roccoschili Chapter 156 The Useless Prince's Power Seizure (34)
Chapter 156 The Useless Prince's Power Seizure (34)
Xiao Cheng'er was injured in his left shoulder and broke his left leg when he fell off the horse. His little face, covered in blood, was extremely pale, and he didn't even have the strength to speak.
That arrow pierced his entire shoulder; had the opponent been a better marksman, it might have pierced his heart.
This person actually went for the kill.
The two assassins were wearing blue stripes belonging to Xiao Cheng'er's team. Jing Li thought that Xiao Cheng'er's injury was just a ruse to confuse the enemy. But seeing Xiao Cheng'er's life hanging by a thread, Jing Li basically dispelled his suspicions.
Among the concubines in the harem, August was not considered one of the most ambitious. This can be seen from the fact that when the two groups of women went to the imperial palace to play the previous day, August agreed to let Xiao Cheng'er go with the women.
This is also one of the reasons why Langyue does not object to Jingli and Xiaocheng'er associating.
Jingli did not believe that August would be the type to abandon his own son for the sake of the previous dynasty's power struggles.
At this moment, Jingli and Xiao Cheng'er were sent into a makeshift tent. Xiao Cheng'er was on the verge of death and was already talking nonsense.
"Brother, brother, Cheng'er wouldn't dare..."
"I'm not riding horses anymore, it hurts when I fall..."
"Mother, Mother, sob sob..."
Looking at him like this, Jingli thought of the little dumpling who used to argue with him about whether rabbits or birds were prettier.
A feeling of pity arose in Jingli's heart, so she took out a low-level healing card and used its energy to send it to Xiao Cheng'er.
The "low-level" in the observer system is not truly "low-level." It can heal most diseases and injuries, but it works more slowly, which is why it is classified as low-level.
At this point, it could at least help Xiao Cheng'er survive this life-threatening ordeal.
Those involved in the assassination have been brought before the Emperor, the Empress, and the ministers. Jingli will leave their judgment to them for now. His perspective is limited, and he cannot see everything. But since Yu An was able to provide the location, it means that Lang Yue had already made plans. Jingli doesn't need to worry too much.
Right now, it's more important to complete the details of his fight with the assassin.
After examining Jingli's entire body, the accompanying imperial physician found that he was only frightened, so he prescribed some medicine to calm him down and asked the palace servants in Langyue Palace to take Jingli for a simple bath.
Even after Jingli left, she kept an eye on the situation inside the tent.
The healing card was slowly taking effect, and the imperial physician who removed the arrow from Xiao Cheng'er's head relaxed a little.
Jingli's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was finally at ease.
However, it was only placed there briefly.
After Jingli rested for a short while, guards came to pick him up and take him to where everyone was.
The previous relaxation and ease vanished. The two assassins had been awakened and were now positioned in the open space in the middle, their mouths agape, drool dripping from their mouths, their faces ashen.
Ironically, besides these two, there were also palace servants and guards nearby taking stock of the prey and "half-animals" that the princes had hunted. It seemed that the attack on the princes was less important than the outcome of the spring hunt.
Jingli withdrew her gaze, lifted the hem of her robe, and bowed respectfully yet "timidly" to the crowd, as if she had not yet recovered from the fear she had just experienced.
"Li'er, lift your head."
When the emperor speaks, it carries the weight of imperial authority.
Jingli looked up, her eyes glistening with tears.
With the combined benefits of being "harmless" and "favorable," the emperor unconsciously lowered his voice: "My dear, don't be afraid, tell your father what happened back then."
At this point, the counterfeit system probably sensed the "host's" predicament and acted cleverly for once.
[The system has detected that the host has 25 points remaining. It is currently listing available items for the host.]
The one-time use item "Convincing" (10 coins) increases the persuasiveness and credibility of a statement.
The one-time use prop "Vivid Voice" (15 coins) can create an immersive experience for the audience.
【Redeem? 】
Jingli immediately chose to exchange, then sobbed twice: "I know I'm not good at riding and archery. I wanted to find a quiet place to hunt some rabbits and birds. But just as I was about to rest, I heard a roar, and it felt like the whole mountain was about to collapse!"
Everyone felt that Jingli's voice was magical. Listening to him, it was as if they were pulled into the scene at that time—in the quiet mountains and forests, the young prince on a white horse was walking slowly when suddenly the roar of a beast and the sound of a horse galloping came from behind.
The earth shook violently; immense danger was approaching.
"Bai Xue was a little anxious. Li'er had been thrown off the horse before and dared not stay any longer. Fortunately, Bai Xue was a gift from the Emperor and was very intelligent. She only became agitated after Li'er dismounted."
"Li'er hid in the bushes and saw the two men running toward him. Behind them was a 'half-beast'. The half-beast was bleeding, and the bear was chasing after it relentlessly."
