to identify them. Take these books back and read them carefully. Mark the parts you don't understand and then come and ask me."
"After you've read these books and understood them all, I'll teach you other things."
Not far away, Xiao Jingcheng watched the two of them poring over the books together and sneered in his heart.
One was really daring to teach, and the other was really daring to learn. They weren't afraid of killing someone with their medical skills.
Which of the imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy didn't start learning medicine when they were three or four years old? This village woman was already this old. What could she possibly learn?
But why did she suddenly decide to learn medicine?
Over there, Doctor Wang also asked Ye Wanmian, "I've asked you several times before to learn medicine, but you always refused. Why have you changed your mind now?"
Glancing at the yellow dog that was pricking up its ears to eavesdrop on their conversation, Doctor Wang said, "Could it be because of that dog?"
Ye Wanmian also looked at Huanghuang. Just then, she caught its eye. Caught in the act of peeping, the yellow dog immediately turned its head away and gently wagged its tail. Ye Wanmian couldn't help but laugh.
The reason she didn't want to learn medicine before was that she didn't know how long she would stay in Dongli Town. She thought that if her identity was exposed and she was captured by the Ye family or General Chen's people, all her efforts would be in vain.
But now she realized the importance of having a life - saving skill, not only for herself but also for the people around her.
And...
She seemed to think of something and was in a daze for a moment. Then she smiled and said, "Of course. Huanghuang is my most important family member. If I learn medicine, I can protect it better."
Over there, the yellow dog's tail suddenly began to wag violently, slapping against the bamboo basket and the ground with a loud noise. And Xiao Jingcheng's face turned completely dark.
At this moment, waves of joy were rising uncontrollably in his heart.
[Like, like, like mother. Huanghuang likes mother the most~]
[Mother, protect Huanghuang.]
Shut up!
He was the crown prince of the empire. How could he need a woman to protect him?!
The consequence of the crown prince's anger was that when Ye Wanmian said goodbye to Doctor Wang and was about to pick up Huanghuang and put it in the bamboo basket as she had on the way here, the yellow dog turned its head away to avoid her hand and strode out of the medical hall on its own.
Ye Wanmian was stunned. "You were still pestering me to carry you on the way here. Why don't you need me to carry you now?"
The yellow dog held its head up slightly and walked with great elegance. From the back, it looked quite imposing, no longer the pitiful - looking dog that had been on the verge of death and rushed here for emergency treatment yesterday.
Doctor Wang smiled and said, "Maybe it thinks it's too tiring for you to carry it back and forth. It's showing its concern for you. It's really a good and intelligent dog."
Ye Wanmian laughed happily. She waved goodbye to Doctor Wang and then trotted after the yellow dog in front.
"Huanghuang, wait for me!"
Xiao Jingcheng had already heard the footsteps behind him. He didn't walk very fast, and soon Ye Wanmian caught up with him.
It was still early. Since they still had to go to the market, Ye Wanmian didn't walk very fast either. The pace of the woman and the dog was the same.
Although there were many soldiers stationed in Dongli Town now, it didn't affect the market. There were more and more pedestrians on both sides of the road, and the noise gradually became clearer.
Ye Wanmian wasn't very noticeable among the crowd, but the yellow dog following beside her inexplicably attracted people's attention.
The yellow dog walked leisurely, with an elegant posture. It held its head slightly up, its eyelids drooped slightly, and its gaze swept across the side with a hint of arrogance and dignity.
The sun shone on its golden fur, making it look even more strong and powerful.
The market was right in front of them. Ye Wanmian lifted the bamboo basket behind her and reminded the yellow dog, which seemed to be patrolling its territory, to follow her closely. Just as she was about to continue walking forward, she was suddenly blocked by someone.
"Madam, please wait a moment!"