Bu Shulin didn't know where she found the strength, but with a pale face she pushed through the crowd and rushed toward Cui Jinbai. Just before the flying dart could strike Cui Jinbai's back, she managed to knock him over. Cui Jinbai caught her as they both tumbled down, colliding with several people in the process.
Assassins hidden among the crowd shoved through the jostling masses, attempting to launch another covert attack. Fortunately, Moyu finally broke through the crowd and arrived in time. She first knocked out one assailant from behind, then quickly identified the other hidden attackers. Seeing the situation turning against them and noticing Bu Shulin collapsed in Cui Jinbai's arms, covered in blood, the assassins quickly began to retreat.
"You..." Cui Jinbai looked at Bu Shulin, whose face was as pale as paper. His eyes were frantic, his expression full of terror. With trembling hands, he lifted her up, but the constant flow of people made it difficult to push through. Moyu soon reached them and forcefully cleared a path, escorting them out at the fastest possible speed. By then, Shen Xihe had already sent Zhenzhu and Sui Axi to assist.
The two examined Bu Shulin's pulse. Sui Axi used acupuncture to stop the bleeding while Zhenzhu applied healing medicine and bandaged the wound. "The dart cannot be removed yet—it has damaged a blood vessel. Pulling it out would cause uncontrollable bleeding. We need to find a quiet place," Zhenzhu instructed.
After giving these directions, they took Bu Shulin to the East Tower. Shen Xihe had already arranged the space, setting up a makeshift bed and screens. She also sent Hongyu to the kitchen to boil water and prepare the necessary medications.
"Cui Shaoqing, neither of us understands medicine. Let's stay outside and not delay A Xi and Zhenzhu's treatment. My maids have some medical knowledge and work well with Zhenzhu," Shen Xihe said after Cui Jinbai laid Bu Shulin down.
Cui Jinbai was reluctant to leave. Zhenzhu knew that Bu Shulin was actually a woman—this was her most critical secret. Whether to reveal this to Cui Jinbai was a decision only Bu Shulin could make. They would help conceal it if possible, so Zhenzhu glanced at Sui Axi.
"Cui Shaoqing, I need fewer people around when performing acupuncture to avoid distractions," Sui Axi gently reminded him.
Cui Jinbai took a deep look at the unconscious Bu Shulin and silently retreated behind the screen.
Shen Xihe followed him outside and noticed the bloodstains on his clothes. "Cui Shaoqing, given what has happened, His Majesty will surely summon the Dali Temple. You should return home to change your clothes to avoid offending the imperial presence. Leave Worldly Son Bu to me—you need not worry."
Cui Jinbai's mind was completely blank. He didn't understand why, when he saw her alone on the road holding a bottle of wine, wandering aimlessly, he couldn't help but follow her. Nor why, when she was attacked, he instinctively rushed forward. Given his upbringing and duties, he should have been calming the panicked citizens, yet he had pushed innocent people aside to reach Bu Shulin, who was fighting the assassins.
Watching her take a Hidden Weapon for him and collapse, he wondered if she wouldn't have been so severely injured if he hadn't run toward her.
Now Shen Xihe was telling him that the Emperor would summon him and that he should mind his appearance.
He knew Shen Xihe was right, but he couldn't bring himself to leave. She had lost so much blood, and the Hidden Weapon had damaged her blood vessel. What if...
He didn't dare think further. All sense of duty and imperial command faded from his mind. He only wanted to know if she would be alright.
"Cui Shaoqing, if you don't personally handle this matter, I'm afraid Worldly Son Bu's suffering will have been in vain," Shen Xihe offered another reason.Cui Jinbai's eyes flickered slightly. It was clear someone had deliberately orchestrated this, and staying here wouldn't help. He clasped his hands and bowed to Shen Xihe: "Please ensure she receives treatment, County Princess."
"Rest assured, Cui Shaoqing. If those by my side cannot save her, few others could." Shen Xihe spoke with great confidence.
With Sui Axi's acupuncture skills combined with Zhenzhu's mastery of Old Man with White Hair's teachings, plus their recent medical discussions with Xie Yunhuai, the trio's medical expertise had grown daily, earning them recognition as physicians.
"Thank you, County Princess." Cui Shaoqing expressed solemn gratitude before turning to stride away.
Shen Xihe sat outside the screen, watching as Zhenzhu extracted the throwing dart. Splattering blood sprayed out, blooming like crimson plum blossoms across the screen. The two quickly stanched Bu Shulin's bleeding. The cleaned dart was brought to Shen Xihe by Hongyu.
Shen Xihe lifted it - the dart bore no markings and was made of common iron. "Was it poisoned?"
"Fortunately not," Hongyu replied.
Otherwise, Bu Shulin might have succumbed to venom.
"If they were determined to kill, why not poison it?" Shen Xihe wondered.
Hongyu couldn't comprehend it either. Shen Xihe narrowed her eyes and set the dart down, recalling what she'd witnessed from the high tower earlier. The dart-thrower had been lurking long before striking, yet delayed until targeting Cui Jinbai specifically...
So the assassins targeting Bu Shulin and the hidden weapon user weren't collaborators - they had different objectives. The dart-thrower's target was Cui Jinbai.
The person attempting to kill Cui Jinbai likely acted on impulse. Though carrying concealed weapons, they might have been for self-defense only, hence the lack of poison.
As for the close-combat assassins targeting Bu Shlin with non-poisoned daggers - that made sense. They'd planned to create chaos for the assassination. Broadswords would be impractical in crowded confusion, while poisoned daggers risked self-injury or civilian casualties - the former suicidal, the latter exposing them prematurely.
Thus, Bu Shulin had narrowly escaped death.
Clearly, someone had engineered this chaos, while others exploited it to commit misdeeds under cover.
Xiao Huayong didn't return, sending Tianyuan instead with a message that he had returned to the Eastern Palace.
"Did something happen in the palace?" Shen Xihe couldn't help asking.
"His Highness can handle palace matters. This subordinate will escort you home, County Princess," Tianyuan replied.
Shen Xihe nodded, assuming palace affairs detained Xiao Huayong. Those daring to cause chaos during the Lantern Festival were no ordinary folk, making it reasonable he couldn't extricate himself. It never occurred to her that Xiao Huayong was actually injured.
As she suspected, this was a trap set for Xiao Huayong, aiming to expose him before His Majesty. To conceal the truth, Xiao Huayong had no choice but to sustain moderate injuries and be returned to the Eastern Palace.
While leaving the eastern tower, Shen Xihe encountered Princess Consort of Dai, Li Yanyan - surprisingly alone. Meeting Shen Xihe, she remained composed, nodding in greeting.
Shen Xihe returned the gesture. As they passed each other, the night wind carried Li Yanyan's scent - besides her customary fragrant spices, there was a penetrating agarwood aroma Shen Xihe had only ever detected on one person before.
The former Prince of Ding, now the Fourth Prince - Xiao Changtai.Yet how could two people carry each other's fragrant spices unless they had intimate contact?
Shen Xihe feared she might have misjudged, so she deliberately pretended to lose her footing and stumbled toward Li Yanyan. Zhenzhu and others could tell Shen Xihe was doing this intentionally, so they did not step forward to assist.
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