Chapter 54

PS: I shamelessly ask for your support in adding this to your collection and recommending it. Thank you!

This was a very dilapidated courtyard. Perhaps because it had been unoccupied for a long time, the house was even somewhat cold and damp.

But in this cold and damp house, there was now a bearded man lying motionless on the bed, covered with two thin blankets.

There was no fire in the house, and the air was chillingly cold. Even the breath exhaled by people formed white mist, which showed how little effect the two blankets had!

Wei Hui entered the cold house and, seeing the man lying on the bed, his eyes turned red immediately, and two tears streamed down his cheeks.

This man was none other than the first brave general under the Crown Prince, Xue Wanche.

This man was loyal to the Crown Prince. On the day of the Xuanwu Gate incident, he was the first to try his best to save the Crown Prince. However, fate did not favor them, and despite Xue Wanche's best efforts, he could not save the Crown Prince, who ultimately met a tragic end.

Now, with the Crown Prince's death, those who originally belonged to the Crown Prince's faction either died or scattered, some even completely disappeared, hiding away.

Seeing the first brave general under the Crown Prince, Xue Wanche, in such a pitiful state, how could Wei Hui not shed tears!

"General Xue, I, Wei Hui, have come to see you!" Wei Hui walked to the bed, tightly gripping Xue Wanche's burning hand, and called out softly to him with tears streaming down his face.

Strangely, Xue Wanche, who was in a high fever and unconscious, seemed to sense something and slowly opened his eyes at Wei Hui's call.

Upon seeing Wei Hui, who was sobbing in front of the bed, Xue Wanche immediately opened his mouth in excitement. Before he could speak, this burly and brave man let out a wail and burst into tears.

Xue Wanche's crying stirred the emotions of the others in the room, and they all began to cry out loud. However, everyone clenched their teeth, and the sobs came out as muffled wails, making the scene even more tragic.

"Being alive is good! Being alive is good!" After crying for a while, Wei Hui finally stopped and, still holding Xue Wanche's hand tightly, repeated the words he had said at the door.

In fact, during this period, these were the words Wei Hui had said the most. After the Xuanwu Gate incident, seeing so many people who had once been close to him fall in the blood, Wei Hui knew how much these words weighed.

"Lord Wei, what is the current situation in Chang'an?" Xue Wanche, being a brave general, stopped crying after a while and, hearing Wei Hui's comforting words, began to inquire about the situation in Chang'an.

"Recently, I went to Shandong with the emperor's decree to convey the news of his pardon!" Wei Hui knew what Xue Wanche wanted to know, so he spoke directly: "The dust has settled, and the emperor wants to quell the chaos as soon as possible!"

Hearing Wei Hui refer to Li Shimin as 'the emperor' repeatedly, the faces of the others showed some resentment. However, upon reflection, since the situation was now settled, they would inevitably have to call him 'the emperor' in the future, and their resentment turned into a long sigh.

"This pardon probably does not include us!" Xue Wanche, lying on the bed, thought back to the battle at Xuanwu Gate and spoke slowly.

"I will do my best to intercede for the generals!" Wei Hui said, suddenly remembering the hundred riders mixed in his group, and frowned as he looked at Xue Wanche: "To be honest, I feel that the emperor has already guessed that I came to see the generals this time!"

"How could that be!" When Wei Hui finished speaking, the others, who were already on edge, suddenly stood up, their faces showing a fierce expression, as if ready to fight at any moment.

"Lord Wei, has someone leaked our whereabouts?" Xue Wanche asked, but his suspicious gaze was fixed on Wei Hui. Only Wei Hui knew about their arrival in Lantian, so if someone had leaked their whereabouts, it could only be Wei Hui.

"No one has leaked the whereabouts of the generals!" Wei Hui, being a wise man, could see the suspicion in Xue Wanche's eyes and smiled bitterly: "General Xue should know what kind of person the emperor is. As soon as I proposed coming to Lantian, he could probably guess!"

"What do you mean, Lord Wei?" Xue Wanche, not being stupid, immediately sensed something from Wei Hui's words and asked uncertainly.

"Although I am not entirely sure!" Wei Hui looked at Xue Wanche, took a deep breath, and said thoughtfully: "But I feel that the emperor is likely to pardon General Xue and the others!"

