Shen Du refused to let the old physician apply medicine to his wounds. He glanced at Zhu Yan and said in a deep voice, “You do it.”
Zhu Yan was startled for a moment, then replied, “My hands are clumsy. I might hurt you.”
Although she had cleaned Pan Chi’s arrow wound and applied medicine before, that was out of necessity.
Seeing Shen Du’s face darken again, Zhu Yan chuckled and said, “Alright, I’ll do it.”
She took the medicine from the old physician, gathered some gauze, paid him, and sent him away. After hesitating for a moment, she approached Shen Du with the supplies.
As she applied the medicine, she couldn’t help but tease, “They call you the White King of Hell, but I think you’re more like the Black Judge.”
His face darkened so quickly, it was impressive.
“What did you say?” Who would criticize someone to their face so boldly?
“Nothing. I just said you’ve gotten tanned recently. You must have been working hard to capture the Half-Faced Ghosts. Once the medicine is applied, you should rest in bed and recover your strength.”
The injury wasn’t severe, but it was now June, and the summer heat was rising. If the wound isn’t cared for properly, it could become infected, scar, or cause a high fever.
Shen Du had a habit of disregarding his safety when dealing with problems. Now that the Half-Faced Ghosts had just been captured and Yingzhou City was still in chaos, Zhu Yan didn’t want anything to happen to Shen Du, both for public and personal reasons.
But she would never say this to Shen Du. She felt that his previous confession of feelings had been rushed and almost like a joke. Afterward, he hadn’t treated her any differently, so she dared not think that he truly liked her.
Zhu Yan’s concern was rare, so Shen Du didn’t argue. “I understand.”
After treating the wound, Shen Du put on his undershirt again. He suddenly pulled Zhu Yan down to sit, took her hand, and lifted her sleeve. As expected, there was a wound on her wrist.
The wound had scabbed over, and the blood around it had dried.
Zhu Yan struggled a bit but couldn’t break free. She glared at him, “What are you doing?”
“Applying medicine.”
Shen Du was a man of few words. He called for a basin of hot water, carefully cleaned the blood around the wound without touching it, then applied medicine and bandaged it efficiently.
“Do you have any other injuries?”
Zhu Yan was wearing light-colored clothes stained with blood. He couldn’t tell if it was hers or someone else’s.
Zhu Yan blushed, “I… I can apply medicine myself.”
Although they had embraced and kissed before, Zhu Yan still had her modesty. How could she let him see her body?
Shen Du seemed to understand what she was thinking and said resignedly, “We are husband and wife. Besides, I’m just applying medicine. I have no improper intentions.”
Even if he did, now wasn’t the time.
“Oh.” Zhu Yan responded flatly, unsure if she felt disappointed or something else.
For a moment, they were silent, and the air was filled with awkwardness.
Zhu Yan sighed and stood up first, “You rest. I’ll go wash up and apply medicine.”
Shen Du leaned back on the couch, closed his eyes, and suppressed the strange feeling in his chest.
When Zhu Yan came out after cleaning up, she saw that Shen Du had fallen asleep on the couch. She sighed, brought a blanket, and covered him.
She then lay down on the bed, using her arm as a pillow. She gazed at Shen Du’s sleeping face, lost in thought, and gradually drifted off to sleep.
Seeing Zhu Yan close her eyes, Shen Du quickly sat up from the couch, took the blanket, and returned to the bed. He pulled the woman into his arms and fell asleep holding her.
The next day, when Zhu Yan woke up, Shen Du was no longer on the couch.
She sat up, yawned, stretched, and her mood improved considerably.
She then dressed, washed up, and had breakfast. Shen Du would handle the interrogations, but she hadn’t seen Pan Chi yet and wanted to thank him.
In truth, she wasn’t unconcerned about Shen Du. In her heart, Shen Du was her people, while Pan Chi was an outsider.
There was no need for formalities with her people, but courtesy was necessary for outsiders.
Zhu Yan didn’t express this, so Shen Du naturally didn’t understand her thoughts, leading to misunderstandings.
But neither of them paid attention to this now. When they finally realized it, they would find the truth both laughable and frustrating.
At this moment, Shen Du was in the courtroom. Kneeling below were Wang Buzui, Mo Qianzhi, and others.
Even as a prisoner, Mo Qianzhi maintained his proud bearing. Though forced to kneel, his face remained arrogant.
Shen Du sat with a stern expression, playing with the judge’s wooden block, lost in thought.
“Mo Qianzhi, don’t be stubborn. It’s better to drink the toast than the forfeit. We’ve known each other for some time, so I advise you to confess honestly.”
In the end, Shen Du sighed. Although his words were harsh, he took no further action.
Everyone knew that once in the hands of the Imperial Guard, even the dead would speak, let alone a scholar with some martial arts skills.
Mo Qianzhi sneered, “Forfeit? Just some tactics to force a confession. Great Commander, go ahead. When has Mo ever been afraid?”
As an official for decades, he had used these tactics before. If threats didn’t make criminals confess, torture was the only option left.
Not just him, but local officials, court officials, and even the Empress herself used such methods.
There was nothing extraordinary about it.
Shen Du’s gaze met Mo Qianzhi’s. His black eyes narrowed, and the strong lines of his face tightened. He remained silent for a long time.
Wang Buzui couldn’t help but glance at Mo Qianzhi, feeling some admiration. The scholar’s unyielding spirit was indeed real.
He wanted to see just how tough this man’s bones were.
“Mo Qianzhi, as the Governor of Yingzhou, you colluded with the Fire Moth Party, disregarded the lives of civilians, and killed innocents indiscriminately. The evidence is conclusive, even if you don’t admit it. Since you mention ‘forced confession,’ why don’t you explain where the coercion comes from? This official will consider it and report to Her Majesty, asking for leniency.”
Past events flashed before his eyes. He couldn’t understand how Mo Qianzhi, who had once gone to such lengths for him, had become such an evil official.
Perhaps he had been bewitched by others, or forced by circumstances. Whatever the reason, as long as he spoke up, Shen Du would believe him.
“If the verdict is already decided, what’s left to say? Great Commander, just take my head and be done with it.”
What was there to fear in death? Living was the greatest torment.
Back when Shen Shijie was in trouble, he was wrongly accused. Didn’t the Empress still listen to slanderous reports, execute him, and implicate his entire family? If not for the efforts of his followers, even the last descendant of the Shen family couldn’t have been saved.
It was precisely because they were once disciples of the Shen family that they suffered the consequences, never to be fully trusted again.
Even though he was talented and managed Yingzhou well, the Empress never let go of her suspicions about him.
Given this, why should he remain loyal? Besides, this empire was not truly the Empress’s possession. He only hoped that one day there would be a time to set things right.
However, he wouldn’t tell Shen Du any of this. Saying it would only implicate Shen Du as well. How could he face the memory of kneeling and crawling for ten miles on Vermilion Bird Street to save him or the unjustly executed former teacher?
Moreover, their paths had diverged. His ambitions didn’t need to be known by Shen Du. Even if Shen Du was Shen Shijie’s descendant, years of comfort and prosperity had made him forget the deep grudges, reducing him to the Empress’s lapdog.
All Mo Qianzhi felt was heartache, nothing more.