Chapter 2

Chapter Summary: Guardian.

Yu Jing was woken up by a cacophony of sounds around her ears.

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager's injuries are severe, and she has lost a great deal of blood. If she does not wake up by tonight... I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."

"What do you mean?" Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a deep male voice. Although the voice was young, it was extremely imposing.

"If anything happens to the Empress Dowager, it is because you are incompetent! Then what use are you to me?" Even though Yu Jing was an immortal, she was still taken aback by the light words.

Although gods are said to be cold-hearted, both the Goddess Zelan and the Old Man of the Moon treated her quite well. Therefore, she had never heard such words before.

Thinking this, she subconsciously tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids were too heavy, and the pain from her injury made her frown and groan softly.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty the Empress Dowager has woken up!" Ayu's joyful voice rang in my ears.

"Mother!"

Yu Jing opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was a young man's face. He looked young, yet exuded an inexplicable maturity. He was completely different from Xie Xuan. Looking at this face, Yu Jing remembered the portrait she had memorized; he was Qi Jin, the stepson emperor of Sheng Hua.

"Imperial Physician!" Qi Jin saw Sheng Hua open her eyes and quickly turned to call the Imperial Physician forward.

The imperial physician, who had just been frightened by Qi Jin, dared not be negligent now and hurriedly stepped forward to examine her. Yu Jing watched the imperial physician approach, but her mind was in turmoil.

Although she had seen portraits of Qi Jin and A Yu, she knew nothing about them. The Book of Fate from the Old Man of the Moon wouldn't be available until tomorrow; if she said or did something wrong, it would be disastrous. Thinking of this, Yu Jing couldn't help but sigh softly. Seeing Yu Jing's expression, the imperial physician wiped the fine beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve and asked, "Does Your Majesty still feel unwell anywhere?"

Yu Jing shook his head again. The imperial physician breathed a sigh of relief, took her pulse, and reported to Qi Jin, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has awakened, but she has suffered a serious injury and will need to recuperate for some time. I will go and prescribe some medicine to help the Empress Dowager recover."

"Yes, go down." Qi Jin frowned and replied calmly.

Yu Jing glanced up at Qi Jin. The dim candlelight in the hall reflected on his face, flickering and indistinct. For some reason, she felt that Qi Jin didn't seem to care about Sheng Hua as much as he appeared. But thinking about it, it made sense. After all, they weren't biological mother and son, and Sheng Hua hadn't raised Qi Jin. It was understandable that their mother-son relationship was distant.

"Your Majesty." A muffled voice sounded from outside.

"Come in." Qi Jin said as he walked to the armchair next to him and sat down lazily. He was wearing a snow-white robe with gold-embroidered dragon patterns, and one hand was resting on the armrest of the chair. He looked quite like an emperor.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager." A man dressed as a general in armor entered, looking rather flustered.

"Your Majesty, I am incompetent. I have searched the entire palace but have not been able to capture the assassin," the man said, kneeling down to plead guilty.

Hearing this, Yu Jing saw Qi Jin slowly lean back in his chair and lazily say, "Truly incompetent. In the vast Cining Palace, the assassin brazenly entered the Empress Dowager's bedchamber and injured her, and no one even noticed!"

"Your Majesty, please forgive us!" Everyone present knelt down and said, sensing Qi Jin's anger.

"Drag him away and beat him to death." Qi Jin parted his thin lips and uttered these few cold words.

Everyone present was stunned for a moment, then lowered their heads, no one daring to speak, for fear that Qi Jin's anger would affect them.

Before Yu Jing could react, he heard the man's crying voice: "Your Majesty, spare my life! Your Majesty, spare my life! Please, Your Majesty, spare my life for the sake of my many years of guarding the palace without any mishaps!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Jin snorted coldly and said, "Making no mistakes is your duty, yet you dare to claim it as a merit? Drag him away."

"Your Majesty! Spare me! Your Majesty!" Before Qi Jin could finish speaking, two guards entered and took the man away. Qi Jin didn't even blink, a faint smile still playing on his lips.

"The most ruthless place is the imperial family." This phrase suddenly popped into Yu Jing's mind.

Qi Jin stood up from his seat and calmly ordered, "Pass on my imperial decree, ordering Zhou Shu to thoroughly investigate the assassination attempt, and also transfer Xie Xuan to guard Cining Palace."

"Yes, Your servant obeys." As soon as Qi Jin finished speaking, an old eunuch stepped forward from the side and responded.

Upon hearing Xie Xuan's name, Yu Jingfu was stunned. He looked up and met Qi Jin's eyes.

"Your Majesty is injured and should rest well. I will take my leave now."

"Mm," Yu Jing replied.

Watching Qi Jin and his group leave, Yu Jing breathed a sigh of relief; at least the night had passed peacefully.

However, who exactly wants Sheng Hua dead? This assassination attempt failed; there's no guarantee there won't be a next time. It seems we need to be careful.

"Is the Empress Dowager still in pain?" Yu Jing was interrupted as she was thinking. She turned her head and saw that A Yu's eyes were red, her voice was trembling with tears, and she looked very concerned.

"I'm fine," Yu Jing replied with a forced smile.

Ayu looked at Shenghua, whose face was deathly pale, devoid of color, and whose breathing was erratic, yet she still managed to tell her that she was alright. Thinking of how she had seen her covered in blood just moments before, her heart ached, and tears streamed down her face.

