Sustaining Injuries

Shen Miao lit a lamp in the night as she wanted to tidy up the books that Shen Qiu had sent over during the day. Shen Qiu has always thought that she enjoys reading, and knowing that she was going to marry off, he had told people to look for single publications. Some of these single publications chronicled major events from the previous dynasty, while others were romance novels. Shen Miao intended to offer these novels to Luo Tan and Feng An Ning while keeping the books on previous dynasties for future reference.

She was cleaning up when she noticed movement outside her window. She was not used to being waited on at night, so Jing Zhe and Gu Yu would usually retire early and would not be present at this time. She looked out the window, but there was no one there. Shen Miao opened the doors and walked to the courtyard to take a look after a brief moment of thinking.

She wasn't afraid of bad people because Cong Yang was still in this courtyard. Cong Yang would have taken action long ago if it had been anyone bad. Who thought she'd see someone standing under the tree as she stepped into the courtyard? She was taken aback and took two steps forward with the lamp, only to discover that it was Xie Jing Xing.

Xie Jing Xing changed out of his purple long robe and into an entire body of black outfits. When he wore his purple robes, he was a respectable gentleman, but when he wore black, he exuded a cold-blooded austerity. As usual, a lazy grin hung on his face as he watched Shen Miao walk up.

Shen Miao had a feeling that something was wrong with Xie Jing Xing, but she couldn't pinpoint what it was. She approached Xie Jing Xing and inquired, "Why stand here?"

If it had been in the past, one would have feared that Xie Jing Xing would have long invited oneself and entered her room to drink tea.

Xie Jing Xing's lips were lifted, and before Shen Miao could say something, Xie Jing Xing dropped towards her.

Shen Miao instinctively embraced him, but she felt a huge area of wetness on his back. It was startling to see a huge pool of blood in the dim light of the lantern. Since winter was too cold, one's sense of smell was dull, and when Xie Jing Xing dropped on her, she could only smell the heavy stench of blood.

"Cong Yang," she said softly.

No one in the vicinity responded. Cong Yang appeared to be missing.

Shen Miao was somewhat anxious. Currently, in this kind of uncertain moment, Cong Yang vanished at such a time. She didn't dare to warn anyone because she didn't know where Xie Jing Xing had come from with a body covered in wounds. She half-supported and half-hugged Xie Jing Xing to her room and let Xie Jing Xing lie on her bed before deciding to call a doctor.

Xie Jing Xing seemed to wake up for a moment when she was about to leave and said, "Don't call anyone."

Shen Miao was taken aback and knelt beside him to inquire, "What about your injury?"

Xie Jing Xing tried to remove a bottle of medicine from his clothes and fainted before Shen Miao could ask further.

In that brief moment, Shen Miao made a decision. There was still some hot water in the room from when she washed her hands at night. She poured the hot water out and found a clean handkerchief to wet before slowly untying Xie Jing Xing's clothing.

Under the light, the young man's body appeared to be well-proportioned and slender, reflecting his apparent strength. Shen Miao was perplexed by the fact that her face was slightly hot, and she made every effort to move quickly.

The majority of Xie Jing Xing's clothes were stained with huge patches of blood. Some of the blood had already dried and adhered to the skin, and with the cold wind blowing, it seemed to be bound with him. Every time Shen Miao touched it, Xie Jing Xing frowned slightly, as though he was uncomfortable.

She had no choice but to look for a silver scissor and heat it up with the flames before carefully tearing his clothes apart.

Shen Miao had never seen a man's body before. Fu Ming, for example, had seen it many times before, but it was nothing like facing Xie Jing Xing's. She didn't call Jing Zhe or Gu Yu right now to protect Xie Jing Xing, and it was awkward to hold onto Xie Jing Xing's clothes by herself.

But the awkwardness on her face soon faded, and what replaced it was a solemn expression.