"Li'er thought the two of them had been chased by a bear, so he took an arrow to help them. But who knew—this man actually nocked a bow on his horse and pointed it straight at Li'er's face!"
Jingli pointed to one of the people, whose jaw had been dislocated, and who could not utter a single word except for "ah ah" sounds.
Jingli ignored him, seemingly lost in memories, trembling, and her words began to become incoherent.
He said that luckily he had nothing to do, so he picked up a piece of wood on the road and started whittling it for fun;
He then regretted that his skills were not good enough, as he had shot several arrows but failed to kill the bear;
A moment later he said he saw ghosts in the Yama King's Palace, and that the ghosts wore bronze masks and came to take his life;
One moment he'd say he was grateful to his father, the emperor, because it was through that he was able to live a good life;
Finally, she even started calling out Xiao Cheng'er's name and began to sob.
[Jingli: System, please raise my body temperature.]
Jingli also sent the same message to 6058.
While the counterfeit system was adjusting its body temperature, 6058 also activated a protection mechanism, so that Jingli's body temperature would rise but her consciousness would not be affected.
In everyone's eyes, Jingli's cheeks flushed an unnatural red at an extremely fast pace, and the color in her lips was rapidly draining away. The imperial physician next to her hurriedly stepped forward to take her pulse and found it burning hot to the touch.
The imperial physician hurriedly knelt down: "Your Majesty, the Third Prince was severely frightened today and has now developed a fever. He has a question for you, Your Majesty—"
"Enough," the emperor waved his hand. "My beloved Consort Langyue, you should take Li'er back to your room to rest. In any case, this matter is now clear. We will make a decision after the Yuan family boy points out the imposter and the guards finish searching the forest and find the masked man."
Lang Yue wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes and slowly curtsied: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor looked at Langyue, whose eyes were streaked with tears, and then at Jingli, whose face was pale. He sighed and said loudly, "Although there were some unexpected events during today's spring hunt, it was Li'er who killed the bear. Today, the prize will go to Li'er. Does anyone have any objections?"
Even if it exists, no one dares to say it.
"My dear Consort, please don't be anxious. The imperial physician has already informed us that Cheng'er is out of danger. Once we return to the palace, Cheng'er can stay with me for a while to recuperate properly."
Empress August's tears hadn't stopped since Xiao Cheng'er returned. She cried so hard she almost fainted. She managed to sit up, bowed to the emperor, and the emperor had the palace servants help her back to her room.
After a while, Xiao Cheng'er moved from the simple tent back to her sleeping room, and Lang Yue and Jing Li also returned to their own courtyard.
The moment the door slammed shut, Lang Yue felt all her strength drain away. The usually impeccably polite woman collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath like a drowning person.
Jingli was startled and quickly went forward to help her: "Mother—"
"My child... Oh... my child..."
Langyue was truly afraid.
She knew the trip was dangerous, but she never imagined it would be this dangerous!
The bear was nearly six feet (about 2 meters) long and it took four or five guards to lift it. It was said that the bear's stomach was empty except for the remains of the "half-beast," and it was so hungry that it ran into the mountains.
Don't be fooled by how easily Jingli and Yu'an resolved the situation. If any link in the chain had gone wrong—the frightened horse, Jingli's aim, the order in which the assassin or bear was controlled, the timing of Yu'an's appearance—Jingli might be in the same precarious situation as Xiao Cheng'er right now.
She held Jingli tightly, as if only in this way could she soothe the panic in her heart.
After a long while, Lang Yue calmed down. She wiped away her tears, took two deep breaths, and said in one direction, "You did very well today. From now on, you will stay by the Third Prince's side."
Jingli realized something.
With a few rustling sounds, Yu An appeared in front of Jing Li.
Unlike when he was in the bushes, Yu An had now removed half of his mask, revealing his entire face.
Compared to his dream, Yu An's skin was darker, and there was a very obvious scar on his chin, which added a touch of ferocity to him.
"This humble servant, Yuan'an, thanks Your Highness for your kindness. I am willing to repay Your Highness and His Highness's favor with my lowly status."
Langyue couldn't bear to hear anything about life and death right now, so she waved her sleeve and said, "Alright, get up."
Yu An obediently got up, and Lang Yue took out another bundle and handed it to him.
"Your appearance is still striking. Now that the mask is off, you should disguise yourself slightly. This was given to you by your master. Do not walk around the palace with your current appearance."
"This slave knows."
Jingli had a feeling that their conversation went beyond just discussing appearances. Out of caution, Jingli noted this suspicion and reported it to 6058.
While Yu An was disguising himself, the imperial physician was already waiting at the door.
