Imperial Husband Chapter 109

Chapter 109

As the gunpowder sphere was hurled from the catapult and struck the ground, a deafening explosion ripped through the air. The terrifying blast instantly sowed fear among the troops on both sides, striking dread into the hearts of soldiers and commanders alike.

"Retreat."

Seeing that the gunpowder spheres launched by the catapult had instantly claimed the lives of many Qianluo soldiers, Batu immediately chose to retreat.

A Qianluo general, unwilling to accept this, protested, "Crown Prince, we are on the verge of victory. To withdraw now would mean throwing away our hard-won gains at the final moment."

"If you are so eager to die, you may stay and continue."

Batu coldly retorted, his gaze fixed on the terrifying explosive gunpowder sphere. By the time the second sphere was loaded, Batu had already led the Qianluo soldiers in retreat.

Damn it, Da Xia still got the upper hand this time.

Where there's one, there will be a second.

As Batu led the Qianluo soldiers in retreat, many Qianluo soldiers, terrified by the explosion, hurriedly followed him.

"Let's go." Another group of men, also startled by the explosion, quickly regained their composure and charged rapidly towards the direction where Li Jin was, their eyes filled with an unshakeable killing intent.

Bai Yifei couldn't conceal his excitement as he asked, "Your Highness, what exactly is this thing? To think it could have such immense power."

Li Jin said calmly, "This thing is called gunpowder, and it was discovered by the Seventh Prince purely by chance in Zhuzhou. However, with the Seventh Prince's and my own abilities, we could produce no more than two of them at most."

"Discovered in Zhuzhou? Could it be that Qianluo had its sights set on this very thing?"

Bai Yifei had long suspected that Qianluo had ulterior motives. Therefore, upon hearing Li Jin say this incredibly powerful thing was discovered in Zhuzhou, Bai Yifei immediately guessed the connection.

Li Jin nodded, "That is highly possible."

Li Jin gave an ambiguous answer, as until everything is proven, nothing can be certain.

"Watch your back!" Seeing Da Xia soldiers suddenly charge over and inexplicably attack them, Ying Yuan's pupils instantly contracted. He instinctively moved to shield Li Jin from the front.

However, the opponent's blade was a step faster. Before Ying Yuan could act, it was viciously thrust into Li Jin's chest.

"A-Jin…"

Ying Yuan, his composure shattered, cried out Li Jin’s name in anguish.

"Everyone, come protect the Heir! Those men are assassins!"

Bai Yifei saw through the true identities of these men dressed as Da Xia soldiers at a glance. He immediately drew his bow to its full extent, using arrows to stop the three men in black who, having succeeded in their assassination attempt, were now trying to flee.

Bai Yifei's arrows this time avoided vital spots, as they still needed to find out who sent them to assassinate Li Jin.

Seeing their escape was impossible, the three assassins disguised as Da Xia soldiers decisively bit through the poison hidden between their teeth and committed suicide.

"General Bai, they've killed themselves."

By the time Yan Zhongjin stepped forward to examine them, the three assassins had already fallen silent and lifeless.

"Damn it, these men must have been death warriors, otherwise they wouldn't have died so decisively." Bai Yifei immediately shouted anxiously, "Quick, take His Highness to be treated!"

Don't be fooled by Bai Yifei's constant opposition to Li Jin earlier.

In truth, he simply didn't want Li Jin to throw his life away. After all, as Li Shiyun's son and the heir to the Prince of Dingbei—coupled with Li Jin's conduct in this battle—Bai Yifei had every reason, both personal and practical, to keep him alive.

"A-Jin, you'll be fine. You will definitely be fine."

Weakened and exhausted, Ying Yuan helped carry Li Jin back to the yamen with a few soldiers so Physician Shi could tend to him.

Though others offered to assist along the way, Ying Yuan declined every time, determined to support Li Jin himself.

…

"Physician Shi, how is A-Jin?" Ying Yuan, who had been anxiously waiting outside, immediately went up to ask as soon as he saw Shi Weixu come out.

The reason Ying Yuan didn't go in together was precisely because he feared that his concern might lead to disarray, causing more harm than good.

"The vital organs were not injured, but the condition is still unstable." Shi Weixu shook his head and said, "Everything depends on tonight. If the Heir can make it through the night, there won't be much trouble afterwards afterward."

Perhaps due to the severity of the wounds, Li Jin held on until Shi Weixu arrived, then fainted.

Ying Yuan said, "I will stay to take care of Li Jin."

Shi Weixu knew Ying Yuan had medical skills, so upon hearing him volunteer to be responsible for Li Jin's care, Shi Weixu agreed. After all, Ying Zihui was also injured now, and Shi Weixu was truly stretched too thin.

As Li Jin was still unconscious, Bai Yifei, hesitant to speak, withdrew, planning to talk after Li Jin regained consciousness.

After a short while.

At Ying Yuan's request, everyone, including Ping'an, left one after another.

"A-Jin, you'll be fine." After saying this, Ying Yuan immediately began carefully tending to Li Jin, not daring to fall asleep for a moment, fearing Li Jin might have a crisis during the night.

"Mmm…"

An unknown amount of time later, Li Jin slowly regained consciousness. Seeing Ying Yuan slumped by the bedside, with noticeably deeper dark circles under his eyes, a warmth welled up in Li Jin's eyes.

"A-Yuan, you've worked hard."

Although Li Jin had been unconscious, he hadn't lost awareness, so he knew Ying Yuan had cared for him all night.

