Without the disguise on her face, the girl looked elegant and refined. Her big, watery eyes were now filled with defensiveness and grievance, which somehow made people feel soft-hearted.
Facing such a pair of eyes, how could Qi Wen dare to say "yes"? Without much thought, he blurted out, "Of course not!"
As if afraid that Ye Wanmian wouldn't believe him, he even raised four fingers and said, "I, Qi Wen, swear to heaven that I will never disclose a single secret about Lady Jiang to the outside world. If I break this oath, may I meet a bad end just like Young Master Chen!"
Both of them had experienced that thrilling night and knew that Young Master Chen had been killed. So this was the heaviest oath Qi Wen could think of.
However, Ye Wanmian didn't respond immediately. Instead, she sized him up from head to toe. Qi Wen felt goosebumps all over his body under her gaze. Then she lifted the corners of her lips and gave a gentle smile. She patted his shoulder and said,
"We have a life-and-death bond. Since you were able to help me rescue His Highness the Crown Prince together, you will surely keep this secret for me. I trust you."
A sense of pride welled up in Qi Wen's heart immediately.
Lady Jiang had said they had a life-and-death bond!
Seeing Ye Wanmian bend down and reach for the rope of the well, he quickly said, "You want to fetch water? Let me do it!"
He rushed forward eagerly, huffing and puffing as he fetched a full bucket of water for Ye Wanmian and poured it into the empty wooden basin beside.
Watching his busy figure, a glint of amusement flashed across Ye Wanmian's eyes.
This guy was jealous and money - loving, but his heart was actually not bad. Once he regarded someone as his "own", he would be whole - heartedly good to that person.
Ye Wanmian washed her face and hands with the cool well - water, then turned towards the stove. Qi Wen rushed ahead of her again.
"Oh, Lady Jiang, from now on, you can leave these rough jobs to me. You're the master's apprentice and the future goddess doctor of Dongli Town. These hands are for saving lives!"
"There's no need to go to such extremes." Ye Wanmian said with a half - smile, "If you act so deliberately, aren't you afraid that others will notice the secrets I'm hiding?"
Qi Wen smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "I just can't help it when I think of a beautiful girl like you having to chop wood and start a fire."
"You're just not used to it." Ye Wanmian winked playfully at him. "In a while, the Lady Jiang you're familiar with will be back."
Next, in front of Qi Wen, Ye Wanmian took a piece of Tianli vine and made it into juice, then started to apply it on her face.
Under Qi Wen's extremely shocked gaze, the "Lady Jiang" with sallow skin and many freckles on her face really came back.
"This thing called Tianli vine actually has such an effect!" Qi Wen looked at the black rhizome in her hand. "It's really amazing!"
Ye Wanmian tapped on the prepared Tianli vine juice beside her and smiled slyly. "Next, it's time to put makeup on our 'Goudan'."
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Ye Wanmian first held Xiao Jingcheng's wrist to check his pulse.
Several days had passed, and his pulse was getting steadier day by day. But for some reason, he still couldn't wake up.
Putting aside the matter of his coma for the time being, Ye Wanmian put down his hand and started to prepare to change his appearance.
She covered his face with a handkerchief soaked in Tianli vine juice and calculated the time in her heart. After about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, she took it off. The skin on that area became visibly darker, but it still didn't look very obvious.
Ye Wanmian was patient and wiped his face with the handkerchief again and again.
Even though he had already seen with his own eyes how Ye Wanmian used Tianli vine to transform herself from a beautiful girl into an ordinary village woman with a haggard face and rough skin,
watching with his own eyes how the Crown Prince's handsome face, which was as handsome as a god's, was gradually smeared yellow by Ye Wanmian, and his originally fair and jade - like skin became rough and dark, Qi Wen still couldn't help but marvel in his heart.
"Lady Jiang, how did you come up with this idea to disguise your appearance?" he couldn't help but ask.
While carefully applying the juice on Xiao Jingcheng's face, Ye Wanmian said, "Naturally, it's to avoid being searched for by others. Just as you said, our family offended the Crown Prince back then. In order to appease the Crown Prince's anger, my parents intended to marry me off as a second wife to an old and ugly man. I accidentally found out that he had a hobby of abusing people. To save my life, I ran away from the wedding."
"What?!" Qi Wen was greatly shocked and angrily clenched his fists. "There are really such evil parents in the world! They're not fit to be parents!"
Suddenly, he realized something was wrong. "Wait, offended the Crown Prince?"
His eyes shifted between the Crown Prince and Ye Wanmian, and he asked suspiciously, "Something's not right. If you have a feud with him, why did you save the Crown Prince?"
"I do hate him." Ye Wanmian said truthfully. "If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have to live in anonymity."
"But there's a misunderstanding between us. Once the misunderstanding is cleared up, everything will be solved. I want to talk to him face - to - face after he wakes up. As his half - savior, I think he should be willing to give me a chance to clear my name."
Qi Wen nodded in understanding. "I see."
Watching her back as she bent down to wipe the man's face, Qi Wen raised his hand and touched his chin, unable to suppress his excitement.
A down - and - out Crown Prince meets a runaway young lady. This is simply a natural story! After His Highness the Crown Prince wakes up, he will surely be grateful to Lady Jiang, his savior!
The two will then clear up their misunderstanding. While taking care of the Crown Prince, Lady Jiang will fall in love with him. They will be deeply in love and finally achieve a happy marriage!
Yes, that's how the story should go!
He couldn't wait to revise his story. His eyes rolled, and he left with a hasty "Lady Jiang, I just remembered I have something to do. I'll go back to my room first" and then rushed out.
Ye Wanmian turned around and was about to call him, but he was already gone.
This guy ran away so quickly. How strange.
She shook her head and continued to get busy. After a while, the appearance of the man lying on the bed had changed dramatically.
Just like Ye Wanmian, he had a sallow face, and the deep wrinkles and scars deliberately made with herbs covered his original appearance.
However, Ye Wanmian looked at him from all angles and still felt that something was not quite right.
Even with his whole face painted yellow, the man's handsomeness still couldn't be completely diminished. Instead, he looked more steady and mature.
A thought flashed through her mind. She kneaded a small black pill and glued it above his lips with fish glue. Then she took one of his broken hairs and inserted it into the pill.
With a mole the size of a soybean on his face, the man's handsomeness was greatly reduced. When others looked at his face, the first thing they would notice was the mole, and they probably wouldn't pay attention to his appearance.
She sat up straight, looked at her masterpiece, and smiled contentedly, her eyes full of slyness.
Now, even if the Queen Mother came, she wouldn't recognize him easily.
It wasn't that she was deliberately teasing him. She did this to protect him from being easily recognized!
Ye Wanmian was extremely happy and couldn't help humming a song. She cleaned up the tools beside her and was about to get up and leave when suddenly her wrist was firmly grasped and she was pulled back, falling onto the man's body.
She was so scared that her soul almost left her body. She looked up and met a pair of cold, emotionless eyes.