On the way to Anyifang, Sui Sui asked Ma Zhongshun about what had happened.
Huan Xuan's wound was on his back, so it shouldn't have hurt his internal organs. And the murderer was seriously injured, so the blow must have been a spent force and shouldn't have injured any bones.
But everyone who has fought on the battlefield knows that the most dangerous thing about external injuries is not the loss of blood, but the festering of the wound and the seven-day wind.
After she understood the situation, she stopped talking and just kept urging her horse forward.
It was past the hour of Yin, the lantern lights had burned out, and the cold moon had turned pale, as if it had faded.
After such a big commotion, the Lantern Festival was naturally disbanded, and people returned home one after another. Some people who were separated from their relatives shouted loudly in the streets, which seemed even more desolate in the cold night.
The night wind blew Sui Sui's clothes and ruffled her hair, but the smell of blood on her body was still too strong to dissipate. She should have been unable to smell it after killing so many people tonight, but the rusty smell still lingered in her nose.
Her aunt's curses and crazy laughter echoed in her ears again: "You are born with bad luck... You have committed so many sins, no wonder all your relatives have been killed by you..."
"No one who gets involved with you will have a good ending..."
"He killed both his parents and the late crown prince..."
Now even he...
Sui Sui's eyes focused and she realized that she was thinking in the wrong direction. It was not her turn to defeat Huan Xuan, and God could not be so unreasonable.
She spurred her horse into a gallop, and both she and her horse were so fast that only their shadows were left, as if she could shake off those vicious voices if she went fast enough.
They soon arrived at Anyifang, but there was no sign of Huan Xuan. The streets were in a mess and a team of Jinwu Guards were cleaning up.
Sui Sui's heart suddenly sank to the bottom of the valley. She pulled the reins of her horse. At this moment, a rider hurriedly came towards her from the side of the road. It turned out to be a guard from the palace.
The guard saluted and said, "General Xiao, your Highness is seriously injured. We dare not send him back to the palace. We can only carry him to the Zhengjue Temple in the neighborhood. I will lead the way for you, General Xiao."
Sui Sui's heartstrings relaxed, and then he realized that he was too worried. It was freezing outside, and he couldn't let a wounded patient lie in the snow.
"Has the medical officer arrived?" she asked as she rode towards the gate with the guard.
The guard said, "We have sent someone to rush to get a doctor, but it's a long way from the East Palace to here. Your Highness is bleeding profusely, so we first found a doctor from the East Market, and together with Deputy Commander Song, we will clean your wound and apply medicine to stop the bleeding."
Sui Sui nodded. These guards had followed Huan Xuan in his battles and were very experienced in dealing with external injuries. Even if she was present, she couldn't do much more.
At this time, Ma Zhongshun finally caught up, panting.
The three men dismounted in front of Zhengjue Temple and followed the guard straight into the Zen temple.
Zhengjue Temple is a small temple. At this time, many people who were injured by the gangsters were being treated in the temple. Many injured people were lying under the corridors. The abbot gave up his meditation room to Huan Xuan to treat his injuries.
Even though he was a prince, Huan Xuan did not have the entire courtyard to himself. There were other injured people in the side rooms, and the guards were guarding in the corridor.
The courtyard was full of crisscrossing footprints, and the accumulated snow had been trampled into slush. Su Sui did not go around the corridor, but walked straight through the slush. Water penetrated her leather boots, soaking her feet, but she seemed not to notice at all.
Cheng Zheng was also in the corridor, standing away from the guards. The lantern cast a long shadow under his feet, making his already thin body look even more lonely.
Seeing Sui Sui, he stepped forward and saluted, his face full of guilt: "General Xiao..."
Sui Sui just glanced at him coldly, then looked away and walked straight past him.
The moment he met her gaze, Cheng Zheng's voice was stuck in his throat. He had never seen Xiao Ling like this before. Normally, her attitude towards him and the guards was always gentle, even a little impartial, without any respect for the inferior.
But the look she gave him just now was cold and murderous, just like the freezing cold winter in Youzhou.
Even though he knew that she had made great achievements in the war and had killed countless people, he could never connect her with the 15-year-old war god. It was not until this moment that he saw the real her beneath her easy-going appearance. One glance at her was enough to make him feel cold to the bone.
For a moment, Cheng Zheng even suspected that if anything happened to the King of Qi, she would kill him and bury him with him.
Sui Sui walked quickly into the Zen room, but stopped outside the cattail screen.
The room was filled with the smell of herbs mixed with the smell of blood. It was a familiar smell to Sui Sui. Every time she went to the battlefield, the barracks was always filled with such a smell. But she felt fear from the bottom of her heart. Her feet seemed to be filled with lead and she could not take another step forward.
Song Jiulang had just heard the noise outside and asked through the screen, "Is General Xiao here?"
Sui Sui finally came to his senses and walked around the screen to the couch.
Huan Xuan was lying on the bed with his back naked, his eyes tightly closed, his face pale from blood loss, his long eyelashes covered like butterfly wings, looking almost childish.
