"Lord Gongxi, please be careful."
"Lord Gongxi, wait a moment, let's go together."
Everyone unconsciously regarded Gong Xishuo as their backbone.
Gong Xishuo was actually terrified, but his colleagues were cowardly, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and get out of bed.
When his colleagues offered to go along, he pretended to be calm and said, "It would be good to go out and take a look. If anyone is injured, we can lend a hand and do something to help."
One of the envoys said timidly, "His Highness's senior brothers are not only highly skilled in martial arts, but also knowledgeable in medicine. It seems there's nothing we can do."
"Even if we can't do much, we have to go and check. It's our duty to ensure His Highness's safe return to the capital!"
Gong Xishuo's tone was impatient, conveying a sense of disappointment and frustration.
It is said that scholars are useless, but he used to disagree.
Along the way, facing danger time and time again, Gong Xishuo's thinking began to change.
To hell with the Four Books and Five Classics and those who are knowledgeable about the world; whoever has the fastest sword is the boss.
He secretly decided that when he returned home, he would have his youngest son abandon his literary pursuits and take up a military career.
Gong Xishuo opened the door and led the group to the room where Nangong Zeyue was staying.
The door was ajar, and the room was empty.
"Is His Highness alright?" The envoy's voice trembled, his tongue began to tie itself in knots, and his gaze turned toward the hall.
Seeing that the hall was brightly lit and there was no sound of fighting, Gong Xishuo waved his hand and said, "Go to the hall."
In the hall, Nangong Zeyue and her senior brother calmly and methodically bandaged the wounds of their injured senior brothers.
"Thirteenth Brother, bear with it, it will hurt a bit without anesthetic." Nangong Jun sprinkled the wound medicine on his thirteenth junior brother's arm, then clipped the needle and thread from the strong liquor.
The thirteenth brother gritted his teeth, looking as if he were ready to die, and said, "Senior brother, please stitch me up. I'm not afraid of pain."
After bandaging another senior brother's wound, Nangong Zeyue turned around, picked up a cotton towel, rolled it up, and handed it to the thirteenth brother's mouth, saying, "Thirteenth brother, bite on this."
Without hesitation, the thirteenth son opened his mouth and bit the cotton towel.
The eldest brother had just received two stitches, and beads of sweat were already forming on his forehead.
The envoys entered and witnessed this bloody scene.
"So...so few people are left?" One of the envoys stumbled and almost fainted.
Nangong Zeyue turned her head and frowned slightly. "What did you say?"
Gong Xishuo glared at his colleague, "Don't say anything unlucky. The others have probably gone back to their rooms."
Nangong Zeyue instructed the envoys: "Lord Gongxi, please stay. The rest of you, go and fetch water to take to the clean room."
The envoys were stunned and didn't understand what he meant, but Gong Xishuo was the first to understand.
"Don't just stand there, the assassin's blood must have splattered on everyone, quickly fetch some water."
"Let's go now."
The envoys rolled up their sleeves and ran toward the well in the backyard of the inn.
The envoys brought water to the clean room and only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that everyone was all dressed neatly.
Everyone knows that the Crown Prince's senior brothers are their lifeline. If they lose their lifeline, they'll be like sleeping on the floor in an outhouse—close to excrement.
In the hall, Gong Xishuo glanced at the wound that was being stitched up; the cleaned wound was at least two inches long.
At first glance, it's shocking; the skin is split open, the muscles are turned outwards, revealing a patch of bright red underneath.
Gong Xishuo had never seen such a bloody scene before, and his legs trembled under his robes.
As the stitches were carefully put together, blood slowly seeped out, staining a large patch of the robe beneath the arm red with blood.
A strong smell of blood filled the air.
"Your Highness, this humble subject..."
Before Gong Xishuo could finish speaking, Nangong Zeyue said, "Quickly go find a pair of scissors."
"Your Majesty, I will go immediately."
The innkeeper and waiter were too frightened to come out, so Gong Xishuo took an oil lamp and walked to the counter.
Fortunately, scissors were found in a drawer in the counter.
After stitching up the wound, Nangong Jun took the ointment from Nangong Zeyue, applied it to the wound, and then carefully bandaged it.
Seeing that the area of the gauze soaked with blood was not large, Nangong Jun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The others in the hall were not seriously injured, and after tidying up, they went back to their rooms to rest.
Gong Xishuo brought out scissors and saw Nangong Jun cut off the thirteenth prince's clothes from the shoulder.
Nangong Zeyue picked up a handkerchief and helped wipe the blood off her body.
When Gong Xishuo saw that the water in the wooden basin on the ground had turned completely red, he quickly rolled up his sleeves and said, "Your humble servant will fetch a basin of water."
Gong Xishuo brought clean water, and Nangong Zeyue personally wiped her thirteenth brother's body until all the bloodstains were removed, and then changed him into clean clothes.
After tidying up, Nangong Zeyue and her senior brother escorted the thirteenth brother back to his room and settled him in before she went back to her room to rest.
Gong Xishuo led the envoys back to the house; it was already past dawn.
The night passed without incident, and everyone only managed a single, full night's sleep.
The next day.
A large group of people crossed the border in a grand procession.
The envoys changed into official robes, and the flags on the carriages bore the large character "Mo".
Nangong Zeyue, riding on horseback, wore a red robe with dark embroidery. He stood tall and straight, his clothes were gorgeous and flamboyant, and he had a confident smile on his lips.
It was as if everything was under his control.
He sat upright on horseback, his long robes fluttering in the wind, giving him an air of unrestrained freedom and inviolable holiness.
As they entered the territory of Liang, the people along the way stopped and stared at them with strange looks.
Someone exclaimed, "Look! The minister who went to Wanling has returned! Leading the way is the missing Crown Prince!" "Thank heavens! His Highness has returned!"
Upon hearing the exclamations, the people all knelt down.
"Welcome back, Your Highness!"
"Welcome back, Your Highness!"
The sound was loud.
Nangong Zeyue raised his arm and waved to the people. He was handsome and had a refined and elegant appearance.
His appearance was like a beautiful sight, attracting everyone's attention.
The people of Liang were more open-minded than those of Wanling. A girl in the crowd waved her handkerchief vigorously at Nangong Zeyue.
Nangong Zeyue's fox-like eyes, even when she wasn't smiling, exuded a captivating charm.
His gaze merely swept across the crowd, but the girl saw a tender look directed at her.
The girls immediately screamed with excitement.
As the horse moved forward, the screams around us were left behind.
Nangong Zeyue glanced to the side and saw his senior brother looking at him with a gaze that was hard to describe.
Nangong Jun was already used to it; his junior brother was handsome and attracted women wherever he went.
The local customs in Wanling place many restrictions on women, so even if the girls like something, they don't dare to be so wild.
Seeing what had just happened, Nangong Jun couldn't help but feel a pang of worry for his junior brother.
Nangong Zeyue never expected that her ostentatious display would have such a side effect.
Thirteenth Senior Brother's injuries were slightly more serious, making him unsuitable for riding a horse. He gave the carriage that Xiao Jingzhao had given him to his injured senior brothers.
Nangong Jun looked back at the prison cart shrouded in black cloth.
"Your Highness, what should be done with these people?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
