Chapter 120

 

After Chen Jingzong left, Ling Rucheng didn’t sleep well that night.

As a commander-in-chief, he knew that Jinwu Vanguard was suspected of collaborating with the enemy, but because he was constrained by the court situation that he wouldn’t be able to get to the bottom of it and give justice to the soldiers who died in vain, Ling Rucheng felt very uncomfortable.

But at his age, and with children and grandchildren behind him, he couldn’t act rashly and get involved in the overt and covert struggles between powerful ministers and relatives.

What’s more, this time that person in Jinwu Vanguard paved the way for his escape in just one night. If Ling Rucheng really exposed the other person, it would only hurt Chen Tingjian.

In matters of public and private matters, Ling Ru Cheng could only do what he asked Chen Jingzong to do and be patient.

A fox would always show its flaws. He would remind Chen Tingjian to be on guard in secret, and he was not be afraid that Chen Tingjian would not be able to find that person in the future.

What Ling Rucheng could do now was to reward the fallen soldiers according to their merits and let the court subsidize their families, including the scout Wang San. He, Chen Jingzong and Chen Tingjian would remember his merits and take care of his family secretly.

The next morning, Ling Rucheng had just woken up when the guard came to report that the prince consort had fallen ill and bedridden.

Ling Rucheng was taken aback and hurriedly went to visit Chen Jingzong’s tent.

There were quite a lot of people on Chen Jingzong’s side, including other commanders, military doctors, and soldiers from Daxing Left Guard.

As soon as Ling Rucheng arrived, everyone around the bed quickly made room for him.

Ling Rucheng saw Chen Jingzong lying sickly on the bed, with a long folded wet towel on his forehead.

The military doctor had just taken Chen Jingzong’s pulse and said to Ling Rucheng: “Commander, don’t worry. Prince Consort is suffering from a cold, and there are some skin injuries on his body. He only has fever and weakness for a while. He will recover after a few days.”

The other soldiers who cared about Chen Jingzong breathed a sigh of relief.

Ling Rucheng sighed in his heart, Chen Jingzong was so young, how could he fall down just because a slight skin injury? He must have been worried and didn’t sleep well last night, so he was invaded by the cold air in the mountains.

However, the situation was like this, and the young people could only be wronged.

After breakfast, the army broke out the camp and set off.

At first Chen Jingzong insisted on walking by himself. It was not until noon and the army was about to step out of Wuduo Mountain, that Chen Jingzong finally lost his strength and passed out.

The people of Daxing Left Guard quickly prepared a wooden stretcher, and two strong soldiers carried their commander prince consort out of the mountain.

Outside the mountain was the imperial camp. When Ling Rucheng entered the mountain, he left 40,000 soldiers to garrison here.

Of course Hua Yang was still there.

Chen Jingzong entered the mountain the morning before yesterday. From that moment on, Hua Yang’s heart never felt at ease. It was related to Chen Jingzong’s life and death, even if he promised to be fully prepared, unless Chen Jingzong really appeared in front of her with all his beards and tail intact, Hua Yang didn’t dare to tell herself that Chen Jingzong’s death fate had been broken.

Yesterday morning, there was smoke in the mountains. Hua Yang asked Zhou Ji and learned that it was not in the direction of Baihe Ridge.

If Chen Jingzong really encounters danger in Baihe Ridge, Daxing Left Guard would definitely let go of smoke signal.

Then, there was a faintly audible fight in the sky.

Finally last night, Commander Ling sent the fastest scout to report that Prince Yu and the rebels had surrendered.

The scout also conveyed Chen Jingzong’s message to her alone, saying that he was safe and sound.

After confirming that Chen Jingzong was still alive, Hua Yang was finally able to fall asleep at night.

Today, she waited for the triumphant return of the army with the soldiers who stayed behind. When the flags fluttering in the wind appeared in the mountains, and she felt the joyful cheers of the soldiers behind her, Hua Yang also smiled a little.

Ling Rucheng was naturally the one walking in the front. Since it was inconvenient to ride horses in the mountains, all the troops entering the mountains this time were on foot.

After Ling Rucheng, soldiers carried two wooden stretchers.

Among them, the two soldiers carrying the one on the left saw her and ran over quickly. The leading soldier cried out: “Grand Princess, Prince Consort is injured and passed out!”

This voice made Hua Yang’s legs weak with shock. Although she hadn’t seen Chen Jingzong lying on the wooden stretcher yet, she had already imagined him covered in blood.

Wu Run was calmer, holding the princess with one hand, and at the same time ordered the two soldiers: “Carry Prince Consort back to the camp first! Send the message to Imperial Doctor Song quickly!”

This time Hua Yang accompanied the army, the young emperor assigned two imperial doctors to his sister. One was good at diagnosing and treating women’s hidden diseases, and the other was good at treating external injuries in case his sister was injured on the battlefield.

The two men from Daxing Left Guard carried the prince consort and ran past the grand princess without stopping.

