When Ye Wanmian walked into the yard, Xiao Jingcheng, who had been knocked unconscious by her acupuncture needles the previous day, had already woken up. He was now full of energy, tugging at a piece of clothing with Dahuang.
It was understandable for Dahuang, since it was a real dog. But Xiao Jingcheng, the esteemed Crown Prince, seemed to have completely forgotten that he was a human. Not only did he crawl on all fours on the ground, but he also clamped the cloth between his teeth and let out threatening growls from his throat!
What was most speechless was that what they were tugging at was none other than an outer robe that Ye Wanmian had hung out to dry on the clothesline in the yard!
Ye Wanmian put her hands on her hips and roared, "What on earth are you two doing!"
Hearing her voice, both Xiao Jingcheng and Dahuang, who had been in a stand - off, stopped their actions and looked towards her.
Almost at the same moment, the man and the dog let go of the cloth and ran towards her.
Xiao Jingcheng had longer legs. In just a few strides, he rushed in front of Ye Wanmian and pounced on her. Dahuang followed closely behind, wagging its tail and also pouncing on Ye Wanmian.
Ye Wanmian was startled. Before Xiao Jingcheng could hug her, she shouted, "Sit, sit down!"
His surprise attack failed. A hint of disappointment flashed in his glass - like eyes. Then he obediently squatted on the ground, looking up at Ye Wanmian with joy in his eyes.
If he had a tail behind him, he would probably wag it more cheerfully than Dahuang.
Ye Wanmian patted her chest in relief.
She had come so close, so close to being pounced on.
Looking at the tattered robe not far away and the man and the dog obediently squatting in front of her, Ye Wanmian was furious.
"What on earth is going on? Why are you tugging at my clothes for no reason? Who started it? Dahuang, was it you?!"
Ye Wanmian first looked at Dahuang. Dahuang got anxious and barked twice loudly at Ye Wanmian, "Woof, woof". Then it raised its right front paw and waved it in Xiao Jingcheng's direction.
Dahuang: Woof woof woof, it wasn't Dahuang! It was the little purple - clothed man. He wanted to steal mother's clothes woof!
At this time, Qi Wen, who had been watching the show from the side, also said, "I can testify. It was Gou Dan who started it!"
Just thinking about the scene he had seen before, Qi Wen couldn't help but laugh.
"Gou Dan, it seems, wanted to wear Lady Jiang's clothes. Pfft..."
What a mess!
Ye Wanmian glared angrily at Xiao Jingcheng.
He opened his mouth and imitated Dahuang, barking "woof woof", as if defending himself.
Ye Wanmian had been quite angry at first, but seeing his appearance, she suddenly couldn't stay angry.
Forget it, forget it. Don't be angry. He didn't know anything now and thought of himself as a dog. He probably didn't do it on purpose.
Uncle Li had said that he needed to be taught how to be a human well so that he could recover soon.
Don't be angry, don't be angry.
Ye Wanmian closed her eyes tightly, took three deep breaths, and when she opened them again, she had regained her calm.
She first walked forward, picked up the robe on the ground, and examined it carefully.
The robe was torn and could no longer be worn. She threw it into the bamboo basket for garbage. Then she walked back to Dahuang, poked its forehead, and said through gritted teeth:
"Although it's not your fault, when something like this happens, you should come to me first instead of playing around with him and ruining one of my robes. You're not allowed to enter my room today!"
Dahuang whined aggrievedly, snorted a few times from its nose, turned around, and walked to lie down under the pomegranate tree beside it. Its tail swept vigorously behind it.
Then Ye Wanmian looked at Xiao Jingcheng.
He was squatting obediently on the ground like a dog, observing her expression nervously. Seeing her reaching out her hand, he thought she was going to poke his forehead too. He closed his eyes tightly, but the next moment, she grasped his elbow and forced him to stand up again.
She said very seriously, word by word, "I've already told you that you're a human being just like me, not a dog!"
Xiao Jingcheng, whose legs were forced to straighten, felt extremely uncomfortable all over. He subconsciously wanted to resume the squatting position on the ground, but as soon as his legs bent a little, the girl gently slapped him.
"Stand up straight. If you dare to act like that again, I'll throw you outside and never care about you again!"
The girl said to him fiercely.
Hearing this, Dahuang, who had been sulking under the tree, turned its head around gloatingly.
Dahuang: Yeah, yeah, drive the little purple - clothed man out. Then no one will come to compete with it for mother!
Xiao Jingcheng's eyes darkened. He glanced at Dahuang under the tree and tried hard to overcome the urge to squat down. He stared closely at Ye Wanmian, looking as aggrieved as could be.
Teaching him to live like a normal person was not an easy task, but Ye Wanmian knew the principle of taking things one step at a time. Making him learn to stand was the first step.
Only by getting used to using his two legs would he no longer think that he was a dog like Dahuang.
However, wasn't this just another way of training a dog?
Cough cough cough.
Ye Wanmian cleared her throat and said, "You stand here properly. Dahuang will be in charge of supervising you."
Seeing that it had a job, and it was to watch over Xiao Jingcheng, Dahuang immediately perked up. It jumped up from the ground, squatted in front of Xiao Jingcheng, sticking out its tongue and looking excited.
Xiao Jingcheng stared at it with big eyes, clenched his fists tightly. Although his legs were trembling slightly, he still gritted his teeth and held on.
Ye Wanmian had been woken up by Qi Wen early in the morning. She had only quickly tied up her hair and thrown on a robe before coming out. She hadn't had time to tidy herself up carefully.
She went back into the house, found a wooden comb to comb her hair neatly, changed into another robe, and then returned to the yard.
It was summer now, and the weather was quite nice today. It was only the Chen hour (7 - 9 am), but the sun had already filled the yard. After standing for just such a short while, Xiao Jingcheng was already sweating profusely. Nevertheless, he still stood still in place obediently as she had said.
Ye Wanmian was a little surprised to see that he was so obedient to her.
She remembered her experience of training Dahuang before. She walked forward, stood on tiptoe, and gently patted the man on the forehead. Her voice softened:
"Good boy, Gou Dan. Look, it's not that difficult, is it?"
The force on his forehead was not heavy. The girl's voice sounded very pleasant, and he could even smell the fragrance from the girl.
Xiao Jingcheng had been a bit irritable and impatient while waiting, and his brows had been slightly furrowed. But all his anger disappeared in the girl's spring - breeze - like smile. He even couldn't help but lean forward, offering his head in front of her voluntarily, looking at her with expectant eyes.
Just like a much - enlarged Dahuang.
Ye Wanmian withdrew her hand awkwardly, coughed twice, and said, "After you've learned to stand, it's time to learn how to walk. Learn well. If you learn it today, there will be a reward."