Anguo Temple
In front of the solemn main hall of the Great Hero Buddha, Old Dog Liu, the second-in-command among the bandits, was now standing with his hands on his hips, his eyes bulging with rage. He pointed his big knife at Zhu Chengjie not far away.
"Zhu Chengjie, are you even human? In the battle at Zongyang back then, if it weren't for our leader, you'd be dead by now. But what did you do? You turned on us and forced us to become deserters."
The tip of the knife glinted coldly, making Zhu Chengjie feel nervous. He subconsciously stepped back among the soldiers, only then did he gain a bit of confidence.
"Old Dog Liu, you'd better speak with evidence. You said I forced you to become deserters. Do you have any proof?"
"You!"
There was indeed no evidence. If there were, Zhu Chengjie wouldn't be sitting in his current position.
Having won the verbal confrontation, Zhu Chengjie felt much better. His whole demeanor became fierce.
"What are you all standing there for? Quickly capture these bandits!"
At his order, the spears of the soldiers all pointed at the bandits inside the hall. Almost simultaneously, the archers hidden in the dark showed themselves. Their bows were fully drawn, and the arrow tips were aimed straight at the bandits.
The situation had completely reversed!
Seeing all this, Fang Qinhu remained calm. His expression didn't even change a bit. He only made one move: he turned his head and then his gaze fell on Lu Yinxi.
He recognized me!
Cold sweat was still pouring from her forehead, but the young girl still noticed Fang Qinhu's gaze. He was pleading with her.
But why was he pleading with me?
The waves of pain made it impossible for Lu Yinxi to calm down and think. Her mind was now completely in a mess.
Outside, Zhu Chengjie had already raised his arm high. As soon as it dropped, this Buddhist holy land would turn into a battlefield.
To him, the fewer people who knew about what happened back then, the more secure his position as the Mingwei General would be.
After learning that Fang Qinhu and his group had become outlaws, he invited them to Anguo Temple under the pretext of rehabilitating them. Then he deliberately didn't show up, provoking those impulsive bandits to hijack the temple.
In this way, he could, in the name of suppressing the rebellion, justifiably kill these people here!
The corners of his mouth kept rising. The victorious smile became more and more blatant. His arm was about to drop.
"Wait!"
Along with a deep and resonant male voice, someone lightly landed from above the main hall. He was dressed in a plain silk robe. The dark patterns embroidered with silver threads shimmered subtly under the light, low - key yet eye - catching.
This was the last thing Lu Yinxi saw before she fainted. Then she completely fell into darkness.
"Xier!"
"Fourth Miss!"
Hearing the somewhat familiar name, Shang Luoshu couldn't help but feel a bit worried, but the smile on his face remained unchanged and his steps didn't pause for a moment.
"Your, Your Highness the King of Jing?"
The moment he saw the man's face clearly, Zhu Chengjie couldn't help but gasp. Why was the King of Jing in Anguo Temple? Did he learn something from Fang Qinhu and deliberately wait for him here?
"General Zhu, it's been quite a while since I last saw you."
"Reporting to Your Highness, I was a bit busy the other day. I'll definitely visit Your Highness as soon as I'm free."
Sweat was dripping from his forehead. Now, the Mingwei General had completely lost his previous pride and was only filled with panic.
"Good. Then I'll be waiting for you at the prince's mansion.
As for these bandits, they disturbed me while I was offering incense to my mother. I'll take them all away!"
"Your, Your Highness?"
Zhu Chengjie suddenly raised his head. The panic in his eyes was clearly seen by Shang Luoshu.
"What? Does General Mingwei not want to?"
"No, I dare not, Your Highness!"
"Since you dare not, withdraw your men. My guards are already waiting outside."
Zhu Chengjie knew very well that Fang Qinhu and his group must not be handed over, or his life would be in danger. But now, the one asking for them was the King of Jing. He simply had no right to refuse.
Steadying his mind, Zhu Chengjie quickly thought of a plan. For now, he could only obey first and then go back to discuss with the prince.
"I, I obey!"
The order was carried out immediately. In just a moment, Zhu Chengjie's men had all retreated, and were replaced by the soldiers of the Jing Prince's Mansion. The one leading them was Chen Guang.
"Take all these people away. Also..."
The man strode to Lu Yinxi's side. He found that although she was in a coma, her whole little face was still wrinkled and she was mumbling slightly.
"It hurts~"
"Chen Guang, bring my carriage here. And order someone to send Lady Lu and the Fourth Miss back to the Prime Minister's Mansion."
Seeing her daughter in this condition, Lady Lu didn't decline. After thanking the prince personally, she took her daughter into the carriage.
It had to be said that the royal carriage was really special. It was extremely fast, but the inside was very stable.
When the carriage stopped at the Prime Minister's Mansion, the doctor in the mansion was already prepared, obviously having received the news in advance. Lady Lu didn't care about this. She quickly settled her daughter down and briefly told the doctor about her condition.
"Doctor, what illness does my Xier have? Why did she suddenly faint?"
Beside the bed, Doctor Cao was feeling Lu Yinxi's pulse. Lady Lu was standing by, and her tears had already soaked half of her handkerchief.
"Mother, it hurts so much~"
Another mumble in her dream. Lady Lu heard it and more tears fell. She wished she could take the pain for her daughter.
"Doctor!"
"Madam, I'm not skilled enough."
Doctor Cao shook his head and stood up, looking ashamed. "The pulse shows that the Fourth Miss has cold in the uterus, but I don't know where this pain is coming from."
"Mother!"
Another mumble.
But compared to before, the voice was a bit weaker, as if she was too weak from the pain.
"Doctor Cao, I'm begging you. Think of a way. Xier is crying in pain, she's crying in pain..."
"This!"
Doctor Cao was a bit helpless. After some thought, he could only say, "I'll first prescribe a pain - relieving potion for the Fourth Miss to see if it's effective."
"Okay, please prescribe it quickly, quickly!"
Since the Fourth Miss was in trouble, Lady Lu was worried, so no servant dared to be lazy. They grabbed the medicine and boiled it very quickly.
Soon, Lu Yinxi was forced to drink a bowl of the medicine.
There was a sedative ingredient in the medicine, so soon the young girl fell into a deep sleep. She didn't even mumble anymore, and it seemed that she had recovered. But in fact, the pain - relieving herbs had no effect.
The pain in Lu Yinxi's heart didn't decrease at all. The accompanying pain of the word spirit wouldn't change because of any external factors.
"Why, why did those two bitches come back?"
In Rongjing Courtyard, Concubine Wang, who had been in a good mood for only half a day, was angry again. This time, the target of her anger was Nanny Zhou.
"Old thing, do you think that just because that bitch is back, I won't be in charge of the inner courtyard of the Prime Minister's Mansion anymore?"
Seeing Wang almost going crazy, Nanny Zhou forcibly suppressed the displeasure at the corner of her mouth.
"Concubine Wang, my husband did as you ordered. He indeed found some people and asked them to ambush on the way to Anguo Temple. As for why Lady Lu and the Fourth Miss came back, I don't know."
"However, I do know a piece of news."
Seeing that Wang was about to throw something again, Nanny Zhou calmly dropped another bombshell.
Concubine Wang: "What news?"
Nanny Zhou: "I heard that the Anguo Temple where Lady Lu and the young lady were was attacked by bandits."
Bandits, attack, men?!
Almost instantly, a plan formed in Wang's mind.