Chapter 67 Xiao Mingzhang is injured
That was... Mu Zhaozhi's voice?
Yunzhu raised her head blankly and looked out into the quiet hallway, thinking that she was hallucinating because she missed her daughter so much.
But before she could react, another childish voice rang out—
"Mother!"
It was indeed Mu Zhaozhi's voice, no doubt about it!
Yunzhu felt as if she had been granted a pardon. In a panic, she ran outside as fast as she could ever go, like an arrow.
Outside Xiao Mingzhang's residence, a carriage was approaching his door. A little girl climbed out of the carriage and jumped down.
"Ah Zhi!"
The moment Yunzhu saw Mu Zhaozhi, tears welled up in her eyes. She ran towards the little girl, shouting, and hugged her tightly in her arms.
“A-Zhi…”
Mu Zhaozhi is back; Xiao Mingzhang really brought Mu Zhaozhi back.
Yunzhu cradled her daughter's face in her hands, squatting on the ground, still somewhat unable to recognize her.
But this is indeed Mu Zhaozhi.
It was indeed her daughter, whom she had been longing for day and night these past few days.
“A-Zhi…”
Aside from calling her daughter's name, Yunzhu was so overwhelmed with emotion that she seemed unable to say anything. Tears streamed down her face as she squatted outside Xiao Mingzhang's residence, hugging Mu Zhaozhi as if she wanted to hold her tightly against her body.
She dared not let go at all. Tears streamed down her face, and it took her about fifteen minutes before she remembered to check on her daughter's body.
But when she looked down, Yunzhu noticed that Mu Zhaozhi's dress was stained with a lot of blood.
The blood had all dried, staining her sleeves and clothes, and carrying a smell like rusty iron.
Yunzhu's mind went blank for a moment, and she screamed. She frantically began to search her daughter's entire body through her clothes, her limbs, shoulders, head... fearing that she might be injured or subjected to some inhuman torture.
Fortunately, none of them happened.
The intense emotions surged and plummeted, and the relief of surviving the ordeal was like fine, dense silver needles, piercing Yunzhu's body until it was riddled with holes, and then stitching them up one by one.
Tears welled up in her eyes again. Yunzhu stroked her daughter's cheek, looking at her as if through a fog.
After some time, Yunzhu finally remembered to ask, "What happened? How did Azhi get back? Where is Xiao Mingzhang?"
She wasn't asking Mu Zhaozhi, but rather, after regaining her senses, she asked Yan Qian, who was beside Mu Zhaozhi.
Yunzhu remembered that Yan Qian had gone to Yong County with Xiao Mingzhang last night. If that was the case, shouldn't Xiao Mingzhang have come back with him? Why was he nowhere to be seen?
Yan Qian was speechless. He thought that if he didn't speak up, Yunzhu would never ask about Xiao Mingzhang again in her life.
Yan Qian replied, "The young master is seriously injured and cannot travel for long periods of time. Liangzhou is closer to Yong County, so he went to Liangzhou for treatment for the time being."
"Injured?" Yunzhu asked again, "What kind of injury did he suffer?"
"In order to rescue the young lady, we, together with the young master, launched a sneak attack on the Yong County government office where Prince Yi was located in the middle of the night. Most of the guards in the county government office had been replaced by Prince Yi's own people, who were not comparable to ordinary yamen runners. Moreover, Prince Yi had laid an ambush for us. In order to rescue the young lady, the young master took two arrows from Prince Yi, one of which almost hit his heart."
Yan Qian finally had the opportunity to tell Yun Zhu everything that had happened the night before.
Upon hearing this, Yunzhu frowned deeply. She looked at Mu Zhaozhi, then at Yan Qian, as if afraid that Yan Qian was deliberately deceiving her. She softly asked her daughter, "Is everything he said true?"
The little girl nodded.
Even though she disliked Xiao Mingzhang, Mu Zhaozhi did remember that it was that person who tightly protected her and rescued her last night.
