Chapter 72 – Wishing to Tear the Body into Ten Thousand Pieces

Xia Tian waited inside the house, unable to reach Shen Nian, and started to worry that something might have happened.

Just as she was about to go out to find him, a servant, sent to wait at the front gate for Shen Nian, rushed in, shouting, “Madam, something has happened, something has happened!”

Xia Tian’s legs weakened, and she almost collapsed to the ground. Luckily, Ning Xiang, who had been standing by, helped steady her.

Ning Xiang’s hand shook slightly as she helped Xia Tian.

After Xia Tian stood up, she called in Ning Xue and Cuiyun to watch over the situation and told Ning Xiang to step out. Ning Xiang scolded, “What are you yelling for? You almost scared the Madam! Quickly, tell me, what happened?”

The servant was trembling, his words coming out in a jumbled mess. “Blood, there was so much blood, young master was injured, and they carried him here, a whole crowd rushed into the Madam’s courtyard.”

“Why did they bring the young master to the Madam’s courtyard if he’s injured?” Xia Tian, now somewhat recovered, stepped out of the house and asked in confusion.

“It’s not the heir, it’s the fourth young master who got injured, and they carried him to the Madam’s courtyard,” the servant quickly clarified, seeing the Madam’s questioning gaze.

Xia Tian was stunned, “The injured person isn’t the heir, it’s the fourth young master?”

“Yes, yes, I haven’t seen the heir yet,” the servant quickly nodded.

Upon hearing that it wasn’t Shen Nian who was injured, Xia Tian breathed a sigh of relief.

Ning Xiang gave the servant a glare and sent him away.

Another person was assigned to wait at the front gate for Shen Nian.

Xia Tian left the house, puzzled. How did the injured person turn out to be Shen Ke? Could it have been the result of a fight between the two parties?

But no, wasn’t Shen Ke supposed to be at the academy this afternoon? And where was Shen Nian? Why hadn’t he returned yet? Could he have been injured too?

Unable to sit still any longer, she decided to go check on things herself.

Just as she was about to put on her cloak and head out, Cui Ling entered, saying that the heir had arrived.

Xia Tian turned around and saw Shen Nian lifting the door curtain and stepping into the house.

She quickly went over, took off the cloak, handed it to Ning Xue, and pulled Shen Nian to inspect him from top to bottom to make sure there were no injuries. Only after confirming he was unhurt did she guide him into the warm pavilion to talk.

Ning Xiang told everyone else to leave, personally served tea, and then stepped outside to guard the door.

Inside, Xia Tian quietly asked Shen Nian, “What happened? How did Shen Ke get injured? Why are you so late?”

“I had dinner at Yu Pin Xuan with someone before coming here.”

It turned out that while he was on duty in the afternoon, he ran into Wen Lan from the Five Cities Military District, who had something to discuss with him. So, the two had agreed to have dinner after their shift at Yu Pin Xuan.

Shen Nian had not ridden a horse today; it was Mu Feng who had driven the carriage for him.

Mu Lin had people secretly investigate along the way. After discovering where the people were hiding, they didn’t act rashly, instead sending two people to keep an eye on them, while also having people keep watch at the palace gates to monitor their movements.

The person assigned to keep an eye on Shen Ke reported that Shen Ke had sneaked out of the academy. Mu Lin immediately informed Shen Nian, who then formulated a plan.

He instructed the spies to continue tracking Shen Ke and report back with any information.

When Shen Nian changed his clothes before leaving, he switched into an outfit of the same color as Shen Ke’s.

Since it was winter, the sky was already getting dark as he left, and it was hard to tell the difference between him and Shen Ke unless someone was paying very close attention.

When the people stationed at the palace gates saw one of the two following Shen Nian report that Shen Nian had gotten on the carriage, he then took off his clothes and had Mu Feng change into them inside the carriage.

After Mu Feng changed, he got off the carriage, took a guard with him, and secretly made his way toward Shen Ke.

The people tailing Shen Nian saw him get off the carriage briefly and then sneakily follow, leaving marks for their companions along the way.

