Chapter 14 She suddenly looked up and realized that Xiao Heng was unaware of her presence...
The assassin was stunned for a moment. He hadn't expected Gu Xi not to recognize him. He remained silent for a moment, then raised his hand and pulled off his mask.
"Your Majesty..." Gu Xi exclaimed in surprise!
Xiao Heng made a shushing gesture, and Gu Xi quickly covered her mouth.
Gu Xi was taken aback. She never expected that this "assassin" would actually be Emperor Xiao Heng. What exactly happened in the palace tonight?
When she learned that the "assassin" was Xiao Heng, Gu Xi's fear dissipated considerably. Although she still didn't understand what had happened in the palace that night, it seemed that Xiao Heng wouldn't harm her for the time being.
"Your Majesty, are you injured?" Gu Xi asked worriedly.
"It's nothing, just a minor injury."
The moonlight from outside the window shone into the room, and Gu Xi then noticed a small pool of blood on the floor. Following the direction of the bloodstain, she saw Xiao Heng clutching his abdomen with his hand, but blood was still dripping uncontrollably onto the floor.
He was badly injured!
"Your Majesty, please sit down first. I'll go get the medicine." Gu Xi helped Xiao Heng sit on the bed and, imitating how Zhu Yin usually took care of her, placed two cushions behind Xiao Heng's back.
Xiao Heng watched Gu Xi rummaging through drawers and cabinets in the darkness. Her movements were very quiet, probably because she didn't want to disturb the maid guarding the door.
She took a wooden box out of the cabinet, examined its contents by the moonlight, and after rummaging around for a while, seemed to have found what she was looking for, and her brows immediately relaxed.
The moonlight streaming through the window shone on one side of her face, the interplay of light and shadow highlighting her stunning beauty. In the dim moonlight, he could see every expression on the woman's face with exceptional clarity, and her clear, spring-like eyes gradually calmed Xiao Heng's restless heart.
He hadn't felt any pain before, but now that he relaxed, the pain in his abdomen became even more pronounced, and before he knew it, beads of sweat were forming on his forehead.
Gu Xi carried the wooden box to Xiao Heng's side. She sat down by the bed and said, "Your Majesty, let me bandage you first. I have limited medicinal herbs here, so I can only use the cloth strips to stop the bleeding for now. I will apply medicine after the bleeding stops."
Her medicine box mostly contained oral medicines. The only external medicine was the muscle-regenerating ointment her father had given her when she was beaten by Consort Wan. At that time, in order to make it easier to apply the medicine, Zhu Yin had also gone to the Imperial Hospital to ask for some steamed cloth strips. Fortunately, there were still some left.
Xiao Heng nodded upon hearing this.
"Your Majesty, it will hurt a little, please bear with it." Gu Xi said as she took out a handkerchief, folded it into the shape of a small square brick, and gestured for Xiao Heng to bite it.
Xiao Heng stared at her hand for a while, then took the handkerchief and said, "No need."
Gu Xi didn't force him. She deftly lifted Xiao Heng's outer garment, revealing that his white inner garment was stained red with blood. The wound was stuck to the clothing, making it look somewhat mangled.
Gu Xi carefully removed the clothes from the wound. The wound was being pulled, and blood was gushing out. Gu Xi didn't dare to stop for a moment and quickly picked up a strip of cloth and pressed it onto the wound.
She had tried to be as gentle as possible, but Xiao Heng still groaned in pain, large beads of sweat dripping from his forehead and onto the back of Gu Xi's hand.
"Your Majesty, are you alright?" Gu Xi asked anxiously, her hand still pressing down on the body.
"Hmm," Xiao Heng responded with difficulty, his breath sounding somewhat weak.
After an unknown amount of time, Gu Xi saw that the blood had stopped gushing out. She took a new strip of cloth, applied some muscle-regenerating ointment, and placed it on the wound. The wound was very deep and looked shocking.
"Are you scared?" Xiao Heng suddenly asked.
Gu Xi shook her head.
She studied medicine with her master and fellow apprentices for many years and also treated injured people with them on the road. She had seen injuries even more serious than this.
