Chapter 106: Seriously injured, come home with me, okay?
The glass lamp shattered into pieces after the collision. Lu Tingwan followed behind and protected the empress dowager with several palace maids and eunuchs, while the imperial guards led the way. However, these assassins were ruthless and had extraordinary skills.
Just from the moves, it was clear that he was a carefully trained Deadpool. The Imperial Guards were unable to withstand it, and the Imperial Guards escorting Queen Mother Jiang were broken up, and several of them retreated to the waterside corridor.
Xie Zhaona was also unable to escape. Li Tingfeng and Rong Fei were protected by many imperial guards within the wall and were safe for the time being.
However, the chaotic flight of the officials' wives made the capture and killing even more difficult. Cheng Xianzhi could no longer find Lu Tingwan. Panicked, he left the crowd to look for her. A frightened Gongsun Xue clung to his arm tightly, tears welling in her eyes. She pleaded softly, "Husband, Xue'er is scared..."
Cheng Xianzhi looked back and saw Gongsun Xue protecting her lower abdomen with her hands. Cheng Xianzhi called Han Zhou and asked him to watch the people. He picked up a sword of the imperial guards from the ground. Someone screamed in surprise in the distance.
"Empress Dowager Jiang is here." It was the voice of an assassin. Hearing the voice, the man dressed as an assassin rushed towards the voice, and the palace maids who were fleeing and hiding fell to the ground.
The assassin leaped over the railing by stepping on people's heads. Queen Mother Jiang and the others were blocked. Behind them were the men in black who were relentlessly pursuing them. They were entangled with the imperial guards. The sound of swords and knives drowned out the cries for help. The originally blooming chrysanthemums were stained with a layer of blood, becoming even more red.
Lu Tingwan grabbed a knife from somewhere and held it horizontally in front of her, ready to use it as a shield if an assassin attacked. She hadn't brought her arm crossbow with her since entering the palace, and only the imperial guards were allowed to carry weapons at palace banquets.
She had never used a sword and was afraid in her heart. It was a normal palace banquet and there were assassins mixed in. It was impossible for the Jinyiwei and the Imperial Guards to allow such a large number of assassins and weapons to sneak in.
At the critical moment of life and death, she had no time to speculate further. A large number of imperial guards were protecting the emperor, and Queen Mother Jiang and others had escaped from the imperial guards' protective wall during the assassination.
Lu Tingwan’s most important task at this moment is to escort Queen Mother Jiang to avoid being surrounded and attacked.
The battle lasted for half an incense stick and had not yet subsided. Reinforcements from the imperial guards kept arriving, and the assassin was at his wit's end.
Suddenly, the sharp edge contained a beam of moonlight, hitting Lu Tingwan's eyes, and finally fell in front of Queen Mother Jiang. It seemed that the blade was about to pierce the Queen Mother's heart.
Lu Tingwan pushed suddenly, using his entire body to block the weapon that was about to fall on Queen Mother Jiang.
It was a short blade that flew from the darkness. No one could see which assassin it came from. If the white blade had not caught the moonlight and dazzled Lu Tingwan's eyes, Lu Tingwan would never have been able to detect it.
"Boss Lu!" The knife finally landed squarely on Lu Tingwan's left chest.
A piercing pain assaulted her nerves, and a mouthful of blood blocked her throat. She clutched the knife in her chest and spoke with difficulty to the palace servants behind her: "Take, take the Queen Mother away!"
Even though Queen Mother Jiang had witnessed countless scenes of life and death, her eyes were filled with disbelief when Lu Tingwan took the knife for her.
"Master Lu!"
"Go!"
Cheng Xianzhi, who arrived in time, saw this scene, but was too late. His roar broke through the noise and fighting.
"Lu Tingwan!"
He was about to move forward, but a sharp sword passed in front of him, blocking his advance. At that moment, his eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of blood. He moved swiftly and swept the sword across the assassin's neck. After killing three or four people in succession, the imperial guards behind him followed closely.
Queen Mother Jiang was helped by palace maids to escape from the pursuit. The dying Lu Tingwan leaned against the beam, vomiting blood as her chest heaved. The blood oozing from her chest dyed her palace dress red.
