Xiao Jingcheng stared at the young girl in front of him in utter astonishment.
Who was this woman?
How did she end up in his... no, in that village woman's bed, and wearing that village woman's clothes?
It wasn't his fault he was slow to react. The girl in front of him was so vastly different from the "village woman" he had known last night that he suspected someone had sneaked into the house and secretly swapped her out.
Perhaps it was because she had just woken up. The girl looked dazed, with teardrops hanging precariously on her eyelashes. Her beautiful face inexplicably carried a hint of innocence.
Seemingly noticing the movement beside her, she turned her head to look at Xiao Jingcheng. She raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face and forced a bitter smile.
"Sorry, Dahuang. Did I scare you?"
The girl had just woken up, and her voice was still a bit hoarse. But having spent two days by the girl's side, Xiao Jingcheng could clearly tell that this was Ye Wanmian's voice!
Taking a closer look, aside from the complexion, the eyebrows and eyes were indeed the same.
So, the appearance he had seen before was not her true self. This girl in front of him was the real her.
But...
He always felt that her face seemed vaguely familiar.
Ye Wanmian didn't expect the yellow dog to answer her, nor did she notice that the dog's expression was a bit strange at the moment. Her mind was still immersed in the memories of two years ago. After sitting on the bed in a daze for a while, she simply got up to wash up.
Xiao Jingcheng looked at the girl's somewhat dejected back. He controlled his body to jump off the bed and followed her out.
It wasn't out of concern for her, but rather to see if she would notice the change in her appearance and how she had transformed her originally beautiful face into that ugly one before.
By now, it was already dawn outside. The bright light made the view extremely clear. Ye Wanmian walked to the washstand, intending to freshen up. She saw her reflection in the water and realized that the disguise on her face had disappeared.
She didn't look surprised. Instead, she murmured to herself, "It's time again."
She first tidied herself up. Then she took a rhizome-like medicinal herb from the drying rack in the yard. She scraped off a little with a knife, put the herb into a stone mortar to pound it into pieces, and then boiled it in hot water, making a pot of brown medicinal juice.
She poured the medicinal juice into a clay pot and placed it in a water tank to cool. Then she turned around to make breakfast.
The neighbor next door had also gotten up. Smoke was rising from the neighbor's roof, presumably getting ready for a day's work.
By the time Ye Wanmian finally finished making breakfast and shared it with the yellow dog, the medicinal juice soaking in the water tank had completely cooled.
She found a clean cotton cloth, dipped it in the medicinal juice, and in front of Xiao Jingcheng, slowly wiped it on her face.
Like magic, her originally fair and delicate face instantly turned sallow and dull after being smeared with the medicinal juice, completely covering up her original beauty.
Xiao Jingcheng suppressed the shock in his heart and couldn't help but turn his head to look at her cheeks again.
Although the girl's complexion had become sallow and dull, her bone structure was extremely good. Her browbones were elegant, her nose was straight and upturned, her lips were plump, and the lines of her face were incredibly smooth.
But what was even more eye-catching were her eyes, bright and lively, with distinct black and white, which diluted the strange feeling brought by the sallow skin and made her look refreshing and pleasant.
The words of the stinky Taoist priest from the market yesterday couldn't help but surface in his mind.
She had a full forehead and a blessed appearance. She was...
Bah, bah, bah. What was he thinking!
He had seen many beautiful women in the capital. How could he possibly take a fancy to a rural village woman who had already been married!
After Ye Wanmian finished all this and carefully checked to make sure there were no omissions, she finally felt at ease. She turned around and saw the yellow dog staring blankly at her. She smiled and tapped its forehead.
"This is my biggest secret. Dahuang, you must keep your mouth shut."
But she didn't know that her biggest secret had already been exposed to the last person she expected and the one she avoided the most.
Ye Wanmian had been able to hide her identity and walk around the town without worry for so long. Naturally, she had her methods, which was the rhizome she had just used to boil the medicinal juice.
That thing was called Tianli Vine. It was both a medicinal herb and a natural dye.
After the crushed Tianli Vine was boiled, its juice was a good medicine for treating asthma. But if it accidentally got on the skin, it would be difficult to wash off and would take several days to fade.
Ye Wanmian had accidentally discovered this when she was hiding in a family's house after fleeing from Xuanzhou.
She asked the family for a small piece of the rhizome. After smearing the juice on her face, her appearance indeed changed greatly, which allowed her to escape the search, travel from place to place, and finally return to Dongli Town smoothly.
Because the medicinal effect of Tianli Vine was limited, Ye Wanmian had to reapply it every few days, using a considerable amount.
When she went up the mountain to collect herbs, besides earning some silver for her livelihood, she was also looking for Tianli Vine to continue hiding her appearance.
Recently, the town had been in turmoil because of that dog prince. Ye Wanmian originally planned not to go out for the next few days and temporarily stay at home to avoid the limelight.
But last night, she had dreamed about the past again. She couldn't calm down. She picked up her bamboo basket again and called the yellow dog.
"Dahuang, let's go. We're going out."
This move happened to suit Xiao Jingcheng's wishes.
Although Ye Wanmian's secret about her appearance shocked him greatly, he hadn't forgotten the astonishing news he had heard last night when his soul left his body.
— His body was in Dongli Town at the moment.
It was just that he didn't know where it was hidden.
He had to find a way to inquire about the news and quickly find out the whereabouts of his body!
The two of them went out smoothly today. They didn't encounter any matchmaker aunts blocking their way in the alley. However, just as they were about to walk out of the alley, suddenly someone stepped forward to block Ye Wanmian.
"Miss Jiang, please wait. I... I have something to say to you."
The person who blocked Ye Wanmian at the moment was a young man.
The young man was about seven feet and three or four inches tall. He was wearing a short outfit and looked quite strong. His skin was dark, and his appearance was simple and honest. He was just an ordinary-looking person and would disappear into the crowd in an instant.
An alarm bell immediately rang in Xiao Jingcheng's heart. Before he could react, his body had rushed forward and stood between Ye Wanmian and the man, baring his teeth fiercely.
Seeing the person coming, Ye Wanmian couldn't help but let out a silent sigh in her heart. She said in a rather cold tone, "Brother Zhou, what's the matter?"
Xiao Jingcheng squinted his eyes and sized up the man in front of him from head to toe.
Surname Zhou?
Could this be the family that the matchmaker came to propose marriage for yesterday?