"Xia Chuli!" Shen Qingfeng's voice was hoarse and full of anxiety and panic.
In that instant, Xia Chuli felt dazed. He suddenly turned his head. The next second, Shen Qingfeng grabbed his shoulders firmly.
"Xia Chuli, how are you?" Shen Qingfeng looked extremely anxious. When he saw Xia Chuli's hands, his pupils constricted sharply. Then he cursed angrily and began to fumble to remove the splints.
Beside them, Gu Mingde was spitting blood while covering his chest, which was in excruciating pain from Lu Yan's kick. Lu Yan was standing beside, looking down at the two of them. All the other officials in the hall were lying on the ground, moaning. The scene was so strange, but in Xia Chuli's eyes, there was only Shen Qingfeng.
He knew that Shen Qingfeng would never abandon him.
He knew that Shen Qingfeng was still the same person who had hugged him for warmth on that cold night when they were young.
In an instant, looking at Shen Qingfeng in front of him, who was anxiously and clumsily removing the splints, Xia Chuli's eyes welled up with tears.
Shen Qingfeng held Xia Chuli's bloody hands in both hands, and his heart ached.
It was impossible not to feel pain. For Shen Qingfeng, regardless of how Xia Chuli had treated him in the previous life, the current Xia Chuli had done nothing wrong. He was still like a blank sheet of paper, not yet forced into a desperate situation by the Qi family. Although Shen Qingfeng would no longer love him, he knew that he wanted to protect him. But now, the person he wanted to protect was kneeling in front of him, and the blood dripping from his hands had formed a small pool on the ground.
Shen Qingfeng was furious. Those people like Xia Yonglin were really unscrupulous in their pursuit of the throne. The King Xia Jie was still on the throne, yet they had done such a ridiculous thing!
In the previous life, Xia Chuli had been driven crazy by them, which was why he had become blood - thirsty and manic. In this life, Shen Qingfeng wanted Xia Chuli to be a wise king. So, he absolutely, absolutely would not allow it!
"Gu... Ming... De!" Shen Qingfeng gritted his teeth. He slowly stood up and walked step by step towards Gu Mingde. His eyes were dark, and the killing intent in his eyes made Gu Mingde tremble all over. He vomited a large mouthful of blood and shrank back in panic.
Shen Qingfeng stepped on his hem, pulling back the struggling Gu Mingde. He suddenly bent down and, under Lu Yan's surprised gaze, punched Gu Mingde in the face. Even his voice carried an anger that Lu Yan had never seen before: "You damned thing! How dare you torture the crown prince privately?!"
"Cough!" Gu Mingde's face was beaten to one side. He saw stars, and the pain made him scream uncontrollably.
"The matter has not been finalized by the Discipline Department yet, and you privately interrogated the crown prince! Don't you know that this is insubordination?" Shen Qingfeng grabbed Gu Mingde's collar and shouted, "You deserve to die! A thousand deaths would not be enough for you!"
Lu Yan, standing behind Shen Qingfeng, was shocked.
He had never seen Shen Qingfeng like this. At that moment, he suddenly felt extremely powerless.
There was a fifteen - year gap between him and Shen Qingfeng. He had missed too much of his life. In these years, Shen Qingfeng had been inseparable from Xia Chuli. Xia Chuli had seen every frown and smile, every joy and anger of Shen Qingfeng. Even this furious look was because of Xia Chuli.
Lu Yan's heart was pounding. He clenched his fists tightly and pursed his lips, saying nothing.
He loved Shen Qingfeng, but he also knew that Shen Qingfeng was already his. Why should he be jealous of Xia Chuli over these non - existent things?
Lu Yan took a few deep breaths to calm himself down.
On one side, Shen Qingfeng had punched Gu Mingde several times and then suddenly threw him on the ground, saying fiercely, "For insubordination, Gu Mingde, you can wait for death!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the door of the Minister of Justice's building was suddenly kicked open. Then a group of armored guards filed in. The leader was Shan Chenghuai, who had received Shen Qingfeng's urgent notice. As soon as he stepped into the room, Gu Mingde, who was lying on the ground, froze. The fear in his eyes was undisguised. Obviously, he knew that it was all over for him.
