Chapter 62: Dragon's Pool and Tiger's Den

"Sister Zheng, I..."

Sure enough, the person who had blocked the arrow for Zheng Yue Ru was none other than Jiang Xuan; at this moment, his eyelashes were trembling, and his face was deathly pale.

Zheng Yue Ru was on the verge of tears: "Don't speak, don't speak! Where is the physician? Physician, come quickly!"

That crossbow bolt was inherently suited for sneak attacks; at this moment, Qin Zhangfeng reacted, roared in anger, stooped down to pick up several blades dropped by the assassins, and threw them out, actually striking those assassins who were holding crossbows! Following this, he picked up his own long saber and engaged in a melee with the remaining assassins.

The remaining few assassins, seeing Qin Zhangfeng so fierce and realizing the opportunity was lost, fled rapidly.

Only a few wounded assassins remained on the ground.

"Who are you people?"

Qin Zhangfeng grabbed one of them and demanded fiercely.

Who would have thought that those few people would bite their tongues and tilt their heads, dying on the spot.

Several people were shocked at the same time; Liu Zheng's face was as dark as water, and he ordered the remaining men to clear the battlefield immediately. In this short span of time, he had actually lost five of his Yinzhou Army soldiers!

Only then did Liu Zheng return to the horse carriage, look coldly at Jiang Xuan, who was being treated by the physician, and bark: "What is going on? Why are you here?"

He saw that the arrow had pierced deep into the bone, entering from the back, and was not far from the heart; it was extremely dangerous.

"Young Master, Young Master, I..."

Jiang Xuan looked at Liu Zheng fearfully, tears swirling in his eye sockets.

"Brother Liu, is this the time for you to be interrogating?"

Zheng Yue Ru felt heartache for Jiang Xuan and turned to glare coldly at Liu Zheng. Jiang Xuan had exhausted all his strength to save her life; she was still grateful, so how could she tolerate Liu Zheng scolding him like this?

Liu Zheng looked at Zheng Yue Ru with an unkind expression: "Did you arrange for him to come in?"

Zheng Yue Ru was angry and said: "So what if I did? You were the one who said to let Jiang Xuan follow by my side as an assistant. He already knows he was wrong, why can't he come?"

Saying this, she recounted the whole matter, leaving Liu Zheng speechless. It turned out that last night on New Year's Eve, the County Marquis Mansion was bustling with activity, and Jiang Xuan, amidst such clamor, felt even more lonely, watching the lively scene from a corner of the County Marquis Mansion. It was later that Zheng Yue Ru discovered him and offered words of comfort and solace. With a youth's temperament, Jiang Xuan, who had lost his parents at a young age, finally realized his mistake and admitted he shouldn't have discriminated against merchants, especially Sister Zheng.

Thus, these two began calling each other "Sister Zheng" and "Brother Xuan."

In the end, Zheng Yue Ru really did come to cherish Jiang Xuan as her own younger brother. Seeing that over the past month, Jiang Xuan had gone from a handsome young man to having a dark, tanned face, how could Zheng Yue Ru not feel heartache? But Jiang Xuan had been punished by Liu Zheng's order, and he was surely still in a fit of anger. She had thought to bring him along by her side first and find an opportunity to talk to Liu Zheng about this matter later, at which point he surely wouldn't be too angry. Plus, Jiang Xuan also wanted to go to Liangzhou to see the world, so she let Jiang Xuan sneak into this caravan.

But she never expected...

That such a thing would happen on the road!

"Foolish!"

Liu Zheng cursed loudly upon hearing this.

Zheng Yue Ru stood up with a swoosh: "Brother Liu, to know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue; could it be that you never make mistakes?"

Jiang Xuan felt even more aggrieved.

Liu Zheng gritted his teeth and shook his head: "A woman's perspective is truly short-sighted!"

"You..."

Zheng Yue Ru was so angry she was trembling all over.

Liu Zheng sighed, then called over a Yinzhou Army soldier and ordered him to take off his outer garment; only then did the simple plate armor worn underneath reveal itself. Zheng Yue Ru was stunned, and only then did she understand what Liu Zheng was angry about. It turned out he had long known the journey was perilous and had equipped these Yinzhou Army soldiers with plate armor; otherwise, given the high skill of those assassins, it would not have been as simple as just five deaths!