The wound on the back had been cleaned. There was a foot-long knife wound running diagonally from the left shoulder to the spine, with white bones visible deep inside.
Blood continued to flow out, and Song Jiuzheng used clean silk cotton to absorb the blood. His face was covered with cold sweat, but he didn't bother to wipe it off.
Sui Sui moved his lips and asked Song Jiu, "How is the situation?"
Song Jiu said: "Your Highness has taken Caowu Decoction, the wound has been cleaned, and the wound medicine has been applied temporarily, but the wound is too deep and the bleeding cannot be stopped..."
"When will the medical officer arrive?" Sui Sui asked.
Song Jiu said: "Reporting to the general, at least half an hour is left..."
Sui Sui glanced at Huan Xuan's discolored lips and said firmly, "There's no time to wait for the medical officer to arrive. We have to sew it up quickly."
Turning to the doctor, he asked, "Do you have a needle and mulberry bark thread?"
The doctor hurriedly opened the medical kit: "Yes, yes..."
Sui Sui saw that the doctor was only about 20 years old, so he asked, "How long have you been practicing medicine?"
The young doctor said with embarrassment: "Reporting to the general, it has been almost a year since I left for the army..."
Just be silent.
Song Jiu said ashamedly: "There are too many injured people nearby, and all the doctors in several clinics are out for treatment. I can only ask this young doctor for emergency treatment..."
Sui Sui asked the doctor again: "Have you sutured the wound?"
The young doctor tucked the sweat off his forehead with his sleeves: "I... I sewed it once..."
Sui Sui nodded: "Thank you."
The young doctor pulled out a curved needle, held it with tweezers and placed it over the flame of the lamp to heat it. Suddenly, his hand shook and the needle fell on the table.
He quickly picked it up and re-scalded it, then tremblingly threaded the mulberry bark thread. Then he swallowed his saliva and tremblingly inserted the needle into Huan Xuan's flesh. However, his hand was shaking and the needle went off by half an inch and actually pierced into the wound.
Although Huan Xuan took Caowu Decoction, he still trembled with pain.
The young doctor became more and more afraid to give the injection.
Sui Sui pinched his brows and said helplessly: "Let me do it."
Sometimes on the battlefield, there was no way to wait for a military doctor to come and treat the patient, so one had to know some techniques for dealing with external injuries. She had sewed up wounds for others several times, and once, she assisted a military doctor and was forced to sew up someone's intestines.
Although her needlework skills were not very good, at least her hands were steadier than those of the young doctor who was just starting out.
She took a deep breath, concentrated and held her breath, pinched the needle in her left hand, and inserted it steadily into Huan Xuan's flesh.
Song Jiu watched from the side and noticed that every time the needle pierced the flesh of Her Royal Highness the Prince of Qi, her eyebrows would move slightly.
By the time the last stitch was sewn, Sui Sui's shirt was already soaked with cold sweat.
She tucked the sweat off her face with her sleeve, washed the blood off her hands, looked at the centipede-like stitches, and sighed secretly. Her skills still hadn't improved. If she had known earlier, she would have learned from Grandma Gao.
She gave up on herself and consoled herself by saying, "At least the bleeding has stopped, so it doesn't matter if it's a little ugly."
Song Jiulang immediately flattered: "It's not ugly, it's not ugly, I have never seen such a beautiful wound."
This was sewn by General Xiao himself. I wonder how happy Your Highness will be when he wakes up.
Huan Xuan was actually awake. He had already woken up when the quack doctor poked the needle into his wound - the Caowu Ma soup that the quack doctor prepared was not very reliable.
But thanks to the unreliable numbing soup, he was awake the whole time when Sui Sui was stitching him up. He could clearly feel her fingers gently rubbing against his skin, and the pain of the needle piercing his flesh seemed to be lingering.
After finishing the last stitch, he even felt a little unsatisfied.
He pried open his eyelids to peek in, and saw that in the halo of candlelight, her hair was wet with sweat and stuck to the side of her face, making her look even more like a jade sculpture.
She studied her results, rarely showing an embarrassed look. Huan Xuan had seen her plan and plan many times with composure, so he felt that her occasional discouragement was also adorable.
The tip of his heart felt like it was gently brushed by willow branches, as if it was covered with willow catkins, making it feel fuzzy and itchy.
He was just thinking about how to wake up when he heard Song Jiu say, "General Xiao has some important business to attend to, right? There are servants guarding here, General Xiao, go and do your work."
Sui Sui said: "No hurry, I will wait for His Highness to wake up before leaving."
Huan Xuan immediately closed his eyes tightly.
Sui Sui glanced at the head of the bed inadvertently and saw that his eyelashes were trembling slightly. He was obviously pretending to be fainted. He rubbed his forehead helplessly.
Just then, footsteps were heard outside the door and the medical officer finally arrived.
The person who came was Zheng Fengyu, who had treated Sui Sui's arrow wound during the autumn hunt.
He saw Sui Shi was stunned for a moment, and Song Jiulang hurriedly said: "This is General Xiao."
