Chapter 219: Sweet Return

Dao Qin had just finished dealing with the arrogant young woman who had dared to drug the wine. As he returned to the courtyard gate, he ran into Lu Xian, who was frowning and giving orders. Before they could exchange a few words, they suddenly heard a commotion outside.

“Where is Zhou Qihuang? Call Zhou Qihuang!”

It was clearly Jian Shu’s voice, but it lacked its usual calmness. Along with the usual sharpness, there was an additional hint of panic.

Both Dao Qin and Lu Xian froze in shock.

A sense of foreboding passed through both of them.

When they hurried over to check, they saw Xie Wei covered in a large, spreading stain of blood on his abdomen, his face already pale. Jian Shu and a soldier were supporting him, surrounded by a crowd of people who were chattering and frantically unsure of what to do.

Lu Xian was stunned.

Dao Qin almost dropped the knife she was holding. After a moment of hesitation, she immediately stepped forward, sternly ordering the onlookers to disperse and helped carry Xie Wei inside to lie down, asking, “What happened?”

Jian Shu didn’t speak and hurriedly began to search through the medicine chest.

Lu Xian asked, “Wasn’t he fine when I left? What happened? Who did this? Has the culprit been caught?”

Xie Wei wasn’t unconscious yet, but the pain was excruciating. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he couldn’t speak.

Dao Qin pressed him down firmly to minimize blood loss from the wound.

He still didn’t hear Jian Shu respond and, unusually, grew anxious: “Aren’t you following him? Speak!”

What could Jian Shu say?

When he turned around and saw the commotion, he only noticed Jiang Xuening walking past with blood on her hands, her expression indifferent. She was hurrying to the city gate tower when Xie Wei collapsed.

Even if he had a hundred guts, he didn’t dare speak up.

Dao Qin was about to ask more, but Lu Xian’s eyelids twitched as he sensed something. He pressed his shoulder gently and shook his head.

Dao Qin froze, suddenly realizing something, and closed his mouth.

Before Xie Wei even entered the mansion, someone had already rushed ahead to inform them that Zhou Qihuang had arrived at the frontier just a few days ago. He had helped tend to some injured soldiers, but he hadn’t been able to show his skills. It was unexpected that after the battle had ended, he was urgently called in.

When he arrived, he had been wondering who he would be treating.

But when he saw Xie Wei covered in blood, he nearly threw the medical box in shock. He quickly stepped forward to check the wound. “What happened? Did an assassin attack?”

Lu Xian frowned. “Look at the wound!”

Zhou Qihuang carefully examined it and, after a moment, breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t panic, don’t panic. The injury isn’t serious. It’s a narrow blade. It entered quickly but didn’t go deep. The blade hasn’t fully pierced through. It’s almost like the attacker held back. The cut isn’t large and didn’t hit any vital areas. It’s just bleeding a lot. It won’t be fatal.”

Xie Wei’s lips turned blue.

However, Zhou Qihuang pressed the edges of the wound firmly, instructing Jian Shu who stood nearby, “In the second layer of the medical box, take out the Ma Fei San, mix it with wine, and give it to the gentleman!”

Without saying a word, Jian Shu followed the instructions.

A dose of Ma Fei San was retrieved from the medical box, mixed with wine, and given to Xie Wei.

It would take a while for the effects of the medicine to take hold.

Zhou Qihuang, feeling that Xie Wei had stopped trembling, grabbed some burning liquor and began cleaning the wound.

At this moment, the pain became dull.

Xie Wei finally found some strength to speak.

However, gritting his teeth, he spoke to Dao Qin and Jian Shu: “Ning’er, go… find Ning’er…”

Both Dao Qin and Jian Shu froze.

Xie Wei threw the wine bowl he had just been given onto the ground, his voice filled with hostility: “Go!”

Lu Xian was struck with a chill to the bone.

Jian Shu and Dao Qin exchanged a glance.

In the end, Dao Qin suddenly stood up and said, “I’ll go find her.”

He left the courtyard and approached the people who had returned with him earlier. He asked, “Did you see Miss Ning’er?”

Most of them shook their heads.

One person said, “I did see Miss Ning’er talking with Young Master Shao on the city tower.”

Dao Qin then set off towards the city.

He originally thought that since the teacher had asked him to find Ning’er, she might have already left, so he decided to start from the city tower. He also planned to send more people to investigate.

However, before he could even leave the mansion, he bumped into the old steward.

The steward saw his hurried pace and asked, “Young Master Dao Qin, where are you going?”

Dao Qin casually replied, “Going to find Miss Ning’er.”

The steward was instantly surprised and said, “Didn’t Miss Ning’er return to the mansion early? I just saw her walking towards the east courtyard not long ago.”

Dao Qin was stunned. “What?”

The steward didn’t understand why Dao Qin was so surprised.

Dao Qin, however, didn’t have time to explain further. Without another word, he turned around and headed toward the east courtyard.

He knew where Jiang Xuening lived.

As he walked, he passed a few maidservants holding tea and fruit trays, chatting and laughing as they walked toward the courtyard.

Dao Qin followed them inside and soon spotted Jiang Xuening.

She seemed completely unaffected, having returned to the general’s residence. She washed the blood off her hands and then called for You Fangyin to join her in Shen Zhiyi’s room, where the three of them were playing cards to pass the time. They had set up a small table with a heater beneath the window and were playing a game of leaf cards.

By this point, they had already played several rounds.

You Fangyin, who had been waiting for Jiang Xuening at the tea table, saw the blood on her hands as she descended from the city tower and nearly screamed in shock.

