It was raining outside. There weren't many guests in the tavern, and they were sitting rather sparsely. Fortunately, the tavern's main hall wasn't very spacious, so the voices of a few people chatting and gossiping easily reached Ye Wanmian.
However, after listening for a long time, all they talked about was the current crop yields in the fields or where it was easier for masons and carpenters to find work. There was no useful information.
At this moment, another person entered the tavern. It was a somewhat slovenly middle - aged man. As soon as they saw him, the guests at the table in the northeast corner perked up and quickly waved their hands to greet him. "Lao San, over here!"
The man strolled over leisurely. The others complained, "You said you'd treat us to drinks today. Why are you so late?"
The man yawned and said, "I was busy outside the city until the middle of the night last night and cried for a whole night. Don't I need to catch up on some sleep? I said I'd treat you today, and I'll never go back on my word. Master Chen is generous. After the job was done, he gave each of us two hundred wen. Today, brothers, eat to your hearts' content. Don't be polite with me."
Ye Wanmian sat up slightly.
She didn't expect this to be the person who had wailed at the funeral with them last night. His voice sounded a bit hoarse. Presumably, it was from wailing at the funeral last night.
After the man sat down, the others surrounded him and curiously asked about what had happened last night.
Having a funeral in the middle of the night was unheard of in the whole Dongli Town, so it naturally caught the villagers' attention.
"Did you see the body of Young Master Chen? I heard that he was possessed by evil spirits some time ago and would roar and shout every night. Is that true?"
"Do you think that Young Master Chen's death might also be the work of ghosts and demons?"
The man said, "Speaking of that, Master Chen invited a powerful Taoist priest. He was casting spells all the way during the funeral procession. After Young Master Chen was buried, he even slaughtered a few chickens on the spot and drew talismans with their blood."
"Oh! That's so scary!"
"Yeah, I've never heard of such a thing before."
The group was extremely frightened and started chattering away. The commotion there was quite loud, and since they were talking about the Chen family's midnight funeral, the guests at the neighboring tables couldn't help but join the discussion.
Some people complained that the Chen family's midnight funeral was too terrifying. The chanting of the Taoist priest and the sound of the suona had disturbed their sleep.
Some were curious as to why the Chen family had a funeral at night and debated the cause of Young Master Chen's death.
Some even mentioned that after the Chen family's funeral procession left, their dog inexplicably disappeared from the yard and didn't return home until dawn. It was covered in yellow mud, as if it had rolled in the mud.
They laughed and chatted, but no one mentioned that Young Master Chen's grave had been dug up and his body had disappeared without a trace.
Ye Wanmian's lips curled slightly, and her eyes were full of cunning.
It seemed that the Chen family hadn't noticed the anomaly at the gravesite yet. Looking at the dark clouds outside, it seemed that the rain would continue for a few more days. By then, the traces of her and Qi Wen's journey in the mountains would also disappear.
By the time the Chen family realized what had happened and wanted to continue the investigation, it would be too late.
Sure enough, even the heavens couldn't bear to watch what those people had done and were secretly helping her.
She felt a bit more at ease. At this moment, the waiter brought over the food she had ordered to go. Ye Wanmian took the food and suddenly remembered something. She ordered thirty roasted chickens from the shopkeeper.
The dogs had been her greatest help last night. She had to reward these "divine soldiers" well.
After paying the money and setting the date to pick up the roasted chickens, Ye Wanmian picked up the dripping oil - paper umbrella on the wooden stand, called the yellow dog lying outside the door, and stepped into the rain again.
When she returned to the medical clinic, Qi Wen had already left his room and was no longer sitting at the desk writing.
Seeing Ye Wanmian, he stepped forward to take the things from her hands. He warily glanced behind her to make sure no one was following her, and then he closed the door.
"How about it? Did you find out anything?" Qi Wen asked eagerly.
Ye Wanmian shook her head. "They probably haven't noticed yet. We should thank this rain for that."
Qi Wen let out a sigh of relief. "That's good, that's good."
She had bought two meat dishes and two vegetarian dishes in total, and also brought back a whole roasted chicken for Dahuang as a reward for its hard work last night.
The aroma of the food whetted their appetites. After expending so much energy last night, Ye Wanmian and Qi Wen were like hungry ghosts and devoured all four dishes with the rice.
Dahuang also carried the roasted chicken in its mouth and ran to a corner to feast, with oil dripping from its mouth.
The two of them leaned back in their chairs with full bellies and didn't feel like moving.
"By the way, Mrs. Jiang." Qi Wen rubbed his bulging belly, remembered something very important, and said seriously,
"The man's identity is so special, and he looks so eye - catching. If someone discovers his whereabouts, it might bring about his death. Shouldn't we find a way to disguise him?"
"At least, make it so that no one can recognize his true identity at a glance, and we should also come up with another name for him."
Ye Wanmian had thought about this problem long ago. She held up the palm - leaf fan in her hand to cover the lower half of her face. In her sallow complexion, her eyes sparkled.
"You're right. To prevent others from recognizing his identity, from now on, whether it's in public or in private, we'll call him Gou Dan."
"Gou... Gou Dan?!" Qi Wen almost choked on his own saliva. "Mrs. Jiang, are you serious?! That's... that's..."
That was the Crown Prince! The most noble person! How could they use such a vulgar name!
Ye Wanmian said seriously, "The more vulgar the name, the less likely others will associate him with that identity. Moreover, it's widely rumored outside that the Crown Prince is dead. In the eyes of others, he's a 'dead man' now. Who knows what conspiracy lies behind this? The more inconspicuous his new identity is, the safer he'll be."
"Don't worry. The Crown Prince is magnanimous and broad - minded. We saved his life. He won't mind this with us."
Ye Wanmian said with a beaming smile.
Although what she said made a lot of sense, Qi Wen always had the illusion that she was doing it on purpose. But since she had taken the lead in saving the Crown Prince, it didn't seem like she had any grudges against him.
"What about his appearance..."
Ye Wanmian said, "Don't worry. I have my own plan."
After nightfall, Ye Wanmian checked the time and brewed another bowl of medicine for typhoid. She carried it to that room and asked Qi Wen to help the man take it. After taking this bowl of medicine, Xiao Jingcheng broke out in a sweat again. The fever on his body had completely subsided, and his pulse had also become steady.
Apart from the fact that he still couldn't wake up and was a bit weak in qi and blood, there were no other problems.
Remembering that he hadn't woken up even after all the commotion last night, Ye Wanmian thought for a moment, then reached out her hand to touch his head carefully.
Presumably, his inability to wake up was due to the impact when he fell off the cliff. It had been almost two months since he was attacked. Even if there were any wounds, they wouldn't have healed so quickly.
However, as her fingers ran through his hair and gently touched his scalp, she couldn't feel any wounds at all. Even more strangely, not to mention wounds, she couldn't even detect any obvious lumps.
Could it be that it wasn't because of a head injury?
Then why was he still unconscious?