Unlike the original novel, this time the corpse recovery from the harem alarmed many concubines.
The news spread throughout the Taishu Palace in an instant and reached the emperor's ears, having an extremely great impact.
For the next week, the entire palace was in turmoil.
However, in the end, things turned out to be the same as described in the original book, and no one could find out the reason.
The emperor was furious about this. Not only did Concubine Hui lose the phoenix seal earlier than the original novel, she was even punished to reflect on her mistakes in seclusion for half a month.
Now, the harem finally quieted down.
In the blink of an eye, it was the Community Day.
This festival dedicated to the god of land was particularly important in ancient times.
But things like festivals have never had anything to do with imperial physicians.
It started snowing again in Yongdu in early March.
At night, Wen Qingci was still studying by lamplight, cramming the notes and books left by the original owner.
—What is recorded here are all the unique skills of the Divine Doctor Valley.
Wen Qingci had already started testing the drug a few days ago.
Unlike the original owner's habit of practicing both medicine and poison, although he also likes to use heavy doses, the overall effect of the medicine is much milder.
Although this will result in a slight loss of efficiency, the fact that there are no adverse reactions is the biggest victory.
Wen Qingci was concentrating on taking notes when the thin paper on the table was suddenly illuminated by a beam of red light.
Fireworks were set off in Taishu Palace.
The brilliant fireworks lit up half the sky, and the fine snow fluttered like silver falling to the ground.
After looking through the window for a while, Wen Qingci finally couldn't help but put down his pen, put on his cloak, held up a paper umbrella, and walked out of the yard.
The Imperial Medical Bureau is located at the corner of the imperial city, and few people come here at night.
Excessive silence amplifies every tiny sound.
As soon as Wen Qingci went out, he heard some noise not far outside the yard.
What's going on here
He hesitated for a moment and followed the sound.
The original owner's Qinggong was quite good.
Wen Qingci's toes passed over the snow on the palace path without making any sound or even leaving any footprints.
Finally, he stopped outside a bamboo forest.
Wen Qingci held his breath and looked inside through the gaps in the bamboo forest...
A familiar figure appeared before his eyes.
Xie Bufeng was held down by several guards and knelt in the snow.
The fine snow turned the boy's long hair and black clothes white, and even a layer of frost formed on his eyelashes.
"… Your Highnesses, look. He really is as painless as the legend says!"
"Hahaha, yeah, he doesn't even know where he's injured."
The chubby boy wearing fox fur smiled and waved his hands: "Who knows if Xie Bufeng is pretending? Go and try again!"
This little fat boy is the cannon fodder Third Prince in "Fu Ming Tang".
He had been hanging out with the playboys in Yongdu since he was young. He was full of evil intentions and used all his abilities to curry favor with the powerful.
Sure enough, the next second he looked at the second prince Xie Guanzhi opposite him with a smile on his face: "Are you right, second brother?"
"We have finally lured him here, so of course we have to give it a try. In my opinion, these guards didn't kick hard enough—" As he spoke, a young man suddenly stepped forward and kicked Xie Bufeng in the heart.
He looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing gorgeous clothes and a golden crown on his head. He should be a nobleman who came to the palace to participate in the Community Day celebration.
"Ahem..."
Blood gushed out of Xie Bufeng's mouth. He was kicked to the ground in the snow and couldn't get up for a long time.
Wen Qingci, who was outside the bamboo forest, felt his heart suddenly empty and clenched his teeth.
Xie Guanzhi was at an age where it was difficult to tell whether he was male or female. His fox eyes, filled with impatience, looked exactly like those of Concubine Hui. “Did you call me here just to see this monster?”
"Hehe, isn't this just for the sake of novelty..." The Third Prince said flatteringly, "Besides, I'm doing this to vent your anger and that of Concubine Hui!"
As he was speaking, a loud noise was heard from above Taishu Palace.
Huge waterfall-like fireworks flowed down from the sky, illuminating the entire night sky.
Before everyone could react, Xie Bufeng suddenly exerted force, shook off the guards and rushed forward.
He didn't know when a thin bamboo branch appeared in his hand.
"—Hold him, hold him!"
The third prince's scream echoed throughout the bamboo forest.
Xie Bufeng held the sharp bamboo stick and stabbed it towards the third prince's throat at the risk of his life.
In an instant, blood gushed out.
The guards rushed over immediately after him, and Xie Bufeng was thrown to the ground heavily.
A cold light flashed.
Suddenly, a scarlet color spread across the snow.
There was still blood on the corner of Xie Bufeng's lips, but a smile slowly appeared on his face.
His eyes were full of provocation and madness.
"Ahh—" The third prince sat down on the ground, his eyes widened with excitement, and his body began to tremble violently.
Xie Bufeng was just one step away from slitting his throat!
"Shut up!" Xie Guanzhi stepped forward and kicked the Third Prince hard. "It's just a superficial wound. Why are you yelling?"
Xie Guanzhi just felt that everything before him was extremely unlucky.
He had no interest in watching any further. He glanced at Xie Bufeng's shoulder and said, "You've already tried. Don't you think it's embarrassing enough? Take this bunch of trash back and don't hang around in front of me!" Then he left the bamboo forest without looking back.
"Second brother, second brother, please wait for me!" Seeing this, the third prince immediately climbed up, covering his wound, and the group of guards and playboys followed him.
In an instant, Xie Bufeng was the only one left in the bamboo forest.
He supported himself on the ground with his hands, gritted his teeth and half-knelt in the snow.
The fireworks for the Community Day Festival were still going on and the snow showed no sign of stopping.
Wen Qingci couldn't help holding his breath and walked into the bamboo forest step by step...
