As soon as she thought of this, Feng Jinyao ran over as if she had gone mad.
She rushed to the person on Su Cheng's back and anxiously shouted, "Second Brother!"
Wen Xinglu was in great pain. A person suddenly appeared and shouted "Second Brother!" How could he have the strength to reply?
So Su Cheng said, "Ah Yao, you've misunderstood. This is the驸马 (fùmǎ - consort), not that boy Feng Er. He's behind us."
As soon as these words were spoken, Feng Jinyao immediately turned around. Seeing her second brother and cousin walking towards her, safe and sound, the stone in her heart finally fell.
She hurried up and asked, "What happened?"
"Consort Wen was ambushed and injured his leg."
Feng Jinyao was surprised. In her previous life, her brother had become a consort because he injured his leg. How was it that in this life, the consort was someone else, yet he also injured his leg?
Could it be that this princess's mansion was incompatible with consorts?
To enjoy this wealth, one had to exchange it for health?
For a moment, she didn't know whether to pity Wen Xinglu or be glad for her second brother.
Meanwhile, Wen Yuwei was chatting with the princess. Ever since she recovered from her illness, she had moved into the princess's mansion.
As the princess had no close confidantes, and she always acted gentle and virtuous, she had managed to make Princess Changlin very happy.
The two of them were chatting and laughing merrily.
Unexpectedly, they saw Su Cheng carrying the arrow-wounded Wen Xinglu back.
Wen Yuwei cried out in surprise and immediately went forward to check. The princess also looked anxious. "Quick, send for the imperial physician to treat the consort's injury!"
"Yes!"
The maids behind them hurried to find someone.
Wen Yuwei looked at the arrow buried deep in her brother's leg, his face pale with pain, and felt more anxious than anyone.
If there was anything worth remembering in the capital city of Dongdu at this moment, it was probably only her brother.
Therefore, seeing her brother suffer, she wished she could take his place.
Soon, the imperial physician arrived. Upon seeing the wound, his face looked even more grim than Su Cheng's.
However, some things were inconvenient to say in front of everyone. So he made an excuse about needing to pull the arrow out for the consort and immediately had Wen Xinglu carried away.
Wen Yuwei naturally rushed to take care of him. Princess Changlin, however, took a few quick steps forward and then suddenly thought of something. She turned to look at Su Cheng and asked,
"Did Young Master Su see who injured the consort?"
"No."
"Very well. Thank you, Young Master Su, for your rescue today. I will prepare a gift and thank you at your residence another day."
"Your Highness is too kind. It was merely a small effort. Please do not take it to heart."
This person was quite sensible, not trying to take advantage of his merit to make exorbitant demands. That was good. She nodded at them and immediately turned to leave.
Next to the polo field, there was a special resting place for nobles. Wen Xinglu was now moved here.
"Consort, please bear with it. I need to cut open your trousers to see the specific injury before I can proceed."
"Imperial physician, please proceed. I can bear it!"
With that, he stuffed the hem of his clothes into his mouth, turned his head away from the wound, and assumed a ready stance.
The imperial physician used small scissors to cut open the trouser leg and felt his heart grow cold when he saw the wound.
The arrowhead was completely buried in his leg. If it had gone through, it would have been cut off on both sides and pulled out.
But the arrowhead was still inside. Either they had to cut open a larger wound to slowly move the arrowhead out, which meant he could die from excessive blood loss at any moment, or they had to pull it out directly, which would definitely affect his future mobility. The best-case scenario would be a limp, but the worst possibility was being confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
This made it difficult for the imperial physician to make a decision.
As he was in a dilemma, Princess Changlin walked in.
"What did the imperial physician say?"
"Replying to Your Highness, the consort's injury is tricky. Whether it is pulled out directly or by cutting open the wound, it will cause irreversible damage to his right leg... I fear that in the future... he will be disabled!"
"What!"
Wen Xinglu and Wen Yuwei both cried out in surprise.
Especially Wen Xinglu, he had thought Su Cheng was exaggerating, but he never expected it to be true!
The moment he thought his leg was ruined, he lost the courage to live.
He could endure being subservient in the Wen family because he knew his future was limitless.
He could also endure fawning over the princess because he could return to court one day and realize his ambitions!
But now, a broken leg meant he was forever estranged from the court. At best, he could only be a strategist. He couldn't tolerate such a situation and would rather die than live such a life!
He furiously beat his injured leg, cursing as he did so.
"Who! Who exactly! Wants to harm me like this! I will have him pay with his life! I will have him pay with his life!"
Wen Xinglu's疯癫 (fēngdiān - madness) appearance made Wen Yuwei's heart ache, but Princess Changlin beside her looked somewhat disgusted.
She had favored him recently because he was both capable and attractive, unlike those in the inner court who were merely beautiful. But if his leg was broken, then his position as consort would be over.
There was no concept of divorcing a husband in the Great Jin dynasty, but they could have a separation!
A man was just a man. She could have a large number of them whenever she wanted.
He had only himself to blame for being so ostentatious and getting into this situation. In her heart, she had already sentenced Wen Xinglu to death, but she still maintained a concerned expression.
"Princess, please save my brother quickly! His leg cannot be ruined! It cannot be ruined!"
Wen Yuwei cried and wailed, completely unaware of which step had gone wrong to lead her and her brother to this predicament, one with a broken leg, the other without a future.
Princess Changlin feigned comfort, "Consort, you should not delay the imperial physician's treatment. If you limp, then so be it. I will have a fine sandalwood crutch made for you in the future."
Her words were spoken lightly. Others might not have understood, but Wen Xinglu, who had served the princess for many days, knew that this was the tone of someone about to abandon him.
His heart sank to the bottom.
A hundred days of marital affection are built on one day of marriage, but this saying was truly for fools. Once his usefulness was gone, he was like grass and trees, to be discarded at will.
He couldn't afford to wallow in self-pity. Now, the princess was his only support. He couldn't let her become disgusted with him like this. Perhaps by appearing pitiful, he might have a chance to salvage the situation.
So, enduring the pain, he said to the princess, "Thank you, Princess. Leave the rest to the imperial physician. You and Yuwei should go out first. It's not good for ladies to see blood."
"Mm, Consort, please take care of yourself."
With that, she left the room, leaving Wen Yuwei stunned.
Her brother was, after all, her pillow companion. Just now, he had been chatting and laughing with her, so how could he have turned so cold-blooded and heartless?
For a moment, she couldn't believe it!
Then Wen Xinglu squeezed her hand hard twice, urging her to leave quickly.
The sadness and determination in his eyes made Wen Yuwei feel even more heartbroken.
"Brother, I'll wait for you outside. If you need anything, just call me!"
"Mm."
Reluctantly, she walked out of the door. As expected, Princess Changlin had long since disappeared.