Chapter 8: Injured

Xiao Che immediately lifted his gaze. The incoming sword light met his dark eyes like a flash of lightning.

He grabbed Shu Ruohua’s arm and abruptly leaned back, narrowly dodging the black-clothed man’s sword.

The assassin, realizing he had missed, swiftly reversed his grip and charged at Xiao Che once again.

Xiao Che let out a cold snort, a flicker of sinister charm flashing in his dark eyes. He spun his body upright and, mid-flip, kicked the man in black, sending him flying.

A chilling aura radiated from Xiao Che’s entire being.

Only then did Shu Ruohua manage to steady her footing—what had just happened had truly shaken her to the core.

It took her quite a while to snap out of it.

Zhong Zihan’s martial arts far surpassed that of the black-clothed men. In no time, he had taken down all the intruders in the courtyard.

Without stopping to check who they were, he rushed to Xiao Che’s side and asked if he was hurt.

“I’m fine,” Xiao Che replied coolly, his voice low and steady.

…

Only then did Shu Ruohua begin to come to her senses. She swallowed hard, trying to calm herself, but was suddenly overwhelmed by a sharp pain that made her tear up.

Her arm hurt terribly.

“Ugh…” she groaned softly in pain and quickly clutched her arm, only then noticing that it was bleeding profusely.

She must have been cut while shielding Xiao Che from the sword earlier—she hadn’t even noticed at the time.

Xiao Che turned his head instinctively and finally saw blood streaming down Shu Ruohua’s arm.

“Summon the Imperial Physician! Now!”

In a rush, he ordered Zhong Zihan to fetch a physician.

Zhong Zihan cupped his fists and took off immediately.

Just as he turned to leave, he suddenly realized that all the black-clothed men he had taken down earlier had disappeared.

He paused and frowned, glancing at Xiao Che. He was about to say something, but Xiao Che didn’t seem to care at all and urged him again, “Hurry!!”

“Understood!” Zhong Zihan was bewildered by the prince’s urgency but dared not hesitate. He quickly ran off to summon the physician.

…

Qian Ning, who had been hiding by the doorway in fear, saw that Shu Ruohua was injured and rushed over, completely forgetting her fright. She helped the Crown Prince support Shu Ruohua back to her room.

Xiao Che noticed a faint purplish tint spreading around Shu Ruohua’s wound.

His brows furrowed. He quickly instructed Qian Ning to fetch a basin of clean water.

Qian Ning responded quickly and ran to the lone well in the courtyard, filled a basin with fresh water, and rushed back.

Xiao Che didn’t know medicine, but his instincts told him that Shu Ruohua might have been poisoned. He tied a cloth tightly above the wound to prevent the poison from spreading.

Qian Ning gently cleaned the wound with the clean water.

By now, Shu Ruohua was sweating from the intense pain.

Oddly enough, after Qian Ning had cleaned most of the wound, Shu Ruohua suddenly felt that the pain was subsiding.

And wherever Qian Ning wiped, the pain seemed to lessen even more quickly.

Suspicious, Shu Ruohua asked, “Did you add pain-relieving medicine to the water?”

Qian Ning looked confused by the question and reflexively replied without thinking, “No, I didn’t!”

Shu Ruohua frowned and stared blankly at the basin of water beside her, lost in thought.

She didn’t know how much time had passed…

When suddenly, Xiao Che’s voice rang in her ears, “What’s wrong?”

Zhong Zihan had already brought Imperial Physician Wang, but before treatment could begin, the physician had to inform the patient.

Imperial Physician Wang had already called out to Shu Ruohua several times, but she hadn’t responded.

That’s when Xiao Che came over and asked.

…

“Ah?” Shu Ruohua snapped her head up and met Xiao Che’s gaze directly.

Xiao Che looked momentarily stunned by her sudden stare, his dark eyes narrowing instinctively.

He said nothing, merely glanced at Imperial Physician Wang and stepped aside.

Receiving his signal, Imperial Physician Wang immediately stepped forward.

He examined Shu Ruohua’s wound, then checked her pulse.

Finally, he took some medicine from his box, sprinkled it on the wound, and bandaged it carefully.

…

Once everything was done, he stood and walked over to Xiao Che. “Your High—”

He was about to speak when he suddenly remembered that Zhong Zihan had instructed him not to reveal Xiao Che’s identity to Shu Ruohua.

He quickly changed his wording:

“Please rest assured, my lord. The lady has only suffered a surface wound. No tendons or bones were damaged. I will now prepare some herbal medicine to help her recover.”

With that, he prepared to leave.

But just as he was about to step away, Xiao Che suddenly stopped him.

“Did you notice anything unusual about the wound?”

Earlier, he had seen a purplish hue on Shu Ruohua’s injury, but when the physician dressed the wound, that color had completely disappeared.

Could it be that the medicine the physician applied had taken effect?

Imperial Physician Wang didn’t quite understand what Xiao Che was implying and answered rather straightforwardly, “There is nothing unusual.”

As one of the top physicians in the Imperial Medical Bureau, he was confident he had made no mistake diagnosing Shu Ruohua.

Xiao Che’s face darkened, and he stared at Shu Ruohua for a long time…

Only then did he grunt lightly, “Hmm,” and gestured for the physician to leave.

…

(End of Chapter)