With summer pants being thin, the awakened Little Xia formed a very prominent outline. At this moment, Wei Caiwei was looking down, her gaze directly facing downward, and she happened to see Little Xia.
In her previous life, Wang Gonggong had wielded the blade to castrate himself, cutting everything clean off. There had never been such a situation.
Could it be that her constant thoughts during the day led to dreams at night? She wanted to prevent his self-castration, and as a result dreamed of… this dream was too realistic.
Well, in dreams one could do whatever they pleased. Otherwise, what would be the point of dreaming?
Wei Caiwei slowly moved her right foot, stepping down on Little Xia. From heel to big toe, Little Xia was the same length as her foot.
Ah!
Wang Daxia rolled from the footstool to the floor.
Wei Caiwei suddenly jolted awake – this wasn’t a dream!
Wang Daxia covered Little Xia, on the verge of tears, “Why did you step on me?”
Wei Caiwei came to her senses as if from a dream, embarrassedly curling her toe pads inward, her toes almost trying to dig through the floor. “I… why were you holding my feet? And why are you sleeping in my bedroom? What kind of behavior is this?”
Wei Caiwei turned the tables like lightning, leaving Wang Daxia speechless.
Wei Caiwei looked down at her white sleeping clothes and immediately pressed her advantage, “Also, did you change my clothes?”
Although I wouldn’t be unwilling – in our previous life, we were completely honest with each other countless times… but you’re only fourteen now!
“It wasn’t me!” Wang Daxia quickly defended himself. “Commander Lu had a female Embroidered Uniform Guard spy change your clothes. I never saw her though. At the time, Ding Wu called me downstairs to brew medicine for you. When I came up with the medicine, that spy had already changed your clothes and left. Only Commander Lu was there. If you don’t believe me, ask Commander Lu.”
There was no female spy at all – Lu Ying had personally changed her clothes, with Ding Wu covering for Lu Ying by calling him downstairs under the pretext of brewing medicine.
Wang Daxia felt very wronged, “I rescued you from the lake and stayed here to protect you, fearing White Lotus Sect remnants might seek revenge against you, yet you still blame me.”
“I—”
Having survived the disaster, it turned out the final blue light illuminating Wang Daxia in her memory wasn’t his soul coming to receive her, but Wang Daxia himself.
He had come to save her.
Wei Caiwei was momentarily overwhelmed with mixed emotions. Seeing his earlier screaming and rolling motion, she could tell he was fine. As long as he was fine, that was good.
“I’m sorry,” Wei Caiwei said.
Wang Daxia saw her disheveled hair, dry lips, and haggard appearance, and quickly pointed to the bed, “The floor is cold, and you’re still barefoot. Hurry and lie down. You’ve been feverish and unconscious for a day and night. I’m not criticizing you, but you’re a doctor – just treat patients and save people. You can’t swim, so why did you run into the water? Why use a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken? There was no need for you to rescue people. You almost drowned!”
Having lived two lifetimes, Wei Caiwei understood everything Wang Daxia said, but when the moment came, concern made her lose reason. Just thinking of Wang Daxia in Jishui Pond, she couldn’t care about her own safety and wouldn’t give up even the slightest chance.
Wei Caiwei indeed felt physically weak and obediently returned to bed, “I know, I was wrong. It won’t happen again.”
Actually, if there were a next time, she estimated she would make the same choice. How could she possibly abandon Wang Daxia? In her previous life, Wang Daxia had blocked a poisoned arrow for her, injuring his foundation. Despite her excellent medical skills and trying various methods to treat and restore his health, he still died of illness at forty-seven.
What is love in this world? It teaches us to pledge life and death to each other.
Seeing Wei Caiwei submit so quickly, Wang Daxia felt an inexplicable secret joy. Although she had rejected his confession, Wei Caiwei had rushed into the lake water to save him because she thought he had drowned.
This showed that in her heart, his importance was still very significant.
This meant… he still had a chance in the future!
Wang Daxia immediately felt a sense of glorious defeat and said, “You must be hungry. Ding Wu stewed white fungus and lotus seed soup for you. It’s keeping warm on the stove. He said as soon as you woke up, he’d bring it to you.”
Wei Caiwei had caught a cold from drowning, was weak all over, had no taste in her mouth, and didn’t want to eat anything. But as a doctor, she knew she needed to eat something to recover, so she said, “Good – where is Brother Ding?”
“He’s discussing matters with Commander Lu and the others. White Lotus Sect leader Zhao Quan has been wanted for a day and night, but they still haven’t found any trace of him.” Wang Daxia rushed downstairs to bring her food.
Wang Daxia used a soup bowl to serve her a large bowl and also mentioned “there’s more in the pot.”
