The prince had probably been holding this question in for a long time, so when he asked it, it sounded so loud that it was impossible for people to pretend not to hear it.
"you-"
Upon hearing this, Xie Jingyuan raised his hand and subconsciously wanted to hit him, but the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects that had been absent from home for a long time suddenly came to his mind again. He could only clench his fist unwillingly in mid-air and then let it go angrily.
For a moment the only sound that could be heard was the wind shaking the branches.
Chu Xinian waited for Xie Jingyuan's answer. Perhaps he was a little curious and wanted to know the reason. However, Xie Jingyuan just spit out four words coldly: "Nonsense!"
This is when the advantage of wearing a mask comes into play. His expression, whether panicked, confused, annoyed or angry, is hard to tell clearly.
The prince snorted, not knowing whether he believed it or not. He tactfully stopped asking questions, otherwise Xie Jingyuan would really punish him.
"… "
Chu Xinian always felt that the atmosphere was a bit awkward. In order to ease it, he changed the subject and said calmly, "Qin Shuang and Qin Daoyan still have many secrets. It's best not to report them to the emperor before the evidence is solid."
The best way to deal with the enemy is to kill him with one blow. And a handwritten letter about Jiu Niang's death is not enough to trip Qin Daoyan. Only by digging out the evidence of Fang's treason can it be possible to uproot it, and now is not the time.
Prince Qin Shuang felt aggrieved about assassinating them. Hearing this, he said in a bad tone, "You mean, I'm still supporting this waste?"
Qin Shuang was very emotional when he heard what they said. He seemed to want to say something, but his jaw was broken and he could only spit out a string of meaningless sentences. The prince thought it was unpleasant to listen to, so he pulled a handful of grass from the roadside and stuffed it into his mouth.
Chu Xinian said, "Your Highness, you know that if you hand Qin Shuang over now, Qin Daoyan can just push all the blame onto him and write a letter of apology. The emperor will either reprimand him or demote him. Qin Daoyan still has a chance to turn the tables."
The prince said, "Isn't it enough to demote him? As long as he is demoted, I will have plenty of opportunities to deal with him."
Chu Xinian: "This man is narrow-minded and has been entrenched in the court for many years, so he has a deep foundation. Moreover, the court is in need of people. If he is demoted, there will be no one available in the Ministry of War, and he will be reinstated in three years at most."
He was obviously just an idler, but he seemed to have a clear understanding of the situation in the court.
The prince suspected that he was a spy sent by the King of Jin, even though Chu Xinian's words seemed to make sense. The prince thought for a long time, but could not find any loopholes, so he asked casually, "Then what do you think we should do?"
Chu Xinian said nothing. He carried Xie Jingyuan on his back and continued walking. The city gate had already appeared in the distance. Xie Jingyuan didn't know whether he was afraid of being seen like this or something else, so he said in a hoarse voice: "Put me down..."
He was still weak. Chu Xinian could feel that his limbs were weak and his muscles were having trouble gathering strength.
"I'll get there soon," Chu Xinian said, "not to mention that we're almost there."
Not only did he not let go, but he tightened his grip. Xie Jingyuan didn't say anything, but frowned. He felt cold all over and his consciousness was a little hazy. He pressed against Chu Xinian's back and unconsciously wrapped his arms around his neck to absorb some warmth.
The hands that had killed countless people now harmlessly embraced him. The cold temperature passed from the fingertips to his neck, and ordinary people would shudder, but Chu Xinian did not, and let him put his hands into his neck.
There were many people at the city gate, so it was inconvenient for Xie Jingyuan to show up. The prince finally thought it through and asked them to wait not far away. He went to the city gate to find the guards and asked them to send someone to report to the prince's mansion.
Chu Xinian tied Qin Shuang to a tree, and Xie Jingyuan found a place to sit and wait. Xie Jingyuan's condition was obviously very bad. When Chu Xinian put him down from his back, he vomited a mouthful of black blood and his face was as pale as paper.
