Chapter 39 Seeking a Safe Journey: Calling Shen Yun Back
As the last splendor of the sunset faded, a series of brilliant fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky above the lake banquet.
It blooms in its most vibrant colors against the dark sky, illuminating the lake surface like crystal in an instant.
Lin Shutang was pressed against the windowsill while lying on her back. The fireworks in her dizzy eyes were dazzlingly bright. The woman in front of her had a strong and powerful hand that gripped her throat tightly.
Lin Shutang couldn't tell if he was dizzy and couldn't see clearly, or if the fireworks were just too dazzling.
Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes and slid down her cheeks.
In her hazy state of consciousness, someone seemed to push open the door, and then, in a panic, the woman led her to jump off the painted boat.
The lake water surged in from all sides like a tidal wave, and my back burned with pain.
Lin Shutang felt a vibration similar to that of water around him, the sound of fireworks suddenly disappeared, and in the struggle he heard shouts from all directions.
By the time Lin Shutang was pulled out of the water, he was almost completely unconscious.
The women surrounded Lin Shutang, checking on her condition. Some called for clean clothes, others fetched a doctor; it was a chaotic scene.
The guards brought by the Third Prince also boarded the small boat with knives and searched the lake, surrounding the entire Yunmeng Marsh.
Lin Shutang let Zhao Mingzhu put a coat on her and pulled her into his arms to wipe her wet cheeks. Through the gaps in the crowd, she looked up at the person on the outermost layer.
He forced a smile.
Seeing Lin Shutang's pale face, Song Ying tried her best to control herself and ran towards her, but she could not hide the anxiety on her face.
I felt extremely upset for a moment.
He understood Lin Shutang's gaze; she was trying to reassure him that she had a way to bring Shen Yun back.
Song Ying couldn't help but wonder if it was the right thing to involve Lin Shutang.
-
The assassin was never found.
They sent men into the water, but they found nothing.
This only proves that the assassins had already left before they surrounded Yunmengze.
The lake cruise banquet was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but no one expected that an assassin would board the boat.
He even wanted to kill Madam Zhou, but was caught in the act by the heir apparent's wife and almost became a scapegoat.
Fortunately, Zhao Mingzhu noticed that Lin Shutang had not returned to his seat for a long time, so she brought people to look for him. They happened to run into the thieves and saved the life of the young master's wife.
Zhao Mingzhu could only say that it was fortunate that Lin Shutang had made a promise with her before leaving the banquet, otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
-
Lin Shutang's back wound was too deep; it was scraped off the windowsill, and wood chips had seeped into his flesh.
The physician had to carefully remove the pus from the wound, bit by bit, to prevent any residue from remaining and causing infection.
Lin Shutang clearly felt his skin being cut open on his back, and an instrument stirring inside, pulling out something.
She was drenched in cold sweat, and as she grabbed Green Willow's hand that was wiping her cheek, tears streamed down her face. "Call...call Shen Yun back."
She gasped for breath, her sobs barely forming complete syllables.
Just listening to it makes you want to cry.
Green Willow's eyes were red. The lady had repeated these words more than once tonight. If the young master wanted to come, he would have come long ago.
"Madam, please wait for the physician to heal your wounds first. I will go and fetch the young master right away."
Green Willow stood up and rushed out the door.
Seeing Yingxiao pacing back and forth in the courtyard, she rushed forward in a few steps, "Where is the young master? Madam wants to see the young master!"
At this moment, Green Willow no longer cared about hierarchy, and her voice almost screamed.
She had been observing the situation between the Crown Prince and his wife these past few days.
To avoid his wife, the crown prince even moved to live in the Bamboo Garden.
Although we don’t know what happened between the two, the lady is so seriously injured, how come the prince is still hiding in the bamboo garden?
Yingxiao frowned; no one had expected such a thing to happen.
Why would there be an assassin at a lakeside banquet?
Before leaving, the prince asked him to take good care of his wife. Now that the prince has returned, how should he explain this?
