Chapter 49 The Traitor
This sudden ambush ended in a Pyrrhic victory for Qin Lie and his men.
All the thieves were killed, and seven or eight of their personal guards also died, while the rest were all wounded.
Only Lingyi and Ji'an were unharmed—except for the tingling sensation in her knee after being hit by a pebble.
The group dared not go any further and stayed overnight in a nearby village, waiting for someone to pick them up.
For a few dozen taels of silver, one could rent houses in half a village. Apart from the wounded who couldn't move, everyone else was either tidying up the houses or setting up outside to prevent the thieves from attacking again.
Everyone wore a solemn expression, for this mission, which was originally very secretive, had been ambushed.
Regardless of who is so bold as to attempt to assassinate the Prince of Duan, the fact that they have such a keen understanding of their whereabouts suggests there must be a traitor within their ranks.
Qin Xiaoshan came over and "invited" Lingyi to go and take care of the injured Qin Lie.
Of all these people, she is the most innocent—if she were the mole, the knife would never have been used to slash Gian.
The farmhouse where Qin Lie lived was surrounded by more than a dozen guards, who were wary not only of outsiders but also of each other.
Lingyi followed Qin Xiaoshan into the house, where Qin Lie was applying medicine to his right arm with his left hand.
Although a doctor was with him, so many of the guards outside were injured, and each one was more seriously injured than him. Qin Lie told him to go and treat the wounded first, and that he would take care of his own injuries.
But the wound was on the outside of his left arm, which made it difficult for him to even look at it, let alone apply medicine.
Lingyi walked over and said softly, "Your Highness, let me apply the medicine for you."
Qin Lie looked up at her, his expression unfriendly, but he still put down the medicine bottle in his hand.
Lingyi took the medicine bottle, turned his arm over, and exposed the wound.
Although Qin Lie and his men were disguised as merchants, they wore light armor under their outer garments.
Nevertheless, he still had a cut on his arm from the knife, running across his right arm, almost exposing the bone. Although it had been simply bandaged before, the bleeding was still flowing slowly.
Despite being mentally prepared, Lingyi still couldn't help but gasp when she suddenly saw the red wound.
Qin Lie tried to pull his hand back, but she pressed it down and gently scolded, "Don't move!"
He stopped what he was doing and watched as her eyelashes trembled incessantly, clearly frightened, yet she carefully cleaned his wound. Then she picked up the medicine bottle, opened the cap, and poured the powder evenly onto the wound.
The hemostatic powder is an essential item for marching, with excellent effects, but it also causes severe pain when used.
When the powder was poured into the wound, he couldn't help but shudder and let out a muffled groan.
She looked up at him and asked anxiously, "Does it hurt?"
Qin Lie was momentarily dazed; many years ago, she had applied medicine to him in the same way and asked him the same question.
Does it hurt? Does it hurt?
He had forgotten how he had answered her, only remembering that the sweet nectar from her mouth was the best painkiller.
She is still before him now, her long eyelashes covering her affectionate peach blossom eyes, her gaze filled with worry as she looks at him, her tenderness unchanged.
Even her cherry lips remained a vibrant red, exuding endless allure with every opening and closing.
He could feast to his heart's content as long as he bent down.
He turned his gaze away and sneered, "The princess would love for me to die under the blade of a thief so that she can run away with your nephew. But I only suffered superficial injuries and am not in mortal danger. She should be disappointed, so why bother with this hypocritical act?"
After he finished speaking, without listening to the person's explanation, he felt a warm needle on his forearm. Turning his head, he saw that her red lips were slightly parted, her eyes were lowered, and her eyelashes were wet. Just now, a tear had fallen.
A land of beauties, a graveyard of heroes; who could bear to be so heartbroken by a beauty?
Qin Lie felt a surge of pain and a burning sensation in his chest. He almost reached out to pull her into his arms and kiss away the tears from her eyes, but the thought only flashed through his mind before he flew into a rage. If it weren't for the fact that back in Zhuozhou, he had summoned the palace maids who had served her and questioned them in detail about her words and actions when she was with Song Pingkou, he might have been bewitched by her too!
Unfortunately, he already knew all her tricks.
It's laughable that Song Pingkou was like that, completely manipulated and controlled by her through her hypocritical tenderness and tears.
He not only defied public opinion to marry her, but also protected Emperor Chengtai and his son for her sake, ultimately dying at her hands.
He sneered, "What? You think that shedding a few tears will make me forgive your previous attempt to escape?"
