Chapter 69 Chapter 69 Plot

The two men were too close to each other, and Lu Chen was caught off guard. He was hit hard by his punch, and his head tilted. Blood immediately appeared at the corner of his lips. The teeth marks on his Adam's apple rolled as he swallowed, and the purple bruises became more glaring.

The eunuch who was leading the way was frightened when he saw this. He stepped forward to separate the two men, but was shouted back by them. He could only crawl back to ask the imperial guards on duty nearby for help.

Xie Yunzhou's chest heaved violently, his eyes burning with anger. He raised his fist to strike again, but Lu Chen intercepted it with a raised hand. He sneered, "Xie Mingqi, that's all you can do. You're just venting your anger at best."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yunzhou clenched his fists so tightly that his joints crackled.

Lu Chen nonchalantly wiped the blood from the corner of his lips. Seeing the change in his expression, he couldn't help but sneer, "What? Trying to sneak her out of the capital again, avoiding the eyes and ears of others?"

Xie Yunzhou stared at him intently, his eyes as sharp as a knife. "Do you think I wouldn't dare?"

"Of course you're incredibly audacious." Lu Chen sneered, pausing for a moment before his voice suddenly deepened. "But without this royal status, you can't even protect yourself, so what can you use to fight me? Just like back in Minzhou, what else could you do to me except watch me take her away?"

Hearing that he dared to mention the affairs of Minzhou, Xie Yunzhou felt angry and guilty. His eyes darkened and he raised his hand to punch him again.

This time Lu Chen was prepared. He caught his fist, pulled and twisted it, and then twisted his arm. He suddenly pushed him against the palace wall, leaned over and held him down tightly, his knuckles turning blue and white from the force.

The heavy breathing of the two young men echoed in the narrow palace passage.

Lu Chen restrained Xie Yunzhou with his whole body weight, lowered his eyes, and looked coldly at this brother who had once shared life and death with him.

The two of them were close friends who grew up together. When they were young, they were inseparable, slept with their feet touching, and talked about everything.

But now, even just such a brief confrontation made his chest feel stuffy and unbearable. He felt that Xie Mingqi's body was full of her scent.

It made him jealous and crazy.

Even though she knew that Xie Yunzhou had been separated from her for more than a month.

He still couldn't stand it at all.

Jealousy surged through his blood, burning his eyes red. Lu Chen, ruthless, angrily said, "I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible. Should you try to escape secretly and become an ordinary, unarmed commoner from now on, or stay in the Forbidden City and be a filial son and a virtuous king, Xie Mingqi, you can think about it yourself."

Half of Xie Yunzhou's face was pressed against the cold, hard, and rough palace wall, causing his skin to rub painfully, but this only aroused his bloodlust. "Lu, if you have the guts, kill me today, or I will take her away within next month!"

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes for a moment, and her mumbling in his sleep that day kept replaying in his mind uncontrollably. His temples were throbbing with pain, and his vision went black. He was filled with hatred so strong that it almost made him bleed.

He immediately tightened his five fingers, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged, almost crushing Xie Yunzhou's wrist bones.

Xie Yunzhou suddenly gasped in pain.

Lu Chen twitched his lips, his smile cold as if laced with poison. "It's a pity that Meimei is with me every day now. She has always been soft-hearted. I will be able to coax her back before you can get out of here. Who knows, maybe in a while, she and I will have a child. Then I will invite the little prince to drink a cup of wine to celebrate my child's full moon."

A surge of hot blood rushed to his head, and Xie Yunzhou's chest heaved rapidly. He cursed angrily, "Dream on! I should have killed you long ago to prevent you from bullying her again!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his elbow and struck back, hitting Lu Chen squarely on the injured spot on his chest.

The blow was so strong that Lu Chen groaned in pain and suddenly lost his strength. He staggered back several steps and hit his back hard against the palace wall. He could not hold on for a moment and slid onto the blue brick floor.

Before he could catch his breath and stand up, Xie Yunzhou took advantage of the situation and pounced on him, grabbed Lu Chen by the collar of his shirt, pressed him firmly under him, and punched him down.

A fierce murderous aura came towards him with the sound of wind. Lu Chen instinctively turned his head to avoid it. The fist brushed past his ear and hit the wall, causing the snow on his head to fall.

