Dingbei Hou's doctor brother

They hadn't walked far when Xiao Yan seemed lost in thought. Lang Si noticed him and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I think there's something wrong with the old man just now."

"He's just a hunchbacked and half-blind old man, what's the problem?" Yang Zhounan asked.

Xiao Yan looked back.

"This man is hunchbacked, blind, with white hair and beard, and has difficulty walking. He looks to be in his seventies, but just now, he was able to easily carry a large iron pot and walk from the house to the door. His footsteps were strong and steady. Obviously, his legs are not as weak and inconvenient as they appear."

Lang Si raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his chin and said, "That iron pot looks only about 40 pounds, isn't it heavy?"

Yang Zhounan reacted and continued, "I don't care about you, but it's different for him."

Lang Si thought for a moment, "Isn't his family a blacksmith? Naturally, he's stronger than others."

Xiao Yan stopped in the shade of a tree, looked at him, and analyzed, "Even if he used to be a blacksmith and is stronger than others, blacksmithing is hard work that requires strength. The skin on his hands will inevitably become rough and calloused after years of hard work. People who work blacksmithing all year round are very likely to get burned by molten iron."

"His arms were smooth, rosy, and full of veins. They didn't look like the hands of a man his age at all. They looked more like those of a young man."

After some analysis, they returned to the iron shop and unexpectedly found that the old man was not in the house.

"It seems you are right. There is something wrong with this old man." Lang Si turned around and ordered his subordinates, "Go, search everywhere for the old man's traces."

"Yes!"

"boom--"

The Jinyiwei had not walked far when a heavy muffled sound suddenly came from the inner room.

The three of them hurried into the house to check, but there was no one in the inner room.

"boom--"

When Xiao Yan was wondering where the sound came from, another sound came from the wall in front of him, and he immediately thought of the old man who had just disappeared.

"The sound came from the next wall. There must be a secret door here."

Lang Si ordered his men to move away all the wooden racks in front of him where weapons were placed, and tried knocking on the wall, only to hear a few hollow sounds.

He and Xiao Yan looked at each other and searched around, but couldn't find the key.

Xiao Yan tapped lightly on the other wall and accidentally touched several swords hanging on the wall.

The sword bodies were shaking, but the sword in the middle remained motionless. He curiously reached out to pick it up, but found that he couldn't lift it, so he pulled it hard.

"Wow--"

A chain was immediately pulled out from the hook hole on the wall, and the wall in front of Lang Si immediately moved to both sides.

I saw a man in front of me, his body covered in blood, suddenly slashing towards me with a knife.

He was quick to strike the man in the chest with his palm and then drew his knife to chop him.

Instantly.

A hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his knife with great force. Blood instantly spurted out and flowed down the blade.

Lang Si was surprised. He turned his head and saw Xiao Yan standing beside him. He stared at the man with a knife in front of him and called out to him in a low voice.

"Lu Ziqing?"

Lang Si was surprised and scolded: "Are you... crazy?"

Yang Zhounan behind him was also shocked.

Before Lang Si could react, he saw Xiao Yan walk up to the man, give him a hand, and then say to him.

"Why are you here? How are you? Are you okay?"

Lu Ziqing covered his chest and took a deep breath, then said, "I'm fine. It's a long story. Why is the Marquis here?"

Xiao Yan said, "We came here to investigate the murderer."

He glanced at the people lying on the ground. Some of them were already dead, and two were rolling on the ground with their eyes covered.

"These people... were all killed by you?"

Lu Ziqing's expression was a little unnatural. "I just happened to use some lime, so..."

"These people are all masters. Your Excellency's kung fu happens to be quite impressive."

Lang Si walked over, looked at him with an inquiring look, then turned to look at Xiao Yan.

"Don't you want your hands anymore? You dare to block the knife with your bare hands? Go back and bandage them quickly."

Lu Ziqing lowered his eyes and saw Xiao Yan clenching his fists with blood still dripping down.

He immediately cut off a piece of his clothes and wrapped it around Xiao Yan's hand. "That was a close call just now. Your Majesty was truly reckless."

Xiao Yan looked at him and said, "It's just a minor injury, nothing serious."

Several oil lamps were lit on the stone walls of the imperial prison. Two survivors were thrown into the secret cell by the Jinyiwei, and Lang Si gave them instructions.

"Keep an eye on these two. Don't let them die."

"Yes!"

Lang Si walked into the lounge. Several Jinyiwei were sitting at the table drinking water. A man followed him in from outside with a lunch box in his hand.

"Boss, this is what Miss An brought over. You were not here before, so I accepted it first."

The man put the food box on the table and opened it. There were dumplings and buns inside.

Several Jinyiwei came over with a smile on their faces, looking like they were trying to cheer someone on.

"Oh, Miss An is here to bring you warmth again. I'm just hungry, it's timely rain."

"After eating this bun, my strength has doubled."

A few people laughed and started eating the buns. Lang Si slapped someone's hand and scolded him jokingly.

"My junior sister made this for me, so I gave it to you guys for a bargain. Lao He, please leave some for me."

He Yizhou was a handsome young man who held the rank of Qianhu. He took the bun, leaned on the edge of the table, and took a bite with a smile.

"I only ate one, they were so quick."

There were intermittent laughs, and at this time, a centurion spoke.

"That afternoon, Lord Xiao narrowly avoided a blow. Tell me, who was that person? How could he let Lord Xiao block the blow for him?"

"He's wearing an official uniform. Which government office is he from? I've never seen him before."

Lang Si chewed the bun and recalled the scene in the afternoon. He had never seen Xiao Yan stand up for others like this, which showed that their relationship was not ordinary.

