After much thought, Xiao Tian decided that if he waited for Ran Ran to tell Yi Qing about it, God knows how she would exaggerate things and smear him. So he cursed Ran Ran in his heart—how could someone be so stupid as not to even know her own business? Finally, he made up his mind to "strike first" and tell Yi Qing himself.
To ease the awkwardness of this conversation, he first went from the east of the city to the west, bought Yi Qing's favorite roast goose, tucked it in his robe, and rushed all the way home. When he got home, the roast goose was still warm.
Yi Qing was originally reclining on the couch with a hand warmer in her arms. When she saw him coming back, she slowly sat up straight and stared at him with a half - smile.
Xiao Tian felt a sense of unease when he saw her look.
He pretended to be calm as he took the roast goose out of his cloak and placed it on the small table. "I picked up a roast goose for you on my way back," he said.
However, he couldn't help but wonder in his heart. Had Ran Ran already come to the mansion to complain? But after thinking about it carefully, he decided it was unlikely. Firstly, there wasn't enough time, and secondly, servants in the academy weren't allowed to go out casually.
Yi Qing glanced at the "Shun Ji" written on the oil - paper wrapper and snorted. "A really convenient detour from the east of the city to the west, huh!"
It was indeed an inconvenient detour, and Yi Qing was truly annoyed.
Xiao Tian sat down opposite her, patted his clothes, and pretended to be calm. "Why are you angry? Who upset you?"
"Who upset me?" Yi Qing thought to herself that this man was really good at pretending. She had been a master at this game, but today she had been outsmarted. She had thought Xiao Tian was an honest man in front of her, but never expected him to do such a thing! "You really don't know who upset me?"
Her sharp and angry gaze swept over, and Xiao Tian's heart skipped a beat. Then he said, "Is it me? You know I'm a rough - hewn man. I'm afraid I don't even know where I've offended you. Just tell me. If it's my fault, I'll definitely change."
This man was good at feigning innocence when he made a mistake and was quicker than anyone to admit it. Who said he was honest?
Yi Qing gritted her teeth and said, "Fine, Xiao Tian. I'll ask you. How many times have I complained in the mansion that no one has been coming to the medical clinic?"
So it was about this. Xiao Tian felt relieved but soon became worried again. She had finally found out.
Xiao Tian had sent several men to guard all the exits of the medical clinic, dressed up as idlers. As soon as anyone approached, they would drive the person away.
Yi Qing wanted to throw the roast goose on the ground, but smelling the fragrant roast goose, she told herself that it was shameful to waste food and that wasting meat would bring divine retribution. So she angrily pushed the roast goose back. "I won't eat it. Who knows if you've poisoned it! I finally see clearly today. You're just a two - faced villain!"
It was purely by accident that she discovered this.
When she was bored, she went to the bun shop to buy steamed buns. On her way back, she saw several big and strong men stopping an old woman and saying, "Get out of here. This medical clinic hasn't paid the protection fee. You're not allowed to come."
Yi Qing slapped the table and roared angrily, "Xiao Tian, what on earth do you mean?"
When she said she wanted to start a career, he hadn't strongly opposed it. But behind her back, he had started to undermine her efforts, using such despicable means. It was simply driving her mad.
Xiao Tian took a deep breath. "Yi Qing, calm down and listen to my explanation."
"Am I not calm?" Yi Qing sneered. "If I weren't calm, I'd throw the roast goose in your face right now! Xiao Tian, think clearly before you explain. I'll only give you one chance!"
Xiao Tian's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. He knew he had touched on her most sensitive issue. If he didn't explain well, she really would turn against him.
After a while, he told the truth. "I'm worried about your safety."
Yi Qing sneered. "Keep making things up."
"You want to hide your identity, but it's not that easy. Especially your medical skills. You can't hide them at all. As time goes by, more and more patients will come, and more and more people will take notice of you. General Xiao has many enemies. You're in such close contact with the patients. If just one out of a hundred people has murderous intentions towards you, even if I'm always by your side, I may not be able to protect you well." Xiao Tian said.
"Even if these are real reasons, why didn't you just tell me honestly?"
"Because I knew you wouldn't listen. You're the kind of person who won't turn back until you hit the wall."
"So you decided to be the wall? Thank you so much!" Yi Qing almost gritted her silver teeth. "Xiao Tian, you're really something."
"I can't take any risks of losing you." Xiao Tian said. "I've also thought about it for you. You can open a school to teach apprentices. This way, you can help the most people. I've already found a location for the school. It's being renovated recently. You can decide what kind of apprentices to accept, but I'll investigate each of them."
"If you solve problems this way, then we're done."
The phrase "it's all for your own good" had bound the wills of many women.
She needed him to be good to her, but she didn't need him to bind her thoughts.
Xiao Tian closed his eyes.
Things were no better than he had expected. Yi Qing still used the most heart - rending words to hurt him.
His reason told him that he shouldn't make any explanations while Yi Qing was angry. Otherwise, it would only provoke her fierce counter - attack, and the situation would become even more irreparable.
He stood up. "I'll go pick up Bao Zi first."
The commotion caused by Ran Ran had made him decide to come back first.
Now it seemed that it had been a completely wrong decision.
If Bao Zi had been there, maybe it could have helped smooth things over.
But now that it was just the two of them, all of Yi Qing's anger burst out.
If Yi Qing had been 90% angry before, seeing his evasive attitude of getting up and leaving instantly made her 120% furious.
She very much wanted to say, "Don't come back if you leave," but she managed to hold back.
She had to maintain her poise. She couldn't turn into a shrew just because of an argument. She had to stay calm.
A while later, Zi Su came in, opened the oil - paper wrapper, and picked up a piece of roast goose and put it in her mouth. "It's from Shun Ji. Not bad. Have you talked to him?"
Looking at the roast goose, Yi Qing just remembered why he had taken a detour to buy it today.
Did he do it just to please her?
Forget it. The problem hadn't been solved yet. Why was she thinking about the roast goose?
"It seems that we're really over," Yi Qing sighed. "I scolded him and said we were done, and he just left."
"He's being so stubborn. That's not like him."
Yi Qing: "..."
"Don't worry. You two won't break up," Zi Su said knowingly. "You two are like an old married couple. You're even raising a child together. Do you think you can break up? Even the King of Zhen is head - over - heels for me, and you always tease me about it. You and Xiao Tian have been through so much. Do you think a little thing like this can break you up? No way."
"You don't understand. This is about perseverance, perseverance! I have my own pursuits!"
"Why didn't you pursue your dreams when you were in the village?" Zi Su sneered and exposed her. "You knew it was dangerous to treat patients back then because you might get framed. Have you forgotten now? The General's Mansion is powerful, but don't you think there are even more powerful people who might cause trouble? Are you relying on Xiao Jinghan? Aren't you just thinking that as long as Xiao Tian is around, you can relax? You rely on him but don't listen to him. Hypocrite!"