Seeing Ayu like this, Yu Jing felt a pang of guilt. After all, she was no longer Sheng Hua; the real Sheng Hua had long since gone to the underworld. And Ayu's worries were for Sheng Hua's sake.

Ayu sniffled, then, suppressing a sob, said to Shenghua, "This servant has been disrespectful. Please forgive me, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager."

"I'm a little tired, you may leave now," Yu Jing said.

"This servant will stand guard outside the palace. If Your Majesty the Empress Dowager has any instructions, just call this servant," Ayu replied.

"Okay," Yu Jing replied.

After Ayu left, the hall fell silent again. Her right shoulder still ached terribly. Although she was Butterfly Tile, she was now inside Sheng Hua's body. She had never imagined that a mortal would feel such pain after being stabbed.

The hall was warm, perhaps because a lot of charcoal had been added, and the bedding on the bed was newly changed and very soft. Although her body ached from the commotion just now, she was also very tired. Yu Jing lay on the bed staring at the newly changed bed curtains.

My consciousness is gradually fading. For now, I should rest well and deal with the rest when the Old Man of the Moon brings the Book of Fate tomorrow.

The General's Residence.

The carriage wheels collided with the hubs, and the bells on the frame swayed in the wind, making a crisp sound in the quiet snowy night.

The guards in front of the General Zhenguo's mansion saw the imperial bells on the carriage and quickly turned around to go inside and announce the arrival.

"Young master! Young master!"

Xie Xuan was woken up and mumbled in response, "What is it?"

"His Majesty's oral decree."

Upon hearing this sound, Xie Xuan immediately perked up, jumped up in a flash, put on his shoes and clothes, opened the door and went out.

Xie Yi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Xie Xuan come out, and replied, "Young Master, Eunuch Xu is in the main hall right now, and the General has already gone there."

"Understood," Xie Xuan replied, quickly heading towards the main hall. As he walked, he asked, "Do you know why the palace sent an imperial edict so late at night?"

"I heard..." Xie Yi deliberately lowered his voice, glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and then whispered to Xie Xuan, "The Empress Dowager has been assassinated."

When Xie Xuan heard this, he paused slightly, turned around in disbelief, and asked again, "Really?"

"I don't know the details either, but I overheard the eunuchs talking to the general and vaguely heard them say that Lord Lu Fuge, the Left Guard, had been flogged to death by His Majesty for dereliction of duty."

Upon hearing the words "execution by beating," Xie Xuan frowned and dared not delay any longer, quickly heading towards the main hall. The snow had stopped, but the wind was still quite strong, howling and blowing Xie Xuan's hair into disarray, stinging his face.

The main hall was brightly lit. As Xie Xuan entered, he saw a group of people standing in the center of the hall, seemingly waiting for him. Leading them was Xu Xinshu, the eunuch beside Qi Jin. Hearing the commotion, the group turned around. Upon seeing Xie Xuan, Xu Xinshu's expression relaxed, and he bowed to Xie Xuan, saying, "This servant greets Young General Xie."

"Eunuch Xu, please get up quickly." Xie Xuan responded and walked to Xu Xinshu, glancing at Xie Jin standing beside him.

Several people in the palace are shrewd and calculating, especially Xu Xinshu. After all, he was by Qi Jin's side; without the ability to read people, he would probably be dead long ago. Xie Xuan didn't really like dealing with such people; they were too secretive and too shrewd. Standing in front of them always gave him a feeling of being seen through.

"Now that the young general has arrived, this servant will announce the decree." Xu Xinshu turned around and looked at Xie Jin.

"Please, Father-in-law."

"Xie Xuan, accept the decree." As soon as Xu Xinshu spoke, everyone knelt down, with Xie Xuan kneeling at the head of the group.

"By imperial decree, Xie Xuanjing, the Left Guard General, is hereby ordered to lead the Imperial Guards to garrison the Cining Palace. No mistakes are permitted. This is the imperial decree."

"Your subject Xie Xuan will obey Your Majesty's command and will not fail in his mission."

"I have delivered the imperial edict and must return to the palace to serve. I will take my leave now," Xu Xinshu said with a smile.

"Thank you for your hard work, Eunuch Xu." Xie Jin said, glancing at the steward standing beside her. The steward understood and took out a small gold ingot from his sleeve and handed it over.

Xu Xinshu glanced down at the gold and smiled as he declined, saying, "General, you're too kind."

As he spoke, he discreetly slipped the gold into his sleeve pocket.

After leaving the general's mansion and getting into the carriage, Xu Xinshu casually took out the gold from his sleeve pocket and tossed it to the little eunuch next to him.

"Thank you, Master!" Qu An and Tian Chi thanked him with a smug smile, having received the benefit.

"You two should split it up," Xu Xinshu said indifferently, his face full of disdain and a hint of contempt.

Qu An, being quick-witted and having spent a long time by Xu Xinshu's side, sarcastically remarked, "Of all the jobs outside the palace, the least lucrative is at General Xie's mansion. Why does Master need to go there personally? Just let us servants do it."

"Yes. His Majesty has clearly bestowed many rewards upon General Xie, but I don't know why the General of the State's mansion is so poor. The amount of money he gave is less than what the Prefect of Tanzhou gave him a few days ago."

Xu Xinshu remained noncommittal, merely casting a glance at them, and the two fell silent. The carriage fell quiet instantly, save for the sound of the bells jingling in the wind.