Wenn wir zurückkehren

Kapitel 29

Xiaolei helped him up: "Lord Li, who do you want to see first?"

Who is most seriously injured?

"Lord Xin."

His injuries were actually more severe than Xu Qingzhi's?! That's tragic. Did they both really have a brush with death?

"Lord Xu's injury is external, while Prince Xin's injury is a combination of external and internal injuries."

He was such a pitiful child: "Then I'll go to Prince Xin's place first."

"Okay!" Xiaolei helped her walk out, but Li Yuxuan took two steps and pushed her hand away: "I'm fine, don't help me."

Xiaolei smiled and led him towards Prince Xin's room.

In Prince Xin's room, Zhan Zhao and the military doctor sat with solemn expressions. When Li Yuxuan entered, they both stood up. Li Yuxuan noticed the complicated look in Zhan Zhao's eyes, which meant he must already know what had happened between them. Even without anyone saying anything, he could sense it from the subtle clues.

She called out "Brother Zhan" and walked towards Prince Xin's bedside. Prince Xin had already woken up; his head was wrapped tightly in white cotton cloth, leaving only the middle part of his face exposed. Seeing her enter, he turned his gaze to her.

She whispered, "How are you?"

Prince Xin patted the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with one hand, gesturing for her to sit down. Zhan Zhao glanced at the military doctor, who immediately withdrew.

Li Yuxuan sat down on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), and Prince Xin looked at her right hand: "Are you alright?"

Li Yuxuan nodded: "I'm fine, nothing's wrong. How about you?"

Zhan Zhao replied from the side, "The prince has two broken ribs, a knife wound on his back, a knife wound on his head, and that palm strike he received earlier. What do you think?"

Prince Xin grasped her left hand, glanced at Zhan Zhao with a hint of reproach, and smiled slightly: "Don't listen to his nonsense. For us martial artists, this injury is nothing."

Bored

Li Yuxuan gave a wry smile: "Yes, for you martial artists, it's already quite remarkable that you haven't made a glorious sacrifice."

Prince Xin gave a helpless smirk, a hint of a smile playing on his lips: "Can't you say something nicer? Like praising my martial arts skills, my great physique, that I'm destined for good fortune after surviving such a calamity, or that lovers will eventually be united."

"Your martial arts skills are not bad. You were beaten up by a few rabble and tied up like a dumpling. You almost died and went to meet the King of Hell. If your skills are good, I can be invincible in the martial arts world." She stretched out her right hand: "Look, with such powerful enemies surrounding me, I only accidentally injured one arm."

Prince Xin finally couldn't help but laugh, but he stopped abruptly after only one laugh. Li Yuxuan knew he shouldn't laugh because of his broken ribs, but she knew they were both alive and well, so she was in a good mood. After all, the situation had been so sudden; she had almost died a wrongful death herself. "Brother Zhan, who were those people?"

"Khitan people."

No wonder they've been relentlessly trying to kill Prince Xin; it turns out they're Khitans. It seems they want Prince Xin dead on Western Xia territory, to incite conflict between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty, and then reap the benefits. Is Prince Xin still in danger?

Zhan Zhao seemed to see through her thoughts: "Don't worry now. The Emperor of Western Xia already knows the identity of Prince Xin and has sent the best warriors to protect him. Also, from the waiters to the kitchen staff, all the guards in this inn are my own. The Khitans won't dare to come again. If they come, it's clear they're going against our Great Song. Even if they wanted to start a war, they wouldn't be that stupid."

That's good.

"Have you all arrived? Where is the silver?"

"Yinzi will arrive here with the main force in two days."

Seeing that Prince Xin looked tired and couldn't say much, Li Yuxuan chatted with Zhan Zhao for a few words and then came out, following Xiaolei to Xu Qingzhi's room.

For some reason, she felt nervous and guilty whenever she faced Xu Qingzhi. Standing at his door, she couldn't bring herself to take that step into the room. What should she say to him? Sorry? Thank you?

None of this seems to make up for the harm she caused him. Although it was unintentional, it was her selfishness and willfulness that ultimately hurt him. Especially those words she said to him before this incident, asking him to marry her—she knew they would hurt him, yet she still said them so recklessly.

