Chapter 115: A double edged sword 3 (1/2)

The General's mansion, Ningzhuo

Su Liya sat on a cushioned seat by the bed and kept watch of Lu Yaozhu, the Doctor reported that there were no complications. The wounds were deep but weren't too serious, after some days great they would be healed and Lu Yaozhu would be good as new.

The physician that was called in was a famed military physician retained by Lu Yaozhu. He was surnamed Shen and was in his fifties. His hair had started greying in some areas, so far she had met him twice. During both times it was when he was called over to check on Lu Yaozhu, Physician Shen seemed rather easygoing.

Physician Shen was loyal to the Lu family, he had served under the late Duke of Wu for decades. Lu Yaozhu trusted him greatly, physician Shen offer served as the chief military doctor during Lu Yaozhu's military campaign. After doing a thorough check up on the general, he wrote down a prescription and left.

Lu Yaozhu couldn't be moved because of not just his injury but to avoid drawing any attention to his condition. Yu Tao offered to keep watch of his master but was turned down by Su Liya. She preferred to keep watch of him herself, at least until he regained consciousness.

Lu Yaozhu slept for four hours, it was nearly night when he woke up. Rong Rong and Baozhai went about the room and lit the lamps before it was dark. They added more coal and wood to the fire, or was colder at night in the winter, most especially in Ningzhuo.

When they were done with the lamps and the heaters, they quietly withdrew. Lu Yaozhu wasn't dressed in thicker clothes because of the injury on his stomach, to keep him from catching a cold, Su Liya stood and shut the window properly. She saw Lu Yaozhu's eyes flutter open, as she walked back to her seat.

She increases her pace until she stood at the bedside, ”how are you feeling, Yaozhu? You have been out for hours, would you like some water”.

Lu Yaozhu blinked a few times to clear the sleep away from his eyes then nodded. His mouth felt dry and his throat was itchy, She picked up the pitcher of warm water and Cup on the bedside table and poured him a cup.

”Help me up please”

”Okay” She dropped the cup on the table and came forward to help him seat up. He hissed as she helped him up, she rolled up a blanket and placed it behind him. When he was more comfortable, she passed the cup of water to him. He drank quickly and passed it back to her, indicating that he wanted some more.

Two more cups later and his mouth was no longer dry and the previous discomfort in his throat was no longer felt. Su Liya pulled the blanket around him up, ”you must be starving, are you ready to eat?”

Lu Yaozhu nodded and smiled, ”sorry for making you worry, your suspicion was right. The informant was working with Deputy Sun, we were attacked during the exchange. They tried to make it seem like they had followed the informant and was trying to stop him from giving me the records.

”I would have fallen for that if I didn't notice the callous on the informant palm, which spoke of years of sword use. The informant claimed to be an assistant at the ministry of revenue branch office, would an assistant have callouses? I wasn't expecting to be attacked and just wanted to play along with the informant when a crowd of masked men descended on us.

”Three of my men were killed, the three other men I came with escaped with me but one was fatally injured. He died not long letter so it, it was already daybreak and the three of us were all injured we could move around rashly. Luckily one of our men sported one of the secret guards you sent to find me or who knows how everything would have turned out”.

Su Liya sat on her vacant seat thoughtfully, ” You said that the records were fake then this was Deputy Sun's original plan. He wanted to stir you in the wrong direction by giving you a doctored record and to stop you from getting suspicious of that, he staged an attack to throw you up. How well planned”.

”Good to see that you are impressed, I would if one half of my body didn't feel like it was on fire”

Su Liya winced, ”sorry dear, but look on the bright side... At least you are alive. There is hope as long as one is living, only the dead are hopeless. We will try to get the real records and if we don't we can always trick them into revealing their true nature. So cheer up Yaozhu”.