Hearing the noise, the Ferghana horse lying in the corner suddenly opened its eyes. Seeing that it was a human and not a tiger, it closed its eyes again.
Chu Liuyun clicked his tongue in amazement. "To make a horse lie on the ground to sleep, it must have been terrified all night."
Horses usually sleep standing up. They only sleep lying down when they are so exhausted that they can't even stand steadily.
Fan Guanshan sighed with regret. "It seems impossible to take it for a ride today."
After speaking, he looked at Song Jinzhao. "Can the County Princess sell this horse to me? I am willing to offer one thousand taels of silver."
Chu Liuyun held up two fingers and said decisively, "I offer two thousand taels."
Song Jinzhao crossed her arms over her chest, having long anticipated their reactions.
"Gold is easy to get, but a precious horse is hard to find. I won't sell it for any amount of silver."
Fan Guanshan eagerly tried to persuade her.
"An ordinary high-grade horse is enough for regular transportation. Using a Ferghana horse is too much of a waste. County Princess, please just sell it to me."
Song Jinzhao shook her head. "I'm not selling. I also want to ride the best."
"If Commander Fan wants one, you can go pick a fight with Gong Linjue. Maybe they still have some on hand."
Fan Guanshan instantly fell silent. If he had absolute certainty of winning, he wouldn't have hesitated yesterday.
Standing nearby, Chu Liuyun guiltily averted his gaze. He had just lost yesterday.
"Roar!" Smelling the scent of a stranger, Xuetuan bared its fangs and brandished its claws, charging toward Fan Guanshan.
Fan Guanshan turned pale with fright and stumbled backward in panic.
Chu Liuyun dodged and leaped up onto a tree trunk.
"Xuetuan!"
Song Shixue chased after it and grabbed its collar, then gently patted its head with her hand.
"These are guests, don't scare them."
Half-crouching on the ground, Xuetuan turned its head to look at Song Shixue with an innocent expression.
Didn't you tell me to act fierce toward them?
Song Shixue suppressed the secret delight in her heart and feigned an apologetic tone as she apologized to Chu Liuyun and Fan Guanshan.
"Xuetuan gets especially vigilant when it smells strangers. Please forgive us for frightening you two lords."
The things her older sister won back absolutely could not be taken away by others.
A Ferghana horse is so precious, priceless even with a market for it. The family doesn't lack silver now, so it won't be sold for any amount.
Meeting Song Shixue's credit-seeking gaze, Song Jinzhao couldn't help but curl her lips into a smile.
The retreating Fan Guanshan fearfully patted his chest to catch his breath.
Didn't everyone say that the tiger raised by County Princess Linghui was incredibly docile? Why did it look so fierce?
Chu Liuyun jumped down from the tree trunk, his gaze circling between Song Jinzhao and Song Shixue.
It seemed that buying the Ferghana horse was definitely out of the question.
"County Princess, this Ferghana horse is a stallion. When spring comes next year, it can be used for breeding, and the foals born will also be of relatively excellent quality."
Song Jinzhao: "I have already sent people to the horse market to pick out the best mares to buy. When the foals are born, I can sell one to you."
Hearing this, Fan Guanshan hastily pleaded, "Can I buy one too?"
Song Jinzhao nodded in agreement.
"As long as the price is right, of course. However, I will only sell two, so don't tell anyone else."
"No problem," the two agreed in unison.
With only two for sale, they didn't want anyone else competing with them anyway.
Just as the three were talking, Fu Shun ran over in a hurried panic.
With a terrified look on his face, he said, "County Princess, an edict has come from the palace ordering you to quickly go to the Prince Qi's manor to treat Prince Qi."
Song Jinzhao frowned in confusion. "Prince Qi has returned from the southwest?"
Chu Liuyun and Fan Guanshan were equally bewildered. Had Prince Qi returned?
Fu Shun was panting heavily, his back drenched in sweat.
"This servant is not sure either, but the eunuch who came to call said that Prince Qi had one of his eyes gouged out, and asked you to head over immediately."