Zheng Fengyu hurriedly said that he had long admired her, but there was still some confusion in his eyes.
Song Jiu said: "General Xiao has sewed up your wound."
Sui Sui glanced at the crooked stitches, then glanced at the man pretending to be asleep, and said leisurely: "My craftsmanship is not good enough, why not take it apart and let Feng Yu sew it again."
Before he finished speaking, he saw his eyelashes tremble, and the muscles in his shoulders and neck tensed.
Fortunately, Zheng Fengyu checked the wound and said, "No need. General Xiao sewed it very well. Your Highness doesn't need to suffer again."
Zheng Fengyu asked the young doctor invited from the market for the decoction prescription, glanced at it, frowned and said: "Your hemp soup prescription is wrong."
He glanced at Huan Xuan suspiciously: "Has Your Highness been sleeping all this time?"
Song Jiulang had already discovered the trick and coughed twice.
Zheng Fengyu nodded, pondered for a moment, and asked the medicine boy to boil the medicine soup to replenish qi and blood: "Although the wound has been sutured, it is best not to move for the time being to avoid it from breaking."
He paused and said, "After being injured, the most feared thing is the seven-day wind. If you can get through these seven days safely, then there will be no problem. In addition, Your Highness has lost a lot of blood, so you must stay in bed and rest for the next few months."
Song Jiulang said okay, although the Zen room was simple, we had to make do with it for now.
Huan Xuan lost a lot of blood and was given acupuncture by the half-baked doctor Sui Sui. At first he pretended to sleep, and then he really fell asleep. He didn't know if it was the numbing soup prescribed by the quack doctor that worked, but when he woke up it was already dusk the next day, and the small Zen room was filled with rosy clouds.
After a moment of confusion, he remembered where he was and immediately looked towards the couch, but only saw Gao Mai.
The old steward asked anxiously, "Your Highness has woken up. Does the wound hurt badly?"
Huan Xuan knew that Xiao Ling would not be able to stay by his bedside, but he still couldn't hide his disappointment: "No problem."
Gao Mai said, "Granny Gao is still in Lantian. Your Highness, please forgive me for acting on my own and not sending anyone to invite her back."
Grandma Gao is old and is living at her nephew's house in Lantian. She would be panic-stricken if she knew about this.
Huan Xuan nodded: "Tell her when your injury gets better."
He glanced at the cattail screen, hesitating for a while, and finally couldn't help asking: "When did she leave..."
Gao Mai asked knowingly, "Who are you talking about, Your Highness?"
Huan Xuan knew that this cunning slave was up to no good again and glared at him fiercely.
At this moment, a familiar voice suddenly sounded from outside the screen: "But His Highness is awake?"
Huan Xuan closed his eyes hurriedly.
The scent of soapberries blew into the room with the breeze, along with the familiar smell of her body.
Gao Mai glanced at his master meaningfully and saluted Sui Sui: "General Xiao has been guarding Your Highness all the time and hasn't slept for two nights. Go and have a rest. I will take care of you here."
Sui Sui said "It's okay" and sat down beside the couch: "I'll wait for Zheng Fengyu to change the medicine before going to sleep."
Gao Mai said: "I will go to the corridor to see if the medicine is ready..."
Sui Sui had just passed by the corridor and was about to say something when the old butler had already retreated quietly, like a cunning old cat.
Sui Sui immediately realized something and looked at Huan Xuan suspiciously, only to see that his eyes were tightly closed and his eyelashes were trembling slightly.
"Your Highness is awake?" Sui Sui exposed him without mercy.
She glanced at Huan Xuan: "Your Highness is awake?"
Huan Xuan couldn't pretend, nor could he not pretend, so he could only say "hmm" and slowly opened his eyes: "General Xiao, why is he staying up all night to watch over me?"
Sui Sui said: "It is because of me that His Highness got hurt. This is what I should do."
Huan Xuan frowned immediately: "It's not General Xiao that I saved."
Seeing that he is still in such spirit, it seems that his injury is not serious.
Sui Sui said seriously: "Then I will take my leave."
Huan Xuan blurted out: "Wait..."
Sui Sui couldn't help but smile faintly: "Cheng Zheng is my subordinate. Your Highness saved him, which is helping me."
Huan Xuan calmed down a bit: "I don't want you to thank me."
Sui Sui said: "I know."
Huan Xuan added: "You saved my life, so I should give it back to you..."
Gao Mai rubbed his forehead repeatedly in the corridor. He did not intend to eavesdrop on their conversation, but the walls of the Zen room were thin and he could hear everything clearly without any effort.
With his prince's mouth, he would never win the heart of the beauty even if he got stabbed ten times, let alone one.
Huan Xuan seemed to realize that his mouth was not pleasing to the eye, and he picked up something from the side of the pillow. It turned out to be an exquisitely crafted gold-thread glazed lotus lantern, only as big as a child's fist and could be put in the sleeve.
"I promised you to release river lanterns this year, but I didn't do it," he said with his eyes downcast, "You can take the lantern first."