Once the people tailing were out of sight, Shen Nian got back into the carriage and headed directly to Yu Pin Xuan. Meanwhile, Mu Feng led the followers near Shen Ke, found an opportunity to slip away, and after that, the assassin who attacked Shen Nian mistook Shen Ke for Shen Nian in the darkness, and thus injured him.

Fortunately, Shen Ke had his own guards, otherwise, there was no telling if he would have made it back alive.

Xia Tian gasped in shock after hearing the story.

This situation was so complicated, and thankfully, Shen Nian had pulled off a clever switch, or who knew what could have happened by now?

She then grew a little worried about Liu Shi, “Was Shen Ke’s injury severe? Do you think they’ll suspect you?”

“Don’t worry, everything’s fine. I didn’t arrange for it, and even if they know it was my plan, they wouldn’t dare to make trouble openly,” Shen Nian comforted her in a warm voice.

Xia Tian nodded, “That’s true. But Liu Shi and the others will definitely seek revenge when they get the chance, so we still need to stay alert.”

“Mm,” Shen Nian lowered his eyes. With Shen Ke injured, Liu Shi would surely think it was his doing. After all, the rift between them was already open, so it was a good opportunity to blame him.

As long as she made a move, he would eventually catch her red-handed!

While they were still discussing how to handle Liu Shi’s revenge, they had no idea that Liu Shi wasn’t even thinking about them at the moment.

In Huari Hall, buckets of hot water were being brought in, only to be followed by dirty water mixed with blood being carried out.

Inside, the doctor was treating Shen Ke’s injury. The wound near his heart had nearly killed him, and it took a long time for the bleeding to stop.

Shen Ke was still unconscious, and the wound was so deep that the doctor had to work for a while before, with the help of a maid, he managed to bandage it up.

Liu Shi fainted when they brought Shen Ke into the room, and after the wound was dressed, the doctor had to give Liu Shi a needle to wake her up.

When Liu Shi regained consciousness, she saw her son’s upper body wrapped in bandages, and nearly fainted again.

The doctor quickly reassured her that Shen Ke had been saved, and only then did she manage to gather herself, propped up by a maid, and moved to her son’s bedside. Seeing that he was indeed alive, she collapsed in relief.

Liu Shi’s head maid, Qiuyue, led the doctor out to the hall to have tea while they waited.

The doctor understood; this was a time for Liu Shi to inquire about her son’s condition.

After a while, Liu Shi, having recovered somewhat, finally stepped out to ask the doctor.

“Madam, the young master has a life-threatening injury to his chest. He must remain in bed and rest. He shouldn’t get up for at least a month, and it will take at least half a year for a full recovery,” the doctor reported.

“A whole month of rest?” Liu Shi was heartbroken. Just how serious was this injury?

“Yes, Madam. During the recovery period, he should eat foods that help with blood coagulation and energy replenishment. It will help with his recovery. The first three days are critical, especially at night. You need to watch out for any signs of fever; if he develops one, you must lower his temperature immediately,” the doctor added respectfully.

Liu Shi, still in shock, instructed someone to fetch medicine and then asked Qiuyue to send someone to check on why the Marquis hadn’t arrived yet.

At this point, Liu Shi still didn’t know exactly how Shen Ke had been injured.

Three of the four guards who had accompanied Shen Ke were dead, and the last one was seriously injured, being treated by the house physician in the outer courtyard.

After a while, Marquis Wu’an finally arrived at Huari Hall, his face dark with anger. He walked straight into the room and demanded, “What happened? Who injured Ke’er?”

Seeing her husband, Liu Shi choked up and couldn’t speak.

Marquis Wu’an comforted her briefly and then, with rage, listened to the story of how Shen Ke was carried back after being injured.

The story filled him with fury, and he nearly wished he could tear the culprit who harmed Shen Ke into pieces.

While Liu Shi was crying out her grievances, Qiuyue entered with a report, saying that the severely wounded guard had woken up.

The Marquis immediately stood up, “Go and see.”

Liu Shi, seeing her husband preparing to question the guard, turned to Qiuyue and instructed her to keep an eye on the young master before following her husband to the interrogation.