Prince
The sunlight shone on her face, a little dazzling. She lay down, unwilling to open her eyes, holding those hands tightly in her hands. They were still cold, but she held them in her arms to warm them up. As long as she didn't open her eyes, those hands wouldn't be cold, and he would never leave her.
"Prince Jing, it's time to change the prince's medicine." It was a servant from Prince Xian's mansion.
She got up reluctantly and stepped aside. The imperial physician had already arrived and was waiting on the side. When he saw her stand up, he came forward to treat her without saying a word.
She stood aside and watched. The imperial physician looked at his wound, took out the medicine bottle and bandages from the medicine box, and first untied the bandages on his body that were soaked with blood. She watched quietly by the side, her heart that had stopped beating twitching in pain. The servant beside her gasped in horror and turned his back, not daring to look again.
The imperial physician's technique was quick and efficient, quickly changing Shangguan Yichen's dressing. However, the bandage he had rewrap quickly turned red again. The imperial physician placed his hand on his wrist again, pausing for a long moment before shaking his head and sighing heavily. The servant immediately stepped forward and asked, "Imperial Physician, how is my prince?"
The imperial physician sighed again, raised his head and looked at them, saying, "The situation is still not optimistic. The pulse is extremely weak. Fortunately, the prince is young and strong, so he can hold on until dawn. However, he is still in danger. His life hangs by a thread."
The servant burst into tears again and knelt beside Shangguan Yichen's bed, crying, "Prince, please wake up soon! The concubine fell ill this morning and couldn't get out of bed. She kept asking about your condition, but I didn't dare to tell her. This palace is almost in a mess..." After saying that, he lay on the side of the bed and burst into tears.
Finally, the housekeeper came and pulled the servant away, and the two stood aside, wiping their tears with their sleeves.
The Imperial Physician said, "Your Highness's internal injuries have not healed, and neither have his external wounds. He needs to change the dressings and bandages promptly. I have to return to the Imperial Hospital to personally prepare the medicine, so I'm too busy to do that. Someone needs to stay by your side and be in charge of changing the dressings."
"I'll do it." Zhong Yujing suddenly said.
Everyone was shocked.
Zhong Yujing hadn't spoken since the Xian Prince's accident; this was the first time she spoke. She continued, "Please ask the Imperial Physician to leave the medicine and bandages with you and go back to your duties. Everyone else should return to their duties. The Xian Prince's mansion will be fine, and everything will be normal. I will stay here until the Prince is safely buried, and I won't leave before then. Also, please ask the Imperial Physician to take the Dowager Concubine's pulse again to make sure she's alright."
The imperial physician took the order and went away. The servant and the housekeeper felt relieved, wiped the tears from their faces, cheered up, and went out to work.
The room was empty again. The servants replaced the charcoal fire and kept the room warm. Zhong Yujing sat back down beside Shangguan Yichen and said softly, "Don't worry. When you wake up, everything will be as normal in the Xianwang Mansion. Princess Dowager, everything is fine."
She just sat quietly beside him, watching him, sometimes talking to him, and most of the time holding his hand tightly.
A few hours later, the bandage on Shangguan Yichen's wound was soaked with blood again. She took the medicine box left by the imperial physician and reached out tremblingly to remove the bandage on his body. The bandage was stuck to his flesh and blood. He must be in pain, but he would not cry out... The concubine and Yi Shi both said that he would never cry out in pain, and he would handle everything by himself, silently hiding it from everyone. This time, she would not let him handle it alone, and vowed to protect him until his death.
She gently helped him up, using all her strength to finally untie the many bandages wrapped around his body. In this cold weather, she was sweating profusely from exhaustion, and was afraid of hurting him, even though he no longer cried out in pain. She was even more afraid of tearing his wounds that had begun to heal, so she carefully and gently laid him down again.
The big hole in his chest was still shocking, and the area around the wound was covered with blood, making it unclear. Zhong Yujing carefully sprinkled medicine on his wound. Before tying the bandage, he stood up and fetched a basin of clean, warm water to wipe the blood-stained area around the wound.
She wet her handkerchief with water and carefully wiped it for him. His wound was near his heart, so she gently avoided it. Just an inch from his heart, she removed the handkerchief and wiped it clean one last time. Suddenly, she saw a mark the size of a jade pendant...
Zhong Yujing looked at it carefully, and after seeing clearly, the handkerchief in her hand fell into the basin with a plop.
That mark was exactly the pattern drawn on Wenren Rang's scroll, and it was exactly the same as the mark on Zi Shuxing's arm.
It is a mark that only people of the Zishu family have.
