“What is he asking about that for? Does he mean to win our prince over by catering to his tastes?” Cen Huan looked disgusted. “Doesn’t he know our prince not only has no interest in men, but also loathes those who do?”
Ruan Chong thought that “loathes” hardly covered it. Their prince detested such men to the bone. The last lecher to covet his beauty had merely recited a love poem to him in public and had his tongue cut out for it. As for the one before that, the grass on his grave was already three feet tall.
And as for handsome men…
He glanced at his prince’s exquisite profile, as flawless as jade and as elegant as an orchid, and wondered who in this world could possibly claim to be a beauty in his presence. Whoever climbed into his bed would surely be the one taking advantage.
Of course, he knew his prince hated any mention of his appearance, so he raised another matter.
“His Majesty’s injuries are quite severe. If we travel through the night, I fear his body may not withstand it. When will the physician arrive?”
There was a probing note to the question. Although they had been ordered to find the young emperor, the entire court suspected Regent Xie Yun meant to use the opportunity to kill him. Even his own subordinates thought so. Yet their prince had not acted against him and had instead ordered a physician summoned, leaving them uncertain of his intentions again.
Cen Huan answered, feigning surprise.
“The physician still hasn’t arrived? Perhaps this place is too remote, and one is difficult to find.”
Ruan Chong paused. “I remember Binzhou isn’t far from here.”
“Right, Binzhou!” Cen Huan said in apparent frustration. “This memory of mine! How could I forget Hanshan is nearby? I sent someone to Bishui to fetch a physician!”
Bishui—
Ruan Chong’s mind went blank. Bishui was a full three hundred li away. Even the fine horses of the Shadow Guard would need three to five days to make the journey. By then, the young emperor’s leg might well be beyond saving!
He was no fool. Naturally, Cen Huan could not truly have forgotten something like that. Someone had instructed him.
Ruan Chong glanced at the tall, imposing figure ahead, and cold sweat broke out across his back.
Their prince intended to let the young emperor die in agony.
…
Song Liang leaned against the carriage wall and waited so long that he wondered whether night would ever fall. Yet even when darkness finally came, no physician had arrived, and the carriage showed no sign of stopping.
For the third time, he lifted the curtain and asked the Black Armor Guard riding alongside, “Where is Ruan Chong?”
“Your Majesty, Deputy Commander Ruan is discussing matters with His Highness.”
“And the physician?”
“Not here yet.”
“…”
Song Liang narrowed his eyes, his face slightly pale with pain.
“Hanshui is not far from here. At the Black Armor Guard’s pace, a round trip should take no more than two hours.”
The guard clearly hadn’t expected a young emperor raised in the depths of the palace to know that. He glanced at Song Liang in surprise, then lowered his head.
“I do not know, Your Majesty.”
Song Liang watched him for a moment, then let the curtain fall and sat back inside.
3085’s worried voice sounded in his mind.
【The tibial fracture is very severe. The bone fragments embedded in the surrounding tissue could also cause infection and necrosis. With this world’s level of medicine, if you aren’t treated promptly, your left leg will have to be amputated.】
“What can I do? Someone doesn’t want me treated.”
The fracture site on his left leg had swollen grotesquely, the skin mottled with dark purple bruising. An ordinary person would have passed out from the pain long ago. He simply happened to be exceptionally good at enduring it.
3085 fell silent. It had been relieved to hear that Xie Yun had summoned a physician for its host. It hadn’t expected this to be his plan.
It wasn’t that no physician had been called. The physician was simply too far away to arrive in time. Even if the young emperor Song Liang died on the way back to the palace from an untreated condition, no one would dare reproach Xie Yun, the loyal subject who had rescued him.
【Then what do we do?】3085 was genuinely panicking now. 【If your leg isn’t treated, it really will be beyond saving! Forget completing your missions—you might not even survive!】
Song Liang knitted his brows, biting the soft flesh inside his lip to endure the searing pain and remain conscious. His mind raced, searching for a way to live.
Outside, as soon as Song Liang lowered the curtain, the guard who had answered him rode over to Xie Yun.
“How is he?” Cen Huan asked lazily. “Still breathing?”
“He doesn’t look well. His face is very pale, his forehead is covered in cold sweat from the pain, and the broken leg looks serious. But he can still speak clearly.”
“…”
Cen Huan and Ruan Chong both stared. Even Xie Yun raised his eyes slightly and looked over.
“He is still conscious?” he asked coolly.
The guard nodded. “Yes.”
Cen Huan sounded incredulous.
“Well, that’s remarkable. Our delicate little emperor usually starts howling and demanding heads if a maid pulls out a single strand of his hair. He’s injured that badly and still hasn’t fainted?”
Ruan Chong was just as surprised. He had followed their prince onto battlefields in his younger days and suffered plenty of injuries. After a fall from a horse and a broken leg like the emperor’s, even he would have cried out a few times. Yet this pampered young sovereign hadn’t passed out from the pain?
The guard glanced at Xie Yun, hesitating.
