There was no mirror in front of Xiao Jingcheng, so he couldn't see Ye Wanmian's expression, but he could feel her slightly hasty movements.
In her hurry, she even tugged at his scalp. The sudden pain made him instinctively gasp.
"Jiang Mian, are you deliberately taking revenge on me?" he said angrily.
Ye Wanmian's lips subconsciously twitched upward. Her somewhat gloomy mood brightened a little, but then quickly faded. She said seriously,
"Brother Jing has misunderstood. I've just never combed a man's hair before, so I'm a bit clumsy. The hair I'm most used to combing is that of Dahuang. But Brother Jing knows that it's a dog, and its hair is rough and knotted. I have to use some strength to comb it through. In my haste, I used the same strength I usually use on Dahuang."
This woman actually compared him to her stupid dog. She must have done it on purpose!
Xiao Jingcheng gritted his back teeth.
Did she want to finish this quickly and stay away from him?
Humph.
He just wouldn't let her have her way.
"Learn slowly if you don't know how," he snorted. "You must take good care of me before I leave Dongli Town. Otherwise, this 'honorable guest' might just forget about Miss Jiang's kindness of saving my life after I return to the capital. I might also forget to help Miss Jiang investigate the love letter and clear her name."
Ye Wanmian was furious. She grabbed the comb and raised her hand to make a few pounding motions behind him.
Unexpectedly, the man suddenly turned around and happened to see her hand raised high.
"Hmm?"
Ye Wanmian forced a laugh and said, "I slept in one position for too long last night. My hand is a bit sore. I'm just stretching it."
She rotated her arm in front of Xiao Jingcheng. Only after he turned his head did she quietly let out a sigh of relief.
After the previous argument, the worry on her face had disappeared. Xiao Jingcheng then casually asked, "How is Uncle Li?"
He had really helped a great deal last night. It wasn't strange for him to be concerned about Li Zhao at this moment. Ye Wanmian replied,
"He's already awake, but his pulse hasn't improved. It's still as erratic as before."
No wonder her eyebrows were knitted so tightly that they could almost crush a fly.
Xiao Jingcheng didn't know what to say for a moment. He wasn't familiar with Li Zhao, but the man had given him a lot of advice yesterday. From his conversation, he didn't seem like an ordinary person. Xiao Jingcheng still had a bit of admiration for his talent.
Remembering the topic they had discussed outside last night, he subconsciously rubbed his fingers and asked,
"Are you very familiar with the Prince of Xuan?"
He originally wanted to ask about the elopement she had mentioned, but the words on the tip of his tongue took a few detours, and finally he changed the question.
Ye Wanmian paused for a moment and replied, "Your Highness has forgotten. I used to be a young lady of the Ye family. I should call him 'cousin'."
Of course, Xiao Jingcheng knew.
If it weren't for that love letter that somehow ended up in his hands, there would have been no connection between him and her at all. He was even less close to her than Xiao Yixuan.
In fact, although Xiao Yixuan had a marriage alliance with the Ye family, before the spring banquet two years ago, Ye Yushi hadn't taken sides in the court. He was a neutral faction.
But in the past two years, the Ye family had gotten closer and closer to the Prince of Xuan's Mansion. The real young lady of the Ye family who had been found even had an even closer relationship with the Prince of Xuan's Mansion. It was obvious that they had already made their choice.
This wasn't really a strange thing. Every prince had his own court officials he wanted to win over. Even he, the crown prince, had his own confidants.
But different from other officials, although the Censor-in-Chief was only a fifth-rank official, he was responsible for supervising all the officials in the court. Sometimes, even the emperor had to consider the censor's opinion to avoid being labeled as a "tyrant" or a "foolish king" and leaving a bad name in history.
He could imagine that now that the news of the "death" of the crown prince had spread far and wide, all the factions in the court should be getting restless and starting to consider reshuffling their alliances.
"You've been away from the Ye family for so many years, but Xiao Yixuan still treats you the same as before. You two cousins have a really good relationship," Xiao Jingcheng said indifferently.
What did he mean by that?
Ye Wanmian frowned and said, "Your Highness might as well just say what you want to say directly. There's no need to beat around the bush."
He turned around and grabbed Ye Wanmian's wrist, which was so thin that his whole hand could wrap around it. "There's still a kinship between the Ye family and the Prince of Xuan. Even though you've disguised yourself like this, he can still recognize you. I'm really curious how deep your friendship with Xiao Yixuan is?"
"I'm also curious why you chose to hide and save me instead of telling him about my existence and helping him win the position of crown prince so that he would owe you a greater favor?"
"Once he becomes the crown prince, he can also help you clear your name, right?"
The strength on her wrist was impossible to ignore. Ye Wanmian tried to pull away, but it only made Xiao Jingcheng hold on tighter.
"The person who made me a laughingstock in the capital back then was Your Highness. Naturally, only Your Highness can solve this problem. As for who will become the crown prince, I don't care. My only goal is to restore my reputation. What does anything else matter to me?"
Ye Wanmian knew he would ask this because he still didn't trust her.
She also knew that her reason was indeed a bit flimsy.
But at that time, the arrow was already on the string. If she didn't save him, someone would die. How could she think so much?
"Really?" Xiao Jingcheng's thumb gently rubbed the skin on her wrist. "Do you know that my father bestowed a marriage on Xiao Yixuan and the legitimate daughter of the Ye family? If the Ye family hadn't found their own daughter, wouldn't it have been you who would have married Xiao Yixuan?"
He said softly in a seductive tone, "You had a chance to be the crown princess. Aren't you tempted at all, huh?"
The distance between the two of them was pulled very close. Ye Wanmian was forced to look down at him. Although the man was sitting and had to tilt his head slightly, his gaze and posture were full of oppression.
Ye Wanmian was really angry at this moment.
It was fine that she had been dragged here by him to be a servant girl early in the morning, but now she had to be interrogated like this. She also had her own pride. Otherwise, she wouldn't have rather knelt in the rain than compromise with the Ye family and admit her "crime" back then!
"You men are always so arrogant. Do women have to choose to rely on a man?!"
Ye Wanmian roared, "Whoever becomes the crown prince has nothing to do with me. I just want to live a good life and not bear false charges. Is there anything wrong with that?!"
"If Your Highness hopes so much that I will defect to him, then as soon as I leave this door, I'll go and explain everything to him in detail!"
"How dare you!"
Her words enraged Xiao Jingcheng. He pulled her in front of him, and his big hand clasped the back of Ye Wanmian's neck, pulling her into his arms. Ye Wanmian felt panicked and kicked him hard with her foot—
A sharp pain came from Xiao Jingcheng's leg. He gasped and loosened his grip on her a little. The next moment, his cheek was slapped hard.
"Slap!"
He stood there stunned, covering his burning cheek in disbelief. When he looked up ahead, Ye Wanmian had already disappeared. Only the door was still gently swaying there.
This village woman was really brave. Not only did she kick him, but she even slapped him!
However...
He gently rubbed his slightly burning cheek. The fragrance of her body still lingered in his nostrils.
Xiao Jingcheng was in a daze.
What kind of perfume did she usually use? Why did it smell so good?