Chapter 39 Wounded

Qiu Heng heard a barely audible humming sound.

She climbed off Xue Han, her mind in turmoil: "Are you hurt?"

"How could that be?" Xue Han braced himself with his hands and jumped up nimbly.

Qiu Heng quickly circled around behind him and saw that his clothes were torn at the back of his shoulder, and a piece of tree branch was embedded in his flesh.

The immense impact turned the tree branches into sharp knives, enough to injure someone.

Qiu Heng stared at the wound, feeling guilty.

Although she would still choose to be Bai's hostage if she had the chance to do it all over again, it doesn't mean she would be indifferent to Xue Han's injury while saving her.

Where did his kindness towards her come from? He couldn't possibly suspect that she was a spy who was deliberately getting close to him, could he?

But she just wouldn't reject his advances.

Who could blame him when his adoptive father, Xue Quan, was one of the Five Thieves?

Historical records state that the eunuch Xue Quan colluded with Fang Xiang to control the court. When Emperor Jingping fell ill, Xue Quan presented him with a miraculous medicine, which caused the emperor to vomit blood and die.

Afterwards, the eleven-year-old prince ascended the throne. With a young and insecure ruler, the country was viewed with contempt by foreign tribes. Soon, the capital fell, and the prince fled south to Linzhou. From then on, the territory of the Great Xia Dynasty was never intact again, and it eventually came to an end.

The gentleman told her that if the late emperor were still alive, the Northern Qi would not have acted so quickly, and the Great Xia might have a chance to turn things around.

She was just a peasant girl and didn't understand these national affairs, but her husband was the national advisor, a true man, and what he said always made sense.

Xue Han raised his hand and touched his shoulder, finding his hand covered in blood. He smiled at the girl with guilt in her eyes and said, "This kind of superficial injury is nothing. Just apply some wound medicine and it will be fine. Don't cry."

Qiu Heng's momentary emotional fluctuation subsided: "Does Lord Xue have any wound medicine? Let me apply it for you."

"No need." Xue Han looked back in the direction they came from. "Someone's coming."

It wasn't just one person who came; it was a group of people.

There were Lingyun's group, the Imperial City Guard group, Taoist priests from Qingfeng Temple, and even some ordinary people who were just there to watch the spectacle.

Because of Xuan Yang's threat, these people could only follow from a distance, and only came over when they saw the horse carrying Xuan Yang away into the distance.

Fangzhou is running in the lead.

"Miss, are you alright?" Fangzhou squeezed between Qiuheng and Xue Han and hugged Qiuheng tightly.

Lingyun and the Princess of Jiayi County arrived shortly afterward.

"Ah Heng, are you injured?" Princess Jiayi asked, leaning closer to Qiu Heng.

Ling Yun bowed to Xue Han and said, "Thank you, Lord Xue, for saving Aheng."

By this time, Ling Yun no longer wanted to hide his feelings for Qiu Heng.

They were not strangers; they shared a deep bond.

He cared about her and cherished her; in his heart, Aheng was no less important than Jiayi.

As the heir of a prince, he should let people know his attitude towards Aheng, so that they will be more careful when dealing with Aheng in the future, instead of taking advantage of her past as a wanderer in the mountains and her family's decline.

"You're too kind, Prince Ling." Xue Han wiped the bloodstains from his hands onto his clothes. "The spy has escaped, and I have other matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave now."

He didn't say anything more to Qiu Heng, and led a group of his men to chase after Xuan Yang in the direction he had fled. When they reached a secluded place, he said to Hu Si, "Help me treat my wounds."

Hu Si said yes, and used his dagger to deftly pry open the clothes near the wound, pulling out the branch that had sunk into his flesh.

Blood splattered out, but was quickly stopped by a handkerchief. Hu Si grinned and said, "Sir, the wound is not clean. We need to find a doctor to treat it as soon as possible."

"Hmm." Xue Han didn't say anything foolish like prioritizing catching spies.

He cherished his life.

