He Doesn't Care for You, but I Do

When Wei Zhao heard Wei Mingxiu's words, he lowered his gaze to the boy he had neglected since childhood, who was rebellious to the bone and had defied him.

Looking back on the whole affair, he felt there was something strange about it at every turn.

That included what Wei Mingxiu had said. Each sentence had clearly been conciliatory, yet together they had felt more like a relentless effort to corner him into punishing Wei Chengye.

But to say that Wei Mingxiu had orchestrated it all was too implausible.

After all, how could a child Wei Mingxiu's age be so calculating?

Though doubts lingered in Wei Zhao's mind, he knew he ought to show Wei Mingxiu some concern.

He crouched down, took one of Wei Mingxiu's hands, and said, "Mingxiu, I know you have suffered a tremendous injustice this time. I have already dealt with Chengye. Hold on a little longer. The imperial physician will be here soon."

Zhou Ye and Empress Feng wore complicated expressions.

Wei Zhao's concern had come far too late, and it was rather contrived.

If Empress Feng hadn't broken the deadlock and immediately sent Qian Zhong for an imperial physician, Wei Mingxiu might have died because of Wei Zhao's delay.

Zhou Ye looked at Wei Mingxiu and noticed the boy's expression stiffen slightly.

A flash of disgust crossed his eyes, but he immediately put on a moved expression and lowered his gaze. "Thank you... for your concern, Father Emperor..."

Zhou Ye couldn't help feeling sad for Wei Mingxiu over this false display of fatherly love.

So when Qian Zhong called out, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, I've brought the imperial physician!"

Zhou Ye propped himself up slightly, shifted Wei Mingxiu's body, and said to Wei Zhao, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician may need to pull the sword out of His Highness shortly, and blood might splash onto you. Please step back a little, lest the blood offend your imperial aura."

Hearing this, Wei Zhao quickly released Wei Mingxiu's hand and retreated a good distance.

"Then look after Mingxiu for me, Minister Zhou. I won't get in your way."

Empress Feng also stood and stepped back.

Wei Zeyu had been hiding behind a tree in the distance. The sight of Wei Mingxiu covered in blood had terrified him.

Only now, seeing that the imperial physician had finally arrived, did he dare trot over to Empress Feng and ask worriedly, "Mother Empress, can the imperial physician heal Sixth Brother?"

Empress Feng looked at her innocent son beside her.

He didn't even know Wei Mingxiu had drawn him into his scheme, and was still foolishly worrying about him.

But she also knew that Wei Mingxiu had studied under Zhou Ye. Even though he had drawn them all into his scheme, he had chosen a way that wouldn't hurt them.

Otherwise, the one injured now would not be Wei Mingxiu himself, but her foolish son.

After all, Wei Zeyu was her weak point. If Wei Mingxiu had wanted to use the ploy of killing with a borrowed knife, he should have had Wei Chengye hurt Wei Zeyu. That would certainly have stirred up the greatest possible turmoil, and Wei Chengye's punishment could not have been this light.

Having thought it through, Empress Feng sighed inwardly. I only hope Wei Mingxiu can always remain like this and never become... the next Wei Zhao.

"Junior Preceptor..." Wei Mingxiu realized that Zhou Ye had seen his disgust for Wei Zhao and deliberately sent Wei Zhao away. He couldn't help tightening his grip slightly on Zhou Ye's clothes. "Thank you."

"Speak less."

Zhou Ye laid him flat before the imperial physician. The hand holding the sword was perfectly steady, for fear that the slightest movement would make Wei Mingxiu's wound worse.

"Good heavens, how has Sixth Highness held on this long with a wound like this?"

The imperial physician was an elderly man with graying hair. Though the jarring ride had left him pale, he immediately forgot his own discomfort when he saw Wei Mingxiu's wound. He hurriedly opened his medicine chest and fed Wei Mingxiu a ginseng pill to keep him alive, then prepared silver needles and inserted them into his acupoints to help stop the bleeding.

He then examined Wei Mingxiu's wound carefully and said, "Thank the heavens and the bodhisattvas! Fortunately, the sword missed his vital spots. It only wounded his flesh and spared his internal organs. Otherwise, even an immortal couldn't have saved him!"

With that, he looked at Zhou Ye. "Junior Preceptor Zhou truly is a man who has been on the battlefield. You knew not to pull a sharp weapon out once it had entered the body, allowing His Highness to remain conscious until now."

"Now, sorry for the trouble, Junior Preceptor, but after I pull the sword out, please use this cloth to quickly cover his wound!"

Zhou Ye nodded.

The elderly imperial physician went on, "His Highness's wound needs to be stitched, but he is still young, so neither wine nor anesthetic powder can be used. I'm afraid the pain will be unbearable during the stitching. If His Highness struggles, I'll need you to do your best to hold him down."

Zhou Ye's expression darkened when he heard this.

He handed the sword to the imperial physician, took the cloth himself, and said to Wei Mingxiu, "Your Highness, if it hurts, grab hold of me. You can use as much strength as you need, but don't force yourself to endure it."

Wei Mingxiu nodded.

The next instant, his eyes flew wide open.

The elderly imperial physician had taken advantage of Wei Mingxiu's distraction as he spoke to Zhou Ye and pulled the long sword out in one swift motion!

Blood gushed out, splashing onto Zhou Ye's riding clothes and spattering his face.

His heart couldn't help but tremble.

Zhou Ye immediately pressed the cloth to Wei Mingxiu's wound to stop the bleeding. The boy's lips were clenched tight, his forehead covered in sweat from the pain, yet he refused to cry out.

Before long, he had bitten his lips so hard that blood seeped from them.

Zhou Ye's breath caught at the sight.

He immediately freed one hand, pried Wei Mingxiu's jaw open, and slipped two fingers into his mouth.

"Don't bite yourself. Bite me."

Wei Mingxiu was already dazed with pain and had no strength left to refuse. He bit down fiercely on Zhou Ye's fingers.

Zhou Ye endured it for as long as the elderly physician took to stitch the wound.

By the time the wound was stitched, Wei Mingxiu's eyes had lost focus from the pain, and his strength was spent.

Only then did Zhou Ye pull his fingers out. Two bloody rows of teeth marks had appeared on them.

After bandaging Wei Mingxiu, the elderly physician looked at Zhou Ye. "Junior Preceptor, let me bandage your hand too."

"All right." Zhou Ye held out his hand, and the elderly physician immediately drew a sharp breath.

"The wounds are so deep. Junior Preceptor, how could you not make a sound just now?"

"My injury is nothing compared with what Sixth Highness has suffered."

Zhou Ye let him apply a simple bandage, then bent down and lifted Wei Mingxiu into his arms. Looking down at the boy, he said softly, "If he could bear it without a sound, what was there that I couldn't endure?"

The elderly physician looked up at the man holding the boy. For a moment, he felt that the sight of master and disciple together was unexpectedly harmonious.

But before he could say anything more, Wei Chengye's screams rang out from the other side.

Wei Zhao also came over and said to him, "Imperial Physician Li, since my sixth son is all right, take a look at Chengye too. Don't let him die before he can go to Cypress Mountain Temple for his punishment!"

Though his tone was stern, it conveyed more concern than he had shown Wei Mingxiu earlier.

A chill passed through Zhou Ye's eyes. He held the dazed Wei Mingxiu a little closer and said softly,

"Your Highness, he doesn't care for you, but I do."

"Come on. I'll take you back."