When Cheng Xianzhi approached, he almost crawled on his knees, his hands trembling uncontrollably, and even his voice was choked with sobs.
"Lu, Lu Tingwan?"
He held the person in his arms with trembling arms. He saw Lu Tingwan's unspeakable pain and tears in her eyes. Cheng Xianzhi, who had always been omnipotent, was so helpless before life and death for the first time.
The usually calm man was at a loss at this moment. His fingertips touched the blood at the corner of her mouth. Lu Tingwan fell in a pool of blood, most of her palace dress was soaked. The smell of blood lingered around her nose, but she could still smell the faint sandalwood scent on his body.
Her delicate facial features were twisted in pain, and Cheng Xianzhi's heart felt as if pierced by thousands of swords. She was in great pain.
"Lu Tingwan," Cheng Xianzhi hugged her, his pity and fear of loss bursting out, "Hold on..."
"I'm here. I won't let you die. Absolutely not."
Lu Tingwan forced a smile and vomited blood again. His breath was weak and his voice was unsteady, but his eyes were incomparably determined: "I... I am, I am Jiang Yanli. I don't want to be a hall, a swallow in front of the hall. I want to be, I want to be, I want to be a wild goose returning south..."
She didn't want to stay in Kyoto, she wanted to go back to Jiangling, to a place where wild geese could fly over, to a place where there were no high walls to shelter her.
"Okay," Cheng Xianzhi's eyes moistened in the darkness, tears dripping into the sharp knife, "I promise you, I won't be a concubine, I promise you..."
"Jiang Yanli, don't die, hold on..."
When Lu Tingwan heard his promise, her shoulders slowly drooped. In the dark night, the sky was obscured by darkness, and a full moon hung in the blue sky. She seemed to see a flock of wild geese flying across the full moon. Her vision became increasingly blurred, and the moonlight also faded until it turned into darkness, without a trace of light.
Cheng Xianzhi screamed in the chaos, holding his broken body.
"Doctor, call the doctor!"
Almost all the assassins at the Imperial Garden Palace Banquet were strangled to death, leaving only a few alive and guarded by the imperial guards.
The palace was in a state of panic, with lights on all night. Amid the clamor, several imperial doctors went in and out of Lu Tingwan's residence in Jinhua Palace. Empress Dowager Jiang was also frightened. The palace maids made a calming soup for her to rest early, but Empress Dowager Jiang's mind was still replaying the scene of Lu Tingwan sacrificing himself to save her.
She didn't need to do that. The assassins were obviously targeting the royal family.
"Tell the people in the Imperial Hospital to save Manager Lu at all costs, otherwise have him beheaded and brought to me." Queen Mother Jiang frowned, wondering who would dare to break into the palace and assassinate her. This matter must not be that simple.
"How is it, Your Majesty?"
The maidservant was also in shock. "Your Majesty and Concubine Rong were escorted back by the imperial guards. Concubine Rong was frightened. Your Majesty was worried about the fetus, so he ordered the imperial physician to take her pulse. Your Majesty is currently discussing the assassination with Commander Han.
"Such a major incident occurred in the palace. The Imperial Guards failed to protect us, but our priority now is not to pursue the perpetrators, but to find the mastermind behind it." The candlelight reflected in Empress Dowager Jiang's eyes, making it difficult to see through them. "If it weren't for Master Lu blocking the knife for me tonight, there would be endless trouble."
The palace maid said, "Master Lu's sincerity is evident. Minister Cheng is currently guarding a side hall. According to palace rules, outsiders are not allowed to stay overnight in the harem. Your Majesty..."
Queen Mother Jiang was silent for a moment, then waved her hand and said, "What did the Imperial Hospital say?"
"It took half an hour to pull the short blade out. It was only an inch away from his heart. Master Lu is already dead, but he has lost too much blood and won't wake up soon. We need to arrange for someone to keep watch at night, and the imperial physician must also stay. If Master Lu wakes up, he can promptly check his pulse."
Queen Mother Jiang said nothing.
The imperial physician wrote a prescription, and it took half an hour to remove the sharp knife from the chest. If it had deviated an inch more, it would have pierced the heart, and Lu Tingwan would definitely not have survived. Cheng Xianzhi, who had been guarding the bed, did not feel relieved until he heard the imperial physician say that his life was not in danger.
