A silver note worth a hundred taels was no small sum. In Dongli Town, one only needed a little over thirty taels of silver to buy a three - courtyard mansion.
This hundred taels was enough for her to buy a spacious and safe mansion.
Doctor Wang said, "There's no special reason. You've also contributed to this, so you should naturally get a share. Once a teacher, always a father. I'm counting on you to take care of me in my old age after you've mastered your skills. If I don't treat you well now, what if you put arsenic in my medicine when I'm old and feeble?"
"Pfft!" Ye Wanmian never expected Doctor Wang to say such a thing. While finding it both funny and absurd, a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
"Cough, cough, cough. Master, don't worry. Your disciple will definitely take good care of you in the future."
"Alright, you've learned a lot from me today. Go back and digest it well on your own." Doctor Wang looked at the sky and found that it was almost evening, so he started to shoo her away.
Ye Wanmian nodded. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something. Looking around, she said to Doctor Wang, "Master, can I stay in the medical clinic from now on and not go with you to Liuxiang Tower to treat the Prince of Mu?"
"Hmm?" Doctor Wang asked, "What's the reason?"
Ye Wanmian pointed at the yellow dog lying not far behind her and said calmly, "As you can see, Dahuang never leaves my side. There are many guards around the prince. I'm afraid this fellow might accidentally cause trouble, and that would be bad."
Just like that, a big blame was shifted. Xiao Jingcheng was so angry that he pounced forward and bit her sleeve.
It was clearly she who was afraid of being recognized, yet she shifted the blame onto him!
Doctor Wang looked at the girl and the yellow dog making a ruckus and said angrily, "You spoil it too much. Sooner or later, it will ride on your head and act like a tyrant."
Ye Wanmian didn't dare to say that Dahuang was already so excessive that it even shared the same bed with her. However, Doctor Wang finally agreed to let her stay in the medical clinic and not go to Liuxiang Tower anymore, which made her heave a sigh of relief.
In the twilight, the figures of the girl and the yellow dog walked farther and farther away.
Until they disappeared from sight, Doctor Wang tidied his sleeves and said to Qi Wen, "Pack up and close the door."
Huichuntang Medical Clinic had been open in Dongli Town for almost twenty years and had become a well - known old - established medical clinic in the town.
To make it convenient for the townspeople, Huichuntang usually closed for rest after the You hour (5 - 7 p.m.). But today, it closed a whole hour earlier.
However, by this time, there were almost no patients left. Qi Wen called a few apprentices as instructed, installed the door panels, and closed the clinic directly.
Qi Wen was actually a bit jealous that Doctor Wang had taken Ye Wanmian as his disciple. He had been Doctor Wang's medicine boy for so many years, but Doctor Wang had never mentioned taking him as a disciple.
However, he had no talent in practicing medicine. He was indeed not as good as Ye Wanmian, who had a good memory and could draw inferences from one instance.
Entering the inner room and massaging Doctor Wang's shoulders, who looked tired between his eyebrows, Qi Wen said, "Sir, I heard from the townspeople that you were really impressive today. Others couldn't cure the Prince of Mu's illness, but as soon as you took action, the medicine took effect immediately. They all say you're the number one divine doctor in Dongli Town!"
Doctor Wang said, "It's not that mysterious. Actually, others were just too afraid to touch the prince's sick body. If they were a bit bolder, where would there be any need for me?"
Qi Wen said with a grin, "Then tell me what happened at that time. I'm so curious!"
After saying that, his head was knocked. "How can you casually spread the affairs of the noble? Aren't you afraid of losing your head?"
Doctor Wang said earnestly, "Don't always talk about this matter in the future. Saving the prince is our duty. If you become over - conceited and use this to gain fame for yourself, you'll only invite trouble."
Qi Wen covered his forehead and replied with a mournful face, "I know. I'll be careful."
But he still couldn't help but mutter. Why did the master seem so experienced? Could it be that he had suffered such setbacks before?
Before he had time to think it through, Doctor Wang called him over to cut medicinal herbs.
...
After leaving the medical clinic, Ye Wanmian didn't dare to linger outside. She quickened her steps towards Qingyu Alley.
As she walked, she kept an eye on her back to see if anyone was secretly following her.
Thankfully, the journey was smooth. She successfully brought the yellow dog back to her home in Qingyu Alley.
Closing the door and bolting it, she couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed that neither the Prince of Xuan, Ye Wanxing, Ye Huan, nor the others had discovered her identity for the time being.
Remembering that there was something hidden in her sleeve, after entering the house, she crawled under the bed, pried open a loose brick in the corner, and took out a small wooden box from inside.
Xiao Jingcheng curiously leaned forward and stared at the wooden box in her hand.
What was she going to do?
Ye Wanmian sat cross - legged on the ground, took out a silver needle to pick the lock on it, and opened the box. Xiao Jingcheng instantly widened his eyes—
There were several gold ingots lying inside, and besides that, there were two other silver notes!
Ye Wanmian didn't know that there was another soul hidden in the body of the yellow dog beside her. In front of the yellow dog's small black eyes, she counted the silver and silver notes in the box.
"Two hundred and thirteen taels. With this money, it's enough for us to take mother and leave this place and find a quiet place to spend the rest of our lives."
She said with a smile, raising her hand to rub the head of the yellow dog beside her. Her eyes curved into two crescent moons.
Xiao Jingcheng was extremely shocked.
Two hundred and thirteen taels of silver. He never expected this woman to hide so much wealth. He really thought she was living a very poor life!
But then he reacted. She seemed to have mentioned the word "mother" just now.
Wait a minute. Didn't she say that she had become a widow and then fled from the border area to settle here? She clearly told the matchmaker who came to propose marriage that she had no relatives in Dongli Town. So who was this "mother" she was talking about?
In Xiao Jingcheng's mind, he couldn't help but think of that locked small courtyard and that woman who seemed a bit insane.
Could it be that crazy woman locked in that nameless small courtyard?
Ye Wanmian thought of Jiang Zhiqing in her heart and tightly grasped the small wooden box in her hand. Her lowered eyelashes covered the deep thoughts in her eyes.
Ye Wanxing and Ye Huan following the Prince of Xuan and the others to Dongli Town must not be just for the missing crown prince.
The Ye family once claimed externally that Lady Ye had accidentally抱错 a child during a flood in Cangzhou many years ago, which led to her own flesh and blood being left wandering outside for sixteen years and raising someone else's child for more than a decade.
According to her investigation, there had indeed been a flood in Cangzhou eighteen years ago, and the Ling'an Temple where the child was抱错 also really existed.
But there might be some unknown secrets hidden in this.
If this matter involved Jiang Zhiqing...
With a "snap", Ye Wanmian expressionlessly closed the small wooden box in her hand and locked it again.
Perhaps this was also the best opportunity to understand the truth of that year.
Raising her hand to touch her face, a look of determination flashed across Ye Wanmian's eyes.
Rather than being constantly on tenterhooks, afraid of being discovered, it's better to—
Turn passivity into initiative and take the initiative into her own hands.