Chapter 132: Aftermath

Amid the chaos, Ninth Prince caught Yan Yan just as she was about to collapse. Seeing the bloody mess of her abdomen, he roared furiously, “Are you an idiot? Couldn’t you wait for me to come save you? How could you be so reckless?” By the end, his voice had become thick with emotion.

Yan Yan, however, was in high spirits. She weakly curved her lips into a smile, then gently stroked Ninth Prince’s cheek with her bloodstained hand and whispered, “My lord, promise me that no matter what happens, you will never lay down your pride.”

Yes. Ninth Prince could not abandon his pride. Even if one day he truly found himself facing nothing but four bare walls, as long as that pride remained, he would still have hope of surviving. And she could not give him any excuse that might someday bring about his death—least of all the disgraceful excuse of having been captured, which would bring shame upon the entire Great Qing.

Yan Yan might have had little political awareness, but she understood that much. Her eyelids were growing heavier and heavier, and even the pain in her abdomen could no longer keep her conscious. Ninth Prince immediately swept her into his arms and shouted frantically toward the outside, “Imperial physician! Quickly, fetch the imperial physician!”

…

Yan Yan slept soundly. When she awoke, however, her abdomen ached as though it had been pierced by a knife. Only when she saw Ninth Prince sprawled beside the bed did she remember that she really had been stabbed—and that she had stabbed herself.

Yan Yan moved ever so slightly, and the violent pain forced a moan from her. The sound immediately roused Ninth Prince. When he saw that she was awake, he hurriedly took her hand and asked in a low voice, “You’re awake? Would you like some water?”

His voice was somewhat hoarse, and his expression looked exhausted. It was obvious that he had been laboring for a long time. Yan Yan quietly shook her head, only to see Cui’er already hurrying over with a cup of water. Her face was still bruised and swollen, making her look especially pitiful.

Ninth Prince gently helped Yan Yan sit up and lean against him. Taking the cup from Cui’er, he said softly, “Good girl, drink a little water. The imperial physician said your wound must not be disturbed. For the next while, you must behave yourself.”

Yan Yan drank a sip from his hand before replying somewhat unhappily, “When have I ever misbehaved?”

“And you still dare argue!” Ninth Prince’s voice was filled with helplessness and anger, yet his movements as he helped her lie back down were exceedingly gentle.

Looking into the tender concern in his eyes, Yan Yan smiled deeply. Her smile made Ninth Prince’s lips lift as well. He stroked her hair and murmured, “Rest properly. I’m going to see how Tenth Brother and the others are doing.”

“Was His Tenth Highness injured?” Yan Yan vaguely remembered that Anna’s bullet had flown past Tenth Prince at close range.

At that, Ninth Prince gave a helpless smile. “He wasn’t hurt, but I’m afraid he has picked a fight with that English woman. Tenth Brother insists that she did it deliberately and has ordered her to find him ten of those guns she carries.”

Yan Yan’s eyes widened. Compared with Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince seemed even more shameless in the manner of a feudal aristocrat. Still, in this case, such shamelessness was a good thing. Ten guns were far too few; at the very least, she ought to have demanded whole crates.

Of course, Yan Yan did not dare say that to Ninth Prince. Instead, she murmured, “Why do you keep calling her ‘that woman’? Her name is Anna.”

Ninth Prince smiled helplessly. “All right, go to sleep. I’ll have Cui’er stay with you.”

Yan Yan nodded. She watched as he strode out of the room. Cui’er came forward and tucked the blankets around her, then whispered, “My lady, you truly were too reckless. Mama Song said that if the blade had gone even a little farther off course, your life would have been in danger.”

Yan Yan reached out and poked the injury on Cui’er’s face. Cui’er immediately grimaced in pain and stared at her in astonishment.

Yan Yan burst into laughter. “And you dare lecture me? Aren’t you exactly the same?”

Cui’er was utterly speechless at her mistress. How had she ended up serving someone who never acted according to common sense?

Thus Cui’er said fiercely, “Then go ahead and mistake my concern for cruelty, my lady. But have you considered what would become of Sixth Miss and the little princes if anything happened to you? You frightened them terribly yesterday. The Eldest Prince stayed outside crying the entire time, and no one could persuade him to leave. In the end, Ninth Prince himself had to carry him away before he reluctantly returned to his room.”

At that, Yan Yan finally put aside her joking mood and asked guiltily, “How are the children?”

“They’re all asleep. Madam Chen and Mama Song are watching over them, and Zisu is there with them as well.” Seeing the loneliness descend over Yan Yan’s face, Cui’er could not bear it and quickly comforted her. “Do not worry, my lady. They are all fine.”

Yan Yan nodded and said to Cui’er, “Have the imperial physicians visit Miss He more often. Also, select some of my jewelry and send it to her.”

“Yes, my lady. I understand.”

Regardless of He Xuan’er’s motives, she was Hong Zhang’s savior. Yan Yan could not let her baseless suspicions erase the gratitude owed to He Xuan’er for risking her life to save him. Yan Yan did not consider herself a saint, but there were some truly despicable things she simply could not bring herself to do.

As it turned out, He Xuan’er did not make any strange demands merely because she had saved Hong Zhang. Perhaps the oppressive atmosphere over the following half month had something to do with it. Once word spread that rebels from the Heaven and Earth Society had infiltrated Yongping Prefecture, the entire prefecture was thrown into a state of panic.

The day after the incident, Tenth Prince smoothly took control of the garrison stationed in Yongping Prefecture. The five thousand Bannermen who had been camped outside the city also entered Yongping and began searching every household for rebels.

Naturally, the reception of the foreigners was postponed indefinitely once again. Ninth Prince ordered that, apart from the interpreters and a few other individuals authorized by the imperial court, no foreigners were permitted to leave their ships without permission. The court would send people to provide them with food and water at regular intervals.

At first, the foreigners voiced their dissatisfaction. But under Fourteenth Prince’s iron-fisted policy, they soon surrendered. Yan Yan was actually puzzled as to what method Fourteenth Prince had used. In her eyes, even if force had been necessary, Tenth Prince should have been the one to apply it. Why had it been Fourteenth Prince instead?

When Yan Yan asked, Ninth Prince was reclining lazily on the couch with his eyes half closed. He laughed and said, “Fourteenth Brother has far more tricks up his sleeve than Tenth Brother. He told the foreigners that if anyone dared leave the ship without permission, being executed as a rebel would be the least of their worries. He would also order the moorings cut and forbid British ships from ever docking here again.”

Yan Yan continued staring at him in confusion.

Ninth Prince gave another muffled laugh and lowered his voice. “Fourteenth Brother instructed the yamen runners to deliver only three days’ worth of provisions to the foreigners at a time. Naturally, they no longer dared act recklessly.”

Yan Yan was speechless. Looking at Ninth Prince’s proud expression, she could not help thinking that every son of the Kangxi Emperor was devious to the core.