Chapter 75

  A great fire broke out, casting a red glow over half of the street where the government office was located.

  Xiaohe looked back at the mansion in a state of shock and terror, with half her body still feeling cold.

  Those people actually dared to set fire to the government office!

  If it weren't for Mr. Zhan's timely appearance, she and the young lady would have been buried in that raging fire.

  Because she woke up in a dream and rushed out, Lu Xiaofeng only had time to grab a brocade cloak, but the outer clothes were not worn or taken.

  At this time, she gathered the brocade quilt tightly around her body, stretched out one hand to grasp Xiao He's icy hand, and comforted her: "Xiao He, it's all right now."

  "Little... little... little... miss... wa..." Xiao He trembled with his voice and tried several times before calling out a complete "miss", then burst into loud crying.

  Lu Xiaofeng half-embraced her, gently patting her back and silently comforting her. She knew that Xiaohe was really frightened, as this kind of brutal murder was something Xiaohe had never seen before.

  Lu Xiaofeng didn't turn his head back, but asked: "What about Feng Si and the others?"

  "Yan Wushuang has gone to rescue him, it should be alright, their main target is you."

  Lu Xiaofeng took a deep breath, his voice turned cold, "Zhao Qiutang has truly lost his mind and soul, it can be seen that his current mental state is being controlled by the Golden Armor General in the Purple Gold Mace and he is unable to extricate himself."

  "Let's get out of here first." Zhan Zhao was also shocked and angry in her heart, shocked that Zhao Qiutang dared to harm her, and angry that if she hadn't arrived on time, what would have happened?

  That's what he didn't dare to think of.

  Setting fires aside, there are also ambushers outside the house. Even if she can escape from the house, it's hard to avoid the swords and knives waiting outside. How vicious!

  "Go."

  Zhan Zhao nodded and protected her as she disappeared into the night.

  Zhao went to a commoner's house and borrowed two sets of clothes for Lu Xiaofeng and his servant to wear, otherwise they would not have been able to withstand the freezing cold on this bitterly cold winter night.

  In the land temple where Zhan Zhao and others temporarily took refuge, Lu Xiaofeng met Chen Qian, the prefect of Shezhou.

  Chen Qian bowed deeply and said: "I thank you for saving me that day, miss."

  "Governor Chen was being polite, you are innocent and shouldn't have been executed."

  Chen Qian's face revealed a hint of helplessness, "This humble official's life is insignificant, but Zhao Qiutang relies on his Purple Gold Mace to act recklessly, now even the young lady has been deeply harmed, and the people of Shezhou are suffering."

  Lu Xiaofeng pursed his lips and didn't speak.

  Zhan Zhao said: "I suppose Miss has also been frightened, why don't we rest aside for a while?"

  Chen Qian also said: "Right, miss, you should rest for a while and calm down."

  Lu Xiaofeng nodded and pulled Xiaohe to sit down beside a fire pit.

  Because there were outsiders present, Zhan Zhao did not dare to get close to her or comfort her, and could only sit in the nearest place, silently guarding her.

  As for Lu Xiaofeng, you can say he is afraid, but it's not necessarily true. He is absolutely furious, which surpasses everything else.

  Xiaohe leaned tightly against Miss, absorbing the tranquility from her body.

  Lu Xiaofeng patted her shoulder gently with his hand, conveying silent concern.

  "Miss, miss you're okay, it's really great..."

  Mr. and Mrs. Feng rushed into the main hall of the Land Temple, saw Miss Anran safe and sound, and couldn't help but rush over with joy.

  "I'm fine, didn't I scare you guys?"

  "The old slaves are nothing, as long as the young lady is safe, even if it costs the old slave couple their lives, it's not a big deal."

  "Get up, it's chilly on the ground, you've all had a shock, let's talk about everything when it gets light."

  "Yes."

  Miss, let me take him."

  Lu Xiaofeng carefully handed Xiao He over to her and then rubbed his slightly sore arm.

  Zhan Zhao glanced at her and felt a pang of heartache.

  Suddenly, he saw her looking over at him, flashing a faint smile that was meant to reassure him, and Zhan Zhao's heart inexplicably calmed down.

  She's really fine!

  As time passed, Lu Xiaofeng truly felt his eyelids getting heavy and couldn't help but let out a yawn, rubbing his eyes with his hand.

  "Come over here and take a rest."

  She heard Zhan Zhao's voice and saw that he had lit another bonfire not far away, with a pillar from the temple beside it.

  Lu Xiaofeng immediately understood his intention and couldn't help but smile. He got up and walked over, leaning against the pillar to sit down.

  Zhan Zhao covered her with a quilt and whispered, "Sleep, I'm here."

  Lu Xiaofeng pursed his lips and gave him a sweet smile, then closed his eyes contentedly.

  Zhan Zhao sat beside her and helped her tend the fire.

  The first half of the night was thrilling and exciting, while the second half was peaceful and quiet.