Xiaolei raised her hand and knocked on the door. A guard came out to open it. Seeing that it was them, he whispered, "Lord Xu is asleep."

Xiaolei glanced into the room: "Still not awake?"

The guard nodded.

Li Yuxuan's feet felt light on his feet, and he almost fell over: "Didn't you tell me he had already woken up?"

"He fell asleep at noon and hadn't woken up yet, so I hadn't had a chance to tell him that you were awake." Xiaolei reached out to support her. "In that case, let's go back first. Lord Xu lost too much blood and needs to rest."

Li Yuxuan looked at the kang (heated brick bed) inside from the doorway: "I'll just take a quick look and then leave."

The guard stepped aside, and Li Yuxuan entered. The room was filled with the aroma of medicine. A small charcoal brazier on the table was heating medicine. Xu Qingzhi was sleeping on his side, his face not visible, only his even and long breathing could be heard.

Li Yuxuan breathed a sigh of relief and quietly withdrew.

Back in his room, he wrote out a list and handed it to Xiaolei: "Buy as much medicine as you can according to this list, and then take it to the kitchen and ask them to brew it twice a day for Master Xu."

She knew that the Western Xia people, when they fell ill, still believed in primitive shamanic healing and generally did not take medicine, so she didn't know if these simplest blood-tonifying medicines were available here.

Li Xinyun interjected, "Xiaolei, go back to the palace and see if they have it. If they do, bring it to us."

"Yes, Princess."

Xiaolei brought angelica, black beans, and astragalus from the palace, saying that these were all she had. She also brought three large, neatly grown wild ginseng roots that Li Yuxuan had never seen before, saying that the Empress Dowager had given them to Prince Xin and his family.

Li Yuxuan then asked Xiaolei to take these to Xu Qingzhi and Prince Xin to cook porridge. She and Li Xinyun were bored every day, so they would chat about Xuzhu's gossip in their room and tell Li Xinyun the stories of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils that she remembered.

On the third day, cheers resounded throughout Qingyun City, as the annual tribute from the Great Song Dynasty had finally arrived safely. Around noon, the silver arrived at the inn, and naturally, she hugged Li Yuxuan, laughing and crying at the same time.

Li Yuxuan was also filled with mixed emotions and sent her to take care of Xu Qingzhi. She had visited him several times in the past two days and knew that thanks to the timely arrival of the Xixia warriors, he only had a foot-long cut on his back near his shoulder blade, without damaging the bone. It was probably because the man's knife had just reached his back when he was shot by an arrow and could not cut any further.

However, she felt that it was not quite right for him to be taken care of by a grown man. She wanted to take care of him herself, but she was afraid that it would cause more misunderstandings, so she had to give up.

When Yinzi learned what had happened and that Xu Qingzhi had been injured while saving her young lady, she went over immediately without saying a word.

Li Yuxuan said, "Brother Xu will definitely not agree. If you want to stay there shamelessly, come and tell me if anything happens. If anything happens to Brother Xu's wound, I will hold you responsible."

Because Prince Xin was injured and unable to get out of bed, the emperor of Western Xia personally came to the inn the next day to hand over the annual salary to Prince Xin. After everything was settled, the eleven-year-old emperor gave a special audience with Li Yuxuan in Li Yuxuan's room.

Although he didn't know that Li Yuxuan was a woman, he had probably heard some of what had happened between her and Li Xinyun these past few days, so his first question was whether he would be willing to stay in Xixia as a prince consort.

These serious words, spoken in his still-childish voice, had a comical effect.

Li Yuxuan also told him very seriously that he had a wife in the Central Plains and had already made things clear with Princess Xinyun. However, since Princess Xinyun did not want to marry a Khitan, he did not want to push his sister into a fire pit. He suggested that he hold a martial arts contest to find a husband for Princess Xinyun. This way, he would not offend the Khitan, but would also gain a strong alliance. Princes such as the Dali Prince, the Hanhai Prince, and the Bhutan Prince were all young and unmarried, and would be a good match for Li Xinyun.

The child nodded repeatedly after hearing this: "I will go back to the palace and discuss it with the Empress Dowager immediately."

