Seeing Ye Wanmian fall silent, Li Zhao knew that she must have had an idea in mind.
"Have you settled your uncle down?" Li Zhao changed the topic.
Ye Wanmian came back to her senses and nodded. "Master told me in advance that he was coming, so I prepared a room for him. He can just move in."
Li Zhao rubbed his temples with a headache, looking worried. "In this whole courtyard, there are only men. You're the only woman..."
Currently, Huichun Hall had a severe imbalance of genders, with far more men than women.
Actually, what the common people had been discussing outside today did make some sense.
This world was quite harsh on women. Since most of those practicing medicine, doing business, or becoming officials were men, women stood out and were more likely to attract criticism.
If others saw her going in and out with several men every day, it would have a negative impact on her reputation over time.
It would be great if there were a few more women here.
But Li Zhao also knew that with Xiao Jingcheng here, no one else could be added until he left.
Ye Wanmian hadn't thought of this before. She felt a warm current in her heart upon sensing Li Zhao's concern. She smiled at him and said,
"Actually, I have another residence in Qingyu Alley. It's only a two - cup - of - tea walk from here. I can also go back to my own home."
"But Uncle Li knows about Gou Dan..." Ye Wanmian was about to say that Gou Dan had behaved strangely, but then she remembered that Xiao Jingcheng had returned to normal and no longer needed her care. So she changed her words.
"Neither he nor my uncle will stay for long. Since they will leave sooner or later, why should we care about these things?"
"Even if others see us going in and out together and misunderstand, so what? The common people are busy making a living every day. They'll forget about it in a few days after having their fun."
Seeing her so open - minded and not affected by today's events or Xiao Jingcheng's actions, Li Zhao felt both heartache and relief. "It's good that you can think this way. Anyway, since I'm part of Huichun Hall, I'll definitely protect you to the end."
After saying that, he quickly turned his head and coughed twice forcefully.
Ye Wanmian quickly supported his arm and pounded his back. "Anyway, thank you, Uncle Li, for today."
If it weren't for Li Zhao helping her figure out the identity and background of that man, he might have kept pestering her. But how did Uncle Li know what that man had done last night?
Just as she was wondering, Li Zhao asked with a faint smile, "So, do you only need to thank me?"
Ye Wanmian replied, "And my uncle."
Li Zhao looked at her with a smile. Ye Wanmian paused and nervously twirled her fingers.
She hadn't forgotten that Xiao Jingcheng had also helped her, but that person was really annoying...
"I know you had no other motives for saving him, and I also know that he has a cold and arrogant personality with a hard mouth. It's not easy for ordinary people to tolerate him. But at least he didn't stand by when you were in trouble. This is enough to prove that he's not completely hopeless, right?"
Behind the curtain, Xiao Jingcheng couldn't hide his shock.
This old man surnamed Li was actually speaking up for him?
But he didn't notice at all that after Li Zhao said that, he glanced at the place where he was hiding.
Li Zhao said to Ye Wanmian, "One thing is one thing. Only by treating each other sincerely can we get along peacefully."
Ye Wanmian said angrily, "I've been sincere. He was the one who hurt me with his words first!"
Li Zhao couldn't help but rub the top of her head. "If a dog bites you, are you going to bite it back? Unless you care about how he treats you in your heart..."
"I don't!" Ye Wanmian quickly denied. But after she said that, she realized that she had answered too quickly. Wasn't this just like the proverb "There's no three hundred taels of silver here"?
Well, she admitted that she did care.
When she saw him rush out to protect her and beat up the trouble - maker, she couldn't help but think of "Gou Dan" who used to follow her around all day and would stand in front of her when Ye Huan came to the door.
But as soon as that person opened his mouth, his true nature was revealed, making her realize that "Gou Dan" was gone. In front of her was only the Crown Prince Xiao Jingcheng.
Not wanting to talk about this topic anymore, Ye Wanmian said, "By the way, Uncle Li, how did you know that the trouble - maker last night had been to the gambling house, how much silver he owed, and that he was here on someone else's orders?"
Ye Wanmian blinked her eyes, looking very curious.
Li Zhao knew that she was deliberately changing the topic. Instead of answering immediately, he asked, "Think carefully from the moment that man came in to ask for medical treatment. See if you can find anything strange."
Ye Wanmian was stunned.
Was she supposed to recall?
She had been scared by Xiao Jingcheng's sudden outburst at that time and hadn't noticed many details. However, she had a good memory, almost photographic.
Under Li Zhao's encouraging gaze, she closed her eyes and searched her memory.
Two hours ago, she had just sent away a patient who came for a follow - up visit and to get medicine. Then that man swaggered into Huichun Hall.
Ye Wanmian noticed him right away. Because his clothes were a bit dirty, she took a few more looks at him and noticed that his walking posture was a bit strange, as if he was enduring some pain.
Once a person is engaged in a certain occupation, their sitting or walking posture, and even the wear and tear on their clothes, will be related to their occupation.
For example, a shoulder - pole carrier, because they often carry heavy loads, the shoulder on the side where they carry the pole will naturally droop, resulting in uneven shoulders, and their center of gravity will also shift when walking.
As for a chef, because they are exposed to fumes all year round, their face is a bit oilier and older than ordinary people. Their shoulders are slightly hunched forward, and there is an indelible smell of fumes on their body, which is a sign of years of working in front of the stove.
A gambling house is different from other places. The people there sleep during the day and are active at night. The indoor space is airtight to blur the sense of time. So their skin is a bit fairer than others. And because of staying up late to gamble, gamblers often have sunken eye sockets, heavy dark circles under their eyes, and are extremely afraid of light.
Also, because they maintain the same posture at the gambling table for a long time, their bodies are unnaturally stiff.
Ye Wanmian's eyes lit up and she quickly said, "It's his posture. He walked unsteadily, but his upper body was extremely stiff, especially his right arm. He even made the action of shaking dice from time to time because he had been in the gambling house all night and developed a muscle memory!"
Li Zhao nodded with a smile and continued following her words, "And why do I think he was on someone else's orders? I noticed that from the moment he came in until he sat down for you to examine him, he looked outside the medical hall several times."
"Every time I followed his line of sight, there would be a woman in white wearing a veil hat passing by outside. This woman didn't stay outside the medical hall. She just passed by in a hurry. If you didn't look carefully, it was really hard to notice."
Ye Wanmian couldn't help but say, "Uncle Li, you observed so carefully!"
Why hadn't she noticed such details?
Xiao Jingcheng behind the curtain was also very surprised.
In just a short while, Li Zhao had noticed so many things?