Many important officials were still meeting in Hanzhang Palace, and their families were escorted back by the Imperial Guards and the Embroidered Uniform Guards. The few remaining assassins committed suicide by taking poison within half an hour of being detained. Han Jinzhang wanted to try them, but there was no place to do so.
Inside the Hanzhang Palace, the Minister of the Central Secretariat's voice was even deeper than usual: "The assassins' main targets were the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. Several officials' families were also injured, but fortunately, they were all minor. The Imperial Guards have checked everyone entering and leaving the palace, yet an assassin managed to sneak in."
"The imperial military property has always been under the jurisdiction of Minister Cheng. Now that something like this has happened, why isn't he here?" one of them said.
Han Jinzhang stood solemnly. "Master Lu was seriously injured while protecting the Empress Dowager. Minister Cheng is temporarily unable to leave. I failed to properly protect the Imperial Palace. This is my incompetence. Your Majesty, please forgive me."
"Forget it." Li Tingfeng raised his hand, stopping the attack. Only Li Tingfeng knew how much Lu Tingwan meant to him. There was already a hidden story behind this matter, so the Imperial Guards naturally couldn't find out anything.
"My dear ministers, you have worked hard tonight. I am exhausted." Li Tingfeng coughed a few times in the bleak air, but it didn't seem intentional. "Master Lu has done a great job in protecting the Empress Dowager. It's natural for Minister Cheng to be worried. This case is not that simple. I will hand it over to Commander Han to investigate. All personnel involved in the banquet and the palace guards need to be questioned one by one."
Han Jinzhang bowed: "I obey your command."
"My dear ministers, please go back."
The eunuch helped Li Tingfeng out of Hanzhang Hall. They saw the full moon obscured by dark clouds, and the plotting in his eyes was clear. No one knew the surge in the dark night, but the chess player's first move was perfect.
Cheng Xianzhi left Jinhua Palace. Lu Tingwan was still asleep and was being looked after by palace maids and imperial physicians. He could not help. In addition, the Empress Dowager had given the order and no one dared to neglect it. Due to palace rules, he would not stay for long.
Just as he arrived at the front court, his armor brushed against his body, and a strong figure gradually emerged from the black fog.
"Is she okay?" Xie Zhao asked cautiously with a frown.
At this moment, he was not treating Cheng Xianzhi as a superior or a subordinate, and he didn't even show the proper courtesy.
Cheng Xianzhi didn't care, his heart heavy: "It's fine now."
Xie Zhao hesitated to speak, and finally said calmly: "She shouldn't be involved."
Cheng Xianzhi clenched his fists, feeling extremely painful. "I know, I didn't mean to drag her into this."
"But she almost died." Xie Zhao's words broke his last line of defense.
The pain turned into regret. The cold aura around Cheng Xianzhi was like the moonlight tonight, which had long since dissipated. What remained was weeping and struggling. He turned around and no longer faced Xie Zhao.
"She won't die." The words were spoken in a cold and normal manner.
Xie Zhao looked at the receding figure, sighed deeply, and turned back to the palace. The palace was bathed in blood tonight, and the darkness was melted in the blood. After the next day, as the morning sun rises, everything will disappear.
At dawn, Lu Tingwan regained some consciousness. After diagnosis, the imperial physician prescribed medicine to replenish qi and blood. The rest was just nursing and recuperation. However, the wounds on her body were deep, so she could not move for a short time. She could only stay in Jinhua Palace to recuperate.
Cheng Xianzhi discussed the assassination case last night with the ministers. Although the assassin was dead and could not be traced, the banquet registration book was still there, so there would always be clues to follow. Including the seriously injured Lu Tingwan, they were all people who needed to be interrogated this time.
Just because she had done a good job in guarding, she could deny any connection, but Lu Tingwan was the primary person in charge of the palace banquet mission, and she could not avoid interrogation.
In a side hall of Jinhua Palace, palace servants were feeding Lu Tingwan medicine, but she remained very weak. Cheng Xianzhi was led inside, and upon seeing the figure on the couch, his worries from the previous night eased somewhat.
