Chapter 156: You Two Are Quite Alike
Although Shen Yanchuan agreed, he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he looked at the Imperial Physician who had come forward to take Ye Chutang’s pulse.
"How is she?"
Princess Qingyang didn’t press the matter. She glanced at Ye Chutang, then at Shen Yanchuan, before heading out to order the items the Imperial Physician required.
In any case, Prince Qi could only wait patiently for now.
Seeing this, how could the Imperial Physician not understand what was most important?
’In his eyes, the unconscious Ye Chutang is clearly the top priority!’
He took her pulse seriously, his brow slowly knitting together.
"Miss Ye has lost a great deal of blood and is extremely weak. We must treat her wounds as quickly as possible, then give her a restorative medicinal soup."
Shen Yanchuan said nothing.
Thinking Shen Yanchuan was worried, the Imperial Physician quickly added, "But rest assured, Miss Ye hasn’t injured any bones, and she returned just in time. If she’s properly cared for, she will definitely be safe and sound."
Shen Yanchuan nodded.
A short while later, Princess Qingyang returned.
"Brother, you should both head out. I’ll help Chutang change her dressing."
Shen Yanchuan gave Ye Chutang one last look, then withdrew from the room.
* * *
The two Imperial Physicians had gone to decoct the medicine, and Shen Yanchuan was no longer there. Only Ye Chutang and Princess Qingyang remained in the room.
"Chutang, let me clean your wound."
Princess Qingyang spoke as she wrung out a clean cloth in a basin of warm water.
Lying on the bed, Ye Chutang opened her eyes and turned her head to look at her.
She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Princess Qingyang earnestly wringing out the cloth.
"Getting injured this time was truly worth it. I even get to be graced by the presence of a Commandery Princess."
Princess Qingyang was at a loss for words.
"How can you still be in the mood for jokes at a time like this?"
She walked over, helped Ye Chutang sit up, then took a pair of scissors and carefully cut open the fabric over her left shoulder.
The blood that had stained it had already dried to a dark crimson.
After cutting through the outer layer of clothing, Princess Qingyang saw the simple cloth bandage underneath. The bloodstains there were even more gruesome.
"How is it this bad?" Princess Qingyang frowned, her hands moving even more gently.
She’d seen that Ye Chutang was lucid and able to converse normally, so she’d assumed the injury wasn’t too severe. Who knew—
"I didn’t have time to pull it out when I fell." Ye Chutang turned her head to give Princess Qingyang better access with the scissors, smiling nonchalantly. "So it just went in a bit deep."
Princess Qingyang’s pretty face tightened.
Too much time had passed, and the cloth had adhered to Ye Chutang’s wound.
"Brace yourself," Princess Qingyang said, her brow deeply furrowed. "If it hurts, you can bite down on this handkerchief."
But Ye Chutang shook her head. "Just keep going, Your Highness."
Princess Qingyang was hesitant. "Really?"
Ye Chutang smiled. "Yes. If I couldn’t even handle a little pain like this, I would have passed out and died down there long ago."
’That’s true...’
Princess Qingyang gritted her teeth and deftly cut away the stuck fabric.
The puncture wound was a gory mess of torn flesh.
Even Princess Qingyang, who had always been daring, couldn’t help but shudder at the sight of the wound.
She pressed her lips together tightly, took a cloth to carefully wipe the blood from around the injury, disinfected it, and finally applied fresh medicine.
By the time she finished the entire process, Princess Qingyang was drenched in sweat.
"Did you bandage this yourself?" Princess Qingyang couldn’t help but ask.
Ye Chutang gave a slight nod. "I did."
Princess Qingyang gave her a complicated look.
"...I knew it!"
Ever since she had personally witnessed Ye Chutang saving the Eldest Princess, Princess Qingyang had felt Ye Chutang was no ordinary person and had regarded her in a new light.
This just proved it.
She had endured for several hours with such a deep wound!
Princess Qingyang took some clean gauze and began to bandage Ye Chutang’s wound.
Ye Chutang offered a sincere assessment, "Having someone else help really does save a lot of trouble."
Princess Qingyang had always considered herself quite brazen, but now she felt that compared to Ye Chutang, her own antics were nothing.
"...You’re really like my brother in that respect," Princess Qingyang mumbled under her breath.
Ye Chutang was surprised. "What was that?"
"I said you two are a lot alike!" Princess Qingyang said, tying off the gauze and finally letting out a sigh of relief. "He can also endure a lot of pain, and he’s especially hard on himself."
’That’s true,’ Ye Chutang thought. The first time she met Shen Yanchuan, she’d guessed he was not someone to be trifled with.
’I was right.’
With the dressing finally changed, Princess Qingyang helped her lie back down.
"You should rest for a bit. I’ll call you when the medicine arrives later."
Ye Chutang, however, shook her head.
"There’s one more thing I must trouble Your Highness with."
Princess Qingyang paused. "What is it?"
Ye Chutang smiled and said gently, "I told Xiao Wu I would be back to get her tonight, but it looks like I won’t make it. So, I’d like to ask Your Highness to help send a message back. Just say... something came up, and I can only go get her tomorrow."
Princess Qingyang had no reason to refuse such a request.
She agreed at once. "Don’t you worry about a thing."
* * *
Xiao Chengxuan had been waiting for a long time when he finally saw Shen Yanchuan emerge from the room.
He hurried forward and glanced inside. "How is Miss Ye?"
Shen Yanchuan stopped on the steps and said calmly, "Still unconscious. Qinyang is staying inside to watch over her, and the two Imperial Physicians have gone to decoct the medicine."
"What? It’s that serious?" Xiao Chengxuan frowned, looking worried. "It seems we can only wait, then... By the way, how are you, Princely Heir?"
Shen Yanchuan was clearly injured as well, but it was impossible to tell if the damage was internal.
"Thank you for your concern, Prince Qi. Thanks to Second Miss Ye’s help, I only suffered some superficial wounds. It’s nothing serious," Shen Yanchuan said.
Xiao Chengxuan already knew Shen Yanchuan was mostly fine; otherwise, he couldn’t have carried Ye Chutang all that way back along the mountain path.
’A pity.’
’Who knows when an opportunity this good will come again.’
Xiao Chengxuan felt a pang of regret, even a hint of frustration, but he didn’t let any of it show on his face.
He nodded, feigning relief. "That’s good! That’s good!"
Shen Yanchuan’s expression was unreadable. As the sky darkened, his cool, noble face took on an indescribable, chilling indifference.
Xiao Chengxuan suddenly felt awkward and lowered his hand.
He decided to change the subject. "It’s good that you’re both alright. The only shame is that those assassins still haven’t been found!"
As he said this, his expression turned to one of anger, his voice becoming stern.
"To dare lay an ambush and attack here... Those people are unbelievably audacious!"
Shen Yanchuan glanced at the distant, rolling mountain peaks and said calmly, "The mountains are steep and the forests are dense. It is indeed difficult to find a few people in such a short amount of time."
Xiao Chengxuan let out a heavy sigh.
"You’re right! If only we could catch one—"
Before he could finish, the sound of approaching footsteps was heard.
"My Lord!"
Lian Zhou hurried over.
"We’ve captured one of the assassins!"
Xiao Chengxuan whipped his head around.