"He must have brought it back when he returned to Beijing."

At night, Chongcuixuan.

Lu Ziqing sat by the floor-to-ceiling window, applying medicine to Xiao Yan's wound. He was still frightened when he recalled the scene at dusk when this man suddenly rushed out to block the knife with his bare hands.

He and Xiao Yan did not have a very deep friendship, and he would not let this man risk his life to save him. He felt a sense of guilt in his heart.

"My Lord, today was a very dangerous time. Fortunately, no bones were broken. If only..."

Lu Ziqing paused and said, "I don't know how to explain this to the Emperor, the Duke, and the people of the world."

Xiao Yan looked at him and chuckled, "Why are you imitating Yang Zhounan now? This is an emergency. If I don't do that, the knife will be on your head."

In fact, it was not that Lu Ziqing was imitating Yang Zhounan, but that he understood Yang Zhounan's feelings.

As the chief figure in the battle of Daning, Xiao Yan shoulders a heavy responsibility for the country and the people, and he must not make any mistakes.

How could I risk losing my hand because of an insignificant little person?

Lu Ziqing couldn't afford to offend anyone here. He just wanted to find his master and senior sister in peace and quiet, away from the mundane world.

Without looking up, he said, "My life is nothing compared to yours, sir. You don't have to do this."

Xiao Yan's eyes dimmed slightly, and his gaze fell on Lu Ziqing's buried face, and he was silent for a moment.

"I always do things with discretion, and military doctors don't have to worry about it."

He changed the subject and said with a smile, "Speaking of the title of military doctor, I suddenly remembered that you were appointed as the imperial physician when you entered the capital. Calling you military doctor is not appropriate. From now on, you should respectfully address me as Imperial Physician Lu, or Lord Lu."

Only then did Lu Ziqing look up at Xiao Yan, with a sincere smile in his eyes.

"Your Majesty, please don't call me that. How dare a mere doctor like me address you as sir? Your Majesty, please just call me Ziqing."

Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then you don't have to call me Marquis. Just address me as your equal. My courtesy name is Qingjun."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ziqing paused his movements.

One is a noble military officer of the current dynasty, and the other is a lowly itinerant doctor.

How can we be equals? How can we be equals?

He hesitated for a moment and said, "This...is not in accordance with the rules."

Speaking of rules, Xiao Yan used to talk about rules to others, but now was the first time he heard someone say these two words to him.

He had the illusion that Lu Ziqing was holding a figure above his head and was ordering him to correct his mistakes. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

Xiao Yan watched Lu Ziqing carefully wrapping gauze around his hand. He asked, "By the way, you haven't told me yet, how do you know Chu Yi?"

Lu Ziqing said, "Yesterday, he was being chased on West Street. I happened to save him, but I didn't expect him to meet with an accident today."

Xiao Yan thought of the assassins who were killed and wanted to ask, but when the words came to his lips, he said something else.

"Fortunately, you saved him. If he had died, no one would have known about the Meizhou incident. I will submit the memorial to the Crown Prince tomorrow."

Several stone lanterns were lit in the yard outside the house. Su Chengfeng felt a little guilty because he had heard about the killer and was unable to help Lu Ziqing.

He stayed in the palace all day and knew nothing about what was happening outside. He had martial arts skills but nowhere to use them.

Although Lu Ziqing has martial arts skills, he can't beat four people with two fists, not to mention that they are outnumbered. If he encounters a master, he might fail.

"What are you thinking about?"

Su Chengfeng was lost in thought when Yang Zhounan walked over to his side and suddenly spoke. His eyelids twitched and he ignored her.

"What do you care what I think?"

Yang Zhounan put his hands behind his back and looked at him.

"What? You're no longer talking to each other after just one day? Didn't you seem to be quite talkative when you were taking care of me?"

When mentioning this, Su Chengfeng was quite dissatisfied. On the way back to Beijing, he took care of Yang Zhounan for more than a month.

Yang Zhounan was either uncomfortable here or in pain there, and he was very fussy about eating, drinking, defecating and urinating. This kept Su Chengfeng awake all night, and he had to keep an eye on his injuries all the time.

Su Chengfeng hated him in the first place, so of course he was unhappy and complained often.

"I talk too much? General Yang, don't you have any idea?"

Yang Zhounan raised the corner of his mouth, as if agreeing to something, and then became serious again.

"The young doctor is fine there, he's not the one injured, why are you so unhappy?"

"I'd love to." Su Chengfeng said as he walked to the bamboo grove.

There was no wind at night and it was extremely hot and stuffy. Yang Zhounan, with sweat on his face, walked over and stood beside him.

"Eh."

"what?"

"Last time I asked you to follow me, what do you think about it?"

In the dim light, Su Chengfeng's eyes moved slightly. Last time, he and Lu Ziqing had not separated, and he definitely didn't want to follow this man.

Now that he has entered the palace, he basically doesn't see anyone except at night.

If I were outside the palace, I might have more free time and wouldn't be constantly monitored by those annoying eunuchs.

Su Chengfeng was a little tempted by this annoying idea at this moment, and he looked at Yang Zhounan from the side.

Then he suddenly thought that if he agreed, people would think he was a hypocrite and he would lose face.

Moreover, you might be fooled by this person in various ways.

Seeing his complicated expression, Yang Zhounan asked again, "Is this question difficult to answer?"

Su Chengfeng said nothing, sighed lightly, turned around and left.

"Eh? Why did you leave?"

Yang Zhounan glanced sideways into the inner room and saw Lu Ziqing talking to Xiao Yan. He turned around again and watched the departing figure with a faint smile.

"You will say yes."