“Your Highness, although he remains conscious, he looks as though he may not last much longer. If there is any further delay, I fear—”
He left the rest unsaid, but they all understood.
Xie Yun’s gaze remained cold.
“If he is conscious and able to speak, his injuries cannot be serious. Report to me when he can no longer speak.”
“…Yes, Your Highness.”
Deep into the night, the procession stopped to rest. The Black Armor Guards automatically formed a circle, enclosing the group’s only carriage and their master, Xie Yun.
Beside the campfire, Cen Huan and Ruan Chong sat with Xie Yun, their gazes drifting toward the silent carriage.
Since the guard’s third report, there had been no sound from within. The curtain hadn’t moved once. Its occupant was as quiet as a dead man.
After watching for a long time, Ruan Chong finally couldn’t bear it.
“Your Highness, shall I check on him?”
Xie Yun’s eyes were half-closed. He gave an indifferent assent.
“Mm.”
Ruan Chong rose and approached the carriage.
“Your Majesty?”
No answer came. His heart sank. He called twice more, and when there was still no response, he slowly lifted the curtain.
His expression changed at once.
“Your Highness!”
Xie Yun opened his eyes slowly, the shifting firelight reflected in his dark green pupils.
“What is it?”
Looking grim, Ruan Chong hurried back to his side and spoke quietly.
“He appears to be gone.”
Xie Yun’s gaze shifted slightly. Only then did he rise and walk toward the carriage, slowly lifting the curtain.
The young man who had seemed reasonably alert during the day now sat against the carriage wall without a breath. His small face, smeared with blood and dirt, was deathly pale. Where his clothing had been pulled back, his lower leg had turned a dreadful purple, on the verge of necrosis.
“…He isn’t breathing at all,” Ruan Chong said behind him, his heart thundering. This was the reigning emperor, after all. The enormity of regicide still frightened him.
Xie Yun’s expression did not change.
“And his heartbeat?”
Ruan Chong paused. Discovering that the young emperor wasn’t breathing had rattled him so badly that he hadn’t thought to check.
“I… forgot.”
Xie Yun gave him a heavy look, lifted the hem of his robe, and leaned into the carriage to feel the young man’s neck.
Perhaps he had only just stopped breathing, for a little warmth remained beneath Xie Yun’s fingertips. His skin was soft and supple with youth, smooth as fine jade.
But there was no pulse.
Xie Yun paused and was about to withdraw his hand when the supposedly lifeless young man suddenly opened his eyes.
His expression faltered, slowing his movement for a fraction of a second. In that instant, the young man clamped down on his outstretched hand and yanked him forward. A shard of a shattered jade pendant pressed against his throat. Its sharp edge cut into the skin, blood staining the broken jade before running down his neck.
“Your Highness!”
Ruan Chong’s alarmed voice rang out from outside the carriage. He seemed to have realized something was wrong.
Song Liang dared not waste time. Keeping the jade against the other man’s throat, he forced him backward and climbed down from the carriage himself.
Xie Yun glanced at his limping left foot, then at the dirt-covered face before him. His gaze settled on the peach-blossom eyes, the only part of that face still clean.
He said nothing.
Song Liang didn’t look at him. He kept the jade pressed firmly to his throat, forcing him back step by step. More blood gathered on the shard. Some ran down Xie Yun’s neck into his collar; the rest followed the pendant’s carved grooves onto Song Liang’s hand.
“Everyone stand down!” he shouted hoarsely. “Or I’ll slit his throat!”
The moment Song Liang emerged from the carriage, every Black Armor Guard had risen, blades drawn. Ruan Chong and Cen Huan had already approached with sabers in hand. But at the sight of the blood running steadily down Xie Yun’s neck, neither dared advance. They could only glare at Song Liang through clenched teeth.
In contrast to his subordinates’ alarm, Xie Yun remained utterly composed despite his bleeding neck. He didn’t even frown.
He could still say calmly, “You won’t get far.”
Even his voice was the same.
Song Liang turned his head to look at him. Firelight seemed to coat that cool, pale face in a warm glaze, yet the indifference in his deep green eyes remained unmistakable.
He was looking at an inconsequential stranger.
Perhaps Song Liang’s stare was too intent, because Xie Yun slowly turned his eyes toward him.
Their gazes met. They were already standing close. Song Liang was looking up at him, and when Xie Yun turned, the distance between them almost vanished. Their noses nearly touched, their breaths mingled, and firelight flickered in their locked gazes.
Looking into those eyes, at once familiar and strange, Song Liang suddenly tugged up a corner of his mouth.
“Here. Have it back,” he said hoarsely.
Xie Yun’s gaze shifted. He was about to ask what that meant when a vicious kick struck his left leg.
Agony spread instantly. At last, his composure cracked. His brows drew sharply together, pain flashing in his eyes.
“Your Highness!”
Ruan Chong and the others hurried forward to support him. Xie Yun abruptly turned, only to see that the staggering figure had already vaulted onto a horse and ridden away, disappearing into the forest.
“…”
Xie Yun pressed a hand to the wound on his neck, which was still bleeding freely. His face was cold as frost.
“After him!”
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