That night, no matter how hard Ye Wanmian tried, the yellow dog ignored her. Even when she fried half a pheasant, tore off a drumstick and fed it right up to the dog's mouth, it just licked it with its tongue and then turned its head away, refusing to touch it anymore.
"Big Yellow, what on earth is wrong with you?"
Ye Wanmian sat in the yard, holding the yellow dog in her arms and stroking its furry body over and over again.
"Are you feeling unwell or just unhappy?"
The yellow dog didn't answer her. Its small, beady eyes, which were usually full of a competitive sparkle, were now dull and lifeless.
The chirping of insects filled her ears. Ye Wanmian felt the evening breeze on her face and looked up at the stars in the sky. Her nose tingled and her mood sank.
Why was it so difficult to live a peaceful life?
Although Big Yellow seemed to have changed its personality, it was still her Big Yellow. It would worry about her safety, jump into the water without hesitation to save her, and stand in front of her to protect her when vicious dogs appeared.
Could it be that all its liveliness and bravery these days were just a last flash of energy before death?
"Big Yellow, it would be great if you could talk," Ye Wanmian murmured softly. "If that's not possible, you could at least come to me in a dream. As long as it can make you happy and it's something I can do, I'll do it."
The yellow dog in her arms was breathing steadily and had unknowingly fallen asleep against her.
Ye Wanmian clenched her fists.
She had planned to stay at home and lie low these days, but seeing Big Yellow like this, she might have to go to the medical clinic to see her master tomorrow.
It just so happened that she had gone through all the medical books her master had given her from cover to cover in the past few days, and had re - read the parts she couldn't understand over and over again. It was time for her to visit him with the books.
As for her identity...
She would be careful and try not to get anywhere near the three princes and Ye Wanxing. Dongli Town wasn't small, and there were many people in the town. She couldn't be that unlucky to run into them.
She carried the yellow dog back into the house, gently placed it in the space she had made for it at the foot of the bed, then lay down and closed her eyes.
Ye Wanmian fell asleep quickly, but after she fell asleep, she felt like she had a strange dream.
In the dream, she was in complete darkness. There was nothing to see in any direction, only a thick, impenetrable fog of black.
Where was this?
"Sigh."
A deep sigh came from her ear. She was startled and turned to look in the direction of the sound. "Who's there?!"
There was no one in sight. Before long, another sigh came. "Sigh..."
What the devil!
Ye Wanmian got goosebumps all over her body. She turned around and tried to run, but her legs felt as if they were filled with lead and she couldn't lift them.
"Sigh."
Another mournful sigh. She gritted her teeth and turned to walk towards the sound. Strangely enough, she could now lift her feet.
She walked forward carefully, on tenterhooks. Fortunately, after walking for a while, the thick black fog became much thinner, and a faint figure appeared in the distance.
"Sigh..."
The sigh was indeed coming from that figure.
As her vision cleared, Ye Wanmian could finally make out the appearance of the figure. It was a man wearing a deep purple robe with precious lotus patterns. Even though his back was slightly hunched, it was obvious that he had broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and an excellent build. He clearly came from a noble family.
For some reason, he seemed vaguely familiar.
Ye Wanmian swallowed hard and said, "Hey, who... who are you? How... how did you get here?"
There was silence for a moment. Just when Ye Wanmian thought he was going to sigh again, he finally spoke.
"Who am I?"
"Who should I be?"
This voice... was also vaguely familiar.
Ye Wanmian frowned, looking at him with a hint of suspicion.
"I don't even know who I am, let alone why I'm here. All I know is that everyone in this world wants me dead."
"Maybe I should already be a dead man."
Ye Wanmian was taken aback. Her heart raced. "How could that be? Don't you have any relatives? Your relatives shouldn't want you to die, right?"
The man suddenly laughed, his shoulders visibly shaking.
"Relatives?"
"My mother only cares about the glory of her family. She never cries or laughs. I'm afraid that if I died, she would just glance at me indifferently and call me a useless piece of trash."
"My father only has eyes for his favorite concubines and other sons. How could he care whether I live or die?"
"As for my brothers... my death might very well be the doing of one of them."
"You tell me, who would want me to live?"
His words made Ye Wanmian fall silent. She couldn't help but think of the so - called "relatives" in the Ye family.
Yes, her so - called "relatives" not only deceived her about her origin but also kicked her when she was at her most difficult, trying to drive her to extinction and squeezing out the last bit of benefit from her. How was she any better than him?
But...
"But there must be someone in this world who wants you to live," she said firmly. "There must be something that can support you to keep going."
"Even if everyone wants you dead, so what? If you die and suffer, the people who hate you will be happy. Can you accept that?"
"I'm not willing. So I must live well, live a good life, and one day in the future, make them regret their actions and kneel before me, begging for my forgiveness!"
Her words were sonorous. Her full - bodied vitality was like a beam of light shining on the figure's back.
"Live well and make them regret," he murmured. "I understand."
Ye Wanmian was about to say something else when the figure in front of her dissipated like dust. She instinctively took a step forward, but her fingers grasped at nothing. Then she fell into a deeper sleep.
...
In the Liuxiang Tower in Dongli Town.
"Uncle Huang was fine last night. How could he suddenly fall ill?" Xiao Yixuan and Xiao Wuchen had just returned from the county when they heard the news that King Mu, Xiao Tianchi, had fallen ill.
Eunuch Wang sighed. "Perhaps it was the long journey. And when he arrived in Dongli Town and suddenly learned that General Bu had found the Crown Prince's boots, His Highness was so worried that he fell ill."
Everyone in the Sheng Kingdom knew that King Mu was in poor health. Although Xiao Yixuan had other thoughts in mind, there was nothing he could do.
"What did the imperial physician say about Uncle Huang's condition?"
Eunuch Wang replied, "The imperial physician said that the summer heat is very strong these days, which is very unfavorable to His Highness's condition. His Highness had better take some time to recuperate."
Xiao Wuchen said, "But what about the Crown Prince..."
Xiao Yixuan interrupted him. "Let's wait until Uncle Huang gets better. Anyway, we've searched for so long without any news. It won't hurt to wait a little longer."
Xiao Wuchen had no choice but to shut up.
Then, the two of them left separately.
Eunuch Wang waved his whisk and went back into the room to continue taking care of the ill King Mu.
...
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The night was thick.
In a large mansion in Dongli Town, an unusual lamp was lit. Under the shadow, the dog lying there motionless raised its head alertly.
Inside the room, a group of people knelt on one knee in front of the figure that had come under the cover of night. "Your subordinate pays respects to the Lord."