There were numerous knife wounds on Xie Jing Xing's body, none of which were too deep, but there were numerous crosscuts. Even though they were not fatal, Shen Miao expected that with too many wounds, simply bleeding would cause one's blood to drain. She dared not be reckless and quickly wiped the blood traces with a wet handkerchief before sprinkling the medicine powder onto the wound. Shen Miao could only wrap his wounds with a chest binding cloth she had made after being unable to find a clean cloth. Shen Miao had never bandaged anyone before, but she had seen Shen Qiu's soldiers do it this way, so she did as well. And though it was a little unappealing, the bleeding was stopped.

She then took out a few pills from the cupboard for supplementing vital energy. Luo Tan purchased it for her, claiming that when a female's period arrives, her vital energy will make one look bad and that by consuming this, one's vital energy will be stronger. Despite the fact that Xie Jing Xing did not have time, he had a lot of bleeds, so this should be supplemented. Shen Miao crushed the pill and dissolved it in hot water before giving it to Xie Jing Xing.

After completing everything, the night was so dark that domesticated animals didn't make a sound. Xie Jing Xing was lying on the bed with three layers of binding fabric wrapped around him, making him seem strange no matter how one looked at him.

Shen Miao pursed her lips and decided to turn Xie Jing Xing over to see if he had any other wounds.

Shen Miao just suspected that Xie Jing Xing's waist, belly, and back were injured because his top was soaked but his trousers were dry. Shen Miao seemed to be burned by fire after inadvertently touching Xie Jing Xing's thigh when flipping Xie Jing Xing. She was about to withdraw her hand when she realized something wasn't quite right.

The skin under her hand was hard and not like the skin that had not previously been injured, but it looked like a dense layer of scarring. Her heart beat faster as she untied Xie Jing Xing's pants, but she noticed an awful scar deep on Xie Jing Xing's abdomen.

This was very different from the crisscross wounds from earlier. Despite the fact that there were many wounds today, they were not deep and therefore did not prove fatal. Since it was an old accident, the scar in front was winding and twisted and very dark in colour. But even after all this time, the scarring was deep enough to prove that when he was wounded, the wound was so deep that the bone could be seen. It was surprising to see.

When Xie Jing Xing was in Ming Qi, no one heard that he had been injured. Could he have gotten these injuries in Great Liang? Shen Miao was sceptical, but she found other wounds, many of which were so deep that the bone could be seen. And though the wounds had healed, it caused discomfort in the hearts of some. How did Xie Jing Xing live with so many life or death situations?

She had no idea she had touched Xie Jing Xing's legs and only wanted to feel them. Someone on the bed groaned and grasped her hand. Shen Miao's face turned bright red when she assumed Xie Jing Xing was awake and mistook her for taking advantage of him. She instinctively looked at Xie Jing Xing and noticed that his lips were tightly closed and his brows were clenched, but his eyes were closed and he seemed to be asleep.

Shen Miao sighed with relief. And though she had a lot of doubts about those scars, she could not really keep feeling. Shen Miao could only use a larger piece of cloak for Xie Jing Xing to wear and wrapped him tightly because Xie Jing Xing's clothes were all ripped by her. She sat in front of the bed, afraid that Xie Jing Xing would develop a fever before his wounds healed at night.

One did not know when she fell asleep like that.

The rooster started to cry as the morning light became slightly dim. When Shen Miao awoke, she found she was lying on the bed, wrapped in a thick blanket. She obviously recalled sitting in front of the bed, looking over Xie Jing Xing, but she didn't intend to fall asleep halfway through. She was also so exhausted that she wasn't even conscious that she was being pushed by others.

Her next unconscious move was to turn around and get up. She was in a daze when she noticed the room was vacant and there was no sign of Xie Jing Xing until hearing a peal of laughter behind her, "Looking for me?"

Xie Jing Xing was dressed in a broad middle coat. One had no idea where he found the clothing, and he had just finished washing up when he noticed a bead of water flowing down from his chin to his clothes. Shen Miao stared at him in astonishment. Xie Jing Xing had been wounded so severely that he was almost unconscious, but he now seemed to be so full of vitality that it was difficult to see the critical condition he was in the night before.

"Is your body okay?" she questioned.

"Of course," Xie Jing Xing said with a smile.

