Chapter 139 What is your relationship with the Emperor?
My back and shoulders feel a little numb.
This was Shang Ruyi's first feeling as she gradually awoke from the boundless darkness and regained her senses.
The next moment, the numbness turned into an itch. She subconsciously wanted to reach out and scratch, but she felt that her limbs were not her own, and she could not even feel the existence of her hands. However, the numbness and itching on her shoulder became clearer and clearer, and even gradually turned into a burning pain.
it hurts……
Shang Ruyi was jolted awake by the pain and let out a low cry of agony.
"Miss!"
The voice of Tushe'er immediately rang in her ears. Shang Ruyi slowly opened her eyes and saw Tushe'er in front of her with red and swollen eyes, and abrasions on her face, especially on her nose. She looked rather cute in her disheveled state, but she was looking at her anxiously and with concern.
"Miss, are you alright?"
"..."
Shang Ruyi didn't speak, but moved her head again and realized that she was lying on a bed covered with a thick brocade quilt. Looking around, she saw a large, somewhat old, but very luxuriously furnished room, which was completely different from the camp where they had been stationed before.
She spoke, her voice a little hoarse, "Where...where am I? Ah, it hurts..."
The pain in her shoulder made her gasp for breath, and she recalled that it was the wound she had sustained from a whistling arrow fired by the Turks.
Tushe'er's eyes reddened further, and she said in a tearful voice, "We...we're going back to Yanmen City. This is the government office—Miss, how could you go and fight the Turks and get so badly injured? Luckily, the doctor said there were no vital organs damaged. If anything were to happen to you, I...I—"
Seeing that she was about to cry, Shang Ruyi, despite being in pain and sweating profusely, forced a smile to comfort her: "I wasn't going to fight them, I was running for my life."
"..."
"If I hadn't resisted, I don't know where I would be now, some pile of flesh and blood outside the city."
"Don't talk nonsense!"
Tushe'er turned pale with fright and quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
When she made a move, Shang Ruyi noticed that one of her arms was also wrapped in thick bandages, with a little blood showing through. She immediately frowned and asked, "How did you get injured too?"
Tushe'er avoided eye contact.
Shang Ruyi immediately understood: "You, you went back to find me?"
Tushe'er had no choice but to say, "I serve the young lady. If you're not here, who else can I look for?"
Shang Ruyi was so angry she almost jumped out of bed, but the injury on her shoulder prevented her from moving. She could only say with exasperation, "Foolish! I'm not weak as a cat. Besides, I was on business. I'll run away on my own when I'm done. Go back to me—look, you're injured!"
"..."
How did you escape back?
"It was during a time of war and chaos that the Imperial Guards brought me back."
Shang Ruyi breathed a sigh of relief, then glared at her again: "You're not allowed to do anything foolish again!"
Tushe'er nodded obediently.
After talking for a while, she got used to the pain in her shoulder. Shang Ruyi glanced around and then came to her senses: "Right, how did I get here? I have no recollection of it at all. Where are Mu Xian and the others?"
"..."
Tushe'er didn't speak, but looked at her with a complicated expression, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't.
Shang Ruyi asked, "What's wrong?"
Before he could finish speaking, the door was pushed open.
Shang Ruyi hurriedly looked up and saw Lei Yu walking in from outside. As soon as he saw that she was awake, he immediately came forward and asked, "You're awake. Does your wound still hurt?"
"Much better. Thank you, Miss Lei."
Shang Ruyi recalled her brush with death at the city gate. Fortunately, Lei Yu rushed out to save her despite past grievances. This was a life-saving grace.
Lei Yu stood by the bed, looking down at her. Her face seemed gratified, but there was also a complex emotion in her eyes, quite similar to Tu She'er's hesitant expression just now. She only said, "Alright, don't talk so much nonsense. Take good care of your injury. Your arrow wound is quite serious."
Shang Ruyi subconsciously glanced back, but of course she couldn't see anything. She only felt her chest and shoulders wrapped in thick bandages, and the wounds were both painful and numb, and seemed to feel a little cool.
So he asked, "Have you applied the medicine to me?"
Lei Yu and Tu She'er exchanged another glance, and then gave a complicated "hmm".
Shang Ruyi nodded, then, remembering what happened last night, hurriedly asked, "How are our people now? What's the situation outside?"
Mentioning this, Lei Yu's expression darkened, and he said softly, "Ashina Shali led an army of 100,000 to launch a surprise attack on our camp. The camp was completely burned down. Although we escaped back to Yanmen City, but—"
"how?"
"More than half of our men and horses have been lost."
"ah?"
Upon hearing this, Shang Ruyi's face turned pale.
In any war, there will inevitably be casualties, which is not unacceptable. However, this time when the emperor went on tour, he brought mostly officials and their families, including some noble ladies who were even more pampered than Shang Ruyi. These people were the least able to protect themselves, and in the chaos of last night, they were probably among the first to die under the hooves of the Turkic soldiers.
The thought of this made Shang Ruyi's heart ache.
She said in a hoarse voice, "How could this be...?"
Lei Yu continued, "Right now, the gates of Yanmen City are tightly closed, and 100,000 Turkic troops are stationed outside the city. They have been attacking for two days."
Two days?
Shang Ruyi was taken aback, looking at them in surprise: "I—"
Tusheer said, "Miss, you have been seriously injured and unconscious for two whole days."
"..."
Shang Ruyi then came to her senses. No wonder she felt so weak and powerless just now. She had been unconscious for two whole days, and even a healthy person like her had been crippled.
She gave a wry smile, then looked at Lei Yu gratefully: "These past two days, it's all been you who's taken care of me. Miss Lei, thank you so much."
"..."
Lei Yu and Tu She'er exchanged another glance, their eyes filled with even more embarrassment.
At this moment, Shang Ruyi seemed to sense something from their expressions and said softly, "What's wrong? Didn't you bring me here and take care of me?"
"..."
A long silence fell over the room.
Shang Ruyi sensed something was wrong: "What exactly is going on?"
Lei Yu hesitated for a long time before looking at her and saying softly, "Shang Ruyi, what is your relationship with His Majesty the Emperor?"
"emperor?"
Shang Ruyi's heart suddenly sank, and she subconsciously said, "It's nothing. What do you mean by that?"
Lei Yu looked at her with a complicated expression for a while, and finally said in a deep voice, "At the city gate, it was His Majesty the Emperor who carried you all the way here in front of everyone."
"...?!"
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