Chapter 325 Even if it kills me, I'll still take a bite.

Lu Yuan's back and shoulder blades had sharp, knife-cut lines. His latissimus dorsi muscles rose and fell slightly with his breathing, and the distinct grooves of his muscles were faintly visible in the light, like a sculpture that even the best sculptor in the world could not carve.

However, amidst the smooth texture, there were dozens of whip marks of varying depths, and a large patch of dark red almost covered his entire back, leaving no unscathed skin visible.

These whip marks are very fresh, only recently healed and covered in scabs, clearly left from some time ago.

Fine blood is still seeping out from many places, staining the inner garments red.

"Lu Yuan, what exactly happened?" Jiang Zhi stared at his back, her face turning deathly pale.

"See, I was afraid of scaring you," Lu Yuan turned around, put on his clothes, and hugged her without looking at her. "You were just punished by the Emperor for making a mistake. Your wound is almost healed. Don't worry."

"What do you mean by 'just being punished by the Emperor'?" She broke free from his embrace, her eyes red as she touched her already scabbed wound. "What wrong did you do to deserve such cruel whipping?"

"Want to know?" Lu Yuan smirked. "It's all because of your husband."

"You mean, because of Yan Wenhong's case?"

Lu Yuan nodded. "The Northern Garrison lost a wanted criminal, and His Majesty is furious. Naturally, he will not show any mercy. I accepted these lashes willingly, so you don't need to take it to heart."

"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?" Jiang Zhi said indignantly.

"You only care about Shen Ci'an as soon as you come in, how can you care about me?" Lu Yuan's tone was inevitably resentful.

“He is a frail scholar who cannot withstand the slightest injury, while I am a martial artist with a body of steel and don’t need anyone to take care of me—besides, this matter is too shameful.”

Seeing his cold, hard face utter such words of weakness, Jiang Zhi couldn't help but guiltily touch the tip of her nose, "Who knew you'd get hurt like this?"

But she quickly realized something was wrong. "You're injured like this, and you still dared to act so recklessly with me?"

Lu Yuan just now didn't look like someone who had suffered such serious injuries.

Lu Yuan couldn't help but pinch her puffed-up cheeks. "If I had told you this earlier, would you still have agreed to be this intimate with me?"

He'll definitely find all sorts of excuses to refuse; he's not stupid.

If prey is delivered to your door with great difficulty, you'll have to take a bite even if it means death.

Jiang Zhi simply didn't know what to say.

How could he act so recklessly?

"But you weren't in Kyoto at that time, so why were you the one punished?"

But Lu Yuan refused to continue the topic no matter what, and simply straightened her clothes. "It's getting dark soon, are you sure you want to keep arguing with me about this?"

He pushed Jiang Zhi towards the door, saying, "Come on, I'll take you home."

"You don't need to worry about the Shen family. I'll send someone over to deliver a message later."

Jiang Zhi looked him up and down. "You're injured like this, and you still managed to give me a ride?"

"It's nothing," Lu Yuan said, gently squeezing her hand with an unconscious intimacy. "Even if my wife wants to fight again, I'm more than capable."

"You've really gone too far," Jiang Zhi glanced at him, and seeing that he didn't seem seriously injured, she sighed, "Let's go."

The two walked out of the garrison and headed towards the gate. Lu Yuan held her hand the whole way, completely ignoring the astonished looks from his subordinates.

Jiang Zhi, on the other hand, seemed a little uncomfortable.

She ran into Ye Qi and, remembering something, called out to him.

"Lu Yuan, Ye Qi and I have something to discuss. Could you please excuse us for a moment?"

Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes turned cold. "Fine."

After glancing at Ye Qi indifferently, he moved a little further away.

Jiang Zhi then thought that Lu Yuan's internal strength was profound, and such a short distance would be of no use to him, so she told him to stay further away. Only then did she let Ye Qi follow her into a nearby vacant room, and she mysteriously closed the door behind her.

Ye Qi already knows Jiang Zhi's identity.

"Princess Qinghe, is there anything you can't say to me in front of the boss?"

Didn't you see the murderous look in the boss's eyes just now?

He even wondered if he would be skinned alive by the boss when he got back.

Jiang Zhi's expression turned serious. "I'm asking you, are the whip marks on your eldest son any serious?"

"Ah, do Qinghe and the County Princess already know?" Ye Qi's face turned a little pale. "The eldest brother originally told us not to tell you."

"Why? If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would never have known that Lu Yuan was so badly injured."

Lu Yuan enjoys the Emperor's deep trust, so if the whipping was indeed ordered by the Emperor, it would be an extremely unsettling signal for him.

Ye Qi was moved. "Boss, this whipping was actually for us."

What do you mean?

"The eldest brother wasn't in the capital at the time. Yu Jun and I gave the order to take Yan Wenhong out to seek medical treatment. We underestimated the enemy. Who knew that someone would dare to kidnap a wanted criminal right under the emperor's nose?"

"His Majesty originally intended to severely punish me, Yu Jun, and the brothers who escorted Yan Wenhong. It was the eldest brother who personally went to plead with His Majesty and took fifty lashes himself."

Ye Qi's voice grew softer as he spoke, "His Majesty only managed to calm down his anger out of consideration for the eldest brother, and stopped pursuing the matter, only ordering the Northern Garrison to arrest the person as soon as possible."

Jiang Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Ye Qi's words.

Fortunately, Lu Yuan had not lost the Emperor's favor, otherwise his situation would have been difficult.

"If the county magistrate of Qinghe is to blame, then blame us. We are the ones who have let the boss down." Ye Qi didn't dare to look at her.

Jiang Zhi nodded. "If you really feel bad, then take good care of your boss's injury for me. He doesn't have anyone who cares about him, so don't let him go on missions with his injury again recently."

"But how could the boss listen to us..." Ye Qi couldn't help but sigh.

“He wouldn’t listen, so he sent someone to tell me,” Jiang Zhi chuckled, “I’ll help you deal with him.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Qi immediately perked up. "I'm relieved to hear Princess Qinghe say that. I'll make sure my eldest brother's injury is treated with medicine every day!"

When the two came out of the room, Lu Yuan's face was already very ugly.

Ye Qi felt a chill run down the back of his neck, and had the unsettling feeling that his head was about to be severed.

"Finished talking?" Lu Yuan asked him expressionlessly.

Ye Qi shrank back. "Yes, boss. Take care."

He dared not linger in front of the two of them.

By the time we left the Northern Garrison Command, it was already dark outside.

"Are you hungry? Let me take you to get something to eat first," Lu Yuan asked her.

Jiang Zhi was indeed starving, but seeing that it was getting late, she feared that if she didn't return soon, the Crown Prince would be angry.

So he shook his head and said, "No, let's go back to the East Palace first."

Disappointed, Lu Yuan had no choice but to take her into the carriage.