Lu Tingwan caught a glimpse of someone out of the corner of her eye and dodged the medicinal soup offered by the palace servant. The palace servant stood up and saluted Cheng Xianzhi, "Your servant greets Minister Cheng."
The Empress Dowager had allowed Cheng Xianzhi to visit before, so Cheng Xianzhi went to Jinhua Palace to ask for permission to take Lu Tingwan back home for recuperation. Empress Dowager Jiang had no objection, but the imperial physician instructed that he could not be moved until at least ten days later. Therefore, Cheng Xianzhi had to come to Jinhua Palace to visit during these ten days.
Cheng Xianzhi raised his hand to take the medicine bowl from the palace maid. The palace maid retreated, her eyes fixed on Lu Tingwan's face. Her lips were bloodless, her face was pale, and her half-lidded eyelids revealed her weakness.
Cheng Xianzhi didn't say anything, but the tenderness in his eyes concealed a hint of guilt and regret.
The medicine handed over slid into Lu Tingwan's mouth. His eyes stared at him closely, and a few drops of medicine fell at the corners of his mouth.
Cheng Xianzhi wiped it off with his fingertips and continued to feed the remaining medicine.
Lu Tingwan felt bitter in his mouth. After savoring the taste of the medicine, he said lightly, "It's bitter."
A familiar voice rolled into my ears, and his deep eyes were covered with a layer of light mist. He smiled and said, "I'll bring you some candy next time."
Lu Tingwan spoke softly, "I heard everything. If you hadn't gotten me out in time, I might not have survived until now."
Her words of gratitude were like a scimitar, cutting and tearing him apart.
Cheng Xianzhi swallowed the saliva in his mouth and said in a deep voice, "Why are you so stupid? Why did you take the knife for the Queen Mother?"
"I didn't think about anything at the time," Lu Tingwan said with a smile, "I just knew that Queen Mother Jiang couldn't die. If she died, I..."
Cheng Xianzhi interrupted her and said, "I know, I know everything. I won't say more. You should take good care of yourself first. I will come to see you every day when I am free."
Lu Tingwan shook his head and said softly, "No need. The people in Jinhua Palace are very nice. Queen Mother Jiang has also come to see me. You are a man from outside the palace. It is not convenient for you to come to the harem. Besides, there are people in the palace who need more care."
She kept having dreams while she was in a coma, but she couldn't remember clearly and it was very confusing. She just felt that the dream was very beautiful at the beginning and she didn't want to wake up. In a daze, she heard someone calling her, the voice was sometimes far away, sometimes near, and she couldn't hear it clearly. Then the originally happy picture disappeared, and a voice came through, telling her that everything was illusory and fabricated.
Lu Tingwan broke out in a cold sweat and woke up after struggling for a long time. Only then did he shudder and feel the pain from the wound on his body.
She had a very long dream, but she couldn't see the essence of the dream clearly. When she woke up, everything seemed so real.
Lu Tingwan lowered her eyes, her gaze fell on his waist, staring at him vaguely.
Cheng Xianzhi hesitated for a moment, then continued, "The Emperor has ordered a thorough investigation into the assassination, and all those involved in the palace banquet must be questioned."
"So, you came here today not just to see me." Lu Tingwan turned his head and looked at the purple satin curtains, a trace of loneliness intertwined in the dark color.
Cheng Xianzhi lowered his head, and her wrists were exposed from the quilt. They were slender, with clear wrist bones and a pinkish-white hue, making people want to grab them and hold them to their heart.
"You can ask anything you want." Lu Tingwan said.
"There's no rush. The imperial physician said you just woke up and need to rest first." He paused, hesitated, and then said, "I'm sorry..."
"What?" Lu Tingwan turned his eyes and looked at him sideways, a little amused, "It wasn't you who handed me the knife, nor did you push me to block it, why are you telling me this..."
"It's my fault for not being able to protect you." Cheng Xianzhi finally couldn't help himself and grabbed the slender wrist bone. "When you're healed, come home with me, okay?"
Perhaps because she was frightened by the banquet and seriously injured, her heart softened a little. For a moment, she didn't know where the grievance came from. When she heard the words "go home", her nose, eyes and heart felt sore. The tenderness in front of her was what she needed at this moment.