The palace servant opened the door, and Langyue, with red and swollen eyes, apologized, "Imperial Physician Lü, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. I was really frightened. Please examine my pulse and prescribe some calming medicine for me as well."
"Your Majesty is too kind. His Majesty has instructed me to serve this calming tea to Your Majesty and His Highness."
"Then thank you, Imperial Physician Lü."
Jingli's fever was the result of system manipulation, and Physician Lü couldn't see much of a problem. He left some calming tea and then wisely departed.
After Physician Lü left, Yu An emerged from behind the screen and took the cotton cloth soaked in cold water from Jingjing's hands: "Let me do it."
Jingjing looked at the somewhat unfamiliar person in front of her, and after a moment of reaction, she realized that this person might be Yu An.
Since he is here, he must be serving as His Highness's personal bodyguard.
Compared to the senior palace maids from noble families, guards like Yu An, though without a specific rank, held a higher status.
After all, they were responsible for the lives of nobles, essentially giving them another life. From this perspective, all servants had to make way for them.
The same goes for Jingjing. Yu An has just returned, so he should spend more time with him.
She briefly explained Jingli's habits to Yu An before leaving.
Yu An sat down on the edge of the bed, soaked the cotton cloth in cold water again, wrung it out, and helped Jing Li wipe her body.
Jingli looked at Yu An's face, which had become ordinary, and couldn't help but pinch it.
It has a waxy texture.
He closed his eyes, blocking the bright pink light in his pupils, and unleashed his energy to "see" the real Yu An.
The energy swept across the scars on Yu An's face, giving him a strange feeling.
"Your Highness, are you feeling unwell?"
Jingli shook her head and asked, "How old are you exactly? If you're younger than me, how come you're so much taller than me?"
Yu An didn't expect him to dwell on this matter, and chuckled, "I can't remember exactly how old I am, Your Highness, just consider me younger than you, okay?"
Jingli let out a "humph" through her nose and opened her eyes.
"What does it feel like to wear this mask?"
"It's lighter and softer than a copper mask, but not very breathable. This was made by the master himself, and it's much more comfortable than those masks made in the martial arts world."
Jingli stared intently at Yu An with her pale eyes, until Yu An's ears turned red.
Jingli thought to herself, "It seems that this mask does not cover the entire face."
"Will you always be like this in front of me from now on?"
"I am your personal bodyguard, so it would be inappropriate for me to be too conspicuous."
Jingli covered the lower half of her face with the blanket: "If you keep looking like this, how will I ever know what you look like? And every time I think of Xiao An, all I'll think of is this mask—"
Jingli pouted: "No good."
Yu An chuckled: "Your Highness, how come you still have such a childlike nature after three years?"
He gently wiped Jingli's hands and feet, and then covered him with a blanket.
"When we're alone, I'll take off this mask, okay?"
His movements were soothing, it was as if he were coaxing a child.
Jingli naturally agreed.
He liked Yu An as he was now, unlike when he was a child when Yu An always kept his distance from him. The current Yu An was even more tender than the soft and cuddly child he was when he was little.
If he didn't hear the counterfeit system's next announcement.
[Warning! An increasing trend in the target's corruption level has been detected! Host, please take immediate countermeasures!]
[Keiri: What's going on?! Why has my corruption level increased?!]
6058, on the other hand, didn't seem to be in such a hurry.
[6058: Don't judge a book by its cover, little fish.]
He showed Jingli the anomaly monitoring data from the observer system.
[6058: Today's peak outlier has decreased compared to the previous period.]
Previously, the outliers had remained within a stable range, but today marks the first time the peak value has fallen below that range.
[6058: The world consciousness is recovering, indicating that Yu An's current fluctuations in his corruption level are not related to hatred towards the world, but perhaps to his personal desires.]
The number 6058 was a veiled reference, though it wasn't explicitly stated.
Yu An's personal desires could only be directed towards Jing Li.
[6058: There's more good news; the observer system's monitoring system has been updated.]
This is something that Mr. Lu started pushing forward after returning from the previous world, and the overall system update will not be interrupted because of the small world's blocking.
This update plan was prepared long ago by the newcomer who had argued with Sefosi. With Lu Mingguang's efficiency, updating the system will not take more than four days of Zero Boundary Time.
In other words, they have been in this world for so long, but less than four days of Zero Boundary Time have passed.
With this time reference, the two of them felt reassured.
If several months have passed since the Zero Boundary, then other worlds can forget about being repaired.
On the other side, Yu An saw that Jing Li had closed his eyes and was not speaking, so he thought he was tired. He folded the cotton cloth that had been wrung out again and placed it on Jing Li's forehead.
"Xiao An is right here. If Your Highness needs anything, just call me."
After saying that, he sat cross-legged on the footstool in the scene, closed his eyes, and concealed the ambition in them.