Chapter 17 The Seventeenth Kill

The door of Cao's mansion has never been opened.

Xiaoyu's eyes sparkled with anger as she yelled. She walked down the stairs and returned to Zhou Xunran: "My Lord, what should we do if they don't open the door?"

Zhou Xunran's face turned pale, even his lips were almost bloodless, and he spoke in a whisper: "Maybe Lord Cao hasn't forgiven me yet."

After he finished speaking, he closed his eyes and fell down.

Zhou Yi was standing beside him. Seeing this, he immediately supported him and shouted to all around: "Oh no, the prince has fainted, hurry back to the palace."

The sound was so loud that the little fish's ears started to tinnitus.

She tilted her head to try to endure the ringing in her ears, but she accidentally saw that all the houses on this road had opened their side doors and stuck their heads out. After seeing Xiaoyu's gaze, they retracted their heads.

Xiaoyu didn't care about them, and together with Zhou Yi, he helped Zhou Xunran onto the carriage, and then quickly rode back to the palace.

Zhou Yi was very experienced in taking care of people, and Xiaoyu stood aside and could hardly help.

He put Zhou Xunran on the bed, unbuttoned the collar around his neck, revealing his upper chest.

Seeing Xiaoyu's surprised expression, Zhou Yi explained, "The prince used to faint frequently, and the doctor taught me this to make it easier for him to breathe."

Xiaoyu nodded. After hearing what he said about "often fainting", she wanted to ask for more details, but her eyes saw the dense red dots on Zhou Xunran's body and chest.

"What is this?"

Zhou Yi was also a little puzzled. He touched the coarse cotton tent on Zhou Xunran's body and said, "It must be because the fabric is too rough and the prince's skin is weak, so it rubbed red."

Xiaoyu frowned in pain.

In the morning, she asked her junior brother why his neck was red. He probably didn't want to worry her, so he said it was itchy at night.

Alas, it's good that Junior Brother is obedient, but he is too obedient, and regards her words as more important than his own body. When he wakes up, Xiaoyu decides to have a good talk with him.

Zhou Yi stood up, took out the silk quilt from the sandalwood box on the side and covered Zhou Xunran with it, then opened the drawer on the table under the window. Xiaoyu took a quick look and saw 20 to 30 neatly arranged small gray bottles in the drawer.

"What is this?"

Zhou Yi took out a bottle and poured out a black pill. "These are all the prince's medicines. The doctor prepared them in advance. Each medicine corresponds to a different disease."

The pill was very big, almost as big as the tip of a small fish's finger.

Seeing Zhou Yi lifting Zhou Xunran's chin and about to stuff it into his mouth, Xiaoyu quickly stopped him and said, "It's so big, can Your Majesty eat it?"

Zhou Yi said, "Let Your Majesty hold it in your mouth. This medicine is very potent. If you swallow it rashly, it will hurt your lungs. If you hold it in your mouth, the medicine will work and take effect more slowly."

Xiaoyu nodded as if she understood, her eyes fixed on the drawer full of medicine bottles for a long time.

“Is it bitter?”

Zhou Yi laughed when he heard her question. "Medicine is naturally bitter. Xiaoyu, I'll leave the prince to you. I have something else to do. If you can't handle it, let Minglu from the inner court come out. She can travel freely in the palace."

Xiaoyu nodded: "Go ahead and do your work. I can do it."

Zhou Yi seemed a little anxious and retreated quickly.

They were the only two people in the huge room. Xiaoyu sat by the bed, looking at his pale, unconscious junior fellow apprentice, feeling a little confused.

She suddenly remembered that she still had a mission to assassinate him, but because of their relationship and the time they had spent together, Xiaoyu couldn't bear to do it and couldn't take action.

But my junior fellow apprentice has too many enemies, and in the west courtyard there is also my sixteenth sister who is eyeing me covetously, and who knows when she will kill me.

Zhou Xunran's breathing was very light, and if you didn't listen carefully, you could hardly hear his breathing. Xiaoyu knew that this also meant that his body was very weak.

Xiaoyu's eyes became firm, and she murmured, "Brother, don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you."

[Sister Sixteen is important, but not as important as my life. If she is willing, I will give her my life and let her let my life go.]

Zhou Xunran opened his eyes and heard the little fish expressing its loyalty. He moved his fingers and called back the still wandering little fish: "I'm thirsty."

Xiaoyu let out an "ah" and stood up to pour a cup of warm water over: "Junior brother, there is medicine in your mouth, has it dissolved completely? You can only drink warm water after it has dissolved, otherwise you will choke."

Zhou Xunran half-supported himself and sat up, trying to lean against the bedpost.

Xiaoyu sat behind him and patted his shoulder: "Junior brother, lean on me, my body is weak."

Zhou Xunran insisted, "Men and women should not touch each other."

"You are in this state, and you still care about these customs," Xiaoyu said, handing him the water. "Open your mouth and let me see if the pill has been dissolved."

Zhou Xunran laughed: "I'm not a child, how could I choke?"

"That won't work. Before he left, Guard Zhou told me that I must dissolve all the pills to make up for your fainting this time."

Zhou Xunran opened his mouth and let her check it. "Can I drink water now?"

Xiaoyu was relieved and said, "Drink it."

After drinking a glass of warm water, Zhou Xunran regained some of his energy. "How long has Zhou Yi been gone?"