With one hand, she held the dressing in place over the wound, while with the other hand, she took one end of the strip of cloth and wrapped it around Xiao Heng's lower back. Then, she switched hands and wrapped the strip of cloth from his lower back to the front. She worked alternately with both hands until she finally finished bandaging the wound.
After doing all this, Gu Xi let out a long sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve.
"Your Majesty, the wound should not get wet these next few days, and the bandages and dressings should be changed daily, otherwise it will easily become infected..."
As Gu Xi spoke, she lowered her head to pack her medicine box, but after a while, she didn't hear a reply. She thought Xiao Heng hadn't heard her and was about to repeat herself when she looked up and found Xiao Heng sitting on the bed with his eyes closed, his soft breathing sounding in her ear, as if he were asleep.
Gu Xi got up, put the medicine box back in its place, took a cloak from the cabinet next to her, and tiptoed back to the bedside.
She straightened Xiao Heng's clothes and covered him with a cloak, but he suddenly opened his eyes, looked around warily, and when he realized it was Gu Xi, his eyes gradually became glazed, and he quickly fell back asleep.
Gu Xi was startled by him, thinking that this person was far too vigilant.
He didn't seem to be sleeping very soundly, his brows were slightly furrowed, whether from the pain of his wound or something unresolved in his mind, it was hard to tell.
Gu Xi looked at the sleeping man in front of her, the king of Sheng Kingdom, and recalled their several meetings, each time giving her a different feeling.
The first time was in the Imperial Garden. He clearly saved her from danger, yet he seemed so cold and heartless.
The second time was in the Tiyuan Hall, where the Imperial Concubine decided her fate with just a few words, while he merely watched coldly from the sidelines.
What followed was Biheyuan's relentless pressure, seemingly teasing her, but in reality, seeing through her thoughts and waiting for her to tear away her disguise layer by layer.
And tonight, he came with a secret, a king who sneaked into the palace at night, and was also seriously injured. His furrowed brows and unconscious appearance were no longer as aloof as she had seen him before, but instead carried a hint of vulnerability.
In the vast palace, she couldn't understand why Xiao Heng had come to her. He was so badly injured; logically, he should have hidden away with someone he could completely trust to be safe, but that person shouldn't be her.
She had only known him for a few days; she shouldn't have let him know such a secret.
Does this mean there's no one in the palace he can trust? If so, how did he manage to ascend the throne step by step over the years?
Gu Xi was suddenly filled with curiosity and doubt, but she knew that the only thing she could do now was not to ask or say anything, and to pretend that nothing had happened tonight.
Exhausted after a night of turmoil, she wiped the bloodstains off the floor, took a piece of clothing from the shelf beside the bed, draped it over herself, and closed her eyes, resting her head against the other side of the bed.
*
When Gu Xi woke up, she found herself lying in bed. Xiao Heng had left sometime last night.
If it weren't for the cloak by the bed, she would have thought last night was all a dream.
"Miss?" Zhu Yin entered the room and saw Gu Xi with her eyes open, seemingly lost in thought. She called out several times but received no response. "Miss, Miss, it's getting late. We need to go and pay our respects to the Imperial Concubine!"
Gu Xi snapped out of her daze at Zhu Yin's shouts and quickly got out of bed to do her hair and makeup.
Inside Xianfu Palace, everyone had arrived early, and Xiao Heng was also there. Could it be that he spent the rest of the night in Xianfu Palace?
After bowing, Gu Xi quickly found a seat.
"I'm sure all of you sisters have heard about what happened last night..." the Imperial Concubine said first.
Xiao Heng calmly sipped his tea. Gu Xi thought to herself that this man had a really good constitution. He had suffered such a serious injury, yet he was still acting as if nothing had happened. If it were her, she probably wouldn't be able to get up for three to five days. Thinking this, she actually felt a little envious of Xiao Heng.
Having tossed and turned half the night, Gu Xi couldn't help but yawn repeatedly. She listened to what the Imperial Concubine said in fits and starts, but she also caught quite a bit of the whispers among the other concubines.
