Chapter 85 - Retaliation
Chapter 85 Retaliation
Su Muge followed the messenger maid in the villa illuminated by the lantern. Jing’an Palace was the Emperor’s chamber in the villa. Could it be that Xia Hourui was unwell again?
“Sister, I wonder why the Emperor asked me to come over at this time. What happened to him?” While talking, Su Muge stuffed a pocket of money into the maid’s hand.
Seeing this, the maid replied to her smilingly, “Miss Su, Second Prince was injured for the protection of the Emperor, and the Emperor was very anxious. But Second Prince was injured so seriously that the imperial doctors could do nothing about it. The Emperor heard that you have returned safely and asked you for help.”
Xia Hourui meant to let her save Xia Houkun!
Shit!
Xia Houyin had almost killed her, and now she was asked to treat Xia Houkun. Did they really think her a pushover!?
The maid led Su Muge to Jing’an Palace and a eunuch stepped forward to lead her in.
“Your Majesty, Miss Su is here.”
“Hurry, let her in!” Xia Hourui said in a hoarse voice.
Su Muge walked into the room quickly. Before Xia Hourui could open his mouth, Su Muge knelt down and choked with sobs and anger, “Your Majesty, please uphold justice for me!”
Xia Hourui, who was about to speak, was confused by Su Muge.
He heard from Eunuch Yi that she had met a beast on the women’s hunting field, so he thought that she should have been scared.
Xia Hourui’s original anxiety was suddenly alleviated by Su Muge. “What are you doing? What justice do you want me to do for you?”
Su Muge knelt on the ground and replied with a choking but resounding voice. “Your Majesty, I have no resentment with Eighth Princess, but I don’t know why she wanted to kill me. I went hunting in the hunting field on Eighth Princess’s invitation. However, Eighth Princess stabbed my horse and abandoned me in the hunting field. Afterward, some men suddenly appeared in the woods and caught me. If it had not been for the King of Jin, I would have been dead now.”
Jing’an Palace was terribly quiet, echoing Su Muge’s resounding cry.
Xia Hourui darkened his face, full of anger.
“Su Muge, what nonsense are you talking about? How dare you defame me in front of the father?! How dare you?!” Xia Houyin rushed in from outside and reproached Su Muge angrily.
“Father, don’t listen to her nonsense. Why would I harm her for no reason?”
Xia Hourui said with an obscure expression. “Why would she slander you for no reason?”
Xia Houyin looked at Xia Hourui in shock. “I… Maybe she had some grudges with me before, so she framed me up.”
Xia Hourui made no comment and looked at Su Muge, “Su Muge, you said Eighth Princess hurt you. Do you have evidence?”
“Yeah, you said I hurt you. Do you have evidence?” Xia Houyin rolled her eyes; she had let those men leave immediately, and Su Muge had no way to catch them back!
“Your Majesty, the King of Jin sent a message that a few suspicious men were caught outside the villa. Those men claimed to be followers of Eighth Princess.”
“Eighth Princess?” Xia Hourui questioned in a lower voice.
“Yes.”
Hearing this, Xia Houyin felt nervous suddenly. How could it be so coincident? She had already let those men leave. How could they come to the villa again!?
Su Muge kneeling on the ground was also puzzled. It was really a timely rain.
“Bring them to me.”
“Yes.”
A few moments later, several young men were taken into the palace.
With great fear on their faces, they didn’t notice Su Muge kneeling on the ground for a while. Instead, seeing Xia Houyin standing aside, they cried and begged, “Eighth Princess, help, help us …”
A trace of panic flashed across Xia Houyin’s face. “Who are you? I don’t know you at all!”
“Kneel!” The imperial guards pressed them to kneel on the ground.
Xia Hourui stood up with his hands on his back and looked at them from the eminence.
“Who are you?”
At the sight of the dragon robe on Xia Hourui, these men were so scared that they even dared not to speak. They shivered and some were so timid that they even cried out in fright.
“Your Majesty, please spare our lives. We really don’t know anything …”
Xia Houyin was afraid that they would reveal her deeds and hurriedly interrupted him, “The Emperor is asking who you are and why you appear outside the villa!”
Hearing Xia Houyin’s words, they came to their senses.
“Your Majesty, we are from the capital. Some time ago we heard that Your Majesty was going to hunt at this hunting field. We’ve always been so admiring Your Majesty that we are eager to take a secret look at your divine face outside the villa. If we have offended Your Majesty, we ask for your forgiveness.”
Seeing that their reaction was fairly quick, Xia Houyin secretly exhaled a sigh of relief. Su Muge, you could never drag me down!
After one of them made a statement, the others would certainly echo with him. “Yes, Your Majesty, we’ve known our mistakes. Please forgive us, Your Majesty.”
Su Muge who had been lowering her head and kneeling aside revealed a mocking sneer on the corner of her lips.