Although his blow missed Lu Chen's vital points, he never recovered. The stab wound in his chest had already burst open, and his blood surged. He felt a warm current surge up his lungs, and a sweet taste in his throat. He tilted his head and choked out a large mouthful of blood, which splattered on the falling snow, a shocking crimson. But Xie Yunzhou's eyes were already red with anger. Seeing this, not only did he not stop, but he took the opportunity to punch him in the waist and abdomen several times, with hatred and anger mixed together, and he really wanted to kill him, and each punch hit him hard.

Lu Chen groaned and arched his body, almost unable to resist anymore, but still held one of Xie Yunzhou's wrists tightly.

The two men fought so hard that they both rolled down on the palace road. Their clothes and hair were covered with snow and mud. They were breathing heavily and rapidly, like two trapped beasts fighting to the death.

Just as they were gritting their teeth and deadlocked, a hurried sound came from afar. The imperial guards who were called by the eunuch for help hurriedly arrived. As soon as they stepped into the alley, they were shocked to see the scene. They hurriedly surrounded them and forcibly pulled the two people who were fighting each other apart.

Seeing that one of them was the emperor's beloved daughter, and the other was a general in charge of the imperial guards, and now they were jealous of each other for a woman and fighting within the palace walls, no one could afford to take responsibility if this matter were to get out. The group looked at each other, but did not dare to say anything. They could only use all their strength to separate the two people.

"Lu Bingyan!" Xie Yunzhou was held up by two imperial guards and dragged back. He couldn't break free for a moment, but he still struggled and shouted unwillingly, with veins bulging on his forehead. "Just wait for me! Sooner or later, I will take your life!"

Lu Chen felt his internal organs cramping and aching, and a sweet and fishy taste kept rising in his throat. After a long while, he managed to stand up, and with the imperial guards supporting him under his armpits, he was able to stand steadily. Before he could open his mouth to respond, he suddenly arched his back violently and started coughing, vomiting another mouthful of blood.

The commander of the imperial guards was startled at the sight and rushed forward, urging him in a deep voice, "General, please go to the tea room and rest for a while. I'll send for the medical officer!"

Lu Chen raised his hand to wipe the blood from his lips, his knuckles trembling slightly from the pain. However, he looked up at the still struggling Xie Yunzhou and forced a cold smile: "No need." He paused deliberately and said lightly: "My wife is an excellent doctor. When we return home... she will take care of you personally."

Xie Yunzhou was so angry that his eyes widened, and his struggle suddenly increased. The two imperial guards who were holding him were caught off guard and staggered by his knock. They hurriedly used all their strength to hold him tightly with their leather-armored arms, almost squeezing him into the armor before they could barely hold him down again.

Lu Chen frowned coldly, turned around with difficulty, and staggered out of the alley with the help of the imperial guards.

Before Xie Yunzhou returned to the palace, the news had already been divided into two paths, one was delivered to the emperor's ears, and the other was delivered to Li Zhen's mansion.

Huaizhong sent away the eunuch who came to report the news, tiptoed into the hall, and reported in detail what had happened in the corridor.

The hall was unusually quiet. Apart from his low voice, the only sound was the dripping of a copper clock. Incense curled up from the Boshan stove, floating in the sunlight that filtered through the latticed windows.

After hearing the report, the official paused, "Has the Third Brother also heard about it?"

Huaizhong hummed a yes and bowed, saying, "Don't worry, sir. I've already sent someone to tip them off."

The official hummed faintly, a hint of satisfaction flickering in his eyes. After a long while, as if talking to himself, he sighed softly, "I have spoiled Mingqi too much in the past. Now that he has to take on such a big responsibility, I need to temper him a little bit..."

He paused, narrowing his eyes slightly as he gazed through the lattice window into the distance. "This woman is a ready-made whetstone... If she can't even withstand Sanlang's little tricks, then even if I want to, I can't safely leave this throne to her."

Having said this, Huaizhong lowered his eyes and held his breath, and no longer responded.

However, despite saying so, the emperor was still upset. He paused for a while to calm down, then put down the imperial pen heavily, stood up and paced back and forth twice. Finally, he couldn't help but raise his hand and pointed outside the hall, saying hatefully: "Look at him, he's so worthless!"

Seeing this, Huaizhong quickly handed over a cup of warm tea and said with a smile, "Our young prince has a strong and sincere temperament in his bones. He is exactly like his mother. He looks exactly like her in her youth."

The official was startled when he heard this, and his hand trembled slightly as he took the teacup. After a long while, he nodded sadly, looked at the darkening sky outside the hall, and remained silent.

