Ye Wanmian took a deep breath. "Dahuang, go outside first. Don't come in without my permission."
Dahuang hesitated for a moment, snorted out a puff of air from his nose, then obediently got up and ran outside.
Ye Wanmian walked step by step up to Xiao Jingcheng, bent down and grasped his arm, pulling him up from the ground. She forced him to straighten his legs and stand like her.
She kept a straight face and, regardless of whether he could understand or not, said word by word, "You're a human being, just like me."
With a straight face and a somewhat serious voice, the girl made Xiao Jingcheng stare blankly at her. Then he lowered his head and blinked his eyes uneasily.
Ye Wanmian grabbed his sleeve and led him back to the bedside. She pressed on his shoulders to make him lie down.
"You've been sleeping for such a long time. You just woke up. Your body hasn't fully recovered yet. It's not suitable for you to move around too much. Just have a good rest."
Xiao Jingcheng wriggled his body reluctantly, trying to get up from the bed. He even hugged her arm and refused to let go.
He was so strong that Ye Wanmian couldn't control him. She silently apologized in her heart, quickly took out a silver needle and pricked it into an acupoint on his hand. Soon, he softly let go of her hand, leaned on the pillow and fell asleep again.
...
Outside the courtyard.
Ye Wanmian, Li Zhao and Qi Wen were sitting around a stone table with a pot of tea in front of them.
"Uncle Li, I..." Ye Wanmian was just about to tell Li Zhao about Xiao Jingcheng's identity and what had recently happened in Dongli Town when Li Zhao raised his hand to stop her and said,
"Don't say it. Let me guess."
He tapped his finger lightly on the table and said, "Some time ago, I heard that the Crown Prince of the Sheng Kingdom was assassinated during his southern inspection and then disappeared without a trace. The court ordered a search for the Crown Prince in the folk. Before long, the Prince of Mu led his troops south to preside over the investigation of this case and finally came to Dongli Town. After that, the body of the Crown Prince appeared in Dongli Town, and the death of the Crown Prince was announced to the public."
Li Zhao spoke slowly, but his words shocked both Ye Wanmian and Qi Wen.
"Uncle Li is really well - informed."
Li Zhao smiled. "This matter has spread all over the world. Even the beggars are chatting about it when they are begging. How could I not know?"
"I came here because of the Prince of Mu."
It was also because he learned the news that the Prince of Mu had led his troops south that he rushed to Dongli Town.
The Prince of Mu, Xiao Tianchi.
They hadn't seen each other for many years.
Thinking of Li Zhao's identity, Ye Wanmian wasn't surprised by his purpose of coming to Dongli Town. She said, "It's just unfortunate that His Highness the Prince of Mu had already left with the 'body' of the Crown Prince before Uncle Li arrived in Dongli Town."
Li Zhao was silent for a moment and then said, "I already knew that when I came to Dongli Town."
It was precisely because he had missed the Prince of Mu that he had drowned his sorrows in wine. Unexpectedly, he had met Ye Wanmian and been saved by her.
"I've had several dealings with Xiao Tianchi before."
Qi Wen was startled and looked at Li Zhao with curiosity and admiration in his eyes. What on earth was this uncle's identity? How dare he call His Highness the Prince of Mu by his name!
Only Ye Wanmian wasn't surprised.
When the Sheng Kingdom was established, the current emperor and the Prince of Mu were both in their early twenties. At that time, both the Xiao and Li families were prominent families in the Chu Kingdom. Since they were of a similar age, it was not surprising that they had private contacts.
Looking at Ye Wanmian and Qi Wen, who were looking at him eagerly for advice, Li Zhao continued, "You two don't know that the Prince of Mu, Xiao Tianchi, was a well - known impartial judge in the previous dynasty of the Chu Kingdom. He had fought on the battlefield and made great military achievements. He was feared by the King of Chu, who transferred him back from the front line and made him in charge of the Supreme Court."
