Night raid
Chu Chanyin chuckled and said nothing more. Zhao Youyi helped her sickly husband, who had a "not-so-good temper," into the clinic for treatment.
I noticed it as soon as I entered the city. The streets were sparsely populated, and there were only a few shops open. The clinic was especially deserted, with only one apprentice dozing off inside. He only opened his eyes groggily when someone came.
Zhao Youyi's visit to the clinic was not for her husband, who was pretending to be sick. A scout had sent a letter saying that when Zhao Youli was poisoned, the army doctor was helpless and hurriedly asked a doctor in the city to treat him, as a last resort.
And the doctor at Qingfengtang was one of them.
Chu Chanyin, who was feigning illness, was summoned to the doctor. The doctor, seeing his pale face, reached out and solemnly took his pulse: "Young master, is there anything wrong?"
Chu Chanyin coughed, looking even more frail: "Nausea, vomiting, and palpitations and dizziness, doctor, what's wrong with me?"
He was describing the symptoms of poisoning after consuming Tripterygium wilfordii.
With each word he uttered, the doctor's expression grew increasingly strange, until he looked up and saw the face of the person next to him.
This is—General Zhao!?
When the doctor saw Zhao Youyi beside him looking flustered, he turned to run away. Zhao Youyi quickly drew her sword and held it to the doctor's neck. It seemed she didn't need to use any tricks; the doctor recognized her.
"Why is this Doctor Liu in such a panic?" Zhao Youyi stared at him with a smile, her sword drawing closer to his neck. "Hurry up and treat my husband."
To Doctor Liu, the voice sounded like a ghost. The woman looked so much like General Zhao, especially when she tied her hair up and dressed as a man. He almost thought it was General Zhao's ghost coming to visit.
"Yes, yes," Doctor Liu hurriedly returned to Chu Chan's hiding place, his hand trembling as he took Chu Chan's pulse. Zhao Youyi did not sheath his sword, but instead twirled it. "I heard that Doctor Liu recently treated a general in the court."
Dr. Liu broke out in a cold sweat. "Young lady, I am just a doctor, what could I possibly know?"
Zhao Youyi naturally knew this, but she couldn't get involved in the military. The Zhao family army was ultimately the imperial army, and she was just a young woman from a noble family, so her situation in the capital was awkward.
"Then tell me what you know." Zhao Youyi smiled slightly. Because Doctor Liu was highly skilled, he was the only one invited into Zhao Youli's room for treatment; otherwise, she wouldn't have come to him.
Doctor Liu gritted his teeth. "The young lady is probably a relative of the general. The general fights for the country and is loved by the people. Naturally, there are many people who are envious. I was invited into the mansion, but I only saw the general once before I was kicked out by the people around him."
"No one is going to treat the general?" Chu Chanyin frowned upon hearing this, looking at Zhao Youyi with concern.
Doctor Liu nodded, recalling the scene from that day and feeling his blood freeze. "Most of the doctors in the city were invited to the general's temporary residence, but they were all sent back by the people in the mansion because their medical skills were not up to par. I have admired the general for a long time and I was determined to give it a try, but I only got to see the general once."
Zhao Youyi could guess that her brother's poisoning must be due to a traitor among his entourage, or even a close traitor, otherwise it would not have happened. However, she did not expect that this person would be so heartless, watching helplessly as her brother was tormented by the poison, neither giving him a quick death nor relieving his pain, but only calling for a doctor to rush back.
"Do you still remember what the person who drove you out of the manor looked like?" Zhao Youyi gripped the sword in her hand tightly, her voice trembling at the end. Chu Chanyin reached out and put his arm around her.
Doctor Liu had a vivid memory of that day and described the person's appearance in detail. Chu Chan borrowed paper and pen and drew the person's likeness. "Is this the person?"
Dr. Liu nodded quickly.
Zhao Youyi's gaze fell on the portrait. She was very familiar with that face. It was a subordinate whom her brother had promoted. Every year during festivals, he would come to the mansion to give gifts to her brother, treating him like his own brother.
Seeing that she was in a bad mood, Chu Chanyin dismissed Doctor Liu and gave him a bag of silver as compensation. "Doctor Liu, thank you. My wife was just emotional. Please don't blame her."
Doctor Liu took the silver and left quickly, but he couldn't help but say, "Young lady, let me say one more thing, the general's death is not so simple. Don't fight a losing battle with an egg. It will only lead to more losses than gains."
After saying that, he left in a hurry, and Zhao Youyi couldn't say a word of thanks or apology.
"Does my cousin know who is depicted in this painting?" Chu Chanyin asked, his gaze fixed on her with some concern.
As the two walked out of the clinic, they looked around at their surroundings. Zhao Youyi lowered his voice and said, "Let's discuss this matter when we get back to the inn."
Chu Chanyin keenly noticed the unusually quiet surroundings, indicating that there were quite a few people sent from Shenjing. He said with a smile, "Looks like we're being followed."
Zhao Youyi was not surprised. This departure from the capital was indeed eye-catching. Both her identity and Chu Chanyin's identity were enough to make people wary. Moreover, how could the emperor let go of Chu Chanyin, a thorn in his side?
As dusk fell and the streets became deserted, the two quickened their pace, and the assassins following behind exchanged glances and caught up.
“The King of Chu has been on the battlefield before, so be careful,” one of the assassins warned.
Because of the heavy casualties suffered in the last assassination attempt, the new recruits were all greenhorns. The assassin leader was a little worried and gave them a few words of advice. However, the newcomers, who had not experienced many assassination missions, did not take it seriously. Although they did not refute, they muttered a few words: "What young war god? He's just a sickly guy."
The assassin leader glared at him, and in that instant, the two men in front of him vanished. "Find them quickly! We can't let them get away!"
