Chapter 62 Return to the City
The soldiers carried the sedan chair back and carried Cui Fufeng back to the meeting place.
Mingjiu was already sitting there, leaning against his horse. Although he was injured, he was still as majestic as an eagle on the grassland. He came up and wanted to pull Qiandeng: "Xianzhu, are you okay?"
Ling Tianshui calmly pushed his hand away: "Tell me, why are you and the County Master here?"
Upon hearing this, the eagle on the grassland immediately folded its wings, pressed the wound on its shoulder, and leaned on Qiandeng in public, looking weak: "Xianzhu, you say."
Qian Deng endured the humiliation and fabricated a lie to cover up his shame: "I was robbed by bandits, but fortunately Prince Mingjiu rescued me and I escaped. However, the prince was injured while saving me, and he needs to go back to get treatment."
"He can't go back to Chang'an now, but the Northern Yamen Forbidden Army has a base outside the city. Let's send you there for treatment first." Ling Tianshui pulled Mingjiu off Qiandeng, half-carried and half-supported him onto the horse, and called a soldier to help him lead the horse.
Mingjiu was reluctant to leave: "Ah, it hurts so much, I have done meritorious service to the county lady, I was injured while saving her..."
"Okay, shut up." Ling Tianshui leaned over and whispered in his ear, "I just cleared out the bandits. They were all your guards."
The croaking eagle opened its mouth, then finally closed it without a sound.
"Since they once helped our army fight against the rebels, I spared them alive. Just think about what price you are willing to pay to take them back." Ling Tianshui left a word and returned to Qiandeng.
"Thank you all so much for coming all night to save me." Qian Deng thanked the soldiers of the Northern Yamen Imperial Guard. Seeing that the greyhounds had also returned, he gently patted their heads and said to Cui Fufeng, who was leaning weakly on his horse, "I also want to thank the dogs of the Dali Temple."
Cui Fufeng laughed. After a night of traveling and worrying about her, seeing her alive and well, and even able to joke around, even though his chest ached, he felt an indescribable joy. "Okay, I'll treat them to some meat and bones when we get back."
When they returned to the gate of Chang'an, it was time to beat the dawn drum and open the city gate.
Aunt Xuanji welcomed Qiandeng back to the mansion. Seeing the scratches on her face and hands caused by branches and leaves, she felt so distressed that she burst into tears. She hurriedly helped her bathe and change clothes, and applied medicine to remove the bruises, so as to avoid leaving scars and damaging the county lady's appearance.
Qian Deng hurriedly wrote a few words and asked her to send them to Doctor Liao.
After being robbed, jolted on horseback, and soaked in water for a long time that night, Qiandeng felt almost exhausted. After writing the note, he washed himself hastily and fell asleep with his head resting on the pillow.
Unfortunately, even though she was extremely tired, the nightmare still haunted her and would not let her go.
This time, what appeared in her dream was a pool of dark water.
On the other side of the water is a waterside pavilion illuminated by burning fireworks. The crabapple trees are quietly falling among the high-hanging palace lanterns. The fireworks are reflected on the water waves, bright and transparent, and the light shines through the water surface.
As she hovered on the other side of the water, the distant scenery seemed to be separated from this side by a world of its own. There was only deathly silence here.
On the half-light and half-dark water, a woman in gorgeous clothes slowly walked towards the shore, step by step, trembling with fear, but she had to go.
Qiandeng, floating in the air, could not see her face clearly, but he recognized her identity by looking at the gorgeous gold foil and pearl flowers on her hair.
"The Grand Princess of Gao State..."
The people standing by the water seemed to hear her voice and turned their heads.
Her delicately made-up face still retained its charm, but her eyes were old and tired, and fear was written all over her as she looked at her: "It was you who wanted to kill me, Princess Lingling!"
Qian Deng looked down at her quietly and said, "There are many people who want to kill you, but not me."
"Yes, there are many people who want to kill me..." she murmured, looking around in panic.
In the darkness, many things rose silently and floated around Princess Gao.
There was the bloody horse head that met her gaze, the silver phoenix hairpin emitting black poison, the colorful feathered arrows that flew towards her, and the prince's marriage certificate that turned to ashes...
She was trapped in this abyss of despair. She raised her hands to cover her face, which was twisted with fear, but she could not resist the horrific invasion. She slipped while howling in pain, and the silent ripples swallowed her up.
Fireworks in the distance suddenly burst into bloom, the light was so bright that not only the water surface and the sky, but even the cracks in the stone walls on the shore were full of flames, engulfing Princess Gao who was floating in the black water.
Qiandeng's body trembled suddenly, and he broke away from the dazzling light and opened his eyes, which were still unclear.
It was already afternoon. The warm spring sun shone on the crabapple trees in the courtyard, its vibrant colors filtering through the pink and white window screens into the house. Last night seemed like a lifetime ago, and only the pain in her body reminded her that everything had happened in real time.
The death of Princess Gaoguo remains a mystery; the wrongly accused Mingjiu has been found by her; only Shangluo has not yet been found.
She thought about the scene in her dream where Princess Gao fell into the water, rubbed her aching limbs, and felt particularly painful in her waist.
When he lifted up his pajamas, he saw a bruise and bloodstain on the side of his waist. It was obvious that he was injured here when Ming Jiu threw him onto the horse's back yesterday.
"Oh, how did the county lady get injured like this? It wasn't this terrible when she was bathing last night..." Amber was so distressed that tears came to her eyes. She quickly took out the ointment and applied it to her. "This is the ointment that Mr. Meng sent early this morning. It's said to be very effective in treating skin damage and removing scars. I think Ling Sijie must have mentioned the county lady's distress to him after he came back this morning."
"Mr. Meng is always meticulous," Qiandeng said, turning the medicine bottle in his hand.
And Ling Tianshui, as always, created opportunities for Meng Lanxi so that he could get close to her.
She was almost unsure whether what was in his mind, or the reason why he entered her backyard, was for Meng Lanxi or for her.
Suddenly, there was an illusion in front of her eyes, and a moment of overlapping trance appeared, and her heart was shocked.
Ling Tianshui, Meng Lanxi...
Last night in the mountains, after Ling Tianshui found her, the fleeting smile on his face, those dimples, she should be familiar with them—
Because his smile is too similar to Meng Lanxi's intoxicating smile.
She held the medicine bottle in her hand, lost in thought. All she could see were the smiles of Ling Tianshui and Meng Lanxi, overlapping and separating, making it impossible for her to come back to her senses for a moment.
While she was stunned, Aunt Xuanji took out a medicine bottle and asked, "County Lady, this is the medicine that Doctor Liao prepared and sent to me this morning, as you instructed. Can you apply it first?"
"No, this is for healing wounds, not for me." Qian Deng said, taking the medicine bottle and holding it solemnly, "I'm going to eat something and go to the backyard."
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