The more he thought about it, the more worried he became, and the more unwilling he was to die just like that, until he suddenly heard someone calling his name, over and over again. It was as if all the sorrow and despair had been lost, as if someone was torturing his heart, and he suddenly felt a strong will to survive.
He couldn't die, he absolutely couldn't die like this! His wife should be taken care of by himself, his daughter's husband should be chosen by him personally, and his parents should be taken care of by him until their old age!
The carriage drove towards the city and returned to the mansion. The servants were all shocked when they saw the couple in ragged clothes. Then they heard Shen Xinyan ordering someone to call a doctor, so they dared not delay any longer. The smart servants ran away immediately.
In the end, even the Grand Princess was alarmed and hurried over. When she saw the injuries on her son's body, she was horrified: "What happened? How did he become like this?!"
"Don't worry, it's just some minor injuries. The doctor has already examined them and applied medicine. They will be healed in a few days. Don't worry, mother." Wei Junhang said hurriedly.
The eldest princess looked distressed: "Why are you covered in wounds?"
"The road was slippery due to the snow, and the car was going very fast. I fell down because I wasn't paying attention. It's okay." Wei Junhang cleared his cough.
Fearing that she would worry again, he used all his tricks to coax the eldest princess's frown into relaxing. He finally breathed a sigh of relief after watching the eldest princess leave.
When he turned around, he met Shen Xinyan's tearful eyes.
He sighed softly, feeling that the person in front of him was much harder to coax than his mother.
Wei Chenglin looked at his father, pursed his lips, and quietly retreated with Xiao Yingzhi and Ping Fujing, who were both in tears.
Suddenly, only the couple were left in the room. Wei Junhang slowly opened his arms and said softly, "Come here and let me hug you."
Without saying a word, Shen Xinyan threw herself into his arms. When she was about to touch his chest, she leaned towards him very gently, as if she was afraid of touching the wound on his body, and her arms were tightly wrapped around his waist.
Wei Junhang placed his bandaged hands gently on her back: "I'm fine now, right? As the saying goes, those who survive a disaster will have good fortune in the future. After this, I'm afraid I'll have great fortune in the future!"
Shen Xinyan buried her face in his arms, smelling the familiar scent that made her feel extremely reassured, and finally realized that this man was still alive and he had not left.
"Prince."
"Um?"
"You'll always be with me, right?"
"Yes, I will always be with you, until you are too old to walk and all your teeth have fallen out." Wei Junhang knew that she must be quite shocked today, so he made the promise in a casual manner.
No more sound came out of her arms, and he didn't care. He kissed her on the top of her head. Gradually, the soft light in his eyes faded away, replaced by a sharp light.
He was careless this time, or perhaps he had been hiding well all these years and never thought that one day danger would befall him, so he almost lost his life today.
Thinking of the despair when clinging to the cliff, the coldness in his eyes increased.
After a long while, Shen Xinyan finally calmed down. She slowly left his warm embrace and looked deep into his eyes: "Who wants to kill you?"
Two lifetimes, the same accident, but happened at different times. She couldn't believe that there could be such a coincidence in the world. If it wasn't a coincidence, then there was only one possibility - man-made.
Wei Junhang was stunned, as if he had not expected her to ask such a question, and for a moment he did not know how to answer.
"You're overthinking it. What happened today was just an accident. No one wants to harm me." But in an instant, he put aside his surprise and answered as if nothing had happened.
Shen Xinyan pursed her lips, lowered her eyelids for a moment, and then said, "Actually, everything started after you were found out about your mistress, right?"
Without waiting for his answer, she said hurriedly, "Of course, maybe not from your perspective, but for me, everything is due to your mistress. In fact, the person living there in Bali Hutong at that time was the current Consort Rui Guifei. It was probably when His Majesty went out of the palace to visit the Empress that someone discovered her, and you happened to be there at that time, so they took the matter over and made people mistakenly believe that you had a mistress there. Am I right?"
Wei Junhang's expression changed slightly.
"I guess the person you are on guard against is Prince Cheng..."
There was no "concubine" incident in the previous life, and there was no overturning of the case for the prefect Zhao, and naturally there was no later Rui Guifei. There is only one possibility, that is, the Rui Wangfei of the previous life really died. Perhaps it was because Wei Junhang of the previous life did not appear in Bali Hutong in time, so he could not cover up the whereabouts of Emperor Yuanyou in time, causing the Rui Wangfei to be discovered by the Cheng Wang faction. Or perhaps it was some other reason that made the Rui Wangfei finally die.
She knew nothing about the court struggles of the previous life. She only knew that Prince Cheng of the previous life ended up being imprisoned, and the charges he carried were not as many or as serious as those in this life. Princess Rui was posthumously named Empress when the eldest son of the emperor was canonized as Crown Prince.