Lu Tingwan opened his lips slightly, staring at the palm of his hand and wanting to say yes, but when the words came to his lips, this was not the answer.
"I...I don't want to go back."
His eyes dimmed slightly, and bitter emotions were secretly surging. At this moment, anything he said to her seemed pale and powerless. He let go of her hand and said, "Okay, you recover first, and we will discuss this matter later."
Lu Tingwan was already looking tired, and Cheng Xianzhi waited until she fell asleep before leaving.
For several days in a row, he went to Jinhua Palace to see her after leaving court. Lu Tingwan recovered quickly. Empress Dowager Jiang and the Emperor had both issued orders, and Cheng Xianzhi had also made many suggestions. Naturally, the Imperial Hospital took good care of her and used the best medicine.
However, during the days of recuperation, she had nothing to do and slept for a long time. She woke up several times to see Cheng Xianzhi's face. Occasionally, she was molested in her dreams once or twice. The man took advantage of her serious injury and inability to resist and touched her lips, but did nothing else.
She wanted to open her eyes to see who it was, but she couldn't.
When she woke up, the person in front of her bed looked intently at the book in her room, fed her medicine, and said some irrelevant words before leaving.
As for the assassination, Han Jinzhang interrogated all the people involved in the palace, but found no useful information. Lu Tingwan gave Cheng Xianzhi a confession. On the night of the guard duty, the interrogation of the troupe and the repertoire personnel was mainly carried out with the Jinyiwei and the Imperial Guards who were on duty.
The opera troupe from outside the palace was invited by Jiang Qingsheng from Weiyang Tower. Empress Dowager Jiang also loved to listen to opera. Jiang Qingsheng was filial to his aunt, so he went to great lengths to move the play into the palace. However, Lu Tingwan had carefully monitored the performance arrangements and did not find anything wrong. She had indeed seen the troupe's owner in Weiyang Tower.
If the entire troupe is composed of assassins and they were able to avoid the search by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, then someone must have let them in intentionally, and it is not impossible that they were colluding with the outside forces.
Lu Tingwan could get out of bed and walk around, but she couldn't move much. She could only walk to the yard at most. Jinhua Palace prepared a pushchair for her. When she felt bored, there was no one to talk to.
Because of this, the Queen Mother promoted her to the position of Head of Jinhua Palace.
People in the palace respected her even more.
Only when Cheng Xianzhi came to see her could she talk to him.
She had many doubts about the assassination case, and Cheng Xianzhi didn't want to talk to her much.
"I heard from the palace servants that the troupe was able to enter without being checked because they had a token." Lu Tingwan rested his hand on the wheelchair armrest and tapped it lightly. "Do you know whose token it was?"
Cheng Xianzhi squatted down to help her adjust the thin quilt on her legs, obviously not caring much: "Whose token is it?"
Lu Tingwan took a look around, leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Jiang Qingsheng!"
It was just hearsay, with no evidence, so it could only be considered speculation. He showed no interest, only caring about her: "You don't have to worry about these things, the Imperial Guards can investigate them."
When Lu Tingwan stood up, she grabbed his sleeve and pulled the wound in her haste. Her bright face showed pain. Cheng Xianzhi's face was solemn when he saw this. He squatted down again with concern, and when he was at her eye level, he said in a soft voice, "Did you pull the wound?"
Lu Tingwan endured the pain until it subsided and said, "Jiang Qingsheng lost the token. Empress Dowager Jiang is worried that this matter will befall him by mistake. Although Jinhua Palace has been peaceful these past few days, she is very concerned about this matter."
Cheng Xianzhi sighed. As long as she stayed in Jinhua Palace for one day, she would inevitably be caught up in the tide. It seemed that his decision was right.
"I have asked the Queen Mother for permission to take you back to the palace to recuperate. Once you are well, if you still want to return to Jinhua Palace, I will send you back."
Lu Tingwan widened her eyes. She had already refused this matter, so how could he be so decisive?
She certainly didn't want to: "When did I agree to go back..."
Cheng Xianzhi turned a blind eye and picked up the person from the chair. He came here today to talk to her about this matter. If Li Tingfeng took any action, he had to take the person away to prevent something unexpected like last time from happening again.
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