  The next day, news spread throughout the city of Shezhou that the prefectural government had caught fire and Feng Daren, who was temporarily staying there, had died in the flames.

  Upon hearing the news, King Jing of Shan, Zhao Yun, was also shocked and immediately found his youngest son, "Autumn Hall, you haven't done anything improper, have you?" No matter how one looked at it, this great fire had started too suspiciously.

  "Of course not," Zhao Qiudao's first half sentence put his father at ease, but the second half made him break out in a cold sweat. "I just let someone light a fire."

  Jing Shan Wangye pointed at his son's index finger trembling slightly, almost daring not to recognize the person in front of him as his youngest son. "Autumn Hall, you..."

  "That girl is too annoying, I don't like her."

  "How dare you!"

  "It's come to this, Father should think about how to deal with the aftermath."

  Jing Shan Wang Ye was so angry that he fell over backwards.

  Until Bao Zheng arrived with an imperial edict, Lu Xiaofeng had not shown up again.

  However, it was on the third day of fleeing from the fire that her body began to show symptoms of a cold and fever, probably due to catching a chill when she rushed out that night.

  After all, it's the cold winter weather, suddenly coming out of the warm quilt, first being blown by the big fire outside the house, and then being blown by the cold night wind, even if you are made of iron, you can't stand it.

  Xiaohe couldn't help but blame herself, "It's all my fault, if I hadn't slept so soundly that night, Miss would have only been worried about waking me up to help me get dressed, and she wouldn't have had time to grab a quilt to wrap herself in...

  “Cough...” Lu Xiaofeng's body was burning, his head was heavy, and he felt weak all over. He weakly waved his hand, "Xiaohe, it has nothing to do with you, I'm just physically weak..." The comfortable life had been going on for too long, and the physical condition would also decline accordingly, this is reality.

  "Miss..."

  "It's nothing serious, just take some medicine, cover yourself with a few quilts and sweat it out, you'll be fine... Cough cough..."

  "Xiaohe, let him go."

  "Big Brother Zhan——"

  Zhan Zhao squatted down in front of Lu Xiaofeng, stretched out his hand to scoop her up and hold her in his arms, saying to Xiao He and the others: "I'll take her to see a doctor."

  Yan Wusong said: "Zhan Daxia, rest assured, I'm here."

  Zhan Zhao nodded at him and flew away with the person in his arms.

  Zhan Zhao rushed over in a hurry, he was afraid that the person in his arms would have an accident. Even through the thick winter clothes, he could feel her body heat, which showed how badly she was burning up.

  "Xiao Feng, hold on."

  "Zhan Zhao."

  "I'm here."

  "If I get too hot, you can either use water or strong liquor to help me wipe down and cool off, I don't want my brain to be cooked."

  "Good."

  "Remember."

  "I've taken note."

  "My head is really dizzy, I might not be able to hold on and need to sleep."

  "Little Phoenix..."

  The person in his arms made no more sound, Zhan Zhao bowed his head and touched his forehead to hers, only to feel the scorching temperature on her forehead, his face changed greatly as he exerted all his strength to rush forward.

  Finally found a doctor, and the doctor felt the patient's forehead temperature, his face changed, "Must hurry to bring down the fever, can't go on like this."

  "Doctor, please hurry up and prescribe some medicine, I'll help her bring down her temperature."

  "You——" The old doctor looked at him with some suspicion, glancing at Lu Xiaofeng in his arms and then back at him.

  Zhan Zhao said: "She is a wife who has not yet crossed the threshold, and this is an emergency measure."

  "Alright then."

  The old doctor went to prepare the medicine and decoct it. Zhan Zhao closed the door, took warm water to help Lu Xiaofeng wipe his whole body to reduce his high fever.

  When the medicine was ready, Lu Xiaofeng's body temperature had also dropped somewhat. Zhan Zhao took the medicine and blew it lightly to cool it down before holding her in his arms and feeding it to her.

  The little phoenix girl, who had been burned to the point of semi-consciousness, instinctively rejected the bitter medicinal liquid. Having no other choice, Zhan Zhao could only hold the medicine in his mouth and pass it to her through their mouths, which was the only way he managed to get the medicine into her.

  After all this commotion, not only did Lu Xiaofeng's forehead slightly sweat, but even Zhan Zhao himself broke out in a cold sweat.

  In the middle of the night, Lu Xiaofeng's body temperature finally returned to normal, and he fell into a deep sleep, with all his clothes soaked in sweat.

  Zhan Zhao found Yao Tong and went out to borrow a set of clean clothes for the girl from someone's house, then helped her change into them, carefully covering her with the quilt again, and continued to guard her bedside.

  When the sky brightened, Lu Xiaofeng finally woke up slowly, opened his eyes with a moment of confusion, and then saw Zhan Xiaomao lying on the bed, and couldn't help but slightly curve his lips. "Zhan Zhao——"

  Her voice was somewhat hoarse from dehydration.

  Zhan Zhao woke up with a start and smiled, "You're awake."

  I'm thirsty.