"I don't want to ask about what you do outside, but what you have done now has endangered your life. So, do you still want to insist?" Shen Xin asked with tears in her eyes.
Wei Junhang sighed and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.
Although her guess may not be entirely correct, it is not far from the truth.
After a brief hesitation, he finally said softly, "Prince Cheng escaped..."
Shen Xinyan looked up at him in shock: "Then today..."
"It's just a guess. It might not be him. But even if it is him, you don't have to worry. He is trying to escape now. If he fails to hit me today, he will not stay. Besides, he is like a bereaved dog. He has only a few people around him. He will not easily sacrifice people to deal with me."
If the other party really intended to take his life at all costs, he would not have just created such an "accident" today, but would have directly sent someone to assassinate him.
"If the person involved in today's incident wasn't Prince Cheng, then who else could it be?" Shen Xinyan asked worriedly.
Who else could it be?
This person must know his identity, and must have been deceived by me... Wei Junhang thought about it, and in a moment, Zhou Shoufu's face appeared in his mind.
He quickly dismissed the idea.
Even though Zhou Shoufu had this idea, he was now bedridden and was probably powerless. Moreover, there was still Zhou Mao in the Zhou Mansion, who would not let Zhou Shoufu do something that would implicate the mansion.
"After thinking about it, I guess there isn't any." He shook his head and replied.
Shen Xin frowned: "Then it must be the Prince of Cheng who is on the run?"
Wei Junhang didn't know how to answer for a moment, and after a while he said, "I still have to report this matter to His Majesty, and then have someone investigate it carefully."
Fearing that she would ask him questions that he couldn't answer, he quickly changed the subject: "Oh, there is one more thing. Prefect Zhao, no, now he should be called Marquis of Loyalty. Marquis of Loyalty's direct bloodline may still be alive."
The news about the unjust case of Marquis Zhongyi had long spread throughout the streets and alleys of the capital. Shen Xinyan was a woman in the inner court and knew a lot about the case. She sympathized with the prefect who had brought misfortune upon himself for no reason. Like many people who hoped that good people would be rewarded, she hoped that the Zhao family would not be cut off.
Therefore, when she heard that the direct descendant of Marquis Zhongyi was still alive, she immediately became interested.
"Really? Has the man been found?"
Seeing that her attention was finally diverted, Wei Junhang breathed a sigh of relief.
"We haven't found him yet. We only know that the child was adopted by a farming couple. Unfortunately, the couple died in a plague, and the young master of the Zhao family has also disappeared."
"Are you sure that the young master is still alive?"
"They should still be alive. The couple didn't have any other relatives, but they were buried well after they passed away. Every year on their death anniversary, people would go to pay their respects."
"According to what you said, the young master goes back every year to pay respect to them? If so, we only need to wait on the anniversary of the couple's death next year and we will definitely see him."
Wei Junhang hesitated: "But in the past two years, no one has gone there..."
I have been there every year, except for the past two years. I think something happened or I was delayed. If it is the latter, it is not a big deal. I am most afraid of the former.
This was also something that Emperor Yuanyou had been hiding from Concubine Rui Guifei and did not dare to tell her.
"Young Master Zhao is so young, it is impossible for him to go to pay homage to his adoptive parents alone. Someone must have brought him there. Could it be that the farmer couple entrusted the young master to someone else before they passed away?" Shen Xinyan thought of this possibility.
What she could think of, Wei Junhang would have thought of as well. He had already sent people to search everywhere in this area, but there is no confirmed news so far.
"However, other members of the Zhao family will be coming to the capital one after another in the near future." Wei Junhang added.
Shen Xinyan did not comment. Other clan members... With Consort Rui and the eldest prince in the palace, the Zhao family has a bright future. The most important thing is that Consort Rui's brother's lineage has been cut off. If they can inherit...
This is such a great thing, who wouldn't be jealous? Naturally, everyone would rush back.
Although Wei Junhang successfully diverted her attention, Shen Xinyan was not completely relieved.
She was not sure whether Wei Junhang's death was over after what happened today. After all, he passed away five years later in his previous life. Although the same "accident" happened five years earlier in this life, she could not be truly relieved when it came to his life safety.
At night, Shen Xinyan opened her eyes and stared at him in a daze in the dim candlelight, propping up half of her body with her elbows after hearing the person beside her finally making a series of even breathing sounds.
Today, when she thought she was going to lose him again, she suddenly realized that he had occupied such an important position in her heart without her realizing it. There was even a moment when she thought about just following him, so that she wouldn't have to go through the same thing again.
I have been enduring the days after his death in such a miserable way.
***
Wei Chenglin lay on the bed with his eyes wide open and his brows furrowed in thought.
Mother's actions today seemed to indicate that she knew in advance that something would happen to father, but it was he who asked where his father was before Qiutang answered. How could mother know what would happen next?