Chapter 45
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He was stunned.
The unnamed high-ranking individual didn’t need to be mentioned; Fu Nian knew that they were referring to him.
For a moment, he felt a strange sense of discomfort in his throat.
He looked back and stole another glance at Chu Zhaoyi, who had the candle wick on his left arm. The gaze lingered for a moment before he quickly looked away, speaking as calmly as possible, “I see, this official is ignorant.”
After saying that, Fu Nian quickly walked away, escaping the scene, not looking at the man inside the carriage who was busily writing.
In the latter half of the night, Fu Nian didn’t let his colleague take over his shift. He stayed vigilant until the rain subsided somewhat, and when the group was ready to continue the journey, he returned to the back of the formation.
Having not rested much for the past few days, combined with being soaked in rain during the night, Fu Nian fell asleep on his horse during the journey.
It was only upon arriving at the Shuzhou palace that Fu Nian felt someone shaking him.
“Lian Nian, Lian Nian, wake up, we need to rush ahead to the palace and help tidy up the rooms, repair the roofs.”
Fu Nian woke up immediately and sat up. “Tidy up the rooms?”
“It seems that there are very few maids and eunuchs who came along. The attendants from the palace only had time to tidy up the main hall where His Majesty resides. So, we have to do it ourselves for the rest of us.” Ah Qi explained.
“I understand.” Fu Nian’s reaction was minimal after hearing this. No matter where the task was, he would do it.
Arriving swiftly at the Shuzhou palace, Fu Nian glanced at the scenery outside the palace. Other than the roofs looking slightly old, not much had changed from before.
The Shuzhou palace was nestled against a mountain and contained numerous hot springs of varying sizes, making it ideal for recuperation. He had accompanied Chu Zhaoyi here several times in his previous life.
While mopping the floor, Fu Nian encountered a challenge.
No matter how hard he tried, the cloth in his hand wouldn’t cooperate, and his prosthetic arm couldn’t perform such delicate movements.
In the end, Fu Nian exerted too much force accidentally, and there was a “rip” sound as the cloth was torn in two.
“Ah.” Fu Nian sighed in front of the torn cloth.
After the sigh, he picked up the torn cloth from the ground, stood up, went to the backyard, picked up a chopping knife, and began chopping firewood.
The palace had underground hot springs, and even on a chilly autumn day after the rain, the temperature in the courtyard was quite pleasant. Before long, Fu Nian felt sweat forming on his body.
He looked around and noticed that due to last night’s heavy rain, many of his comrades were working shirtless, with their clothes hung on nearby rocks. Seeing this, Fu Nian simply removed his wrist bindings, rolled up his sleeves, and unbuttoned his shirt a bit before continuing to chop firewood.
After finishing the task, Fu Nian checked the duty roster and saw that the sleeping quarters for their group hadn’t been cleaned yet. He found a haystack to lie down on and resumed his interrupted sleep.
A brief nap like this wasn’t enough.
Drowsily dozing off for who knew how long, Fu Nian suddenly felt something lightly hit his head.
He opened his eyes and saw an extra straw bundle beside him. Thinking it was a colleague trying to get his attention, he said, “No need to wake me up, I’m sleeping fine here.” After speaking, he adjusted the straw beneath him, turned over, and continued sleeping.
Just as he was about to fall asleep again, Fu Nian heard someone calling his name not far away.
“Lian Nian! Lian Nian! Wake up, it’s time to eat.”
Reluctantly, Fu Nian opened his eyes, dragging his groggy head up.
“Ah Qi…” Seeing his colleague, Fu Nian yawned. “I said you didn’t have to call me. I was sleeping fine here.”
“Did you say that?”
“…” Fu Nian remembered that he had just said that himself. Perhaps the other person didn’t hear it?
“Well…someone asked me to come over and wake you up for breakfast, and these straws are meant to be used as firewood. Otherwise, do you want to get up?”
Only then did Fu Nian reluctantly get up from the ground, dusted off the straw from his body, and followed his colleague, still feeling half-asleep.
It had been a while since he felt this tired. If not for the straws needing to be used as firewood, he would definitely continue sleeping on the hay.
As they walked into the courtyard, Fu Nian suddenly heard a dull thud not far away, followed by a dull ache on his forehead.
“…” Only then did Fu Nian realize that he had bumped his head. He took a couple of steps back and re-entered the archway.
Ah Qi casually asked, “Are you okay?”
“Not fully awake.” Fu Nian replied briefly, his voice nasal as he rubbed his head.
After answering, Fu Nian realized that he probably hadn’t rested well in the past few days, coupled with standing guard in the rain all night and catching a chill. He carefully sensed his inner condition, thankful that he didn’t have a fever. With sufficient rest, there was a good chance he wouldn’t fall ill.
“What time is it?”
“It’s already the shen hour. His Majesty has arrived and seems to be discussing with General Dou. I need to take over the shift at the hai hour…”
During mealtime, Fu Nian pondered for a moment and decided to take sick leave for himself.
Looking somewhat unwell at the moment, he postponed his tasks for the next few days. This would free up time for him to visit his sect. With this thought in mind, he actually carried it out.
Due to last night’s heavy rain, quite a few of the guards had caught a cold. Hearing Fu Nian’s hoarse voice, it was easy to get approval for him to rest.
Back in his room early in the morning, while everyone else was still away, Fu Nian rolled up his bedding and chose the innermost spot on the communal bedding to lie down. He quickly fell asleep.
His plan was to leave tonight. It would take about two days to travel back and forth from Shuzhou palace to his sect if he pushed through the night journey with a healthy body.
As the time approached the chou hour, Fu Nian woke up from his slumber.
When he got up, the feeling of dizziness in his head not only hadn’t dissipated but had actually intensified.
