Chapter 639: Falling Off Her Horse (3)
He Lin noticed the emperor’s grave expression, and quickly walked up to him, “Your Majesty, the imperial physicians will take some time to arrive. However, this humble official has some knowledge of medicine, please allow this humble official to examine the princess!”
The emperor glanced at He Lin, which he took as permission. He Lin quickly went up to Princess Leyao’s side and took her pulse.
Princess Leyao stayed still, and He Lin quickly examined her as quickly as he could.
A few moments later, He Lin turned around, with his brows tightly pressed together.
“What’s the result!?” The emperor was very familiar with He Lin, who was the commander of the Yulin Army. Seeing the expression on his face, he was very much aware that the situation was dire.
Right as He Lin was about to speak, the emperor raised his hand to stop him, then took a few steps to the side, signalling to He Lin to speak softly.
He Lin put his thoughts in order and his expression became even more sombre.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt, but I’m afraid Princess Leyao’s left leg might be crippled… Even if we find a highly skilled doctor who can save the leg, Princess Leyao will have trouble walking in the future even in the best case…”
The emperor sucked a cold breath through his teeth.
What?
His daughter’s leg was crippled?
He Lin was an incredibly conservative and competent person and he always spoke appropriately. He would never say something that he wasn’t sure of. Since he said that Princess Leyao’s leg was truly crippled, the reality might even be worse than his statement.
The emperor shut his eyes, and calmed down soon after.
He walked back to Princess Leyao’s side. At this point of time, he had already regained his rationality. Right now, he wasn’t just a father. In front of everyone, he was a monarch who wouldn’t tolerate any failure.
“Yuanzhou, bring some men with you to take the princess back. At the camp, get Physician Zhou to treat Yao’er immediately.”
The guard, Yuanzhou, immediately complied.
Earlier, the emperor and He Lin had intentionally stepped away to speak in privacy, but He Changdi had still been able to hear their conversation with his sharp ears.
He was rather surprised at the condition of Princess Leyao’s leg… In his previous life, this hadn’t happened at all. Even up till his death, all he knew was that Princess Leyao was living happily and well.
Yuanzhou was about to pick up Princess Leyao from Royal Prince Lu Tai’s arms when Imperial Princess Leyao unexpectedly cried out.
With tears streaming down from her eyes and a heart-rending wail, she pointed at He Changdi and demanded, “Father, I want Big Brother Changdi to take me back, wuwu…”
The emperor was stunned. He stared over at He Changdi, who was still holding the longsword he had used to behead the horse in hand. The sword was still dripping blood, and he had an aura of slaughter about him.
Actually, Princess Leyao’s demands were very sudden, and even more unreasonable.
Although their rules weren’t as conservative as to forbid seven-year-old boys and girls from sitting at the same table, that didn’t mean that men and women could freely mix around in the Great Wu.
He Changdi was a married man. While Princess Leyao was eleven, she was already in the process of becoming a lady. In the Great Wu Dynasty, ladies could marry once they came of age. There were families who even started looking for suitors for their daughters when their daughter turned twelve. At this age, it was already necessary for Princess Leyao to keep her distance from men.
Furthermore, Princess Leyao had hit puberty earlier than average. Perhaps due to the good environment she had been raised in, she looked more mature than other girls that were her age. Although she was only eleven, she didn’t look much different from girls who were thirteen or fourteen.
Once Princess Leyao spoke, many people in the surroundings covertly placed their eyes on He Changdi.
There were some with thoughtful looks, some with jealousy, some with contempt, and some with malicious intent…
He Changdi hadn’t expected Princess Leyao to make such an excessive demand at this juncture.
Speaking of his interactions with Princess Leyao, the only one worth mentioning was saving her once in order to grab the emperor’s attention. After that, Princess Leyao had somehow gotten the opportunity to meet him several times. At that time, Princess Leyao was only ten, so He Changdi hadn’t thought much of it at all.
After that, he had gone to the northern border to fight for merit, and had finally returned after their great victory after the new year. The last time he had met Princess Leyao was at a banquet in the palace, and they had only nodded to acknowledge each other’s presence.
Although He Changdi disapproved of Princess Leyao’s demands in his heart, he didn’t think too much of it. In his eyes, Princess Leyao was just a child who had yet to become a woman.
He stood there, motionless, with his frosty countenance and calm disposition as usual.
It was obvious that the emperor couldn’t make out what was on his daughter’s mind, but he recalled the fact that He Changdi had saved his daughter last year. Thinking about it, perhaps his daughter wanted He Changdi to send her back because she wanted to rely on her savior. He Changdi had saved her before, so he could give her a sense of security.
He glanced at He Sanlang, “Marquis Anyuan, send the princess back.”
Since the emperor had spoken, He Changdi had no choice but to comply. He took Princess Leyao from Royal Prince Lu Tai’s arms, then led Yuanzhou and the other guards as they returned to the campsite on their horses.
The treatment for Princess Leyao’s leg couldn’t be delayed.
The emperor watched motionlessly as He Changdi left with Princess Leyao for a long moment. No one could tell what was on his mind. Finally, he got back onto his horse, and led his many officials deep into the mountains.
Since he had watched his daughter get hurt, he had no mood to continue the spring hunt.
However, he had already brought so many officials and nobles out, so it wouldn’t be right to just return like this. He had to keep his spirits up and at least make a round around the hunting grounds today.
