After Sui Sui was shot by an arrow, everyone discovered that the person who secretly attacked him was actually the guard of the princess's mansion who had been seriously injured and had a high fever before.
He had been watched by his companions before and failed to take action before the King of Qi took the Crown Princess away. Later, he had been lying in wait, and shot an arrow while everyone was busy.
As a death warrior, there was no reason for him to stop after his attack failed. Before Song Jiu and Ma Zhongshun pounced on him, he cut his own throat with a knife.
Ma Zhongshun cursed and said angrily: "This dog slave is drinking my wine and eating my meat!"
This was a bit funny, but no one laughed. Everyone looked at the King of Qi and the deer Sui Sui in his arms anxiously.
The moment the arrowhead sank into Lu Suisui's body, Huan Xuan felt extremely angry. He wanted to scold this fool severely. Who asked her to take the initiative to block the arrow for him? Who asked her to meddle in other people's business and save him? Did she think she had only one life
Immediately afterwards, fear struck.
He saw the cold sweat dripping down her forehead, and saw her eyes gradually becoming unfocused. He heard her mumbling "Your Highness" and was swallowed up by overwhelming fear.
He might lose Lu Suisui. As soon as this thought came to his mind, it swelled wildly in his heart, stretching it so much that his heart was about to burst.
He seemed to be split into two halves. One half calmly directed the guards to capture the murderer, checked the wound on Lu Suisui's back, estimated the force of the arrow, whether it had injured his internal organs, cut off the arrow handle in time, and applied medicine around the wound. The other half of him was shouting, "You are going to lose her, you are going to lose the only person in the world who treats you wholeheartedly, and now because of you, she is going to die too..."
"Lu Sui Sui, Sui Sui..." Huan Xuan could only keep calling her name.
Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his heart seemed to stop beating.
Her eyes slowly focused on his face, and then a satisfied smile appeared on the corner of her mouth: "Your Highness... This time... I finally..."
"Don't talk." Huan Xuan wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of his hand. "I'm afraid you're okay. I'll take you back."
He said it over and over again until he finally believed it. He carried her to the back of Little Black Face and let her sit facing him, leaning on his arms.
There was no clean water or doctor in the forest, and even the medicine for wounds was limited. He didn't dare to dig out the arrow for her hastily, so he could only take her back to the palace first.
He controlled the reins with one hand and gently supported her shoulders with the other, holding her gently in his arms.
"Sui Sui, don't fall asleep," he kissed the top of her head and said in an inaudible voice, "Please, don't fall asleep."
…
Ruan Yuewei and Zhao Qinghui rode together, but her mood was completely different from before. The fear and fatigue that she had just forgotten because of joy came back again. She felt a chill in her stomach, a dull pain, like a stone falling on her. The Jiuhe incense on Zhao Qinghui's body was mixed with the smell of medicine and sweat, sweet and greasy, with a fishy and bitter taste, which made her head swell.
She only hoped to get to the palace as soon as possible, wash off the dirt and blood, have some soup, and have a good sleep.
Zhao Qinghui didn't know what his cousin was thinking. He just hoped that this section of the journey would be as long as possible. He controlled the reins and let the horse move forward slowly, while asking anxiously: "How did my cousin get lost? What happened?"
Ruan Yuewei told them how they got lost in the mountains and were besieged by a pack of wolves. She sighed sadly and said, "It's a pity that those guards died there to protect me."
"My cousin is always so kind," Zhao Qinghui consoled her softly, "It is the duty of the guards to be loyal to their master. They died a worthy death if they could protect you. If they knew about this, they would be happy and honored. If my cousin is unwilling to leave, they will give her a grand burial and some money to her family."
"Thank you, cousin, for enlightening me," Ruan Yuewei felt warm in her heart, "When we return to the city, I will ask the senior monks from the Huguo Temple to perform a ritual for them."
Zhao Qinghui said: "My cousin encountered such a terrible thing and still thought about the servants. It is really a blessing for them to cultivate."
He paused and said, "My cousin must be very tired. I will let the horse go more steadily."
He moved forward a little, but did not dare to press against his beloved's back for fear of offending her.
In his heart, Ruan Yuewei was a flower in the clouds, which could only be admired from afar but not plucked. Any dirty thoughts would defile her.