Ying Yuan was only lightly dozing. As soon as he heard Li Jin's voice, his eyes snapped open, fixed intently on Li Jin, overjoyed, he said, "A-Jin, you're awake."

"Mm." Li Jin smiled and nodded, "A-Yuan, thank you for taking care of me all last night."

"It's nothing, as long as you're fine, that's all that matters."

After speaking, Ying Yuan, still concerned, reached out to feel Li Jin's forehead. Only after personally confirming Li Jin's fever had subsided did he truly relax.

But as the tension that had held him together all night finally released, his body gave way for an instant, and he stumbled forward.

"Careful."

Li Jin grabbed Ying Yuan's hand first, causing Ying Yuan to fall onto him.

"A-Jin, you're injured." Ying Yuan's attention was entirely on Li Jin, so the moment he fell onto Li Jin, his first thought wasn't for himself, but for Li Jin's wounds.

Immediately, he began anxiously examining Li Jin's injury.

Li Jin said helplessly, "A-Yuan, do you know you almost fell just now?"

Li Jin very much wanted Ying Yuan to think more of himself, but remembering that Ying Yuan was like this entirely for his sake, the words stuck in Li Jin's throat and simply couldn't be spoken.

"I know, but compared to your injury, that was nothing at all just then."

"You... can't you think more about yourself?"

"Mm, I will." But when it comes to matters involving you, I can't make any promises.

"Forget it." Li Jin shook his head, no longer pressing the issue, then abruptly pulled Ying Yuan to lie down beside him. "A-Yuan, take advantage of it still being early and rest here for a while."

"A-Jin, I'm not tired."

Ying Yuan hurriedly struggled to get up.

Li Jin has only just recovered from a serious injury. If I were to fall asleep and something happened to A-Jin, how could I ever forgive myself?

"You haven't slept for two days, how could you not be tired?" Li Jin said, brooking no refusal. "Listen to me, sleep for a while first. Don't keep moving around, otherwise if you keep moving like this, my wound might accidentally get bumped by you."

"…"

Upon hearing that his struggling might possibly injure Li Jin, Ying Yuan immediately dared not move recklessly anymore and obediently lay down beside Li Jin.

"Good, that's being obedient."

Seeing Ying Yuan finally cooperate, Li Jin couldn't help but reveal a smile as gentle as a spring breeze.

A-Jin smiling like this is really beautiful, and A-Jin's scent is so pleasant too… Strange, why am I getting sleepier and sleepier… No, I can't really fall asleep, I still need to take care of… take care of A-Jin…

Ying Yuan thought he wouldn't be able to sleep. Little did he know, not long after lying beside Li Jin, he fell into a deep sleep.

At the same time.

In his deep sleep, Ying Yuan even unconsciously hugged Li Jin tightly, not letting go.

Li Jin wasn't displeased by this at all. On the contrary, he was in a very good mood and gently ruffled Ying Yuan's hair.

I'm sorry for making you worry, but I had to sustain this injury.

Li Jin getting injured was entirely his deliberate doing.

In other words, when those death warriors dressed as Da Xia soldiers appeared, Li Jin had sensed something amiss. However, for the sake of the bigger picture, he did not expose them on the spot. Later, upon discovering their target was himself, Li Jin even turned their scheme to his advantage, allowing them to injure him, so as to wait for their next move.

Li Jin was certain that since he hadn't died, they would necessarily take the next step. He just didn't know who had sent this batch of assassins targeting him.

Furthermore, aside from this point, his being injured was, in a way, perhaps a good thing—at the very least, Ying Zhengjing would be pleased to hear about it.

…

When word arrived that Li Jin had awoken, Bai Yifei rushed over immediately to check on him. "Your Highness, are you feeling better?"

Li Jin's face was pale as he said, "Cough, cough… it's alright… managed to save my life…"

"A-Jin, you've just recovered from a serious illness, you mustn't move recklessly."

Ying Yuan stopped Li Jin, who wanted to get up, and then placed a pillow at the head of the bed for Li Jin to lean against.

The pillow Ying Yuan used for Li Jin was specially made. It wasn't the hard pillow commonly used in ancient times, but a rare soft pillow. Moreover, Ying Yuan had placed many calming herbs inside it.

When Li Jin first saw it, he was quite surprised.

Because the shape of that pillow was very similar to modern pillows, it was clear Ying Yuan had put a lot of thought into it.

Bai Yifei was making himself at home, grabbing a stool to sit down, he stroked his beard and smiled thoughtfully, "Your Highness, you and the Seventh Prince are truly close."

After all, if they weren't close, such terms of address wouldn't be used.

Li Jin replied with a faint smile, "The Seventh Prince and I share a bond of growing up together since childhood. Isn't it perfectly normal to address each other this way? General Bai, you didn't come to see me just to say this, did you?"

"Of course not."

With that, Bai Yifei immediately knelt on one knee before Li Jin.

Li Jin was startled by Bai Yifei's sudden action. "General Bai, what are you…"

"This general has come to plead for punishment."

"…"

"The matter from yesterday was this general's fault…"

"General Bai did not do anything wrong." Li Jin interrupted. "If I were in General Bai's position, I would have made the exact same choice as General Bai did. Cough, cough…"

"A-Jin, rest for a while, don't talk."

Seeing Li Jin suddenly cough, Ying Yuan became nervous. Ignoring Bai Yifei's presence, he subconsciously reached out and gently patted Li Jin's back, hoping to make her feel better.