Mu Qing gave Qi Rong an unreadable, sweeping look. Xie Lian laughed from sheer rage.
“I don’t need your help, not like this. Are you really avenging me? Or are you avenging yourself?”
“…Cousin, why would you say that to me?” Qi Rong asked, confused. “And what have I done wrong in being on your side?”
Xie Lian couldn’t talk sense with him. “Qi Rong, listen here. From now on, you’re not allowed to touch this child. Not even a finger! Do you hear me?!”
Just then, Xie Lian felt a pull on his neck. He was wrapped up in a fit of anger, so it startled him. He looked down and saw that the young child had buried his face in his chest, his arms tightly circled around Xie Lian’s neck. Xie Lian felt him shake uncontrollably and thought he was in pain.
He asked hurriedly, “What’s wrong?”
That child was covered all over in mud, grime, and blood—filthy and unkempt. It all smeared onto Xie Lian’s white robe, but Xie Lian didn’t mind at all. He gently patted the child’s back to comfort him and soothed him in a low voice.
“I’ll take you to the doctors right now.”
The child didn’t respond, but he hugged Xie Lian even tighter. He held on with a death grip and wouldn’t let go, as if he were holding on to a lifeline.
Qi Rong could see that Xie Lian wasn’t going to acknowledge his goodwill, his heart solely with outsiders. And when he saw that kid sullying Xie Lian’s robes with bloody, muddy smears, his anger flared. He raised the whip to lash the back of the child’s head.
Feng Xin was standing to the side, and in a split-second, his leg flew out and kicked Qi Rong right on the arm.
There was a loud CRACK, and Qi Rong screamed. The whip fell to the ground, and his right arm dropped limply at an abnormal angle. He stood there frozen in disbelief, and it was a while before he slowly raised his head, glaring at Feng Xin, enunciating each word…
“You…DARE…BREAK MY ARM!”
The words chilled them to the bone. It was only after he kicked that Feng Xin realized what he had done, and his face changed, but Mu Qing’s face changed more. It was one thing for them to detest Qi Rong behind his back, but for a personal guard to transgress this badly and accidentally break the arm of royalty, that was something completely different!
Xie Lian had his hands full with that child when it happened, and the path behind him was packed with onlookers—dodging the blow wouldn’t be easy, but he would have managed it fine given the chance. But Qi Rong had come at him with such aggression and so little warning that Feng Xin moved too fast without thinking, and Xie Lian didn’t have the chance to stop him. Now everything was in even more of an uproar, and Xie Lian didn’t have time to think. His clothes were getting soaked with blood—if they delayed any longer, the child might die right there.
Xie Lian made a split-second decision, inhaled deeply, and shouted in a clear voice, “Everyone, if you were pulled into this incident today, please record any damages or losses. I will take all responsibility without fail!”
Then, he turned to Feng Xin and Mu Qing.
“I need to save the child first. Take Qi Rong away, and don’t let him cause any more havoc outside.”
Done with his instructions, Xie Lian ran toward the palace with the child in his arms. Feng Xin heard the command, his expression back to normal, and he picked up the raging Qi Rong before following Xie Lian.
The soldiers guarding the palace gates thought it was strange to see the crown prince racing back, having left such a short while ago, but of course they didn’t dare obstruct him. Thus, Xie Lian ran straight for the imperial medical office and made Feng Xin and Mu Qing wait outside the door with Qi Rong under arrest while he entered the infirmary alone.
The crown prince rarely returned to the palace and rarely gave orders, so the imperial doctors naturally rushed over with due haste.
Xie Lian placed the young child in a chair and said, “Thanks in advance, everyone. This child was beaten by several adults, stuffed in a sack, and dragged through the streets. Please check if there are any head injuries first, that’s the most important thing.”
Neither royal nor noble had ever brought in a wild, dirty babe for them to heal before, but the imperial medical team also knew they needed to do whatever they were told to, and they acknowledged Xie Lian’s direction with a chorus of “yes, yes, yes.”
One of them said, “Put your hands down first, little one.”
Although the child had been docile in Xie Lian’s arms up until now, he started struggling then and firmly covered the right side of his face, refusing to drop his hands. No matter how competent the imperial doctors were, if the patient would not cooperate, there was nothing they could do. The doctors looked to Xie Lian.