Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Jiang Heng galloped along, when she suddenly heard the sound of hoofbeats gaining on her from behind, almost catching up.

She recalled Gu Yu saying his injury couldn't handle the rough ride and that he needed to go slowly—how had he caught up so quickly?

Jiang Heng reined in her horse and looked back, intending to tell Gu Yu not to rush, but she saw no one on the horse’s back. Only when the horse drew closer did she notice the large patch of blood soaking its back.

Jiang Heng’s mind buzzed, going blank, as she stared at the blood.

"A Heng, why have we stopped?" Jiang Xing asked weakly.

Jiang Heng snapped back to attention and looked around. Spotting a few villagers carrying farming tools heading out to work, she quickly waved them over and used her newly learned Yue language to tell them to take Jiang Xing to the local magistrate's office (yamen), promising a generous reward.

"A Heng, where are you going? Aren’t you taking me yourself?" At this moment, Jiang Xing only trusted his family, not these locals he couldn’t even communicate with.

"Elder Brother, you can still speak—you won’t die. Don’t worry."

Jiang Heng dismounted, in too much of a hurry to explain much to Jiang Xing, and called over another local to send a message to the city gate, requesting the best army doctor and a carriage to meet her on this mountain road.

After giving instructions, she mounted Gu Yu’s horse and sped back the way she’d come, soon finding Gu Yu lying fallen on the mountain path.

By now, Gu Yu was ghostly pale, lying there barely clinging to life, the ground beneath his waist soaked with a large pool of blood.

"Duke Wei!" Jiang Heng tore a clean piece of soft silk from her underskirt and pressed it firmly against the wound on his waist.

His numb body suddenly registered pain again, and a familiar scent lingered in his nostrils, reeling in his fading consciousness.

Then he heard her call him by those three formal words.

Gu Yu suddenly felt a surge of resentment.

He knew she was right beside him—he could clearly smell her scent. He wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"Jiang Heng," he mustered all the remaining strength in his body and finally lifted his arm, accurately grasping her hand that was pressing on his wound. "My courtesy name is Cheng Zhou."

The young woman cried out with surprise, "You’re awake! Stay awake—the physician will be here soon!"

Still, she didn’t call him by his courtesy name.

"My courtesy name is Cheng Zhou." The faint words rasped from his throat.

Jiang Heng only saw his lips move but couldn’t make out what he said. While keeping pressure on his wound, she leaned down, ear to his lips. "What did you want to say?"

Gu Yu had no strength left to speak. He lifted his arm and let it fall over her lowered shoulder, letting its weight pull her closer, pressing her against his chest.

She actually came back for him...

He thought she wouldn’t look back, wouldn’t notice his absence so quickly—but she did.

And now she was yielding quietly to him, docilely leaning against his chest.

He had no strength left at all—if she resisted, she could easily break free.

But she didn’t. She’s always been compassionate—was she pitying him because he was dying?

Gu Yu’s frustration deepened—was it only because of pity...

Gu Yu’s arm gradually slid off Jiang Heng’s shoulder.

Jiang Heng pressed harder on his wound and called out "Duke Wei" several times, but there was no response.

Even when the army doctor arrived, treated all his wounds, and placed him in the carriage, Gu Yu remained unconscious.

Jiang Heng sat in the carriage, gazing numbly at Gu Yu the entire way.

He’d once asked her what she would do if he died by Yan Hui’s hand.

She avoided answering, thinking to herself—how could he ever die by Yan Hui’s hand? He was far more ruthless and agile than Yan Hui.

But today, he was truly injured this badly by Yan Hui.

He must’ve been distracted—he saw Prince Zhennan’s younger sister trying to harm her, and that’s why he was at a disadvantage, gravely wounded by Yan Hui.

"Don’t die."

Jiang Heng held his hand, gently tracing the calluses on his palm.

