Xiao Jingcheng tightened his face, forcibly suppressing the anger and the inexplicable sense of humiliation welling up inside him.
He had indeed impulsively hurt her this morning. It was his fault. He thought he'd take this opportunity to help her, but she didn't even give him a chance.
It was as if he was the one groveling.
Given his personality, making such a concession was already quite difficult. The pride of being the crown prince wouldn't allow him to stay here any longer. He let out a cold snort, flicked his sleeve, and strode away.
As he passed through the small gate, he ran into Qi Wen head - on.
"Jing..."
Qi Wen was just about to greet him when Xiao Jingcheng gave him a cold look. Without dodging, he shouldered past Qi Wen and rushed into the house, slamming the door shut with a loud "bang".
The force was so great that even Dahuang, the dog sleeping in the yard under the moonlight, was startled awake.
Qi Wen grimaced as he rubbed his sore shoulder. He passed through the small gate and entered Li Zhao's room.
Ye Wanmian was sitting by the bedside, carefully feeding Li Zhao medicine. Qi Wen slowed his steps and whispered, "Lady Jiang, Brother Jing is angry again."
Ye Wanmian wiped the spilled medicine from Li Zhao's lips with a handkerchief and said indifferently, "That's just his temper. Anyway, he'll leave sooner or later. Just ignore him."
Qi Wen moved his lips. He had been planning to build a good relationship with the crown prince so that he could make a fortune in the future.
"By the way, how's Uncle Li?" Qi Wen asked.
Ye Wanmian let out a soft sigh. "His breath is stable, but his pulse is still very chaotic. With my current skills, I can't figure out what's wrong with him at all. If Master were here..."
If Master were here, he would surely be able to tell what was wrong with Uncle Li.
Thinking of the pool of blood he had coughed up earlier, she felt an inexplicable sense of panic.
"Right." Qi Wen clapped his hands. "Didn't you say that the master wrote a letter and called in an outside expert for you? How about asking him to take a look at Uncle Li when he arrives?"
Ye Wanmian's eyes lit up.
That's right! She still had her uncle!
Half a month had passed. Uncle should be almost in Dongli Town, right?
She didn't know where Uncle was coming from. Why had he been delayed on the way for so long? Since Master had called him for help, his medical skills should be no worse than Master's, right?
Thinking of this, Ye Wanmian's hanging heart finally settled a bit.
She said to Qi Wen, "Go and rest. I'll watch over here. If anything happens, I can handle it immediately."
Qi Wen responded and reminded her, "Lady Jiang, you should also pay attention to rest. Don't wear yourself out."
Ye Wanmian nodded and watched him leave.
After finishing feeding the medicine, Ye Wanmian tucked the corner of the quilt for Li Zhao. Looking at his sleeping face, she was in a daze.
In fact, she didn't know why she was so worried and nervous when she saw Li Zhao suddenly vomit blood and faint. They had known each other for less than half a month, but somehow it felt like they had known each other for a long time.
Ye Wanmian knew that there was such a thing as fate between people. Those without fate, even if they stayed in the same mansion every day, would find it hard to be close - hearted.
But there were some people. After just a few meetings, they could be regarded as bosom friends.
Just like Master, and just like Uncle Li.
Speaking of it, both of them had unconditionally trusted and protected her, without even asking why. Such trust and protection were always what Ye Wanmian had longed for.
Ironically, neither of them was her father, but they were more like fathers than Ye Yushi, her adoptive father.
In the second half of the night, Ye Wanmian stayed by Li Zhao's side all the time, closely observing his condition.
Fortunately, she didn't leave. After taking the medicine, Li Zhao developed a fever in the middle of the night.
Maybe he was feeling uncomfortable. He fell into a nightmare again. His eyebrows were tightly knitted, his eyeballs were moving rapidly, and he mumbled incoherently. Occasionally, a clear word "Yingniang" could be heard, which Ye Wanmian had heard before.
Ye Wanmian applied a wet handkerchief to his forehead and used a silver needle to prick his earlobe to let out some blood. After tossing around for most of the night, the fever on his body finally subsided completely, and Ye Wanmian was so tired that she fell asleep lying on the bedside.
...
In a room in the backyard, Xiao Jingcheng turned over and opened his eyes irritably.
He couldn't sleep.
He had been lying on this bed for most of the night, but he had no drowsiness at all.
He felt that the bed was too hard. It hurt all over his body. The quilt and the straw mat were old, and there was a strange smell on them. It felt like insects were crawling on his body, which was extremely uncomfortable.
Moreover, after nightfall, everything around became quiet. His five senses became more sensitive than usual. All kinds of messy sounds got into his ears, making him annoyed.
Qi Wen had already fallen asleep. If you listened carefully, you could even hear his snoring and sleep - talking.
"Hehe... storybooks... make a fortune..."
But in another room, there was complete silence. Not even a single footstep could be heard.
This meant that Ye Wanmian was still in the front room taking care of that old man surnamed Li.
Was she really going to spend the night there?
Xiao Jingcheng instinctively wanted to get up but managed to hold himself back.
She could do whatever she wanted. Even if she shared a bed with Li Zhao, what did it matter to him?
He was too lazy to care about her business!
He turned over again. Listening to the "creaking" sound of the bed board, the fire in his heart burned more and more vigorously, and he became restless.
This shabby house was really unbearable for even a single moment!
He suddenly got up, intending to leave this annoying room. But due to his large movement, he tugged at his collar, and something fell out of it.
What was it?
Xiao Jingcheng bent down and picked up the thing. Looking at it in the dim light, he found that it was a handkerchief.
The material of the handkerchief was not very good. It felt a bit rough in his palm. But from the patterns on it, it could be seen that it was a personal item commonly used by women.
Almost involuntarily, he brought the handkerchief to his nose and smelled it. A faint, familiar fragrance wafted from it.
The fragrance was elegant and ethereal, barely perceptible. It was like the early cherry blossoms in spring and the grass under the sun.
This was... the fragrance on Ye Wanmian's body.
How did this thing end up on him?
He frowned tightly, searching his memory, but he couldn't remember when he had stuffed this handkerchief into his bosom.
If it wasn't him, then it must have been her who put it there?
Humph, this woman. She said she wanted to avoid him and despised him, but in fact, she still had other ideas, didn't she?
She even dared to say that she had no feelings for him. Wasn't this the evidence?
Realizing this, Xiao Jingcheng raised his eyebrows and lay back on the bed. He put one hand behind his head and played with the handkerchief in the other.
Two years ago, he only had a very vague impression of her, so he had already forgotten what she really looked like.
Now that she was wearing a disguise on her face and looked ordinary, it actually magnified her true personality.
Putting aside the personal grudge between them.
There were actually quite a few good qualities in this woman.
She was smart, loyal, and kind.
It would be better if she could be a bit more gentle and obedient.
The fragrance from the handkerchief wafted over. It was like sticky silk threads, wrapping Xiao Jingcheng up. He didn't notice at all that the restlessness in his heart was gradually soothed, and the noisy sounds in his ears slowly disappeared. His eyelids gradually became heavy. Holding the handkerchief, he fell asleep without realizing it.