Some said the assassins had failed to assassinate the emperor, others said they were there to steal valuables from the palace, still others said they were spies sent by an enemy country to steal the "Map of Mountains and Rivers," and some even said they were after the Empress Dowager's palace.
The first few possibilities sound plausible, but the Empress Dowager is a devout Buddhist and is currently still at Wanfo Temple. Why would she be targeted?
This doesn't seem quite right.
"In short, the assassin has been caught. His Majesty came here this morning specifically to reassure all the ladies... As for the assassin's motives, there's no need to speculate too much; the Dali Temple will investigate on its own."
"Your Majesty, was anyone injured last night...?"
"Your Highness, this humble servant..."
After the Imperial Concubine finished speaking, the other concubines began to chatter amongst themselves, and Gu Xi didn't hear a single word they said.
She was thinking about what the Imperial Concubine had just said.
They caught them?! Who were they arrested? Could they really have accomplices?
According to what was just said, Xiao Heng only arrived this morning. Does the Imperial Concubine know that Xiao Heng is the assassin?
After thinking for a while, Gu Xi couldn't resist the drowsiness and yawned. She had only slept for less than two hours last night and was really tired.
Consort Xue was about to say something more, but Xiao Heng suddenly spoke up, saying, "If there's nothing else, let's call it a day." After saying that, he glanced at Gu Xi, then quickly looked away.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Then all of you ladies may return to your respective palaces." The Imperial Concubine said, following Xiao Heng's suggestion.
"We, your humble servants, take our leave." The group said in unison.
Gu Xi felt as if he had been granted a pardon.
Back at Weiyang Palace, Cailian had already prepared breakfast. She had gotten up late today and hadn't had time to eat before leaving.
Gu Xi had just sat down and was about to pick up her chopsticks when Hua Yue mysteriously ran up to her.
"Your Majesty, I just found out that the assassin from last night has been caught!" Hua Yue whispered in Gu Xi's ear.
Zhu Yin, who was listening intently to hear what Hua Yue had found out, burst out laughing when she heard it.
"Sister Zhuyin, what are you laughing at?" Huayue looked at Zhuyin with some annoyance.
"The Imperial Concubine has already told everyone, so I guess everyone in the palace knows!" Zhu Yin said, unable to suppress a smile.
Gu Xi smiled and said, "Alright, Zhuyin, stop bullying Huayue. Sit down and have your meal."
"Miss, you should just spoil her!" Zhu Yin said with a hint of jealousy.
"Your Majesty is the best to me!" Hua Yue said, picking up a steamed bun and looking at Gu Xi with longing eyes.
Cailian stood to the side, looking completely unsurprised.
After breakfast, Gu Xi went back to her room and read for a while, then unknowingly fell asleep on the couch.
When Gu Xi woke up, the sun was almost setting.
Gu Xi stood up and called out to Zhu Yin.
Zhu Yin had been waiting outside the door. She noticed that Gu Xi seemed unusually tired today, so she didn't dare to disturb her. Only when she heard the call did she push the door open and enter. "Miss, you're awake? I didn't wake you because you were sleeping so soundly." Zhu Yin poured Gu Xi a glass of water and continued, "The food is still warm. I'll go get it for you."
"Hmm, have you eaten yet?"
"I've already eaten."
Zhu Yin quickly prepared the meal, but Gu Xi could only manage a couple of bites before being forced to drink a bowl of soup under Zhu Yin's "coercion".
By the time this was all over, it was already night.
Gu Xi wasn't sure if Xiao Heng would come again tonight; his wound needed a dressing change.
When Zhu Yin was helping him wash up tonight, she realized that she hadn't put on any makeup when Xiao Heng came last night, and she wondered if he had noticed anything. It was so dark last night, and he was seriously injured; he probably hadn't seen anything, right?
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), Gu Xi extinguished the candle, leaving only a small oil lamp, intending to finish reading the book she hadn't finished during the day.
She had just turned a few pages when she suddenly felt something was wrong. She looked up abruptly and realized that Xiao Heng had arrived at some point and was staring intently at her.
Gu Xi was startled; this person really walked without making a sound.
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