She had followed her back but didn’t dare ask a single question.

Now, as they sat playing cards, she acted as if nothing unusual had happened, focusing solely on her own hand and furrowing her brows as she considered which card to play.

Shen Zhiyi, still unaware of the events outside, didn’t notice anything. She happily played a strong hand and asked, “Did you two go shopping on the street? Didn’t Ning Ning say she was planning to leave soon? Why aren’t you preparing for your trip, and instead, you’re here playing cards with me?”

Jiang Xuening replied, “Isn’t Her Highness feeling bored?”

She casually threw a card down.

You Fangyin looked at her and didn’t respond.

Shen Zhiyi glanced at her cards and immediately smiled with delight. She placed a card down that neatly trumped Jiang Xuening’s. “When are you leaving then?”

Jiang Xuening usually focused on making sure her own hand was strong and didn’t care much about other people’s cards. She nodded slightly and let Shen Zhiyi play, only replying, “Not leaving anymore.”

You Fangyin immediately stared at her.

Shen Zhiyi also froze for a moment. “What happened?”

Jiang Xuening, looking tired, seemed too lazy to explain further: “People can survive without shame, just as trees can without bark. In the end, it all comes down to staying alive. You can’t fight against a greater power, and no matter what happens, I’m not the one on my knees. I’ll just console myself by thinking of it as doing a good deed. I’ll get through each day as it comes. I’m a coward—I don’t have the courage to seek death.”

How sharp was Shen Zhiyi?

She almost immediately sensed that something was wrong, something she didn’t know about.

However, seeing that Jiang Xuening didn’t seem willing to elaborate, Shen Zhiyi thought for a moment but chose not to ask further. Instead, she said, “Just don’t hurt yourself.”

The round of cards came to an end, and You Fangyin ended up losing quite a bit.

Jiang Xuening neither won nor lost, but when she saw the cards You Fangyin put down, she couldn’t help but say, “You had the cards but didn’t play them, and you refused to take mine. You’re too soft-hearted and easy to take advantage of—how did you even manage to do business these past two years?”

You Fangyin just pursed her lips and smiled shyly at her.

Jiang Xuening found it amusing.

Shen Zhiyi, on the other hand, covered her mouth with her cards and laughed, openly collecting the silver on the table. She joked, “Well, I guess I got lucky and became the final big winner by accident. I won’t be polite about it!”

The game was just a way to keep Shen Zhiyi entertained and in a good mood—none of them really cared about the money.

Jiang Xuening simply chuckled along.

But when she glanced up, she noticed Dao Qin walking in from outside. She raised an eyebrow slightly and casually asked, “Your teacher survived, didn’t he?”

Dao Qin was completely baffled but instinctively replied, “The doctor said it’s nothing serious. He’s being treated.”

Jiang Xuening tossed her cards down. “Tough guy.”

Dao Qin was even more confused. “Sir asked me to find you.”

Jiang Xuening drawled lazily, “Well, you’ve found me now, haven’t you? You can go back. Just remind your teacher not to be so irritating—if he gets stabbed again, he might not be so lucky next time.”

Dao Qin felt like he understood the words.

But the more he thought about them, the less he understood.

Looking at Jiang Xuening’s expression and tone, and then recalling how his own teacher had acted just moments ago, he dared not ask any further questions. Seeing that she was safe, he simply bowed and respectfully said, “Understood,” before retreating.

Back in Xie Wei’s room, most of his wound treatment had been completed.

A basin of water, now dyed red with blood, was carried out.

Zhou Qihuang was sweating from the effort.

Lu Xian had been watching the whole time, and seeing Xie Wei’s condition improve significantly, he finally asked, “What happened? Why did someone suddenly draw a knife?”

Xie Wei’s thin lips remained tightly pressed together, his gaze downcast. He didn’t answer.

Lu Xian asked again, “Did you force her?”

He couldn’t imagine Jiang Xuening, someone who was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, actually having the heart to stab him. Just how insufferable did Xie Wei have to be? How far did he have to push her?

But Xie Wei still said nothing.

Jiang Xuening had desperately longed for freedom and wanted to leave, yet he refused to let her go.

If this was the consequence, then so be it.

Even if Lu Xian asked him a thousand times, ten thousand times, his answer would always be the same.

At that moment, Dao Qin returned.

Lu Xian looked over at him.

Xie Wei’s fingers curled slightly, his grip tightening. “Where is she?” he asked.

Dao Qin opened his mouth, at a loss for words. After a brief hesitation, he finally answered, “She’s with Her Highness, the Princess.”

Xie Wei froze. “She didn’t leave?”

Dao Qin shook his head. “She didn’t leave.”

He hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he couldn’t hold back and added, “She looked completely fine—she was sitting there with Miss You and the Princess, playing leaf cards!”

Lu Xian almost spat out his tea.

But Xie Wei heard nothing else.

She hadn’t left.

His hand clenched slightly, and his expression turned dazed. Finally, he slowly leaned back against the cushion behind him. His body, which had been tense all this time, gradually began to relax. In the end, he couldn’t hold it in—the corners of his lips curved upward, wider and wider.

The daylight reflected off his face, pale and almost devoid of color.

And yet, Xie Wei actually smiled.

In that moment, it was as if all the suffering had left him—like the clouds had parted, the fog had lifted, and he had finally glimpsed light and clarity.

Lu Xian even sensed a faint aftertaste of sweetness within that bitter smile, leaving him deeply bewildered. But seeing Xie Wei like this, for the first time, he felt that—

Xie Ju’an finally looked like someone who was truly alive.

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