Nong Nu Jiao

As dawn broke, birds chirped and sang.

Gu Meishu summoned three imperial physicians early in the morning, and the four of them arrived at Mingde Hall.

"Your Highness, Miss."

The four men stepped forward and bowed.

"You're welcome."

Yan Chenghui leaned against the bed and spoke slowly.

Cen Lingyi stood to the side, feeling somewhat uneasy at the sight of the scene, but then she thought about the miraculous properties of the pill and told herself not to overthink it.

"Has Your Highness taken the pills?"

Gu Meishu inquired.

"As instructed by the head of the hospital, he was given the medicine at exactly 5:00 AM."

Upon hearing his question, Cen Lingyi quickly replied.

She arranged all of these things; she knows it better than anyone.

"Alright." Gu Meishu stepped forward and placed her hand on Yan Chenghui's pulse: "Let me feel his pulse."

The other three imperial physicians took out the necessary items one by one and made preparations.

The imperial physicians all knew the danger of removing the arrow today, and their expressions were very solemn.

Wolf-tooth heavy arrows have barbs, and if not handled carefully, they can snag flesh and blood vessels, leading to hemorrhage.

Therefore, even if there are such good pills, one must be extremely cautious.

Cen Lingyi stood aside, watching them prepare so many things, each of them with a solemn expression, her heart clenching uncontrollably.

Even without danger, the pain of pulling out the arrow would be enough for Yan Chenghui to endure.

"Your Highness, please bite down on this soft cloth, calm your mind, and remember not to move."

Gu Meishu handed a neatly folded piece of soft cloth to Yan Chenghui and carefully instructed him on how to use it.

Yan Chenghui responded.

"Now, Your Highness, please move to the soft couch."

Gu Meishu stepped back a few paces.

Yan Chenghui got out of bed and lay down on the soft couch.

"Your Highness, please forgive me!"

Two imperial physicians stepped forward and pressed down on Yan Chenghui's shoulders and arms.

Gu Meishu held her breath and gripped the exposed arrow shaft firmly with both hands.

"Your Highness, please bear with it, it will hurt a lot."

Yan Chenghui nodded without saying a word.

Cen Lingyi's heart clenched even more, and she turned her head away, unable to bear to look.

"rise!"

Gu Meishu found the right angle, let out a low shout, and suddenly exerted force in her hand.

The arrow shaft ripped through Yan Chenghui's flesh, and the excruciating pain of his tendons and bones being torn apart instantly swept over his entire body.

He shuddered violently, biting the soft cloth tightly, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the edge of the bed, cold sweat instantly soaking his temples, his body trembling uncontrollably.

Even in such pain, he didn't utter a single groan.

Cen Lingyi stood by the bed, almost pinching her palms raw. Watching him endure such excruciating pain, her heart ached as well.

She remembered the injury on her leg, which had hurt so much that she almost wanted to die.

Yan Chenghui's injury was much more serious than hers; the arrowhead had pierced the bone. Wouldn't he be in several times more pain than her?

She clutched her chest, feeling genuinely sorry for him.

Gu Meishu was also covered in sweat, and the imperial physician beside him was busy wiping his sweat.

The arrowhead was almost completely pulled out when, in the next instant, the barb on the arrow hooked onto the wound and suddenly tore it open.

Yan Chenghui shuddered violently, clearly in extreme pain.

The arrowhead was successfully pulled out, but blood gushed out, staining the layers of gauze red in an instant.

"Oh no, she's hemorrhaging!"

Gu Meishu's expression changed drastically. She hurriedly grabbed a wad of gauze and pressed it hard against the wound.

But the blood kept gushing out, how could it be stopped?

Upon seeing this scene, Cen Lingyi trembled all over, and tears streamed down her face.

Didn't they say they were 70% sure? How come Yan Chenghui was right after all? I really had a massive hemorrhage.

He shouldn't have talked nonsense last night!

She instinctively wanted to step forward to help, but the imperial physician stopped her, saying, "You mustn't, young lady!"

She could only stand there, frozen in place, watching helplessly as the blood spread before her eyes, trembling all over, on the verge of collapse.

Tears blurred her vision, and she couldn't see him clearly. She hurriedly raised her hand to wipe them away, but the more she wiped, the more tears flowed.

At the critical moment of life and death, all she felt was overwhelming heartache and panic.

What would she do if something really happened to him? What would Huai Jiao do?

No!

Huai Jiao cannot lose her father. He is all-powerful and can protect Huai Jiao from the wind and rain and pave a bright future for her.

She can't lose him either!

He cherished her as his life, even more than his own, and she cherished him as well.

She loved him more than her own life!

Yan Chenghui felt his vision blurring and his breathing becoming erratic. The dizziness from blood loss, combined with the excruciating pain, nearly made him faint.

"Jiaojiao, I'm sorry..."

He murmured her name, as if he could no longer take care of her and Huai Jiao.

He wronged her, owed her so much, but never had the chance to repay her...

"I'm here, I'm right here." Cen Lingyi knelt down and grabbed his hand tightly. "Yan Chenghui, hold on! You promised we'd get married after you pulled out the arrow. I'm still waiting for you to marry me..."

Tears streamed down her face, and her voice trembled.

"good……"

Yan Chenghui had already closed his eyes, but he still responded to her.

"Yan Chenghui, open your eyes, open your eyes and look at me."

Cen Lingyi gripped his hand tightly, noticing that it was getting cold. Her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

"Quickly feed His Highness the remaining pill!"

Gu Meishu called out sharply and urgently.

The imperial physician immediately took the last remaining pill, put it in Yan Chenghui's mouth, and swallowed it with warm water.

"Quick, swallow it!"

