Chapter 326.1: Fondness
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S T E L L A R C L O U D
[Azurixa] [Celeste S.] [Christine G.-L.]
O R A N G E S T A R
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Y E L L O W S T A R
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G O L D S T A R
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R A I N B O W S T A R
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T H E S U N
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An Junwang finally lost consciousness from his severe injuries.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang was furious and anxious at the same time, to the point of almost passing out as well.
An Junwang was his own grandson after all so he couldn't just leave him here. Despite his fury, Grand Preceptor Zhuang had to let his people take An Junwang back to the residence.
The steward hurriedly brought the physician over to treat An Junwang's injuries.
The drug in An Junwang's body had already worn off, and he was unconscious mainly due to the excessive loss of blood from the wound on his thigh.
"Heavens, it was just a few days ago when his left leg was injured, this time it’s his right leg… This is really..." The physician didn't know what to say. An Junwang probably had never suffered such a serious injury during his time in the State of Chen as a hostage prince, right? Just what had he been doing all this time?
Basins of blood were carried out of the room by the servants, and the entire courtyard seemed to be filled with a strong smell of blood.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang couldn't bear just staying outside anymore. He walked into the room and asked in a deep voice, "What's the situation?"
“Oh.” While cleaning An Junwang's wounds, the physician said, "The cut was too deep, it is almost bone deep. This humble one is afraid that it won't be easy to heal, especially in this hot weather..."
In such hot weather, even a slight mistake could cause the wound to become infected. Even if one was cautious, there was no guarantee that nothing would go wrong.
Things had been so chaotic just now that Grand Preceptor Zhuang had forgotten to ask whether it was the Yuan Family's daughter or Gu Jinyu who had stabbed An Junwang.
But even if he found out, what could he do? Did he have the authority to punish them?
Grand Preceptor Zhuang instructed the physician to take good care of An Junwang before he left the room. He then called for his trusted subordinates and asked them to investigate whether there had been any unusual activity at Brisk Wind Tower today, and whether there were any suspicious people.
One of his subordinates asked, "Does my Lord still suspect that it was the work of someone else?"
Grand Preceptor Zhuang snorted, "Do you think I don't know my own grandson's character? He wouldn't be so foolish as to do such a thing. It would have been fine if he had admitted that he had fallen into somebody’s trap, but he was so eager to take the blame instead. This is clearly to protect the person behind it."
His subordinates didn't understand, "My Lord, are you saying that someone else set a trap for Junwang but he is refusing to reveal that person’s identity? Who could this person be?"
"I'm just guessing, I don’t have any proof. Anyway, go and investigate this matter. Find out which cabinet official Grand Secretary Yuan met at the Brisk Wind Tower today and then report back to me!"
Although Grand Preceptor Zhuang did not believe that Grand Secretary Yuan would plot against his own granddaughter, the timing of that cabinet official's appearance was too coincidental. If he hadn't stopped Grand Secretary Yuan, the Yuan Family's daughter wouldn’t have been left alone, and there wouldn't have been so many subsequent accidents.
"By the way, where is Wu Yang? I recall he is Heng'er's personal bodyguard." Grand Preceptor Zhuang commanded. "Bring him to me!"
Wu Yang was truly innocent. He had taken a leave of absence for the past few days to attend the marriage ceremony of a friend. He simply knew nothing of An Junwang's situation.
As expected, Grand Preceptor Zhuang did not obtain any clues from him, but he still punished him for dereliction of duty and subjected him to fifty lashes.
After investigating at the Brisk Wind Tower, the trusted subordinates returned to report to Grand Preceptor Zhuang, "No suspicious persons were found. The cabinet official was Assistant Xu. This subordinate has investigated his activities, and it was true that he coincidentally ran into Grand Secretary Yuan."
When one thought about it, the cabinet official was truly not very suspicious. After all, the cabinet was under the control of Grand Preceptor Zhuang himself, and ordinary people wouldn’t be able to make them do their bidding.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang pondered for a moment and asked, "Why did the Gu Family's daughter appear at the Brisk Wind Tower?"
The trusted subordinate replied, "The young misses attending the women's academy often gather at Brisk Wind Tower. Second Young Miss and Third Young Miss were there today as well, but they seem to be unaware of Junwang's situation."
Grand Preceptor Zhuang said, "Bring them here."
"Yes!"
Soon, Zhuang Yuexi and Zhuang Mengdie were called to Grand Preceptor Zhuang's study.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang looked at the two with a serious expression and asked, "What were you two doing at the Brisk Wind Tower today?"
"Having fun." Zhuang Mengdie said. "Brisk Wind Tower has recently been introducing new musical pieces, one every day, and we have been listening to them for several days now. Today was the last one, the final piece."
