Ch57 - Applying Medicine

“Jun Qing!” Jing Shao hurriedly supported him and saw that the wound was bleeding again, so he could only coax him softly. “Don’t worry, I’m just saying, let’s apply the medicine first and then discuss everything else.”

“I want to use that medicine.” Mu Hanzhang was gasping as he looked up at Jing Shao. A wound that could become infected easily and tear open again at a more violent movement was the worst kind of injury to have on a military campaign. They had to make it better quickly.

“No!” Jing Shao carefully wiped away the beads of blood with a handkerchief, then applied the medicine in the small jade bottle to stop the bleeding. “Even if we rest for another day, we’ll still make it in time. If there is no other option, we can also just send the rations and fodder ahead.”

Mu Hanzhang closed his eyes. “The main force cannot be delayed. If you insist on doing this, and imperial father assigns blame, I will personally go and beg for forgiveness.” 

“Jun Qing.” Hearing him speak like that made Jing Shao sad. If it really developed to that point, how could Jing Shao let him take the blame? He said stiffly, “I know the matters of the army well…”

“Know it well?!” Mu Hanzhang opened his eyes and glared at him. “The battlefield is always changing rapidly. Even if you’re able to predict certain things, you can’t say for sure what will happen next. Since you are the commander in chief, you have to be responsible for the lives of these 100,000 people. How can you act rashly however you want just for your own personal reasons?”

That pair of beautiful eyes was full of pride and persistence. Jing Shao quietly looked into them for a long moment, and slowly smiled.　　

He finally understood why Jun Qing was able to make him feel safe. In addition to all the things in the last life, this man had his own values and way of thinking which he consistently abided by. He didn’t waver in his principles, even when it came to the people he liked, nor would he act recklessly just because he knew he had backing. That was why Jing Shao dared to pamper him with all he had; he wasn’t afraid of spoiling Jun Qing to the point that the latter would change for the worse or lose his way.

“My beloved wife is right; this husband will do as you say.” Jing Shao smiled and drew closer to plant a kiss on one cheek that was red with anger.

Mu Hanzhang was interrupted like this, and the whole bunch of words he had been about to say stuck in his throat. He was stunned for a long moment before he came back to his senses and glared at the man who seemed to be getting more and more thick-skinned. Finally, he couldn’t get angry, and sighed. “I’m a man, I’m not actually as delicate as you think.”　　　　

Jing Shao laughed and didn’t reply. Even if Jun Qing was strong with a robust body and had matchless martial arts, Jing Shao’s heart would still ache. He got up and brought back another dark-colored bottle. Holding it in one hand, he still hesitated.

“That Wang Er also had kind intentions. Even if he is the type to seek quick success and instant benefits, you can’t kill him!” Mu Hanzhang remembered that Jing Shao had told the guards to execute the man just now, and opened his mouth to enjoin him once more. 

Pulling out the cork of the bottle, Jing Shao said inwardly that his guards were always the most obedient; at this moment, he reckoned that Wang Er’s head had already been separated from his body. However, he didn’t dare say this out loud, and could only give a vague answer. He looked at the wound carefully. The medicine in the jade bottle had dissolved, and had barely stopped the bleeding. He had tried both kinds of medicine before; they didn’t react with each other, and could just be applied directly.

“If it hurts, just yell, don’t bite yourself.” Jing Shao patted Mu Hanzhang’s head, still a little reluctant.

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“Ah…” The moment he applied the medicine, Jing Shao distinctly felt the body in his arms suddenly tense up, and those pale, bloodless lips parted slightly. A low and pained cry caught in Jun Qing’s throat, and he was unable to make any audible sound. One by one, beads of sweat rolled down and dampened the silken black hair at his temples.

“Jun Qing, it won’t hurt after a while, it won’t hurt…” Jing Shao stroked his cheek, hating that he couldn’t take his place.