Shen Miao nodded, "The pill to supplement vital energy is effective." I was not deceived by Biǎojiě."

"Pill to supplement vital energy." Xie Jing Xing frowned, "What is that?"

"It is used to supplement females' vital energy and blood." Shen Miao stated flatly, "During a female's period, one pill is taken and one's body does not feel that weak." Yesterday night, I noticed that you had shed a lot of blood and assumed that there would be a blood shortage, so I gave you three pills." She smiled softly and looked at Xie Jing Xing, saying, "For you to recover so easily, it seems that it is all due to it."

Xie Jing Xing's lips froze in a smile.

Shen Miao's heart couldn't help but laugh when she saw him in shock. She couldn't smile, however, because Xie Jing Xing had leisurely said, "Oh? In that case, then consider touching me last night as reciprocation."

Seeing Shen Miao's surprise, Xie Jing Xing's grin had become vague, "Yesterday night someone was touching me all over," he said.

Shen Miao's face shifted from green to white and back again as she said angrily, "You were awake?"

"I was unable to speak, but I was still conscious." Xie Jing Xing took a seat at the head of the table. He felt more at ease after grooming and even poured himself a cup of hot tea before smiling at Shen Miao.

Shen Miao hesitated for a bit before asking as she stood still, "What is with the injuries? What exactly happened yesterday?"

"Doing some things for you." Xie Jing Xing said it casually, "It is better not to go to the residence of Ding Wáng the next time." He stretched lazily, "Fu Xiu Yi really has a lot of different patterns that even I cannot swallow it down."

"You went to the residence of Ding Wáng?" Shen Miao's eyes widen, "You went to the underground prison of the residence of Ding Wáng?"

Xie Jing Xing's gaze flashed, "Your knowledge of the residence of Prince Ding is not at all little and even know that there is an underground prison." He said, "Correct. I went there for a walk yesterday night and resue your Pei Lang out in passing."

Shen Miao looked at him stunned.

She did not expect Xie Jing Xing to personally rescue Pei Lang because Xie Jing Xing's identity was sensitive and Fu Xiu Yi was not easily duped. If Fu Xiu Yi discovers some hints, Xie Jing Xing will undoubtedly have a lot of problems. Shen Miao asked Xie Jing Xing for support because she knew there were many talented people around Xie Jing Xing, but she did not expect Xie Jing Xing to put himself at risk.

Shen Miao couldn't say what was going on in her heart, but if it was Prince Ding's residence, Xie Jing Xing's whole body of injuries would be justified.

Fu Xiu Yi was a careful and paranoid person, and because he had many enemies, Prince Ding would put on a show that was impervious to criticism. In the underground prison of Prince Ding's home, those imprisoned were all significant offenders as assessed by Fu Xiu Yi. Most of his enemies' spies would be sent here, and since the prison was hidden, that location kept many secrets about Prince Ding's residence. It could be said that Fu Xiu Yi expended a great deal of effort to secure the underground jail, which outnumbers Prince Ding's residence.

Under such conditions, Xie Jing Xing went to enter the underground prison and even rescued someone. It was tough enough to remain alive.

When Xie Jing Xing saw Shen Miao in a daze, he turned his head to the side and stared at her suspiciously before asking, "Why you did not ask if 'your' Pei Xiānshēng is alive or dead?"

Shen Miao recovered to her senses, "Is he still alive?"

"Alive and kicking." Xie Jing Xing's eyebrow rose, "Not even a spark has landed on him."

Shen Miao caught the keyword in his words, "Fire?"

"I set a fire to the underground prison of the residence of Ding Wáng." Xie Jing Xing said, "Roots are eliminated when weeds are destroyed."

Shen Miao sucked in a mouthful of cold air. If the underground prison of Prince Ding's residence was burned down, Fu Xiu Yi would undoubtedly pursue and kill the arsonist. The people who were imprisoned in the underground prison had secrets that Fu Xiu Yi sought to know, but the fire that Xie Jing Xing started would keep those secrets hidden from Fu Xiu Yi forever. How could Fu Xiu Yi let Xie Jing Xing off the hook when his failure was so severe?