There was something vaguely on Xie Bufeng's shoulder, shining coldly under the reflection of the fireworks.
The bamboo branches swayed gently, awakening the distracted boy.
Xie Bufeng slowly raised his eyes and looked into the eyes of the person who came.
His gaze was more piercing than the cold wind today.
The things on the shoulders were also exposed...
It was a rusty animal trap!
No wonder Xie Bufeng suddenly stopped moving. It turned out that the Third Prince and his men had buried a trap in the snow? !
The sharp teeth of the splint bit tightly on the boy's shoulder, and the gushing blood solidified into ice, freezing the entire cotton coat into a piece of iron.
The fabric at the teeth had long been torn into pieces, and the cold wind poured in through the holes, blowing Xie Bufeng's honey-colored skin into purple.
This giant trap can easily crush the thick bones of wild animals and is used by hunters to hunt gray wolves.
But today, it appeared on the shoulder of a sixteen-year-old boy...
The trap on his shoulder magnified the savage animal nature in Xie Bufeng.
He was like a lone wolf wandering in the snowy night, ready to pounce at any time and drink the hot blood of the human in front of him.
Run, run—
Instinctive fear caused Wen Qingci's heart to beat wildly and his breathing rate also increased.
His brain repeatedly warned and urged him to leave.
But the body continued to move forward uncontrollably.
Don't care about the snow on the ground.
Wen Qingci walked through the bamboo forest, leaned over and half-knelt in front of Xie Bufeng, and threw the umbrella aside.
"Are you so afraid of my death?"
The young man smiled contemptuously and slowly looked away.
He reached out and gripped the clamp tail tightly, trying to pull the thing directly off his shoulder.
Too late to stop it.
Scarlet blood gushed out from the wound, staining his entire hand scarlet.
"Don't move!" Wen Qingci reacted and immediately raised his hand and grabbed Xie Bufeng's wrist tightly. "I'll help you get it." He said softly.
The warm touch made the boy's wrist, which had been frozen in the snowy night, tremble.
"If you move, it will only get tighter." As he spoke, Wen Qingci's eyes quickly swept around. He walked forward, dug up a dead branch from the snow, and embedded it between the rings of the trap.
As a modern person, Wen Qingci also saw this thing for the first time.
He paused and took down the ribs of the umbrella at hand.
"I'll try to pry it open." Wen Qingci moved particularly gently for fear of hurting the boy's bones.
The fireworks in Taishu Palace were still being set off, and the bamboo forest was illuminated in alternating light.
Xie Bufeng may fall into coma at any time due to excessive blood loss, so Wen Qingci must always pay attention to his condition.
So he continued his actions while speaking softly to the boy to confirm whether he was awake: "Your Highness, do you know why I came here?"
"have no idea."
Wen Qingci smiled and said casually, "I originally just wanted to come out to see the fireworks, but I didn't expect to stumble across this by accident."
He was so busy checking the patient's condition that he didn't notice a hint of confusion flashing across Xie Bufeng's eyes.
—No one has ever talked to me like this before.
Wide robes with big sleeves were popular in the Wei Dynasty, and they were indeed elegant to wear on daily basis.
But at this moment, the wind rushed in through his sleeves, and Wen Qingci was about to be frozen to death.
Wen Qingci was concentrating on prying the trap open, but the boy was observing him intently.
Xie Bufeng's gaze shifted from the trap to Wen Qingci's hand.
The porcelain-white skin was scratched by the umbrella ribs, leaving tiny scars. Although he didn't care about all the scars, Xie Bufeng felt that these wounds were particularly glaring...
Their bodies were pressed together, and the cold wind blew the familiar bitter fragrance to the younger man's nose.
Xie Bufeng's gaze suddenly shifted away and fell on the white snow and the bloodstains left by someone unknown.
At this moment, the trap on Xie Bufeng's shoulder finally made a slight sound.
Wen Qingci used all his strength to pry towards the teeth.
Fortunately, the trap was rusty and old.
With a crisp "pop" sound, the thing that was biting Xie Bufeng's shoulder finally let go and fell to the ground.
"Okay." Wen Qingci breathed a sigh of relief and then stood up.
However, he accidentally forgot... He had been kneeling in the snow for nearly ten minutes.
Wen Qingci felt a tingling pain on his forehead and his body shook involuntarily.
He subconsciously tried to use his arms to steady his body, but the expected pain and coldness did not come.
The young man held him steadily with one hand.
Without warning, their eyes met.
Xie Bufeng's cold breath licked across his neck like a snake.
The bamboo forest suddenly became quiet.
Wen Qingci even felt that he could hear the subtle sound of snowflakes falling to the ground.
After a pause, he immediately stood up, supporting his knees.
Xie Bufeng withdrew his hand as if he didn't take it seriously, and then stood up.
The thick snow on his knees fell to the ground as he moved. Xie Bufeng did not rush to leave, but turned around slowly and picked up something from the snow.
It's the lamb.
The heavy snow was like a quilt, gently covering the lamb.
The small body curled up in Xie Bufeng's arms, resting its head on the boy's arms, and looked like it was asleep.
Not moving at all.
The fireworks are still being set off, lighting up the night sky like day.
The bamboo forest is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop.
Wen Qingci hesitated for a moment and walked over slowly.
He couldn't help but reach out and touch the lamb carefully.
Xie Bufeng did not stop him.
Unlike the softness and warmth he had imagined, what Wen Qingci touched was a piece of cold dead meat.
The lamb's body was already as stiff as it could be.
It would never bleat at Wen Qingci again.
"it… "
"It's dead."
"It was released by the people from Yuguang Palace and froze to death in the snow."
Xie Bufeng's voice was very soft, and he repeated this sentence over and over again like a whisper.
(End of this chapter)