Seeing this, Chu Xinian revealed some worry between his brows. However, Xie Jingyuan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth expressionlessly: "Let go, you won't die."
He sat on the tree, leaning against it weakly, and tilted his head to look at the half-dead Qin Shuang beside him. His eyes were cold and sinister, and he said coldly: "Even if I die, I have to drag a few people down with me."
Chu Xinian knew that Xie Jingyuan was cold, so he sat beside him and rubbed his cold hands slowly. He felt that this method of killing one thousand enemies and injuring eight hundred of his own was not in line with his values: "It is torture to see these people when alive. If I see them again after death, wouldn't it be a disgrace to my eyes?"
Chu Xinian felt like preaching. Although he felt that it was unnecessary for a villain who had killed countless people to say these words, he still said: "General, the word hatred is the most harmful to good people..."
"If you want them to get their comeuppance, there are many ways to do it. Killing people is only a last resort when you are at the end of your rope. But right now, you haven't reached the end of your rope yet..."
Xie Jingyuan pulled the corner of his mouth, probably wanting to sneer disdainfully. But maybe Chu Xinian's embrace was too warm and clean, making it impossible for him to think of any rebuttal.
"… "
Xie Jingyuan closed his eyes, as if he was asleep. Only his rising and falling chest revealed his emotions.
Ding!
The system suddenly made a sound in the silent night, pulling Chu Xinian's wandering thoughts back to the past.
The villain's blackness has been reduced to 87, dear, please keep working hard~
Strictly speaking, Chu Xinian's mission progress was actually pretty good. It was just that he was too desperate at the beginning, so the difficulty was a little higher than that of other hosts.
Chu Xinian didn't expect Xie Jingyuan's darker side to drop so much. He tilted his head to look at him, but saw that Fang's body leaning against the tree was already unable to support itself and was falling towards him. He subconsciously caught him: "..."
Xie Jingyuan fell into a semi-comatose state without knowing when.
Chu Xinian reached out and felt Xie Jingyuan's breath. Although it was weak, fortunately he was not dead yet. He slowly hugged Fang's body tightly, silently calculating the time, but felt that the passage of time was really slow.
The most urgent thing now is to find a doctor. The carriage from the Prince's Mansion has not arrived yet, so they can only wait. Chu Xinian repeatedly told himself not to rush, not to rush, the more critical the moment, the calmer he should be.
The General's Mansion was about 14 miles away from the East City Gate. A horse carriage could travel up to 400 miles a day, an average of 167 miles per hour. A trip took about two hours, or one hour.
The prince had been gone for about half an hour, and the carriage would arrive in another half an hour at most.
Time passed by bit by bit. After an unknown amount of time, a green-roofed carriage finally drove over. The sound of horse hooves was still clear, and the driver was the prince.
Chu Xinian looked up immediately, and before the prince could speak, he had already picked up Xie Jingyuan and carried him horizontally and got into the carriage.
The prince subconsciously looked up and asked, "What's wrong with him?"
Chu Xinian said: "He is unconscious. Go to the general's mansion to find a doctor."
The prince frowned upon hearing this and prepared to leave the city. But he suddenly found Qin Shuang still tied to the tree, so he jumped down and dragged him onto the carriage. He whipped the horse with all his strength, making a short crisp sound, and drove towards the city with smoke and dust.
Maybe it was because the carriage was too bumpy, but Xie Jingyuan coughed twice and slowly woke up. He tried to open his heavy eyelids, but found himself lying in someone's arms. He reflexively grabbed Fang's wrist, almost breaking it with such force.
Chu Xinian didn't know whether he should praise him for his tenacious vitality. He still had the strength to pinch people at this critical moment. He lowered his eyes and looked at him: "General?"
It was the year of Chu Xi.
Xie Jingyuan tried hard to open his eyes, and then he found that it was him. His fingertips suddenly lost strength, and he lay down again. He covered his eyelids with the back of his hand, obviously knowing that he was in a bad situation. He frowned and said hoarsely: "Find Wan Jimiao."
