Chapter 77 Chapter 76 He put the shackles on himself with his own hands...

The next day, a vast crowd of people and carriages trudged along the capital's thick bluestone pavement. Horses' hooves trod through puddles left by the previous rain, splashing muddy water. Some murky sewage fell from the air onto the bluestone pavement, soaking the once dry road.

The bright yellow carriage was striking, and the procession was so long that anyone with a discerning eye could tell it was the carriage used by the emperor. However, they were puzzled. Hadn't His Majesty just gone to the temporary palace to escape the summer heat two weeks ago? The capital was still sweltering, the heat unbearable. Why would His Majesty suddenly return now?

Under Mu Congmo's deliberate planning, the news that Gu Shiyan had seriously injured the new national master of Beirong spread like wildfire. The news of Yue Zun's reappearance in the world was extremely easy to spread, not to mention that the other party involved was the young national master of Beirong.

Mu Congmo was initially reluctant, and even now felt a tinge of jealousy. Why should the news of A Yan's reappearance be put together with that Bei Rong guy? It was clear that he and A Yan were the most compatible. He hoped that if there was any news about Gu Shiyan in the future, he would be the other protagonist.

But Mu Congmo thought again: his A Yan was so powerful that he should be admired by everyone in the world. Although he was still a little unhappy at this thought, he still ordered Mo Yu to spread the news. Mo Yu didn't have to put in any effort at all; such news was the easiest to spread.

As expected, within just a few days, the news that Yue Zun had reappeared and challenged Beirong's Imperial Master to a duel at the summer palace spread rapidly throughout the nine provinces of Daliang.

The people of the Jianghu revered the power of force and the belief that the strong were respected. Previously, Gu Shiyan's defeat of Demon Lord Danxi in Jiangnan had given them their first glimpse of the new Lord's formidable cultivation. Then, Yue Zun defeated Beirong State Master in Hantie City. At the time, they had assumed that Yue Zun and Beirong State Master had perished together, and they felt a sense of regret and sorrow. Truly, heaven envied the gifted; the most gifted individual to have appeared in the Jianghu for thousands of years had fallen like this.

But now that the news came out, although they did not know the specific process and details of the battle between the two, they could infer from the fact that Yue Zun was able to defeat the previous Beirong National Master three years ago that this fledgling new National Master would definitely not be the opponent's opponent, and the result was not much different from what they expected.

A subsequent piece of news confirmed their thoughts. Ever since the night Yue Zun and the Northern Rong Imperial Preceptor had battled, the Northern Rong delegation had been preparing to leave Daliang. Their hasty escape, to put it bluntly, resembled a drowned dog. It was as if they feared Yue Zun would settle an old score with them.

The rumored new Beirong national master did not appear in the delegation's return trip. Everyone speculated about this, thinking that he was probably injured by Yue Zun and had gone somewhere to recuperate.

What made Mu Congmo even more unhappy was that there were many more people in the martial arts world looking for Gu Shiyan. Some wanted to learn martial arts from him, while others simply wanted to see Yue Zun's face.

Mo Yu trembled with fear as he reported this news to Mu Congmo. Furthermore, with Gu Shiyan already gone, the emperor was in a bad mood. As expected, the moment he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the palace suddenly turned colder. Mu Congmo chuckled sarcastically, a laugh that seemed to contain a lot of murderous intent. The jade tea set in Mu Congmo's hand instantly turned to dust.

This also accelerated his desire to return to Beijing as soon as possible, which also resulted in a much faster journey back to Beijing.

The people of the capital all knew what had happened in the palace, and they felt that the emperor had returned to the capital to deal with something important. Mu Congmo also believed that he had returned to the capital early to deal with something important, but the important matter he thought of seemed a little different.

The most important thing in the hearts of the people is naturally national affairs, but in the heart of Mu Congmo, all the things in this world are not as important as his A Yan. He returned to Beijing for A Yan, which is naturally a big deal. There is nothing more important than this in the world.

The carriage was traveling on a smooth road, and the driver was driving very steadily, for fear of disturbing the emperor inside. However, Mu Congmo's heart was a little uneasy. He had already arrived in the capital, and he even knew where Gu Shiyan was at the moment. Every second after parting with Gu Shiyan, his heart was hungry and thirsty, and he wanted to see the other party immediately.

But it was already late when he returned to the palace. What if he went there rashly and disturbed Gu Shiyan's rest?

Thinking of this, Mu Congmo could only suppress the strong thoughts in his heart and wait until tomorrow. He would be able to see A Yan tomorrow.

But looking at Gu Shiyan's expression, he definitely didn't like getting up early. Although he wanted to see him, he didn't want him to do something he didn't like. He felt guilty, and at the same time, an idea arose in his heart: if he could let Gu Shiyan stay in the palace...

As soon as this thought came out, Mu Congmo couldn't help but look forward to it. However, he had no say in this matter, and it was more important to consider Shi Yan's own wishes. He couldn't help but think that A Yan should also want to live with him, right?

As for other people's opinions, they were not important to him. As long as Gu Shiyan was willing, he could choose from the hundreds of palaces in the palace. However, selfishly, he wanted Gu Shiyan to live with him in the Zichen Palace.