But because Jiang Xuan had snuck in at the last minute, he naturally had no plate armor, which was why he had suffered such a severe injury!

"Brother Liu, I..."

Zheng Yue Ru's eyes turned red, filled with guilt.

Liu Zheng said coldly: "Do not act clever on your own in the future; if there is anything, discuss it with me more!"

Hearing such cold words, Zheng Yue Ru felt even more aggrieved, on the verge of tears, looking pitiful.

"Young Master, Young Master... it is Jiang Xuan's fault, do not blame Sister!"

Jiang Xuan was anxious and tried hard to smooth things over.

Liu Zheng glared back at him and said angrily: "Do you think you are without fault? Once you recover, I will deal with you properly! Physician, how is the injury?"

The physician observed for a long time and frowned: "Young Master, the old man observes that this crossbow bolt should be one used by the Liangzhou Prefecture crossbowmen. If that is the case, judging by the length, it has entered the body very deeply!"

"What?"

Several people changed color at the same time. At this moment, Liu Dahao also ran over to this horse carriage, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but roar: "Old man Chen Ping, I will not stand under the same sky as you!"

Liu Zheng pondered: "Is the arrowhead poisoned?"

The physician nodded: "Although there is no poison, it is not suitable to remain in the body for too long... but if it is pulled out rashly, this young master, this young master, I fear he will not be able to withstand the pain, causing the wound to worsen!"

Several people felt their hearts sink upon hearing this.

This half-section of the crossbow bolt remaining in the body was eroding Jiang Xuan's life at every moment.

"Come, pull it out for me, I am not afraid!"

Jiang Xuan gritted his teeth, tears swirling.

Zheng Yue Ru felt such heartache that her tears finally fell. If yesterday she treated Jiang Xuan as a younger brother out of pity, then today, the two shared this life-saving grace, and their bond was naturally even deeper.

"Are you sure it did not injure the internal organs?"

Liu Zheng asked.

The physician said: "It certainly did not injure the internal organs, but..."

"Bring the wine!"

Liu Zheng shouted coldly.

Several people were shocked at the same time, and Zheng Yue Ru asked suspiciously: "Brother Liu, this is..."

"Go get that bottle of Imperial Essence Mash!"

Liu Zheng said coldly.

Zheng Yue Ru's pretty face changed slightly; one must know that that bottle of Imperial Essence Mash was something Liu Zheng intended to present to Empress Zheng. Among so many wines, it was unique, its appearance alone was extremely luxurious, and it was an essence mash, with extremely high purity and alcohol content.

According to Liu Zheng's own words, the alcohol content of that bottle of wine reached 70 percent!

At this moment, for the sake of Jiang Xuan, he was actually willing to take it out, and without hesitation, he opened the wine bottle, roughly pinched Jiang Xuan's chin, and cursed angrily: "You spendthrift!"

He poured it down in one gulp.

"Young Master..."

"I..."

"Shut your mouth, you spendthrift!"

"Do you know how much effort it took to get this bottle of wine?"

"I wouldn't sell it for a thousand taels of silver!"

"Who is the spendthrift? You have to pay with your life for this, do you know that?"

"Drink it!"

Jiang Xuan wanted to resist, but how could he withstand Liu Zheng pouring it like this? After a few gulps, he was already dead drunk, muttered some nonsense, called out for his sister a few times, and then buried his head and fell into a deep sleep.

Liu Zheng looked at the doctor and gritted his teeth: "Pull it out!"

The doctor was startled by the fierce and menacing look of Young Master Liu and began to pull the arrow out cautiously.

"Puchi!"

The arrowhead was pulled out, and fresh blood gushed out immediately. Liu Zheng took the wine in his hand again, poured it onto the wound to clean it, and then urged the doctor to quickly take the golden sore medicine to stop the bleeding for Jiang Xuan.

"Is... is this all it takes?"

Zheng Yue Ru watched, dumbfounded.

Liu Zheng smiled slightly.

