She Holds the World After Being Reborn
Chapter 157: A Trap Set by the Master, No One Can Break

Chapter 157: Chapter 157: A Trap Set by the Master, No One Can Break

Yan Wanqing stumbled back into the courtyard, shed the bloody clothes clinging to her body, and plunged headfirst into the pool, the huge splash startling Yan Lingzhen, who had been dozing on the bed.

She had seen fireworks on the mountain, much to her surprise, which was why she and her fifth sister, Yan Hongzhao, had sped back home.

By the time they had returned, the fireworks had ended.

Exhausted, Yan Lingzhen hadn’t found her elder sister in the house and had simply decided to doze off on the couch.

The sound of the huge splash now woke her with a start.

Driven by a physician’s sensitivity to blood, she came to full alert instantly.

"Elder sister?" Yan Lingzhen slid off the bed onto the floor, lit the candle in the room, and called out tentatively.

My dear fifth sister...

Yan Wanqing wanted to respond to her, but her consciousness was growing increasingly blurry. She could feel herself sliding down the edge, the warm water enveloping her completely... so warm, too warm to want to wake up.

"Elder sister!" Guided by the faint candlelight, Yan Lingzhen saw what was happening by the pool and sprinted over, shouting loudly.

Yan Lingzhen leaped into the pool, her short stature making it impossible for her to move properly in the water. After swallowing several mouthfuls of water, Yan Lingzhen finally managed to reach Yan Wanqing’s side.

"Elder sister, wake up, are you alright? Elder sister, please don’t scare me." Yan Lingzhen could only watch as the clear water of the pool was gradually tinged pink, the color spreading from the body of Yan Wanqing in her arms.

What on earth had happened?

She had merely gone out with her fifth sister to collect herbs for two days; how had her elder sister come to be covered in injuries?

With herculean effort, Yan Lingzhen finally dragged Yan Wanqing to the edge of the pool.

She hurriedly checked the wounds, her brow furrowing in confusion.

Significant inner strength depletion, the dantian also severely damaged; elder sister, who have you been fighting with?

Yan Lingzhen suppressed the shock in her heart.

She ran into the house, fetching her medicine box and the herbs she had just discovered today, stuffing them all into Yan Wanqing’s mouth as if they cost nothing.

But that was not enough.

Not caring that her clothes were soaking wet, Yan Lingzhen pushed open the door and ran next door, awakening her sleeping sister, Yan Hongzhao.

"There’s no time to explain, just use your inner strength to stimulate the medicine in elder sister’s body to help her absorb it faster," she said urgently.

Yan Hongzhao, rubbing her heavily swollen eyes, obediently sat down and began to channel inner strength into Yan Wanqing to aid her recovery.

Yan Lingzhen didn’t stand idle either, applying her special medication to the injuries.

The maids were saying that elder sister was clearly still at the banquet.

That only meant one thing, elder sister’s activities tonight could not be known to anyone.

She had to help elder sister minimize others’ suspicions as much as possible.

The two sisters busied themselves for a while, ending up parched and exhausted.

Yan Hongzhao changed Yan Wanqing into a fresh set of clothes, then helped her to lie down slowly.

"Xiaoliu, quick, get some water, I’m dying of thirst," Yan Hongzhao said hoarsely.

Luckily it was summer, and the cooler the tea, the more refreshing.

Yan Lingzhen downed the water comfortably, then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Tonight is bound to be unrestful. Guard elder sister, Fifth Sister. If anyone asks, just say elder sister is at the banquet. If someone tries to force their way in, you fight them off," she instructed.

Yan Hongzhao knew her fifth sister always had a plan, so she nodded in agreement.

"What are you going to do?" she asked.

Yan Lingzhen glanced at the pale-faced Yan Wanqing on the bed, a serious expression on her small face.

The fireworks tonight had clearly indicated one thing.

They were not a technology of this era.

Yan Lingzhen had her own suspicions. She hastily changed into a set of clothes and walked outside.

Yan Hongzhao watched her retreating figure, then looked back at her own elder sister, her sleepiness completely dissipated.

Meanwhile, Hong Wu was struggling to maintain her composure among a group of noble women, her face stiff from forced smiles.

Just as Li Chengyuan had left, Hong Wu planned to follow, but she was tied up by several noblewomen and couldn’t break away.

