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<figure class="tmblr-full" data-orig-height="332" data-orig-width="500"></figure>Murong Feng is distracted by Jing Wan’s wound, yet we can still see the scheming general in him. His coldness and ability to think clearly in times of turmoil make him a great leader but his singleminded determination for power also makes him less-than-perfect husband material.
Encountering Love: Chapter 25
Xu Jian Zhang sat for a while in the reception room, his thoughts whirling uneasily through his mind a countless number of times; he tried to convince himself to stop thinking about it, but his mind seemed like it was controlled by a ghost, and the doubts continued to weigh him down. The sounds of an orchestra performing, the gongs from the opera, and the hubbub of laughter all faintly passed from outside the room, further adding to the turmoil in his heart. After sitting down for a few minutes, he got up again to pace a few steps, and thinking aloud, he said: “This estate must be currently celebrating some happy event. It is so festive.”
He Xu An chuckled a little, but did not answer. Xu Zhi Ping turned around to continue pacing, but then he sat down on the sofa again, and listened to the tick-tock of the clock on the desk. Actually, He Xu An was very worried, more so than Xu Jian Zhang, but could only watch the clock that already pointed to twelve thirty. He suddenly heard hurried footsteps coming from the back, and immediately knew that it was not someone from the Tao Estate and was most certainly from the Commander’s Estate, as the person came in directly from the side gate. Because he did not know what the situation was, he continued to feel very uneasy.
When Xu Jian Zhang heard the sound of footsteps, he got up and having had dealings in Cheng Zhou numerous times, he recognized Murong Feng’s guards at once from their military uniforms. He was both surprised and uncertain, but that person directly approached He Xu An to whisper several things into his ear. He Xu An glanced at Xu Jian Zhang and said with a smile: “Mr. Xu, please sit at ease. Liu Shao has a few things he has instructed me to take care of. I will return quickly.” Xu Jian Zhang replied: “Mr. He, please do what is convenient for you.” He Xu An seemed a bit worried, but was not any less polite, as he ordered a guard to remain with him and hurriedly left with the others.
When He Xu An returned to the Commander’s Estate, he only saw a car rushing inside, which did not stop until it arrived just in front of the building. He Xu An recognized that Dr. Muller, who was an outstanding surgeon from Germany, and was the most famous doctor of the Christian hospital in Cheng Zhou. Upon seeing Dr. Muller, he was surprised and quickly followed him up the steps and into the building. Shen Jia Ping was pacing worriedly in the downstairs atrium, but when he saw Muller, he acted as if he had just seen a savior and said: “Liu Shao is upstairs.” Then, he personally led them upstairs. Several sentries guarded the corridor upstairs, which was also full of soldiers from the garrison. Following the corridor and turning left, they reached a very large suite; they passed through the living room and went inside.
The Murong family’s household doctor, an Englishman, by the name of Dr. Spence, was already in the room. His medical skill was also quite famous and was quietly saying something to the nurse, but when he saw Dr. Muller enter, the two doctors hastily shook each other’s hand and began to converse in German. He Xu An saw that Murong Feng was sitting on the couch, without the slightest movement, while a nurse was cleaning the blood off his arm, and immediately walked over. He saw the wound was merely a scratch from the bullet; even though the wound was long, it was superficial as neither the muscle nor bone was injured, so he released his breath. He was just about to speak, when Murong Feng simply ordered: “Get out of the way!” He quickly moved away, and turning around, he then saw that two nurses were hovering over the bed, hurriedly attempting to staunch the flow of Jing Wan’s blood as they continued to exchange fresh cotton gauze. A heavy woolen blanket, which was speckled with blood, covered her, but her face was devoid of any color. He Xu An saw that Murong Feng was staring unwaveringly at Jing Wan’s pale face, and he became worried for no apparent reason.
The two doctors were discussing and upon agreeing that the patient should not be moved, they decided to immediately start the surgery. They went to prepare when Murong Feng decided to move into the living room. Dr. Muller personally went to explain to him: “Miss Yin is in dire straits, that bullet is very deep and we are afraid that it has already punctured the lungs. It will not be easy to remove.” Shen Jia Ping saw that Murong Feng did not respond for a while, so he called out: “Liu Shao.” Murong Feng was silent for a long time, but finally nodded at the doctor very slowly.
He Xu An had gone out to take care of some things, but when he returned, there wasn’t anyone in the living room, yet the operation was still in progress. He was just about to leave, when he suddenly saw Shen Jia Ping coming in from the balcony, so he asked: “Where is Liu Shao?” Shen Jia Ping motioned with his head and He Xu An then saw Murong Feng sitting by himself on the balcony, smoking. There was a rattan chair on the balcony, which was already covered in cigarette butts, as Murong Feng sat there silently and continued to smoke, one cigarette after another. The slender, pale smoke was scattered in all four directions, whisking against his face, and slightly irritating his nose. The Japanese pagoda tree in front of the building was lightly covered in new leaves, and the sun gradually faded behind the leaves. Murong Feng just sat there, gazing at the rays of light peeking past the trees. He Xu An walked over and called out “Liu Shao”, and when Murong Feng saw him, he momentarily collected himself and asked: “Did you take care of everything?” He Xu An responded: “We have already drafted the contents of the telegram, would Liu Shao like to read over it?” Murong Feng said: “Read it aloud.”
He Xu An pulled out the draft and began reading it aloud: “On this matter of my deceased father’s officers, Murong Feng treated all of them with the greatest confidence, and made heartfelt efforts to trust them, among them, the Tong Zhi of Wang Zhou Province, Xu Zhi Ping, and the commander of the garrison along the Cheng and Ying railway, Chang De Gui. Having worked with the two for a long time, I especially relied on them. But the Xu and Chang Tong Zhis formed a conspiracy, and manipulating their power, they caused problems in the affairs of the government, and each problem was difficult to correct. Many things prove their crimes, several disasters of war were instigated by their manipulations. If they were allowed to continue their conspiracy, who knows what disaster would have further befallen this world…”
His talented advisors meticulously drafted the telegram, and both the content and language was excellent in explaining the situation. He Xu An saw that Murong Feng was distracted, so he quickly finished reading and then asked: “Liu Shao, should we send a telegram out to the nation following this draft?” Murong Feng took the telegram to read over it again, and asked: “Is there any news from the north?” He Xu An answered: “Not yet, but two of our divisions have already been deployed between Zhe Ping and Wang Cheng. Although the Russians along the railway watched us maliciously, they are tied down and I don’t think that the Xu and Chang divisions would dare to act rashly.” Murong Feng humphed and said: “Keeping them subdued is wasting a lot of money. When I have the time, watch me handle those Russians!”