Lu Wuyi looked astonished, but Qin Yunuan was so calm, “Yes, it is a Commander’s Seal. It has been about one whole day since Sima Ray started off his army last night. If the calling of help had been delivered to the outside, the army of Jizhou, which was stationed in the place closest to the Royal City, would have arrived at the suburbs of the Royal City. But now there is no new report. Thus, it can be concluded that Sima Ray has already colluded with those officers of the districts near the Royal City.”
“You are right,” Lu Wuyi did not conceal what he knew, “Actually, the Royal Palace was besieged, and then somebody had managed to get out to report. And the army of Jizhou had started off for saving the emperor. However, they had marched for a whole day but still did not arrive in the suburbs of the Royal City.”
“They are just not willing to save the emperor,” Qin Yunuan knew their trick well, “If Sima Ray were to succeed in overturning the regime, the prefectural governor of Jizhou would claim his achievement by the military action this time. If there was a tendency that the emperor would gain the upper hand in the Royal Palace, the prefectural governor of Jizhou would turn back and claim that his army saved the emperor and killed the traitors. He will be the meritorious official too.”
“The emperor won’t tolerate those traitors’ lie.” Lu Wuyi was very indignant and seemed to have forgotten that he was the military doctor of the rebel army. “So the Commander’s Seal?”
“It is the Commander’s Seal of the thirty-thousand army stationed at Qingzhou.” Qin Yunuan answered calmly.
Qingzhou was located at the border between Qi and North Di. The soldiers of Qi had rich experiences of battling due to perennial wars. After the peace talks between Qi and North Di, they decreased military trains generally. The imperial court had issued the dismissal decree to order those old, weak and disabled soldiers to return to their hometowns. Though those soldiers lacked real combat training, the thirty-thousand army stationed in Qingzhou was still one of the most powerful military strengths.
This was the gift the Queen Mother gave to the Old Madam of Prince Ning’s Mansion, for expressing her regret. And then the Old Madam sent it to Qin Yunuan.
“You want me to give this Commander’s Seal for deploying the army to General Leng?” Lu Wuyi guessed. Although the Leng Army was competitive in battles, as a new-emerging army, they were relatively small, with only less than eight thousand people, which was not comparable with those thirty thousand people from Sima Ray’s army. Besides, Imperial Concubine Rong in the Royal Palace was the spy of Sima Ray. Thus, General Leng was hard to break the dilemma.
“No.” Qin Yunuan shook her head. She guessed that Leng Changxi now must be protecting the emperor and Queen Mother in the Royal Palace. It was useless for Leng Changxi to gain the Commander’s Seal even if Lu Wuyi could try to enter the Royal Palace secretly.
Qin Yunuan needed a trustworthy person to take this Commander’s Seal to Qingzhou. The person should be not only calm and loyal but also skilled in martial arts. Now the Royal Capital was in turmoil, and everyone was trying to survive. And the selected person…
“You go to the east of the city and find Miss Chen, who makes a living by embroidering. You tell her that you book a handkerchief with two embroidering butterflies, one red above and one blue below.”
Lu Wuyi was confused but dared not ask more. Qin Yunuan glimpsed at him calmly, “You just tell her what I said. She will know you are my person. Doctor Lu, the lives in this country are in your hands.”
Lu Wuyi shuddered and said timidly, “I…let me figure out how I can get out of the military camp. It’s in the key period under the strict member checking. People can only enter the camp but are not allowed to leave. I am afraid that…”
A subtle impact sound came. Qin Yunuan knew that someone outside the stone room was starting the switch of the door. Suddenly Qin Yunuan smiled and stared at Lu Wuyi with quirky eyes, “It’s OK, Doctor Lu. I will help you.”
Suddenly, Qin Yunuan tore her clothes down heavily, and her fair collarbone and half shoulder were exposed. When Lu Wuyi was at a loss, Qin Yunuan held his hands to stop him from leaving. In the chaos, both of the two people were with mess dresses.
Lu Wuyi said in a lower voice, “Are you insane? What are you doing?”
At this moment, the stone door was open. Qin Yunuan glimpsed at the steps of the door and immersed into her play quickly. She held her clothes and said with tears, “Doctor Lu, you can’t do this. I am pregnant! You can’t do this.”
Suddenly, Lu Wuyi widened his eyes and looked at this instantly changing woman surprisingly. One second ago, she was a lady who analyzed the situation calmly. But the next second, she was crying like an injured small rabbit.
The moment the man at the door saw the scene, he rushed outrageously to grab the lappet of Lu Wuyi. That man was Sima Ray with bloody eyes and increasingly anger.
“Bastard!” Sima Ray picked up Lu Wuyi and threw him to the corner of the wall heavily. The heavy impact made Lu Wuyi hard to move. The blood of Sima Ray seemed to be burned. He could not tolerate the scene that her favorite woman was insulted by a menial military doctor.
Sima Ray lifted his feet and was about to kill Lu Wuyi, but suddenly Qin Yunuan came to stop Sima Ray, “Third Prince, please don’t.”
“Nuan?” Sima Ray was confused about why his decisive woman begged for this bastard.
