Chapter 74: Panic in the Whole City (1)

Zhaixing Pavilion

The sun was bright outside the window, and Zhuo Qing was lying on the bed, not knowing what words to use to describe her current mood!

By the bed, Lou Xiyan gently blew on the medicinal soup in the spoon. After confirming it wasn't hot, he sent it to her mouth tenderly, his clear eyes looking at her with doting. At this time, she would drink poison, right! Zhuo Qing wailed in her heart, but still opened her mouth again, swallowing the Chinese medicine.

She knew Lou Xiyan was good to her, so he fed her medicine spoon by spoon, and it was said that this medicine was specifically ordered by him to be adjusted by the imperial physician and wouldn't be very bitter. But Zhuo Qing, who was used to Western medicine, still wanted to go crazy. Although she really wanted to continue enjoying his careful feeding, this medicine was really too hard to drink! When Lou Xiyan handed the spoon to her again, Zhuo Qing took the medicine bowl from his hand and drank it in one gulp!

Although it was a bit hot and bitter, long pain was worse than short pain! After Zhuo Qing poured down two large cups of water, she finally suppressed that disgusting feeling. Lou Xiyan looked at her with a funny and helpless look. Zhuo Qing pretended not to see it and asked, "Aren't you very busy lately? How do you have time to be at home all day?"

She had been lying in bed for three or four days. Although he wasn't by her side every moment, he would appear every time she drank medicine three times a day, not even giving her a chance to pour the medicine away.

Lou Xiyan took the medicine bowl and placed it on the low table, replying perfunctorily, "Sick leave."

Sick leave? Zhuo Qing found it funny, but didn't ask further, but asked excitedly, "I heard you fought the Eastern and Western Empress Dowagers in the Imperial Garden the other day? What a pity, I didn't see you in a rage."

Xiwu had come to see her every day these past few days, talking about how heroic and handsome Lou Xiyan was that day, exaggerating as if he were fighting against demons. Although she didn't dare to believe Lou Xiwu's words completely, she probably knew that Xiyan must have been angry that day, and the anger was not small.

Lou Xiyan was a bit dumbfounded, "You want to see?"

Zhuo Qing really nodded and laughed loudly, "As long as it's not toward me, I'm still very interested in seeing it." Who told Lou Xiwu to describe it so wonderfully! It made her curious.

Lou Xiyan directly ignored her words, still pulled up the thin quilt, helped her cover it, and said softly, "Lie down and sleep for a while."

It was midsummer now, she really wasn't that weak! Zhuo Qing shook her head while throwing the quilt to the inner side of the bed, replying, "It's been several days, I also know some medical skills, my body has no unusual reactions, there should be no drowning sequelae, don't worry."

She had been very cooperative with the treatment these past few days, just because she knew that it was easy to induce bronchitis, pneumonia, etc. after drowning. But now that so many days had passed, she felt that her physical condition had stabilized, and she didn't want to be trapped in bed anymore!

Her forehead was indeed covered with a thin layer of sweat. Lou Xiyan didn't force her anymore, "Don't pay attention to the Empress Dowager's imperial decree to summon you to the palace during this period."

Zhuo Qing raised her eyebrows lightly and smiled, "Doesn't this count as defying the imperial decree?"

"Before the wedding, you will be seriously ill and unable to get out of bed, so naturally you cannot enter the palace." Lou Xiyan deliberately emphasized the word "seriously ill".

Zhuo Qing smiled knowingly, "Understood!" She was naturally unwilling to enter the palace. After this incident, she estimated that it would be difficult for her to be calm when she saw those two old women again, so it was best not to see them.

Thinking of Lou Xiwu telling her that Qingfeng's eyes were swollen from crying when she fell into the water, Zhuo Qing hurriedly said, "Can you send a message to Qingfeng for me, saying that I am very well, I am afraid she will worry." Although she didn't have sisterly feelings for Qingfeng, Qingfeng treated her sincerely, and she was still moved.

"Rest assured, I have already sent her a message." That day by the lotus pond, it was chaotic, and he was also anxious, but he had not ignored the hatred in Qingfeng's eyes. He had a feeling that this woman would absolutely not be content with being bullied. In a place like the inner palace, with her personality, either she would trample others under her feet, or she would be torn to shreds. Neither situation was a good thing.

Zhuo Qing didn't know Lou Xiyan's thoughts, and now she was concerned about another problem: "Have you found out who wanted to kill me?"

Lou Xiyan was startled, "You know?" He had always thought she couldn't swim and was in a chaotic state after falling into the water. It turned out she knew.

Zhuo Qing nodded, thinking of the struggle in the water that day, her face also became a bit cold and hard, "Actually, I can swim, and I went down to see the wooden piles at the bottom of the water. It wasn't a collapse caused by disrepair, and I was alive and pressed to the bottom of the water to cause drowning. These are enough for me to judge that this is a murder. I think the murderer is her, but there is no evidence."