Mu Hanzhang never thought it would hurt so much! When the medicine was applied, it was as if he was being stabbed by countless fine needles. His vision turned dark with the pain, but the soft voice in his ears comforted him and the pain did gradually subside. White light appeared before his eyes, and he gradually saw Jing Shao’s face clearly. His beautiful eyes were full of heartache that was about to spill over. Mu Hanzhang tried to give him a soothing smile, and the corners of his mouth pulled up with great difficulty. Then, suddenly, his vision went completely dark.　　

Jing Shao looked at the person in his arms who had passed out from the pain. His heart hurt so much that he could hardly breathe. He slowly unfurled his pale, tight fist, and dropped a small kiss on that pale face, before he slowly put Mu Hanzhang back on the bed and wiped off the sweat on his forehead and neck with a cloth towel. 

When he snapped out of it, he found that he was sweating as well. Jing Shao simply wiped his own face briskly and tucked the person on the bed under the blankets.

“Wang Ye, the right protectorate general stopped this subordinate from executing Wang Er. This subordinate locked him up in the military prison,” his guard came in and whispered. “But this subordinate found this on Wang Er.” As the guard spoke, he handed a piece of paper to Jing Shao.　　

Although Jing Shao wasn’t very satisfied with the guard’s failure to complete the task, he was happy that this way, he would be able to hand the matter over to his Wang Fei, so he kept silent and didn’t say a word. He took a look at what the guard handed him, and probably shouldn’t have – at that moment, he was beyond furious. Wang Er needed to be executed.

There was nothing written on the paper, which only contained a portrait painted with fine strokes. Even if the skill was poor, the extraordinary beauty of the person in the painting was as plain as day. Who else could it be but Mu Hanzhang, in a broad-sleeved robe and that jade ornament in his fine black hair? 

Slowly crumpling the paper in his hand into a ball, Jing Shao’s fist cracked. It turned out that what happened today wasn’t an accident. This Wang Er had deliberately taken advantage of the situation! Because of the momentary lust of a lecher, the pale person on the bed had to bear such pain! At that moment, Jing Shao suddenly rejoiced that he hadn’t killed Wang Er straightaway – finishing him off in one stroke would be letting him off too easily!　　　　

Jing Shao raised his head and said with gloomy eyes, “You must investigate; no matter what methods you use, you must be sure to find a crime worthy of capital punishment for him.”

“Accepting the command.” The guard obeyed and quickly turned to leave.

“Wait a minute.” Jing Shao called back the little guard, who had just transferred to his command, and carried himself very nimbly. “What’s your name?” 

“This subordinate is called Jiang Lang,” the guard replied.

Jing Shao stared blankly. “You are the son of imperial physician Jiang?”　　

“Yes,” Jiang Lang looked quite honest and sincere, but it seemed he was quite clever. “This subordinate is indebted to Wang Ye for not abandoning me, and allowing this subordinate to transfer to your own army in the third lunar month.”

At that time, Jing Shao had listened to his Wang Fei’s words and transferred Jiang Lang to his own army in order to find an opportunity to win over imperial physician Jiang. But at that time, his household and the palace were in a mess, so he had forgotten about this matter. 

Jing Shao nodded, “Go, and call for the left protectorate general on your way out.”

The left protectorate general arrived with the right protectorate general in tow.

Although Wang Er was eager for quick success and instant benefits, he was also quite smooth. Whether it was among the soldiers or the menial laborers, he was rather popular. The right protectorate general thought that killing him rashly would cause the hearts of the officers and soldiers to grow cold, so he stopped the execution. Hearing the guard say that the Wang Ye seemed very angry, the right protectorate general came to confess his crime and also to try and advise the Wang Ye a little.

Jing Shao ignored the right protectorate general, who thought his actions were justified, and said to the left protectorate general, “Tomorrow, we will set out in the morning; go and prepare.” 

“Yes,” the left protectorate general answered.　　

“Wang Ye, that Wang Er…” The right protectorate general still wanted to say something, but before he could do so, he saw Wang Ye use a cloth towel to wipe off the sweat of the person on the bed, and even carefully tuck Mu Hanzhang’s arm, which was outside the quilt, back in. His delicate and gentle appearance was completely different from the Cheng Wang who “cared for” his subordinates with his fists every day.