He walked out of the room as quietly as possible, not wanting to wake his colleagues, and went to the courtyard. He quickly scooped up several handfuls of cold water and drank it. Then he washed his face, attempting to clear his mind.
Even if he was unwell, he had to leave. He planned to make it to the medical clinic at the foot of the mountain, take medicine, and then continue his journey. The opportunity to investigate his sect’s situation wouldn’t come again if he missed it.
He climbed onto the roof and saw that the lights in the distant main hall were still on. The imperial physicians and eunuchs were frequently entering and leaving. He wondered whether Chu Zhaoyi was engaged in a late-night discussion with General Dou or handling political affairs throughout the night.
Fu Nian didn’t look back. He had just leaped over two rooftops when he suddenly heard the sound of wind cutting through the silence from behind, as if a hidden weapon was being launched.
He swiftly flipped and jumped down from the roof, finding refuge in a nearby storage room.
The dizziness hadn’t completely subsided, and with such a sudden movement, Fu Nian suppressed the urge to cough and squatted in the storage room, quietly observing the situation.
He almost forgot, there was still a group of formidable shadow guards by the Emperor’s side. Their sensitivity in the night was even greater than during the day.
“Xiao Qianqi, go search the east side.”
It was the voice of Chu Yao.
“Yes!”
Fu Nian sighed inwardly.
Due to his stuffy nose, he could only breathe through his mouth, and the sound of his breath was hard to control. Holding his breath to suppress the cough made the urge to cough even stronger.
As he heard footsteps approaching, Fu Nian had no choice but to hold his breath and use his hand to cover his mouth, preventing a cough. Because of the effort, tears of discomfort had welled up in his eyes, and his body was slightly convulsing uncontrollably.
The footsteps were getting closer, almost right above him, just a door away.
“Master, over here—”
Quick and nimble, Fu Nian didn’t wait for the young shadow guard to finish speaking. He took preemptive action, covering the guard’s mouth and yanking him inside as he burst out of the storage room.
The young guard, named Qianqi, wasn’t slow either. Before he could be overpowered, he flipped and tried to restrain Fu Nian.
Naturally, Fu Nian didn’t give him a chance. In an instant, he subdued the guard.
In his mind, the martial arts training program for the palace’s shadow guards had been authored by him. It was wishful thinking to expect any sparks of brilliance from him.
“Ugh…”
Looking at the immobilized young shadow guard in front of him, Fu Nian tightened his grip using his prosthetic limb.
“Cough, cough, cough… Who are you here for?” After asking, Fu Nian loosened the grip on the guard’s throat slightly, allowing him space to answer.
“A person with a prosthetic limb—” The young guard hadn’t finished his sentence when he suddenly realized that the restraint on him wasn’t a real hand. It hit him like a bolt from the blue, and his eyes widened in realization.
Seeing him catch on, Fu Nian locked his throat again, preventing him from making a sound but not suffocating him. “Why are you looking for me?”
After asking, Fu Nian heard Chu Yao’s voice coming from the courtyard outside.
“Qianqi? Did you call me just now? Where is he?”
Hearing Chu Yao’s voice, Fu Nian sighed at his professional skill.
If it were really a thief or an assassin, the way he yelled would have scared them off. Over the years, Chu Yao had managed to keep himself alive despite multiple assassination attempts. He must have quite a bit of luck.
Suddenly, Fu Nian felt a sensation on his left leg, as if someone was writing with their fingers.
He carefully distinguished the sensation and realized that the person was spelling out “send medicine.”
“Send medicine?” Fu Nian asked in a hushed voice, “What medicine? Tell me honestly, or I can apply a little more pressure and end your life right here.” After asking, Fu Nian heard Chu Yao’s footsteps outside not coming in his direction. He slightly loosened the grip on the prosthetic limb, allowing the person to breathe and talk.
Qianqi took a couple of deep breaths and then weakly responded, “Your Majesty… Your Majesty said… to give… to give a guard with a prosthetic limb… medicine to reduce fever and calm the mind…”
Before he could finish, Fu Nian covered his mouth again.
“Got it. To prevent you from talking about seeing me, I’ll have to let you sleep for a while. I apologize for any inconvenience.” After saying that, Fu Nian pinched the back of his head, sensing the young guard slowly relaxing in his arms as he drifted off to sleep. He gradually loosened his grip.
Confirming that the young shadow guard had fallen asleep, Fu Nian let out a sigh of relief. He got up, trying to ease the dizziness, and prepared to slip away at the right moment.
He waited in the same spot for about fifteen minutes, making sure there were no footsteps outside. Only then did he cautiously step out.
The first rays of moonlight barely touched the tips of his shoes when Fu Nian heard a low cough from the rooftop, clearly deliberate.
Instinctively, he pulled his foot back and retreated a couple of steps into the storage room.
Uh-oh.
When did Chu Yao get on the roof? There shouldn’t have been no sound at all. Chu Yao’s martial arts weren’t top-notch, they shouldn’t be able to accomplish that.
Fu Nian looked anxiously at the young shadow guard he had knocked out behind him.
Should he confront Chu Yao?
Although he wasn’t in the best physical condition now, he was still confident he could handle someone like Chu Yao. Plus, he had already injured one of the young shadow guards, who would surely complain to the Emperor when he woke up. Adding one more issue with Chu Yao wouldn’t make a significant difference.
With this thought in mind, Fu Nian drew a sword from his body, preparing to leap onto the rooftop and take Chu Yao by surprise.
Just as he leaped into the air, he saw the silhouette on the roof, dressed in dragon-embroidered clothing.
He quickly sheathed his sword.
However, just as he was sheathing his sword, the person in dragon-embroidered clothing turned his head towards him.
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