Chapter 3 The Mushroom Gets Taken In: The mushroom was overjoyed, "Th-thank you?"

Yao Ruyi was stunned for a moment; he hadn't expected things to go so smoothly before he arrived. The man's eyes were sharp and cold, and the look he had just received sent a chill down Yao Ruyi's spine. But at that moment, the man's blood spread to his lower body, the blood, imbued with a strong dragon aura, almost enveloping him.

The legs immediately materialized.

Mushroom was delighted. "Th-thank you?"

After a moment's thought, Yao Ruyi dragged the man little by little to a secluded corner. "Whoosh—" He had no strength left.

Fortunately, he now possessed some magical power, allowing him to move the pool of blood from the corner to beneath him.

This cannot be wasted.

After doing all this, Yao Ruyi's consciousness grew increasingly blurred. He had absorbed so much men's blood this time; he didn't know how long he would remain asleep.

As her consciousness grew deeper, a silvery-white light emanated from Yao Ruyi's body, which instantly transformed into an orange-yellow mushroom that the man held tightly in his hand.

-

The Imperial Palace, Cloud Palace.

"Oh, Your Majesty, you've finally woken up!"

"You worried me to death!"

"Quickly, quick, imperial physician, come up here and take a look!"

Gu Huizhou's eyes flickered slightly. His newly opened eyes were fixed on the bed curtains above him. He lay there with a slight frown, waiting for the imperial physician to come and take his pulse.

The old doctor rushed forward and spoke after a few breaths.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured that the wound has been bandaged. The rest of the wound only requires Your Majesty to rest. In addition to the medicine for recovery, this old minister will also prepare some nourishing medicines for Your Majesty and send them over."

The old doctor spoke timidly, making it seem as if a knife was hanging over his head.

After he finished speaking, he cautiously raised his head.

Emperor Yu Guangzhong waved his hand impatiently, and he immediately bowed and hurriedly left.

Cui Xiangzhu's eyes twitched slightly, and he waved to the others with a hint of disdain.

Footsteps sounded slowly, and soon he was alone in the hall. The head eunuch immediately burst into tears, "Your Majesty, you've finally woken up! You've been unconscious for a whole day. When the thirteenth and fourteenth eunuchs found you, the blood on the ground almost soaked your robes!"

He kept wiping away tears as he spoke.

"Call them here."

"Uh—yes."

The crying stopped abruptly, and Cui Xiangzhu's heart, which had been in his throat, slowly calmed down. He smiled obsequiously and quickly shuffled out of the bedchamber.

Gu Huizhou took a deep breath. He had gone out of the palace alone yesterday to investigate, and even his chief eunuch was unaware of what had happened, yet those people had discovered it. A cold glint flashed in the eyes of the man recuperating in bed. He couldn't even say whose palace it truly was now.

The fragments of memory abruptly paused, a flicker of hesitation crossing Gu Huizhou's eyes—the fair-skinned young man from last night…

"His Majesty."

Thirteen and Fourteen were waiting outside the door.

"Come in."

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Thirteen was holding a piece of intelligence in his hand, news he had just received and hadn't even had a chance to read yet. But he was certain it was good news, because it carried the scent of plum blossoms.

Twelve, that guy who was used to staying in brothels, always liked to sprinkle some plum blossom pollen on letters that sounded like good news.

His eyes lit up with joy. "Your Majesty, what is this—"

Did you see a fair-skinned young man dressed in coarse cloth last night?

Thirteen was speechless when Gu Huizhou asked him a question: "Fair-skinned young man?"

No, no.

After a moment's thought, the Fourteenth Prince replied, "Your Majesty, I have not found any young men."

Gu Huizhou raised an eyebrow with a hint of doubt. "Let me see it."

The letter was handed to him. Gu Huizhou's eyes flickered slightly as he smelled the fragrance of plum blossoms on it. After a while, he looked at the contents of the letter and chuckled, "Keep an eye on things. Tomorrow is the day the two famous generals return to the capital. Keep a close watch in secret and don't let any unscrupulous people infiltrate."