"Your guess is just that, Lord Wei!" Xue Wanche paused after hearing Wei Hui's words and then looked at him: "We are different from others. On that day, we directly attacked the Qin王府. No one would let this go easily!"

When Xue Wanche finished speaking, the others in the room, who had been filled with hope due to Wei Hui's words, nodded in agreement, their expressions suddenly turning gloomy.

"We must try to find out!" Wei Hui could not guarantee anything, as Xue Wanche had said, this was just his guess, and who could really know the emperor's mind?

The others in the room nodded gloomily, as this was the reason they had asked Wei Hui to come to Lantian. Of course, besides this, there was another matter: Xue Wanche's injuries.

On that day, they first attacked Xuanwu Gate, and when they saw that it was hopeless, they led their troops to attack the Qin王府. During the attack on the Qin王府, Xue Wanche was unfortunately hit by a stray arrow in his ribs.

Later, in their hasty escape, they did not have time to remove the arrow. During the escape, Xue Wanche, finding the arrow bothersome, endured the pain and broke it in half, thinking he would remove the arrowhead once they escaped the Qin王府's pursuit.

However, when they finally reached the Zhongnan Mountains and settled down to remove the arrowhead, they found that it had already penetrated deep into the bone, leaving only a small part of the feather outside. The rest had already entered the abdomen, and they could not remove it.

In desperation, they had to leave the mountains and, after a series of detours, quietly entered Lantian, sending a letter to Wei Hui, asking him to come to Lantian.

When Wei Hui lifted the blanket covering Xue Wanche, he indeed saw a patch of blood on Xue Wanche's ribs, and the wound had already started to fester. Fortunately, it was winter; otherwise, the wound would have become infected long ago.

The festered part had a black arrowhead embedded in the bone, with only a small part of the feather visible.

Seeing this, Wei Hui frowned. The situation was much worse than he had imagined. If the arrowhead was not removed in time, it would penetrate deeper into the abdomen, and if it reached the abdomen, Xue Wanche would be doomed.

However, looking at the arrowhead, which was only partially exposed, Wei Hui sighed. In this situation, even a regular doctor would be at a loss!

"General Xue, in this situation, I can only go and ask the head of the Ge Wu Yuan!" Wei Hui, looking at the arrowhead in Xue Wanche's ribs, suddenly remembered that Zhao Chen had once saved Liu Cheng, and his eyes brightened as he said to Xue Wanche.

The head of the Ge Wu Yuan? When Wei Hui mentioned this, the others in the room looked puzzled. They had never heard of the Ge Wu Yuan. Was it a recent establishment?

Seeing the puzzled expressions on their faces, Wei Hui laughed and briefly explained Zhao Chen to Xue Wanche and the others.

"Lord Wei, since this person is close to Qin Shubao, it might not be appropriate to ask him to treat General Xue!" The others were somewhat excited when Wei Hui mentioned that Zhao Chen came from the deep mountains of the Qinling, but they frowned and became worried when they heard that Zhao Chen was close to the Qin and Cheng families.

Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin were both old generals of the Tian Ce Fu. If these two regarded Zhao Chen as a nephew, would Zhao Chen be willing to treat General Xue?

Moreover, even if Zhao Chen was willing, they would not feel at ease!

"Please rest assured, gentlemen!" Wei Hui said confidently: "Although this young man is close to Qin Shubao, he has his own way of handling things! Although I have only spent half a day with him, I have great respect for his character!"

Hearing Wei Hui's high praise for Zhao Chen, the others began to waver.

Wei Hui was always very good at judging people. Before the Xuanwu Gate incident, he had repeatedly warned the Crown Prince that the Qin King might be a threat, but the Crown Prince did not listen, and the Qin King eventually launched a rebellion.

Now, hearing Wei Hui's high praise for Zhao Chen, even though they had not met Zhao Chen, they were already very curious about him.

"Since Lord Wei speaks so highly of this head of the Ge Wu Yuan, please go and invite him!" The others had already heard from Wei Hui that Zhao Chen had saved Liu Cheng from a near-death state, and now hearing Wei Hui's assurance about his character, they urged him to go.

"Alright!" Wei Hui stood up, bowed to Xue Wanche and the others on the bed, and said: "We should not delay. I will go to the county office immediately. Please wait here patiently for me!"

With that, he left the dilapidated courtyard, still led by the burly man, and quietly made his way out of the alley, heading straight for the county office.

Page break for AD

End of AD