When a commotion suddenly erupted upfront, and she saw the severely injured seventh prince appearing alongside Li Chengyuan, Hong Wu inwardly cursed at the bad timing.

She wondered how her master was faring now.

Hong Wu watched as Xiao Hongshen was supported by others as they passed by; his gaze swept over her face. Although Hong Wu maintained her composure, her heart still skipped a beat.

"Wait a moment,"

Xiao Hongshen suddenly said.

Li Chengyuan looked at him with confusion, "What’s the matter, Your Highness?"

Xiao Hongshen surveyed Hong Wu, "Has the Commandery Princess been at the banquet all day?"

Hong Wu, mimicking the attitude Yan Wanqing had previously shown him, chuckled lightly, "Otherwise, where should this Commandery Princess be? Today’s banquet is hosted by Princess Yaochi; I dare not leave at whim."

Li Chengyuan was unhappy that Xiao Hongshen had sustained such a serious injury yet still concerned himself with Yan Wanqing, and a flash of jealousy crossed her eyes.

"Your Highness, the Imperial Physician is waiting, and you’re still injured,"

she said as she glanced at Hong Wu again.

"Princess Anping, please make way and don’t block Prince Qi. You’ve seen how he’s seriously injured; if he doesn’t receive treatment, no one can bear the consequences."

Hong Wu gave her a bland look.

It really was because her master was kind to her today that this woman now looked down on everyone.

Thus, Hong Wu said to Li Chengyuan,

"It is Prince Qi who wishes to speak with this Commandery Princess, not I who stands in the road blocking your way. The Princess mustn’t rashly pin this blame on my head."

Her words carried the same unyielding tone as always.

The suspicion in Xiao Hongshen’s eyes lessened slightly.

During the moment when that person had choked him, he had been close enough to faintly catch a familiar fragrance from the body.

That’s why he had deliberately tried to test Yan Wanqing.

"How can Princess Anping speak such words!" Li Chengyuan was about to lose her temper.

Xiao Hongshen, his head aching from the noise, tugged at Li Chengyuan, "Let’s go inside. There’s no need to get angry with such people."

Seeing Xiao Hongshen publicly disapprove of Yan Wanqing, Li Chengyuan felt a momentary satisfaction. Then, with a cold and warning glance at Hong Wu, she continued to support Xiao Hongshen and walked ahead.

Standing among the crowd, Hong Wu watched as the two of them sweetly leaned on each other, her eyes filled with coldness.

The night was far from over.

Whatever trap her master had set, Xiao Hongshen would not be able to break it!

When the Imperial Physician treated Xiao Hongshen’s wound and saw how serious it was, he asked worriedly,

"What has happened to Your Highness?"

A shade of darkness flashed through Xiao Hongshen’s eyes as he spoke gravely, "Tonight, villains broke in, and I discovered them while on patrol. I was seriously injured in the ensuing fight. There should be no more banquets for now. I fear there might be those within who are colluding with them, aiming to harm Father Emperor."

"This!" The Imperial Physician became visibly anxious upon hearing this.

Xiao Hongshen then reassured him, "However, there’s no need for too much worry. The National Master has already returned to take control, and my people have reached Father Emperor’s side. Father Emperor is now safe."

While speaking, a eunuch from the Emperor’s side arrived at the door.

The eunuch, seeing the severity of Xiao Hongshen’s injuries, hastily inquired about the cause. The Imperial Physician recounted the recent events.

A different expression flitted across the eunuch’s eyes. He glanced at the weakened Xiao Hongshen and bowed, "Since it is so, I will not delay further and must hurry back to report the situation to the Emperor and Empress."

With that, he turned and hurriedly left, his robes fluttering.

Inside the hall.

The Emperor listened with an inscrutable expression to the eunuch’s report.

"Is that really what he said?"

The eunuch prostrated on the ground, "Your Majesty, it is absolutely true."

The Emperor snorted coldly, "Colluding from within? Villains?"

Zhang Lanyi, clinging to the Emperor in fear, said, "If there really were villains, then Prince Qi has made a merit this time by stopping them all on his own."

"Doesn’t We know how capable he is?" The Emperor, hearing the obvious flattery towards Prince Qi, shook his head impatiently, "If he isn’t dead, let him hurry over and answer for himself."

With that, he waved the eunuch away.

Next to him, Zhang Lanyi concealed the dark look in her eyes, her expression still filled with fear.