The Crazy Emperor's Pampered Cousin

The attendant, Changyi, bowed his head and said, "Your Highness, the main tent is surrounded by an iron wall. Our people cannot get close at all. The situation inside... not even a breath of wind can get through."

Xie Xuancheng's hand suddenly clenched, his knuckles turning white.

That person clearly promised him that he would never harm Yuan Yuan in the slightest!

We don't know who the seriously injured person is, how badly they are injured, or whether they have been poisoned.

Inside the main tent, the lights were on.

The imperial physician, along with Jing Cang, Yuan Chi, and other trusted confidants, held their breath and waited outside.

Only Shen Tinghe and the unconscious Xie Yanzhao remained in the inner room.

After returning, Shen Tinghe fed him the decoction prepared by the imperial physician.

Perhaps due to the effects of the medication, Xie Yanzhao woke up once during the period.

He only gave one instruction: Keep quiet and do nothing.

After saying that, she fainted again.

Shen Tinghe understood what he meant.

The person behind the scenes must be observing in secret; making a big fuss at this time would only alert them.

Xie Yanzhao woke up in the middle of the night.

I was not fully conscious, and I only felt pain in my back.

The tent was dimly lit, and he turned his head slightly, his gaze falling to his side.

His Yuan Yuan was lying quietly beside him with her eyes closed.

But on her once smooth and jade-like cheeks, there were now several glaring scratches.

Xie Yanzhao's gaze froze, his heart felt as if it were being squeezed tightly by an invisible hand, and a bittersweet pang of tenderness instantly overwhelmed the pain of his wound.

He had no idea what had happened after he was shot and fell unconscious, nor did he know why the person he cherished had become so badly wounded.

My gaze moved down and I noticed that her hands, which were draped over the brocade quilt, were wrapped in layers of clean, fine cloth.

Xie Yanzhao slowly sat up, not caring that it aggravated his injuries.

He reached out and gently brushed his hand across Shen Tinghe's slightly furrowed brows, looked at her for a while, and then quietly lifted the covers and got out of bed, heading towards the outer room.

"temple……"

Jing Cang and Yuan Chi, who were guarding outside, were alerted almost the moment the curtain moved slightly.

Upon seeing Xie Yanzhao emerge, both of them were instantly overjoyed.

He was stopped by Xie Yanzhao as soon as he spoke.

Xie Yanzhao's face was still pale, but his eyes were now cold and dignified.

He walked to the chair and sat down, his voice extremely low: "Speak."

Jing Cang and Yuan Chi exchanged a glance, and Jing Cang stepped forward to explain in a low voice what had happened after the attack.

As he narrated, Xie Yanzhao's aura grew increasingly icy.

He closed his eyes, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

Beneath that dormant rage lay a lingering fear and overwhelming killing intent that nearly consumed him.

He will definitely drag out the people behind the scenes and grind them to dust.

Jing Cang and Yuan Chi had already lowered their heads, not daring to utter a sound.

No one knows better than those who have always been by His Highness's side that the Crown Princess is His Highness's most inviolable taboo.

Xie Yanzhao suppressed his surging anger and was giving instructions in a low voice regarding the follow-up investigation and defense arrangements when a short exclamation suddenly came from the inner room.

Xie Yanzhao's expression changed, and he immediately stood up, lifted the curtain, and entered.

"Yuan Yuan!"

Inside the room, Shen Tinghe was frantically trying to get out of bed, her face full of panic and uncertainty.

She slept lightly, her dreams filled with images of him falling off his horse. When she awoke, there was no one beside her, and a chilling panic instantly gripped her.

"elder brother……"

Looking up, Shen Tinghe saw the figure standing at the intersection of light and shadow, already awakened. She was stunned, blinking as if she couldn't believe it.

The next moment, tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks without warning. She stretched out her arms to him, her voice trembling with sobs.

Xie Yanzhao's heart clenched painfully. He strode forward, pulled her into his arms, and held her tightly.

He sat directly on the edge of the bed, letting her sit sideways between his legs, completely nestled in his embrace.

Shen Tinghe wrapped her icy hands around his waist and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

The long-suppressed panic, unease, and feigned composure all transformed into a surge of grievance and lingering fear in his warm, firm embrace and familiar scent.

"Waaaaah... You scared me to death, Xie Yanzhao, you scared me to death..."

She cried uncontrollably, her shoulders trembling violently, her scalding tears soaking his undergarments.

Xie Yanzhao's heart was breaking from her sobs.

He wrapped one arm around her slender back and gently stroked the back of her head with the other, soothing her repeatedly in her ear.

"It's alright, Yuan Yuan, your brother's here, he's alright... Don't be afraid, it's all over now..."

The close embrace dispelled the gloom in each other's hearts, allowing them to draw warmth and vitality from each other's presence.

After a long while, Shen Tinghe's crying gradually subsided, turning into soft sobs.

She suddenly remembered something, lifted her head from his embrace, and hurriedly looked at him through teary eyes.

"Your injury! Did I touch you? Does it still hurt?"

Xie Yanzhao raised his hand and gently wiped away the crisscrossing tear tracks on her face with his fingertips, his gaze focused and deep.

"It's nothing, it doesn't hurt anymore. I've suffered much worse injuries before. Now that the poison has been neutralized, I'll recover after some rest."

He pulled her back into his arms, nuzzled her affectionately, and asked in a low, gentle voice.

"But Yuan Yuan, even the imperial physicians are helpless against the poison of Jiu Yuan San. How do you know the antidote?"

Shen Tinghe's body, nestled against his chest, stiffened slightly.

In modern times, Jiuyuan San is known as "Hexiangtan Poison".

Its core toxicity comes from the pollen of the Epiphyllum oxypetalum.

This poison may seem dangerous, but the antidote is surprisingly simple: it can be neutralized by just one ingredient, "Qingyunxu".

However, in this era, the medicinal value of the Chinese tallow tree has not yet been recognized by the world.

She naturally couldn't say that she had seen it in a medical text from another life.

Shen Tinghe steadied herself, her voice still slightly hoarse from crying, and spoke as naturally as possible.

"I... I've read all sorts of medical books, famous ones, obscure ones, even some fragments and rare books, I've read quite a lot of them haphazardly. When I diagnosed your pulse and symptoms, in my panic, some vague records suddenly flashed through my mind that somewhat matched this poisoning. I wasn't entirely sure, but I thought I had to try no matter what."

"Fortunately, the record is true, and it really worked."

Xie Yanzhao gave a soft "hmm" and continued stroking her back.

He simply held her tighter and gently pressed her face back onto his shoulder.

The dim candlelight cast flickering shadows in his deep eyes, where a fleeting glimmer of light flashed briefly before sinking back into the boundless darkness and pity.

His Yuan Yuan is lying to him again.

But it's okay.

Whatever the secret may be, she is his Yuan Yuan, the most precious treasure in his heart.

This is enough.

For the next two days, Xie Yanzhao and Shen Tinghe stayed in their tent, and no one saw them except for the imperial physician and a few trusted confidants.

Outside the tent, the camp was already in a state of unease.

Uneasy whispers filled the air, with everyone speculating that His Highness the Crown Prince had met with misfortune.

Is the Crown Princess trying to maintain the status quo by blocking the news, or is she plotting something else?

Panic spread rapidly, like ink dripping into clear water.

However, no one knew that inside the heavily guarded main tent, a completely different scene unfolded.