Upon returning to their residence, Jiang Heng suppressed the news of Gu Yu’s severe injuries. She only summoned Gu Yu’s most trusted deputy general, ordering him to place the city under strict lockdown and not allow anyone to leave. She added, "Duke Wei makes daily inspections of the city walls. Arrange for someone with a similar build to continue this routine. Above all, do not show any abnormalities."

Although Gu Yu appeared strong and healthy when Yan Hui left, since Yan Hui inflicted the injuries, he likely knew Gu Yu was pushing through. If Yan Hui went to report to Prince Zhennan now...

Prince Zhennan’s younger sister had her arm severed—he would surely prioritize treating her wound and wouldn’t escape the city so quickly. With martial law in place, they could probably keep them trapped inside. As long as the city walls showed no obvious abnormalities and news of Gu Yu’s severe injuries didn’t leak, they could hold out for a while.

······

By the time Yan Hui finished treating Xiao Sheng’s arm wound, they could no longer leave.

"I’ll have them all killed! I’ll have my brother kill every last one of them!"

Xiao Sheng had repeated this countless times, but Yan Hui remained silent throughout, offering neither comfort nor persuasion.

When he crossed blades with Gu Yu, his only focus was killing Gu Yu—he hadn’t paid attention to anything else.

It never occurred to him that the fragile and seemingly helpless Xiao Sheng would pick up the short knife he’d knocked aside and dare to try to kill Jiang Heng.

Gu Yu was so enraged he cut off her arm—was it because Jiang Heng had been hurt?

How badly was she injured?

Why hadn’t he noticed she was in danger?

Not only did he fail to notice, but after she was injured, he ignored her completely—even fled with the person who harmed her.

Was Gu Yu imposing martial law across the city now because Jiang Heng was severely injured? Was he hunting them down to take revenge for her?

At this thought, Yan Hui’s heart clenched painfully, and he turned to leave.

"Brother, where are you going? My arm hurts so much!" Xiao Sheng’s tears hadn’t stopped falling as she hurried after Yan Hui.

"Brother, my arm is gone—what will I do now..." Xiao Sheng had been weeping and whining self-pityingly for a long time, yet Yan Hui hadn’t offered a single word of comfort.

"You blame me, don’t you?" Xiao Sheng explained through sobs. "Brother, I wasn’t trying to kill that sister—I wanted to kill her brother. I wanted to avenge you. If you killed him, that sister would resent you, so I thought I’d do it for you. But..."

Yan Hui’s gaze turned even colder.

He knew Xiao Sheng was making excuses—she had been standing directly behind Jiang Heng. How could she possibly have been aiming for Jiang Xing?

Who taught her to lie like this? Why did she have to resort to such shameless, twisted reasoning?

What kind of person is she?

Yet, after all, she is Prince Zhennan's sister and came looking for him, only to meet with this misfortune.

"I'll go brew some medicine for the pain. Get some rest."

Yan Hui turned to leave. Seeing Xiao Sheng still trying to follow, he said flatly, "Can I just have a moment of peace?"

His tone was uncharacteristically impatient. After speaking, he left.

Much later, Yan Hui returned to the room with a bowl of medicine that had cooled to lukewarm.

He had added some calming herbs to the medicine. Not long after drinking it, Xiao Sheng fell into a deep sleep.

By the time he had settled her, night had fallen. Yan Hui strode out of the room.

······

Yan Hui stealthily slipped into Gu Yu's residence. Inside and outside, everything looked normal. There were no heavy guards outside, no scouts within, and the servants were all attending to their duties, showing no panic or anxiety.

Yan Hui felt relieved. Perhaps A Jiu wasn’t seriously injured?

Yan Hui had been here many times before. Although he had never entered the inner courtyard in the past, he was familiar with the layout. It wasn't hard to slip past the servants unnoticed.

In the inner courtyard, several military doctors were waiting, their expressions solemn and tense.

Yan Hui’s heart tightened again.

If he wanted to enter the room to check, he wouldn’t be able to conceal his presence completely.

So, he stopped hiding. Seizing a moment when no one was looking, he quickly entered the room and saw Gu Yu lying still on the bed. Jiang Heng was quietly sitting beside him, gently watching him with complete focus, completely unaware that Yan Hui had arrived.