He doesn't trust other doctors.
Chu Xinian hummed: "I know."
As they were talking, the carriage had already arrived at the gate of the general's mansion. Chu Xinian carried Xie Jingyuan off the carriage and walked quickly towards the main courtyard. Jiuyong, who was guarding the gate, saw this and his face changed drastically. He was about to stop Chu Xinian to ask for clarification, but he heard him hurriedly say: "Go and invite Doctor Wan over."
The prince also led Qin Shuang in, and seeing Jiuyong standing there in a daze, he waved his hand in disdain and urged him, "Go, go, go, hurry up and ask the doctor to come, why are you just standing there!"
The servants in the general's mansion are so stupid, one is more stupid than the other. Did Chu Xinian eat their brains
Jiuyong reacted and turned around hurriedly to ask for a doctor.
It was still midnight, and Wan Jimiao was picked up from Jiuyong's bed in the middle of the night. You can imagine how angry he was. When he heard that Xie Jingyuan was in a bad condition, he waved his hand to drive everyone out, and hurriedly carried the medicine box into the house.
Chu Xinian looked at the closed door and remained silent for a few seconds. Then he lifted his robe and slowly sat down on the steps at the door, wondering what he was thinking. He probably felt that there was nothing to do, so he asked Yun Que to get a book.
The lantern hanging at the door fluttered in the wind. Chu Xinian held the book and began to read in the dim light. The prince was circling at the door, but he didn't care about his image and simply sat on the steps with Chu Xinian: "You still have the mood to read?"
Chu Xinian paused while turning the page, then returned to his normal state, still calm and unhurried: "There's no use in being anxious."
The prince looked at him suspiciously for a long time, then took the book out of his hand, turned it over, and stuffed it back into his hand: "You took it the wrong way around."
Chu Xinian: “…”
#The prince is an embarrassing existence#
Chu Xinian closed the book and stopped reading. He felt something strange on his shoulder, reached out and touched it, but his fingertips touched a dark red dried blood, and he was distracted for a while.
Xie Jingyuan can indeed endure it.
The original story was like this, and now that the plot has been disrupted, it is still like this. He carried Fang on his back for so long that he didn't even notice when he vomited blood.
Chu Xinian felt inexplicably a little messy and unconsciously rolled up the book in his hand. The originally smooth pages became wrinkled and looked like dried pickles.
Qin Shuang had just been imprisoned in the secret room of the general's mansion. He was separated from his parents when he was young and was adopted by Qin Daoyan. The relationship was extraordinary, so it was hard to pry something out of him.
There are always loopholes in things in the world.
The prince was a bit reckless, which meant he was not a quiet person, but he was unusually silent at this moment. He lowered his head and suddenly asked, "Whose side are you on?"
He was tactful and knew that he couldn't get anything out of Chu Xinian, so being straightforward was the best approach.
Chu Xinian raised his eyebrows lightly: "Who are you from?"
Prince: "You know what I'm saying?"
"Neither side," Chu Xinian rolled up the book in his hand, "Things in the world are not black and white. Your Highness, why do you need to draw a clear line? No one can be immune to it."
As they were talking, the door suddenly creaked open and Wan Jimiao walked out. Chu Xinian stepped forward and asked, "Doctor, is the general okay?"
Wan Jimiao wiped his face tiredly and tried to cheer up: "My husband has already given him acupuncture. I will go and prepare the medicine. He has injured his lungs by forcing himself to use his Qi. His Qi and blood are both deficient. It is not easy to cure. Let the maid go to the room to add some charcoal and warm it up."
After saying this, he carried the medicine box and went to the kitchen as if he was familiar with the place.
The prince thought that what he said was the same as not saying anything. He leaned over to look inside the room, but Chu Xinian grabbed his shoulder and said, "It's getting late. I'll order the servants to prepare water in the guest room. Your Highness, please go change your clothes first. We can talk tomorrow if there's anything else."