Xiaoyu said, "It's been more than an hour. He settled you down and said he had something urgent to deal with, so he left. I saw that he was in a hurry to leave, so I didn't dare to waste his time, so I didn't ask any more questions."

Zhou Xunran nodded and praised: "Well, you did a good job this time."

"I have never done anything wrong." Xiaoyu's face flushed with praise, "Junior brother, lie down quickly."

"No, I will feel worse if I lie down. It's almost noon now. The border guard who is delivering the letter will arrive at the gate of the mansion at 15:00. You can go and meet him and have him come here directly. Also, have Wang Shunyi prepare a guest room for the guard to rest. Once I confirm the reply, have him leave immediately."

Wang Shunyi was the chief steward of the royal palace.

Xiaoyu did not move: "You are so tired, can't you take a half-day break? Why are you still thinking so much?"

Zhou Xunran urged, "Go quickly, things at the border can't wait."

Xiaoyu then stood up and walked out of Qingwu Courtyard, looking back every few steps.

At noon, she arrived at the main gate of the palace, waiting for the soldiers who were delivering the letter from the border mentioned by Zhou Xunran.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Xiaoyu walked out the door and looked at the street, but did not see the figure of Pu Bing.

Wang Dazhangguanshou hurriedly circled around her twice, until the next moment he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the end of the street. He sighed and then said with some regret: "It was only half a minute away. Alas."

Xiaoyu looked at him puzzledly: "What do you mean?"

"You'll know soon," said Wang Dachang.

The border guards stopped at the gate on horseback. The chief steward asked someone to take the reins and said to the guards, "Let's go. The prince is waiting."

Xiaoyu led them back to Qingwu Courtyard.

Zhou Xunran had already gotten up from the bed in the inner room and was sitting at the desk reading a book.

Hearing the footsteps of the three of them, Zhou Xunran did not look up, but maintained his own actions.

The soldier knelt down before him and said, "Hello, Your Majesty."

Only then did Zhou Xunran look up at him.

Pu Bing stood up, took off his bag, and carefully placed the stack of envelopes inside on the table in front of Zhou Xunran.

Zhou Xunran's gaze shifted to Wang Shunyi again.

Wang Dachang bowed to him and said, "Yes."

After saying this, he left the room with the soldiers.

Xiaoyu thought that Chief Steward Wang had taken the soldiers to rest. Just as he took two steps towards Zhou Xunran, he heard the dull sound of whipping coming from the yard.

Xiaoyu leaned back and looked out through the open window, only to see the porter who had delivered the letter just now lying on a bench with a piece of cotton cloth in his mouth. Chief Steward Wang was standing nearby, having his guards swing a long whip at the porter.

"This....."

Xiaoyu wanted to go out and ask what happened.

Zhou Xunran opened the envelope and called her: "Pour me a glass of water."

"You drank water again!" Xiaoyu hurriedly poured a glass of water in front of him, but still wanted to go out and take a look.

Zhou Xunran spoke calmly, "He violated the rules and did not arrive at the destination of the letter at 1:15 p.m. The military regulations state that if you are late by less than an hour, you will be whipped fifty times. If you are late by more than an hour, you will be whipped eighty times."

Xiaoyu was a little shocked: "It's just a little late, not even half an hour. I can understand why he rushed here from the border in a hurry."

Zhou Xunran looked at her and said, "It's too late. Not to mention half a minute, even a moment is not acceptable. This is the military rule for laying soldiers."

"Who made such a perverted rule? It's so inhumane."

Zhou Xunran took a sip of water and said slowly, "I."

“….”

[Even if you are my junior fellow apprentice, I still have to say that you have no humanity. ]

While the two were silent, the fifty lashes outside had been completed. Chief Steward Wang and the guards who were in charge of the lashing immediately led the soldiers and said, "Go and call the doctor."

The three of them went towards the guest room. Servants came out of the courtyard and moved away the benches. Then a servant in charge of sweeping came over and began to clean the bloody floor.

After beating someone up, they were still so anxious to treat him. Xiaoyu couldn't understand the meaning of such punishment.

Zhou Xunran saw her confusion and explained casually, "Beating is a rule. Anyone who violates military rules will be punished, no matter what his official position is. Saving is a duty. Similarly, as long as he is my man, no matter where he falls, I will lend him a helping hand. In the military camp, thousands of people gather together. We must suppress them with rules, but also use loyalty to bind them. Soldiers are also human beings, and human nature is complex and changeable. Just like the court, they also need to be managed. This is the way to manage these passionate men."

Xiaoyu pondered his words, and then asked suddenly, "Junior brother, what about me?"

Zhou Xunran didn't understand what she said, "What?"

"You have studied human nature so thoroughly, what does that mean for my business?"

Zhou Xunran said calmly: "Not everyone needs to study. You are you, and you are not involved in the affairs of the court. Why should I study you?"

Xiaoyu thought about it and said, "Your words are too complicated. I don't really understand."

"You don't need to understand all this. You just need to know that it's time for me to have lunch. Why hasn't the kitchen brought my lunch yet?"

"Oh! That's right!" Xiaoyu patted his head and came to his senses, then turned and left the room, "Junior brother, wait a minute, I'll be there soon."

When I walked into the courtyard, I saw that the blood on the ground had been cleaned up, leaving only a wet mark. I believe that in half an hour, this place will be restored to its original state.

Xiaoyu paused, suppressed the discomfort in her heart, and walked towards the kitchen.