Whether it was due to excessive nervousness or fear, or both, Shen Youying's body went limp, and she couldn't help but vomit.
Xue Shen, standing nearby, sternly shouted, "Useless trash! Are they all dead? What are you standing there for?!"
The stunned crowd finally came to their senses, some protecting the emperor, some carrying people, and others summoning the imperial physician.
Shen Youying felt better after vomiting, but her face looked a little pale.
"I'm fine."
She didn't actually feel that scared, but she just couldn't control herself.
Xue Shen supported her, frowning as he said, "We should call the imperial physician to take a look, lest we frighten ourselves into illness."
Shen Youying raised her face, about to say no, but after seeing Xue Shen's face clearly, she suddenly lost her voice. After a long while, she touched Xue Shen's lips with trembling hands: "Your Highness, you..."
Her fingers were stained with dark red blood.
Xue Shen seemed to realize something only then, raising his hand to casually wipe his lips. Upon seeing the bright red bloodstains, his brows furrowed almost into a knot. He seemed somewhat annoyed, casually picking up the teacup beside him to rinse his mouth, spitting out a mouthful of bloody water.
The scene was so bloody and horrifying that everyone was momentarily speechless.
Even Emperor Cheng'an, who came to inquire about the two, showed a complicated expression and urged repeatedly, "Quickly summon the Imperial Physician!"
Xue Shen, however, acted as if it were nothing out of the ordinary: "It's nothing, just a relapse of an old ailment." He even had time to say to Shen Youying, "Go back and rest first, and have the imperial physician take a look."
Tears welled up in Shen Youying's eyes, and with a heavy nasal voice, she supported him, saying, "Your Highness, please don't speak yet."
The imperial physician arrived quickly. After taking Xue Shen's pulse, he said gravely, "Your Highness already has a pre-existing condition and needs to rest. Forcing yourself to exert yourself has damaged your internal organs..."
Emperor Cheng'an recalled how Xue Shen, sitting in his wheelchair, had shot arrow after arrow as if divinely aided, single-handedly killing the White Tiger.
Xue Shen in that state was more feared than the Crown Prince who had gained a reputation for virtue in his early years.
Even in that critical moment, his first thought was—Xue Shen had been hiding his true abilities all along.
All that decadence and debauchery he had before was just an act.
But now, seeing him spitting blood and lying listlessly in a wheelchair, those suspicions dissipated.
The words of the Imperial Physician, in particular, put his mind at ease.
No matter how valiant he is, he's still just a useless person forced to exert himself.
Emperor Cheng'an felt somewhat relieved and treated Xue Shen with even greater kindness: "Bring my imperial carriage here and send Prince Qin and Princess Qin to Wenhe Hall to recuperate. Use the best medicines you need and make sure they are cured!"
The imperial physician ordered that the patient tremble.
Soon the imperial guards brought the imperial carriage and carried the barely breathing King Qin onto it.
The imperial carriage was large enough that Shen Youying could have sat on it, but she was afraid of bumping into Xue Shen, so she insisted on walking alongside the imperial carriage to the Wenhe Hall.
After the couple left, Emperor Cheng'an's gentle expression turned serious, revealing a hint of danger unique to emperors.
He stood with his hands behind his back, slowly surveying the room, and said coldly, "These are the elite Imperial Guards, hundreds of them, yet they couldn't even stop a single tiger! What use are you good-for-nothings to me?!"
Zhou Qing, the commander of the Palace Guard, immediately knelt down to admit his mistake, and the imperial guards present also knelt down to apologize.
"It is our incompetence that has led us to this."
"You're not just incompetent! You're utterly useless! You even have to trouble the ailing King of Qin to clean up your messes!"
Emperor Cheng'an spoke tactfully, but everyone present, including Zhou Qing, lowered their heads in shame.
The emperor practically said that they were not even as good as useless people.
Emperor Cheng'an unleashed a torrent of anger before turning to the dead white tiger: "How did this white tiger manage to break through the layers of defenses in the hunting grounds?"
With the emperor himself present and wild beasts roaming the hunting grounds, the defenses could not be relaxed.
But the white tiger somehow managed to bypass all the defenses and break into the training ground. Given Emperor Cheng'an's suspicious nature, it was hard not to think things through.
He almost immediately associated the White Tiger with assassination.
Zhou Qing wiped the sweat from his forehead, lowering his head even further: "Your Majesty, I will arrange for people to investigate immediately."
Seeing his clueless and stupid appearance, Emperor Cheng'an couldn't help but curse him again as "useless": "Send people to set up smoke signals and summon back the Crown Prince and Prince Chen."
"Then skin the white tiger and send it to the King of Qin."
Seeing the chaos on the training ground, Emperor Cheng'an lost all interest and immediately ordered the carriage to return to the imperial palace.
Zhou Qing agreed, and only after Emperor Cheng'an had left did he direct his men to begin cleaning up the mess.
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