Hua Yang only had time to catch a glimpse of the blood at the corner of Chen Jingzong’s mouth.

The army had returned triumphantly, what else was more important than Chen Jingzong?

Hua Yang nodded to Ling Rucheng from a distance, and then took Wu Run to chase after Chen Jingzong. Zhou Ji had just gone to pick up Imperial Doctor Song in person.

On the other wooden stretcher, Qi Jin was lying expressionless.

The broken arrow on his left shoulder was still there. Although there was no immediate danger for his life, there was no color on his face.

When he heard that Chen Jingzong was ill in the morning, he guessed Chen Jingzong’s plan. Only such a shameless person would use this back-house method to steal all her attention.

Qi Jin didn’t believe it. Chen Jingzong could probably occupy Hua Yang for a quarter or two, but when Hua Yang found out that Chen Jingzong was not seriously injured, and heard that he had an arrow in his shoulder, how could Hua Yang not come to see him.

.

Inside Chen Jingzong’s tent.

The two soldiers responsible for carrying the wooden stretcher carefully carried the “unconscious” prince consort to the bed. Before they could take a breath, the grand princess asked: “Where is Prince Consort injured?”

The grand princess was like a fairy descended to earth. The two of them did not dare to look directly at her. They knelt on the ground and reported one after another: “We encountered a rebel ambush in Baihe Ridge yesterday. Prince Consort fought a bloody battle and was stab several times.”

“After we were out of danger, we saw the smoke signal and rushed to encircle and suppress the main force of the rebels. Prince Consort was brave and personally captured the rebel commander, Guo Jixian. However, Prince Consort was also seriously injured when fighting with him.”

Hua Yang only heard “fought a bloody battle” and “stab several times.”

Her face was as white as paper, and unconsciously sat beside Chen Jingzong’s bed.

He was wearing armor, stained with blood that had not been cleaned off yet. While the armor provided some defense, it was not impervious to weapons; Chen Jingzong’s armor was already heavily damaged and barely resembled its original form.

“Originally, Prince Consort fell ill this morning, but he refused to let us carry him, he refused to let the soldiers look down on him. He insisted on putting on his armor and walking out with his head held high. As a result, he overdrew his strength and passed out before leaving the mountain. ”

Hua Yang looked at Chen Jingzong’s pale face stained with dust and sweat, and her vision gradually blurred.

Zhou Ji brought over Imperial Doctor Song, while Chao Yun, Chao Yue, and Fu Gui brought three large basins of water.

Soon, Zhou Ji and Fu Gui led two soldiers to retreat.

Imperial Doctor Song had to take off Chen Jingzong’s robe first and check the stab wounds on his body.

Wu Run persuaded Hua Yang: “Why don’t Princess step back first and come back after Prince Consort is bandaged?”

Hua Yang was afraid of revealing her emotions, so she only shook her head and asked Wu Run to bring a chair. She sat at the head of the bed and watched Imperial Doctor Song take off Chen Jingzong’s clothes.

Chen Jingzong had been on the battlefield for so long, and rushing to the front every time, how could he not have suffered any injuries?

When the robe was taken off, his scarred shoulders, chest and abdomen were exposed. Some wounds had scabbed over while others were fresh from the previous day. The deepest gash on his shoulder was still raw and puckered, causing Hua Yang to immediately pick up the handkerchief that Wu Run had already handed over, covering her face and turning away.

For the past few months, although she didn’t see Chen Jingzong every day, they would sit together and talk every few days. However, whenever she asked if Chen Jingzong had been injured, he acted as if the Heavenly King himself could not hurt him. It was impossible for Hua Yang to ask him to take off his clothes for her to inspect, so she really thought that he just had sunburned and lost weight from running around, and had not suffered much.

Until now that she saw it with her own eyes.

Of course Hua Yang knew that many soldiers died in this battle suppressing the rebellion. She knew that every soldier probably had such wounds. There were many more serious injuries than Chen Jingzong, even countless soldiers were killed on the spot.

But she only had the chance to see Chen Jingzong’s injuries.

Pampered and spoiled for twenty-one years, she even had to apply medicine immediately when bitten by mosquitoes. Suddenly witnessed the person next to her pillow injured like this, how could she bear it?

Even though she could hold back her voice, Chao Yun and Chao Yue began to choke.

Imperial Doctor Song casted a complicated glance at the three master and servants who seemed to be a bit out of touch with real suffering.

It was true that he was sent by the Young Emperor to take care of the grand princess, but Imperial Doctor Song did not eat free meals in the military camp in the past few months. After every battle, there would be a large number of wounded soldiers. Imperial Doctor Song helped the military doctors to share some of those wounded soldiers, and compared to the injuries of broken arms and legs, those on the Prince Consort were nothing more than drizzle.

Imperial Doctor Song couldn’t even figure out why prince consort, who looked like an iron tower before, fell down from such an injury.

