Chapter 290: This Leg Doesn’t Seem to Hurt So Much Anymore, How Magical

Cen An had traveled far and wide in his life, saving countless people, and had seen all sorts of bizarre things.

But a fool who insisted he save a corpse that was already rotting—that was a first.

This wasn’t a test of his medical skills; it was pure bullying.

The Silver Armor Guards arrived in the nick of time to save him from his predicament, but he ran into that Xiao Jingming, who struck his leg with a sword, nearly severing it.

The more Cen An thought about it, the angrier he got, and the angrier he got, the more his leg hurt.

Just as he was complaining about his grievances to the Empress, some Silver Armor Guards passed by, escorting a tightly bound man. Wasn’t that Xiao Jingming?

When Xiao Jingming saw the Empress, though he had never met her, her presence was so unique that she was recognizable at a glance.

Fury ignited in him instantly, and he opened his mouth to say something, but a quick-thinking Silver Armor Guard stuffed a foul-smelling rag into his mouth.

’Shut it, you!’

Xiao Jingming felt like retching from the disgusting rag. The Silver Armor Guards held him down firmly and dragged him away. When he struggled violently, one of them slapped him twice across the face without hesitation.

Cen An watched the entire scene without blinking. ’Huh, my leg doesn’t seem to hurt as much anymore. Amazing.’

Wherever Xiao Li went, the Silver Armor Guards always preceded her. They would go ahead disguised as commoners to secretly scout for danger, arrange accommodations, and gather intelligence.

Naturally, there were Silver Armor Guards in Changzhou and Qinzhou as well.

They didn’t necessarily participate in battles; their main duties were to find opportunities to rescue people, collect intelligence and evidence of crimes, and preserve important documents and items. They also had an extended line of work: identifying people.

For instance, the advisors around King Xian and certain treacherous officials involved in the rebellion—Xiao Li didn’t recognize them, and neither had the people by her side. But the Silver Armor Guards who had long since infiltrated the enemy ranks recognized most of them.

Once they donned their armor and joined the search as Silver Armor Guards, they could pick out the rebels hiding among the common folk with perfect accuracy. And as for Xiao Jingming, the son of King Xian, he had absolutely no chance of escape the moment he showed his face.

King Xian’s body was dragged out, and with his death confirmed, the rebellion led by his forces was completely extinguished.

As for King Xian’s family, everything followed procedure: those who were to be executed were executed, and those who were to be spared were spared. Of course, they wouldn’t be taking a single coin from the Prince Xian Mansion’s fortune.

As for those clamoring to see the Empress and beg for mercy, not a single one was granted an audience.

What a joke. For a crime as great as treason, the fact that the Empress had allowed any of them to live was already an act of immense mercy. What more could they possibly beg for?

Did they really expect to continue living as imperial relatives? Utterly ridiculous.

In the Empress’s eyes, there were only loyal subjects and rebels, not relatives.

-----

As Xiao Jingming was being escorted to Yanping State, he happened to run into Chu Lingyi, who was on her way out with a crutch to welcome her brother.

He became incredibly agitated and desperately spat out the rag in his mouth. "Lingyi! Lingyi... It’s me, Lingyi..."

Chu Lingyi heard him and turned. Hatred instantly flared in her eyes. ’This scum.’

Xiao Jingming, of course, knew Chu Lingyi hated him, so he immediately started begging for forgiveness. "Lingyi, I know I was wrong! I really know I was wrong! My feelings for you are real. Please, save me! I promise I’ll love you properly from now on..."

A Silver Armor Guard picked up the foul-smelling rag and viciously shoved it back into his mouth, a look of utter disgust on his face.

’His life is on the line, and he’s still trying to talk about love.’

’As if you’re worthy of loving one of our girls.’

Seeing Xiao Jingming gagged again and dragged away in agony, Chu Lingyi unclenched her tightly balled fists. "Serves you right!"

Chu Lingyi waited at the gate for a while longer until the Empress’s procession returned. Her leg made it difficult to approach, so she could only watch the Empress from a distance while searching for Chu Yungui.

But no matter how she looked, she couldn’t see him.

A sudden thought made Chu Lingyi’s heart leap, and her face instantly turned pale.

’It can’t be, can it? My brother... he...’

At that thought, Chu Lingyi forgot everything else.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

She wanted to run up and ask the Empress, but her leg was too slow, and the Silver Armor Army wouldn’t let her get close anyway.

Finally, a Silver Armor Guard who recognized her stopped her. "What are you trying to do?"

Chu Lingyi quickly asked, "Sir, have you seen my brother? Why hasn’t he returned?"

The Silver Armor Guard saw her worried and anxious expression and knew she was letting her imagination run wild. But they had just come from battle, so it was normal for family members to have such fears.

"Your brother is fine. In fact, he distinguished himself this time. He didn’t return because he was ordered to remain in Qinzhou."

Chu Lingyi breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Sir. I was just so worried."

The Silver Armor Guard steadied her. "All right, be careful on your way back."

With that, he vaulted onto his horse and quickly rejoined the ranks.

Chu Lingyi was staying in the Yanping State traveling palace, rooming next to Wang Wanqing. It was the former Prince Yanping Mansion, renamed because the Empress was residing there.

The journey back from the city gate was not short. It had taken Chu Lingyi a full hour to walk to the gate on her crutch, and now she had to walk another hour to get back.

But she didn’t feel tired at all. ’I’m going to be a female general. How can I not endure a little hardship like this?’

Doctor Ning said her leg was recovering very well; in a month at most, she would be able to move freely.

A broken leg healing in just one month was already a testament to the doctor’s superb medical skills.

But to Chu Lingyi, this month felt like an eternity.

Before, she always slacked off during her martial arts practice; if she could get away with training for fifteen minutes less, she’d never train for a single moment more.

Now, she only regretted not taking her martial arts training seriously. If her skills were as good as her brother’s, she wouldn’t be so anxious about her inability to repay the Empress for her patronage.

However, just as Chu Lingyi finally made it back to her room and was about to drink a cup of water, Xiao Jingming leaped in through the window.

Chu Lingyi was so shocked she dropped her cup. "You... How did you escape?"

"Shh!"

Xiao Jingming quickly gestured for her to be quiet. "Keep your voice down. It wasn’t easy for me to escape."

Chu Lingyi couldn’t believe it. "But that’s the Silver Armor Army!!"

Xiao Jingming said smugly, "The Silver Armor Guards are only human. I gave one of them the Jade Pendant I keep hidden on my person, and he agreed to secretly loosen my bonds. He even told me where you live."

A chill went through Chu Lingyi’s heart. She couldn’t believe it, but the fact was that Xiao Jingming was standing right in front of her.

Her face turned cold as she suppressed her fury. "What are you doing here?"

Xiao Jingming immediately moved closer. "Lingyi, I just wanted to see you."

With a look of deep affection, he gazed at Chu Lingyi’s injured leg, appearing heartbroken. "After you were injured, I couldn’t rest day or night. I was constantly worried about you. I’m so happy to see you’re doing much better."

He gently took her hand and said in somber repentance, "Lingyi, I know it was wrong for my father and brother to plot against you like that. But my father is dead, and his body can’t even be properly buried. The Empress has destroyed our Prince Xian Mansion, leaving everyone homeless. And I... now I only have you."

With his desolate yet affectionate expression, combined with his handsome and well-defined features, Xiao Jingming truly looked like someone worthy of pity.

But Chu Lingyi was trembling with rage, her eyes practically shooting flames.

’This dog of a man... he actually dares to try and trick me again!’