When beggars were still struggling to survive and grow up, they certainly had to live well now.

"Contact people along the route as soon as possible; it would be best if we could bring them back."

"yes."

Xuan Yang was never found. He abandoned his horse midway and plunged into the rolling mountains, making him impossible to find in a short time.

Because Xuan Yang almost kidnapped Prince Ling, the matter caused a great uproar in the capital. Emperor Jingping was also aware of it and was furious that the spy had not been captured.

Xue Han knelt in the hall, listening to the emperor's outburst.

"Xue Han, I entrusted you with such an important office as the Imperial City Guard, and this is how you handle things?"

A palace attendant came to report: "Your Majesty, Prince Kang's heir, Lingyun, requests an audience."

Emperor Jingping raised an eyebrow: "Bring him in."

Ling Yun walked in quickly.

"Your subject Lingyun greets Your Majesty."

Facing his nephews and nieces, Emperor Jingping softened considerably: "Yun'er, what is it?"

"Your Majesty, I have come to plead guilty."

"Oh, why is that?"

Ling Yun glanced at Xue Han: "Sixth Miss Qiu was kidnapped by spies while trying to save me. I couldn't just stand by and watch her get hurt, so I begged Lord Xue to prioritize the hostage's safety. That's how the spies escaped. If we're talking about responsibility, it's my responsibility, not Lord Xue's. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Emperor Jingping remained silent for a moment, then sighed, "Fine, this will not be repeated."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Xue Han and Ling Yun said in unison.

Once they were out of the hall and alone, Xue Quan kicked him, saying, "You scoundrel! That Prince Ling is a member of the imperial family, the Emperor's nephew. How can you compare to him? He told you to prioritize the hostages, so you prioritized the hostages? Didn't you think about the consequences of letting the spies go?"

Xue Han listened with his eyes down, without arguing.

After losing his temper, Xue Quan let it go: "You should be more careful in the future and know your place."

"I understand."

Xue Quan nodded and was about to leave when he stopped again: "I remember the one who sued Han Wu's son, Han Ziheng, was that Qiu Liu Miss?"

"yes."

"Why is it her again? Is there anything special about this girl?"

The little girl he had casually picked up and used as a knife had left almost no trace in his mind, but now she had finally aroused Xue Quan's curiosity.

Xue Han knew some things couldn't be kept secret: "Sixth Miss Qiu and Young Master Ling knew each other in the south."

"She, a country girl, knows the heir of a prince?"

"By sheer coincidence—"

Xue Quan sneered: "Most coincidences are actually premeditated. You should stay away from that girl in the future, lest you be blinded by temptations."

"knew."

Qiu Heng, whom Xue Quan believed to be scheming, was being scolded by the old lady.

"How could you be so good at causing trouble? You went to the Prince's mansion as a guest but ended up going to a Taoist temple, where you encountered spies and almost lost your life..." The old lady became angrier as she spoke. "Do you know that the whole city now knows that Miss Qiu Liu has been kidnapped by spies!"

"The news spread so fast?" Qiu Heng asked.

The old lady took a deep breath: "Go to the ancestral hall—" She wanted to say go to the ancestral hall and kneel down, but then she suddenly thought of Yongqing Bo, and with a dark face she sent someone to call him.

She wanted to see what the old man had to say this time.

Yongqing returned after overhearing a bit about the spy and Qiu Liu.

“Lord, there should be limits to how much you dote on Sixth Sister, otherwise she will become unruly. Look at her, she didn’t learn her lesson from privately suing the son of a high-ranking official, and now she’s caused trouble again.”

The Marquis of Yongqing couldn't stand the old lady's disparaging remarks about Han Ziheng, as this was something he was proud of, but unfortunately, his good fortune was being exposed in the dark.

"Let's not dwell on the past, let's stick to the facts."

The old lady felt as if she had choked on a chicken egg, a feeling of unease and discomfort.

"And now? Everyone in the city is talking about Sixth Sister all the time. Aren't you ashamed?"