Zhuang Mengdie was the worst liar; one could easily tell if she was lying. Zhuang Yuexi was as silent as usual, bowing her head. Grand Preceptor Zhuang observed the two before dismissing them.
Grand Preceptor Zhuang frowned deeply.
Everything seemed normal. Could it really be Zhuang Yuheng acting on his own?
After the two sisters left Grand Preceptor Zhuang's courtyard, Zhuang Yuexi said to Zhuang Mengdie, "You go back first. I'll go see big brother."
"What happened to big brother?" An Junwang's injury was kept secret, and even Zhuang Mengdie was unaware.
Zhuang Yuexi responded, "It's nothing. There is a question I don't know how to solve, so I want to ask big brother for help. Or do you want to come with me?"
When Zhuang Mengdie heard that it was about asking advice for some question, she instantly lost interest. Although she liked her big brother very much, she was more afraid of tackling these questions and what not.
"I...I...I felt a little dizzy, I think I have heatstroke. I'll go back to my room and rest first. You can go and tackle the questions yourself!"
After speaking, Zhuang Mengdie ran away quickly.
Zhuang Yuexi went to An Junwang's courtyard. When the servants saw her coming, they were surprised.
"You all can leave." She instructed them in a soft voice.
"But his Lordship has given orders..." Said the servant girl in a small voice.
Another quick-witted servant girl pulled her sleeve and said to Zhuang Yuexi, "Yes, we servants shall leave."
The two of them stepped aside, and Zhuang Yuexi walked into An Junwang's bedroom.
The physician had finished treating his injuries and went to the small kitchen to boil medicine for him. Only a personal servant boy was guarding the bed.
"You can also leave." Zhuang Yuexi instructed him.
The servant boy did not dare to move.
Zhuang Yuexi could command the two servant girls keeping guard at the door, but she could not command An Junwang's personal servant boy.
On the bed, An Junwang slowly opened his eyes and weakly said, "You can leave."
"Yes!" The servant boy respectfully withdrew.
With no one else present, Zhuang Yuexi hurriedly fell to the bed and anxiously grabbed her brother's hand. "Big brother..."
An Junwang propped himself up with his fingers and lay on his side, and then raised his other hand to give her a resounding slap!
This slap used up all his strength, that he collapsed down on the bed and coughed up a mouthful of blood immediately afterwards.
Zhuang Yuexi was utterly stunned by this slap. She looked at An Junwang in disbelief, "Big brother..."
An Junwang didn't have the strength to give her a second slap. He used his elbow to prop himself up and glared at her angrily, "Why did you do this?"
Big brother knew... Big brother knew everything...
Zhuang Yuexi looked at An Junwang in panic and wanted to defend herself, but didn't know where to start.
An Junwang’s eyes were filled with heartache and chill, "If I hadn't asked the steward who had sent him away... I wouldn't have known that my own sister... is capable of such a cruel and despicable thing! What did Young Miss Yuan do to offend you that you would plot against her like this!"
"I... Big brother, I... I..." Zhuang Yuexi was trembling with fear, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her mind was in chaos, and she answered the questions vaguely, "I... I never wanted to harm you... I..."
"Are you not even a little guilty for what you did to Young Miss Yuan?" An Junwang was extremely disappointed. This was his own sister. “You even implicated the daughter of the Gu Family. Are you satisfied now?"
Zhuang Yuexi choked up with sobs, "I... I never wanted to implicate Gu Jinyu... I didn't know she would suddenly appear... Yuan Baolin... Yuan Baolin is just a Taoist nun... she doesn't deserve you, big brother!"
An Junwang said coldly, "So you find someone to defile her?!"
"I... I didn't... I just wanted to scare her... and make her... unfit to marry you." Zhuang Yuexi called the steward out, not just to keep him away, but also to lure An Junwang out.
An Junwang noticed that the steward's expression was off, so he quickly returned to the room, only to find that the daughter of the Yuan Family had been drugged and was being harassed by a stranger.
He walked over and chased the man away, but because he touched the man's clothes, he was also contaminated with some of the drug.
"Leave!" He shouted to her.
The Yuan Family’s daughter jumped out of the window.
Fearing that he would do something irreparable, he rushed to lock the door while the last glimmer of reason was still there, but no one expected Gu Jinyu to suddenly pass by.
Gu Jinyu didn't know what had happened, but when she saw his expression, she went in and asked him what was wrong.
His reason collapsed at that exact moment.
When he heard the crying of Gu Jinyu in a daze, he managed to pull out the dagger he kept on his waist and stabbed himself in the thigh.
Raz P.'s Thoughts
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