As soon as Jing Yuanchu gave his order, a man’s roar immediately came, “What are you doing? Calm down. Calm down.” This sentence made the people outside even more determined that there was an assassin inside.
However, the door remained tightly shut and seemed to be bolted on the inside.
“Knock the palace door.” Jing Yuanchu made a decisive decision. He must not let this opportunity go. Jing Yuanchu could not stop Elder Princess from seeing Jing Donghua, but at least he could kill her before she said the truth.
It seemed that the men and horses were ready long ago, smashing open the hall door with a log thick like a wooden barrel. Jing Yuanchu took the lead with a long sword. Just as he was about to enter the palace to protect the emperor, the layers of curtains flew up, making the palace feel like a fairyland. However, the hall was extremely tranquil. Jing Yuanchu took a step forward, and the hall was so quiet that you could hear the sound of thick snow breaking the branches outside.
“Father, I’m late for your rescue. Please…”
“Get out.” Jing Donghua’s voice was thunderous.
“But Father, I had clearly heard the call for help from inside just now.” Jing Yuanchu said as he moved his footsteps forward. Just three steps away from the first layer of the curtains, Jing Donghua’s voice flew into a rage. Once again, everyone was shocked, “It’s just a servant girl who broke the teacup. Is it worth your fuss? Jing Yuanchu, I trust you. But I didn’t expect that after just a moment, you called a smasher to break through my door. I have looked down on you.”
Jing Yuanchu knelt with a flop, “I dare not. But I have received a tip saying that an assassin had gotten into your palace. Therefore, I prepared these in advance for fear of trouble. I have no infidelity, and Father, you should be penetrative enough to know that.”
“Go away.”
“But Father…” Jing Yuanchu gritted his teeth, still unwilling.
Jing Donghua talked leisurely, “But? Are you bargaining with me? Let me go on. I am very good here, and I have Qingyu taking care of me. I am safe and sound.”
Mu Qingyu? Jing Yuanchu realized swiftly. Leng Changxi had asked for help from this little b*tch. It seemed that the obstacle must be removed and sent to North Di. Wanyan Ba, Grand Prince of North Di, had long coveted the beauty of Mu Qingyu. If their trade could be accomplished, Wanyan Ba may lend him a hand when rainy days came. Moreover, Wanyan Ba was cruel and autocratic by nature. If Mu Qingyu fell into his hand, she wouldn’t be able to free herself for the rest of her life, which could also help Jing Yuanchu avoid future troubles.
“Yes, I’ll go.” Jing Yuanchu lowered his head and retreated with his group. Just as he stepped out the hall, Eunuch Meng, who was waiting outside, approached to report, “His Royal Highness, North Di had sent another man to urge us. It seems that Wanyan Ba couldn’t wait.”
Jing Yuanchu was filled with thoughts in his stomach. He just snorted at the news, “Couldn’t wait? What makes him qualified not to wait? Had it not been him to cause so much trouble and was under house arrest in his mansion, this marriage would have been settled long ago. And now he wants someone from me? Tell him to regain their Grand Khan’s favor first.”
Eunuch Meng nodded. He just gave a wink to a small eunuch around him and said, “Haven’t you heard? Pass the words back immediately. Say that His Highness is full of sincerity, and he only hopes that the Grand Prince of North Di could regain the military power, so as not to let his dear cousin suffer.”
After that, Jing Yuanchu glanced at Eunuch Meng again and said, “What about the Yeren Valley? Did anything happen there? Is it true that such a large group of people has died in the ancient tomb?”
“I have already sent someone to search secretly, but it seems that the tomb had collapsed seriously. Until now, only one corpse had been confirmed. It was a young man named Mengman, who accompanied the old man. As for the old man and Wanyan Su, their bodies had never been found. They were in the hall, with rocks weighing several thousand kilograms above them. These people were estimated to be crushed out of shape. For a while…”
“Eunuch Meng,” Jing Yuanchu gave Eunuch Meng a strange smile. “When I order, I want you to work as hard as you can. I want no excuse. You know what I did. Though you have worked for me for a long time, I will not let you go easily.”
“Yes,” Eunuch Meng said, lowering his head, “I will do it appropriately.”
When Jing Yuanchu looked back at the quiet temple door, a thoughtful and blurry smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He turned his head, put on a white cloak again. Step by step, his figure melted into the snow.
Inside the hall, Jing Donghua had a pale face. It was an obvious symptom of excessive blood loss. He still had a dagger stuck in his chest. However, the man was unfamiliar with the dagger. Not only the dagger had missed the vital parts but also was crooked, so the main meridians were not hurt.
“Uncle, let me send an imperial doctor for you. If the bleeding continues, your life will be at risk.” Mu Qingyu could only stop Jing Donghua’s bleeding temporarily with some gauze, but Jing Donghua didn’t care about his chest. He stared blankly at Elder Princess with dull eyes and bloody hands. There was a hint of tenderness in his eyes, and he didn’t blame her.