Pouring down this 70-degree raw spirit was enough to serve as the most badass anesthetic; then, after disinfecting and applying this golden sore medicine to stop the bleeding, it would be strange if it didn't work!

Sure enough, after the doctor took his pulse for a while, he said excitedly: "Miss Zheng, rest assured, the young master's pulse is stable; he just needs to sleep and recuperate!"

Several people were overjoyed at the same time.

"Zheng, Zheng, is it really okay not to go to Liangzhou?"

Liu Dahao slumped to one side, his face pale with fright. They had only just left Yinzhou and already encountered such assassins; once they reached Liangzhou, could he still have a good outcome?

Liu Zheng couldn't be bothered with him and ordered everyone to continue moving forward. For the sake of safety, they did not stop for even a moment to rest when passing through Yangzhou City.

"Brother Liu, I..."

At night, the group did not stop; after a hasty meal, they continued their journey. Under the lamplight, Liu Zheng was examining the half-arrow, lost in thought. Zheng Yue Ru came up with a look of guilt, wanting to speak but hesitating.

Liu Zheng waved his hand and said indifferently: "No need to speak of this matter again. Since you two have already addressed each other as sister and brother, take good care of him in the future. This boy comes from humble beginnings, yet his vision is not small; he is ruthless and a suitable talent for a commander. But he is too rigid and does not know how to be flexible, which is also his shortcoming. Teach him more in this regard."

Zheng Yue Ru nodded quickly; feeling guilty in her heart, she naturally dared not say anything more.

Liu Zheng examined the arrowhead carefully and sneered: "Interesting, Liangzhou Crossbowmen..."

Zheng Yue Ru was filled with worry: "Brother Liu, could it really be the work of Chen Ping?"

Liu Zheng laughed: "Do you think Chen Ping is stupid? If he wants to take me and my father, why would he need to use such dirty tactics? Even if he did, he wouldn't openly use the weapons of the Liangzhou Prefecture. Someone must be framing the Liangzhou Prefecture!"

Zheng Yue Ru agreed deeply and said: "Then who could it be..."

Liu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly: "Yinzhou is now a tall tree attracting the wind; the Shen Gong Workshop makes countless people covet it. Yesterday's public announcement of income and expenditure made many people vomit blood in hatred... It seems the assassins are coming for us; it's logical and reasonable."

Zheng Yue Ru's pretty face changed slightly upon hearing this: "Brother Liu means... the assassins were not aiming for you, but for me?"

Liu Zheng gave a cold laugh: "Miss Zheng, did you not notice? Why did those Crossbowmen keep shooting at you instead of me or my old man? That is the first point of suspicion!"

"Empress Zheng is returning to Liangzhou to visit her relatives, and you are, after all, a manager of the Zheng Family; you will definitely be summoned by the Empress! Killing you at this time and framing Liangzhou—what a clever way to kill with a borrowed knife!"

Zheng Yue Ru felt her scalp tingle as she listened, her face full of shock.

If it were an ordinary person, they would really believe that the assassins were targeting the Liu Family father and son, because the two were currently making a great name for themselves in Liangzhou, and naturally, people with ulterior motives would keep an eye on them.

However...

The more it seemed that way, the easier it was for someone to set a trap for them! Today, when the assassin appeared, the primary target was undoubtedly Zheng Yue Ru. As the person involved, she could feel it clearly!

Liu Zheng sighed and said with a bitter smile: "It seems this Liangzhou is a dragon's pool and a tiger's den this time, hahaha!"

With Empress Zheng visiting her relatives, the situation in Liangzhou would inevitably become incomparably complex.

It took a long time for Zheng Yue Ru to recover from the shock and fear, and she asked Liu Zheng: "Then, Young Master Liu, what do you think..."

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Miss Zheng, the matter is actually very simple."

"If you die, the Liangzhou Prefecture will certainly not be able to escape the blame!"

"If Chen Ping suffers, who will benefit? You only need to see this point, and that is enough!"

Zheng Yue Ru's breathing became heavy, her delicate body trembled, and she said in horror: "Baiya!"

Liu Zheng narrowed his eyes slightly.

Hearing these two words, he actually felt a sense of suffocation and trembling.