The pill was as big as a man's thumbnail, pitch - black and exuding a strong medicinal smell. Just looking at it made one feel like it would be hard to swallow.
Ye Wanxing took a deep breath. First, she gulped down a large mouthful of water, then popped the pill into her mouth, and finally forced it down with the water.
Even though she acted quickly, the big pill inevitably scraped against her tongue root. The bitterness of the Chinese goldthread filled her mouth again. She had to cover her mouth tightly to hold back the urge to spit out the pill.
If she vomited again, with her eldest brother's rigid personality, he would really send her back to the capital.
Seeing Ye Wanxing swallow the pill smoothly without vomiting again, Ye Huan nodded in satisfaction. Remembering something, he asked, "By the way, why don't I see Xiaocui?"
Ye Wanxing replied, "I've got no appetite. She said that her family often cooks a kind of light and delicious food called green congee. I guess she's busy in the kitchen."
Ye Huan softened his tone, "Alright, you've been sick for quite a while and your body is still weak. Don't think about anything. Lie down and have a good rest."
The bitterness on her tongue root wouldn't go away. Ye Wanxing nodded and said nothing more. She pulled up the quilt, lay down, and closed her eyes.
However, after Ye Huan left, she opened her eyes again.
A moment later, the door creaked softly. Xiaocui came into the room carrying a food box. After putting down what she was holding, she walked to the bedside, helped Ye Wanxing sit up, and took out a bowl of fragrant congee from the food box.
The rice grains were cooked until they were crystal - clear. The mint leaves added to it gave the congee a faint green color. The fresh color and aroma finally whetted Ye Wanxing's appetite.
She scooped up some congee with a spoon and put it into her mouth. Xiaocui asked nervously, "How is it? Can Miss Xing'er get used to it?"
The fragrance of the mint overpowered the bitterness in her throat. Ye Wanxing relaxed her brows and said, "Your cooking skills are not bad."
Xiaocui was overjoyed. "I'm glad Miss Xing'er likes it. I'll serve Miss Xing'er well."
While eating, Ye Wanxing casually asked, "How about the thing I asked you to find out?"
Xiaocui snapped back to reality and quickly said, "I've found out. Doctor Jiang from Huichuntang wasn't a doctor before. She just became Doctor Wang's apprentice and started practicing medicine recently."
"Before that, she lived in Qingyu Alley and made a living by collecting herbs. Many clinics and pharmacies in the town know her. Oh, right. They also said that she wasn't a native of Dongli Town. She became a widow because her husband died in the border war. She came to Dongli Town to settle down more than half a year ago. She has no relatives in Dongli Town and usually keeps to herself."
Ye Wanxing fell into deep thought.
A widow whose husband had died in the war, with no relatives in Dongli Town, chose to settle here and always kept to herself. In just half a year, she was favored by Doctor Wang and became his apprentice to learn medicine.
It all seemed a bit strange.
Why did Doctor Wang choose to take her as an apprentice instead of others?
Moreover, why did Xiao Yixuan care so much about a widow?
Could it be that... he had some strange preferences that others didn't know about?
Ye Wanxing shook her head to drive away the thought in her mind. She said to Xiaocui, "Find some time to go to those clinics and pharmacies. Ask them to draw a picture of Doctor Jiang."
It had only been a few days, and she had completely forgotten what the woman looked like. She only vaguely remembered that she was darker than others.
Xiaocui nodded. "Don't worry, Miss Xing'er. I'll definitely get it done."
To prove herself, Xiaocui was very efficient. That very night, she handed over the portraits she had collected from several clinic doctors and pharmacy owners to Ye Wanxing.
Looking through the portraits in her hand, Ye Wanxing frowned tightly.
"Are you sure these portraits are all of the same person?"
None of the portraits in her hand were the same!
The woman in the portrait from Jingyuantang Clinic on the left had a round, chubby face and eyes so small that they were just slits.
The woman in the portrait from Miaoshoutang Clinic in the middle was drawn as very thin, with two heavy eye - bags under her eyes.
Xiaocui also felt a bit embarrassed. She said, "Those people all said this was Mrs. Jiang. I... I don't know which one is the real one."
Ye Wanxing crumpled up the portraits in her hand and threw them into the corner.
It was impossible for a person to make everyone forget what she looked like.
Unless, she was very good at disguising herself.
Humph, she was going to see what tricks this country woman surnamed Jiang was up to!
...
In the following three days, Dongli Town was unusually quiet. The lives of the common people went on as usual. Even the incident of the tomb of the Chen family's eldest son being dug up was almost forgotten by the townspeople.
The town was calm, and the small Huichuntang Clinic also operated as usual.
Besides managing the clinic every day, Ye Wanmian was also responsible for teaching the crown prince, Xiao Jingcheng, about human behavior.
At night, when Qi Wen and Li Zhao were asleep, Ye Wanmian would quietly let Xiao Jingcheng into the room and let him sleep on the simple small bed.
As soon as dawn broke, Dahuang would wake Xiao Jingcheng up. He would leave the room and sit quietly outside Ye Wanmian's door until Qi Wen and Ye Wanmian woke up one after another.
After two days, Li Zhao's illness had improved greatly. Only an occasional light cough could be heard, and his complexion was much better than before. However, he still had many chronic and stubborn diseases, which would take time to be treated.
After two days of training, Xiao Jingcheng could now walk, run, and jump much better than when he first woke up. His speech had also improved greatly. From initially being unclear and only able to say short two - character words, he could now say four or five words.
Although his speech was still not very coherent, it gave Ye Wanmian and the others hope for his recovery.
However, at the same time, trouble came.
Knowing that he was the same as Ye Wanmian, Qi Wen, and Li Zhao, and that he could sit on chairs and sleep on beds, he became more and more particular.
He disliked the bedding because it wasn't new enough and smelled strange.
He disliked the pillow because it was too hard and hurt his head.
He disliked the chair because it was dusty.
He even disliked the rice bowl because there was a crack in it.
If Dahuang's dog bowl wasn't dirty and full of its saliva, Ye Wanmian guessed that Xiao Jingcheng would have snatched it without hesitation and claimed it as his own.
Oh well, this man was not young, but he had quite a few quirks.
Qi Wen had proposed that Ye Wanmian find a gorgeous and beautiful bowl for Xiao Jingcheng, but Ye Wanmian firmly refused.
"Dahuang's dog bowl was earned by itself without spending a single cent. But I spent a hundred taels of silver to wake him up! Before he pays back the hundred taels, he won't get another bit of advantage from me!"
Qi Wen was speechless and gave her a thumbs - up.
On this day, the Kezailai Tavern sent a message to Ye Wanmian. The thirty roasted chickens she had ordered were ready. The shopkeeper asked if he should send them to the clinic. Ye Wanmian thought for a while and told the tavern owner to send the thirty roasted chickens to the town's Earth God Temple before nightfall.
As night fell, after Li Zhao and Qi Wen fell asleep, Xiao Jingcheng crawled into Ye Wanmian's room as usual. Just as he was about to lie down on his small bed, he found that Ye Wanmian had changed into a dark - colored dress at some point, looking as if she was about to go out.
Xiao Jingcheng tilted his head, looking very confused. "Not... sleep?"
Ye Wanmian took out a dark - colored men's dress from the cabinet and said to him, "Tonight, you're going with me to a place."