Chapter 1422 - 1098: He Wants Her Dead!

There was a brief commotion in Xiao Yuansui’s military camp.

Although it was a "prisoner" who had an incident, due to General Shi’s personal orders, the military doctor hurriedly arrived with a medicine box, asking for hot water, fetching needles and thread, and bringing bandages. Before long, the soldiers gathered to watch the commotion could smell the blood emanating from within, but such a smell of blood seemed no big deal to those who were accustomed to life and death and used to surviving amidst even denser scents of blood.

Moreover, when they heard that the suicide was a prisoner, they dispersed as if they’d heard a joke.

Night fell completely.

The last ones remaining in Lu Xiao’s tent were Shang Ruyi and Shi Yuxin. Before leaving, the military doctor carefully instructed them again: Lu Xiao’s wrist had been cut deep enough to see the bone, and she’d lost too much blood. Although she still had a breath, she would need complete rest. If she survived the night, her life would be spared.

Thus, Shang Ruyi stayed in the tent to watch over her.

Perhaps due to the overwhelming smell of blood in the tent, Shang Ruyi felt somewhat suffocated. Even though everything around had quieted down, her heart could never settle. Sitting at the foot of the bed and looking at Lu Xiao’s almost charm-lost, pale face, she felt pangs of pain in her chest, and her body couldn’t stop trembling under her clothes.

Yet, Shi Yuxin was sitting beside her, and to maintain the dignity of Princess Qin, Shang Ruyi tried not to let her see her emotions, even twisting her hands together, leaving several bloody scratches on the back of her hand.

Soon, she felt Shi Yuxin’s gaze moving from Lu Xiao’s pale face to her reddened hands.

Shang Ruyi forced a smile to cover it up and said, "Thank you."

Shi Yuxin glanced at her lightly, "No need to thank me. My brother was captured by your people, so I need some leverage to save him. Naturally, as Princess Qin, you are the most valuable, and as for her—"

As she spoke, her gaze fell again on Lu Xiao’s face.

"Better than nothing."

For some reason, although she spoke the truth, those four words weighed like a heavy stone on Shang Ruyi’s heart, and she even felt as though Lu Xiao, lying in bed, heaved a sigh for a moment.

Better than nothing... Isn’t that Lu Xiao’s current situation?

Shang Ruyi looked again at her bloodless lips, sighed, and then said, "Although you say that, I still thank you on her behalf."

"..."

"If it wasn’t for you, the doctor might not have been so dedicated."

Shi Yuxin slightly curled her lips, indicating she heard, but did not take it to heart.

Shang Ruyi also knew she was only worried about her brother’s safety, so her earlier words were not merely out of politeness; but what she said to Shi Yuxin was not entirely perfunctory either—Lu Xiao had followed her from Chang An, reached this place, met her Xiao Lang, and encountered her "consequence," which could be considered fulfilling her wish. Yet, since she had brought her here, Shang Ruyi always felt an indefinable sense of responsibility.

Having brought her here alive, it would be best to take her back alive as well.

Only, with every breath, the bloody smell lingering at the tip of her nose continued to invade her body like an elusive ghost in the night, leaving Shang Ruyi perpetually uneasy.

As if to soothe her feelings, Shang Ruyi said again to Shi Yuxin, "Actually, she’s a very intelligent and resilient person."

"Oh?"

"Over the years, she’s endured a lot but has never given up."

"Oh."

"This time, it must have been a moment of confusion."

"..."

Shi Yuxin looked back at the quiet tent entrance and then looked at Lu Xiao, saying, "It was confusion."

After speaking, whether she could no longer bear the overwhelming scent of blood in the tent or couldn’t stand Shang Ruyi’s nattering, she stood up and said, "It’s late; I need to go back and rest. If... if you want to stay here with her, feel free."

Shang Ruyi nodded: "Thank you."

Shi Yuxin waved lightly and turned to leave.

As soon as she left, the tent was completely quiet.

But Shang Ruyi’s heart, instead, turned tumultuous. She slowly unclenched her hands, finding a crumpled piece of paper that spelled Lu Xiao’s death in her palm. She didn’t know if Shi Yuxin had seen it, but whether or not she had, the facts were laid out before them. With her intelligence, it was impossible not to guess why Lu Xiao had come to this.

Just now, the tent had been opened by many, including a busy military doctor, the soldiers watching the show, and Shi Yuxin herself who came to check the result, but from start to finish, Xiao Yuansui had never stepped into the tent even once.

He knew these two lines of poetry, those Liu Ying characters, would cost Lu Xiao her life.

He wanted her life.

He wanted her dead!

To die for these two lines of poetry and for those Liu Ying characters, Lu Xiao truly was confused...

Normally, faced with such a confused person, Shang Ruyi would first get angry before pitying, but not angry at Xiao Yuansui, rather at Lu Xiao being so muddled. Yet now, with her nose filled with the thick scent of blood, her eyes reflecting that pale face devoid of any charm, she only felt sorrow.

"Confused..."

She murmured, "How could you really be so confused?"

For a man who had ignored her for years and then, upon meeting, demanded her life, she actually didn’t care about her life.

Lu Xiao, coming from a dancing girl’s background, flitting around various men like a true Liu Ying since her debut; even by the side of someone as ferocious as Wang Shaoji, she managed to safeguard herself, and even while protecting herself, was able to protect others and help Shang Ruyi. It shows how well she understood men, how adept she was at handling them.

Such a clever woman, yet she stubbornly and foolishly loved a Xiao Yuansui, casting away all her past cleverness and alertness.

Or is it that when a woman falls in love, she becomes foolish?

Shang Ruyi couldn’t help but recall her past self, wondering if she was the same after falling for Yu Wenye?

Did others see her as foolish too?

As Shang Ruyi’s mind was in turmoil, crushing the already crumpled paper further, a sudden sound of footsteps approached from outside the tent, stopping at the entrance. Instinctively alert, she widened her eyes and stared at the opening of the tent.

Is it Xiao Yuansui?

Has he come to see Lu Xiao?

But the next moment, a somewhat unfamiliar voice immediately dashed her hopes: "Princess Qin, are you there?"

They were here to find her.

Shang Ruyi sighed softly, a bit puzzled, unsure who would be looking for her in Xiao Yuansui’s camp, and quietly replied, "I’m here. Who is it?"