Five days later, a notice was posted in the Western Xia palace announcing that Princess Xinyun of Western Xia would be holding a martial arts contest to find a husband in a month, and that unmarried young men from all countries were welcome to participate.

Li Xinyun spent every day holed up in the inn, pestering Li Yuxuan for answers. She wondered if this tactic had even worked, if Xu Zhu would come, if he would still like her, if he had already forgotten her…

Xu Qingzhi was already able to get out of bed and walk around. Although her face was still pale, she was much more comfortable than Prince Xin, who was forcibly confined to the bed by Zhan Zhao. Every time he saw her and Xu Qingzhi walk into his room together, he would look at them with immense sorrow and resentment, and then curse Zhan Zhao for his disloyalty.

The cotton cloth on his head had been removed, and the wound had scabbed over. Only the hair in the wound area had been cut off, and his long black hair was draped over his shoulders. Coupled with his lazy expression, it was hard to tell that this man was the same Prince Xin who had always been so strong and confident.

Neither of them mentioned the previous incident again, as if they had all forgotten about it. Even Xu Qingzhi would look her in the eyes and call her Third Brother, though he no longer patted her shoulder.

Because Prince Xin's injuries required him to stay in bed for at least a month, and Zhan Zhao restricted her from going out alone without his company, this month became Li Yuxuan's most boring month.

Yinzi and Xiaolei became friends, always chattering away together, just like Li Xinyun was always chattering and clinging to her.

On the last day of the month, Li Yuxuan, Xu Qingzhi, and Li Xinyun arrived at Prince Xin's room early in the morning to witness his body, which had been covered in grease and grime from being on the kang (heated brick bed), stand up for the first time this month.

The suggestion to come and see if he had gotten lice was made by Li Yuxuan, because she was so bored that she couldn't imagine how the guards had been cleaning his body for the past month. If it were before, she would have wondered what was going on between Zhan Zhao and him.

She still had her suspicions, but she could only keep them to herself. People with a history of homosexuality always made people think all sorts of things. Otherwise, why would he have so resolutely refused to let Li Xinyun send a palace maid to take care of him? He insisted that Zhan Zhao do it himself.

She wasn't the only one speculating; many guards dared to guess but dared not speak out. Even Li Xinyun found it strange.

Upon entering the room, Prince Xin was still lying on the kang (a heated brick bed), leaning against a quilt, looking as lazy as ever, as if to say, "I've been sleeping for so long, I don't care if I sleep a few more days."

A few days ago, he made a demand that everything be done his way on this day, otherwise he would not get out of bed.

Looking at his shameless appearance, Li Yuxuan laughed and said, "Really not getting up? I was hoping to invite you to go outside for some fresh air, but it looks like you're going to be disappointed."

Prince Xin smiled and pointed to the corner of the wall, "I'll get up when he stands up."

She and Xu Qingzhi looked toward the corner of the wall hidden by the screen, where they saw Zhan Zhao doing push-ups by himself.

Looking at Prince Xin again, he wore his signature smug smile: "Not much. To repay him for taking care of me this past month, I only need him to do a thousand push-ups. As for you—" He looked at Li Yuxuan with a smile: "To repay my life-saving grace, I only need you to do five hundred."

Li Yuxuan took a breath, not expecting him to make such a request. He immediately raised his injured right hand and said, "My hand is injured. I strongly protest against the mistreatment of the wounded."

Prince Xin's smile widened: "It's fine if you don't want to, but then you have to stay with me all day, including when I take a bath and go to the toilet."

Li Xinyun chuckled, and Li Yuxuan tapped her on the head: "Considering how badly you hurt me in the past, I'll leave this job to you."

Li Xinyun gave Xu Qingzhi a push: "Brother Xu is the most suitable for this job. He is gentle and understanding."

Having been tempered by their unrestrained words these past few days, Xu Qingzhi no longer blushed upon hearing this and smiled, saying, "How could I dare disobey Your Highness's wishes? Thank you for your trouble, Third Brother."

The three were playfully fighting and watching Zhan Zhao do push-ups when someone came to report from outside: "There is a group of people at the entrance of the inn requesting an audience with the prince, claiming to be his friends."

The three exchanged glances, all somewhat puzzled. Where did they get these friends from the northern border region of Western Xia?

