16. Guilt and Fear

"Until the prince of the East joins us, let me raise my cup to all of you," the king declared blithely as he raised his liquor cup, but before he could take a sip, the doors of the main hall swung open.

"STOP!"

All heads turned towards the disrespectful voice and seeing the uncanny sight, they all gasped.

The prince of the East was covered in blood and bruises, and a servant was supporting his swaying body.

"MENG HUO!" Han Xin exclaimed in horror and rushed to his side, but the latter pushed him aside and grabbed the table cloth with his bloody hands as he had no confidence to reach to where the king was sitting.

"Don't... drink... wine..." he said with difficulty as he pulled the cloth off the table. With the force, half of the dishes and utensils fell to the floor while the royalty cried out.

"Wine..." Meng Huo uttered one more time before he passed out in Han Xin's waiting arms.

"LEAVE THE HALL NOW!" Han Xin shouted and the panicked royalty left the room pell-mell, but unfortunately a pair of cold eyes witnessed the scene already before the royal guards rushed into the hall.

"I will send the healer, you should take him to your room, it is safer," the king told Han Xin, who in turn lifted the injured man carefully and rushed out of the hall through the hidden stairs.

Once in his room, Han Xin laid the poor man on his mattress with utmost care and checked the wound with his trembling hands. Luckily the wound wasn't deep, so it mustn't be life-threatening. After the wound, Han Xin's anxious eyes travelled down to his neck where a purplish hand mark was imprinted on the snow-white skin.

"I swear I will kill whoever did this to you, Meng Meng," the prince promised with his clenched fists before the healer arrived and sent him out of the room.

After putting two guards on the door, Han Xin went back to the main hall.

"Was it real?" the prince asked as soon as he entered the room and the king nodded.

"The wine in my cup was poisonous," he confirmed and the queen paled again.

"Who could do such a thing?!" Han Xin yelled with rage and kicked a cup lying on the floor.

"The guards are searching, but whoever it was, he or she must have already left," the king said and gestured to Han Xin to sit down, "we have a clue though."

"Meng Huo," Han Xin uttered and the king nodded.

"He knew about the poison and was beaten up pretty badly. The culprit can be someone he knows."

"Then why was he beaten up? or why did he save your life?" Han Xin defended Meng Huo fervently as he knew the latter would never do such a thing.

"Calm down, we don't think he had a part in the incident," the queen declared softly, "but we have to ask him how he knew about the poison and why he was targeted."

"You are right," Han Xin gave in and stood up again, "I will go check on him."

When he reached his room, the healer was done with Meng Huo.

"How is he?"

"He is okay now. The wound on his head is not serious, but he will have difficulty talking for a few days due to the choking," the old healer explained.

"Is there anything more?"

"I don't know," the old man shrugged, "after I treated his head, the prince woke up and didn't let me check his body, saying he was fine. A shy one, I guess."

"I see," Han Xin mumbled, but didn't dwell on the topic as he was impatient to see Meng Huo.

After thanking the healer, he sent him and entered the room. As the healer said, Meng Huo was awake, but he seemed to fall into unconsciousness at any moment. Half of his head and his neck was bandaged and the sight was pretty pitiful.

"Are you okay?" the anxious prince asked as he sat next to the mattress.

"I-" Meng Huo forced himself to squeeze an answer as he felt the sadness emitting from the prince, but putting a finger on his lips, Han Xin silenced him.

"Just blink, don't talk."

A long blink, meaning yes.

"Don't lie," Han Xin scolded him gently, "it must hurt like hell... I am so sorry, I failed to protect you again, yet you saved my father."

Meng Huo shook his head lightly, his tired gaze was anything but accusing.

"You don't have to be nice all the time, I would rather you shout at me, hit me even... If it was me who returned to the room, then you wouldn't be in this condition."

Meng Huo shook his head again, refusing his words.

"It is true, but don't worry, I will find that bastard and kill him with my own hands."

Meng Huo kept staring at him, but his eyelids were drooping significantly.

Noticing it, Han Xin said "sleep now, you must be exhausted." However, Meng Huo shook his head again with palpable fear in his bottomless eyes. Weakly he grabbed Han Xin's robe as if he was afraid of him leaving.

Seeing his severe reaction, Han Xin felt a pang in his heart. Gently he took his cold hand off his robe and held it tight in between his two hands, "don't be scared, I will not leave you alone. I won't move an inch until you wake up," he said reassuringly.

Meng Huo nodded tiredly and his eyelids gave in completely.