Shen Miao couldn't help but admire Xie Jing Xing at the time. She thought her guts were brilliant, but that was because of the memories from her previous life that made her dare to do those things, but Xie Jing Xing still did whatever he wanted. Even if he could penetrate the Heavens, he would discover that the Heavens were not safe.

Shen Miao was silent for a while before asking, "He is now in the residence of Rui Wáng?"

Xie Jing Xing said, "Gao Yang is treating him."

She felt weird after hearing it. Why didn't Xie Jing Xing let Gao Yang treat Pei Lang and instead came to her courtyard with injuries while Gao Yang was treating him? Might it be that Xie Jing Xing felt her medical skills were superior to Gao Yang's?

She did, however, have some questions that she wanted to clarify. She gave Xie Jing Xing a cursory glance, and Xie Jing Xing smiled, "What are you looking at me for? I am not this kind if it was not for you…"

"How did the injuries come about?" Shen Miao interrupted his words.

"There are a lot of guards at the residence of Ding Wáng and Fu Xiu Yi has a number of suicide soldiers." It was rare that Xie Jing Xing would explain it to her, "It is not convenient to have too many people and only one person can enter."

"Not this." After Shen Miao was silent for a moment, she asked, "Your old wounds looked very deep. Are those injuries sustained in Great Liang?"

Xie Jing Xing was startled and did not speak.

"One did not hear any information in Ming Qi that your life was in danger." Shen Miao said, "It looked like it was an injury that was sustained last year. How did it come about?"

"Care about me?" Xie Jing Xing looked at him with a smile but not a smile, "Small matters, not worth mentioning."

"I want to know." Shen Miao's eyes hang down, "Be it preparation for Great Liang. You cannot just let me go there unprepared and face a completely strange place and people."

This was a very rational and high-sounding explanation, but Shen Miao knew that the reason she needed to know where these wounds were received had nothing to do with it.

Other than the resentment she had in her previous life, Xie Jing Xing deeply understood her, but by the end of Shen Miao's life, there were several ways in which she did not understand Xie Jing Xing. She used to be afraid to find out because the more secrets she learned about a dangerous person like Xie Jing Xing, the more perilous she would get. She has now taken the initiative to learn more about Xie Jing Xing.

Xie Jing Xing grinned as he looked at the tea in front of him, "Injuries sustained from Northern Jiang."

Shen Miao raised her head.

There were Imperial family's persons in the Xie family army," Xie Jing Xing said flatly. " Because of changes in the plan, I had to restore my Great Liang identity in advance. However, it is also true that an ambush occurred in the Xie family army."

"The people of Northern Jiang and the Imperial family had coordinated an outside and inside offensive and set up a conspiracy, which was initially aimed at Xie Ding." However, because I requested the commander, the target was shifted to me. That day, I took some precautions, but I had no idea that Marquis Xie's trusted confidant was the Emperor's person, and he plotted against me. Despite the fact that Great Liang's Mo Yan Army arrived in secret to save me, I was seriously wounded. Huángxiōng used the ruse once more. Actually, I was brought back to Great Liang for rehabilitation and could only get out of bed after a half-year." He looked at Shen Miao and snickered disapprovingly, "Accurately speaking, it was sustained in Ming Qi."

A wave washed over Shen Miao's heart, but she snapped back to reality in an instant.

She debated how Xie Jing Xing may have been injured. So it was like that.

Many things had changed between the previous lifetime and now, including the Xie family's father and son. In a previous life, it was Xie Ding who led the expedition, but the army was defeated and he was killed. Following that, the Marquis of Lin An's residence declined, and Xie Jing Xing accepted the Imperial decree and embarked on another expedition, which ended with a thousand arrows piercing his heart. Leaving aside the fact that Xie Jing Xing did fake his death, the one key point that was certain was that it was the Fu family who arranged early on for the Marquis of Lin An's residence to have the father and son die on the battlefield.

One did not know why Xie Jing Xing changed his mind and went on the expedition ahead of time due to certain changes in this lifetime. The Emperor originally desired to deal with the Marquis of Lin An, so the case was changed to Xie Jing Xing. When Xie Jing Xing died, no one expected the Marquis of Lin An to be ruined in such a way that the Imperial family would not have to take any further action.

