Ye Wanmian touched her cheek and thought that the Tianli Vine must have lost its effect. But there was no time to dwell on that at the moment. She led Qi Wen away and said, "Tell me in detail. How was my mother after she woke up?"
Qi Wen didn't suspect a thing and was led away from the door by her. After they walked some distance away, Xiao Jingcheng managed to bypass Huang the dog and walked out of the door.
The tightly - shut door of the adjacent house creaked open. Mo Zhizhang appeared at the door rather "coincidentally". He looked at Xiao Jingcheng in surprise:
"Brother Gou Dan, you didn't leave last night? You even spent the night in your junior niece's room?"
Over there, Ye Wanmian, who thought she was safe, closed her eyes in annoyance.
Uncle, you really don't need to say it out loud!
Qi Wen turned around in surprise and indeed saw Xiao Jingcheng standing in front of the room Ye Wanmian had just left.
After a moment's thought, he knew that the two of them had spent the night in the same room. His eyes started to roll around.
Sensing that Qi Wen was about to speak, Ye Wanmian quickly pushed him into the room. "Don't worry about this. Right now, my mother is more important!"
Seeing Ye Wanmian's embarrassed figure leaving, Mo Zhizhang smiled with his eyes bent.
Having his situation so bluntly exposed, Xiao Jingcheng remained calm. He cleared his throat and asked, "Is Uncle Li awake?"
Mo Zhizhang replied ambiguously, "He wasn't awake just now, but now, it's hard to say."
Xiao Jingcheng stepped towards him, walked around him and entered the room. He saw Li Zhao propping himself up, trying to get out of bed. Xiao Jingcheng quickly stepped forward and supported him. "Uncle Li, be careful."
Li Zhao had already woken up when Qi Wen knocked on Ye Wanmian's door, so he naturally heard what Mo Zhizhang had said just now.
Learning that Xiao Jingcheng had stayed last night and was in the same room as Ye Wanmian, his face looked rather unpleasant. So he ignored Xiao Jingcheng and just supported the bedpost, trying to stand up.
Xiao Jingcheng felt a bit guilty. He guessed that Li Zhao was worried about Jiang Zhiqing and might want to go and see her in person. He bent down and held Li Zhao's elbow. "Uncle Li, do you want to go and see Mrs. Jiang? Lean on me. I'll take you there."
Seeing his overly eager show of concern, Li Zhao glanced at him and replied coldly, "Thank you."
Mo Zhizhang was no longer outside. No one knew where he had gone. After being supported out of the door by Xiao Jingcheng, Li Zhao looked up at the sky.
It was now the time between Mao Shi and Chen Shi, but the sky was still pitch - black. The rain was still as heavy as yesterday, showing no sign of change. Li Zhao looked at the yard in front of him.
There were small ditches dug around the courtyard to drain the accumulated water. But even so, there were still puddles on the ground, looking like a small fishpond.
Li Zhao subconsciously frowned. A shadow seemed to fall over his heart.
On the other side, as soon as Ye Wanmian entered the room, she heard Jiang Zhiqing's sobbing cries and shouts. "Child! Ah - my child!"
"Wuwuwu, child, my child -"
She was sitting on the bed, crying and making a ruckus with her hair disheveled. Hearing the footsteps, she looked in the direction of Ye Wanmian and Qi Wen. A look of terror appeared on her face. She trembled violently and shrank back.
"Don't, don't... don't come near. Help!"
Ye Wanmian knew that it was because Jiang Zhiqing had been forced to take poison yesterday and was now overly stimulated, so she mistook them for people who wanted to harm her.
Ye Wanmian slowed down her steps and carefully approached her, calling out, "Mother?"
The familiar voice made Jiang Zhiqing pause for a moment. She looked up at Ye Wanmian with tear - filled eyes. Ye Wanmian softened her voice even more. "Don't be afraid. We're not bad people. We're not here to hurt you."
"I'm Mianmian. Do you... still remember me?"
Jiang Zhiqing's out - of - control emotions were somehow soothed by her. She murmured following Ye Wanmian, "Miao... Miaomiao?"
This familiar address made Ye Wanmian's eyes instantly wet. "Yes, it's me. I'm Mianmian."
She waved at Qi Wen and pointed at the pillow wrapped in a tattered cassock that she had brought back in the corner. Qi Wen nodded understandingly, quickly walked over, picked up the pillow, and then walked towards Jiang Zhiqing.
Jiang Zhiqing had just started to relax a bit. Suddenly seeing a strange man in front of her, she became hysterical again. She grabbed her own hair and shouted,
"Ghost! Ghost! Go away, go away!"
She grabbed the things at hand and threw them at Qi Wen. Ye Wanmian was not spared either.
Qi Wen was also greatly frightened by her sudden outburst. Unable to dodge in time, he was hit on the forehead by an empty clay bowl. A bump instantly swelled up there. He looked at Ye Wanmian aggrievedly. "Mrs. Jiang..."
Ye Wanmian held back her tears, took the pillow from Qi Wen's arms, and said, "She can't stand seeing strangers now. You go out. I'll take care of this."
Just as Qi Wen was about to back out, he saw Li Zhao being supported by Xiao Jingcheng. "Uncle Li."
Ye Wanmian stopped and turned around to look behind her. She was a bit at a loss.
With a few more people in the cramped small room, Jiang Zhiqing trembled even more violently. She hugged herself tightly and whimpered in fear.
Hearing those sobs, Li Zhao felt his heart was about to break.
He hurriedly came in front of Ye Wanmian, looked at her with a complex expression, and stretched out his hand. "Mujin, give it to me. Let me handle this."
Ye Wanmian instantly tightened her grip on the pillow. She pursed her lips, then slowly loosened her fingers, lowered her eyes, and handed the pillow over, saying,
"Mother gave birth to me at Ling'an Temple that year. After that, she was frightened and went crazy. She always thought this pillow was the child she gave birth to at Ling'an Temple that day. When she was free, she would always hold it and coax it."
Li Zhao nodded and held the pillow in his arms. "All of you go out. Leave this to me."
Ye Wanmian moved her lips as if she wanted to say something. But her wrist was held by someone. Xiao Jingcheng glanced at her and gently shook his head. Ye Wanmian sighed silently and backed out with him and Qi Wen.
She closed the door for Li Zhao, but didn't leave. Instead, she walked around to the side and peeked into the room through the half - open window.
Li Zhao looked at the trembling figure on the bed and softly called out, "Yingniang? Yingniang..."
With each call, he took a step forward. Jiang Zhiqing's trembling gradually stopped. She raised her tear - stained face and looked at Li Zhao.
"This is the child you gave birth to with all your might last night." Li Zhao's eyes were tender and full of affection. "It's our child. Do you want to take a look at her?"
The face and voice of the man in front of her were so familiar, as if they had been engraved in Jiang Zhiqing's bones. Her body recognized him even earlier than her mind.
"Husband... husband..."
There was a tremor in Li Zhao's voice. "It's me. Yingniang, we have a child."