Yingxi has already gone to the dark room to receive her punishment.
The Crown Prince is currently far away in Xuzhou, so how could he possibly return in time?
"I have already sent word to the Crown Prince. You should go in and take care of the Lady quickly," Yingxiao said urgently.
Green Willow was worried about Lin Shutang's condition and did not pay attention to Yingxiao's choice of words. She only heard that he had informed the Crown Prince and assumed that the Crown Prince would arrive soon.
He turned around and quickly went back into the house.
-
After the wound on his back was stitched up, it was already late at night. Lin Shutang's face was deathly pale, devoid of any color.
Green Willow stayed by the bedside, gently wiping away the tears on her face with a handkerchief.
But after a while, the fever started again.
Green Willow hurriedly went to call the physician again, and so on for most of the night.
The crown prince has not yet arrived.
Not to mention the lady, Green Willow felt her heart sink.
When Madam wakes up tomorrow, she will surely be sad.
As dawn broke, Shen Yun, wiping away the morning dew, entered Jingyuan Residence in a dejected state.
Green Willow turned around and saw the young master finally appear. His eyes were bloodshot, and he didn't look any better than the madam.
Shen Yun walked in, his body emanating a damp chill, and with the striking dark circles under his eyes, he looked like a ghost.
Green Willow felt a chill run down her spine and quickly made way for the young master, then silently left the room.
Shen Yun had already seen Ying Xiao in the courtyard and inquired about Lin Shutang's condition. The wound had been stitched up, she had taken medicine, and her fever had subsided.
He just kept calling him "Crown Prince".
Yingxiao had also noticed the subtle atmosphere between the two of them these past few days.
The prince was avoiding his wife, and his wife was avoiding the prince.
The two were locked in a fierce competition, neither willing to back down.
Now that the lady is injured and delirious, she keeps calling out the prince's name. Yingxiao thinks that the prince will be very happy to know this.
The lady is not a pretentious person, and the fact that she is willing to call the prince back after being injured shows that she still cares about him. This is giving both of them a way out.
However, Shen Yun did not react much after hearing this. She simply responded with a faint sound and walked towards the main room.
Yingxiao was left completely bewildered.
The stench of blood had not yet dissipated from the room. Lin Shutang was not sleeping well either, her delicate brows were slightly furrowed, and she gasped in pain with the slightest movement.
Shen Yun sat on the edge of the bed, carefully watching her movements.
Lin Shutang didn't wake up until it was fully light.
Shen Yun was no longer in the room.
Lin Shutang was helped to her feet by Lvwu. She took a sip of tea, and her throat, which had been parched from the fever last night, finally felt a little better. "He still hasn't come back?"
"The young master is back and is in the study right now." Green Willow said quickly, afraid that Lin Shutang would overthink things. "The young master took care of the madam all morning and just as he left, the madam woke up."
"Does Madam wish me to summon the young master?" Green Willow took the teacup from Lin Shutang and put it down, then helped her sit up against the headboard and placed a soft pillow behind her back.
Lin Shutang shook her head. Now that the person had returned, her mission was complete, so it didn't matter whether she saw him or not.
Green Willow was unaware of Lin Shutang's thoughts and assumed that the lady was angry.
Indeed, even she harbored resentment towards the Crown Prince, let alone the Madam.
Green Willow no longer mentions the Crown Prince.
Inside the study.
Yingxiao and Yingxi both knelt on the ground to beg for forgiveness.
After a whole night of torture in the dark room, Yingxi was visibly haggard, and the whip marks on her back were hideous, still oozing blood.
Shen Yun had no intention of making things difficult for them. Her voice was like rough sand scraping against the ground as she said, "Go down."
Yingxi retreated, but Yingxiao remained standing in the same spot.
Shen Yun looked up at him.
The door was closed from the outside, and the room fell silent. Yingxiao carefully spoke, "Does the young master not punish Yingxi because he believes that what happened last night was done intentionally by the madam?"