Lu Wuyi held her arm painfully, and he thought that his left wrist had been dislocated. He was staring at Qin Yunuan and wondered how this woman explained her abrupt change.
“I feel not enough if you kill him like this,” Qin Yunuan said, gritting his teeth. She seemed to suffer huge unkindness, “I want him alive and then torture him generally. I want him to lose all reputation. A doctor thinks highly of reputation, but I will ruin his fame completely.”
Sima Ray raised his eyebrows slightly. He liked Qin Yunuan’s handling method. He was the kind of person like Qin Yunuan, who enjoyed people being tortured and begging sorely, “Nice. I like the way too.” Sima Ray glimpsed at Lu Wuyi arrogantly and asked Qin Yunuan, “So Nuan, how do you think he should be treated?”
Qin Yunuan glimpsed at Lu Wuyi calmly, “Kick him out of the military camp and destroy all of his medical books and researchful medicines. I want him to leave the camp without anything. Now the Royal Capital is in a mess. He is such an impotent doctor without any means of livelihood. I am waiting to see him become homeless and die far away from his hometown. Finally, there will be no one to help bury his body.”
The air seemed to be frozen. No matter how Sima Ray started at Qin Yunuan with his incomparable shrewd eyes, Qin Yunuan still looked at Lu Wuyi with her gloomy and vicious eyes. Lu Wuyi was still and even ignored the pain of his dislocated wrist. He finally figured out what Qin Yunuan had said. Now he couldn’t go out of the military camp in private. Qin Yunuan wanted to let him go out in this way, but she did not consult with him at all. He felt stunned but admired the reaction capacity of Qin Yunuan. This woman must gain unparalleled achievement in the future.
“OK, nice. I like it.” Sima Ray stopped observing. He turned back leisurely and said to Lu Wuyi arrogantly, “Do you hear that?”
“Third Prince.” Lu Wuyi implored accordingly. But for Sima Ray, he did not know the man in front of him was a treasure at all. Each one from Lu Family with nine-generation medical history had supreme medical skills, especially Lu Wuyi. He was good at detoxication and poison-making. But in the eyes of Sima Ray, he was just a desperate doctor called Lu Cheng who sought refuge and had slightly better medical skills than others.
“Go away.” Sima Ray was not hesitating. Having seen the leaving shadow of Lu Wuyi, who held his arm, Qin Yunuan estimated that her plan was half successful.
After Lu Wuyi left, there were only Sima Ray and Qin Yunuan in the stone room again. Qin Yunuan felt disgusting at this phenomenon. Though tears were still on her face, she had been back to normal.
Sima Ray came closer and tried to act soft, “Are you frightened just now?”
Qin Yunuan tilted her head, “Thanks for coming in time. I am fine.”
“Good,” Sima Ray suddenly looked completely different. He said hostilely, “Since you are OK, then I’ll ask you about one issue.”
Qin Yunuan had tidied up her clothes. She just walked straight toward the bed and said with her head lowering, “I am tired today. You can come to ask me another day. Third Prince.”
Her words irritated Sima Ray again. He dragged Qin Yunuan over from the bed and pushed her on the wall gain. Sima Ray showed a butterfly-shaped hair clasp to Qin Yunuan, “Is this yours?”
Qin Yunuan squinted, “It was made by Qinggong workshop. I bought it once, but I am not sure if others have bought this kind of clasp too.”
“Humph,” Sima Ray pushed the hair clasp closer, “It was found in the water dungeon. I remember that you wore this one when you first came here. But now, where is your hair clasp? It was not on your head.”
Qin Yunuan was just looking at crazy Sima Ray, without a word.
Sima Ray said louder, “Tell me, how can you do it? Did you bribe the guards at door? Or you bribed my people? You couldn’t bribe me. If no traitor helped you, it was impossible for you to do that and for the three girls to escape. Qin Yunuan, you are such a cunning woman. I love you. I love you much more.”
Qin Yunuan glimpsed at the madman coldly who said he loved her because Sima Ray should not suspect Lu Wuyi at all after the thing just now.
Qin Yunuan was about to leave, but Sima Ray pinched her body tightly, “Want to go? I won’t let it happen any longer. I will figure it out. I will check one by one and find the person who helped you. No one can be neglected.”
“Third Prince, just now, you asked me where the butterfly-shaped hair clasp was.” Qin Yunuan pushed away the arms of Sima Ray by her tender hands. She walked straight to the bed and took out a butterfly-shaped hair clasp under a pillow, which was identical to the one on the hand of Sima Ray. She smiled coldly, “Mine, is here.”
“You…” Sima Ray was stunned and thought the hair clasp on his hand was a joke. He stared at Qin Yunuan for a long time. This woman…
“Third Prince, I am tired. Please go back.” Qin Yunuan lowered her head and made a gesture of farewell.
Sima Ray got irritated. He waved his sleeves and said threatening words, and then left. There were many things outside which he should handle, and the most suspenseful thing was that Leng Changxi and his eighty-thousand followers now concentrated on Rosefinch Gate. It seemed that they would break out the circumstance. Sima Ray should not let anyone go out of the Royal Palace. If anyone escaped and reported to the outside, he would be over.