“What do you want to say?” After Jing Shao finished doing those things, he finally looked at the right protectorate general.

“That…” The right protectorate general was speechless. His mind had been in a mess ever since he saw the red mark on the military advisor’s neck that morning. Now, he couldn’t even pretend to be ignorant of the Wang Ye’s blatant actions. 

“Wang Ye, the capital just sent a message,” the left protectorate general interjected as he handed over a letter in his hands.　　

Jing Shao took a look. On the letter were the words “Rui Wang’s Residence.” It was from his brother. There had been little news after Jing Shao left the capital. He didn’t send a letter to his imperial father every day about being safe and sound like the eldest prince did. He wrote a letter about the battlefield situation every few days. Emperor Hongzheng replied to him every time, but it was always work-related. Jing Chen seemed very busy, and now that Jing Shao was away, and so as not to arouse suspicion, it wasn’t convenient for them to contact each other too much.

Eager to know what was written in the letter, Jing Shao let the right protectorate general off and had them withdraw.

“Greetings, third imperial brother. Imperial father is well, and the family is also at peace…” The first half was full of polite greetings. Jing Shao skipped over it quickly and looked at the end. 

The letter had three pages in total, and it was a mix of good and bad news.　　

Jing Chen disclosed in the letter that after they left, the issue of greed in the Ministry of Revenue had snowballed, and more and more people were discovered to be involved. There were as many as seven officials above third rank who were dismissed, to say nothing of all the small fry below third rank. Emperor Hongzheng ordered a thorough investigation, but the corruption was too widespread. They could have very quickly discovered that the leader behind the scenes was the fourth prince, but Duke Mao suggested that too big a fuss was being made of this issue when the war was still ongoing and difficult to handle, so this high-profile incident was dropped gently.

But Jing Chen had achieved most of his goals. For example, he pulled down the Minister of the Revenue who didn’t like Jing Shao, and Xiao Yuan was successfully promoted to minister. Their imperial father was also already dissatisfied with the fourth prince.

In fact, Jing Chen had dropped crumbs at the beginning which placed the incident on the fourth prince’s shoulders, but those people seemed to have long been prepared for this, which caused him a lot of trouble. 

In addition, the letter contained news that was very important for Jing Shao’s current situation: There were people in court who were in contact with the Southeast King, and the latter might be aware of the court’s financial situation right now.

Jing Shao slowly refolded the letter. They now had a proper explanation for the Southeast King dispatching people to kill Jing Shao. The National Treasury was currently in the red. As long as the Southwest King could endure for three years, the court wouldn’t be able to sustain this long-running war. In the end, the court and the vassals were more likely to engage in peace talks.　

As long as they killed the commander in chief, the court would have to deal with a series of things, such as the death of a prince in battle, the change of commander before they continued the fight and so on, and they could drag out the conflict for a year and a half or more.

“En…” The man on the bed moaned softly and slowly opened his eyes. 

Jing Shao quickly put down the letter in his hand and went to look at him. “Jun Qing, does it still hurt?”

Mu Hanzhang looked at him for a moment, then remembered that he had passed out. However, the wound on his shoulder already didn’t hurt as much anymore, and he felt much more comfortable than before the medicine was applied. He frowned. “How long was I out?”　　　　

“Not too long, perhaps an hour or so,” Jing Shao said, patting his head. “It’s already past noon. If we set off today, we’ll have to march through the night. We’ll leave tomorrow morning.”

Hearing this, Mu Hanzhang nodded slightly. It was good that the journey wouldn’t be delayed because of him. Turning his head, he saw the letter in Jing Shao’s . “Is it a letter from Brother?” 

“Why are you so good at guessing?” Jing Shao smiled and held him in his arms. He handed the letter to him and said, “It makes me wonder if you really can interpret the stars and perform divination.”