"Cough, cough, cough!" Ye Wanxing burst into a fit of violent coughing. Her face quickly flushed red, scaring back Ye Huan's question that was already on the tip of his tongue. He immediately supported Ye Wanxing and said to Ye Wanmian anxiously,
"Quick, get some water!"
Ye Wanmian glanced at Ye Wanxing's pained face, sneered silently in her heart, then got up and fetched a glass of water.
After a while of fussing and drinking a few sips of water, Ye Wanxing finally calmed down. She raised her moist eyes to look at Ye Huan and said in a hoarse voice, "Brother, perhaps they've added some new ingredients to the snacks from Yunhua Lou."
Ye Huan's attention was diverted by her. He was stunned for a moment and said, "It's big brother's fault. I'll throw away all those snacks when we get back."
Then Ye Wanxing looked at Ye Wanmian again. "Miss is truly the apprentice of Doctor Wang. You can spot the illness at a glance when others can't."
Ye Huan also said, "This young doctor's medical skills really impress me. Please prescribe some medicine for my sister. She can't go on like this."
Ye Wanmian paused for a moment, silently switched to holding the pen with her left hand. She found a blank piece of rice paper and deliberately controlled her handwriting to write out the prescription. When she was almost at the end, she had a sudden thought and added an extra ingredient to it.
After blowing dry the ink marks, she handed it to Ye Huan. Ye Huan took it and looked at it, then read it out softly, "Three qian of Bupleurum, three qian of Rhubarb... eight qian of Coptis?"
Hearing Coptis in the prescription, Ye Wanxing's expression also changed.
Ye Wanmian kept a straight face and lowered her voice. "Boil this medicine with three bowls of water until it becomes one bowl and take it. I guarantee your sister will recover within three days. But remember, you must drink this medicine in one go. You mustn't take it with any candied fruits, or the medicine will not only lose its effectiveness but also worsen the illness."
No candied fruits to take the medicine with?! With so much Coptis, wouldn't it be unbearably bitter?
Ye Wanxing's face almost turned green when she heard this.
Noticing there was a pharmacy in the clinic, Ye Huan asked, "Can we get the medicine here?"
Ye Wanmian didn't even raise her head. "You two had better look elsewhere. More than half of the ingredients in the prescription are out of stock here. We can't get the medicine for you."
Suddenly, from behind came the familiar voice of Xiao Yixuan calling, "Xun Zhang, Xing'er." Ye Wanmian looked up and saw Xiao Yixuan striding in from outside.
He looked rather anxious. His gaze first fell on Ye Wanmian and he examined her carefully, then he looked at Ye Wanxing and Ye Huan.
Ye Huan quickly stood up to greet him. "Why are you here, Your Highness?"
Ye Wanxing was also a bit surprised. Remembering what she had overheard, she secretly glanced at Ye Wanmian, trying to find something unusual on her face. But somehow, as soon as she looked over, her attention was diverted.
"Cousin, cough, cough, cough."
Not finding anything unusual on each other's faces, Xiao Yixuan narrowed his eyes and said, "I heard Xing'er's illness has worsened again. You took her out to seek medical treatment early this morning. I was worried, so I came to take a look. I didn't expect you'd come to Huichuntang."
Ye Huan said, "I've long heard that Doctor Wang has excellent medical skills, so we came here to take a chance. This young doctor is truly Doctor Wang's apprentice. She quickly found out the root cause of Xing'er's illness."
"Oh, really?" Xiao Yixuan was relieved to confirm that Ye Huan hadn't recognized Ye Wanmian. He casually asked, "What exactly caused Xing'er's illness?"
Ye Wanxing tightened her expression again. She had just managed to deceive Ye Huan, but unexpectedly, Xiao Yixuan came along.
Ye Wanmian watched Ye Wanxing with great interest, wanting to see how she would handle the situation. Sure enough, she used the same old trick. She covered her lips and coughed, then said softly in a hoarse voice,
"It should be that the snacks big brother bought for me recently contain some ingredients I've never eaten before. They don't agree with me."
Xiao Yixuan understood and patted her on the shoulder reassuringly. "It's good that we've found the cause. Doctor Jiang is Doctor Wang's apprentice. Her medical skills are surely trustworthy."
Ye Huan caught the information and said to Ye Wanmian, "So the young doctor's surname is Jiang."
Ye Wanmian didn't answer. Xiao Yixuan's gaze fell on the prescription in Ye Huan's hand and he said, "Since the medicine has been prescribed, you should go back quickly to take the medicine and rest."
Ye Wanxing tightened her fingers. "Cousin Xuan, won't you leave with us?"
Xiao Yixuan endured the urge not to look at Ye Wanmian and said seriously, "I still have some official business to discuss in detail with Doctor Jiang."
"If it's official business, then we won't stay here to disturb you. We'll take our leave first." Ye Huan cupped his hands and then pulled Ye Wanxing away. Before leaving, Ye Wanxing looked back at Xiao Yixuan. He was sitting at the table, and his figure completely blocked the plain - looking female doctor behind him. She could only see a few pieces of the doctor's skirt.
After getting into the carriage, Ye Huan told the coachman to drive to a nearby clinic to get the medicine for Ye Wanxing.
Ye Wanxing leaned weakly against the carriage, covering her lips and coughing from time to time. She lowered her eyes and fell into deep thought.
She always felt there was some unspeakable secret between Prince Xuan and that female doctor.
"Brother." She called Ye Huan. When he looked over, she said, "Don't you think that female doctor just now..."
She frowned, trying to recall the woman's appearance, but her mind was a complete blank. She couldn't remember it at all.
Ye Huan obviously had also forgotten what the woman looked like. "What's wrong?"
Ye Wanxing paused for a moment and shook her head. "It's nothing."
What was she going to say just now? Forget it.
...
In Huichuntang Clinic, Xiao Yixuan let out a soft breath and asked Ye Wanmian, "Are you okay?"
Ye Wanmian gave a half - smile and raised her eyebrows. "Your Highness came quite quickly. You're so nervous. Are you afraid I'll poison your fiancée, Miss Ye?"
Xiao Yixuan looked helpless and sighed. "Mian'er, I've told you I have no choice. Why do you always talk to me like this every time we meet? You know I came here because I was worried about you."
Ye Wanmian said, "What's there for you to worry about me? Didn't we just meet the other day?"
Xiao Yixuan tapped her on the forehead and said teasingly, "I'm just afraid you'll go and earn money by crying at funerals again. I came here to help you out."
Ye Wanmian didn't believe he was that kind - hearted. She looked out of the window. There were two plain - clothed soldiers standing under the big tree opposite the clinic. They should have followed and escorted him here.
She felt a bit vigilant in her heart, but on her face, she pretended to be annoyed. "The money I earn with my own hands and skills is worth every bit of it."
After joking with her, Xiao Yixuan looked around carefully.
"Your master's clinic is really a bit small. I thought a doctor as excellent as Doctor Wang would come from a big clinic."
Seeing that he had changed the topic, Ye Wanmian also said, "Master doesn't care about the size of the clinic. As long as he can save people's lives, he's already satisfied."
Xiao Yixuan said meaningfully, "Doctor Wang may seem to come from the countryside, but his courage and knowledge are not comparable to those of ordinary doctors. Has he ever mentioned his background to you?"