"Your Highness, please forgive me. Yingxi has always been conscientious in her duties, and her hearing has always been very sharp. If Madam had not refused to let Yingxi take action, Yingxi would not have failed to notice the abnormality in the room."
"According to Yingxi, the lady disappeared from her sight for a period of time on the painted boat. When she was found again, she was seen leaving from a side room. Shortly afterward, Song Ying..."
Meeting Shen Yun's cold gaze, Ying Xiao forced herself to finish her last sentence, "I also came out from inside."
“Your Highness, you have just returned from Xuzhou, and news has come that the mute servant has died. Yingxiao does not believe this is a coincidence.”
If Yingxiao didn't understand why the young master heard the madam calling him back this morning, he showed no joy on his face.
Having just received news from Xuzhou, he now understands everything.
The Crown Prince naturally saw through things earlier than the others, but even so, he still rushed back from Xuzhou without sleeping all night, just to confirm the safety of his wife.
Yet he didn't want his wife to know that he cared about her, so he hid in his study and remained silent.
Over the years, the Crown Prince has been investigating the Battle of Black Pine Ridge, but it's as if someone deliberately erased all traces, leaving no clues whatsoever.
Now, after finally finding a deserter from the battle years ago, he still died at the hands of someone else.
Yingxiao was not without anger, and even felt powerless.
Yingxiao saw how much guilt and torment the young master felt because of General Zhou's death.
Therefore, it is even more evident that the Crown Prince is not as calm as he appears on the surface.
"How is she?" Shen Yun asked, inquiring about Lin Shutang's condition.
It was as if he had only heard the name Lin Shutang from Yingxiao's long speech.
Yingxiao let out a soft breath. "Luwu reports that the Madam has awakened. Would the Young Master like to go and see her?"
"She didn't come to call me?" Shen Yun frowned and asked.
Yingxiao took another breath and shook her head.
In his ear, he seemed to hear a very soft, cold laugh from Shen Yun, and then he saw his young master stand up and stride towards the main house.
He looked every bit the part about settling scores.
Yingxiao was left standing there. After carefully recalling his words, he realized that the young master was angry because his wife had woken up but hadn't called him.
So all those things he said before were for nothing?
-
As Lvwu was giving Lin Shutang the decocted medicine, Shen Yun pushed open the door and walked in.
Seeing the two people beside the bed, Shen Yun said in a deep voice, "Put down the medicine and get out."
Green Willow was initially happy to see the young master finally arrive, and for Lin Shutang's sake, but upon seeing his cold and hard face, she couldn't help but tremble slightly. She glanced back at Lin Shutang, and with the latter's reassuring look, she put down the medicine bowl, lowered her head, and walked out.
Shen Yun sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the medicine bowl, and was about to feed Lin Shutang the medicine herself.
Lin Shutang turned his head away, refusing to drink it.
"You called me back, but you won't even drink a drop of medicine I feed you?" Shen Yun put down the spoon and chuckled softly.
Thinking back, this was actually the first thing Shen Yun had said to her in all these days.
However, it was laced with barbs and veiled sarcasm.
Lin Shutang stubbornly tilted his head, remaining silent.
Shen Yun lost his patience and grabbed Lin Shutang's chin with his large hand, forcing her to turn her head. He leaned closer and stared at Lin Shutang's pale lips, his eyes seeming to hold a suppressed fire.
He tilted his head, his voice deep and resonant, as if he were chewing blood, yet the last syllable of his voice held a playful lilt, and a smile slowly curved his lips. "Ah Tang, you're the one who called me back."
"I'm back, so you'll have to put up with it."
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly kissed her, biting open Lin Shutang's lips with his teeth. She cried out in pain and opened her mouth. He then took the opportunity to nimbly entwine his tongue with hers as she tried to push him away.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Let me let you know in advance what the next chapter will be like [covering my face and peeking]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com