100 Tender Care

“For fear of causing you any further trouble, I am only escorting you this far. In a little while, I will have someone bring you some medicine. Tell Aunt Yunqing and rest for a few days, or else your body may not hold up.” Long Zhan set me down carefully and spoke to me in a gentle voice.

From the moment he came to the prison to see me until this very instant, concern had remained in his eyes.

For such a spirited and dazzling man, it was hard to believe that expression had stayed on his face for so long.

I knew he was worried about me.

Grateful beyond words, I said, “Lord Long, for all your great kindness, this humble one can never repay you. If there should ever come a day when Lord Long needs anything from me, I—”

“Xiaozi!” Long Zhan cut me off at once, calling my name coolly.

I stared at him blankly.

“I helped you of my own accord. I never asked for anything in return. Enough. Go back now. Someone will bring you medicine shortly.”

To say more would only be coy and affected, so I nodded and, with some difficulty, made my way into Cuiwei Palace.

The moment I entered, I saw Yunqing come out of the room and walk toward me.

I was about to bow in greeting when she hurried over and stopped me. “All right. You have truly suffered these past two days. I have already asked the Empress to let you rest a little longer. Xiao Yunzi is enough to keep things going in the palace. Her Majesty has granted it.”

“This servant thanks the Empress. This servant thanks Aunt Yunqing.”

“All right. If you are to thank anyone, thank the Ninth Prince as well.”

“The Ninth Prince?”

“Yes. Though this matter was not of your doing, it was still your negligence in caring for Princess Xihe, and you nearly dragged the Empress into it as well. The Empress was, in truth, displeased. Just with what I said a moment ago, she would never have agreed. It was the Ninth Prince who pleaded your case with her. You should know that Her Majesty seldom refuses the Ninth Prince’s wishes.”

“This servant understands. This servant also thanks the Ninth Prince.”

“Good. Go and rest. I will have Hongxiu prepare a dose of medicine for you in a little while.”

“Thank you, Aunt Yunqing. Then this one will return to rest in my room first.”

“Go on.”

Once I was back inside, I shut the door. The cuts and bruises on my body would scab over in a few days, but the burn on my shoulder from Xiaoqingzi’s branding iron was agony down to the bone.

I turned to look at my shoulder. That garment had already been stained red, and by now the flesh beneath it had surely stuck fast to the cloth. I lit an oil lamp and found a pair of scissors.

The moment I tugged lightly at the fabric, pain numbed my whole body. I had no choice but to sit at the table, heat the scissors over the flame, then pull the cloth from my right shoulder down toward my arm so it would be easier to cut away the blood-soaked cloth from the left side.

I knew it would hurt terribly, but if I did not cut it off now, the wound might become infected and fester, and then my entire left shoulder might be ruined. So I took a piece of cloth and stuffed it into my mouth. Drawing a deep breath, I brought the heated scissors down onto my left shoulder.

A muffled groan escaped me, and I nearly fainted. Sweat poured down my forehead, and with the cloth clenched between my teeth, my jaw gave a grinding sound.

“What are you doing?”

The door was suddenly pushed open, and I jumped so violently that the cloth in my mouth fell out.

Jiang Xuan strode over and snatched the scissors straight from my hand, saying coldly, “Xiaozi, what on earth are you doing? Do you think you can heal a wound like this by yourself?”

“Ninth Prince—”

“Be quiet.”

Only after Jiang Xuan spoke did I realize he was actually carrying some things in his hands.

He personally finished dressing my wound, sprinkled some powdered medicine over it, and then wrapped my left shoulder in clean white gauze.

To be honest, while he was bandaging me, I was trembling with fear. My binding cloth was only a hair’s breadth away from the edge of my clothes. If the fabric slipped down even a little farther, the binding cloth would be visible, and my sex would be laid bare at once. Yet I had to thank Xiaoqingzi and the others for the savage beating they had given me; my body was mangled and bloody, crisscrossed with wounds everywhere. How could anyone still tell whether that skin belonged to a woman or a man?

“Take off your clothes.”

Just as I was congratulating myself, Jiang Xuan suddenly said this.

I was so frightened I almost went rigid. “W-what for?”

“You are wounded all over. Of course you need to take them off. What else do you think I mean?” As he spoke, he reached over as if to strip my clothes himself.

“T-the Ninth Prince should let this servant do it. I would not dare trouble Your Highness.” Saying that, I rose to my feet, only to pull at the wound and hiss in pain.

“Come here.”

Jiang Xuan stood where he was and spoke coldly, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.

No matter how commanding he sounded, I could not go over. If you discovered that I was a woman, I would have no path left but death.

I forced a grin. “Ninth Prince, this servant really can do it myself. You are the master, and I am only a lowly eunuch. It would truly be improper. If anyone were to see, the Empress would surely punish me.”

“Are you embarrassed? Though you are a eunuch, you are still a man. What is the harm in showing your shoulders?”

“This servant is covered in blood and flesh, and I truly cannot dirty the Ninth Prince’s eyes. Besides, please take pity on the fact that I have just returned from the gates of hell. Do not treat this servant so kindly. If the Empress were to see, this servant would really not be able to keep his life.”

Jiang Xuan hesitated and asked, “You truly can manage on your own?”

“Please rest assured, Ninth Prince. This servant is not injured for the first time. I know how to take care of myself.”

“Is that why you have never asked for help even when things happened to you?” Jiang Xuan said abruptly, but then he stopped himself.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he said, “Fine. Do it yourself. Keep these medicines.”