The group became more vigilant and gave chase. They saw a glimpse of a blue robe in the depths of the alley and followed. They saw a man in red robes and another in blue robes, each holding a sword that gleamed sharply in the moonlight.
"Tsk, cousin, how about giving me a few this time?" Chu Chan twirled his sword, a smile playing on his lips.
Zhao Youyi smiled and said, "Let's see who has the best skills!"
Chu Chanyin took the lead and flew forward to fight the assassin. His hair flew in the midst of the flashing swords and shadows, and his handsome face was full of confidence. He knocked the assassin down in a few moves.
Zhao Youyi looked at the mess on the ground and was speechless. Did he have to hold a grudge like that? It was just that she didn't leave him a few assassins last time, and this time he actually killed all of them and didn't leave her a single one.
“Cousin, did you really hold a grudge like this?” Zhao Youyi couldn’t help but say. The moonlight filled the alley, and she could even see the bloodstains splattered on his eyebrows and eyes.
Chu Chanyin looked at her, puzzled: "Cousin, what do you mean by this?"
He twirled his sword, concealing the blood-stained blade behind his back, and walked toward her, stopping a few steps away.
Zhao Youyi, puzzled, walked closer to him and looked up at him: "Is it because I killed all the assassins in front of you last time that you feel bad about it? You're a bit petty."
Chu Chanyin didn't know how she came to this conclusion. Under the moonlight, his eyebrows and eyes were as beautiful as a painting, and his skin was even more beautiful than the snow in the northern desert. "I was just afraid that their bloodstains would stain my cousin's dress. I didn't mean anything else."
Zhao Youyi was stunned for a moment when she heard this, and then she understood why he had stopped a few steps away from her. Her mind was in turmoil, and in the end she could only say: "There is an ancient saying that a gentleman is as gentle as jade. Now that I have seen the King of Chu, I understand the meaning of this saying."
Hearing such straightforward praise, Chu Chanyin humbly shook his head, "I am far from being a gentleman, but I deeply admire my cousin's extensive reading."
“Why be so modest, cousin? You are a thousand times better than those hypocrites who only offer empty advice but do nothing.” Zhao Youyi couldn’t help but feel nauseous at the thought of those sanctimonious scoundrels in the capital.
Chu Chanyin smiled slightly and reached out to ruffle her black hair: "Cousin is right, it's getting late, let's go back to the inn to rest."
Zhao Youyi nodded, her gaze falling on the corpse not far away. "Then what about this?"
"Someone will come and clean up later." Reassured by this answer, Zhao Youyi followed him away.
Back at the inn, Chu Chanyin ordered some easily digestible food and had the waiter bring it to his room. Zhao Youyi was washing up in the next room, and when he saw that it was about time, he knocked on her door.
Under the dim light, she was without makeup, her hair slightly damp, probably having just finished washing up. She was somewhat surprised to see that the person who came was Chu Chanyin: "Cousin Cong?"
Chu Chanyin lowered his eyes, avoiding looking at her. "I had someone bring some food to my room. I'll get it for you."
Zhao Youyi dared not let His Highness the Prince of Chu do such servant's work, but he also did not want to trouble Xiao Qing and the others, so he simply said, "Then shall we have our meal in my cousin's room? Does my cousin mind?"
Chu Chanyin naturally didn't mind.
It was getting late, so Chu Chanyin didn't have anyone prepare any fancy dishes. Instead, he had two bowls of bamboo shoot and fern wontons cooked in old hen soup, along with smooth and refreshing egg custard and stir-fried cabbage. Zhao Youyi wasn't a picky eater, and the two sat at the table to eat in silence.
"I didn't expect my cousin to like such simple home-style dishes." Seeing that Chu Chanyin had finished his meal, Zhao Youyi was somewhat surprised that he could calmly finish these simple dishes.
"I don't care much about food and drink," Chu Chanyin smiled. "I spend most of my time in the army, sharing meals with my soldiers, so I don't really care about these things."
Zhao Youyi nodded and continued to eat slowly and carefully.
As if remembering something, Chu Chanyin added, "However, the chefs in the Prince's mansion are quite skilled. Cousin, just tell them what you want to eat."
When the matter was brought up, Zhao Youyi fell silent, unsure how to answer him. She felt it wasn't appropriate to stay at the Chu Prince's residence, but... well, she'd deal with it when they got to Fuzhou.
Seeing that her hair was still a little damp, Chu Chanyin washed his hands and then took a dry cloth to help her wring her hair dry.
Zhao Youyi felt a little uncomfortable at Chu Chanyin's sudden approach. "Cousin, how could I trouble you to do this..."
"Don't move, eat properly." Chu Chanyin carefully wrung out her hair, his expression serious and his movements cautious, as if he were handling some precious treasure.
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward. A lone man and woman, newlyweds, childhood sweethearts… Zhao Youyi quickly shook her head to clear her mind of these thoughts and asked, “Cousin asked me earlier if I recognized the person in the portrait. Did you guess something?”
When Chu Chanyin saw her bring this up, he gave a soft "hmm," noticing that her expression was off.
“That man is called Min Guo. He is my brother’s deputy general. My brother saved him on the battlefield years ago, and he recognized my brother as his elder brother. He would come to the general’s mansion during festivals. I have seen him a few times.” Speaking of this man, Zhao Youyi’s expression darkened. No wonder Zhao Youli was so easily poisoned by the emperor. He never expected that the deputy general he trusted most was the emperor’s man.
Chu Chanyin put down the handkerchief and reached out to pat her shoulder reassuringly, only then realizing how shockingly thin she had become. She hadn't been able to eat much these past few days, having endured wind and rain. "What kind of person is he? From what you've said, it seems that you and Brother Nianling trust him quite a bit."
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