However, the Purple Palace did attract some attention, and with Gu Shiyan's low-key personality, he probably wouldn't agree. That didn't matter. He could just quietly climb into Gu Shiyan's bed in the middle of the night when no one was around. Isn't it just serving him in bed? There were so many things he could do, and Mu Congmo even felt a little proud.

At the same time, in another carriage.

Gu Cheng looked at Liang Qiulan with an apologetic look. He took her hand and spoke softly, lowering his voice, "Lan'er, I wanted you to recuperate in this palace for a few more days, but who would have thought that His Majesty would suddenly have to return to the capital."

Liang Qiulan shook his hand and said nonchalantly, "There are rules to follow in this palace. It's not as comfortable as staying in the mansion."

"But didn't you make an appointment with those ladies to go for an outing together in a few days?" Gu Cheng's tone was filled with some doubt and guilt.

At this point, Liang Qiulan seemed to suddenly perk up, her tone filled with unconcealable excitement: "Didn't you say before that His Majesty wanted us to find a wife for A Yan as soon as possible?"

Gu Cheng had almost forgotten about this matter. He only remembered it when Liang Qiulan mentioned it. He nodded woodenly, as if he didn't understand why Liang Qiulan was so excited.

Liang Qiulan then said, "Those ladies have many young ladies waiting to be married. After hearing what I said, they also wanted to marry into our Gu family."

"After a discussion, we decided to meet up for tomorrow to see each other." Liang Qiulan's tone was really too excited.

Even though Gu Cheng felt that this matter was a little inappropriate, he did not want to dampen his wife's joy, so he tentatively said, "It's probably not proper for a woman to meet a man."

Gu Cheng's words were a bit euphemistic, but Liang Qiulan had already prepared. "Are you still not confident in my ability to handle things? It just so happens that Yan'er hasn't had a banquet since his return, so we'll use this opportunity to host one together. I'll be in the inner courtyard with the ladies, and Yan'er will be in the outer courtyard with the young masters of the aristocratic families. If there's anyone suitable, just let him take a look."

Seeing that Liang Qiulan already had a plan in mind, Gu Cheng had no choice but to remind him, "We still need to ask Yan'er about this matter."

Liang Qiulan didn't reply, but gave him a disdainful look, as if to say, do you still need to say this?

The next day, Mu Congmo returned from court. He walked into Chengming Hall with anxious steps and some anticipation. The hall was burning with the cooler scent of agarwood. The original ambergris smell was a bit too strong. Mu Congmo felt that Gu Shiyan would not like it, so he asked someone to change it.

A table and chairs in the hall were placed with many exquisite snacks and local tribute fruits, and even many new travel notes and storybooks. These were all prepared in advance by Mu Congmo. Even the wooden chair was covered with a thick cushion, for fear that Gu Shiyan would feel the slightest discomfort.

As for the area behind the screen of Chengming Palace, it goes without saying that every detail inside was prepared by Mu Congmo himself. He regarded this small world as a secret shared by him and Gu Shiyan. He generously and devoutly dedicated the place that originally belonged to him to Gu Shiyan.

What disappointed him was that he didn't see the figure he had been thinking about in the hall. At first, he comforted himself in his heart, thinking that maybe A Yan got up a little late today, so it wouldn't be a problem.

As the incense slowly burned out, Mu Congmo flipped through the memorials in his hands rapidly, but his mind was not on them at all. He was already a little impatient. Finally, he impatiently threw the memorials onto the imperial desk beside him, and the neatly stacked memorials instantly scattered to the ground. Hu Xian, who was guarding outside, heard the commotion and hurried in cautiously.

Seeing that the emperor looked somewhat unhappy, Hu Xianxian lowered his head and picked up all the memorials scattered on the ground, and then stood aside waiting for the emperor's instructions.

"Why didn't Gu Shiyan come today?" Mu Congmo's tone sounded calm, but Hu Xian was very clear about the waves hidden beneath this calmness. Mu Congmo suppressed the impatience in his heart.

Hu Xian said tentatively, "Your Majesty, the Duke of Yingguo's residence is hosting a banquet to welcome Mr. Gu today. Mr. Gu has taken leave today, so this should be mentioned in the memorial from the Duke of Yingguo."

Then Hu Xian picked out Gu Cheng's memorial separately. It was a memorial that Mu Congmo had not read before.

Mu Congmo opened the memorial. Hu Xian didn't know what was written on it, but he could feel the temperature in the hall gradually dropping. It was a hot summer day, but he felt a chill and even shivered.

Mu Congmo glanced coldly at the words on it, and his hand holding the memorial became tighter and tighter, and the blue veins on his hands began to bulge. Hu Xian lowered his head even deeper. This seemed to be the first time in all these years that the emperor was so angry.

He wailed in his heart, Duke of England, you said that your son is going to be the queen soon, why do you do something to make the emperor angry?

Mu Congmo finished reading the memorial in his hand, sneered, and could no longer control the emotions on his face. He was originally a madman, a mad dog. It was not until he met Gu Shiyan that he put on shackles with his own hands and handed the rope to Gu Shiyan.

He threw the memorial to the ground fiercely, then turned and left. Hu Xian had no time to care about the memorials and hurriedly followed Mu Congmo out.

The memorial thrown in the corner was now spread out, covered with clear black handwriting. If you looked carefully, you could see what was written on it.