  "I'll go help you pour water."

  Lu Xiaofeng felt much better after drinking a bowl of water.

  "Are you scared?"

  Zhan Zhao nodded, "It's better if you don't get sick."

  "I'll be more careful in the future, I also hate getting sick, this time was really an accident."

  Just as they were talking, the old doctor knocked on the door and came in, holding a bowl of freshly brewed medicine.

  Lu Xiaofeng's face turned sour at the sight of it, and he still wanted to drink?

  "The girl can be considered awake, hurry up and drink the medicine while it's still hot."

  Lu Xiaofeng took it, closed his eyes, gave himself a psychological boost, good medicine is bitter but effective for the illness, and drinking the medicine quickly was necessary. Then, while blowing on it to cool it down, he drank the whole thing in one gulp.

  Zhan Zhao handed her a bowl of clear water to rinse her mouth.

  Looking at her making a bitter face, I couldn't help but want to laugh, "So afraid of bitterness?"

  "Of course." Little Phoenix said with a straight face, "It's very bitter, isn't it?"

  "It's just so-so."

  "You didn't drink it yet—" Before she could finish her sentence, Little Phoenix trailed off. She suddenly remembered that someone had fed her medicine in her daze the day before, and it seemed to be this cat's doing.

  It's still word of mouth!

  Zhan Zhao saw her pick up the radio, but knew she was thinking of something, and couldn't help but smile.

  The old doctor on the side saw it and couldn't help but smile, saying: "Let me help the young lady take her pulse again."

  "Trouble you, doctor."

  "This is the duty of a doctor."

  After feeling the pulse, the old doctor said: "Yesterday it looked very dangerous, but the girl's foundation is good. Now she has recovered seven out of ten and will be fine with more rest and recuperation."

  "Thank you, doctor."

  The old man smiled at her and said: "Girl, for the sake of Xuzhou's people, you dare to speak up for justice. What I do is nothing."

  Luk Siu-fung was shocked.

  Zhan Zhao was also shocked.

  The old man smiled and said: "On that day, the young lady stood on the execution ground, arguing with reason and force, speaking out her words boldly. We common people saw and heard it all, and we all cheered for the young lady."

  Lu Xiaofeng felt a bit embarrassed and lowered his head. Didn't anyone think she was too masculine? He should have worn the official uniform that day.

  "A few days ago, it was said that the government office caught fire in the middle of the night, and the imperial envoy said that Miss Feng also died in the fire. Now it seems that there is another reason inside. The young prince first wanted to behead Governor Wang, and now he won't let go of Miss Feng either. This is really a heinous crime."

  "Old fellow——" Zhan Zhao began to say.

  The old doctor waved his hand and said, "I understand, I don't know Miss Feng, nor have I ever seen Director Zhan. You two are just ordinary patients and family members."

  "Thank you."

  The old man couldn't help but ask Xiaoyue before he left, "Miss, is Zhan Daren really your fiancé?"

  Lu Xiaofeng's face turned red, but he still replied, "Yes."

  The old man smiled and turned around to walk out, muttering to himself: "It's truly a match made in heaven."

  Lu Xiaofeng's face turned even redder.

  Why so gossipy?

  Zhan Zhao couldn't help but laugh at the sight, sat down beside her bed, held her hand, and just smiled at her without saying a word.

  Lu Xiaofeng's other hand, which was not grasped, slapped him a few times to vent his anger, "What are you laughing at? Showing off your white teeth?"

  Zhan Zhao stretched out his hand and pulled her into his arms, saying in a low voice: "It's only when you're like this, so lively and vivid, that I feel at ease."

  "When will Mr. Bao arrive?"

  "It's probably just these two days."

  "I really hope Bao Daren arrives soon, that Zhao Qiutang is thinking of sending him to the guillotine every minute."

  "You..."

  "What's wrong with me? I have a very clear sense of right and wrong."

  "Just rest a bit more."

  "Alright."

  Zhan Zhao supported her to lie down again, tucked in her quilt for her, "I'll keep watch over you, go to sleep."

  "Wouldn't it be a waste of talent to have you, a fourth-rank imperial guard with sword privileges, stand watch for me?" Little Phoenix Maiden teased with her eyes closed.

  Zhan Zhao said: "You will never be a great talent wasted on trivial matters."

  Lu Xiaofeng smiled and closed his eyes to rest.

  Little Phoenix

  "Huh?"

  "This case is closed, shall we return to Beijing?"

  "I want to go see the winter scenery of Huangshan."

  Zhan Zhao fell silent.

  "But after I finish watching, I will return to Beijing."

  Zhan Zhao grasped her hand tightly, slightly excited, "Xiao Feng——"

  "This time's affair has made a big fuss, I'll have to go back and comfort my adoptive parents." The implication of Little Phoenix's words was to let a certain cat not misunderstand.

  Zhan Zhao couldn't help but laugh, always so stubborn, and who knows when she'll finally straighten out the knot in her mind to marry him.