The incident happened suddenly. Xie Nanjia screamed and instinctively tried to pull Zhao Jingyu. Unexpectedly, Zhao Jingyu was faster than her. He turned around and hugged her tightly, then fell to the ground.
At the same time, a feather arrow flew out from the woods on the left and hit the fatal arrow quickly and accurately, breaking it in two, and then sank into the trunk of an ancient pine tree with a puff.
The two broken arrows lost their power and fell into the dust.
At the same moment, two screams were heard from the direction where the fatal arrow was shot, and Song Jingxing disappeared in an instant.
Xie Nanjia was hugged tightly by Zhao Jingyu. The moment she fell to the ground, Zhao Jingyu was afraid that she would fall, so he turned over and used his back to cushion the ground. Xie Nanjia then lay on him to avoid being injured.
"Are you okay?" Zhao Jingyu asked her with a pale face.
"It's okay. How about you?" Xie Nanjia shook her head, still feeling frightened.
"It was okay at first, but who knew you were so heavy that you almost crushed me to death." Zhao Jingyu said.
Only then did Xie Nanjia realize that their posture was not very elegant, and she quickly climbed up from him.
"Give me a hand." Zhao Jingyu stretched out his hand to her.
Xie Nanjia sat on the ground and pulled him up with force.
At this time, Wei Jun and Huangfu came over carrying bows and arrows, escorting a man with an arrow in his left leg, followed by two guards.
"Second Young Master, are you okay?" Wei Jun asked nervously.
"It's okay." Zhao Jingyu's eyes fell on the man and he narrowed his eyes slightly. "Just one?"
"Two, one of them was shot dead by Huangfu." Wei Jun said.
"Okay." Zhao Jingyu nodded. "Take him back to the camp and keep him under good guard. I will interrogate him when I return."
Xie Nanjia listened to the conversation between the two and finally came to her senses. She asked Zhao Jingyu, "No wonder you reacted so quickly just now. Did you know about this a long time ago?"
"What do you think?" Zhao Jingyu glanced at her with disdain.
Xie Nanjia automatically ignored his gaze and asked again: "So, you weren't really angry just now, you were just trying to lure the snake out of its hole?"
Zhao Jingyu said seriously: "You praised me as a cloud, why should I be angry?"
"..." Xie Nanjia couldn't help laughing, "Are you so sure that I'm not praising the prince?"
"Of course." Zhao Jingyu said, "If I were mud, why did you choose to follow me? Are you a pig? Do you like mud piles?"
"You are the pig, a narrow-minded pig!" Xie Nanjia pushed him with a smile.
Zhao Jingyu's face changed and he fell to the ground.
"Second Young Master!"
"Second Young Master!"
Wei Jun and Huangfu rushed over in panic. Xie Nanjia was also startled. She stared at her hand for a moment and said hurriedly, "Help him up quickly and check his back."
Wei Jun put the bow and arrow on the ground, helped Zhao Jingyu up, and after a careful examination, he found that the back of his head was bleeding.
It turned out that he had hit a rock when he fell to the ground to avoid the arrow.
The three of them were terrified. Fortunately, Wei Jun had some wound medicine and bandages with him, so he ordered Huangfu to get the horse and asked Xie Nanjia to help him bandage the second young master's wound.
Xie Nanjia helped hold Zhao Jingyu's head and watched Wei Jun carefully cut off the hair around his wound with a dagger and sprinkle the medicine powder evenly on the wound. She felt very uncomfortable.
With Zhao Jingyu's skills, when the arrow was shot, he could easily dodge to the left, right, or even upwards, but as soon as he dodged, the arrow would definitely hit her who was following behind, so at that critical moment, he could only choose to protect her in that way.
After the danger, he knew that the back of his head was injured, but in order to comfort her, he still forced himself to joke with her and dispel her fear.
Just now she was wondering why Zhao Jingyu, such a petty-minded person, did not lose his temper when facing the murderer or interrogate him immediately, but instead had him taken back to the camp first. Now she understood that he was in too much pain to interrogate him and did not want her to find out.
She watched Wei Jun sprinkle the powder and wrap it around with cloth strips. She couldn't help but feel a little sad. No matter how unreasonable Zhao Jingyu was at other times, he did not abandon her in the moment of crisis, which proved that he was a loyal and affectionate man.
Apart from her father and brother, this is the first man who cares so much about her. Even her ex-husband Zhao Jingping could not do this.
Huangfu brought the horses, used a water bag to feed Zhao Jingyu some water, then he and Wei Jun helped him onto the horse. Wei Jun then also got on the horse, tied himself and Zhao Jingyu together with a rope, and took him back to the camp to find the imperial physician to treat his injuries.
Huangfu rode his own horse and followed behind, leading Wei Jun's horse, and told Xie Nanjia to follow him closely and not get separated again.
Before Xie Nanjia got on the horse, he picked up the strands of Zhao Jingyu's cut hair and quietly put them in his arms.
After a bumpy ride back to the camp, Zhao Jingyu was awakened by the shaking. The first thing he asked after he opened his eyes was, "Where's Xiu'er?"
"We're making the bed for you inside!" Wei Jun said, and he and Huangfu worked together to help him get off the horse.
Zhao Jingyu didn't know what nerve was touched, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise.
When he entered the tent, he saw Xie Nanjia bending over to help him make the bed. His smile deepened. Then he saw the man tied up and thrown in the corner. His smile faded and he said to Wei Jun, "Go get me a doctor, and send this man to the emperor. I'm tired and don't want to try him."