Although Chu Xinian's tone was gentle, it left no room for doubt.
After all, the prince grew up in luxury, and upon hearing this, he touched his wet clothes that had been soaked in the well water for most of the night, and without refutation, he followed the maid to the guest room to wash up.
Seeing the prince leave, Yun Que stepped forward and said to Chu Xinian, "Son, I heard from Doctor Wan that the general's condition has stabilized. You are all wet, go take a shower and change clothes first, otherwise you will catch a cold."
Chu Xinian went to bathe and change clothes without saying a word. When he came out, the maid had already lit a charcoal fire in the room. The temperature rose and the heat made people sweat.
Chu Xinian walked to the window, opened it slightly, and then went to the inner room to check on Xie Jingyuan.
Wan Jimiao had already applied the needle, and the blue deathly look between Xie Jingyuan's eyebrows finally faded a little, but his lips were still pale. He was covered with a thick quilt, but he couldn't help trembling slightly, and sweat dripped down his face.
He was breathing heavily, his brows furrowed, as if he was trapped in a nightmare and couldn't extricate himself, and all he uttered were some unclear mumblings. The silver mask was taken off and quietly placed beside the pillow.
"Thank you Jingyuan."
Chu Xinian called him softly, but Fang did not wake up.
The flickering candlelight illuminated Xie Jingyuan's otherwise intact face clearly. His eyebrows flew into his temples, and his eyes were long and narrow. Judging from his appearance, he was a handsome and romantic young man. It was hard to imagine that he was a general who led troops into battle.
If he were dressed in white and holding a folding fan, pointing out the way forward, he would probably be a peerless figure who stirs up the Kyoto capital and whose reputation is no less than that of Chu Jiaoping.
"… "
Chu Xinian seemed to sigh, but he didn't. He found a handkerchief, washed it in a copper basin, and then wiped the cold sweat off Xie Jingyuan's forehead. However, he was caught off guard by Xie Jingyuan grabbing his wrist, which made him feel cold.
"Mother..."
Xie Jingyuan twitched his cracked lips, looking uneasy, as if he was trying desperately to avoid her. He tightly grasped Chu Xinian's wrist, his voice panicked, and he instinctively hid the right half of his face in the pillow in his sleep.
"Mother..."
Xie Jingyuan's voice was painful. He wanted to say something, but his mouth was too tight and he kept too many secrets. Even when he was not in his right mind, it was difficult for him to utter a single word.
Chu Xinian let him hold her, and with his other hand he touched Xie Jingyuan's cold face. The temperature in the inner room was scorching, not only did he fail to maintain his body temperature, but he also broke out in more and more cold sweat.
Gradually, Xie Jingyuan stopped shouting. He suddenly became quiet, clutching the thick blanket tightly around him, trying to get some warmth, and his whole body was cold from head to toe.
Chu Xinian took off his boots, lay on the bed and hugged him in his arms. Although Xie Jingyuan was not in his right mind, he quickly let go of the quilt and huddled into this warmer embrace.
"Cold..." He whispered unconsciously, his voice broken and hoarse.
Chu Xi frowned slightly, then pulled the quilt tighter, unbuttoned his outer robe, and unbuttoned Xie Jingyuan's inner clothes. He and Fang nestled in the quilt together, throwing their clothes on top, their skin pressed against each other, one hot and one cold.
Chu Xinian had no beautiful thoughts, and slowly rubbed Xie Jingyuan's shoulders and back, trying to make him warmer. After an unknown amount of time, when his arms were a little sore, Xie Jingyuan finally stopped shivering.
Their hearts were beating and their chests were rising and falling, and their beats were in sync.
Chu Xinian maintained that posture, wondering whether he should let go of Xie Jingyuan. However, just as he stepped back a few inches, Xie Jingyuan came close to him and stuck close to him again.
The red candles warm the tent, and we spend the night together...
Chu Xinian suddenly felt somewhat powerless. He didn't like the feeling of his wisdom gradually disappearing, as it made him feel like a fool.