"Are you waiting for the Third Prince?" He didn't know why, but it was obvious that he already had the answer to this question in his heart. When he really said it out loud, Xiang Rongcheng felt extremely uncomfortable.
Shi Anran raised her eyes and looked at him for a good while before opening her mouth slightly: "Since Young Master Xiang knows, then why are you asking for trouble? The young general was right, Anran was here to see the Third Prince. I wonder if he has lost weight after going to the south for so many days! "
What's it got to do with you if he gets thinner or fatter? This sentence was stuck in Xiang Rongcheng's throat, when he opened his mouth to say it, he realized that he could not utter a single word, and only after a long while did he squeeze out a word from between his teeth: "Do you really have to use this kind of tone to speak to me?"
"What kind of tone does the young general mean?" Shi Anran pretended to be stupid, her smile was appropriate, and she did not know whether she was happy or angry.
"Shi Anran, you have no conscience!" Xiang Rongcheng, who had said those words in the end, looked at the woman in front of him with an aggrieved expression.
Shi Anran scoffed, and did not say another word. After maintaining a certain distance from him, she no longer looked at him, but continued to search for Li Mu's figure within the crowd. Unfortunately, she could not find him even after a long time.
Xiang Rongcheng clenched his teeth, became angry in his heart, and said depressingly: "You don't need to look for it, Third Prince was ambushed on the way back, and is still lying in his mansion!"
"Third Prince is injured. How are you?" Shi Anran asked urgently.
"He won't die …" Xiang Rongcheng continued to spit out these three words with gritted teeth.
Shi Anran's heart tightened, she turned around and walked back the way she came. Xiang Rongcheng called her a few times, but she did not reply. After muttering a few curses, he secretly cursed herself, why would she tell her about this when she had nothing to do?
The emperor and the other officials were still praising Third Prince for not disappointing his expectations, but no one had thought to go and see how his injuries were. Thinking about it, Shi Anran let out a light sigh, thinking that this Third Prince was probably just a pitiful person like her. Right now, she actually felt that they were on par with each other. They were both lonely people who had reached the end of their road and lived a life filled with scheming and bloodshed. Compared to that, Xiang Rongcheng could simply be described as simple.
After the Minister left, the Emperor took a deep breath and put it down, as if he was thinking about something. The Imperial Noble Consort Zhao took the tea from Shi Anran's hand and passed it over to him, then asked gently, "Is the emperor troubled about something?"
The Emperor gave a faint smile and didn't speak. He put the paper roll to the side and held Imperial Noble Consort Zhao's hand. "Third brother has done meritorious service this time. What rewards does Imperial Consort think we should give him?"
"Your majesty, chenqie is only a woman, how would she understand these things?" The Imperial Noble Consort Zhao said in a gentle and soft voice.
"I think it's better if we go and see him!" As he thought about it, the emperor turned his head and swept his gaze towards Shi Anran. "Go and prepare some things, I want to personally pay a visit to the Third Prince!"
Shi Anran bowed: "Anran understands!"
When the emperor's carriage arrived at the Third Prince's palace, the crown prince and the others had already arrived a step earlier. Li Gan bowed and said, "This son pays his respects to royal father!"
"How is Ol 'Three?" Seeing the tightly shut door, the emperor's brow creased slightly, as if he was truly worried about something.
Li Gan lowered his eyes slightly, "The imperial physician has been inside for quite a while, I haven't heard any news yet!"
After the inconspicuous Shi Anran handed over the precious supplements she brought to the butler, they were forgotten in a corner. Everyone was only concerned about the Third Prince.
The imperial palace had matters to attend to so they left, leaving Shi Anran here to guard and order her to report the situation when she returned. Shi Anran naturally readily agreed.
After about two hours, the door slowly opened. The servant girl brought out a basin of blood-red water. The sight of it was shocking. Shi Anran could not help but crease her eyebrows, how heavy was his injury after losing so much blood?
In order to avoid contact with others, Shi Anran stood under the eaves of the house. At this time, most of them had already left, but the crown prince, Li Gan, had still been waiting for them.
"How is third brother?" Li Gan asked anxiously.
The imperial physician wiped the sweat off his forehead and spoke sincerely: "Third Prince had weighed two arrows, and one arrow had almost pierced through his heart veins. This official has already treated Third Prince's wounds, I'm afraid that he will need a few months to recuperate in bed."
Hearing this, the ninth prince laughed mockingly, "Big brother, I said it like this, who let him steal big brother's contribution, this time you want to teach him a lesson?"
"Ninth Brother, shut up!" Li Gan shot a glance at him, as if he was slightly displeased with the Ninth Prince's words.
The Ninth Prince shrugged his shoulders with a nonchalant expression: "If Big Brother wants to go in and see him, then go. Ninth Brother is going to leave!" After the crown prince stayed in the room for a while and saw that Li Mu still had not woken up, he left a few words behind and then left.
Shi Anran gently pushed the door open and entered the room, she looked at the pale white face of the man on the bed, even though his entire body was covered in wounds, his face was still extremely handsome. Seeing that he was injured so badly, Shi Anran started to suspect if she was too decisive in sending him to the south. If not, maybe he wouldn't have been hurt.
The moment this thought appeared in her mind, it was quickly tossed to the back of her mind. Furthermore, Li Mu was born with a meticulous and meticulous train of thought, who knows if this injury was caused by someone else, or if he did it on purpose. Thinking about it, Shi Anran didn't even have that bit of sympathy anymore.
An hour later, Li Mu slowly opened his eyes, which were met with a pair of eyes that were as clear as a stream of water. The four eyes shifted their gazes away from Shi Anran first, and said indifferently: "Third Prince, you're awake?"
"At this time, I'm afraid you are the only one who will come and see me …" Li Mu coughed a few times, affecting the wound, and the pain made him frown slightly.
Shi Anran brought the half-cold medicine on the table over and said warmly: "This is the medicine that the imperial doctors have just brewed. Drink it first!"
Seeing that she was so calm that he looked abnormal, Li Mu frowned, and laughed bitterly: "Anran, you don't think that I was the one who did this?"
Hearing that, Shi Anran looked at him with a demure expression. After a long while, her lips slowly parted. "Why would Third Prince think that way?"
"That's what your expression tells me." Li Mu said with a smile that was not a smile. His pale white face was still as gentle as ever, but the glint in those eyes made no one dare to underestimate him.
Shi Anran smiled faintly, and did not say anything more. After a while, Li Mu asked: "Did royal father make you stay here?"
As expected, nothing could be hidden from him. Looks like this Third Prince was far more scheming than he had imagined. Shi Anran muttered in her heart, but didn't even flinch as she replied, "The emperor is also worried about your injuries!"
Li Mu swept a glance at the gentle looking Shi Anran. He did not understand why the woman was still calm and collected even at this point of time. Was there anything in this world that could change her mood?
"Anran, how are you doing in the palace?"
However, she just wanted to ask if anything had happened to her recently. Shi Anran lowered her eyes, and said with a calm voice. "Other than the addition of a new noble, there's nothing special about the Emperor."