Zhong Yujing looked at the mark and suddenly connected it with something in her memory. She took out the jade pendant from her lapel. It was a personal item given to her by Shangguan Yichen before he went to Nansai. There were two strange characters on it. At that time, she didn't know what the characters meant, and she never asked him again. She thought that it might be some kind of spiritual ancient jade with some incomprehensible patterns on it, which was not uncommon. Now that she took out the jade and compared the two, she realized that the characters on the jade pendant were the same as the mark on Shangguan Yichen's body. Although she didn't recognize it, she could tell it at a glance. It was not difficult to identify. Zhong Yujing boldly guessed that the mark on Shangguan Yichen's body and the mark on the jade pendant were unique to the Zishu family.
She quickly collected her thoughts, wiped Shangguan Yichen's body clean, gently helped him up, carefully wrapped a new bandage around him to cover the wound, slowly laid him down, and covered him with the quilt again.
Zhong Yujing walked to the door, locked it, and pushed it, making sure no one could come in without her permission. Then she returned to Shangguan Yichen's bedside, gently took his hand, closed her eyes, and withdrew her mind.
Her uncle had said that the heirs of the Zhong family all had special abilities. As long as they could concentrate their minds deeply enough, they could talk to the world and travel back in time. She had never tried it before, thinking that her cultivation was not deep enough. However, after several unintentional attempts at concentration, she had truly seen the unseen, just as her uncle had said.
This time, she decided to take the initiative to find out the truth. She wanted to know, she must know, who he was?
Zhong Yujing believes that as long as she is focused enough, she can do it.
The surroundings were plunged into darkness. Zhong Yujing opened her eyes wide, but could not see anything clearly. Suddenly, a bright light shone on her face, making her unable to open her eyes. After gradually getting used to it, she opened her eyes again and saw that it was already daytime.
Zhong Yujing looked around. She was in a courtyard with a corridor. At the front and back ends of the corridor were connected several towering buildings with a simple and solemn style, like palaces. They were lined up in an orderly manner. The wooden buildings carved with auspicious clouds and dragons were solemn and magnificent under the golden eaves. Under the twilight, the majesty of the entire palace was apparent.
This place was clearly not built in the Qi Kingdom's architectural style. Zhong Yujing walked forward along the corridor. The road ahead forked to the right, and she suddenly heard a voice getting closer. "Your Highness~~~Your Highness~ Hey, I've finally found you~~~"
Zhong Yujing looked up at the fork in the road. An elderly eunuch was running towards him from the right, looking anxious. He quickly reached the fork in the road in front of Zhong Yujing, turned slightly, and headed left and forward. Zhong Yujing followed him.
The eunuch stopped at the end of the left corridor, his arms resting on his legs, his upper body bent, panting heavily, looking like he had been searching for a long time and was in a hurry. He said, "Your Highness, why are you here alone? Come back to the palace with me."
Zhong Yujing walked around the eunuch, but saw a young man sitting on the ground in front of him, leaning against the pillar of the corridor, with his back facing them. The young man was wearing black clothes with a waist belt and a gold-inlaid jade crown on his bun. He looked like a stone statue and was determined not to move.
The eunuch's breath had eased a lot. Seeing this, he sighed, took a step forward, moved closer, and said from behind the young man: "Empress Rou went to Zhenlei Palace but didn't see you, so she ordered this old servant to come look for you."
The young man turned around upon hearing this. On his handsome and tender face, two sword-like eyebrows had grown clear and thick. When he was not smiling, the corners of his lips were slightly pursed. His deep eyes were both ignorant and obscure. It turned out to be the childhood Shangguan Yichen.
Zhong Yujing's eyelashes trembled.
The young man did not stand up, but asked in a deep, childish voice: "What does mother want from me?"
Zhong Yujing laughed. It turned out that he had been behaved in this deep and dignified manner since he was a child.
The eunuch frowned and said, "I don't know. The queen looked anxious and said that she had important matters to discuss with Your Highness, so she ordered me to find Your Highness as soon as possible." The eunuch looked very embarrassed.
After hearing this, the young man lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then stood up and said, "Let's go back to the palace."
Zhong Yujing smiled again and thought to herself, he has rarely been willful like a child since he was young, and he never makes things difficult for the servants. Also, he likes to wear dark and tight clothes, probably because he has been practicing martial arts since he was a child.
The eunuch slapped his thigh upon hearing this, very happy, and followed Shangguan Yichen to the right fork in the road they had just come to.
"Did mother come alone or with my aunt?" Shangguan Yichen asked as they walked.
"In reply to His Royal Highness, Concubine Rou came alone and was not accompanied by anyone else."
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?!
Zhong Yujing, who was following behind him, was stunned...but she didn't slow down her pace.