Shan Chenghuai saw Xia Chuli, who was covered in blood, at a glance. He exclaimed and rushed over. When he saw Xia Chuli's mutilated hands, he immediately understood and flew into a rage on the spot. He ordered the others to directly detain all the people in the Minister of Justice's building.
Gu Mingde was still screaming at first, but when Shan Chenghuai walked up to him, Gu Mingde's face turned ashen. In an instant, he was filled with despair.
As an official in the Minister of Justice's building, he naturally knew what the crime of insubordination meant. But he had always been a confidant of Xia Yonglin and a pawn in his hands. He thought he could rise to power with Xia Yonglin. Now that the matter was not completed and he had been caught, he knew that no one would come to save him.
To Xia Yonglin, he was just a pawn. When the pawn was useless, it would naturally be discarded.
Gu Mingde panicked: "Spare me... It was His Highness the Prince of Cheng who ordered me to do this! I was just following orders! Lord Shan! Please, I..."
But everyone with a discerning eye knew that it was Xia Yonglin who had done this. Although everyone knew it well, without substantial evidence, it was all in vain.
Shan Chenghuai didn't bother to pay attention to him. He directly kicked Gu Mingde, knocking him unconscious, and cursed, "Take them all away! Lock them up!"
"Yes!" All the guards replied in unison.
Then, Shan Chenghuai continued to check on Xia Chuli's condition.
At this time, Xia Chuli had fainted due to blood loss. He slumped in Shen Qingfeng's arms, his face pale. Shen Qingfeng looked extremely anxious. Every time Xia Chuli was ill, it was Doctor Zhang in the palace who treated him. He immediately asked Shan Chenghuai to prepare a horse and send Xia Chuli to the Eastern Palace for treatment.
Shan Chenghuai had made preparations in advance. He helped Shen Qingfeng carry Xia Chuli onto the carriage parked outside the Minister of Justice's building. It was already curfew time in the Bian Palace. Then he greeted a few accompanying guards to rush into the palace before the carriage to report to King Xia Jie, to ensure that Xia Chuli could be sent to the Eastern Palace smoothly.
Naturally, Shen Qingfeng got on the carriage with Xia Chuli. The first thing he did after putting Xia Chuli on the carriage was to lift the curtain and look at Lu Yan, who was standing not far from the carriage.
Lu Yan's eyes were as black as night. When their eyes suddenly met, Shen Qingfeng keenly caught a fleeting look of desolation in Lu Yan's eyes. Then Lu Yan regained his usual affection and winked at Shen Qingfeng.
"Wait for me to come back."
Shen Qingfeng mouthed these words softly.
Lu Yan stood there and smiled slightly at Shen Qingfeng.
Finally, the curtain was lowered, and the carriage drove away with the crowd.
In front of the Minister of Justice's building, only Lu Yan was left.
Snow began to fall again at some point. Maybe because the statue of Xing Tian had been burned, almost everyone had forgotten that in three days, it would be Xia Chuli's wedding day with Qi Mengmeng. However, now, because the statue of Xing Tian had been destroyed, there were cries of grief everywhere in Liange City. Presumably, this wedding would not be able to take place.
Lu Yan blew on his hands. The north wind began to howl again. It was pitch - black all around, and there was no one on the street. He wrapped his clothes tightly and put his hands into his sleeves. Without using his lightness skills, he walked slowly towards the Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion.
The wind carried the floating snow and hit Lu Yan's face. Lu Yan seemed not to notice. He walked step by step on the street that was slowly accumulating snow. The only sound around was the wind. In the darkness, he was like a floating duckweed, swaying in the white flying snow, but stubbornly insisting on walking in one direction.
I don't know how long it took. When his whole body was covered with a thin layer of snow, he finally saw the four gilded characters "Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion".
The mansion was different from usual. It should have been silent, but now it was brightly lit. Lu Yan was stunned for a moment and then reached out to push open the door.
It wasn't locked.
He suddenly looked up and saw Xu Ruhui at the door of the mansion, with a solemn look on his face, having put away his usual dissolute expression.
Although he was standing under the eaves, there was also a thin layer of snow accumulated at his feet. It seemed that he had been waiting for Lu Yan for a long time.
When Xu Ruhui saw that Lu Yan had finally pushed the door and come back, his eyes lit up slightly, and his lips moved.
"Senior brother, Xiao Qi has sent a message."