Ji Bozai opened his mouth, attempting to persuade his formidable disciple once more. However, Ji Bozai was unwilling to listen and merely said, “There’s another match tomorrow. This disciple will retire to rest now.”
Qin Shangwu was furious but could do nothing about it. Recalling the ambush earlier that day, he decided to vent his anger on the people from Feihua City in the inner courtyard.
The major cities were determined to teach Ji Bozai a lesson tonight. Feihua City played dumb and reaped the benefits, while the other cities, although some of their people were injured, had substitutes ready and gained insights into Ji Bozai’s combat habits, considering it a profitable outcome. Thus, no matter what Qin Shangwu said in the inner courtyard, the Lord of Feihua City just smiled and replied, “I’m not sure, I don’t know, I don’t understand.”
While Qin Shangwu was seething with anger, Prince Yong wasn’t faring any better. Upon returning to the inn, he swept all the tea sets off the table onto the floor.
“Your Highness, please calm down,” Shan Er sat upright, glancing at him before saying, “Losing Ji Bozai isn’t something to be ashamed of.”
“Am I angry at Ji Bozai? I’m furious at that traitor Ming Yi!” Mingheart exclaimed irritably. “She’s openly betraying our Chaoyang City. When I return, I must report to Father King and have her… have her…”
“Have her what?” Shan Er sneered, “She now has Ji Bozai and Muxing City as her backing. Even if the Grand Justiciar knows her identity, what can he do to her?”
Mingheart was speechless, then grew even angrier after a moment: “Are we just going to let her stay there helping Muxing City fight against us?”
“Why are you panicking?” Shan Er smiled, “Our wise and mighty Empress Consort doesn’t even know her daughter’s whereabouts yet.”
Ever since Ming Xian’s disappearance, no matter how Madam Meng accused the Empress Consort of deceiving the emperor, the Empress Consort adamantly denied it, insisting that Madam Meng had hidden Ming Xian away. Without finding Ming Xian, there was no way to verify the truth, so she remained the Empress Consort.
Once she learns of Ming Xian’s whereabouts, she’ll act more ruthlessly than anyone else.
Shan Er beckoned Mingheart closer and whispered in his ear.
Thus, a bluebird carrying a secret letter left Feihua, and on its way to Madam Meng’s palace, it was “coincidentally” shot down by someone from the Empress Consort’s palace.
…
The wound on Ming Yi’s shoulder was deep. Xiuyun felt pain just looking at it, but Ming Yi not only showed no sign of suffering, but she even chatted and laughed with her while digging out the poisoned flesh.
If it weren’t for the sweat on her forehead, Xiuyun would have thought she was impervious to pain.
“Why don’t you… cry a bit?” Xiuyun’s hands were shaking badly, “Seeing you like this… I feel awful.”
Ming Yi raised her chin: “Hurry up. I’m used to these minor injuries. Just grit your teeth and it’ll pass.”
Xiuyun, teary-eyed, tremblingly dug out the last bit of blackened flesh, then applied the medicine Ji Bozai had given her.
The medicine powder bit into the wound, no better than digging out the flesh. Ming Yi was drenched in cold sweat, but she clenched her teeth without uttering a sound. Then, exhausted, she curled up under the blanket and fell asleep with pale lips.
Xiuyun left her room on weak legs, only to see a dark figure jump down from the eaves, landing right in front of her.
Startled and frightened, she burst into tears with a “Waa!”
Zheng Tiao was startled and hurriedly covered her mouth, whispering, “Don’t shout.”
Hearing this familiar voice, Xiuyun was stunned and then cried even harder.
If she hadn’t come to Feihua City to find him, Ming Yi wouldn’t have had to suffer like this.
His calloused hand was wet with her tears. Zheng Tiao was quite helpless and quickly dragged her to a more distant place before letting go. He frowned and said, “I just heard Ji Bozai had arrived and came to take a look. I’m not here to steal from your house, why are you crying so hard?”
Xiuyun looked at him, sobbing. In the moonlight, even this man’s rugged face seemed softer.
She gradually regained her senses and said hoarsely, “I cry when I’m upset, but I’ve never seen Ming Yi cry. Even with such a severe injury, she doesn’t cry. How much pain must she be bottling up?”
Zheng Tiao was confused by her words. After a while, he realized she was crying for Ming Yi and couldn’t help but pat her shoulder like a brother would: “Don’t worry, she’s always been like that. One year she was ambushed and broke a leg. She dragged herself for two miles with that broken leg without shedding a tear. This minor injury won’t make her show weakness.”
Ji Bozai, who had come over following the sound of crying, happened to hear this.
He was stunned for a moment, suddenly remembering when they were at the Ji mansion. Ming Yi would stretch in the morning and bump her wrist on the bedpost, crying out in pain and immediately holding out her hand to him with teary eyes, wanting him to comfort her.
When she bit her lip while eating, she would look at him with tears in her eyes; when she tripped outside, she would cry in his arms.
In front of him, she seemed unable to hold back her pain. Even if those were little tricks to please him, at least she treated him differently from others.
Thinking of this, Ji Bozai’s mood lightened. He walked over with his hands behind his back and asked Zheng Tiao, “Why are you here in the middle of the night bullying a young lady?”
Zheng Tiao was startled and immediately moved ten feet away from Xiuyun, frowning, “I’m not. Don’t make false accusations. I just came to see if you were injured. I heard that quite a few teams went to the venue to ambush you tonight.”
“It’s nothing,” he waved the bandaged parts on his arm, “These teams are mediocre. They’re just slightly stronger than the training disciples from Muxing City.”
Zheng Tiao snorted with laughter: “Do you think they sent their elites? Those who went to scout tonight were just trainees from each city. Only Chaoyang City had a full team. The other cities didn’t even deploy two-tenths of their usual strength.”
Ji Bozai was silent for a moment, suddenly feeling annoyed: “Why must there be so many people fighting together here?”
“It’s not just here. Many competitions in the Six Cities Grand Meeting are like this. So to win, not only do you need to be formidable yourself, but you also need to lead a strong team,” Zheng Tiao spread his hands, “Ming Xian was so powerful back then that she could take care of four other people by herself. She could drag the team into the top three cities by sheer force. You’re still lacking in this aspect.”
“You came in the middle of the night looking for a fight?” he asked coldly.
Zheng Tiao waved his hand: “That’s not what I meant. I just came to check on you in passing — she said Ming Yi was seriously injured, so how will you handle tomorrow’s competition?”
“It’s not like we can’t manage without her,” Ji Bozai said calmly. “We’ll see at the venue tomorrow. Don’t keep coming over here. If they accuse you of colluding with the enemy and betraying your city, I’d like to see how you’ll handle it.”
“That’s impossible. I’ve devoted myself to Feihua City for many years,” Zheng Tiao patted his chest, “Who would think I’d betray the city? They’d have to be crazy.”
In the moonlight, Ji Bozai remembered Wei Changsheng’s curses at the venue and couldn’t help but frown: “There’s no shortage of crazy people in this world.”
“Is Lord Zheng leaving?” Xiuyun wiped away her tears and looked eagerly at his movement to leave, “Would you like to sit down for a cup of tea?”
Zheng Tiao turned back, not understanding why this young girl’s eyes were shining so brightly at him. After hesitating for a moment, he bowed to her: “I’ll pass on the tea, but if you’d like to have a friendly match, I’d be happy to oblige.”