Wei Caiwei asked, “You’re also an Embroidered Uniform Guard. Why aren’t you discussing the capture of Zhao Quan with them?”
You didn’t wake up, so I was restless and distracted, unable to focus on anything. Wang Daxia said, “Oh, Commander Lu asked me to protect you.”
Wang Daxia lied, and Wei Caiwei pretended to believe him, looking down at the large bowl of soup with worry – she had no appetite and couldn’t finish it all.
Wang Daxia saw her hesitating with the spoon and asked, “Should I add some rock sugar? It would be very sweet.”
“No need, too much rock sugar would make me nauseous.” Wei Caiwei said, “It’s too much for me to finish. You haven’t had breakfast either. Get a bowl and I’ll share half with you.”
Wang Daxia went downstairs to get a bowl and divided the soup. The two ate from the same pot of sweet soup, both feeling sweetness from their mouths to their hearts.
Unlike the sweet warmth of Sweet Water Lane, the capital had been drenched in continuous heavy rain for days, filled with a cold and solemn atmosphere. Last night’s explosion at Red Sleeve Pavilion shocked the capital, leading to citywide martial law. Wanted posters with White Lotus Sect leader Zhao Quan’s portrait were pasted all over the streets and alleys, offering a reward of ten thousand taels of silver and a thousand-household official title.
More than ten city gates were heavily guarded. Every person entering or leaving had to show household registration and travel permits, otherwise they wouldn’t be allowed through. The capital was sealed tight as a barrel, yet they still hadn’t caught Zhao Quan.
Never had a wanted criminal received such high “treatment” as this sect leader.
Besides guarding the city gates, the inner city was also combed through like a fine-tooth comb, street by street, alley by alley. Embroidered Uniform Guards and Five Cities Military Commissioner’s men were all deployed, patrolling every corner in the rain. When they encountered suspicious men resembling Zhao Quan, they would immediately arrest them, requiring family members to bring household registration and neighbors as guarantors to claim them.
Since Emperor Jiajing’s ascension to the throne, the capital had never been under such strict martial law.
At the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters.
Commander Lu Bing was also ill. Last night, riding his sweating blood horse against the storm, he had actually outrun the racing pigeons. After firing his gun to warn Lu Ying to retreat and not fall into the trap, Lu Bing could no longer hold on and fell from his horse.
Fortunately, the sweating blood horse was relatively short, and the muddy road was soft, so the fall was light and not fatal. However, Lu Bing’s stroke condition unsurprisingly relapsed, with half his body paralyzed and his right arm completely unable to lift.
Lu Bing had been hiding his stroke illness, publicly claiming it was an injury from the fall – that he had hurt his arms and legs.
Emperor Jiajing sent people three times a day to inquire about Lu Bing’s condition, sending various medicinal materials that filled an entire room.
The emperor’s concern was actually a burden for Lu Bing, because whenever the imperial messenger came, Imperial Physician Song had to remove the silver needles from the acupoints on half of Lu Bing’s body, then wrap his arms and legs with gauze to appear as if he had injured bones and muscles.
Once the messenger left, Imperial Physician Song would quickly unwrap the gauze and re-insert the needles.
Three times a day of this torment, Lu Bing gritted his teeth and endured. This imperial grace was simply too heavy.
In the Embroidered Uniform Guard prison, after a day and night of interrogation, Lu Ying’s side had also gained some results. The entire branch of the Four Great Propagation Leaders’ military strategist Wu Dianyong had been completely exposed. Besides the Wanhuo Trading Company in the capital, their lairs in Tianjin, Jinan and other places had also been confessed to in succession. Lu Ying sent people to other locations to capture sect members, rooting them out completely.
However, there were also regrets.
Sect leader Zhao Quan remained elusive. All the people at Red Sleeve Pavilion’s ** Hall had perished in Jishui Pond, but the Four Great Propagation Leaders operated independently of each other. Wu Dianyong could only confess about his own branch, while the other three branches still existed. With ** Hall destroyed, there would certainly be a second ** Hall to take its place, hidden in various corners of the Ming Dynasty, waiting for the opportunity to counterattack.
As the highest-ranking Propagation Leader currently captured alive, Wu Dianyong was arranged in a separate cell and interrogated in turns by Embroidered Uniform Guards after he woke up.
Having talked all day, Wu Dianyong’s voice was hoarse, “…Please let me rest for a while. I’ve really confessed everything and don’t dare hide anything. If I continue talking, it’ll just be meaningless things. I can’t very well confess that I wet the bed when I was ten, can I?”
The jailer handed him a cup of water brewed with boat-fruited sterculia, “Drink this. We’ll question you again after one incense stick’s time.”
