Chapter 78: Premature Birth
After returning to the capital, Feng Changhuan temporarily stayed at Prince Feng Jun’s residence. This night, as soon as he stepped into the main hall, he saw Feng Jun sitting in the seat of honor, his hand propping up his cheek, nodding off.
Hearing the footsteps, Feng Jun immediately woke up and snorted coldly. “Back from your lover’s?”
Feng Changhuan raised an eyebrow. “You were waiting for me?”
“Your Majesty is overthinking it. I was just worried you would be caught by my imperial brother. Having an affair with the Empress, tsk, tsk.”
Feng Changhuan frowned. “You had someone follow me?”
Feng Jun rolled his eyes. “Even without following, I could have guessed. Your Majesty has been receiving love letters from your lover every few days.”
Feng Changhuan sat down beside him and said seriously, “I had some unclear transactions and dealings with the Li family before. Li Luoyan has some feelings for me, or perhaps she hopes that I can help the Li family, so she often writes to me. I went to the palace this time to make things clear with her, to make a clean break once and for all. From now on, we will be like well water not interfering with river water.”
“You say it nicely.”
Feng Changhuan said with an interested smile, “Isn’t Your Highness about to marry Nan Shengliu? Why do you care so much?”
Feng Jun was stunned, then growled, “Who cares? I was just being sarcastic!”
With that, he flicked his sleeves and turned to leave.
Feng Changhuan called out, “I am returning to Hong Xi tomorrow.”
Feng Jun’s steps paused, but he did not turn back.
“I bid Your Majesty farewell. I wish you a safe journey.”
Watching his retreating back, Feng Changhuan smiled mysteriously.
And as expected, when he left, Feng Jun did not see him off. Outside the city gate, he had thought that Feng Jun had not come. In fact, on the city gate, Feng Jun had said goodbye alone.
From now on, they should have no more dealings.
The snow in the Plum Blossom Villa had long since melted, and Wen Ning’an and Feng Qi had stayed in the villa for a few more months, only moving out after late spring. The Grain Rain had arrived, and the villa was too damp, no longer suitable for living.
The rain is frequent, the frost is gone, the air is clear and mild. The willows are green, the tea is fragrant, and the swallows dart about. Spring was always a beloved season. The willow catkins fell, and the peonies bloomed. Wen Ning’an thought to himself, It’s good that Long’er can be born in spring.
At this moment, a large procession was moving along the narrow path in the green forest. It was the escort of His Highness the Regent, returning to the palace from the villa. Personally selected by Feng Qi, the team was composed of highly skilled imperial masters. The team moved very slowly, as the road was wet from the rain and easy to slip on.
Wen Ning’an and Qin Zhaohuang were chatting in the carriage, while Yu Qianshou rode a horse beside the carriage, slowly moving forward with the team.
The rain gives birth to a hundred grains. The rainfall was sufficient and timely. Most parts of Bei Miao had already started planting in full swing, so Feng Qi had left the villa early in the morning to inspect and was not with the team. And perhaps because he really treated Bai Bi as his own adopted son, he had also taken him along on this inspection tour, beginning to teach him about state affairs.
“Your Highness, Commander Xie says that the slope ahead is very difficult to traverse. He wants the team to stop and rest for a while. Is that alright?”
Yu Qianshou’s voice came from outside. Wen Ning’an immediately replied, “Alright.”
The team stopped, and Wen Ning’an and Qin Zhaohuang also came out for some fresh air.
The spring was full of life, and the air was fragrant and fresh. Wen Ning’an took out a water bag and was about to hand it to Qin Zhaohuang when he saw a hidden weapon coming through the air from behind him!
“Zhaohuang, be careful!” Wen Ning’an immediately pulled him forcefully behind him. But at this moment, he was nearly eight months pregnant. How could his movements be agile? Fortunately, Yu Qianshou reacted extremely quickly. The moment Wen Ning’an shouted, he rushed towards them and, with a swing of his short flute, barely managed to knock the hidden weapon away.
Looking at the assassins who had appeared from the forest and were attacking them, Yu Qianshou frowned. “You two go into the carriage and hide first.”
Fortunately, the team was large enough to deal with the large number of assassins.
Wen Ning’an and Qin Zhaohuang slipped into the carriage. It was made of the finest materials and was strong enough to withstand hidden weapons and cold arrows. Yu Qianshou stood outside the carriage, and a melodious yet strange tune flowed from the flute at his lips. Leaving aside whether the assassins trying to get close to the carriage could withstand the wild dance of the snakes, they were first bewitched by this tune, not knowing what was happening, what time it was. And who knows how he controlled it, but this tune only had a dizzying effect on the assassins. Our army, on the contrary, fought more and more bravely after hearing it, feeling full of fighting spirit.
“Your Highness!”
Xie Mufang came to the side of the carriage. “This subordinate will first take a group of people to escort Your Highness away from here!”
Wen Ning’an thought for a moment. “Alright.”
Xie Mufang sat in front of the carriage and took the reins, about to drive it, when he heard a “boom.” He turned his head and saw that the back of the carriage was on fire! Coupled with the oil-filled porcelain jars that the assassins were throwing, the fire immediately grew larger.
The assassin who had shot the fire arrow was immediately pursued and killed by the soldiers, but the carriage could not be saved.
Wen Ning’an and Qin Zhaohuang only felt a wave of heat from their backs. The carriage was filled with a heat wave and thick black smoke, followed by the crackling sound of fire. The two had no choice but to get out of the carriage.
“Ning’an, be careful!”
Almost at the moment they stepped out of the carriage, a sky-covering wave of hidden weapons came at them. Wen Ning’an had no choice but to draw his sword and sweep away the hidden weapons to defend himself.