Their response was quick, but … it was not so easy to be let go!
When she looked up, she had been already full of panic. “You, you, it’s you! Help, Your Majesty! Help! …”
Su Muge escaped away and moved towards Xia Hourui with a terrified expression; her horror looked so real.
Those young men were shocked for a while; seeing Su Muge’s appearance, they were all scared to death.
“Ghost! Ghost!”
The palace turned chaotic.
Xia Hourui’s forehead became veined.
Eunuch Yi raised his eyebrows. “Presumptuous! Catch these offenders!”
The imperial guards suddenly reacted to catch those men.
“Your Majesty, it’s them, it’s them who caught me in the forest and intended to push me down the cliffs to kill me!” Su Muge pointed at those men with red eyes.
Several men realized that Su Muge was alive and wanted to argue, but Xia Hourui didn’t intend to give them this opportunity.
“Take them to Jing Zhaoyin. I believe he knows what to do!”
“Yes.”
“Your Majesty, spare our lives! Your Majesty, spare our lives!”
The imperial guards blocked their mouths with rags and dragged them out.
Xia Houyin stood there embarrassedly. “Father, I’m going to see second brother.”
“Wait!”
Xia Houyin’s face turned pale. “Father …”
Xia Hourui narrowed his eyes sternly.
“Come on! Send Eighth Princess back to her palace immediately. Without my permission, she’s not allowed to leave her palace!”
Xia Houyin was to be grounded.
“Father, why? What mistake did I make?”
“Aren’t you clearer than me?”
Two mamas walked in and carried Xia Houyin out. When they were about to go out of the palace, Xia Houyin turned back and gave a malicious stare at Su Muge.
Su Muge, let’s wait and see!
Su Muge was very dissatisfied with Xia Hourui’s superficial punishment, although she knew that it was unlikely for Xia Hourui to punish Xia Houyin severely.
“Thank you for upholding justice for me, Your Majesty.”
Xia Hourui snorted gently. “Now, can you go in and treat Second Prince?”
Su Muge wiped the tears on the corners of her eyes with the handkerchief, thinking that acting was really tiring.
She walked into the inner room with Xia Hourui and saw Concubine Qin sitting in front of the bed with red and tearful eyes.
She had obviously heard the movements outside just now, but she didn’t go out to plead for Xia Houyin. What did it mean? It meant that she knew this matter or she made Xia Houyin do it!
She was clearer that Xia Hourui wouldn’t do anything to Xia Houyin for the sake of an official’s daughter, so she just pretended to be ignorant and stayed by Xia Houkun’s side.
“Your Majesty…”
Xia Hourui walked over, took her hands and hugged her gently into his arms.
“Don’t be sad. I won’t let anything happen to Kun’er. Su Muge, go and see Second Prince.”
“Yes.”
Su Muge walked to the bed. Xia Houkun was lying on his stomach in the bed, wrapped in gauze, but at this time the gauze had already been wetted with blood.
“The imperial doctors can’t stop the bleeding on the Second Prince. Can you help?”
Su Muge asked to bring her medical kit to her and cut the gauze on Xia Houkun’s body with disinfected scissors.
In an instant, a bloody smell mixed with heat and medicine rushed into her nose.
The imperial doctors had given Xia Houkun medicine, but it didn’t work. He was still bleeding.
Xia Houkun’s wound had almost covered half of his back. His right scapula was almost visible.
Such a wound must be sutured; otherwise, it would be difficult to heal.
The reason why he kept bleeding might be that his main blood vessel had been hurt.
Seeing Su Muge standing there and doing nothing, Concubine Qin was afraid that she was unwilling to treat Second Prince even if she could cure him because of hatred!
“Miss Su, I heard that your mother had also been frightened in the woods. I wonder how she is now.”
Su Muge paused for a while and replied with a poker face, “Thank you for your care, Concubine Qin. My mother is all right.”
“That’s good. It’s so dangerous. You have to be careful next time; you may not be so lucky if such accidents happen again.”
Su Muge suddenly clenched the scissors in her hand tightly; Concubine Qin was threatening her!
So Zhao’s accident was also associated with her!
Su Muge took a deep breath and calmed down the anger in her heart. “Concubine Qin, you’re right.”
Concubine Qin thought Su Muge had already understood what she meant and stopped talking.
“Su Muge, could you cure Second Prince?” Xia Hourui said in due course.
Su Muge glanced at the wound on Xia Houkun’s back. Although this wound looked scary, it was not so difficult for her.
“Your Majesty, I’m willing to give it a try, but …”
Xia Hourui frowned. “But what?”
“But I need something offered by Concubine Qin.”
Concubine Qin frowned. “What do you need?”
“Second Prince is seriously injured and has lost too much blood. If he goes on bleeding like this, he may have a mortal danger. Concubine Qin, you are his closely connected mother, so I need some of your blood.”
“What?”