Even though his sweetheart was in his arms at the moment, he didn't dare to even think about kissing her.
After walking a little further, Zhao Qinghui suddenly asked, "Why did the King of Qi rush back just now?"
When Ruan Yuewei heard him mention Huan Xuan, her grievance turned into tears and she said reluctantly: "There is a guard who was injured and stayed where he is..."
"Guards?" Zhao Qinghui squinted his eyes. "If I don't have a guard, it doesn't matter if I die."
Ruan Yuewei's heart skipped a beat when she heard him speak so coldly and heartlessly: "You can't say that..."
Zhao Qinghui said: "I just don't believe that the King of Qi would risk turning back for a few guards."
"Cousin, you can tell me anything. I will keep it in my heart and never tell anyone. Don't you believe me?"
Although Ruan Yuewei didn't like this cousin very much, she was abandoned by Huan Xuan halfway, and she was sad and wronged. Someone comforted her with such gentle words. It was inevitable that she felt close to him and immediately said, "How can I not trust you?"
She bit her lip and whispered, "The concubine you mentioned last time was also among the guards... The King of Qi went back for her..."
When Zhao Qinghui heard this, he couldn't believe it and said, "He actually abandoned you for a bitch?"
Ruan Yuewei didn't want to be compared with the woman from outside the house. Her cousin's words were like a slap in the face to her. Two lines of tears immediately rolled down her cheeks. She just sobbed softly, which was considered as her acquiescence.
Zhao Qinghui was filled with indignation: "He acted so affectionate and loyal at first, but now he has forgotten his loyalty for the sake of beauty and betrayed your sincerity for such a thing..."
Ruan Yuewei was shocked: "Cousin, be careful with your words!" She quickly glanced at the Yulin Guards behind her, fearing that they might have heard what she said.
Zhao Qinghui whispered, "Don't worry, cousin. I will keep it a secret for you."
Ruan Yuewei felt a chill on her back and said weakly, "Don't talk nonsense. He and I..."
"I know," Zhao Qinghui said, "whatever my cousin says is true."
Ruan Yuewei didn't dare to talk to him anymore. The two of them rode on horseback for several miles. From a distance, they could vaguely see the lights of the palace. She finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Cousin," Zhao Qinghui said suddenly, "I told you last time that if you don't want to see that bitch again, I can do you a little favor..."
Ruan Yuewei wanted to speak to stop him, but suddenly she remembered the look Huanxuan had given the woman from outside the house when he took her away. She swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue and whispered, "The King of Qi treats her differently. You are just trying to stir up trouble..."
Seeing her hesitation, Zhao Qinghui smiled faintly and said, "She is just a concubine from another house. She caught his eye only because she looked a bit like my cousin. Now she is just in his interest. As long as she is out of his sight, who would take her seriously?"
"But that woman is also a pitiful person, she didn't do anything wrong..." Ruan Yue stammered with her head lowered.
Zhao Qinghui sneered: "I know that my cousin is soft-hearted and kind. Don't worry, I won't kill her. I will just send her out of Chang'an so that she can't get in the way of my cousin."
He paused and said, "Just send her far away. Why not find a family for her to be a concubine or a successor of a small family? Isn't that better than being a concubine? If she is not a greedy fool, she will be willing to do so."
Ruan Yue frowned and thought for a long time, thinking that Huan Xuan was going to get married soon, and her sixth sister was not a tolerant person. That concubine would not have a good ending even if she entered the palace. Instead of being tortured by the mistress, sending her away now would be a good deed.
"You really don't want to harm her life? Do you really want to find a good place for her?" she hesitated.
Zhao Qinghui sighed and said, "My cousin still doesn't believe me... Anyway, she looks a bit like you, how can I bear to hurt her."
Ruan Yue nodded: "Remember to be careful, don't let the King of Qi know that it was you who did it..."
She had a vague idea of what kind of person her cousin was, but when a person wants to do something, it is always easy to make excuses and deceive oneself.
"Don't worry, cousin," Zhao Qinghui carefully leaned close to the back of Ruan Yuewei's neck and sniffed her scent, "I won't implicate you no matter what. Just pretend you don't know about this."
…
The winding mountain road seemed endless. Huan Xuan followed Sui Sui on horseback, holding her carefully with one hand and controlling the reins with the other.