Song Jinzhao blinked, a bit slow to process the information.
Had an eye gouged out? Xiao Rongche?
Chu Liuyun and Fan Guanshan exchanged a glance, immediately sensing that things were bad.
Prince Qi went to the southwest to negotiate peace. If he had an eye gouged out, wouldn't the situation in the southwest be terrible?
When the three rushed to Prince Qi's manor, many soldiers were standing in the courtyard.
The General of Assured Might, Wen Yong, rushed up as soon as he saw Song Jinzhao.
"County Princess, you absolutely must save His Highness Prince Qi."
His eye sockets were deeply sunken, the whites of his eyes were full of bloodshot veins, his beard was messy, his lips were cracked and bleeding, and he smelled of sour sweat.
How many days had it been since he bathed, changed clothes, or slept?
Song Jinzhao shook off his hand. "I need to take a look first."
Being injured in the southwest, even if they traveled day and night without rest, at least ten days must have passed.
She didn't know the exact condition of the gouged-out eye.
"County Princess," Gu Jupu walked from the inner room to the door, his voice hoarse, as if he had exhausted all his strength.
Song Jinzhao steadily stepped over the threshold.
As soon as she walked into the inner chamber, she saw Xiao Rongche, whose right eye was injured, raise a white jade pillow and smash it heavily onto the imperial physician's head.
"Trash, you're all trash! If you can't save my eye, you can all go die."
In his heart-wrenching voice, aside from anger, there was mostly despair.
Imperial Physician Xu, who instinctively dodged, was still struck on the forehead. The moment the pillow hit the ground, warm blood flowed from the wound.
Gu Jupu, standing next to Song Jinzhao, tightened his hands. That was a pillow made of white jade; hitting someone on the head with it could kill them.
Through his blurred vision, he saw two figures walking over, and only when they got closer did he realize that one of them was Song Jinzhao.
Xiao Rongche scrambled off the bed in a wretched state and grabbed her sleeve.
"You can cure my eye, right? I order you to treat me immediately, treat me immediately—"
Song Jinzhao stared at his deeply sunken, scar-covered eye socket.
There was localized necrosis and atrophy. Being able to keep his life was already considered lucky.
Looking up to meet Gu Jupu's complex gaze, both of them knew clearly in their hearts that this eye could not be cured.
Song Jinzhao pulled her hand away from Xiao Rongche's grasp, her voice steady and clear.
"Your Highness's eye is completely necrotic. This subject is powerless to help."
The other imperial physicians kneeling in the inner chamber felt tense upon hearing this, but at the same time, they breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts.
This time it wasn't because their medical skills were lacking. Since even County Princess Linghui couldn't cure it, it was perfectly normal that they couldn't either.
Unwilling to accept this, Xiao Rongche forcefully swung his arm at Song Jinzhao.
"Aren't you a divine doctor? Why can't you cure my eye?! Are you deliberately refusing to treat me?"
He roared furiously, "Song Jinzhao, I'm telling you, if my eye isn't cured, I want all of you to be buried with me!"
Song Jinzhao took a step back to avoid his striking hand.
"I am a doctor, not an immortal. With an arrowhead piercing your eyeball, your eye was ruined. Being alive is already a stroke of immense luck."
Xiao Rongche shook his head frantically. "Impossible, you're lying! You hate me, so you won't treat me."
Song Jinzhao watched him go mad expressionlessly. "Then tell me, why do I hate you?"
Xiao Rongche opened his mouth, but the words caught in his throat.
Everyone tacitly acknowledging it in private was one thing, but admitting it himself was another.
He couldn't speak of the time he sent assassins to murder Song Jinzhao.
"I don't care, you must cure me."
Song Jinzhao furrowed her brows and turned to walk outside.
Gu Jupu hurriedly followed. "County Princess, the Emperor is still waiting in the palace for our report."
Song Jinzhao didn't stop walking. "Then we enter the palace. Either way, it can't be avoided."