Jiang Heng hadn’t mentioned that Gu Yu was severely injured by Yan Hui, only saying that he had been ambushed by Prince Zhennan’s side. Thus, the maids in the room still didn't know that Yan Hui was an enemy. Seeing him enter the inner courtyard, though surprised, they assumed he was bending the rules out of concern for Gu Yu’s condition and didn't raise an alarm. Instead, one softly advised, "Military Advisor Xiao, please leave."

Hearing this, Jiang Heng paused for a moment, thinking it was her imagination. She looked up and saw Yan Hui truly standing there.

Jiang Heng stood up, her fists clenched instinctively.

Yan Hui could tell she was on guard against him.

In the past, she had only reacted this way toward those who bullied her. Why was she treating him like this now?

Regardless, it was good that she wasn’t injured.

Yan Hui turned to go, but then heard the lady speak in a sharp tone he had never heard before: "Stop."

Previously, Yan Hui might not have been sure how badly Gu Yu was injured, but now that he had seen it, Jiang Heng couldn’t possibly let him leave. Just as she was about to order someone to detain Yan Hui, Gu Yu on the bed let out a muffled cough.

"He’s awake, he’s awake! The lord is awake!"

The atmosphere in the room instantly lightened. Some fetched water, others brought medicine, and others went to call the military doctors. For a moment, no one paid any attention to Yan Hui.

Jiang Heng had already sat back down beside Gu Yu, her eyes still locked on Yan Hui. Her lips moved, but she never gave the order to arrest him. Instead, she said to him, "Don't leave Yongzhou City."

Then she lowered her gaze to check Gu Yu’s condition.

Several military doctors rushed in at the sound and crowded around the bed. Jiang Heng had to move aside. Seeing Yan Hui still standing there, standing his ground, with no intention of leaving, she said to him again, "You can go, but don't leave Yongzhou City."

As Gu Yu’s wife, she should have ordered Yan Hui’s execution, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She could allow him to hide and flee, but she couldn’t let him deliver a message to Prince Zhennan.

Yongzhou City was already under strict lockdown. If he tried to force his way out, he would be outnumbered and wouldn't make it.

But Yan Hui remained standing there, unafraid to die.

"Madam, the general is asking for you," one of the military doctors gave up his spot, gesturing for Jiang Heng to sit by the bed.

Jiang Heng no longer looked at Yan Hui. Her gaze fell on Gu Yu, and only then did she see that he had opened his eyes and was looking at her. After a moment, he glanced toward where she had been looking earlier.

Over the military doctors, Gu Yu also saw Yan Hui.

The fact that Yan Hui could stand there openly and the room remained so calm led Gu Yu to guess the reason—those in the room likely didn't yet know what Yan Hui had done.

He didn’t expose him either, allowing him to stand there. Gu Yu looked at Jiang Heng and coughed lightly twice.

"Lord, please drink your medicine."

A maid brought the medicine, but Gu Yu didn’t take it. Without overthinking, she scooped a spoonful and tried to feed him.

Gu Yu frowned but didn’t get angry. He merely tilted his head slightly to avoid the medicine, his gaze fixed on Jiang Heng.

Jiang Heng understood his meaning and reached out to take the medicine. Gu Yu, who had turned his head away, subtly straightened it and even leaned slightly toward Jiang Heng, looking at the medicine bowl and then at her, indicating his willingness to take the medicine.

Jiang Heng raised her hand to feed him, and Gu Yu obediently opened his mouth without even a frown.

In the moment Jiang Heng lowered her eyes to scoop more medicine, Gu Yu glanced at Yan Hui, who was still stubbornly standing there refusing to leave, and the corner of his lips curled provocatively.

When Jiang Heng looked up to feed him again, Gu Yu subtly withdrew his gaze, acting as if he'd been properly waiting for his medicine all along, as if he hadn’t noticed his arch-enemy standing nearby.