“This servant thanks the Ninth Prince.”

“Mm.”

Just as Jiang Xuan was about to leave, he took a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to me.

It was the very handkerchief Ping’er had given me that day.

“Why is this in the Ninth Prince’s hands?” Then the thought struck me, and I asked sharply, “Was Ping’er involved in this too?”

Jiang Xuan nodded. “Long Zhan came to see me and said that Xiaoqingzi was connected to this matter. Though he could not explain why, he would not have said such a thing without reason. But the matter was urgent, and gathering evidence against Xiaoqingzi was no longer possible. So, in desperation, we came up with this plan. I had seen this handkerchief in your possession before, and you mentioned it as well, so I guessed that Ping’er must be close to you. She serves the emperor at his side, and Xiaoqingzi is one of the men serving alongside Qiu Ronghai. We had no choice but to ask for Ping’er’s help.”

“So Xiaoqingzi’s personal item was stolen by Ping’er from his person, and then placed by the artificial rockery?”

Jiang Xuan nodded again.

Only then did everything become clear. So this affair had not only involved Long Zhan and Jiang Xuan, but Ping’er as well. If Ping’er had been caught while stealing, she would surely have been framed as my accomplice. Even now, thinking back on it, I still felt a chill of fear. But if they had not used this scheme, they probably would not have thought of any other solution in such a short time.

And yet all these people had been willing to take such risks for me. How could I bear it?

At the thought, I immediately knelt before Jiang Xuan. “This servant thanks the Ninth Prince once more for saving my life.”

“The one who saved you was Princess Xihe. You do not need to thank me.”

“If it had not been for the Ninth Prince’s plan to bring me out of the imperial dungeon, this servant would have died long ago. So the Ninth Prince still saved this servant’s life.”

Jiang Xuan said, “This prince told you before: your life belongs to this prince, and this prince will bring you out of that dungeon. This prince never breaks his word.”

Even so, I said, “For the Ninth Prince to stand up for this servant this time, this servant still cannot help worrying about you.”

“Why do you say that?” Jiang Xuan said as he helped me up and made me sit on the bed.

I replied, “The Ninth Prince has always kept a low profile and never sought to distinguish himself before the emperor. Yet some days ago, you suddenly took first place in the grand equestrian archery contest, and now you have suddenly stepped forward on my behalf. This servant fears for the Ninth Prince’s position.”

Jiang Xuan’s gaze sharpened. He looked at me steadily and said, “Xiaozi, a situation even my own mother cannot fully see through, and you can see it so clearly? In your view, why would this prince do such a thing?”

“The archery contest was for the Empress. This time, it was naturally because of this servant.”

“So you are not completely blind after all. It is good that you understand. I do not care about the rest. If I were not careful and made no mistakes, they would not be able to do anything to me. For now, you should worry about your own body. There is no need to worry about me.”

“It was this servant who was overthinking things!”

“Who said you were overthinking?” Jiang Xuan cut himself off again, then said, “You should rest first. This prince still has matters to attend to.”

“This servant respectfully sees the Ninth Prince off.”

Because of Jiang Xuan’s interruption, I locked the door again and checked it once more before daring to remove my clothes inside the room and wash the wounds myself. After changing out of the bloodstained garment and into clean clothes, I was exhausted to the point of collapse. I lay down in bed fully clothed.

In a daze, I seemed to hear voices speaking outside. But I was truly too tired, too sore, and I could not make out what they were saying.

Some unknown time later, I heard a knock at the door. I woke up, and because of the medicine I had applied, the pain in my body had eased quite a bit.

I sat up and asked, “Who is it?”

“It is me, Hongxiu.”

Hongxiu?

“Sister Hongxiu, what is it?”

“A moment ago, Lord Long sent over some medicine and told me to decoct it for you. It is ready now, so I have brought it for you to drink.”

“Oh. Sister Hongxiu, please wait a moment.”

I got up and opened the door. Sure enough, Hongxiu was holding a bowl of steaming medicine.

“Thank you for your trouble, Sister Hongxiu. You can set it down here.”

Hongxiu came inside and looked around my room. I suddenly realized that, because I had been so exhausted just now, I had stripped off the bloodied clothes and not had time to put anything away before collapsing into sleep. The bloodstained clothes were one thing, but my binding cloth was among them too.

As Hongxiu entered, I caught sight of a corner of the binding cloth and, without changing expression, stepped forward to block her view.

Hongxiu set the medicine down in the room and said, “Drink it while it is still hot.”

“Thank you, Sister Hongxiu.”

“You need not thank me. It was Lord Long who sent the medicine and gave the instructions. Otherwise I would not have bothered to boil it for you.”

Hongxiu was still as cold to me as ever, so I said nothing more in thanks. Instead, I asked casually, “Just now, was it Sister Hongxiu who saw me with Lord Long, and then left all of a sudden?”

“Xiaozi, what are you trying to show off to me?” Hongxiu said with sudden coldness.

I froze. “I only asked. I was not showing off at all. Why would Sister Hongxiu say such a thing?”

Hongxiu shot me a glare and left the room without another word.

I sat by the table and looked at the bowl of medicine. Since it was sent by Long Zhan, I ought to drink it so that I could recover more quickly.

I lifted the bowl, but the medicine was too hot, and I knocked it over at once. The dark liquid spilled onto the floor, where it suddenly sizzled and bubbled white.

I stared at the floor in shock, hardly able to believe it.

There was poison in this medicine.

Had Hongxiu poisoned me?