"It's not certain whether it's her for now, but I won't let this matter go. You rest well, don't worry anymore." Hearing her say that she was alive and pressed into the water to drown, Lou Xiyan's heart constricted again. How scared and helpless she must have been at that time! Holding Zhuo Qing gently in his arms, stroking her soft hair, he was comforting her, and at the same time comforting himself. He didn't even dare to imagine, if he hadn't gone to the Imperial Garden that day, or if Mo Bai hadn't been by his side, what would have happened. He would have lost her forever. His hands tightened involuntarily. Only her warm body temperature could make his heart feel settled now.

Suddenly held in Lou Xiyan's arms, Zhuo Qing was startled at first, but when she felt his hands tightening, she knew he was still feeling heartache for her. Leaning her face gently on his shoulder, Zhuo Qing reached out, hugged him tightly, and whispered in his ear, "I'm fine, really."

The soft voice did soothe his heart. He hoped to always hold her in his arms like this, but it was impossible. Just gently winding her hair, Lou Xiyan sighed in a low voice, "Let Mo Bai protect you secretly from now on, okay?"

"No." Zhuo Qing suddenly sat up straight and insisted on denying it immediately.

Lou Xiyan knew she liked freedom and didn't like being controlled, but he didn't expect her to be so determined. Gently rubbing her cheek, Lou Xiyan coaxed and explained, "He won't hinder or stop you from doing anything, going anywhere, just protecting your safety."

Zhuo Qing smiled gently, replying, "I didn't mean that. He is your personal guard. I feel more at ease if he protects your safety. As a Prime Minister, you have more dangers around you than I do. If you are worried about me, find someone else to protect me, anyone will do."

She knew Lou Xiyan's care and love for her, but she wasn't a porcelain doll that would break at a touch. The lotus pond incident was her carelessness. As a modern person, she hadn't changed her thinking and couldn't understand what the women in the harem were thinking, but now she knew, and she had to keep an eye on it at all times.

"Qing'er, the fright last time was enough, I can't stand a second time. I already have many people around me who can protect me, and I don't need Mo Bai at ordinary times. I can't accompany you every moment, but I will worry about you every moment. Only when Mo Bai is by your side will I feel at ease. Promise me, okay?"

The hand on her waist tightened again, and the two hugged each other tightly. Zhuo Qing could feel his heartbeat faster than any other time. Zhuo Qing swallowed the words of refusal and smiled, replying, "Okay."

He was really thin, without a strong figure, but she felt very safe. Closing her eyes gently to enjoy his embrace, Zhuo Qing suddenly thought of something, opened her eyes and said anxiously, "I have one request, it's very important!"

Lou Xiyan was startled, "What?"

"Can the style of the wedding dress and phoenix crown be decided by me?" That day she only wore three layers of skirts and was almost out of breath. Lou Xiwu said that the royal wedding dress had seven layers. Although their Lou family didn't compare themselves to the royal family, at least they had six layers. Wouldn't that toss her to death!

"Just this?" Lou Xiyan was dumbfounded.

"Hmm." Zhuo Qing nodded solemnly. This was very important for her on the day of the wedding!

Lou Xiyan laughed, hugged her into his arms again, and smiled, "Whatever the Madam says!"

In the exquisite and gorgeous boudoir, it should have been filled with fragrance, but unfortunately, what permeated the room was a thick smell of blood. The blood on the ground hadn't completely dried, and the light pink bedspread was stained bright red with blood. The woman on the bed had her clothes stripped off, and there were no wounds on her smooth skin. Only after careful inspection could a thin red line be seen on the lower edge of the left breast. Only by gently spreading the skin would one find that it was a three-inch-long knife cut. The knife cut was very neat, thin, and light, and the blood flowed smoothly along it, and it had already dried at this moment.

Dan Yulan pressed his left chest with a little force, and the obvious depression indicated that this corpse was still missing a heart.

The position of the murderer's knife was very precise. There were no signs of binding on the deceased, and no wounds from struggling. Her eyes were wide open, her mouth was slightly open, and her facial expression was extremely terrified. They were not drugged, why didn't they struggle? What kind of terrifying thing did they see to have such an expression?!

After checking the door lock, Lv Jin frowned involuntarily, walked behind Dan Yulan, and said in a low voice, "Official, the door lock is not damaged, and no other traces were left."

Looking at the corpse on the bed, Lv Jin sighed and shook his head, "Except for the left chest, there are no other wounds on the body, and the room door is also locked. The corpse is uniquely missing a heart, and the method is almost exactly the same as the previous two cases. This is already the third heart-plucking case in the past two months, and all of them are famous families and young ladies. This time it is actually Princess Anning."

On the other side, a tall and thin man crossed his arms around his chest, his young face full of annoyance, and scolded lowly, "The celebration is coming soon, and such a case has actually occurred, and there is a trend of intensification. I think, if this case is not solved, the Emperor will also explode."

As soon as he finished speaking, a yamen runner ran over, stopped outside the door, and said anxiously, "Official! The Emperor's oral decree, summon you to enter the palace immediately."

Lv Jin gave the man a white look. He couldn't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. Now it's good! Carefully looking at Dan Yulan, his face didn't change, Cheng Hang secretly admired, the official is worthy of being the official!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 75 =====

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