Chapter 323 Suspicion

Gu Mingzhen first saluted the emperor. In the past, the emperor would immediately cancel this kind of kowtow.

But today, perhaps because the emperor was in a bad mood or someone had said something bad about him in front of the emperor, Gu Mingzhen knelt down firmly on the golden brick floor and the cold air whizzed into the gap between his kneecaps without even a cushion.

He was nervous, but he performed the ceremony properly and looked up at the emperor.

But the emperor was completely hidden in the backlight, and his face could not be seen clearly. Even if one wanted to guess something, it was impossible to do so.

At first glance, Gu Mingzhen almost didn't recognize the old eunuch who was half-bent over beside the emperor.

Looking closely, I realized it was Eunuch Wei.

When Eunuch Wei saw Gu Mingzhen, he was shocked at first, then his face was filled with joy, and then his face was filled with panic, with his lips trembling, as if he had been frightened by something.

Gu Mingzhen couldn't help but take a closer look at himself. His clothes were still the same, not dirty, not spilled with tea, and there was no mud on his feet...

This is thanks to the palace servants who scrubbed the gold brick floor clean, leaving it spotless and as shiny as a mirror.

Gu Mingzhen frowned and looked around, only to find that there was no strange person around him.

The emperor asked Eunuch Wei to help him up, and he simply asked out loud the doubts in his heart:

"Eunuch Wei, what happened to you? You don't look well. Are you healthy?"

Eunuch Wei gave a bitter smile and said, "I am old, old, and useless!"

As he spoke, he stumbled a bit.

Gu Mingzhen hurriedly reached out his hand to help him, but Eunuch Wei observed etiquette and dodged in a panic. His sleeve brushed Gu Mingzhen's hand, and a round object fell into Gu Mingzhen's palm.

Gu Mingzhen was startled, and quickly gathered the thing in his palm, and continued to make the gesture of helping Eunuch Wei. Eunuch Wei took a few steps back and completely dodged:

"Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I am afraid that I will never be able to do a proper job again in my current state of health."

As he spoke, he retreated tremblingly.

If it weren't for the fact that the emperor was still there, Gu Mingzhen would have been unable to help but chase him and ask him what was going on.

The emperor snorted softly, but to Gu Mingzhen it sounded like thunder - could it be that Eunuch Wei had done something wrong and offended the emperor?

At this moment, the thick and heavy atmosphere made Gu Mingzhen feel like a small insect trapped in pine oil. No matter how he struggled, he could not get rid of this heaviness. His heart was stuffy and he couldn't breathe.

The entire imperial study was in complete silence.

After a long while, the emperor finally spoke: "You are really loyal."

The voice was hoarse and unclear, and Gu Mingzhen felt it was somewhat unfamiliar.

He couldn't help but feel depressed, but smiled:

"Your Majesty, Old Wei has been loyal to you for so many years. Even if he has no merits, he has worked hard. If he is really ill and can no longer serve you, why not give him some rewards and let him leave the palace to live out his days in glory."

The emperor said calmly, "Don't worry about this. I know what's going on."

Gu Mingzhen choked and didn't know how to continue.

The voice of this sentence was also not loud, somewhat ambiguous and somewhat unfamiliar. As Gu Mingzhen listened, an almost crazy thought popped up in his mind that made his whole body stiff. Suspicion was like wild grass growing wildly after the rain, so dense that it could not be suppressed.

The emperor raised his eyelids and glanced at Gu Mingzhen:

"Why are you so anxious to see me? What's the matter? What wrong have you suffered? Why are you looking for my support?"

Gu Mingzhen was stunned. Where did this come from?

The emperor's attitude towards him has always been very friendly and courteous, although when he was in a bad mood, he was a little unpredictable...

But he had never been so unreasonable and so sarcastic as he was today. In addition, why was his voice so strange?

Gu Mingzhen's mind raced, but he endured the nausea and responded carefully:

"I don't have anything to say, I just feel wronged for His Majesty."

"oh?"

"The Emperor wants to expand his harem, which is clearly a grace to those below him! But some foolish people who don't know what's good for them are making up nonsense and ruining His Majesty's reputation! I feel so sorry for you!"

While trying his best to overcome the urge to vomit, Gu Mingzhen tried to say these disgusting words very naturally, as if he was a flatterer with no bottom line.

As soon as he finished speaking, Gu Mingzhen felt that the sharp gaze that made him uncomfortable became much softer. If he was not still in front of the emperor, he really couldn't help but raise his sleeves and wipe the sweat from his forehead.

…

After coming out of the palace, Gu Mingzhen went straight home. When he got home, he locked himself in his bedroom and strictly forbade anyone to approach him. He wanted to get a good night's sleep.

Afterwards, he hid in the quilt and opened the small thing that Eunuch Wei had stuffed into his hand - it was an exquisite white wax ball.

The small wax pills look no different from the usual pills, except that they are more delicate and smaller, making them easy to put into your pocket.

If it is not convenient to put it in a purse, it is not difficult to hide it under the tongue, stuff it into a bun, or mix it into a medicine bottle that you carry with you.

There was a small piece of paper hidden in the wax ball, with only a few words written on it, and it was crooked and it was impossible to tell whether it was written by Eunuch Wei himself.

But the content just happened to match the doubts in Gu Mingzhen's heart.

Eunuch Wei seemed to suspect that the emperor had been secretly replaced. The current one was not the original one!

In fact, Gu Mingzhen also had this suspicion in his heart, but he did not dare to make such a definite judgment. Eunuch Wei, this old fellow, is too bold!

There was just one thing that puzzled Gu Mingzhen - why did Eunuch Wei ask him to send a message to Xia Daohua, telling her not to worry about anything and just run away?

…

Spring in the capital city is like a gentle hand, brushing away the remaining snow and making the weeping willows and winter jasmines sprout tiny buds; spring in Jixiang County is late, and the icicles on the eaves are just beginning to melt; and spring in Bohai County seems to have forgotten this chaotic place, and the fierce north wind is still as sharp as a knife.

Li Gan and his men wore dog-skin hats askew and old sheepskin coats inside out, with the corners of their northern barbarian robes showing under the coats. They wore deerskin boots filled with Ula grass, and looked like native mountain people from Bohai County.

They had disguised themselves as mountain people selling mountain products and escaped from Bohai County calmly and dangerously.

As soon as we left the city gate, the entire Bohai County was placed under martial law.

Xiao Lubuhua was extremely annoyed because of the trouble caused by Li Gan and the others.

Although he knew that martial law might not force Li Gan and his gang out, and might even lead to them being laughed at by their enemies, he could not care less.

(End of this chapter)