Chapter 55: I’ll Stay With Her Tonight
Lin Zhengfeng valued the family’s honor above almost everything else.
If Lin Xueyi died after being struck by Rong Yunzhou, he would have no choice but to seek justice.
It wasn’t because he loved his daughter, but because he could not afford to let the Lin family become the empire’s greatest joke.
And Rong Yunzhou understood that as well.
His jaw tightened. The hand resting on the hilt of his sword slowly loosened. He was furious, so furious that he wanted nothing more than to cut Rong Shuyan down where he sat, but he couldn’t.
At least not here. Not in front of dozens of officers who had witnessed everything.
If Lin Xueyi died because of him, every person in the command tent would testify before the Emperor. Even if he escaped the harshest punishment, the stain on his reputation would never disappear.
After a long moment, Rong Yunzhou let out a cold snort.
"You’ve become quite clever, haven’t you?" he said with a mocking smile. "Using a useless woman to threaten me."
Rong Shuyan’s expression didn’t change. "I’m simply reminding you of the consequences of your own actions."
After saying that, Rong Shuyan had no desire to look at Rong Yunzhou any longer.
"Clean up your own mess," he said coldly. "Now that the Southern Wolf Tribe has captured our soldiers, there’s no guarantee they won’t reveal our plan."
"We need to move our main food supplies to another location." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Figure it out yourself. You said you’re one of the generals, so you should be able to handle a problem like this."
Rong Yunzhou gritted his teeth. "You think this Prince can’t do that? Rong Shuyan, how dare you!"
Rong Shuyan had no interest in dealing with his brother’s anger anymore. He simply turned his wheelchair around and quietly told Eunuch Shen to push him out of the command tent.
Seeing that the situation with the Southern Wolf Tribe was just as urgent as the Princess Consort’s condition, General Zhou immediately stepped forward.
"Your Highness," he said to Rong Yunzhou, "we truly need to come up with a new plan. This General isn’t sure whether our original strategy can still be carried out."
Another soldier stepped forward and cupped his fists. "I agree with General Zhou. We can’t afford to waste any more time."
Rong Yunzhou’s face darkened. His anger had not faded in the slightest, but he knew they were right.
After a long silence, he slammed his fist onto the table. "Fine!"
The loud bang echoed throughout the command tent. "We’ll discuss a new strategy."
===
Inside Prince Rui’s tent, Lin Xueyi lay unconscious on a folding camp bed.
Physician Liu carefully checked her pulse before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Because the Second Prince struck her with too much force, the Princess Consort suffered a concussion," he said gravely. "The qi from the blow also entered her body and disrupted her blood flow."
Mei Lu’s face turned pale. "Will... will the Princess Consort be alright?"
Physician Liu nodded slowly. "Her life isn’t in danger, but she needs complete rest. She may not wake up until tomorrow, or perhaps even later, depending on how her body recovers."
He gently applied herbal medicine to the swollen side of Lin Xueyi’s face before wrapping it with a clean cloth.
"The swelling should go down in a few days, but she’ll likely have headaches and dizziness for some time after she wakes."
At that moment, the tent flap was pushed aside. Rong Shuyan wheeled himself inside and the moment his eyes fell on Lin Xueyi’s pale face, his expression darkened.
He slowly moved closer to the camp bed and reached out to brush a loose strand of hair away from her forehead.
His fingers paused when they touched the bandage covering her swollen cheek.
"She still hasn’t woken up?" he asked quietly.
Physician Liu shook his head. "Not yet, Your Highness."
He hesitated before adding, "The Second Prince’s strike was far too heavy. If he had used any more strength, the Princess Consort’s injuries could have been much worse."
In other words, it wasn’t impossible for Lin Xueyi to have died on the spot.
After all, she had never trained in martial arts. Her body simply wasn’t strong enough to withstand a strike from someone as powerful as Rong Yunzhou.
"Your Highness," Physician Liu said gently, "the Princess Consort will be alright. However, she’ll most likely develop a fever later today.
"It would be best if someone stayed by her side throughout the night. Why don’t we move her to the medical tent? The physicians can keep a close watch on her condition until morning."
"She’ll stay here," Rong Shuyan replied without hesitation. His eyes never left Lin Xueyi’s pale face. "I’ll stay with her through the night."
Rong Shuyan knew better than anyone not to trust outsiders too easily. He trusted Physician Liu, but he didn’t know the other physicians well enough.
Instead of leaving his injured and defenseless wife surrounded by people he barely knew, he would rather stay by her side himself.
"But, Your Highness, you need to rest as well," Physician Liu said with concern.
"I can look after the Princess Consort, Your Highness," Mei Lu quickly offered.
"There’s no need," Rong Shuyan replied firmly.
He never took his eyes off Lin Xueyi as he said, "The fewer people around her, the better. She’ll be able to rest more comfortably this way."
Physician Liu looked at Rong Shuyan for a long moment before letting out a soft sigh. He knew there was no changing the prince’s mind. "As you wish, Your Highness."
He turned to Mei Lu. "Prepare some clean water and fresh cloths. Leave them here before you go. If the Princess Consort’s fever rises, Your Highness can use them to help cool her down."
"Yes, Physician Liu."
He then looked back at Rong Shuyan. "If her breathing becomes uneven, or if she still hasn’t regained consciousness after tomorrow, send someone to fetch me immediately."
"I understand."
After giving a few more instructions, Physician Liu packed his medicine box and stood. "I’ll return before dawn to examine the Princess Consort again."
Rong Shuyan gave a slight nod. "Thank you."