The jailer handed Wu Dianyong’s confession to Lu Ying. Lu Ying skimmed through it – indeed, it was of limited value. He said, “We really can’t squeeze anything more out of Wu Dianyong. We need to think of other methods. Finding sect leader Zhao Quan is secondary now. The key issue is the over nine hundred firearms missing from the Royal Arsenal – that’s a major hidden danger. His Majesty issued a secret decree requiring the Embroidered Uniform Guard to thoroughly investigate and find the firearms. Currently, only Zhao Quan and Tie Niu, who manages the White Lotus Sect death warriors, probably know where the firearms are. But we don’t even know who Tie Niu is.”
This was like exterminating cockroaches – if you found one nest of cockroaches, it meant there were more cockroach nests hidden around you. Eliminating this one nest was just the beginning.
Ding Wu also flipped through the confession, observing Lu Ying’s expression, and tentatively said, “Wu Dianyong actually still has value. I have a method that could make full use of him to find sect leader Zhao Quan and completely uproot the White Lotus Sect as the emperor wishes.”
Lu Ying asked, “What method?” This seemed too miraculous!
Ding Wu sat across from Lu Ying, took paper and brush to sketch a few strokes, and revealed his plan.
As he explained the plan, Lu Ying’s expression grew increasingly grim. Several times he wanted to interrupt, only refraining out of courtesy and respect.
When Ding Wu finally finished, Lu Ying immediately rejected it, “No, I cannot agree. It’s too dangerous. The Embroidered Uniform Guard isn’t some unscrupulous devil – how could we let you make such a sacrifice? Not only would you suffer physical harm, but you’d also be ruined and despised by others.”
Ding Wu spoke at a measured pace, calm and resolute, “Actually, this plan formed when Wang Daxia rescued Sister Banxia from the water. The White Lotus Sect commits countless evils with insane cruelty. Sect leader Zhao Quan, to satisfy his private desires, bewitches people’s hearts, making sect members sell their bodies and lives for him, even harming innocents. Banxia nearly died. Ten years ago, the Gengwu Rebellion harmed countless common people in the capital’s outskirts. Chen Jingji came from a comfortable family and could have taken the imperial examination route, but his parents died, his family property was burned and robbed. His grandmother brought him to shelter in Machang Hutong. He abandoned the imperial examinations, returned to the old brokerage trade, lived frugally and industriously. Just when things were improving, he encountered **, lost his manly roots, gave up his lover, and entered the palace as a eunuch.”
“Chen Jingji is just one example. How many people’s fates were changed by the Gengwu Rebellion? Sister Banxia was also separated from her family during this upheaval and nearly died on the roadside.”
Ding Wu’s gaze was firm, “The White Lotus Sect, which caused this rebellion and guided foreign armies, is unforgivable. My father… actually also bears the sin of poor military supervision. As a descendant of the Ding family, I enjoyed wealth and honor in childhood, so I should bear responsibility for my father’s mistakes.”
“I know I’m taking risks, but there’s no other way now. Doesn’t Commander Lu often say that if you raise objections, you must provide an alternative method? Commander Lu has rejected my plan – do you have a better method in mind? If we can recover the nine hundred firearms and eliminate the White Lotus Sect, making up for my father’s mistakes, what does it matter if I suffer some physical pain and lose my reputation? I don’t care – everything is voluntary.”
Half an hour later, the now-valueless Wu Dianyong was brought out from his comfortable solitary cell and thrown into a filthy shared cell housing two or more prisoners.
Wu Dianyong desperately beat against the iron bars, “Hey, you can’t cross the river and tear down the bridge! Throwing me away after questioning me – that’s too ungrateful.”
But no one paid attention to him.
After a while, a person beaten black and blue was thrown into the cell by jailers like a rag.
Wu Dianyong crawled over to look closely – it was actually Ding Wu.
Author’s Note: To find out what clever plan Ding Wu has, please wait for the next installment.
Jinjiang regulations state that each book can have one lottery per month, so this author will also hold one in August, drawing 800 readers with 100% subscription rate for this book to share 16,000 Jinjiang coins.
Originally, the author wanted to set it for 2,000 people, but Jinjiang’s lottery center has new regulations that the number of winners cannot exceed 1,000 people, and the number must be within 5% of this story’s bookmarks, so I couldn’t set it to the originally intended number and modified it to the current amount. However, the author will also hold another lottery next month. By then, 5% of the bookmarks will definitely reach the maximum limit of 1,000, and I’ll set 1,000 people to share the lottery center’s maximum limit of 50,000 points.
Drawing will be held on August 18th at 6 PM~~~