CHAPTER 250: CHAPTER 249: GRIEVANCE

Just when Xia Ruqing thought she was certainly going to die, a figure, like a soaring eagle, skimmed over the water’s surface and quickly rose again. He rescued Xia Ruqing, drenched like a drowned rat, holding her in his embrace. He then pulled off his own robe to drape over her, wrapping her small body tightly.

Xia Ruqing had swallowed water and was ice-cold all over, but she was still conscious. In a daze, she glanced up, and a face both familiar and strange surfaced in her memory.

"Brother?" she called out softly.

Xia Tingfeng looked down at her and tightened the robe around her even more. In a deep and rich voice, he spoke softly, "Sister, don’t talk. I’ll take you back!"

Meanwhile, Noble Concubine Shih, who had fallen, was also helped up. Just as she had straightened her clothes and hair ornaments, she witnessed this scene.

"How audacious!" she exclaimed. "For a palace consort to be hugging and embracing a man in broad daylight, what sort of decorum is this! If the Emperor finds out, Lady Xia, do you think you’ll be allowed to live?"

With that, she turned towards the meddlesome guard, looking down at him with a cold laugh. "Judging by your appearance, you must be a guard! In broad daylight, you’re all over a palace consort, acting so improperly. Do you even understand the rules?! So many eyes are watching; I can’t pretend I didn’t see this! Guards! Seize this adulterous pair for causing chaos in the palace!"

The original plan hadn’t drowned Lady Xia, and she was furious! The area had been cleared; no one was supposed to come to the rescue. But where did this damned guard come from? If he was going to meddle, then he could die with her. She was a witness, and with so many people around, there was both human and material evidence. No one could deny it. This time, it would be effortless. Lady Xia, you’re a curse alive; it’s better if you die.

Xia Tingfeng gave Noble Concubine Shih a cold look, his voice filled with an endless chill. "Noble Consort, are you certain that I and my own younger sister are causing chaos in the palace? Also, are you certain that the palace maids and eunuchs with you can actually handle me?"

Noble Concubine Shih was dumbstruck. "You... Who exactly are you?"

Xia Tingfeng glanced at her frigidly and answered coolly, "I... am the Deputy Commander of the Imperial Forest Army, Xia Tingfeng. Also... Xia Jieyu’s biological older brother!"

Biological siblings—how could that be causing chaos in the palace?

Noble Concubine Shih gradually regained her composure, her face a maelstrom of colors, completely flustered. "So it is you! It’s really you!"

The Emperor promoted her brother because of Lady Xia—so it was him all along!

Xia Tingfeng smiled faintly. "Otherwise, who could it be?"

Feeling his sister shivering in his arms, Xia Tingfeng wasted no more words and simply said, "If the Noble Consort has no other business, I shall take my leave!"

Then he turned and strode away without a backward glance.

"You... you all..." Noble Concubine Shih was so furious she was speechless. What could she say? The feeling of all her efforts coming to nothing was almost enough to make her vomit. And she had even taken a fall for nothing.

"Let’s go!" Noble Concubine Shih was about to explode. If she didn’t leave, was she to stay and be angered to death?

The palace maids and eunuchs answered submissively, and the group departed in a grand procession.

Zi Yue and Xiao Xizi were rescued by other members of the Imperial Forest Army and sent back.

Da Bai, being a cat, was light. He bounded across the ice in a few leaps and followed them back to Qingya Residence.

For the first time, Xia Ruqing felt the journey back was incredibly long. Wrapped in cold, damp clothing, every bone in her body ached. When she fell, she had hit the ice, injuring herself in many places. The cold pierced through her; the pain was bone-deep.

Perhaps it was because the embrace offered such a sense of security. All the sorrow and grievances in her heart surged forward.

Before they had gone halfway, she suddenly burst into tears with a "WAH!"

"Brother!" Her throat felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, extremely uncomfortable. Her heart felt as heavy as lead; she had to cry it out.

Xia Tingfeng looked down. His usually cold and hard heart felt as if something had seized it, aching painfully. But he had never been good at expressing himself, so his face remained as impassive as ice. The only thing he could think of was to free one hand and clumsily pat her back.

"Little sister... don’t cry!" he said. "Don’t cry, I’m here. It’s alright, everything is alright!"

"COUGH COUGH..." Xia Ruqing, curled up in his arms, rolled her eyes from his patting. With tears on her small face, she protested, "Brother, be gentler!"

Xia Tingfeng’s stern face darkened. Was he really being too rough? At this thought, he lightened the pressure of his hand a little.

They had just covered half the distance when, up ahead, Li Shengan came rushing over with a group of palace maids and eunuchs.

"Emperor! Xia Jieyu is over there!"

Zhao Junyao had just returned from outside the palace when he heard Xia Jieyu had fallen into the water. His heart clenched violently. He rushed to Qingya Residence without even changing his clothes. But she wasn’t at Qingya Residence. He began searching along the path from Qingya Residence to Taiye Pool. He had only just stepped out when he met Xia Tingfeng hurrying towards him, holding Qingqing in his arms.

Xia Tingfeng saw him too. Holding Xia Ruqing, he quickened his pace towards the Emperor. "Paying respects to the Emperor!" Though it was inconvenient to bow while holding someone, he still observed the necessary etiquette.

Zhao Junyao looked at Xia Ruqing, wrapped in a guard’s robe, nestling like a little bird in another man’s embrace. Her hair was dripping wet, as if she had just emerged from the water, reminding him of... her appearance after a bath.

Even though it was her own brother, Zhao Junyao found the sight somewhat jarring. But there was no real reason to dwell on it; they were siblings, after all.

He dismissed the random thoughts from his mind. He reached out, carefully took Xia Ruqing into his arms, and draped his own robe over her.

Then he said to Xia Tingfeng, "I have returned. If there’s nothing else, you may leave!"

Xia Tingfeng knelt on one knee with his men. "This subordinate takes his leave!" After speaking, he gave Xia Ruqing a worried glance before departing with his men.

Zhao Junyao held Xia Ruqing and walked back. Xia Ruqing was in so much pain she felt like dying and was already tearful. Now, seeing Zhao Junyao, the grievances in her heart overflowed once again. She cried out again with a "WAH!"

"Emperor! They bullied me!" Her tone and manner were strikingly similar to a young wife playfully complaining to her husband.

Zhao Junyao’s heart ached with tenderness. "I was thinking of you constantly and rushed back early, fearing someone might bully you!" But it seemed he was still a step too late. If it hadn’t been for Xia Tingfeng, he didn’t dare to imagine what might have happened to Qingqing.

He held her tight, soothing her in a gentle voice. "Stop crying!"

As they spoke, they reached Qingya Residence. Zi Yue and Xiao Xizi had also been brought back; both were injured and unable to do anything. It was Zi Su and Zi Ning who had boiled the hot water.

Xia Ruqing took a hot bath, cleaning all her wounds. She dried her entire body with a cotton cloth before crawling into the warm bed. Zhao Junyao then summoned the Imperial Physician, who examined her wounds and prescribed some ointments. Only then was she properly settled.

As the Imperial Physician was leaving, he cautioned, "If Xia Jieyu develops a fever, you must summon the Imperial Physician promptly! There must be no delay!"