Madam Di went to take care of the aftermath. Yi Qing removed the arrow from Prince Zhen and treated his wound...
Zisu had never been a person who hesitated. She always acted swiftly and decisively. But this time, seeing Yi Qing about to remove the arrow, she grabbed the latter's hand and hesitated, "Is this okay? Will there be any danger?"
Yi Qing glared at her, "If it's not okay, you do it?"
Zisu slowly lowered her hand and lowered her eyes, "He got injured because he blocked the arrow for me."
In this lifetime, no one had ever stepped in front of her at a critical moment of life and death.
Yi Qing had saved her with a meal, and she had always accompanied her ever since. She thought that was the best fate in her life.
Unexpectedly, Prince Zhen, whom she had never taken seriously, actually sacrificed himself to save her.
She was just a maid, while Prince Zhen was a prince. At least in the eyes of the world, their statuses were so disparate.
Seeing her serious look, Yi Qing said, "He'll be fine. Hold back your tears. The arrow is still far from his heart!"
"Are you crying? Zisu, you're crying?" Someone pretending to be dead on the bed suddenly opened his eyes.
"Cry my ass. You're not going to die anyway." Zisu pretended to be fierce, "If you keep talking, I'll stab you again."
Tsk tsk tsk. They were already flirting before he had even recovered.
Yi Qing said impatiently, "Both of you shut up. You're giving me a headache! If my hand shakes, I won't be responsible for the consequences."
Only then did the two of them quiet down. Zisu asked in a low voice, "Is he really okay? What do you need me to do?"
"Step back, shut up, and listen to my orders."
"See, I told you she was fierce." Prince Zhen muttered, "Come with me. Wouldn't it be better to be a princess than to be at her mercy?"
"Shut up!" This was Zisu shouting.
Prince Zhen quickly gritted his teeth and didn't dare to make a sound.
He was quite obedient. He drank the anesthetic when told to. He didn't even frown at the bitter medicine. After drinking it, he soon fell into a deep sleep.
More than two hours later, Yi Qing finished treating Prince Zhen's wound. While suturing, she joked with Zisu, "Should I embroider a flower on his wound?"
Zisu finally came to her senses and mocked her, "Are you sure you can embroider?"
"Isn't this just me practicing on him?"
Zisu: "..."
After Yi Qing finished suturing, she stood up and her back was so tired that she didn't dare to move. She threw the used instruments to the side, "You clean up. Oh, this old back after having a baby just isn't up to it."
Zisu lowered her head resignedly to clean up and couldn't help asking, "He won't have any sequelae in the future, right?"
"Sequelae? There must be some. Hey, are you thinking of repaying his life - saving grace by marrying him? Don't be so vulgar."
Zisu said, "What sequelae? Are they serious?"
"Does a scar count?"
Zisu was speechless, "He's a man. What's a scar?"
"Then there's nothing else." Yi Qing said, "Are you relieved now? Don't want to marry him anymore?"
Zisu said, "I don't want to harm him yet."
Yi Qing was stunned for a moment and didn't ask further.
Zisu had never mentioned her background, but Yi Qing knew it must be complicated.
That sentence just now was the most relevant thing she had said about her previous life during their years of getting along.
"Who did you two run into?" Yi Qing asked.
There was no need to say much about the two's martial arts. Ordinary people couldn't gain the upper hand against either of them. It seemed they had been tricked or ambushed.
Zisu said, "We'll talk about it later."
Just as she finished speaking, Madam Di rushed in, "It's all taken care of outside. You shouldn't stay here any longer. Can Prince Zhen be moved? If not, just dismantle the bed. Let's go back to the general's mansion first. It's not safe here."
"Okay." Yi Qing didn't hesitate.
Zisu also agreed.
Fortunately, it was winter and it was afternoon. There were very few people walking outside. With the help of Madam Di's guards, they finally carried the still - sleeping Prince Zhen onto the carriage and transported him back to the general's mansion.
Xiao Tian was about to go out to look for Yi Qing. He was quite shocked to see Prince Zhen in such a half - dead state.
But Zisu asked him to take care of Prince Zhen while she took Yi Qing away to talk.
"You've never asked about my identity, so I've had the nerve to hide it." Zisu stood in front of the window with her back to Yi Qing, reached out and opened a crack in the window. The biting north wind howled in instantly.
"Stop being so emotional. Close the window for me. I'm cold." Yi Qing sat on the edge of the bed and reached for the quilt, saying irritably.
Zisu gave a soft laugh and closed the window, "Fierce woman."
She moved a small stool and sat down beside Yi Qing, reached out her hands to warm them by the fire, "Yi Qing, I'm the Southern Border's crown princess."
Yi Qing: "Really?"
"Of course." Zisu didn't expect her to react like this. Her smile grew wider, "I'm honored to have surprised you."
"Come on. Are you the deposed one or the current one?"
Zisu: "… I guess I'm the deposed one."
"Ugh, you made me get excited for nothing." Yi Qing rolled her eyes, "If you were the current one, I'd definitely take Baozi there to enjoy the privilege of walking around with no one daring to stop us."
"Can't you walk around like that now?"
"Can't. Men can't be relied on. Especially since my man is on good terms with the emperor. I still have to consider the influence. If I go to your place, I can have a good time and then just leave. You can clean up the mess. Oh, it's so hard being a widow. So many people are watching me!"
Zisu snorted, "I don't think your life is hard. Who's as carefree as you? You're living in Xiao Jinghan's mansion, enjoying his reputation, and it doesn't stop you from flirting with others. And yet Xiao Tian is so infatuated with you..."
"Hey hey hey, watch your identity. You're the crown princess, not a gossiping old woman on the street." Yi Qing hummed and propped her chin up, marveling, "Come to think of it, your Southern Border is really amazing. There's gender equality and there's even a crown princess!"
Yi Qing silently thought in her heart if she had traveled to the wrong place. Why did it seem that Zisu was the one with the script of a time - traveling female protagonist?
"Gender equality doesn't exist." Zisu said, "It's just that my identity is special."
Tell your story, girl!
But Zisu didn't hear Yi Qing's inner call. She said, "I was persecuted and then I met you. I have to go back to the Southern Border every year because I'm planning my revenge. It's just a pity that the right opportunity has never come. I had high hopes this year, but unexpectedly, my plan failed at the very beginning."
"Did the people from the Southern Border find out that you're hiding here?" Yi Qing asked curiously, "Did they recognize you? How did they find out?"
"No, I was just unlucky." Zisu said expressionlessly, "On my way out of the capital, I ran into them head - on."
"Hmm?" Yi Qing didn't know that the Southern Border's envoys were going to enter the capital, "How could it be such a coincidence? And didn't you disguise yourself?"
"It wasn't really that much of a coincidence, but they have a way to detect my presence within a certain range."
Was this the Southern Border's secret art? Yi Qing's eyes widened.