Cen Lingyi opened her eyes wide and urged him on, forgetting all about crying for a moment.

Yan Chenghui was almost losing his senses. At her prompting, he mustered his last bit of strength and swallowed the pill with difficulty.

The medicinal properties enter the meridians and circulate throughout the body along with the flow of qi and blood.

He seemed to feel warmer now.

"This medicine is truly miraculous; the bleeding seems to have slowed down."

Gu Mei explained.

Several imperial physicians craned their necks to examine the body closely.

Cen Lingyi didn't dare to look at his injury, but just held his hand and talked to him.

"The bleeding has stopped!"

After a while, Gu Meishu loosened her grip, but still not entirely at ease, she applied the gauze back to the wound and lifted it up. Sure enough, there wasn't much blood left on it.

The four imperial physicians breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing that they were all covered in cold sweat.

"Bandage it up."

Gu Meishu moved aside and sat on the footrest in front of the bed to rest; he was so tired that he was almost collapsing.

The three imperial physicians swiftly applied medicine, bandaged, and tightly wrapped gauze around Yan Chenghui.

"Director Gu, is he alright?"

Cen Lingyi wiped away her tears and asked Gu Meishu.

"Your Highness has survived this ordeal, but due to excessive bleeding, you will need to take good care of yourself."

Gu Meishu wiped the sweat from her forehead and nodded in reply.

Cen Lingyi slumped to the ground, letting out a sigh of relief.

Finally... finally he survived the ordeal.

She made up her mind that no matter how many women he had been with before, she would not think about it or care about it anymore.

It's a blessing that he survived.

She shouldn't dwell on so much anymore.

When he brought up marriage again, she happily agreed.

*

As night deepened, the light and shadow flickered in the study of the Second Prince's residence.

"Your Highness, I heard that Yan Chenghui has successfully removed the arrow today and is unharmed." Lu Huaiyou frowned, a hint of anxiety in his eyes: "The Northern Di Khan has been captured alive and imprisoned in a heavily guarded dungeon. Once the Crown Prince recovers from his injuries, if the Northern Di Khan were to confess, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Actually, there was one more thing he didn't say.

If the charge of treason were to come up, he would definitely be the first to be implicated.

The second prince will definitely push him out and say that it was all his idea, and he will surely die.

"That's not all." Yan Qingci's expression was also unpleasant: "After Consort Xiao made such a fuss, Father Emperor agreed to reopen the Cen family's case. Once the matter is investigated and clarified, neither of us will be able to escape."

They were the ones who did those things.

"Your Highness, what should we do now?"

Lu Huaiyou became increasingly panicked as he thought about it, and his legs were already starting to feel weak.

"What's the panic?" Yan Qingci scolded him, staring at the desk in front of him. "Yan Chenghui has all the evidence in the Cen family case, and he's the one who captured the Khan. As long as he's dead, we can breathe a sigh of relief and think of another way."

His eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Lu Huaiyou said, "However, the defenses of the Eastern Palace are currently impregnable."

The Crown Prince was still recovering from his serious injuries, a fact known to everyone in the court. Precisely because of this, His Majesty dispatched the Imperial Guards to surround him, with numerous sentry posts.

It was so impenetrable that neither wind nor water could penetrate it; how could they possibly take Yan Chenghui's life?

"That's exactly right. The assassin probably wouldn't even be able to get into the East Palace before being discovered."

Feeling agitated, Yan Qingci poured himself a cup of tea, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

Lu Huaiyou pondered for a moment and then slowly said, "Forcing our way into the East Palace won't work. Your Highness, how about this: instead of starting with the Crown Prince, we lure Cen Lingyi out?"

Yan Qingci was taken aback: "Lure her out?"

"Your Highness has forgotten? Cen Lingyi is the person the Crown Prince can't let go of the most." Lu Huaiyou recalled the intimate way Cen Lingyi and Yan Chenghui used to be, and a surge of hatred rose in his heart. He lowered his voice very low, "As long as Cen Lingyi leaves the East Palace, and we capture her, the Crown Prince will definitely chase after us at all costs."

"As soon as he steps out of the Eastern Palace, we will eliminate him at all costs. Although His Majesty has many princes, with the Crown Prince dead, Your Highness is the only one who can be relied upon. Even if His Majesty finds out that Your Highness eliminated the Crown Prince, he will not hold it against you for the sake of the country."

His scheme was intricate and extremely cunning, with each step linked to the next.

"But Cen Lingyi isn't stupid; how could she possibly leave the East Palace so easily?"

Yan Qingci felt that although his idea was good, it would not be so easy to implement.

"Isn't that simple? Start with her children. Adults can stay in the East Palace, but children always have to go out."

Lu Huaiyou had another idea.

"Brilliant!" Yan Qingci slammed his hand on the desk: "Do it this way. Send someone to guard the gate of the East Palace. When they see the Crown Prince's child come out, they should quietly follow him and bring the child back."

"Yes." Lu Huaiyou paused and said, "However, Your Highness, there is one thing you must be careful about: you must not harm Cen Lingyi. We are only using her as bait. If she dies, the Crown Prince will be furious, which will only make things worse."

Yan Qingci chuckled upon hearing this: "You think I don't know what you're thinking? After all this time, you still haven't forgotten her?"

Lu Huaiyou chuckled softly, then remained silent.

forget?

He had loved her for so many years, it was unforgettable, how could he forget her?

"Don't worry," Yan Qingci said. "I only need to use her to lure Yan Chenghui to where I need to go. I won't hurt her, and I'll even get rid of Yan Chenghui, your rival in love."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Lu Huaiyou looked up at him.

The two looked into each other's eyes and smiled.