Zhong Yujing followed the two and walked straight to a palace at the end of the corridor. The palace was located in the east, with the main gate facing south. A plaque hung high in the middle with three large characters "Zhen Lei Palace" written on it. Zhong Yujing suddenly understood that Zhen means thunder and it stands in the east, so it should be the residence of the eldest son. In the royal family, it is the prince's bedroom.
As Shangguan Yichen entered the palace, a young woman came to greet him. The woman was dignified and graceful, her movements like a willow in the breeze. Zhong Yujing couldn't help but sigh, "What a gentle and elegant lady!" A closer look revealed a resemblance to Shangguan Yichen's mother, the Princess of Yao, though the Princess was more refined, while this woman was more feminine. Zhong Yujing had always thought that, despite his imposing stature, Shangguan Yichen's appearance bore little resemblance to the Prince of Yao, but rather resembled the Concubine Dowager. Now, upon seeing this woman, she realized that his handsome demeanor mirrored hers.
"Qing'er, where have you been?" The woman looked unusually anxious. She stepped forward and stroked Shangguan Yichen's cheek, then his shoulder, checking him over and over, asking, "Did you see anyone? Did anyone do anything to you?"
Shangguan Yichen looked puzzled, but seeing the woman's anxious look, he consoled her sternly, "My child hasn't seen anyone, nor has he encountered any danger. Don't worry, mother!"
Concubine Mother? This woman is the Concubine Rou the eunuch mentioned. Could she be Shangguan Yichen's biological mother?!
After hearing this, Concubine Rou's expression gradually eased, and the fear in her eyes faded a little. Then she looked around, straightened her body, and said to the servants with a calm expression, "Everyone, please leave. I want to chat with the prince about some personal matters."
Upon hearing this, all the eunuchs and palace maids in the hall responded in agreement, bowed, and filed out of the palace.
After watching the palace gates close, Concubine Rou took Shangguan Yichen's hand and walked to the soft couch in the hall, where they sat down. Her hands touched Shangguan Yichen's cheeks, gently caressing them, her eyes lingering on his face. They were the eyes of a mother looking at her child, filled with reluctance to leave, afraid that she would never see him again. After a long while, Shangguan Yichen finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked, "Mother, what happened that makes you so uneasy?"
The tears that had been lingering in Concubine Rou's eyes for a long time suddenly burst out like a waterfall, and big drops of them fell on the clothes of the mother and son who were leaning against each other, and she sobbed uncontrollably.
Shangguan Yichen seemed to know something, but he didn't know the whole story. His small face suddenly frowned, "Don't be afraid, mother! Tell me what happened quickly! Even if father is not here, I will protect you!"
He has been such a protective child since he was young~
Concubine Rou cried even harder, and hugged Shangguan Yichen in her arms. She didn't let go for a long time. After calming down, she looked at Shangguan Yichen solemnly and said, "Qing'er, you must remember what your mother says next." Shangguan Yichen nodded ignorantly and solemnly.
Concubine Rou's voice still contained tears, but her expression was solemn. She continued in a deep voice, "Your identity as the Crown Prince of Daqing Kingdom ends today. From now on, you must not mention it to anyone. Tonight, your mother will send someone to take you to the palace where your aunt is temporarily staying. Eunuch An will come to pick you up at midnight. Don't ask anything, just follow him. Starting tomorrow, you will continue to live with a new identity. That is, as your aunt's only son and the son of King Yao of Qi, your name will be Shangguan Yichen from now on. Your aunt is your mother, and the man you call father, King Yao of Qi, Shangguan Jinyao, conspired with your uncle Shuduan to kill your father. The assassination of your father was instigated by the two of them."
Concubine Rou's eyes were filled with sorrow, "You must remember what the two of them did, but never tell anyone, including your aunt, who knows nothing about it. At this moment, she had just lost her only son, Yichen, who was seriously ill on the way to Qing. She rushed to Qing Kingdom day and night, but still failed to save Yichen's life. Although King Yao was known as a virtuous man in Qi Kingdom, he was actually a beast in human form. He always coveted the throne and plotted rebellion in secret. He and your uncle, Prince Duan, were of the same ilk. They were both unwilling to be on the throne and wanted to usurp power, so they colluded with each other. King Yao helped Prince Duan to usurp the throne in Qing, and he would one day... "The king will also help King Yao become emperor in Qi State. This is the wolfish ambition of these two. Now that King Yao has lost his only son, he must be worried about the future without a successor to his throne. As long as King Yao does not know that you know of his actions, he will not harm you. You and Yi Chen have completely different personalities, but you look alike and are the same age. As long as your aunt and King Yao keep silent, no one will suspect anything. So I made this request to your aunt, asking her to take you back to Qi State and raise you by her side, protecting you and bringing you up safely. Your aunt is my cousin, kind by nature, and will treat you as her own daughter and protect you well. Your mother can rest assured."
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