Chapter 60 [VIP]

Chapter Summary: Awareness.

"Alright, I understand. You may leave now," Su Siyang replied, his voice slightly tinged with displeasure and impatience.

He didn't want to hear anymore; he didn't want to know anything more about Sheng Hua. Sheng Hua was back safe and sound now, and that was good enough.

Hearing this, Xie Xuan observed his expression and found his reaction somewhat strange. Su Siyang was supposed to have been ordered to search for Yu Jing in Guizhou City, but he seemed far too engrossed in this task. If others heard about their fall off the cliff, they would assume they were dead and simply send someone down to search for a while before returning to report. But Su Siyang was different; he not only personally went down the cliff to search but also drew a portrait of Yu Jing.

He happened to see a servant carrying the portrait when he went to the bathhouse. At first, he was taken aback when he saw the portrait, and without caring about avoiding suspicion, he asked about it directly. He was somewhat surprised to learn that it was painted by Su Siyang. But now, thinking back, it seemed that something was off about Su Siyang's relationship with Yu Jing.

Xie Xuan turned around, and suddenly the image of the few days he had just gone to Cining Palace to guard it flashed through his mind. Yu Jing had just been assassinated, and Su Siyang had also rushed off from court to Cining Palace. His expression at that time was quite meaningful.

Xie Xuan stood under the corridor for a long while, then walked step by step past each pillar. When he reached Yu Jing's room, he made up his mind. No matter what happened in the past, what he wanted was her future.

"I have come to visit the Empress Dowager. Please inform her of my presence."

"Lord Xie, you leave very quickly."

Xie Xuan had barely finished speaking when he heard Su Siyang's voice from the side. Turning his head, he saw Su Siyang standing a short distance away, looking quite relaxed.

Su Siyang slowly approached, saying as he went, "Is Lord Xie being too concerned about the Empress Dowager?"

Xie Xuan scoffed lightly: "As a subject, isn't it only natural for me to care about the Empress Dowager?"

Su Siyang was speechless and didn't know how to speak for a moment. The two of them were frozen in front of the door. When the people in front of the door saw that their two masters were frozen in place, they quickly lowered their heads and held their breath.

"This humble subject greets both of you."

A voice broke the silence behind them. Xie Xuanwei looked up and saw a young, slender woman carrying a medicine box on her back. Her left side of her clothes was slightly wet, likely due to the rain. She appeared to be a female healer.

With a creak, the door opened, and Ayu pushed it open to see Xie Xuantong and Su Siyang standing at the door, along with a female physician bowing respectfully. After a moment of hesitation, she spoke, "You two gentlemen must have come to visit the Empress Dowager, right? Let me go in and inform her."

As Ayu spoke, she turned and went inside. Yu Jing hadn't gone to sleep yet, but she was also preparing to rest.

"Your Majesty, Lord Xie and Lord Su are requesting an audience outside," Ayu said to Yu Jing as she entered, adding, "Lord Su has also brought a female physician with him."

Yu Jing was worried when she heard this. Just one of them was enough to give her a headache, and now there were two of them.

"Let the female physician in," Yu Jing said to A Yu. A Yu immediately understood and replied, "Yes."

"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager says she feels very tired and has summoned a female physician to take a look. You two may return now," Ayu said to them at the door.

The two men exchanged a glance, neither of them moving. The female healer, however, upon hearing this, straightened up and went inside.

"Her Majesty the Empress Dowager's injury has largely healed, but she is still somewhat weak. I will write a prescription for her tonics." The female physician had seen the wound on Yu Jing's right chest and then took her pulse. "However, Her Majesty the Empress Dowager has missed the best time to remove the scar. Even with the best scar-removing ointment in the palace, it can only make the scar fade a little."

Upon hearing the female doctor's words, Yu Jing reached out and touched the scar on her right chest, smiling as she said, "It's already a blessing to have survived; how could I dare to ask for anything more?"

Having only been in the mortal realm for a few months, she had already acquired two unsightly scars on her body—truly a miserable existence! However, compared to the suffering she had endured, the scars on her body were nothing.

"Then I shall take my leave to write the prescription," the female physician said, preparing to leave.

"Yes, thank you for your trouble," Yu Jing replied subconsciously.

The female physician was taken aback, then said with some fear, "It is an honor for this humble person to be able to treat the Empress Dowager."

Upon hearing this, Yu Jing gave a wry smile. Having been herself for so long, it was quite disorienting to suddenly return to her position at Shenghua.

"Step back," Ayu said to the female physician, noticing Yu Jing's somewhat dazed expression.

"Yes." As the female physician left the room, she noticed Xie Xuan and Su Siyang still waiting at the door. She bowed slightly to them.

"How is the Empress Dowager?" Su Siyang asked first.

"Your Excellency, the Empress Dowager's wound has scabbed over and she is fine. However, she is still a little weak. I will prescribe a tonic."

Hearing what the female doctor said, Xie Xuan and Su Siyang both breathed a sigh of relief.

After the female healer left, Su Siyang and Xie Xuan walked away from each other. Su Siyang still had many things to do. Now that Sheng Hua had been found, the next step was to deal with the bandits who would try to kill her.