Lingyi's intentions were seen through by him, so she wiped away her tears, carefully applied the medicine powder to his wound, and then carefully bandaged his left arm before quietly stepping aside.
The movements, while not exactly expertly executed, were not exactly rusty either.
Qin Lie recalled what the palace maid had said.
"His Majesty...His Majesty cherishes our Consort dearly...Although she is not the Empress, His Majesty specially bestowed upon her the palace closest to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, showering her with gifts daily. Unless His Majesty is truly too busy to visit the inner palace, he comes to her palace every day. Even when she is unable to attend to His Majesty in bed, he still comes to speak with her...Her...Her Majesty is also deeply devoted to His Majesty. Back in the General's Mansion, when the late Emperor did not return home, she would wait for him no matter how late it was. Whenever His Majesty came, she personally arranged all his food and clothing, never entrusting it to anyone else..."
She had naturally bandaged Song Pingkou's wounds before, and after bandaging them, she would never have remained silent with her head down like she is now.
She is sure to be gentle and considerate, but if she uses even a fraction of her skills, how could that fool Song Pingkou possibly resist?
He would surely hold her in his arms, tenderly caressing her, their lips meeting, their breath mingling, and perhaps even...
Thinking of this, Qin Lie suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with murderous intent, staring intently at Ling Yi.
Lingyi felt as if she were being stared at by a venomous snake, and a chill ran through her heart. For a moment, the only thought in her mind was to escape, but her legs were too weak, and she had to lean against the table to stand up.
"Qin Xiaoshan!" Qin Lie shouted.
Qin Xiaoshan entered through the door, bowed respectfully, and said, "Your Highness." After presenting the token, he withdrew.
"Has the mole been found?"
Qin Xiaoshan said, "Your Highness, the mole was caught red-handed when he left the mark on the tree. He has confessed to how many messages he passed, who he contacted, and the silver he received. However... he does not know if there are any other moles."
"Bring him here!" Qin Lie ordered, then looked at Ling Yi: "Since the princess is here, she can also see the consequences of betraying me."
Before the mole was brought in, Lingyi asked Qin Xiaoshan suspiciously, "Since he is your prince's personal guard, how could there be a mole?"
Qin Lie has been leading armies and fighting for so many years, how could the personal guards he personally selected be so incompetent?
Qin Xiaoshan respectfully replied, "Each family's personal guards originally required about ten years of training and selection. Many of the Prince's previous personal guards grew up with him. But later..." He paused, realizing he shouldn't have said certain things, but he really wanted the princess to know. He steeled himself and continued, "Later, when the princess lived in Huangzhou, the Empress—then the Princess Consort—wanted her life and sent Qin's elite elite assassins. The Prince sent his personal guards to protect her, and they suffered considerable losses. Later, the Prince went to Zhuozhou and was ambushed from afar, barely escaping with his life. Almost all of his personal guards were killed or wounded. The current personal guards have only been promoted in the last few years. They need to be highly skilled in martial arts and extremely loyal, which is not an easy task. Especially since the Prince should have returned to the capital with the army, most of his personal guards remained in the army to avoid suspicion, which is how the enemy took advantage of the situation."
As he spoke, he kept a close eye on Lingyi's expression. Seeing that she remained completely unmoved, he was secretly annoyed by her cold-heartedness and spoke again: "His Highness..."
Seeing Qin Lie return from outside, she quickly swallowed the rest of her words and went into the courtyard with Lingyi.
The mole was tied up and brought to the courtyard. Upon seeing Qin Lie, he hurriedly kowtowed and begged for mercy, claiming that he had only been temporarily bewitched and misled.
No matter how much he wept, Qin Lie only sighed softly: "I have never treated you badly."
The traitor knelt and shuffled towards his feet. "Your Highness! I was just momentarily blinded by greed. My elderly mother is seriously ill, and I was desperate. That's why I was lured by someone with malicious intent! But I'm illiterate, and apart from leaving marks on this road, I've never done anything to wrong Your Highness! Please, for the sake of how many years I've followed you, spare my life!"
The guards who escorted him angrily said, "The prince's pay was generous enough. It's clear you're a compulsive gambler who fell into someone's trap. You've harmed so many brothers who shared life and death with you, and now you're trying to pin the blame on your own mother. You deserve to die!"
Qin Lie raised his hand to stop him, and said gently to the traitor, "I didn't expect you to be such a filial son. I will not let you down. I will take your head back and reunite it with your family. Don't worry, I will not leave out your parents, wife and children."
The traitor was stunned for a moment, and when he realized what was happening, his face immediately turned pale. "Your Highness! Your Highness! This was all my doing, it has nothing to do with my family! They know nothing about what I did! Please! Please spare them, I'll take my own life, please spare them, Your Highness!"
