On the mountaintop, which was flattened to waist height by bombing, lay the remains of over a hundred bandits who had acted as executioners...
If they had been merciful, nearly three hundred people from the Prince's Mansion and the Duke of Protectorate would now be lying dead in the wilderness.
Even if they sought help from Anqing and Anping, they could anticipate the reactions from the officials in those two counties.
Zheng Chengguang looked at the half-burnt fuse and saltpeter in his palm, squeezed it hard, and it turned into fluff and powder, which floated in the air.
Physical evidence is what people who are serious about resolving a matter consider proof.
In the eyes of the accomplices, it was nothing more than a death warrant for false accusations and framing.
Zheng Chengguang truthfully reported the findings of his investigation to Xie Zhun.
Zheng Ye arranged Xu Yan's men properly, with some returning to the capital and others waiting on the way to provide support and relay information.
Of the people remaining from the Prince's Mansion and the Duke of Huguo's Mansion, there were fewer than two hundred, and of them, fewer than sixty were skilled in martial arts.
Strategic deployment is of utmost importance; if a powerful enemy attacks, even occupying a strategically important location will make the response extremely difficult.
Uncle Zheng Chengguang and his nephew Zheng Ye discussed how to arrange guards for defense and came up with basic ideas before seeking Xie's approval.
"Your Highness..."
"Your Highness..."
Ning Xi'er, carrying her needle case, walked to Xie Zhun's carriage and heard Zheng Chengguang and Zheng Ye exclaim in surprise.
Xie Zhun replied in a calm voice, "It's alright, please continue."
Not far away, Xuanfeng and the others bowed to Ning Xier.
Ning Xi'er nodded, standing neither too close nor too far.
The people inside the carriage seemed to be discussing the arrangement of guards.
Xie Zhun seemed to agree to Zheng Chengguang and Zheng Ye's initial arrangements for the guards.
However, they were asked to conduct a survey of the mountain terrain and surrounding topography as soon as possible before making detailed arrangements.
From where Ning Xi'er stood, Xie Zhun, Zheng Chengguang, and Zheng Ye could all see her profile from inside the carriage.
She stood there confidently, and the people inside spoke without any hesitation.
After discussing the deployment, the next topic was the supply of provisions. The supplies that had been allocated to the bandits' families were not taken back when they were released from the mountains, even in the event of a fight. This was done out of consideration for the elderly, women, and children.
The group was large, and the supplies that could have lasted for half a month could only last for a week at most after being consumed in the past few days and taken away by the bandits' families.
Xie Zhun suddenly glanced in the direction where Ning Xi'er was standing, and Zheng Ye tacitly lifted the curtain, inviting Ning Xi'er to discuss it together.
Ning Xi'er then took her needle bag and boarded the carriage.
Zheng Chengguang and Zheng Ye recognized the item in Ning Xi'er's hand. Remembering that she had been unconscious for several days and His Highness had not received acupuncture for several days, they made an excuse to get off the carriage first and discuss the matter after His Highness finished administering the acupuncture.
As the two got out of the car, they felt grateful to Ning Xi'er and clasped their hands in a fist salute.
She was recovering from serious injuries and hadn't had much rest, and she was still worried about the prince's health...
After the two got out of the car, Ning Xi'er sat down closer and carefully observed Xie Zhun's expression.
Seeing that he looked a little tired and his face was pale, Ning Xi'er reached out and directly touched his eyelids and lips to examine his facial features.
"Reach out your hand."
Ning Xi'er's words were concise and to the point.
Xie Zhun did as he was told, extending one wrist.
Ning Xi'er placed his wrist on the small table and immediately focused on taking his pulse.
Then, on his own, he lifted the hem of Xie Zhun's clothes to examine his leg muscles and skin color.
The way it handled it with ease suggested that it was very familiar with the owner of the limb, and there was a sense of intimacy between them.
After the examination, Ning Xi'er felt slightly relieved. The past few days had been mentally and physically exhausting, causing blood and qi stagnation, which had deepened the color of the poison in her calves...
Fortunately, Xuan Lei and Xuan Dian must have been massaging Xie Zhun's legs regularly every day, as the skin on his legs is much looser than before he fell into a coma.
Just as Ning Xi'er was about to pull her hand away and open the needle bag to perform acupuncture on Xie Zhun, her hand was unexpectedly grasped by a pair of icy hands.
"No rush..."
Xie Zhun's voice was calm, his face pale, yet he wore a smile.
"Let's see about other patients first..."
Ning Xi'er's expression changed, and she asked in confusion, "Is there anything else that's bothering you?"
Strange, she just took his pulse, and apart from the poisoning, all other pulse signs were normal...
Seeing her confusion, Xie Zhun slightly curved his lips and took the hand he was holding in his own...
Then, gently pull it and place it on your heart.
"This area needs to be treated."
A blush instantly crept onto Ning Xi'er's cheeks.
She felt embarrassed and tried to pull her hand away, but Xie Zhun wasn't very strong, and she couldn't manage to pull it out.
Xie Zhun looked directly into her eyes. "If you say you can't cure it, then I won't force you..."
Ning Xi'er lowered her head at some point, not daring to look him in the eye.
This is clearly a good opportunity to clarify things with him, so as to avoid awkwardness and turning into enmity when they meet again in the future...
For some reason, Xu Gonggong's words kept replaying in her mind, as well as the stories of Haitang and the other four maids telling her how Xie Zhun had worried about her and cared for her tirelessly while she was unconscious...
Back in her sea of consciousness, during her final farewell to the original owner of this body, although she was completely unaware of everything that had happened outside, the warmth of Xie Zhun's tight embrace, and the touch on her forehead, meant she wasn't entirely oblivious...
As for when she fell in love with Xie Zhun, it's unclear.
She didn't shy away from expressing her feelings; after all, it was a fortunate thing to be able to fall for such a brilliant and talented man.
She was just worried about how to repay the man who now held her in his heart and in her hands...
She wanted to trust, yet feared repeating the mistakes of the original owner and being trapped in the deep palace.
I want to accept it, but I'm worried I won't be able to handle it. Once everything is over, I'll choose my own freedom...
Time seemed to be passing by extra slowly, and the person who held her hand in their heart seemed to have more patience than she did, waiting for an answer.
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