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The icy cold water of the first month of the year was bone-piercing. Despite Princess Ning"an"s proficiency in swimming, she was almost rendered unconscious by the freezing temperature. Coupled with the heavy winter clothing, being soaked felt like being weighed down by stones, making it impossible to swim!
When Princess Ning"an finally struggled ash.o.r.e, she had nearly lost her life.
The chubby boy who caused her fall into the water was nowhere to be found, but Huangfu Xian, who didn"t flee the scene, sat on the wheelchair by the bank.
Shivering and panting in the gra.s.s, Princess Ning"an finally mustered some strength to speak, "... Who allowed you to come out?"
Princess Ning"an had long forbidden Huangfu Xian from leaving Bixia Palace.
Huangfu Xian replied, "I came out on my own. They can’t stop me."
With his reckless behavior, always putting his life on the line, who among the palace servants could stop Huangfu Xian?
The injuries on Princess Ning"an"s right arm and forehead were real. While the wound on her forehead was minor and had scabbed over, her right arm had been cut deeply and required several st.i.tches.
The struggle in the water had reopened the wound, causing fresh blood to soak her wet sleeves, staining them red.
Enduring the piercing pain, Princess Ning"an gritted her teeth and struggled to stand up.
She trembled as she approached Huangfu Xian, gasping, "Did you do it on purpose?"
Huangfu Xian met her icy gaze fearlessly and said, "I just saw mother and wanted to greet you."
Princess Ning"an raised her hand to slap Huangfu Xian, but she truly had little strength left. Before the slap could land on Huangfu Xian"s face, she collapsed to the ground.
When Lian"er came looking for Huangfu Xian and found them there, Princess Ning"an had already pa.s.sed out.
Princess Ning"an slept for two full hours before waking up, and the first thing she did was to scold Huangfu Xian!
"Princess! Princess! At least put on some clothes!"
Lian"er rushed over with a cloak.
"Don’t come in!"
Princess Ning"an shut Lian"er out.
Ignoring the pain from her wounds, she stormed to the bedside, intending to give Huangfu Xian a piece of her mind, but then she noticed something was wrong.
Huangfu Xian was not in good shape. To be precise, he was in terrible condition. His face was as pale as paper, sweat beading on his forehead, and he seemed somewhat delirious.
Suddenly panicked, Princess Ning"an abandoned her fierce demeanor, sat beside the bed, and held Huangfu Xian"s hand, feeling his forehead. "Xian"er! Xian"er, what"s wrong with you! Don"t scare me!"
Huangfu Xian, tormented by the pain from his severed limbs, didn"t utter a word, merely enduring the agony of flesh pierced by bone.
Choking back tears, Princess Ning"an said, "Xian"er! Xian"er, talk to mother! Don"t sleep! Don"t leave your mother too! I can"t lose you! What"s the matter with you? Hm? What"s wrong with you!"
She turned and shouted outside, "Physician! Fetch the imperial physician!"
Finally, Huangfu Xian opened his eyes and weakly said to her, using almost all his willpower to endure the pain, "Stop now, mother."
Princess Ning"an"s emotions abruptly halted, "What are you saying?"
Huangfu Xian"s breath was feeble as a thread, "I"ll serve you... for the rest of my life... I"ll be a good son to you... never anger you... never provoke you... let"s leave this place... far away... to somewhere no one knows us... like... when I was young... like how I used to love you when I was young..."
Expressionless, Princess Ning"an wiped away the tears from her eyes, "They killed your father, killed your grandmother, and ruined the empire that should have been yours."
"I don"t want any of that..." Huangfu Xian grasped her hand, pain overtaking him. His eyes reddened, "I just want you... let"s leave this place... please?"
"No!"
Princess Ning"an coldly withdrew her hand, stood up, and looked down at the pale-faced Huangfu Xian, "Live well, grow up, and leave a legacy for your father."
With that, she turned and left the room.
Lian"er came with the imperial physician, looking oddly at her mistress, "Princess? What happened to you?"
Princess Ning"an didn"t answer but instructed, "Let the imperial physician in to check."
"Yes." Lian"er led the imperial physician into the room.
Princess Ning"an returned to her own chamber.
Not long after, Lian"er hurriedly reported, "Princess, the young master is uncooperative and won"t allow the imperial physician to treat him."
Princess Ning"an replied calmly, "Seeing he"s so strong, nothing should happen to him for a while. Let him suffer if he doesn’t want treatment."
Lian"er hesitantly opened her mouth, "Princess."
Princess Ning"an"s gaze flickered, "Just let the imperial physician keep watch."
"Oh!"
Princess Ning"an"s expression looked extremely cold.
She stood quietly by the window, gazing at the silent, snow-covered courtyard, then glanced up at the crescent moon in the sky.
Suddenly, as if making a decision, she turned and headed towards the Huaqing Palace.
Huaqing Palace.
Eunuch Wei had just finished scrubbing His Majesty clean and was about to go to the small kitchen for some food. As he got into the small garden of Huaqing Palace, a figure suddenly darted out and covered his mouth!
He was so startled that he whimpered.
"It"s me!"
The figure whispered.
Eunuch Wei was taken aback.
The person removed their hand, and Eunuch Wei turned around, astonished, "Eunuch Qin?"
"Shush." Eunuch Qin gestured for him to keep silent and pulled him behind a large tree.
Eunuch Wei was puzzled, asking, "Didn"t you... escape? Why are you still in the imperial palace?"
Eunuch Qin explained, "I did plan to leave that day, but after some thought, I felt uneasy and decided to stay for now."
Eunuch Wei clicked his tongue, nagging, "Aren"t you afraid of being caught?"
Eunuch Qin replied, "After so many years in the imperial palace, finding a hiding place isn"t difficult."
Eunuch Wei glared at him, "But you shouldn"t have come here! It"s too dangerous! I"ll keep an eye on the palace guards for you. You leave here quickly and don"t come back!"
Eunuch Wei"s words rea.s.sured Eunuch Qin that he hadn"t truly betrayed them.
Eunuch Qin breathed a sigh of relief. Honestly, it took great courage for him to come find Eunuch Wei. He feared that if Eunuch Wei had indeed turned against them, his appearance would have meant his demise.
Eunuch Qin glanced around, lowered his voice, and said, "Tell me, what really happened in the imperial study that day? How did His Majesty end up like this? And what happened with the Dragon Shadow Guard by His Majesty"s side?"
……
"Who"s there?"
As Princess Ning"an pa.s.sed by the small garden of the Huaqing Palace, she noticed a suspicious figure lurking behind a large tree.
Eunuch Wei sheepishly emerged from behind the tree, "Princess."
Princess Ning"an asked suspiciously, "What were you doing sneaking around there?"
Eunuch Wei smiled and replied, "This servant lost my keys, so this servant is looking around for them."
"Did you find them?" Princess Ning"an inquired.
"No, not yet." Eunuch Wei replied regretfully.
Princess Ning"an coldly hooked up the corner of her lips and walked straight towards Eunuch Wei.
A hint of undisguised panic flashed across Eunuch Wei"s face.Raz P."s Thoughts
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