“Protect His Highness! Protect the Crown Prince!”
The imperial guard and the shadow guards immediately closed in around Wen Ning’an, and Xie Mufang also stood in front of him.
Yu Qianshou said, “There is still a baggage cart behind. Use that one to leave!”
Wen Ning’an pulled Qin Zhaohuang and, under the cover of Xie Mufang and Yu Qianshou, gradually retreated from the battle and headed for the carriage behind.
Yu Qianshou leaped onto the back of the carriage to prevent the enemy from using the same trick again and setting it on fire. Qin Zhaohuang was small and was the first to slip into the carriage, throwing out the unimportant luggage to clear out a space.
“Alright! Ning’an, hurry and get in!”
Hearing the voice from the carriage, Wen Ning’an was about to leap on when his hand was grabbed by Xie Mufang.
“Your Highness, be careful.” Xie Mufang placed his other hand on Wen Ning’an’s waist. “This subordinate will help you up.”
…
In the carriage, seeing that Wen Ning’an had not come in for a long time, Qin Zhaohuang lifted the door curtain. “Ning’an, you…”
His words came to an abrupt halt.
Almost at the moment he lifted the door curtain, he saw a scene that made his blood run cold. Xie Mufang, with one arm around Wen Ning’an, had fiercely plunged a hidden weapon into his wrist.
“Ning’an—”
The snakes that had been guarding him and the carriage, because of their master’s too-miserable cry, became frantic and all rushed at Xie Mufang.
Yu Qianshou, who had been at the back of the carriage, was also shocked. But when he came to the front, he saw Xie Mufang being attacked and bitten by a group of snakes, while Wen Ning’an had already fallen to the side, unconscious.
“Ah Shu… Ah Shu…” Qin Zhaohuang’s face was pale, his tone trembling.
“Don’t panic.” Yu Qianshou squatted beside Wen Ning’an and, with a decisive move, cut his wrist tendon!
Wen Ning’an gasped in pain, his eyes flying open, but then he fainted again. Yu Qianshou then cut a gash on his own wrist and fed him his blood.
“Back to the palace, immediately!”
The palace was in chaos, and the faces of several imperial physicians had lost all color in their panic. Wen Ning’an lay on the bed, unconscious, and Yu Qianshou was taking his pulse.
The hastily returned Feng Qi, as soon as he stepped into the room, was choked by the smell of blood in the air, and his heart instantly went cold. Bai Bi, on the other hand, immediately burst into tears.
“Your Majesty, we… we were ambushed on the way…” Qin Zhaohuang’s tone was also tinged with a sob.
Feng Qi grabbed the head imperial physician, Zhang Chongshan, his eyes bloodshot as he said with a trembling voice, “Yixin… how… how is he!”
Zhang Chongshan said in a daze, “There is no cure for crane’s crest red…”
Before his words had even finished, Feng Qi’s body went limp, and he stumbled back a few steps. Fu Che hurriedly reached out to support him.
“Your Majesty, please listen to this old subject finish!” Zhang Chongshan immediately added, “Fortunately, Mr. Yu cut His Highness’s wrist tendon, so the poison has not yet completely spread to the internal organs. There is still a chance of salvation! Besides, Mr. Yu is using poison to fight poison. The two poisons are fighting in His Highness’s body, so the heart and the child have not yet been harmed by the poison.”
Yu Qianshou’s medical skills were very good, and now the few old men in the Imperial Medical Academy were actually following his instructions.
“Then what now?” Feng Qi let out a slight sigh of relief, but his hands still couldn’t stop trembling. It must hurt so much. Yixin must be in so much pain…
Yu Qianshou said, “Your Majesty, the situation is serious. We must induce labor now. This commoner dares to ask, if there is a choice, save the adult or the child?”
Feng Qi was stunned, his eyes wide as he growled, “Didn’t you say the poison hasn’t harmed the vital organs!”
He felt he was going mad!
“Although that is the case, His Highness’s body is already in chaos. Crane’s crest red is not an ordinary poison, after all.”
“Chen Shu! What are you asking!” Qin Zhaohuang stood up, his eyes red. “We must save both! No one can have an accident!”
Yu Qianshou glanced at the few people in the room and finally sighed. “I will do my best.”
A servant brought out a screen and separated Wen Ning’an from Feng Qi and the others, but it still couldn’t block the smell of blood and…
“Ahhhhhh—”
Hearing Wen Ning’an’s miserable scream, Feng Qi felt as if his heart had been hit hard, as if it had been fiercely torn open. A cold sweat broke out on his back, and his lips trembled.
He had heard about the excruciating pain of childbirth before. And now, with this poison tormenting him, it must be…
Damn it! Damn it!
Intermittent cries came from the other side of the screen. Feng Qi paced back and forth in anxiety, wishing he could bear it for Wen Ning’an. And Bai Bi was crying in Qin Zhaohuang’s arms. Qin Zhaohuang’s eyes were also red. Xingxing and Liangliang were nestled at his feet, not daring to move at all. Feng Qi looked at them and only felt even more frustrated.
“Ah… ah… Huaitian… Huaitian!”
Feng Qi’s steps paused. He grabbed one of the imperial physicians who had come out from behind the screen to change the water, a little flustered.
“Imperial physician! Yixin is calling me! He’s calling me!”
The physician comforted him, “Your Majesty, don’t panic. His Highness is not in his right mind right now. He is just calling out subconsciously.”
Feng Qi saw that the fresh water in the wooden basin in the physician’s hand had already been stained red with fresh blood, a glaring sight.
“Huaitian—”
“Thud—”
Feng Qi could no longer hold it back. With a wave of his hand, he swept the screen away.
“Your Majesty!”