But it was just unspoken criticism, Imperial Doctor Song would never show it. He only cleaned the wounds on prince consort and told the grand princess not to worry.

In addition to cleaning the wound, Imperial Doctor Song also wiped the blood, sweat and dirt all over Prince Consort’s body, applied medicine, and once again assured the grand princess that the Prince Consort was fine, then Imperial Doctor Song retreated.

At this time Chen Jingzong was still unconscious.

Hua Yang asked Wu Run, Chao Yun, and Chao Yue to also retreat.

The three of them resigned knowingly.

There was only the couple left in the inner tent, and there was no need to worry about the tent shadows in broad daylight. Hua Yang looked at Chen Jingzong’s face that had been wiped clean but could not hide its haggardness, and saw that he was lying on his side because it was not suitable to press the wound on his back. Hua Yang slowly lay down next to him, her eyes looking at him while her hand holding his calloused hand.

When Chen Jingzong opened his eyes, he happened to see her eyes full of tears.

Hua Yang:……

She got up instinctively.

Before she could even raise her shoulders, Chen Jingzong took her in his arms and pressed her back into his arms.

Hua Yang: “Your injury!”

Chen Jingzong buried his face in her long black soft hair and took a deep breath: “It’s okay, it’s a minor injury. I won’t die.”

Hua Yang wanted to pinch him, but the two of them were too close. If she raised her hand and moved around, she might touch his wounds.

She could only let him hold her and blame him: “You said you were prepared, why are you still hurt so badly?”

Chen Jingzong: “After all, they are 10,000 elite soldiers. No matter how much I prepare, I still have to kill them with real swords and spears.”

Hua Yang was still afraid. If any of those stab wounds were more serious, he might really fall into a pool of blood like she had dreamed.

Chen Jingzong touched her face: “Your tears are like the nectar of Guanyin Bodhisattva. Sprinkle one drop on me and it will relieve the pain. A few more drops will help me live a long life.”

Hua Yang:……

“You can still joke around, which means it’s nothing serious. Then I’ll go see Commander Ling.”

Chen Jingzong immediately hugged her tightly: “I can only joke around when I have you with me. Once you leave, I may faint from the pain again, or even sleep for a long time without waking up…”

Hua Yang covered his mouth.

Chen Jingzong kissed the palm of her hand.

Hua Yang retracted her hand but Chen Jingzong held her face.

Hua Yang caught a glimpse of the ends of his hair that were stuck with either blood or sweat, frowned and asked, “Did you rinse your mouth these past two nights?”

Chen Jingzong lowered his head and said, “It’s really a fairy descending to earth, never forgets to be particular.”

Hua Yang: “What’s the use of being a fairy, if still end up marrying someone as unscrupulous as you.”

Chen Jingzong: “Don’t wronged me. I have already changed those stinky habits long ago. I just don’t have the conditions to be particular on the battlefield.”

Hua Yang snorted, then asked after a while: “Are you thirsty? Are you hungry?”

Chen Jingzong: “Are you going to feed me water when I’m thirsty, and feed me food when I’m hungry?”

Hua Yang: “Eat by yourself if you can sit up.”

Chen Jingzong: “I can’t sit up. I guess today might be the only time in my life I can order you around. If you don’t help, I’d rather starve to death.”

Hua Yang:……

She sat up first, straightened her clothes, and then asked Chao Yue, who was standing outside, to go to the kitchen to cook something delicious.

There was water in the inner tent, so she poured a cup and sat by the bed to feed Chen Jingzong.

People always get some preferential treatment when they were sick, let alone the prince consort who just escaped death.

Outside the tent, although Wu Run did not deliberately listen to what was going on inside, he could still imagine the loving relationship between the prince consort and the princess.

Therefore, even though the cousin was seriously injured, he would hide it for the time being until the princess left prince consort’s side.

Cousin was just cousin after all, not a biological brother.

In this military camp, at this moment, no one could surpass the importance of prince consort in the princess’s heart.

In another tent, the military doctor had already cleaned up Qi Jin’s wounds and was ready to pull out the arrow at any time.

The longer the arrow stayed in the flesh, the more dangerous it would be for Qi Jin.

Looking across the camp again, Qi Jin lowered his eyes, looked at his feet and said, “Let’s start.”

The military doctor handed over a clean piece of cork.

Qi Jin didn’t want it.

The military doctor no longer forced him, holding Qi Jin’s left arm with one hand, and grabbed the broken arrow that swayed slightly with Qi Jin’s breathing with the other hand.

Qi Jin gritted his teeth and remained silent from beginning to end.

The military doctor took out the arrowhead, and another person promptly covered Qi Jin’s wound with clean gauze to stop the bleeding.

The blood quickly soaked through the layers of gauze.

Qi Jin still looked at the ground.

He suddenly understood why some women in the back house would go to any lengths, sacrificing their dignity, to compete for favor.

Because as long as you win, not only can you get temporary favor, but you can also stab the loser in the heart.

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TN: Men competing for favor is something else, eh!