Xie Xuan walked along the corridor and saw Han Qingzhou waiting in front of his room. He paused slightly before stepping forward.

"Xie Xuan." Han Qingzhou raised the food box in her hand when she saw Xie Xuan coming over. "I brought you bone broth."

"Let's go inside and talk," Xie Xuan said to Han Qingzhou as he opened the door.

"Okay." Han Qingzhou agreed and went inside with Xie Xuan.

Xie Xuan told Han Qingzhou how he and Sheng Hua were assassinated, how they encountered Sun Jun and his men, and how they made a living. But he didn't mention his affair with Yu Jing, since Han Qingzhou wouldn't benefit from knowing about it.

"You fell from such a high cliff and you're still alright, Xie Xuan. You survived a great calamity; you're sure to have good fortune in the future!" Han Qingzhou said with emotion as he patted Xie Xuan on the shoulder.

"Is anyone in my household aware of this matter?"

"No, Ayu only arrived in the capital at nightfall. After Su Siyang learned of this, he went to see His Majesty that very night. His Majesty ordered me to come to Guizhou with Su Siyang. I only received the order later, and by the time I heard the news, Su Siyang had already set off. I heard that he didn't even return to his residence, but only sent his personal guard back to pack some things. I don't know if it was His Majesty's idea or his own." At this point, Han Qingzhou paused, "But judging from his anxious appearance, it seems more like it was his own idea."

"Lord Su seems to care particularly much about the Empress Dowager."

"Is that so?" Xie Xuan asked in return.

"Yes, can't you tell?"

Xie Xuan smiled slightly and brushed it off: "The most urgent task now should be to ambush and kill our bandits."

“That’s true. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager would have targeted us first.”

"The Empress Dowager wouldn't do that," Xie Xuan replied naturally, denying the accusation.

"ah?"

"nothing."

"oh."

"However, you don't need to worry too much. When we first arrived in Guizhou, Su Siyang had Gao Yong order all the troops in Guizhou to search for those bandits. We should have news soon."

"I hope so," Xie Xuan murmured. He had a feeling that this matter was not as simple as it seemed on the surface.

A guard hurried across the corridor, stopped near the imperial study, glanced at the people in the corridor, and quickly walked to the door of the imperial study to show the jade pendant at his waist.

The guards at the gate saw Pei Yu and quickly stepped aside to let the guards in. The guards entered the hall, stopped in front of the gauze curtains, and said to the people inside, "Master, an urgent message from Guizhou, eight hundred li away."

"Come in." Hearing the voice from inside, the guard stepped through the curtain to report.

"Greetings, Master." The guard knelt down first and bowed to Qi Jin, who was seated in the main seat, to pay his respects.

"Have those people been dealt with completely?" Qi Jin asked slowly as he reviewed the documents.

"No...no," the man stammered. "Your Majesty...the Empress Dowager...has been found."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jin paused in his hand holding the vermilion brush, and slowly raised his eyes to look at him.

With a "smash," before Xu Xinshu could even react, the teacup landed on the guard's head. Shards of porcelain and scalding tea splashed everywhere, and a bright red welt immediately appeared on the man's head. He groaned and knelt even lower.

Xu Xinshu's knees buckled, and he knelt on the ground, pleading, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

"Calm down?" Qi Jin retorted with a cold laugh. When he released his grip, the vermilion brush had left a long, bright red mark on the document. Qi Jin's gaze lingered on the document, growing increasingly irritated by the red mark. "You can't even handle this small matter properly, and you expect me to calm down?"

The hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; even breathing could only be heard from Qi Jin.

"Tell me what happened." Qi Jin spoke seemingly casually, but Xu Xinshu sensed a hint of death.

"I've heard that the Empress Dowager and Lord Xie did indeed fall off the cliff. The Empress Dowager was even hit by an arrow when she fell. However, they landed in the stream below the cliff and were rescued by villagers from a nearby village, which is how they survived." The guard said each word carefully, afraid of saying the wrong thing and angering Qi Jin again.

"Where are those people?" Qi Jin then asked.

"Upon receiving the news, my subordinates rushed from the capital to Guizhou day and night. However, when they arrived, Su Siyang and his men had already arrived, and Su Siyang had ordered a thorough search of everyone entering and leaving the city. After being reprimanded by Su Siyang, the prefect of Guizhou, Gao Yong, ordered the entire city's troops to search for the bandits. Those people must have received the news, because by the time my subordinates arrived, the place was deserted."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jin's smile deepened.

Xu Xinshu knelt on the ground, every minute and every second was extremely difficult to endure.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! Your Majesty, spare my life!" The guard seemed to realize something was wrong and repeatedly begged for mercy.

"Step down."

The guard was taken aback, then breathed a long sigh of relief: "Thank you, Your Majesty! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Just as the guard left the hall, Qi Jin parted his thin lips and uttered a few words that made Xu Xinshu's heart tremble violently.

"They're useless to keep, kill them all."

Xu Xinshu knelt down, not daring to breathe, and only replied in a low voice, "Yes."