Under the cover of night, he said to her, "Azhi, with your father here, you have nothing to fear."
Father… Mu Zhaozhi never imagined that the man who abandoned her mother would one day risk his life to save her.
“Mother, that person…” Mu Zhaozhi would always pause when she mentioned Xiao Mingzhang to Yunzhu, “It was indeed him who saved me… He was wounded by an arrow, here, here…”
Mu Zhaozhi gestured to her own body to indicate the location of Xiao Mingzhang's injury.
One is on the arm, and the other is in the heart.
Yunzhu's expression gradually turned serious. So it wasn't fake after all; it was all true... She stroked her daughter's arms and opened her mouth as if to say something more, just then Ayan ran out of the house.
Ayan was still asleep when she heard the commotion outside. She rushed out in a panic and was no less astonished than Yunzhu was when she saw Mu Zhaozhi.
Without saying a word, she rushed over and hugged Mu Zhaozhi tightly.
Overjoyed, she wept, just like Yunzhu, her tears and snot smearing all over the little girl's shoulder.
Mu Zhaozhi remained calm, patting her shoulder and reassuring her, "Aunt Yan..."
Ayan sobbed, ignoring what the little girl was saying, and held her tightly, taking several deep breaths before finally letting go.
Yunzhu originally wanted to say something, but after being interrupted by Ayan, she swallowed her words.
She didn't say anything more and led the group into the house first.
Ayan led Mu Zhaozhi to wash up and change out of her dirty clothes; Yunzhu settled all the guards who had traveled all night and told them not to bother with anything else for the time being.
After she finished everything, she decided to go see Mu Zhaozhi again.
But Yan Qian called out to her.
"Prince Princess!" Yan Qian said.
Yunzhu stopped in her tracks. In all these years, when had she ever heard anyone address her by that title to her face?
She turned around and looked quietly at Yan Qian.
Ever since Yan Qian returned to Hanze Town, he had been observing Yun Zhu. Xiao Mingzhang cared so much about this woman from a foreign country, but now it seemed that nothing could be changed. Yan Qian wanted to see Yun Zhu's true attitude towards Xiao Mingzhang.
Based on his observations yesterday, it seemed that bringing Yunzhu back to the Central Plains was Xiao Mingzhang's wishful thinking, while Yunzhu not only did not have this idea, but even disliked Xiao Mingzhang very much.
She loathed these strategists, loathed Xiao Mingzhang, and loathed returning to be his crown princess. Now, all she cared about was her daughter and her maid, her only companion.
As a strategist, Yan Qian should actually be very grateful for Yun Zhu's attitude, because it meant that Xiao Mingzhang's efforts would not be rewarded. And no one can persist in doing this for ten years without receiving any reward.
Xiao Mingzhang is not allowed either.
But as a normal person, Yan Qian felt that Xiao Mingzhang had gone to such lengths for his daughter, yet Yunzhu had never mentioned visiting him since he told her the whole story. This man was too cold-hearted.
"When does the Crown Princess plan to depart for Liangzhou?" Yan Qian asked bluntly.
"Go to Liangzhou?" Yunzhu looked at Yan Qian in a daze, but soon understood what he meant. She said sarcastically, "What are you saying, Mr. Yan? Azhi has just returned safely and needs to rest. How can I have time to go to Liangzhou?"
"Does the Crown Princess really not care about the Crown Prince?" At this point, Yan Qian stopped playing games with Yunzhu and pressed on, "Crown Princess, if the Crown Prince hadn't gone all the way to Yong County for the sake of the young lady, why would he have gone there in person? Now that he's so badly injured, has the Crown Princess forgotten everything after receiving the young lady? Why didn't she even bother to visit her in Liangzhou, which is so close?"
"Is Mr. Yan questioning me now?" Yunzhu was surprised to find that among Xiao Mingzhang's strategists and advisors, there was someone who spoke with such arrogance.
