She wanted more than anyone for her eldest brother to recover! But he had already been gravely injured, and this arrow only made matters worse. Her eldest brother wasn’t going to make it.
“Eldest Sister-in-Law, Rou’er is only worried about Big Brother’s condition. Why take your anger out on her?” Feng Xianxian said indignantly as she pulled Zhan Qingrou to her feet. “Don’t cry. Come over here to Third Sister-in-Law.”
Terrified and helpless, Zhan Qingrou clung to the last straw she could find. She buried her face in Feng Xianxian’s shoulder and sobbed. “Third Sister-in-Law, I wish you were my sister-in-law.”
Feng Xianxian’s eyes dimmed at once. She glanced at the blood-soaked Zhan Haoting with restraint. “Let’s not talk about that.”
Cheng Yao didn’t even spare the two of them a glance. She crouched in front of Zhan Haoting, her brows tightly knit.
Zhan Haochen, completely drained of strength and drenched in sweat, came over. “Sister-in-Law, how is Big Brother’s injury?”
The moment he asked, regret washed over him. He cursed himself inwardly for losing his head. Why had he asked a sheltered woman from the inner household who knew nothing about medicine?
Yet in the next moment, he heard Cheng Yao say, “It doesn’t look good. He was struck by a fang-barbed arrow. Once this kind of arrow enters the body, it can’t simply be pulled out. The bone and flesh have to be cut away.”
Fortunately, he had been wearing a bulletproof vest. The arrow had not gone in too deeply and hadn’t damaged his heart.
The real difficulty was that they were in the wilderness, far from any medical help.
After hearing this, Zhan Haochen staggered.
Arrows like this were reserved exclusively for the imperial family. Whoever had tried to kill Big Brother was either the emperor or one of the princes!
Big Brother was already in this state, yet they still refused to let him go!
“Eldest Sister-in-Law…”
Before he could finish, Lady Zhan suddenly collapsed without a word.
“Mother!”
Zhan Qingrou rushed over, weeping as though her heart had been torn apart.
Zhan Haochen was at a loss, unsure whom he should attend to first.
“Carry Mother over there, and take Qingrou with you while you’re at it.” Cheng Yao waved her hand impatiently. Their crying was making her irritable.
Zhan Haochen hesitated to leave. Then Feng Xianxian’s clear voice rang out.
“Officer, my eldest brother is seriously injured. Please let me enter the city to find a doctor for him.”
As she spoke, she slipped a gold hairpin through the gap.
The bailiff weighed the hairpin in his hand, then gave her a meaningful smile. He tucked it into his robes and announced loudly, “You are all criminals of the imperial court. By imperial decree, no one being sent into exile is allowed to carry even a single copper coin. Therefore, hand over all the goods in your possession to be confiscated. Only then may you proceed.”
What?
Feng Xianxian took two disbelieving steps backward, her expression stunned.
A moment ago, she had been so smug in front of Cheng Yao. Now, she was utterly desperate.
The bailiff looked at her leisurely. “We’ll start with you.”
Second Madam Zhan panicked. “Officer, we were searched already. None of us has a single piece of jewelry on us. These things were sent by our maternal family afterward. They don’t count as things I brought myself…”
“Silence!”
The bailiff’s expression darkened. He slapped her across the face, sending her spinning twice on the spot. Half her face swelled up.
The bailiff drew his sword. “Move! Anyone who refuses will be killed without mercy!”
This was blatant extortion. But a tiger fallen on the plains was bullied even by dogs. They had no way to resist. What else could they do?
The whole family was furious, but no one dared show it. With extreme reluctance, they handed over the valuables in their possession.
Second Madam Zhan was practically crying herself to death. Feng Xianxian tried to hold back her tears and comfort her, but Second Madam Zhan slapped her across the face in return.
“Whether someone else lives or dies is none of your concern! Why did you have to show off? Look what you’ve done now—we’re left without a penny. Are you satisfied?”
Feng Xianxian covered her cheek, unable to believe that the mother-in-law who had always doted on her would actually strike her.
“Mother, even if I hadn’t said anything, the officers would have taken the supplies anyway. How can you blame me?”
“If you hadn’t drawn their attention, would they have thought of confiscating them?”
There was one more thing she didn’t dare say aloud: Feng Xianxian’s gold hairpin had been what awakened the officers’ greed.
The more Second Madam Zhan thought about it, the angrier she became. She raised her hand again, but Zhan Jinmo stepped forward to stop her.