Like this, it would be aligned to the sentence 'there is no nurturing but only expungement from Ming Qi to me' that Xie Jing Xing said to Su Ming Feng.

Ming Qi did, in reality, expunged Xie Jing Xing. After all, the Marquis of Lin An had made significant contributions to Ming Qi, but the bow was set aside when the birds dispersed. When an official performed exemplary meritorious service, the Emperor could not wait to suppress them. Even though Shen Miao had long suspected that the Imperial family had been involved in the decline of the Marquis of Lin An's residence in her previous life, hearing it directly from Xie Jing Xing was different.

If Xie Ding's confidant was a spy for the Imperial family, Emperor Wen Hui would be privy to any move made in Lin An's residence. Since Xie Jing Xing was not close to Xie Ding when he was young, perhaps at the start, he knew that the Imperial family people never left the Marquis of Lin An's house, even though he couldn't confirm who the spy was.

Perhaps Emperor Wen Hui had people handling Madam Fang and the two Shu-sons, but Xie Chang Chao and Xie Chang Wu were both dead, causing Madam Fang to almost collapse, and since there was no successor to the residence of Marquis of Lin An, Emperor Wen Hui would have no desire to touch the residence of Marquis of Lin An.

Shen Miao returned her gaze to Xie Jing Xing, her heart congratulating the new lease on life.

Xie Jing Xing's life in Ming Qi was not as great as Su Ming Feng had imagined. Perhaps, when Great Liang sent Xie Jing Xing over, they valued the residence of the Marquis of Lin An's status, and in light of Princess Yu Qing's sudden death, the Marquis of Lin An would expend even more attention on this son. However, no one suspected that there were secret dangers in this ostensibly magnificent Marquis Residence. Living in the Marquis of Lin An's residence, Xie Jing Xing, may not be as happy as living in a regular family. On the contrary, one worried that he had been forced to embrace a life that many adults could not cope with since his childhood.

Fighting, scheming, mutual deceit, the Imperial family's hypocritical display of love, and the murderous intent concealed in the bliss.

If Great Liang did not come to rescue the current Xie Jing Xing on the battlefield of Northern Jiang, or if there was a delay in timing, the current Xie Jing Xing would truly become a piece of loess.

Xie Jing Xing noticed Shen Miao's face and noticed that, despite her efforts to remain calm, there were some waves in her breathing. His lips curved into a smile, and his hand reached across the table to stroke her hair, asking, "What are you afraid of? Who would dare to harm you in Great Liang with me around?"

"There is also an Imperial family in Great Liang." Shen Miao had felt that things were not that simple.

Xie Jing Xing disapproved, "I am also the Imperial family." He retrieved his hand back and said unperturbed, "Other than Huángxiōng, you do not need to fear anyone. Even if you see Huángxiōng and angered him, just tell me and I will be able to ensure your safety."

"Great Liang is my territory, whoever dares to bully you is going against everything under Heavens." Xie Jing Xing said, "In the future, the tough straits in Ming Qi will not be mentioned else it would hurt one's self-esteem."

He laughed teasingly but Shen Miao felt a little sour in her heart.

How could it hurt one's self-esteem? It was just that the past was not considered happy and not worth mentioning. After suffering for many bitter years, the Imperial descendant that should have enjoyed no worries and filled with innocence but was indeed living a life of an ant under the pressure of another country.

After speaking some more words, the skies brighten and seeing that it was almost time for Jing Zhe and Gu Yu to wake Shen Miao up, Xie Jing Xing left.

After Xie Jing Xing left, one did not know where Cong Yang popped up from. Shen Miao glared and him before asking, "Why were you not present last night?"

Last night, Xie Jing Xing was injured and in such a critical situation, Cong Yang disappeared and now that he appeared, he had already left.

