Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress
Chapter 919 - 916: Signs

Chapter 919: Chapter 916: Signs

Lin Kangle also felt that Doctor Hong’s words made sense. How could the life of the deposed Crown Prince compare to Bai Qingyan, who was about to be crowned? He nodded, "Alright! I’ll first take a military doctor over to check on him. Whether he lives or not is up to fate! Many brothers in our army died or were injured trying to put out the fire..."

Before Lin Kangle could finish speaking, Doctor Hong’s expression became solemn: "Were the injured soldiers sent back to the camp? Are there many burn victims?"

Lin Kangle hadn’t yet answered before Doctor Hong quickly left with his medicine chest: "Forget it, I’ll go take a look..."

Watching Doctor Hong hurry away carrying his medicine chest, Lin Kangle reached out to call after him but ended up pressing his lips together and looked towards Shen Tianzhi: "Aren’t we supposed to be guarding His Majesty here?"

Shen Tianzhi patted Lin Kangle’s shoulder. It was just that Doctor Hong didn’t want to waste his energy on the deposed Crown Prince of the Jin Dynasty, but soldiers mattered differently in the heart of a seasoned military doctor like Doctor Hong.

Shen Tianzhi gazed at the moon obscured by dark clouds, vaguely sensing that the wind carried moisture. A hint of joy appeared in his eyes... It seemed it was going to rain.

Inside the tent, the candle tears had almost entirely burned out, and the silence was broken only by the faint sound of the wind brushing against the grass and trees, and the low chirping of night insects.

Bai Qingyan and Bai Jinxiu were washing the face and wiping the body of the Eldest Princess.

The Eldest Princess had dressed meticulously, knowing she faced certain death, so there was no need to change into other clothes.

Outside the tent, the wind grew stronger and the army tent rustled loudly. Before long... the rain began to fall, pitter-pattering.

The civilians placed at the rear of the camp had been watching the great fire at Luohong City, thinking their homes would be burned to the ground, and were overwhelmed with a sense of despair. With the arrival of the downpour, they rushed out of their tents, some even falling to their knees and crying, grateful that Heaven had finally sent rain to grant them a lifeline.

The raging flames within Luohong City, seemingly dodging left and right, could not escape the fine beads of rain. The fire met water, creating hot steam, and from afar, Luohong City appeared to be enveloped in a mist akin to a celestial city in the clouds.

Below the high steps of Luohong Tower, Hongqiao was searching through the pile of burned corpses, already half consumed by flames, for King Liang’s body, after being thrown to the side by Bai Jinxiu. She was covered in soot, her clothing full of burnt holes extinguished after catching sparks.

Both her hands were blistered from the scorching fire, and the blisters had burst... blood seeping out, yet she endured the immense pain while sweating profusely as she continued to search: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty!"

As the heavy rain fell, the surroundings were filled with steaming heat capable of cooking a person. Hongqiao felt dizzy from the steam, struggling to breathe, yet still, she couldn’t find King Liang!

She wasn’t sure if loyal subordinates had already protected King Liang’s escape, but she truly couldn’t hold on any longer...

As Hongqiao turned, her vision began to blacken, and she suddenly collapsed.

She couldn’t hold on any longer...

Her fingers twitched slightly, but ultimately, she couldn’t prop herself up.

"Here! There’s a young woman here who hasn’t evacuated! She’s still breathing!"

Before Hongqiao’s consciousness completely disappeared, she heard someone shouting loudly. In a haze, she saw a soldier in military uniform; her vision turned black, and she knew nothing more.

The storm lasted all night. Although the fire wasn’t completely extinguished, the scene of towering flames was absent, and now only behind Luohong Tower could faint firelight be seen on the mountain. Lin Kangle had already dispatched several groups of soldiers to climb the mountain again to extinguish the remaining flames.

It was already morning. Between the gaps in the heavy clouds in the sky, extremely dazzling rays burst through, tracing golden edges along the clouds...

Though it hadn’t completely cleared up, it already showed signs of a clear day.

Puddles scattered throughout Luohong City reflected the slowly moving clouds above, and the gold gleaming through them, occasionally shattered by the boots of Zhou soldiers, occasionally crushed by horse hooves.

Some soldiers followed orders to systematically search the city, looking for remnants of the previous dynasty who hadn’t fled.

Others checked on the people’s abodes one by one, gauging whether they were still livable. Homes destroyed by fire were recorded by Lin Kangle’s orders, and new residences would be allocated to the people in due course.

Lin Kangle’s subordinate confirmed the safety in the city and came to report to Lin Kangle, who was uncertain whether to allow anxious citizens eager to return home and inspect their losses into the city. He hurried through the mud towards Bai Qingyan’s tent.

Outside the tent, Shen Tianzhi had kept watch all night. Inside, there was still no movement, and Shen Tianzhi was greatly concerned.

Lin Kangle approached, and nodding at Shen Tianzhi who had a stubbly chin, glanced into the tent and softly asked, "How is His Majesty?"

"No movement, but... probably no issues!" Shen Tianzhi thought of the Jin Dynasty’s deposed Crown Prince and then Lin Kangle, "How is the deposed Crown Prince of Jin? Dead?"

At the mention of this, Lin Kangle had a sour expression: "Not dead, how could he be so fortunate... lost so much blood yet managed to be saved! I even specifically told that military doctor not to take it too seriously, just to do a perfunctory job! Who knew he would actually pull through! However... it seems he’ll be reliant on medicine in the future."

"Oh..." Shen Tianzhi sounded regretful. If this deposed Crown Prince had died, Qin Shangzhi, whom Bai Qingyan always wanted to recruit, might have smoothly sworn allegiance to Bai Qingyan. Shen Tianzhi pursed his lips again and asked, "What about Qin Shangzhi? Didn’t he want to see His Majesty?"

Lin Kangle waved his hand dismissively: "I don’t know what kind of enchantment the previous dynasty’s deposed Crown Prince used on Qin Shangzhi. Qin Shangzhi treated the deposed Crown Prince like his own father! I think... we shouldn’t expect much; Qin Shangzhi definitely won’t pledge allegiance to His Majesty. If I’d known... we wouldn’t have brought him back, better to execute them all at once! Save us the trouble."

The reason for bringing him back last night was entirely to save face for Qin Shangzhi...

Before Bai Qingyan entered the city yesterday, he had called Qin Shangzhi out for a detailed discussion, clearly intending to recruit Qin Shangzhi, but didn’t expect the deposed Crown Prince to survive with a knife in his chest.

"The Eldest Princess is certainly gone..." Lin Kangle sighed, gripping the hilt of his waist sword with one hand, "The coronation ceremony is coming soon, His Majesty should proceed to return to Dadu City. First... the Eldest Princess cannot delay here, and second... His Majesty needs time to prepare upon returning! Otherwise... could you enter now to speak with His Majesty? I’ll stay here with troops to assist the people returning to the city, and you escort His Majesty back to Dadu City first?"

Shen Tianzhi turned his eyes slightly, looking at Lin Kangle with a half smile. This guy really knew how to delegate. The Eldest Princess was Bai Qingyan’s grandmother who raised him since he was young, with a bond uncommon to the ordinary. Now... the Eldest Princess was gone, and at such a time, Bai Qingyan was grieving... Should he go into the tent and talk about this with Bai Qingyan?