“Mother, you’ve already taught her a lesson. Calm down.”
The moment he finished speaking, another thud came from nearby.
Old Madam Zhan had collapsed as well.
She had not yet recovered from her illness, and the successive blows had finally overwhelmed her.
Second Madam Zhan and the others hurried over, throwing everything into chaos.
The bailiffs shook their heads at the sight. These pampered nobles were truly feeble—utterly useless.
One of the bailiffs burst out laughing. “Fellow officers, it looks like we’ll be able to return and report ahead of schedule.”
The other bailiffs laughed along with him.
Returning ahead of schedule meant that everyone being sent into exile would soon be dead.
They were all looking forward to these people dying!
The Zhan family seethed with rage, yet none of them dared say a word.
And no matter what they were doing, no one paid the slightest attention to whether Zhan Haoting was alive or dead.
That gave Cheng Yao the opportunity she needed.
While everyone’s attention was elsewhere, she secretly injected Zhan Haoting with an anesthetic. Then she picked up the broken half of a sword left behind by the assassins and forcefully cut open the area around the arrow.
By the time Zhan Haochen managed to rouse Lady Zhan, Cheng Yao had already removed the arrowhead.
“Sister-in-Law, you…”
Where had she found the strength and courage to remove the arrow and treat the wound so skillfully?
“Fortunately, it didn’t go in too deeply and didn’t damage his heart.”
Cheng Yao’s hands were covered in blood. Her face was pale as she gave him a weak smile.
This body of hers was prone to low blood sugar. After being hungry and exhausted for so long, she was dizzy.
Zhan Haochen, however, assumed she was forcing herself to remain calm, using every ounce of her strength to treat his brother’s injuries. Her resolve moved him deeply.
He tore off the hem of his robe and ripped it into strips. “Sister-in-Law, I’ll bandage him. You rest for a while.”
Cheng Yao shook her head. “You’re not as nimble-fingered as I am. You won’t bandage it properly. Go rest. You’ll still have to carry your brother later.”
Zhan Haochen gave her a complicated look. Then he answered softly and handed her the strips of cloth.
Cheng Yao pretended to wipe the blood from Zhan Haoting’s face and body while secretly feeding him a few drops of spirit spring water.
He had nearly died when she pulled out the arrow. It was only thanks to the spirit spring water that his vital signs had recovered. She was giving him more now to stabilize his condition.
She touched her own face, then drank a single drop of the spirit spring water as well.
Her head was spinning too badly. She really couldn’t hold out any longer.
Damn it. When she thought about it, she really was getting the short end of the stick.
She couldn’t bear to waste even a single drop of the spirit spring water on herself, yet she had given most of it to Zhan Haoting.
Had she owed this man something in her past life?
“Zhan Haoting, I’ve sacrificed so much for you. If you dare die, I’ll chase you all the way to the underworld, tear out your soul, and strip away your spirit.”
In his half-conscious state, Zhan Haoting felt streams of warmth circulating through his body. Wherever they passed, the pain eased, and his consciousness gradually became clearer.
Then he heard those vicious threats, every word of them filled with concern.
Unconsciously, the corners of his lips lifted in the faintest smile.
Hmm? Had he smiled?
Cheng Yao thought she must have imagined it. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but he showed no reaction.
Yes, she had definitely seen things.
He was practically falling apart. How could he possibly wake up so quickly?
Clearly, she had underestimated his vitality.
After the bailiffs finished plundering their belongings, they brought out sacrificial items they had prepared in advance.
The escorting officers formed up at the fork in the road. At the front, the chief constable held three incense sticks and stood facing south with two other officers. The incense was inserted into a hastily piled earthen altar. On it stood a wooden tablet bearing the words “Road God,” beside two bowls of coarse rice and a piece of cooked meat.
The chief constable recited, “By imperial order, we now escort the entire Zhan Haoting clan to the Nine Nether Prefecture. We pray that the Road God will protect us along the journey, ensuring safe passage without disaster or calamity, that the prisoners do not escape, and that our mission proceeds smoothly.”
When he had finished reciting the ritual text, he led the yamen runners in three prostrations. They burned yellow joss paper and spirit money, then sprinkled wine upon the ground. Once the ceremony was complete, he pulled out the incense sticks and tossed them by the roadside.
“Jiuyou Prefecture?”
Only then did the Zhan family learn of it. Their faces turned ashen, and their legs went weak.
