Chapter 353 – Two Defeats

In the town of Xuanzhou, the militia compound was requisitioned by Long Xuan. In Xuanzhou, this was the only mansion that caught his eye.

“Take a bite of porridge,” Long Xuan wanted to feed Luo Wei some porridge.

Luo Wei looked at Long Xuan coldly. His tongue was hurting so much that he couldn’t even drink water. How was he supposed to eat this porridge?

“It will hurt a bit,” Long Xuan kindly persuaded Luo Wei, “Bear with it. If you don’t eat anything, your wounds won’t heal.”

“Wei,” Luo Wei spoke with a stiff tongue, “Where is Wei Lan?”

Luo Wei’s tongue injury made his speech unintelligible, but Long Xuan could understand what he was saying. “He’s fine,” Long Xuan said, “I’ll send him back to the capital first.”

“I, I want, to see him.”

“After we return to the capital, I’ll let you see him.”

Luo Wei was getting anxious again. If he couldn’t see Wei Lan with his own eyes, how could he be sure if Wei Lan was still alive and well? What if Long Xuan tortured him? Wei Lan was skilled, and catching him wouldn’t be easy. Luo Wei was certain that Wei Lan must be injured at this moment.

“I promise you,” seeing Luo Wei about to explode, Long Xuan hurriedly said, “Wei Lan is unharmed, he’s fine, I didn’t hurt him at all.”

Luo Wei’s eyes were full of doubt.

“I also swear on my country, can you rest assured?” Long Xuan had no choice but to bring up the country again.

“Poison?” Luo Wei spat out two words.

“Sedative,” Long Xuan said, “Considering the target is Wei Lan, the dosage is a bit heavy, but it won’t harm his body.”

“What if, after returning to the capital, I still can’t see him?” Luo Wei struggled to speak.

“Then let God punish me as an Emperor who destroyed the country,” Long Xuan said.

“You,” Luo Wei’s gaze remained cold as he asked Long Xuan, “What do you want to do with me and Wei?”

“We’ll talk about this after we return to the capital. For now, focus on recovering from your injuries. Once you’re feeling better, we’ll go back.”

“You!” Luo Wei’s voice rose, but the pain in his tongue made him instantly quiet.

“Don’t get agitated, okay?” Long Xuan quickly reassured Luo Wei, “Didn’t I promise you? I will definitely not hurt Wei Lan.”

Luo Wei took a deep breath and said, “Why should I, why should I trust you?”

“I swear on…”

“Your country has nothing to do with me.”

“Luo Wei, I already know what you would do if Wei Lan died,” Long Xuan thought of Luo Wei’s attempt to bite his tongue in front of him. He was afraid of him biting his tongue and committing suicide. He truly regretted using Wei Lan’s life to test Luo Wei. “I don’t want anything to happen to you again. I will definitely not harm Wei Lan anymore. What do I have to say for you to believe me just once?”

“You, you have long been unworthy of my trust,” Luo Wei said, “Long Xuan, if you, if you hurt Wei Lan, then you, then you might as well help me for once. I, I will definitely, definitely not be in your way…”

“Stop talking,” Long Xuan urged, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Luo Wei. Whether you believe it or not, after returning to the capital, you will know that I won’t harm Wei Lan.”

Luo Wei turned his head away. It seemed that he would have to be with Long Xuan until he saw Wei Lan again after returning to the capital.

“The porridge isn’t hot anymore, you can try it,” Long Xuan urged Luo Wei to eat the porridge again, speaking gently, “If you want to see Wei Lan sooner, you have to recover faster.”

Luo Wei glanced at the white porridge handed to him by Long Xuan and reached out to take the bowl from Long Xuan’s hand, glancing at Fu Yun who was serving on the side. Fu Yun quickly looked to Long Xuan for guidance.

Long Xuan withdrew his hand and nodded slightly at Fu Yun, looking somewhat disappointed.

Fu Yun quickly handed another clean silver spoon to Luo Wei and said, “My lord, please use this.”

Luo Wei scooped up a spoonful of porridge and put it in his mouth. The porridge touched the wound, causing a piercing pain.

“Is it very painful?” Long Xuan asked anxiously from the side.

Luo Wei ignored Long Xuan. With the porridge in his mouth, mixed with the taste of blood, he forced himself to swallow it down.

Seeing the sudden sweat on Luo Wei’s forehead, Long Xuan quickly wiped it with a towel.

Luo Wei drank the bowl of porridge, each sip mixed with blood, and by the time he finished it, he was covered in sweat from the pain.

“Go fetch some water,” Long Xuan took the empty bowl from Luo Wei’s hand and hurriedly told Fu Yun.

“Give me, give me a glass of water,” Luo Wei said to Fu Yun.

Fu Yun naturally knew whose orders to follow at this time. He quickly brought a cup of warm water to Luo Wei, then took a copper basin and knelt beside the bed.

Luo Wei rinsed his mouth with water, enduring the pain.

Seeing the blood-streaked water Luo Wei spat into the copper basin, Long Xuan felt both distress and regret. He shouldn’t have used Wei Lan’s life to test Luo Wei. Given the current situation, was it because Luo Wei was too violent or because he himself had misjudged?

Both sides had suffered losses, Fu Yun knelt by the bedside thinking. He didn’t want his master to find Luo Wei. As far as Fu Yun was concerned, if his master and Luo Wei were together, neither of them would be happy.

“Go and inform the Imperial Physician,” Long Xuan commanded Fu Yun after seeing Luo Wei rinse his mouth, while also attempting to help Luo Wei lie down.

Luo Wei didn’t let Long Xuan’s hand touch him and shifted to the side. After easing the pain in his mouth, he said to Long Xuan, “Don’t you want me to recover quickly?”

Long Xuan replied, “Of course, I want you to recover quickly.”

“Then don’t let me see you anymore,” Luo Wei said, “That way, I can recover faster.”

Fu Yun, kneeling, couldn’t help but tremble. This Prince of Jin really knew how to speak something heart-breaking with every word.

Long Xuan looked at Luo Wei. With Luo Wei in this state, he couldn’t provoke him anymore. “Alright,” Long Xuan agreed, “I won’t appear in front of you for now. But you must promise me not to harm yourself and take good care of your injuries.”

“I’m not someone who brings trouble to myself,” Luo Wei said coldly. “Before you appeared, Lan and I had a very good life.”

Long Xuan stood up and left. It seemed he had no way to deal with Luo Wei now. Obtaining the throne of Great Zhou seemed much easier than winning this man’s heart.

At that moment, the Imperial Physician hurried in and, upon seeing Long Xuan, quickly knelt down to salute him.

“Rise,” Long Xuan said to the physician, “Inform me of his condition later.”

The physician replied, “I will follow your orders.”

Long Xuan walked past the physician, his steps a little unsteady.

On the bed, Luo Wei glanced at Fu Yun and said, “What are you still doing here?”

Fu Yun hurriedly replied, “Attending to the Prince.”

“Leave,” Luo Wei said to Fu Yun with only one word.

“Alright,” Fu Yun said hastily, “Your Highness, please don’t be angry. I’ll leave now.”

The physician kept his head down on the side. Nowadays, even the nobles in Great Zhou’s court had to be polite to Fu Yun. Since encountering this Prince of Jin, life for this steward was indeed difficult.

“Imperial Physician,” after Fu Yun left, Luo Wei called out to the physician.

“Your Highness,” the physician hurried forward, saying, “Let me apply the medicine for you. It may sting a bit, please endure it.”

Luo Wei nodded and said calmly “It’s alright,” to the physician, his gaze unexpectedly peaceful again.