Chapter 42: Su Yingxue was severely injured. When she fell from the horse, her head and chest struck the ground heavily.
When Mr. Liu and Chu Xingchen arrived, they saw Su Yingxue lying unconscious on the grass, having been struck by several arrows. Beside her, there was no trace of the white pony.
Su Yingxue’s face was pale, her brows tightly furrowed. Her once pristine riding attire was now stained with mud, grime, and blood, no longer white.
The flawless white riding attire she wore that day was now soaked in her blood in several places. Mud, dirt, and broken grass blades clung to her body, face, and hair. Gone was her usual refinement and elegance.
She lay there, unconscious, resembling a discarded, broken doll, abandoned somewhere and stripped of all delicacy.
“Your Highness! Her Highness the Eldest Princess!” Mr. Liu dismounted first and rushed toward where Su Yingxue had fallen. Behind him was Chu Xingchen, also dressed in white riding attire. As the young man galloped forward on his horse, he caught sight of Su Yingxue lying on the ground, covered in blood like a lifeless figure.
The young man, clad in snow-white attire, wore a stern expression, his sword-like brows furrowed and his gaze cold and distant. His figure had not yet fully matured, and his speed and strength in running were no match for Mr. Liu’s.
Mr. Liu quickly examined Su Yingxue’s wounds, his expression grave. He retrieved a high-quality life-saving hemostatic medicine from his pocket and fed her a pill.
Then, he channeled his energy to stop her bleeding while simultaneously using his inner strength to treat her injuries. As he did so, he ordered the attendants who had followed them to summon a carriage and an Imperial Physician from the Drill Ground.
By the time the Imperial Physician and the carriage arrived, the guards had already lifted the severely injured Su Yingxue onto a stretcher and placed her in the carriage. The Imperial Physician, Mr. Liu, and Chu Xingchen followed closely behind.
Su Yingxue had suffered severe injuries this time. When she fell from the horse, her head and chest struck tree branches before hitting the ground, resulting in two broken ribs. The arrow wound that pierced through her left shoulder had caused excessive bleeding.
This left her unconscious. Although the multiple arrow wounds on her body were not fatal, they were strategically placed in extremely tricky locations. Even with proper treatment, she would likely require prolonged bed rest for recovery.
The hunting training at the Drill Ground might have been part of a carefully orchestrated scheme from the very beginning—starting with the rabbit that lured her away on horseback. Then, Chu Xingchen and Mr. Liu were misled by a similar figure riding a white pony and wearing identical riding attire, leading them in the opposite direction. They chased for quite some time before discovering a lone white horse, which turned out not to be the Eldest Princess’s prized steed.
It was only then that Mr. Liu and Chu Xingchen exchanged glances, sensing something amiss. When Mr. Liu and he returned to call for the imperial guards and attendants to begin an intensive search and rescue operation, they discovered the lifeless body of an attendant in another part of the hunting grounds, killed silently by a poisoned arrow through the throat, along with a horse that had been poisoned to death by an arrow.
All of this was part of a meticulously planned conspiracy. A hidden hand was stirring up trouble within the Dasheng Royal Palace, weaving a web of darkness that quietly operated and schemed somewhere in the shadows.
Who could it be?
Although Su Yingxue was the Eldest Princess of the nation, she held no political influence in the court. If it were an assassination attempt by an enemy state, from the perspective of power and interests, assassinating the Eldest Princess would be far less effective in causing court turmoil and achieving the desired outcome than directly targeting Your Majesty.
If it were a matter of harem rivalry, that would be even more unlikely. She was merely the emperor’s youngest sister, not a favored consort. She posed no threat in the eyes of the emperor’s concubines, nor did her interests conflict with those of the emperor’s consorts or their offspring.
Therefore, even if these consorts and princes disliked her usual conduct and manner, they would not risk offending His Majesty by killing her.
So who exactly wanted to harm her? Su Yingxue, just how many secrets do you keep hidden?
Chu Xingchen gazed at Su Yingxue, calmly analyzing the situation while watching her thoughtfully. It seemed that ever since she fell into the water, he could no longer understand the Su Yingxue before him.
This was a critical period for Chu Xingchen to safely steal intelligence and return to his country. Thus, despite his intense disgust, hatred, and dislike for this Su Yingxue, he was unwilling to complicate matters at this juncture.
After all, both he and Mr. Liu clearly understood that an assassination attempt on Her Highness the Eldest Princess was a major incident that must be thoroughly investigated and reported to His Majesty. Therefore, at this moment, Su Yingxue’s safety was of utmost importance.
Chu Xingchen looked at the pale, bloodless face of Su Yingxue before him. The woman appeared so fragile and pitiable now, completely devoid of the willful arrogance she displayed when flogging and reprimanding others. Instead, she resembled the rabbit he kept as a child—helpless, delicate, and utterly defenseless.
How could one person be so multifaceted? At times ruthless and merciless; at other times pitiable and gentle.
Which side is the real you? Chu Xingchen could neither understand nor see through Su Yingxue. Just like how he felt about the current Dasheng Royal Palace—many events were unfolding beyond his control. He couldn’t predict whether these sudden changes would alter certain outcomes.
“Mr. Liu, this assassination attempt on Her Highness is truly suspicious. Having served Her Highness since childhood, I shall remain with the imperial physician to care for her. I implore you to stay here, seal off the drill ground, and apprehend the assassins to deliver justice for Her Highness!”
Seeing the situation, Qiushuang requested Mr. Liu to disembark near the drill ground entrance. After careful consideration, Mr. Liu found Qiushuang’s reasoning sound.
Inside the carriage, only the imperial physician administering acupuncture treatment remained, along with Qiushuang and Chu Xingchen waiting nearby.
Su Yingxue’s arrow wound was severe. Despite applying numerous external hemostatic agents, the blood from the penetrating shoulder injury refused to cease.
The Eldest Princess was royalty of the highest status. With the injury in a critical location and the women’s medical bureau far inside the palace, there was no time to wait until returning to the palace for treatment. Thus, Qiushuang decisively used embroidery scissors to cut away the clothing around the princess’s arrow wound, allowing the imperial physician to treat it—mindful of propriety between men and women.
The imperial physician heated a dagger over blazing charcoal fire. After separating several arrowheads from their shafts, he instructed Qiushuang and Chu Xingchen to restrain the unconscious Su Yingxue, as extracting arrowheads by force would inevitably cause pain. There was also concern that her struggles might cause secondary injuries.
While Chu Xingchen and Qiushuang held Su Yingxue steady, the imperial physician successively removed the remaining arrowheads. Though Su Yingxue writhed in pain several times during the procedure, she remained unconscious.
To stop bleeding and prevent infection, the physician cleansed her wounds with medicinal wine before carefully applying medication and bandages. The final arrow wound proved most challenging—the arrowhead appeared to have damaged Su Yingxue’s blood vessels, causing continuous bleeding.
The arrow was embedded deeply and seemed coated with some poisonous substance, turning her entire snow-white shoulder bluish-black.
If left unremoved, the poison would spread throughout her body via the bloodstream. Yet rash extraction risked further vascular damage and fatal bleeding. Thus, the imperial physician found himself at an impasse.
If left untreated and Her Highness the Eldest Princess dies under my care, I will surely be held accountable. If I treat her and she dies from the treatment, it will also be a capital offense.