His Majesty and his retinue entered the camp almost running. The soldiers who were on night watch duty at the time were baffled by the scene they saw.
How come there seemed to be an injured person in one of the shadow guard's arms?
More importantly, when they had tried to go forward to pay their respects to the king, he had given all of them a withering glare, freezing them in their path and left hurriedly.
Su Li could see her tent in front of her and ran towards it. She wanted Li Rong to be settled in bed before the Imperial Physician came.
When the Head Commander saw where His Majesty was leading them, he stopped of his own accord, with trepidation he said, "Your Majesty, that is the imperial tent."
His Majesty turned towards him with a perplexed look on his face and replied, "Yes, Zhen knows. Now, hurry up."
The Head Commander didn't want to take any hasty actions that might be used against their liege in the long run.
He had seen how furious the monarch had been to see all the blood loss and that the emperor might know the boy in his arms.
However, how could a conscript and at that a common man be allowed entry into the Imperial rooms?
He hesitated for a second but still soldiered on with his concerns, "Your Majesty, forgive this lowly one but it isn't advisable to allow anyone other than the empress to spend the night in your rooms."
Su Li instantly understood what the other person was trying to say. Nevertheless, she couldn't care about societal norms and imperial rules at the moment. All she cared about was to have Li Rong looked at by a competent physician and have him recover as soon as possible.
She felt impatient but she knew she couldn't lose her temper on someone who was trying to look out for her.
Therefore, she spoke in a soft but commanding tone, "Zhen understands but Zhen cannot allow this child to be treated somewhere else. If someone tried to make an issue out of it, Zhen will quash them all."
Nodding at the monarch's response, Head Commander pulled the boy into his own arms and carried him inside the imperial tent.
Before he could question His Majesty as to where to place the child, the monarch turned down the covers on the bed and asked him to place the child there.
The Head Commander baulked at such a major breach in etiquette and rules. Yet, with the emperor giving him the stink eye for dithering too much, he kept his mouth shut and did as he was told.
Anyways, he'll ask the other shadow guards to be at full alert tonight and not allow anyone within ten paces of the tent so as to contain this horrendous breach in etiquette.
Otherwise, they might just have saved the child from a beating to push him towards beheading.
The Imperial Physician came running when he was informed that it was an imperial summon for him. Huffing and puffing he reached the imperial tent and was given leave to enter it.
Now, a curious coincident was that it was the same Imperial Physician who had diagnosed Su Li with a broken and bleeding heart a few weeks ago.
The physician's eyes almost bulged out at the scene in front of him.
Well, he was one smart cookie so he kept his mouth shut, greeted the monarch and then began to work on the boy lying on the imperial bed.
His face regained its professional calmness while inside he was thinking that what wouldn't the other imperial clan members do to lie down on this bed and this unknown child, a military recruit from the looks of it, had gained such luck without breaking a sweat.
Well, without breaking a sweat but all the while breaking two of his ribs and a lot of lacerations along with all the other bumps and bruises. It wasn't much, in the grand scheme of things, if the child had fought as a revolutionary to reach this exalted position.
Peh! Peh!
What utter nonsense was he thinking?
Had he gone dotty with his age to let his mind wander to such treacherous thoughts?
The physician looked around himself, afraid that the monarch or the watchdog might have caught on to his errant thoughts.
Thankfully, the monarch was still pacing around the room, worrying his lips, fidgeting his hands.
With an annoyed look, the physician thought: had nobody ever told this exalted existence not to walk ceaselessly when a healer was looking after their patient?
It was distracting and bothersome.
Still, the imperial physician wanted his head screwed on the top of his body so he kept his mouth shut and willed his hands to work faster.
When he was finished with closing the smaller lacerations and cuts and had bandaged the ribs in the proper order, both his hands were covered with the child's blood.
The larger wounds and the ribs would take several more weeks to heal but for now, his work was done.
"How is he?" His Majesty asked in concern.
Su Li was worried since Li Rong still hadn't regained consciousness all the while.
The Imperial Physician didn't know how to answer that question.
A person might ask:
Why? Is Li Rong in grave danger?
The Imperial Physician will counter the said person with a question of his own :
Why don't you try being beaten up so badly, losing such copious amounts of blood and then have military personnel who didn't take care of their strength while holding you and bring you to a physician?
All the while, running at full speed and almost squeezing your innards on the way and jostling your ribs to the point where they were just a few millimetres away from piercing your heart.
Now, answer the physician, how are you?
Humph!
However, the physician curbed his acidic tongue but couldn't contain his terse voice as he responded, "He'll live."
Su Li almost wilted in relief at that reply.
Now that the danger had passed, she felt her anger rearing its head once again.
She didn't want to lose all composure in front of these people who looked up to her as their ultimate sky and asked everyone to leave her alone in her tent and not move the child still lying on the imperial bed.
The Head Commander tried to protest but when he saw the furious expression on the emperor's face and the heated glare sent his way, he realised he was being discourteous to his liege when he questioned all his orders. Even if his objections were for His Majesty's well-being, he shouldn't second guess the words of the monarch.
The Head Commander left without a word and took the imperial physician along with him as well.
An hour passed and Su Li felt no calmer, glaring into the fire in her tent.
The fire mirrored the emotions in her chest perfectly.
Her heart was lit on fire.
How dare they?
How dare they?
No one, no one was allowed to do something like this to Li Rong.
Su Li was realistic enough to realise that had it been someone else in Li Rong's position, she would have been still furious but wouldn't have been angered to such an extent.
It was precisely because it was Li Rong in this situation, that her heart couldn't calm down.
He had always stood by her side in the first world and he was there when everything went to hell in a handbasket. He hadn't even refused her when she had been adamant to go back to the warehouse and how did she repay him?
In a place, where she ruled supreme, someone had laid their hands on him. She didn't even have the face to see Li Rong once he woke up.
Su Li heard someone calling their salutations from outside the tent.
She stalked to the flap of the tent in a few steps and raised it open.
She was too infuriated at this point and if someone was courageous and willing enough to deliver themselves at her doorstep, she'll rip them a new one.
It was Ning Fu standing on the other side of the flap.
"Your Majesty..."
Su Li wanted to scream and shout at this person.
How come he was so lax in his discipline and control of the army?
What?
Recruits, conscripts and low-level military men weren't worth his protection?
Or was it a form of hazing the new recruits? It was despicable no matter how one looked at it.
"Your Majesty, forgive this small one but Your Excellency shouldn't harm your dragon body with anger."
Su Li blinked her eyes in surprise and almost wanted to see if this person had hit his head on his way back to the camp.
Instead of pleading for his second-rank generals or trying to give explanations, he was telling her to calm down.
Had he finally lost his marbles?
Or was he trying to butter her up, to get him and his people out of the predicament?
Su Li seethed, however, she managed to swallow the sharp comments on her tongue.
"Your Majesty, ..."
The pleading note in Nung Fu's voice broke Su Li's control over her anger.
Su Li interrupted his words. "Unit Commander, Zhen forbids you from giving out punishment to the people involved. Zhen will decide their punishment. Leave"
Just as Ning Fu turned to leave, he heard the monarch's voice once again, "Unit Commander, you better hope and pray to all your gods that the child regains consciousness and isn't harmed in some permanent way or Zhen will take it out of the hides of those scum's families and that is Zhen's promise."
Time doesn't stop for anyone and on this night it passed at a snail's pace for some while others were dreading the dawn of a new day.