Friends from afar

Zhan Zhaoteng stood up abruptly and led the way toward the door, but Li Yuxuan quickly stepped in front of him and stopped him: "No rush, no rush, Brother Zhan, finish your exercise before you leave. Otherwise, how can you repay your month of devoted service? If you upset the prince, all your flattery for the past month will have been for nothing."

Zhan Zhao pretended to kick her: "I always end up bluffing back and forth. Some people repay kindness with enmity. I've brought this upon myself and deserve to die."

"Hehe." The three laughed. Li Yuxuan dodged his attack and said to Yinzi, who had been following behind, "Take good care of Prince Xin as he gets up."

The three arrived at the inn's entrance and saw Xiao Feng standing in the center, flanked by Xu Zhu and about a dozen young men and women in fine furs and elegant robes. Li Yuxuan was overjoyed, knowing these must be Duan Yu and his harem. Ignoring Zhan Zhao's probing gaze, he smiled and went to greet them: "Brother Xiao, I've missed you terribly since you left without saying goodbye." Li Xinyun, however, stood behind Xu Qingzhi.

Xiao Feng chuckled: "Lord Li is a magnanimous man and will certainly not hold it against me. I came to visit you after hearing that Your Highness was injured."

Li Yuxuan gestured for them to enter: "Everyone, please!" He invited the group of people in. Upon closer inspection, Duan Yu was handsome with a face like jade and eyes like stars. He exuded a natural charm and elegance that surpassed that of any other man present.

Zhan Zhao led the group into an empty room. After they had drunk tea and had some snacks, they heard Prince Xin's laughter outside the door: "You've come just in time. If you had come a day earlier, I would still be trapped in bed and being tortured by them."

Everyone in the room immediately stood up. Prince Xin, wearing a pure white open fur coat, looked completely at ease, showing no signs of his recent serious injury, except for a slightly sallow complexion. Xu Qingzhi, on the other hand, with his pale face and melancholy expression, clearly had just recovered from a serious illness.

After everyone introduced themselves and exchanged greetings, Xiao Feng then revealed that he had come to protect Prince Xiao Hala of the Khitan, who was the Khitan royal relative whom Princess Xinyun had originally intended to marry, and who had come to seek a husband.

Speaking of the broken engagement between the Western Xia and the Khitan, the Khitan would not have agreed so easily. However, Empress Dowager Xiao Nujin died of illness. Because Xiao Nujin had killed Empress Rende, the emperor had always been dissatisfied with the Empress Dowager. Now that the Empress Dowager was dead, he no longer cared about her family. He only asked Xiao Feng to accompany him to the ceremony for the sake of the Khitan state. It would be better if he could not marry her. He could find an excuse to send them away.

Xiao Feng understood the emperor's intentions and did not want to get involved in the intrigues and power struggles within their harem. Once he arrived in Western Xia, he would join forces with Duan Yu, who had come to Western Xia on his father's orders to find a husband, and together they would search for Prince Xin, who was still stranded there.

Upon hearing of Empress Dowager Xiao's death, Prince Xin glanced involuntarily at Li Yuxuan and chuckled, "We won't interfere in this martial arts contest for marriage." His eyes then found Li Xinyun, who had been hiding behind Xu Qingzhi: "I know Princess Xinyun is exceptionally beautiful and is searching for her dream lover. However, I also know that my appearance is unworthy of her attention, so I won't embarrass myself." Turning to Xuzhu, he asked, "Is this Young Master Xuzhu also here to find a husband?"

When Xu Zhu saw that Prince Xin had seen him, he waved his hands repeatedly: "No, no, I just came to accompany my elder brother and second brother, I, I, I..." He wanted to say that he was a monk, but then he remembered that he had not been a monk for a long time, and he said with a red face: "I also have a dream lover."

Li Yuxuan burst into loud laughter.

Prince Xin and Xu Qingzhi, who knew the inside story, also laughed.

Those around them, unaware of the situation, assumed they were laughing at Xu Zhu's reaction. Seeing his adorable embarrassment, they all chuckled along.

Li Xinyun glared at them resentfully, her face a mixture of amusement and frustration, turning bright red as she tried to suppress her laughter.