He kowtowed heavily, until his head bled, and his voice was hoarse from screaming.
Many guards showed signs of reluctance, but Qin Lie remained unmoved. Instead, he smiled slightly at Lingyi and said, "Princess, watch carefully."
Before Lingyi could understand what he meant, he had already raised his knife and severed the head of the traitor.
Fresh blood gushed from her severed neck, and the heat hit her face, soaking her clothes.
Lingyi had never seen such a scene before. Despite being so horrified, she stood there frozen, staring intently at the corpse, her face growing paler and paler.
Qin Lie, who was originally beside her, suddenly turned around, supported her swaying body, and blocked her view.
She grabbed his arm, bent over and gagged, only to see the head roll a few times on the ground before coming to rest right at her feet.
Lingyi's vision went black, and she completely lost consciousness.
When I woke up again, it was already late and it was pitch black outside the window.
Inside the village house, on the wooden table, the oil lamp was dimly lit.
A man sat at the table, deeply hidden in the darkness. When she woke up, got up, and walked over, it was Qin Lie.
As soon as he reached out, she seemed to smell the fresh scent of blood and instinctively flinched back.
Qin Lie stopped what he was doing and slowly stood up. Because of the backlight, it was difficult to tell what was on his face.
After what had just happened, Lingyi felt a chill in her heart and avoided him as she got off the bed at the foot of the bed. Only then did she realize that she had changed her clothes and was no longer wearing the blood-stained clothes from before.
She stepped back a few paces from the bedside, glanced at the closed door, and finally resignedly turned around, bowing her head in a submissive posture.
That's right, Qin Lie thought. She should be afraid of him.
He'll only be obedient if you're afraid of him; he'll only listen if you're afraid of him.
If she hadn't been spoiled so much before, she wouldn't have made such an unforgivable mistake.
It turned out she wasn't always indifferent and watching from the sidelines; it turned out she could be afraid. So he was no longer helpless against her.
He should have held that bloody head up in front of her and shown her what fate awaited those who betrayed him!
But why did I instinctively block her view at that moment?
What I shouldn't have done at this moment was to see her panicked eyes and pale face. Instead of feeling relieved, I felt a pang of sadness and regret.
The two stood in the dimly lit village house. The house was so small, and the two were not far apart, yet silence stretched between them like a silver river.
So close, yet so unattainable.
Actually, neither of them were talkative people to begin with. The few words they exchanged when they were alone before were just Qin Lie teasing her on purpose.
He was mature beyond his years, quick to act but cautious in speech, and never liked to get into arguments or disputes.
He just loved teasing her, watching her struggle to maintain her princess demeanor, only to be rendered blushing and embarrassed by his few words.
Occasionally, when she got angry, she would only glare at him angrily, without any hint of force.
It's like the tabby cat finally mustered the courage to scratch its owner, but all it had were thick paw pads, which made the owner feel all soft and tingly.
Now, all she has left is the skill to shed tears; it has been a very long time since she has ever blushed for him.
It wasn't just this reunion that marked the moment he took her child; no, it was even earlier, from the moment he refused to save her brother, the Crown Prince. Her heart had already turned cold towards him.
Yes, that's how cold-blooded she is.
Such a petite body harbors such a great spirit.
Does he not have any temper of his own?!
Qin Lie thought bitterly, even among ordinary women, those who eloped and remarried would not escape the punishment of being drowned in a pig cage, let alone someone of his status and position!
The princess of Yongjia, whom the previous emperor had betrothed to him, became Song Pingkou's wife in the blink of an eye.
He even proclaimed it to the world like that; who wouldn't want to laugh at him?!
His military exploits were so numerous that his enemies were terrified, but she was the only stain on his reputation.
When two armies clash, isn't the other side using it to ridicule and mock them?
Not to mention the numerous rumors and fabrications spread by ordinary people, which are simply unbearable to hear!
She committed such a grave mistake, and since their reunion, she still shows no remorse, which demonstrates that this is her nature and difficult to change.
But is it only now that he realizes what kind of person she is?
No, he had sensed it from the beginning, but he arrogantly assumed that she was always under his control and never paid any attention to her.
At this very moment, she was right before their eyes, and the entire world belonged to the Qin family.
Even if she escaped again, she would have nowhere to go and no one to rely on, and she could only live under his control.
But why, when I let go of his hand, is my palm empty? It feels like there's a gaping hole in my chest, with only the howling wind remaining?
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