Princess Liang (Part 3)
Meng Shizhuang tensed up the moment Hengbo unsheathed his bow and arrow, and he frantically drew his sword. Though his hands were clumsy and he was half-crippled, his eyes and ears were sharp, and he could tell from the sound alone that Hengbo had fired more than one arrow.
The discipline and restrictions on disciples at Sujian Mountain were rather chaotic. Of the eighteen weapons, only the sword could be wielded with it, and a few of the most accomplished members of the Loyalty Hall could boast proficiency. Other weapons were rarely touched. Meng Shizhuang had only seen people shooting birds with wooden slingshots, but had never witnessed the skill of shooting an arrow through a hundred steps.
He watched the shadows of the two guards outside the wing door. The doctor had already left after his repeated, cold refusal. The only other people in the room, besides the still-sleeping chubby little boy, were this woman, more than a head taller than him. He had a deep impression of Hengbo. That day, when they had blackmailed "Pink Butterfly" at the dock, it was she who had rushed in to stop them, breathless and disorganized.
And the man in front of him, with a bow in his hand and a cold look in his eyes, seemed as if the lively and impetuous person that day was just an illusion in his eyes.
Meng Shizhuang still held the sword in his hand, paying close attention to Hengbo's movements, and his ears on both sides of his head were always on guard against any movement outside the room behind him. His lips were pale and his face was ashen. The holes in his chest and abdomen caused by arrows were still bleeding. It was very painful for him to breathe, and he felt like his body was leaking air.
In the distance, fragments of the inner city gate sank into the water, and the warships rushed into the city with great momentum, ready to take over Ming Hunzhou as soon as they landed.
A group of civilian ships led by Song Jingyan followed quietly behind the warships, seemingly still watching the battle situation.
In the space of a cup of tea, the soldiers on the warships must have poured into Ming Hunzhou, but the city was completely silent. The fierce yet swift battle that had just ended was the last stand of this city, riddled with lives. The river within the inner city was littered with arrow feathers, the wreckage of warships and city gates, and the scene was a scene of devastation.
The sky was still gloomy, but the wind was a little stronger. Meng Shizhuang was facing the window and smelled the wind blowing in from Minghunzhou, which was a rotten smell full of chronic illness.
Song Jingyan was not in a hurry to get in with Xi Zhongting's boat.
Xi Zhongting's previous inappropriate behavior reverberated in her mind. She had a hunch that the general would first resolve a long-standing matter in Ming Hunzhou, one he couldn't disclose to outsiders. She, on the other hand, had a pressing matter of life and death to attend to back on the tower ship. The other civilian ships hesitated and looked around at the inner city gate. Song Jingyan directed her men to steer the small boats back toward the tower ship.
Hengbo always listens to Song Jingyan and rarely thinks about things that he finds strange.
So even though things were clearly amiss in Minghun Prefecture, she let out a long sigh of relief, lowered her bow, and headed out to meet Song Jingyan. Most importantly, Bian Hongqiu had been left outside the city, and she felt less anxious only when she was with Song Jingyan. Turning around, Meng Shizhuang was staring at him with her eyes downcast, a look of half-death.
To be honest, Meng Shizhuang's eyebrows, eyes, nose and lips are all good. His eye sockets are deep and his brows are high. Unfortunately, he is too thin and sickly. His cheeks are sunken, and his thin neck and spine are connected into a stiff line, just like a starving ghost moving by hanging on an invisible silk thread. Only his eyes, which are always dark and bright, can make people discern the endless vitality in him.
But the deep emotions contained in these eyes are definitely not what a normal teenager should have.
Hengbo was first frightened by the sight of him with one foot half in the coffin, and then he was frightened by the intense darkness in his eyes.
She swung the bow with her backhand, as if to drive away evil spirits, feeling that Meng Shizhuang's appearance was really unlucky.
Meng Shizhuang didn't know what she was thinking, but he was still on guard against her without blinking.
Hengbo also stopped moving. The two of them stared at each other in silence for a long time, until Song Jingyan pushed the door open with Shao Zheng and Mr. Zhou.
Mr. Zhou is the doctor employed by Prince Liang’s Palace. He has been working in the Palace since his grandfather’s generation.
He walked into the room again, his nose twitching. Seeing that half of Meng Shizhuang's body was stained red, he guessed that he was about to faint from losing blood. So he closed his mouth, too lazy to persuade such a stubborn donkey. He planned to wait until the donkey fainted before he could do whatever he wanted to him.
Song Jingyan wasn't sure how serious Meng Shizhuang's injuries were, but the room was filled with the stench of blood, and he was precariously clutching his wound. She knew the situation wasn't optimistic. She didn't rush to speak, but instead quickly surveyed Meng Shizhuang, her gaze settling on his coarsely bandaged right hand. Recalling their unpleasant first encounter at the dock, she cut to the chase: "One thousand taels of silver, plus help finding the family of the child you saved, and healing the wound on your right hand."
There was no change in Meng's makeup or the expression in his eyes.
He was truly feeling waves of irreconcilable dizziness and nausea. He held a sword in his hand, a short one at that, and had no support except for his legs, which were becoming increasingly limp like noodles. After finally managing to calmly exhale the turbid air in his chest, he heard Song Jingyan bluntly throw out several large pancakes.
His brain, which had been stagnant for a long time, began to move slowly. There was no such thing as a visitor without a reason. Meng Shizhuang first thought about himself inside and out three times, but he couldn't think of which bone in his body was so valuable. He was about to sneer in a bluffing manner, but his mouth was only half opened, and the remaining energy and spirit had already slipped away with his action.
The dagger fell to the ground with a clang.
Meng Shizhuang felt dizzy and finally collapsed without any more pretense.