Elder Princess’s sanity slowly reappeared into her eyes. After all, she had been in love with and had been waiting for him for so long. However, she couldn’t stand the cruelty Jing Donghua gave her back then.
“You hurt me. Are you satisfied?” Jing Donghua waved and let Mu Qingyu go down. This was a problem between him and the Elder Princess.
Mu Qingyu took a look at Jing Donghua, then at Elder Princess in distress. After quietly retreating, she guarded the door for the two.
“No, I’m not satisfied at all,” the princess raised her arrogant head and said angrily, “The wound I gave you hurt far less than the one you stabbed on the tip of my heart twenty years ago.”
“That was a misunderstanding,” Jing Donghua panted, supported his body with all his strength. “I did send someone to take care of you at the time, but it wasn’t that nanny. I didn’t know what happened until I stopped getting your message. I learned that the person I sent at that time had already been dropped. My elder brother, who was vying for the throne with me, must have done this. He intended to capture you and your children alive and threaten me. Later, I sent people looking for you for three months repeatedly. But I never find you in Yueya Mountain. It was until my informant in Qi said that a mysterious woman suddenly moved into Weiyang Palace. It was your palace before your marriage. Emperor and Queen Mother of Qi adored you. I thought that they would never let anyone other than you live in Weiyang Palace. You must have resented me so that you returned to Qi. I thought about taking you back, but I was just enthroned, and there were internal and external troubles. After I took care of everything, news of a fire in Weiyang Palace came.”
As Jing Donghua talked, his eyes seemed to be covered by a layer of mist, “Qinghe, I miss you very much. I have missed you for 20 years.”
Three slaps fell on his face like a merciless irony. The corner of the princess’s mouth rose slightly, “Donghua, I was innocent. At that time, what you said was what I believed. At first, you said you were only a general from West Xia. I believed it. And then you said that you were a prince, and I also bought it. Finally, I knew that the person I loved all my life was the Grand Prince of West Xia, and he had a marriage contract with Duke Jingguo’s legal daughter since childhood. I am just a shameless princess. When I handed the child to Prince Ning, I left the small hut. I went to the edge of the cliff and stayed there for three months, living like a walking corpse. I wanted to die, but I wanted you more. I was reluctant to leave our child. Finally, I came back. I thought that I must wait for you. But then, twenty years. I waited for twenty years. Even our child came, but you didn’t. Do you think that I know nothing in the Yeren Valley?”
Elder Princess turned her body slightly, her gaze moved farther, as if she had seen a place far and far away, “Seven years ago, a troop broke into Yueya Mountain. I heard them talking about the emperor Jing Donghua of West Xia and his beloved empress, Duke Jingguo’s daughter. They talked about how they loved each other, how the empress made a motherly model of the nation, how brave and talented the emperor was. Please tell me honestly. You have forgotten our child and me.”
“You mean, our child is still alive?” Jing Donghua captured an important message. Although the fact that Leng Changxi was the son of Elder Princess had spread to a small extent, there were also rumors in the palace. But everyone will avoid this topic tacitly in front of Jing Donghua. After all, Jing Donghua’s youthful ignorance and the abduction of Qi’s Princess was not a glorious deed. Much trouble would come if Qi had known about it.
Elder Princess didn’t answer. She lowered her head, her mind just kept flashing about how the nanny snatched the child from her hand cruelly twenty years ago, and she entrusted him to Prince Ning to save the child’s life.
“He is still alive, but you will never see him. You are not worthy,” Elder Princess smiled sadly at Jing Donghua, “just like when you thought I was not worthy to stand by your side and let people know that I am your wife.”
“Qinghe, I…”
A clear female voice suddenly came from outside. It was Mu Qingyu’s voice, “Heavenly Master, uncle has already fallen asleep. You can come back later.”
An old man voiced in a leisurely manner, “I have just developed a new medicine. The doctors at the Imperial Hospital have checked it, and we have also let the eunuchs tried the medicine. It can delay the swelling and pain of the throat, relieve the cough and clear the heat. It would be best if the emperor takes it now.”
Standing at the entrance of the hall, Mu Qingyu was a little embarrassed. She smiled and said, “Heavenly Master, you might as well give me the pill first. When my uncle has enough rest, I will serve it to him.”
“That…”
“Why, Heavenly Master? You don’t trust me?”
“Your Royal Highness, I dare not. Naturally, I believe in you. But the medicine must be taken in a unique way. It takes three drops of the refiner’s blood in clean water to take effect. Therefore, I cannot retreat as I could. Could I accompany you and wait for the emperor to wake up?”
Jing Donghua and Elder Princess heard it clearly inside. Heavenly Master had made up his mind. Jing Donghua looked at the blood-soaked quilt and jacket and felt dizzy. If this Heavenly Master kept guarding at the door, he could not handle the mess in the palace at all.
Suddenly a low male voice sounded outside the hall, “As far as I’m concerned, there are only two medicines in this world that require human blood. One is the antidote for nepenthe, and the other is the medicine introducing the wicked worms into the human body. Which one of those two are you mentioning?”
