Ye Wanmian instantly woke up from her daze.
"No," she replied calmly, shaking her head. "Master never mentioned it, and I never asked. After all, I've also kept my own background a secret from him. He doesn't know I've been to the capital or that I know you."
Xiao Yixuan was taken aback by her words. Unable to get any more information out of her, he felt annoyed.
Doctor Wang's medical skills were on par with those of the imperial physicians in the palace, and he was a calm and composed man in critical situations. His background was truly suspicious. If Xiao Yixuan could find out more about him and win him over, it would surely be a great asset.
Well, there was no need to rush. The most urgent matter at hand was to find that person as soon as possible and eliminate the threat once and for all.
"Have you been staying here while Doctor Wang is away?" Xiao Yixuan changed the subject. "No wonder I went to Qingyu Alley to look for you but couldn't get an answer when I knocked on the door."
"Of course. The clinic is Master's livelihood. If I don't watch over it, who will?" Ye Wanmian said. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something and asked him,
"By the way, has His Highness the Prince of Mu sent you any letters during his long absence? Do you know where they are now?"
Xiao Yixuan's eyes flickered. "No letters yet. But the soldiers accompanying him have been sending messages back to Dongli Town by carrier pigeon. I just received the news this morning. Uncle and his men have reached Haihe Town and should arrive in Linzhou City tonight."
After Linzhou, there was Ningzhou, which was on the way back to the capital.
"It seems that everything is going smoothly over there," Ye Wanmian said thoughtfully.
This also meant that the coffin was still in the care of the Prince of Mu and his men, and there had been no major problems. Naturally, no one knew that the ice coffin didn't contain the real crown prince.
The fact that someone was constantly sending messages back to Dongli Town meant that Xiao Yixuan had informants there. She couldn't casually pass on the news about the crown prince to Master, or the fact that the crown prince was still in Dongli Town would be exposed.
"By the way, why are you so free today? Have you found the body of Young Master Chen?" Ye Wanmian asked deliberately.
Xiao Yixuan looked at her. "Yes, I have."
"Where was it found?" Ye Wanmian asked curiously.
A hint of irritation flashed across Xiao Yixuan's face. Just thinking about this made it hard for him to control his emotions. "In a villa of the Chen family."
Ye Wanmian feigned surprise. "Ah! It was there! Who moved his body there? Could that person have a grudge against the Chen family?"
Xiao Yixuan narrowed his eyes. "Why do you say that?"
Just then, two patients came into the clinic to get their prescriptions filled, interrupting their conversation. Ye Wanmian got up to attend to them and was too busy to pay attention to Xiao Yixuan.
Xiao Yixuan had to suppress his temper for the time being. He sat there calmly, adjusting his sleeves. He scanned the clinic again, and his eyes finally landed on the table where Ye Wanmian usually sat when seeing patients.
There were two medical records spread out on the table. He walked over casually, picked them up, and flipped through them.
Ye Wanmian caught a glimpse of his actions from the corner of her eye. She lowered her eyelashes, wrapped up the medicine in her hand, and handed it to the patient.
"This is your medicine. There are five doses in total. You need to boil this medicine thick. Boil three bowls of water down to one bowl over a low flame. You can take one dose a day. If your symptoms start to improve, then boil six bowls of water down to one bowl over a high flame for the remaining doses."
The patient paid for the medicine and thanked her repeatedly. Meanwhile, Xiao Yixuan put the medical records back down, showing no sign of anything amiss on his face.
"You're quite the professional doctor. It seems you've learned a lot from Doctor Wang these days. I'm curious. If a patient with a sudden or serious illness comes in and Doctor Wang isn't around, what will you do?"
"Of course, I'll advise them to go to another clinic. But before Master left, he sent a letter to my uncle. In a few days, someone will come to take my place."
Ye Wanmian snatched the medical records from his hand, sat down, and started writing down the details of the patient's visit.
"I remember you said there was another assistant in the clinic. Why isn't he here today? You're the only one busy in the front." Xiao Yixuan noticed that Ye Wanmian was the only one in the shop and was a bit confused.
Ye Wanmian didn't even look up as she replied indifferently, "A few days ago, on the way back from Liuxiang Tower, we took in a patient with typhoid fever. Qi Wen accidentally got infected and is still sick. He's resting in the backyard."
"A patient with typhoid fever?" Xiao Yixuan narrowed his eyes. Ye Wanmian continued, "Yes, the medicine for that patient is boiling on the stove outside. Oh no, it's almost boiled dry!"
She quickly put down her brush, got up, and ran outside. Wrapping her fingers in a handkerchief, she lifted the lid of the medicine pot. A rush of steam and a strong smell of medicine filled the air, making Xiao Yixuan wrinkle his nose involuntarily.
Ye Wanmian fanned away the mist and saw that there was only a thin layer of medicine left in the pot, exactly the amount she wanted. She picked up the pot and poured out the medicine.
The medicine was dark and thick, and just the smell made one frown.
Ye Wanmian picked up the medicine bowl and turned to walk back into the clinic. Xiao Yixuan also turned around and followed her.
On the right side of the clinic was a partitioned area for seriously ill patients. Xiao Yixuan had noticed this earlier. As they got closer, they could faintly hear suppressed coughing sounds coming from inside.
Judging from the sound, he could tell it was a man.
Pushing open the door, the coughing sounds became clearer. Ye Wanmian walked in with the medicine bowl and said to the man on the bed, "Uncle Li, the medicine is ready. It's still hot. I'll leave it here. Remember to take it when it cools down."
Li Zhao covered his mouth with his sleeve, trying hard to hold back the urge to cough. His eyes first landed on Ye Wanmian and then turned to Xiao Yixuan standing outside the door. He said hoarsely,
"Okay, thank you, little doctor."
As soon as Xiao Yixuan opened the door, he could see the person in the room clearly. The man's long hair was all tangled up with his beard, making it hard to tell them apart. But from the exposed skin, it was obvious that he was a middle - aged man, not the person he was thinking of.
"Who is this..." Li Zhao asked. Only then did Ye Wanmian act as if she had just noticed Xiao Yixuan. She quickly put down what she was holding, rushed forward, closed the door, and pushed him out.
"What are you doing following me in? This man has a serious case of typhoid fever. It's contagious."
"You're a prince. Your body is precious. If anything happens to you, I'm afraid I'll be caught and made to pay with my life!"
Xiao Yixuan was pushed back to the main hall of the clinic. He gently supported her and said helplessly, "Okay, okay. I was just looking from outside. How could I get infected?"