Cong Yang's apologetic voice sounded, "Shào Fūrén, it was unfortunate that there was a task yesterday and this subordinate thought that one would be back quickly but who knew that there were some delays in the middle. Upon returning, it was already the morning of the second day." His expression was of annoyance but sincere as he asked, "Does Shào Fūrén have anything to instruct?"

"Nothing." Shen Miao waved her hands and closed the window before walking away.

Cong Yang hopped back up to the tree, feeling deeply wronged. Cong Yang could only sit on the tree all night because Master had told him not to make any noise, so he didn't even cover himself with a blanket. One had no idea what Master and Young Madam were up to in the room. Thinking about it again, Master just sustained a minor injury but came all the way to the Shen Mansion in a hurry, not even allowing Gentleman Gao to stop the blood flow and instead allowing it to flow across the entire body only to make Young Madam's heart ache.

He was the pitiful one, being blown by the cold wind all night, still being blamed by Young Madam, and Master not giving any reward at all. How come no one's heart was breaking for him?

On the other end, Xie Jing Xing was walking down the street towards Prince Rui's residence.

Gao Yang had already modified all of the residences between Prince Rui's residence and the Shen Mansion so that there were no wall obstructions between both and it had almost become a long series of large courtyards.

His loose-fitting middle clothes were only arbitrarily hidden by a black cloak in the deep cold wind The contrast between black and white made his face appear paler.

He wasn't wearing a mask, but his face wasn't as relaxed as usual. The eyes of the stunning and often arched peach blossoms were cold and heavy, with a hint of indifference.

He, after all, lied to Shen Miao.

Among those vertical and horizontal wounds, other than those from Northern Jiang, there were some from Great Liang.

The wound from Northern Jiang was of course given by Xie Ding's most trusted Vice General in the thousands of Xie family army. That one wound was so deep that one could see the bone and afterwards when he was recuperating in Great Liang for half a year, it was said that he was almost unable to pass this hurdle. In the end, it was Gao Yang who did his utmost to save him from the hands of the King of the Netherworld. Gao Yang had said that if that wound was just higher by a Li (1 Li = 1 cm) or if he was sent a moment later to Gao Yang, one would not be able to save his life at all.

Other than Gao Yang, only Emperor Yong Le and his confidants were aware of his injuries; no one else was. He was always the grandly dressed and flawlessly handsome Prince Rui after his appearance in Great Liang.

It was just that having a Prince of the First Rank unexpectedly appearing in the Imperial family was not trivial. Even if Emperor Yong Le used Imperial might to put a stop to it, everything in this world was based on interests. The presence of Prince Rui will pique some people's curiosity. As a result, there were countless sneak attacks, assassinations, and conspiracies, with the means being exceedingly difficult to discern.

It wasn't that there weren't any life-or-death situations or that it was so risky that one's life was on the line. He had sustained several injuries. The battle in Great Liang was more dangerous than the one in Ming Qi because his identity was concealed in Ming Qi and the Imperial family was threatening the Marquis of Lin An's entire residence, not just him. All the danger in Great Liang stemmed from the title 'Prince Rui,' and all the small and big hidden attackers wanted his life.

And every time the dangerous period ended, he would return to court on the second day, still the smiling and lazy Prince Rui. After a long time in everyone's minds, Prince Rui was one with deep schemes and terrifying skills. They would no longer make rash decisions, and they would show him respect and fear. They couldn't wait for Prince Rui to die in their hearts, so they had to nod and bow in front of him.

At the cost of his life, that was what Xie Jing Xing sought.

He had sat steadily on the identity of Prince Rui of Great Liang after two years, and no one dared to doubt, challenge, or scheme him. Those assassination attempts during the snowy nights and traps set in court were all cut up, much like the dark clothes he wore yesterday.

Standing in the spotlight was a guy who was still beautiful and dirt-free.

Shen Miao had said, "Be it preparation for Great Liang. You cannot just let me go there unprepared and face a completely strange place and people."

On this winter morning, Xie Jing Xing walked slowly, and as his green boots stepped on the snow, a squeaking sound was made, and the ice crystals swayed from the tree as if they were gems hung.

His lips curved into a faint smile.

What is there to prepare?

In any case, he'd get rid of all the problems before then.