Yongqingbo looked at Qiuheng.

The girl lowered her head slightly, appearing detached from the situation.

The Earl of Yongqing coughed and said, "Heng'er, I heard that the spy initially wanted to kidnap Prince Ling?"

"Yes. My granddaughter instinctively pushed Prince Ling away, which is how she fell into the hands of the spies." Qiu Heng looked puzzled. "Now the whole city knows that my granddaughter saved the Prince's son. Isn't that a good thing?"

Marquis Yongqing laughed loudly: "That's right!"

No matter what, the Prince Kang's Mansion cannot refuse this favor. If the Earl's Mansion ever comes to the Prince's Mansion for help, and the Prince's Mansion completely ignores it, people will gossip.

This is equivalent to gaining a new connection. Compared to that, what does it matter if my granddaughter is talked about for a few days?

The old lady thought differently: "Sixth Miss is a girl after all. What good is it if she has a big reputation?"

After saving the Prince's heir, those people might be more polite when dealing with Sixth Sister, but when it comes to choosing a daughter-in-law, who would want to choose someone so famous?

“What’s there to be afraid of when doing good deeds? You should try to be more easygoing. You’re not young anymore, so don’t get so easily angered. It’s bad for your health.” Uncle Yongqing gave her a perfunctory piece of advice, then gave Qiu Heng a loving smile. “Heng’er has been frightened. Go back and rest well.”

"Granddaughter takes her leave."

Seeing her granddaughter leave quickly, the old lady felt secretly annoyed.

This girl will regret it someday!

The gifts from the Prince Kang's residence arrived quickly: gold and silver jewelry, silks and satins, all in styles suitable for a young girl.

In addition, there was an invitation, inviting the old lady and Qiu Heng to visit the Prince's Mansion.

In preparation for the banquet, Qiu Heng also prepared a box of red bean cakes and two bottles of expensive wound medicine, which she entrusted to Granny Yu to deliver to Xue Han.

Granny Yu, who had been entrusted with this important task, was stunned.

She's a governess, what makes her so special that the Sixth Miss would entrust her with the task of delivering gifts to men outside the family?

Indeed, the snacks weren't for nothing.

"Lord Xue was injured while saving me. Although he lacks nothing, it would be too ungrateful of me to do nothing, and I would also be ashamed of what you taught me, Granny Yu. Don't you agree, Granny Yu?"

Granny Yu: "..."

I've been slacking off and haven't taught him at all.

But it must be said that the sixth sister was right. Gratitude is a virtue that transcends gender.

"After much thought, I realized that neither Fangzhou, Qingluo, nor Wang Mama are as suitable as Granny Yu for this trip."

Granny Yu nodded in agreement: "Indeed, then leave it to me. Don't worry, Sixth Miss, I will definitely deliver the items."

We can't send a maid; that would be too easy for people to misunderstand. For the sake of Sixth Miss's reputation, this trip must be done by her alone!

For a servant like Granny Yu, going out was far more convenient than for the women of the Earl's mansion; she could simply pick up her things and leave.

The Imperial City Guard was located inside the Imperial City, and ordinary people could not enter. However, recently, Imperial City Guard personnel could be seen everywhere on the streets. Granny Yu observed and observed again and again, and finally selected one person.

The young man was handsome, and had dimples when he smiled. He must be the confidant of Lord Xue that the Sixth Miss described.

"Please wait, sir."

Hu Si paused, picking at his ear.

Why does this sound so familiar?

He looked over and saw a middle-aged woman.

"What's wrong, ma'am?"

"I'm looking for Lord Xue."

Hu Si raised an eyebrow.

That sounds familiar.

Granny Yu smiled politely and said, "I am the nanny serving the sixth young lady of the Yongqing Marquis's mansion. Our young lady is grateful for Lord Xue's help and specially ordered me to deliver a gift of thanks."

Hu Si's lips twitched.

It sounded familiar, and sure enough, it's red bean cake!

(End of this chapter)