Wei Jun agreed, helped him take off his armor, helped him lie down on the bed, and then he and Huangfu took the man away.
Xie Nanjia stayed behind to watch over Zhao Jingyu, bringing him some water to wipe his hands and face. While wiping, she thanked him, "Thank you very much for saving me just now, Second Young Master."
"Thank me?" Zhao Jingyu pressed half of his face on the pillow and smiled nonchalantly, "You can't thank me. The arrow was aimed at me. You should blame me for almost getting you into trouble."
"No, that's not the case." Xie Nanjia said, "When an arrow is shot, the first reaction of a normal person is to dodge it. No master would choose to save a servant in such a critical moment. So, no matter what, I have to thank the Second Young Master."
Zhao Jingyu squinted at her and said, "Then tell me, how do you want to thank me? Do you want to marry me?"
Xie Nanjia blushed slightly and quickly changed the subject: "Do you know who wants to kill you?"
Zhao Jingyu was silent for a moment, as if thinking about something: "I don't know, what do you think?"
"I don't know either." Xie Nanjia shook her head, thinking about the prince and Qin, but she said, "You are usually arrogant and domineering, who knows who you have offended."
Zhao Jingyu chuckled: "No matter how many people I offend, only a few can enter the enclosure."
Xie Nanjia asked: "Who do you suspect the most?"
Zhao Jingyu opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he heard the guards outside shouting in unison: "Your Highness!"
The curtain was lifted and a group of people walked in, surrounding Song Wanji.
"Your servant greets the emperor!" Xie Nanjia also stood up and saluted.
"Get up!" Song Wanji raised his hand, took two steps at a time and came to Zhao Jingyu, and said worriedly, "Where are you hurt? Does it hurt? Let me take a look."
Zhao Jingyu smiled sadly: "It's just a minor injury, it's nothing serious."
"It's just a head injury, how could it be a minor injury?" Song Wanji said, turning back to call the imperial physician, "Hurry up and diagnose him."
"Yes!" The imperial physician came forward carrying a medicine box.
"Everyone else, please leave!" Song Wanji ordered.
Si Fangzheng waved his whisk, urging everyone to leave the tent and disperse, while he stood guard outside the door like a door god.
The curtain was drawn, blocking out the sounds from inside, and no one knew what the emperor and Zhao Jingyu had said.
An hour later, Zhao Jingyu got on a carriage, and left the camp with his personal guards and a team of soldiers appointed by the emperor, returning to the capital ahead of time.
In the evening, the hunting team returned to the camp, and Song Jingxing was immediately summoned to the emperor's tent by the eunuch.
"What is the matter that your Majesty wants me to come here for?" Song Jingxing walked into the tent and knelt down to pay his respects.
Before he could finish his words, a tea bowl flew towards him and hit him with a bang, breaking into pieces and splashing tea everywhere.
Song Jingxing was startled, and did not dare to dodge. He leaned over and said, "Father, please calm down. I don't know what I did wrong to make you so angry."
"How dare you ask me!" Song Wanji shouted angrily, "As a prince, you are so narrow-minded. You killed someone just for a game and a few words. You disappoint me so much!"
Song Jingxing's heart skipped a beat, and he looked up and said, "I am innocent. I did not kill Zhao Jingyu!"
"Did I say it was Zhao Jingyu?" Song Wanji said in a deep voice.
Song Jingxing was suddenly speechless.
Song Wanji sneered: "You didn't kill him, how do you know that he was the one being hunted?"
Song Jingxing hesitated for a moment and replied, "I did not kill him, but I saw him being shot with arrows. I did not help him out of consideration for my own safety. If you want to hold me accountable, you can only hold me responsible for not helping him, but you cannot accuse me of murder."
"Okay, then tell me why you didn't help him?" Song Wanji asked.
"Because I am the crown prince." Song Jingxing said, "I am the only son of the emperor, and I bear the heavy responsibility of the country. How can I put myself in danger for a useless bastard? If I save Zhao Jingyu and die, it would be irresponsible to the emperor, the country, and the people."
Song Wanji looked at him solemnly and didn't speak for a long time.
Song Jingxing lowered his eyes, not daring to look him in the eye.
As far as he could remember, since he was a child, his father often looked at him with this kind of eyes, and would look at him for a long time. He neither beat him nor scolded him, but just looked at him with this kind of eyes that he could not understand but was deeply afraid of, until he felt cold all over and trembled all over, then he would sigh and let him go.
It was the same this time. The emperor did not pursue whether he had killed Zhao Jingyu. After looking at him for a long while, he sighed and waved his hand to let him leave.
Song Jingxing got up tremblingly, bowed and saluted, and did not straighten up slowly until he left the tent. A gust of evening breeze blew past, and he felt a damp and cold feeling on his back.
Later, everyone learned that Zhao Jingyu accidentally fell off his horse while hunting and injured his head. He was escorted back to the capital by soldiers sent by the emperor.
Xie Nanfeng was very upset when he heard the news. He failed to find Xiu'er in time in the paddock during the day. Now that Xiu'er was gone, he would never have the chance to get close to her again. If he wanted to ask her something, he could only wait until he returned to Beijing and went to the Marquis' Mansion to find her.
At this time, Xie Nanjia was also sitting in the shaky carriage, feeling regretful that he would not be able to see his father again in a short time.
However, when she thought about seeing her son soon, she felt homesick and wished she could give the horse wings so that she could return to the capital and the marquis' mansion as quickly as possible.
(End of this chapter)