Return of the Pearl

The further they moved towards Shandong, the more they felt the temperature rising like a wild horse. Helplessly, they could only stop temporarily and find a place to rest.

But what is worrying is that the water they carry is decreasing day by day, and there is a serious shortage of water. You know, all they carry are some water bags, and there is no place to replenish water along the way.

To make matters worse, they encountered many disaster victims along the way, some of whom had even degenerated into bandits, brazenly committing crimes such as robbery on the roadside. Qianlong's grief and indignation grew even stronger, as he felt that this was a dereliction of duty as an emperor. All of this filled him with immense grief and self-blame.

During the past few days, Erkang, Fuheng and others' physical strength was gradually consumed, and they were no longer in the peak condition they once were. Qianlong and his men had just arrived in Shandong, and before they had time to contact the government, they unexpectedly ran into a group of disaster victims.

One of them brandished a sharp blade and stabbed straight at Xiao Yun. Qianlong was quick-witted and rushed forward, blocking Xiao Yun with his body. The sharp blade instantly pierced his body, and blood instantly dyed his clothes red. At the same time, other victims also drew their weapons and launched a crazy attack on them.

At this time, the sky was covered with dark clouds, which seemed to be pressing down. The wind was howling, making the branches rustle and the fallen leaves fly in the air, adding a bit of danger.

Qianlong endured the severe pain and fought hard with those people. He was agile and every move he made was fierce, but due to his injury, his movements were a little slow.

Erkang, Fuheng and others also reacted quickly and joined the battle. They engaged in a thrilling close combat with the robbers. The sounds of swords clashing came one after another, and the air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

The robbers were extremely ferocious and their moves were tricky. They kept attacking them. Erkang, Fuheng and others fought hard and tried their best to protect Qianlong and Xiao Yun.

In the fierce battle, they gradually gained the upper hand and knocked some robbers to the ground. However, the leading robber was extremely cunning. Seeing that the situation was not good, he took the opportunity to escape.

Despite the best efforts of Erkang, Fuheng and others, he still managed to escape. The fight made everyone exhausted, and Qianlong's injuries made everyone even more worried.

Xiao Yun hugged Qianlong tightly, his eyes full of heartache and fear. They deeply felt the dangers and helplessness of this world. The entire battlefield was full of chaos and danger, as if something more terrible might happen at any time.

"Hongli, how are you?" Xiao Yun was extremely anxious, his voice trembling slightly, his face full of concern and worry, his eyes fixed on Qianlong.

Qianlong shook his head slightly, suppressing the pain and trying to make his voice sound steady. "Fortunately, the knife wound should not be poisonous. It was just a stab." He knew very well in his heart that the knife was clearly aimed at Yun'er's heart. A trace of anger and confusion flashed in his eyes. Someone actually dared to do such a cruel thing to them. This made things become more and more confusing.

At this time, although Erkang, Fuheng and others tried their best, they still failed to capture all the killers. They only captured some of them, and the leading bandit still escaped.

Their faces were filled with fatigue and frustration, and their hearts were filled with worries. Erkang frowned, his eyes full of regret and self-blame; Fuheng's face was ashen, his fists were clenched, and his teeth were clenched.

They felt more and more that the trip to Shandong was becoming increasingly difficult. Every step forward seemed to be met with countless obstacles, every detail made them feel immensely stressed, and every moment was filled with challenges and dangers.

Fortunately, they brought an imperial physician with them. The imperial physician quickly and carefully treated Qianlong's wound. After the imperial physician's careful treatment, it was found that Qianlong's injury was not serious. It was just a severe stab wound on the arm.

When night fell quietly, they were lucky enough to find an uninhabited house, so they decided to stay there for one night and rest. After dinner, Xiao Yun couldn't help but stretched out his hand and tried to touch Qianlong's clothes. However, Qianlong's mind was not here at all at this moment.

"Yun'er, let's go back to the capital after a few days." Qianlong's voice full of tenderness and expectation sounded.

Xiao Yun hurriedly covered Qianlong's mouth, her eyes filled with concern and self-blame, and she whispered, "I just want to see how serious your injury is. I know the priorities of things, so how could I bother you and make trouble at this time?" After that, she gently pried Qianlong's hands apart.

Xiao Yun gently took off Qianlong's clothes, revealing his injured arm. Taking a closer look, he found that the wound was indeed treated rather roughly. It was simply wrapped with high gauze and some medicine was applied. The wound was rolled up and there was still some blood on the edge. It looked really distressing.

Xiao Yun felt extremely distressed, and hurriedly picked up the medicine given by Doctor Hu, and applied it to Qianlong again very carefully. Her tears rolled down like pearls from a broken string, one after another.

Seeing this, Qianlong quickly reached out and gently wiped away her tears with his thumb. His eyes were full of pity and love, and he said gently: "Yun'er, don't cry. I'm fine. It's better for me to be hurt than you. I have thick skin and flesh, so it's nothing serious."

Xiao Yun's tears fell more and more like a flood that broke through the dam. She choked and said, "Hongli, I will never be so reckless and stupid again. I will observe more carefully to see if they really need help, and then take action..." When she said this, her voice was full of deep regret and self-blame.

After hearing this, Qianlong quickly reached out his hand, embraced Xiao Yun in his arms, and gently comforted him: "It's okay, it's okay, don't worry, I'm still here. Just do whatever you want, don't have any worries, I will always support you and protect you." His words were full of endless tolerance and pampering, and that gentle voice seemed to be able to melt everything.

The two of them hugged each other tightly, as if each was the other's most solid support in this world. In this quiet night, they were both heavy-hearted and spent the night sleeplessly, their hearts full of worry and concern about the disaster in Shandong.

Their embrace was so warm, but it could not dispel the haze that shrouded their hearts. Time seemed to stand still at this moment. They were immersed in worries about the disaster, their thoughts surging like tides, and it was difficult to calm down. This night, their hearts were closely connected, and they were all worried about the disaster in Shandong. The endless worries were entangled in their hearts like silk threads, making them unable to let go.