Shao Zheng knew what Song Jingyan meant when she invited Meng Shizhuang into the side room. Seeing that Meng Shizhuang was about to faint, he stepped forward to support Meng Shizhuang's limp body to prevent the skinny child from smashing him to death.
Mr. Zhou then stroked his beard, which was only a finger-joint long, and walked forward slowly, motioning Shao Zheng to put the man on the couch, with him and the child he had just taken care of sharing half of the bed each.
Song Jingyan stood in the room without saying a word, watching Mr. Zhou examine Meng Shizhuang's body.
The murky air over the inland river was gradually dispelled by sunlight that parted the dark clouds. Song Jingyan continued to wait. Mr. Zhou carefully examined Meng Shizhuang's injuries and wrote down a prescription. Hengbo didn't take it immediately, but he wasn't surprised. He turned to Song Jingyan and said, "His hand is so badly damaged that even a Daluo Jinxian couldn't heal it."
Meng Shizhuang was afraid that the clothes would hurt his hands and be a burden, so he often tied them up randomly without any method. Now when he peeled off the coarse cloth, he saw that the bones, skin and flesh were swollen and rotten, and the shape had become very distorted.
Song Jingyan still didn't move. Shao Zheng waited for a long time, feeling anxious, and was about to speak.
The sound of hurried trots could be heard outside. Qiu He pushed open the door without even bothering to salute. "Sister, there's news from Ming Hun Prefecture. General Xi has said that we need to wait for the imperial envoy to arrive and rectify the affairs of Ming Hun Prefecture. After that, we'll post a notice and send envoys to various prefectures to provide relief to those harmed by the 'life-buying scam'. Once the people's grievances are appeased, we'll reopen Ming Hun Prefecture."
Song Jingyan's shoulders suddenly sank.
This has been too long.
If Bian Hongqiu really died, I am afraid that by the time the city gates are opened, his body will have been soaked in sea water and will be able to bloom.
She looked quietly at Meng Shizhuang lying on the bed, and said, "Please start treating him, Mr. Zhou." Then she turned away.
Shao Zheng did not follow. He asked Hengbo to keep an eye on Meng Shizhuang, and then summoned the remaining people in Prince Liang's Mansion to discuss countermeasures.
Mr. Zhou was merely a doctor, never involved in other matters within the palace. He urged Hengbo to prepare the medicine, rolled up his sleeves, took out a silver needle, and grasped Meng Shizhuang's right hand, which had been twitching since he fell unconscious, to alleviate his symptoms.
Meng Shizhuang, who fainted, was not at ease either.
He was actually on high alert, uneasy on this ship. Every gust of wind felt like the aura of war rushing towards him. When he fainted, his drowsy brain was still struggling, but his exhausted body had long since given up. Body and mind fought each other, and even in the blackout, he couldn't rest. One moment he thought he was still standing strong, confronting a group of strangers, and the next, he vaguely realized that he had collapsed.
The bumpy and dangerous sea outside Minghunzhou dragged him, Lao Ju's quiet and deep eyes also pulled him like a shadow, as well as the fat ball he had met twice... The tangible fetters pulled him, and turned into illusory shackles in his nightmares, and then the shadow of the shackles was fed by the fear that he struggled desperately to break free but could not get rid of, and it wrapped around his ankles and throat.
Meng Shizhuang stretched out her hand and pulled it hard—
There was the crisp sound of a porcelain bowl breaking.
Hengbo, sweating profusely, stared at Qiuhe, whose forehead was also covered in beads of sweat. They both panted at each other.
This was the sixth bowl that Meng Shizhuang had broken unconsciously.
Even in his coma, the man remained vigilant, his teeth clenched and fists clenched, as if clutching a half-man-high sword. Mr. Zhou was helpless, so he ordered Hengbo to remove Meng Shizhuang's jaw. If the medicine couldn't be fed, he feared the fever would burn Meng Shizhuang to death. Removing the jaw wasn't enough; Qiuhe half-lifted Meng Shizhuang, lifted his head, and force-fed him the medicine through a hose.
Even so, three people with six hands still couldn't control Meng Shizhuang.
Hengbo's arrow could penetrate an adult's head from a hundred steps away. To be honest, it was not that he could not suppress Meng Shizhuang, but Meng Shizhuang was clearly in so much pain that she was about to wake up. She whimpered in her throat but still struggled. She was really afraid that she would break Meng Shizhuang's bamboo-like arms, so she had to relax a little.
Mr. Zhou raised his sleeve and wiped the sweat off his face in embarrassment. "Well, I've almost finished giving him the medicine."
If you pour it in a little bit at a time, six bowls of medicine can make up to one bowl.
Hengbo followed Song Jingyan, looking through the account books of Prince Liang's Mansion from time to time, and looking at the broken bowls and medicine juice on the ground with heartache.
Mr. Zhou waved his hand and said, "Alright, Miss Lao Hengbo, take care of him. I'll go talk to Miss Song about his condition."
The most important master in the palace had gone missing, and keeping it a secret was no easy task. Everyone, from top to bottom, would have had to confess a great deal. Qiu He was Bian Hongqiu's personal attendant. Compared to Heng Bo, who spent more time with Song Jingyan, Qiu He was now in a position where he was needed. He nodded to Heng Bo and left.
After struggling for most of the hour, Meng Shizhuang finally calmed down under the effect of the medicine.
Hengbo cleaned up the bowl residue and medicine juice on the floor, then sat not far from Meng Shizhuang, "looking after" her diligently.
The changing light and shadow outside the window were quietly reflected on Meng Shizhuang's face. From this angle, Meng Shizhuang's surprisingly thin face did not look so "evil", but rather had a very deep outline.
Hengbo looked at this face and suddenly thought of Bian Hongqiu.
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