He had been stabbed in the left side when fighting with the assassins. He had hastily bandaged it before sending Ruan Yuewei back. Blood was oozing out again. He had no time to deal with it, nor did he feel any pain. He just kept following her, calling her name in her ear, checking her breath from time to time. Every time his fingers felt her weak but warm and slightly moist breath, it was as if a hand had pulled him out of the icy cave.
After walking all the way in such anxiety, the palace finally came into view.
He immediately sent someone to ask for the medical officer who was accompanying the emperor, and rode straight in on horseback to bring Sui Sui back to the Hall of Stars.
He picked her up gently and placed her on the bed carefully, as if she would break if he touched her.
Sui Sui let out a faint moan as she was moved, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down her cheeks. There was no trace of blood on her face, and under the light of the candle, it was as white as rice paper.
Huan Xuan carefully cut open her clothes with a dagger, revealing the wound on her back, and wiped the blood around the wound with clean and soft silk cotton dipped in warm water.
There are many palace servants in the Star Palace, but he doesn't want others to do these things.
His left side was still bleeding, but he was unaware.
Soon, the medical officer arrived.
The person invited by the eunuch was Zheng Fengyu from the Shang Pharmacy. This Fengyu was very good at treating external injuries, so he accompanied the emperor to Mount Li during the autumn hunt just in case.
A "guard" could not summon the imperial physician, so when Huan Xuan sent someone to summon him, he said he had a knife wound on his side.
Zheng Fengyu thought he was treating the King of Qi, but unexpectedly, the King of Qi was sitting beside the bed. The injured person lying on the bed was wearing a guard's clothes, and the exposed back bones were clearly a woman's.
When walking between the palace and high-ranking officials, Zheng Fengyu knew that he should not ask too many questions or interfere in everything. All he had to do was to bury his patients and treat them.
He checked the arrow wound on his back and nodded, "Fortunately, the arrow was not very powerful and entered the body obliquely, so it should not have damaged the internal organs. With timely application of wound medicine, the external condition is still good, but the arrowhead has been in the body for a long time. I will dig out the arrowhead for this... guard and cut off the rotten flesh. If this wound does not fester, it will be healed in a few months."
Huan Xuan's tense heartstrings relaxed, and the bones in his limbs seemed to be pulled out in an instant. Only then did he tremble with fear.
"Thank you, Zheng Fengyu," he said with a trembling voice, "Please do your best, Zheng Fengyu."
"Be careful," Zheng Fengyu said, "Your Highness doesn't look well either. Is he injured as well?"
Huan Xuan said, "It's just a minor injury. Feng Yu will treat her first."
Zheng Fengyu was secretly surprised and dared not say much. He opened the medical box, took out the knife, took out the cloth bag, put it in Sui Sui's mouth, and began to dig out the arrowhead for Sui Sui.
Although she could bear the pain, the piercing pain still made her break out in cold sweats and her whole body twitched.
Huan Xuan stretched out his arm to her, and Sui Sui subconsciously grabbed it tightly, her nails digging deeply into his flesh. He just let her grab it.
After a long time, there was a "ding" sound, and the arrowhead fell on the silver plate. Sui Sui's hand suddenly loosened and dropped weakly.
Huan Xuan gently stroked her trembling shoulders and helped her relax: "Okay, it's okay."
The medical officer applied the best medicine to her wound, bandaged it, and fed her some soothing and pain-relieving medicine. He then wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I will heal your wounds, Your Highness."
After all, he was the one who treated the King of Qi's injuries, so he would be able to explain himself when His Majesty asked about it.
Huan Xuan understood what he meant and was about to take off his clothes to let him heal his wounds when he heard hurried footsteps outside the hall. A eunuch hurriedly walked in. It turned out to be the eunuch beside the prince.
He bowed to Huan Xuan and said, "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Prince of Qi. Is there any problem?"
Huan Xuan nodded: "What's the matter?"
The eunuch said, "I am ordered to ask Zheng Fengyu to go to Shaoyang Courtyard."
Huan Xuan's eyebrows twitched slightly: "What happened?"
The eunuch said, "To be honest with you, Your Highness, the Crown Prince was looking for the Crown Princess in the mountains when he was accidentally ambushed and stabbed."