"The King of Chu originally wanted to trap him with cases, but unexpectedly, he was also extremely talented in solving cases. He solved many unsolved cases and cleared the names of many wronged people. There are many common people who support him very much."
"From the discovery of the Crown Prince's body to his leaving Dongli Town with the body, it was only a few days in between. If this matter was handled by someone else, it would not be surprising. But if that person was Xiao Tianchi - "
Li Zhao said, "There are doubts about this case."
Ye Wanmian couldn't help being secretly shocked.
Li Zhao really lived up to his reputation as a member of the Li family from Luozhou. He guessed very accurately.
Sure enough, the next moment, Li Zhao said, "The person I saw in that room just now must be the real Crown Prince of the Sheng Kingdom, right?"
Before Ye Wanmian could say anything, Qi Wen slapped the table and said, "It's amazing! You've guessed it all!"
"Ahem!" Ye Wanmian tried hard to give Qi Wen a meaningful look. "Qi Wen, sit down quickly."
Only then did Qi Wen realize that his reaction had been too extreme. He scratched the back of his head, gave a couple of embarrassed laughs and sat down obediently.
Ye Wanmian straightened her face and said to Li Zhao, "You really live up to your name, Uncle Li. This matter has to start when the Crown Prince's body was found on the beach..."
Li Zhao was so smart and perceptive that he could infer the whole story just by taking one look. He also knew the Prince of Mu. For Ye Wanmian, it was better to have one more friend than one more enemy. Since she had decided to cooperate, she shouldn't hold anything back.
She told Li Zhao everything without missing a single detail, not even leaving out how the Taoist priest Yuanzheng had helped Xiao Jingcheng retrieve his soul.
"That's all that happened..." Ye Wanmian let out a sigh.
"The three life - sustaining lamps were supposed to burn for three days, but I didn't expect that he would wake up earlier today and become... like this. Right now, I don't know what to do."
Li Zhao frowned and thought for a moment before saying, "I don't think it's because of the three life - sustaining lamps. After all, he was trapped in someone else's scheme, and his soul had been separated from his body for such a long time. Even though the life - sustaining lamps helped to keep his soul in his body, he still needed time to adapt when his soul suddenly returned to his body."
"He managed to survive this disaster. Apart from having a tough life, he must also be a person with a strong will. As long as he can get good guidance, he will surely regain his memory and return to normal soon."
Good guidance?
What was good guidance?
As if seeing the doubt on Ye Wanmian's face, Li Zhao said, "Teach him how to walk, talk and live like a normal person."
Ye Wanmian immediately looked at Qi Wen, who quickly waved his hands and shook his head. "I can't do it. Miss Jiang, didn't you see how he treated me today? My face still hurts!"
Looking at the scratches on his face, Ye Wanmian knew what he was worried about.
"Or maybe I... ahem." Li Zhao originally said that he could handle this matter, but before he could finish his sentence, he immediately turned his head and coughed violently. Ye Wanmian quickly said,
"Uncle Li, you're still sick. Take care of yourself first. I'm a doctor. It's my responsibility to make the patient return to their previous state. Leave this matter to me."
"That... ahem, how can that be!" Li Zhao frowned tightly. "Men and... ahem, men and women... ahem..."
Ye Wanmian knew what he wanted to say about the propriety between men and women. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, Uncle Li. I swore to my master when I apprenticed to him that in my eyes, there is no distinction between male and female patients. If I cared about such things, I wouldn't have brought you back for treatment in the first place."
Seeing this, Li Zhao could only let out a long sigh.
Early the next morning, just as Ye Wanmian woke up, Qi Wen knocked on her door. Qi Wen's extremely helpless voice came from outside the door:
"Miss Jiang, Gou Dan and Dahuang are fighting again. Come and have a look quickly!"
Ye Wanmian rubbed her cheeks with a mournful face.
Ye Wanmian, you're really good at creating troubles for yourself. You're still young and unmarried, but you have to start learning how to take care of children.
Uncle, when will you finally arrive in Dongli Town!