Zhe Rou went to the west of the city to see a patient during the day, and when she returned it was already dusk and the sky was getting dark.

Ever since she was intercepted by Lu Chen last time, Nan Heng and Pingchuan have been following her all day long, never leaving her side, and guarding her so closely that she couldn't escape even if she grew wings.

Not to mention that after what happened with Zhou Xiao, she was really scared and worried that she would implicate others again. Now she could only walk around in Shangjing City under the pretext of going out to practice medicine, both to relax and get some fresh air, and to familiarize herself with the directions of the streets and alleys. It was just a precaution and to leave a way out.

As the carriage passed Panlou, the night market was gradually becoming bustling. As they moved further into the street where small goods were sold, the crowds grew denser, making it difficult for the carriage to move forward. Zhe Rou simply got off and slowly walked towards the medicine shop.

Not far away, she suddenly caught a glimpse of a familiar face in the bustling crowd.

The facial features seemed familiar, yet somewhat unfamiliar, as if she had seen it wrong.

As she hesitated, the man apparently saw her. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he stood on tiptoe and waved at her across the crowd of people on the street: "Jiu, Jiu Niang!"

This time, it was clearer than ever that it was indeed Ye Yian.

Zhe Rou couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

I thought we would never see each other again after that day in Yangzhou, but who would have thought we would meet in the huge city of Shangjing.

Ye Yian was overjoyed to see an old friend. He quickly pushed through the crowd in front of him and squeezed towards her.

When he got closer and saw her appearance clearly, Ye Yian was stunned for a moment.

Unlike her previous attire of a straw hat and a cloth skirt, she now wore a brocade jacket with cloud patterns, a pearl necklace in her hair, and was followed by strong guards. She looked like the wife of a wealthy official.

"Master Ye." Seeing him stunned, Zhe Rou pursed her lips and smiled, then spoke first, "The first month of the year is just over, why are you here in Shangjing?"

Ye Yian came back to his senses and replied a little embarrassedly: "This year, the government is holding a special examination. I, I will try again." As he said this, he quietly adjusted the sleeves of his scholar's robe uncomfortably.

Zhe Rou couldn't help but smile at his expression and said softly, "So that's the case. Then I wish Master Ye success in the imperial examinations and the top prize in the imperial examinations."

Upon hearing this, Ye Yian lowered his head slightly and smiled shyly, "Thank you, thank you Jiuniang for your kind words."

After all, she had received his kindness in the past, and it was rare for them to meet again. Zhe Rou raised her hand and pointed to the shop with a green cloth sign in front of her, and said politely with a smile: "My shop is not far ahead. If you have time, Mr. Ye, you may come over to have some hot tea and rest your feet."

"Thank you very much, Ninth Lady, for your kindness." Ye Yian hesitated for a moment, then waved his hand and turned to point to the cloth shop across the street. "My boss is still waiting at the cloth shop. To be honest, I came to the capital this time for business... I heard that the Western Qiang are planning to marry into the Great Zhou, so there will be a lot of merchants and caravans coming and going. I also want to see if I can do more cloth business with the Qiang people."

Hearing this, Zhe Rou's eyes moved slightly.

He said it unintentionally, but the listener took it seriously.

Over the past few days, she had thought of many ways to escape, but no matter whether she went by water or by official road, any way out of the city would require verification of the credentials, which would easily leave clues that could not be hidden from Lu Chen's eyes and ears. Now, she thought that the only exception was the Xiqiang caravan.

At present, the Western Qiang are planning to make peace with the Great Zhou, and this matter is of great importance. When these caravans pass through the city gates, the garrison will most likely give them some leeway and will not conduct strict inspections to avoid conflicts that they cannot afford.

If he could sneak into the Western Qiang caravan and take advantage of the opportunity to leave the capital together, it might be a way to cover his whereabouts.

"Jiu Niang?" Seeing her lost in thought, Ye Yian hesitantly called out softly.

Zhe Rou came back to her senses in an instant, pursed her lips and smiled, and the two of them exchanged a few more pleasantries, but with Nan Heng following behind her, she didn't want to ask too much for the time being.

Just as she was about to say goodbye to Ye Yian, she suddenly felt a tingling sensation in her spine, as if someone was looking at her.

I subconsciously turned my head and looked around, and my eyes were unexpectedly met with a pair of dark and cold eyes.

Lu Chen was standing not far behind her, wearing a black fox cloak, his face was slightly pale, his thin lips were pursed into a sharp line, and he stared at her coldly.