"Mr. Yan, have you forgotten why my daughter was kidnapped? I left the Prince Huan's mansion three years ago and am no longer your Prince's consort. Yet you still insist on finding me, implicating me, and causing my daughter to be kidnapped. I have already been more than kind by not seeking revenge against your Prince. Now you expect me to visit him? What about the trauma my daughter has suffered these past few days? What about the lost tuition fees I have received because of this? After this incident, the whole town may now know my identity. I will have to move soon. What about the effort and time that will take?"
"You, you..." Yan Qian was utterly incredulous. When did the Crown Princess, who was always cheerful and radiant in front of others, become like this? Petty, calculating, and narrow-minded!
He hesitated for a long time before saying to Yunzhu, "Even though the young master was in the wrong this time, causing the young lady's misfortune, he has already tried his best to make amends. It's one thing for the young lady's wife not to visit her, but to speak so hurtfully is not the behavior of a good person! As the young lady's mother, the young lady's wife should set a good example for her!"
“Exemplary figure? If I’m not an exemplary figure, then are you all exemplary figures?” If Yunzhu hadn’t known beforehand that this person was a strategist, she would have been curious about where Xiao Mingzhang had found such a fool.
"When you closed the door and plotted to kill me, did you ever think of setting an example for my daughter? When you chased me all the way to Jeju, not letting me go even then, did you ever consider that I might be carrying the child of your royal family? You never considered my feelings, and now you expect me to consider yours? Sir, you have quite the nerve! I didn't even bother with you when you appeared the other day, and now you stand before me and start blaming me? Sir, do you want to teach me how to behave? Then let me tell you, from ancient times to the present, I have never seen anyone who murders for money stand and speak to their victim! You should be dragged to the courtroom and kneel before me, begging for my forgiveness!"
“You…” Yunzhu spoke without any regard for sentiment, each word sharper than the last. Yan Qian knew he couldn’t win an argument with this princess consort whose temperament had already changed drastically. He shook his head in disappointment, thinking to himself, “This is for the best. She’s cold-hearted enough. As long as Xiao Mingzhang keeps getting cold shoulders with his warm face, he’ll eventually lose heart and return to where he belongs.”
He realized they were no longer from the same place, and he believed Xiao Mingzhang was not far behind.
"Since the Crown Princess has no intention of reconciling with us, then we have nothing more to say. I am here because the Crown Prince arranged for me to stay, so I cannot leave. I am forcing the Crown Princess to see me for a few more days. Once the Crown Prince's order is issued in a few days, I will definitely not appear in front of the Crown Princess again, so as not to be an eyesore to her."
"You should have done this a long time ago."
Yunzhu remained aloof from beginning to end, showing no sign of yielding in the face of Yan Qian's retreat. After speaking, she was finally able to turn around and look at her daughter.
Mu Zhaozhi had already washed up and changed into brand new clothes under Ayan's arrangement.
As soon as Yunzhu entered the room, she smelled a delightful scent of soapberry, and the aroma of osmanthus essential oil wafted from the girl's freshly washed hair, filling the room with fragrance.
Ayan is wringing out Mu Zhaozhi's hair.
Upon seeing Yunzhu, Mu Zhaozhi called out, "Mother!"
"Hey!" Yunzhu smiled and walked over.
Mu Zhaozhi's hair was still in Ayan's hand. When she saw her mother coming, she ignored everything and snuggled into her mother's arms with her chin raised.
She rested her chin on her mother's chest, looking up at her with radiant eyes.
She no longer showed any of the fatigue and confusion she had when she was first found. At this moment, her eyes were bright and sparkling, whether it was because the misty moisture had not yet dissipated or because she was truly in good spirits.
Yunzhu gently stroked her daughter's head, her eyes filled with relief.
But after a short while, Yunzhu heard Mu Zhaozhi ask softly, "Mother, are we going to Liangzhou next?"
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