"Your subordinate obeys."

"Your Majesty, rest assured!"

After the two bowed, they were about to turn and leave when Thirteen suddenly remembered something. "Your Majesty, I just remembered something else."

"explain."

“When we found you last night, you were holding an orange-capped mushroom in your hand. It was glossy and plump, and must be a medicinal herb that His Majesty needs to make medicine. I carefully put it away and handed it to Eunuch Cui.”

mushroom?

Gu Huizhou tapped the bed lightly with his fingers, and after two breaths, said, "You may leave."

"Your subordinate takes his leave."

The two did not exit the palace through the main gate, but instead walked directly to a small path outside the palace through a side gate.

Fourteen sighed softly, casually toying with the waist token in his hand. "I didn't see that mushroom in the palace just now, so it must have been taken away by Eunuch Cui. Do you really need to tell His Majesty even such trivial details?"

Thirteen was speechless. "Our Emperor doesn't have many other hobbies, he just likes using these flowers and herbs to make medicine. Even at a time like yesterday, he brought one back. If I hadn't said anything, Cui Xiangzhu would have said he hadn't seen it." Thirteen couldn't help but roll her eyes at this thought. "That's really—"

"That was my dereliction of duty!"

Fourteen thought about the scene and immediately felt angry. He nodded emphatically, "You did the right thing. I'll have to say it next time too."

"Right, those of us in this line of work have to be meticulous in everything we do."

"Um."

Meanwhile, in Gu Huizhou's bedroom.

Cui Xiangzhu carefully carried an orange-capped mushroom to Gu Huizhou, his eyes crinkling with laughter. "Your Majesty, rest assured. Ever since the Thirteenth Prince entrusted it to me last night, I have valued it highly. It belongs to Your Majesty."

So the servant found a flowerpot and put it in a pot.

He placed the items on the table next to Gu Huizhou, and rubbed his fingertips together as he withdrew his hand. "I must say, this porcelain flowerpot that General Han gave to His Majesty two years ago looks really good together with this orange-capped mushroom. It's pleasing to the eye even just sitting on the table."

This mushroom looks much more vibrant than when it was first placed there last night; even the orange top of its cap is showing a hint of red. Cui Xiangzhu had previously heard from the gardeners in the Imperial Garden that the more vibrant the color of a plant, the rarer and more vigorous it is.

Thinking this, he relaxed a bit more.

Gu Huizhou remained silent, staring thoughtfully at the wildly growing mushroom.

Others might not know, but he knew very well. He had never seen a mushroom before, let alone held one in his hand.

The orange-capped mushroom, if he remembered correctly, was a rare species that grew on Qinghua Mountain. Different varieties had different medicinal properties, and the one in front of him, with its dazzling red cap, clearly told everyone that it was highly poisonous.

"Oh."

Those guys really disappointed; the assassin they hired was a complete idiot who didn't understand pharmacology. Even with a highly toxic drug like Orange Cap, it takes ingestion to kill.

It was simply stuffed into his hand.

"I am truly blessed with good fortune."

The man on the bed sighed, "Indeed, evil lives on for a thousand years."

The head eunuch, who had been expecting a reward, suddenly felt his legs go weak and knelt down, crying out, "Your Majesty!"

"Go outside and wait."

"yes."

Having received the order, Cui Xiangzhu was eager to escape. But under the emperor's watchful eye, he could only hunch over and shuffle out of the bedchamber little by little.

Gu Huizhou reached out and lifted the blanket. Underneath the gold-threaded bedding, the body was bound with large areas of white bandages, some of which were visibly turning red.

The man clicked his tongue, seemingly oblivious to the pain, and carelessly tore open the white cloth strip, throwing it on the ground with obvious disgust.

In an instant, the bloody, mangled wound was exposed to the air. The flesh in his abdomen had been slashed open by the sword, and the gushing blood, no longer restrained by the bandages, gradually regained its vitality.

The golden brocade quilt turned reddish-brown.

Even with the earth heating on, the skin exposed to the air would feel cold. But the man didn't care. He stared at the forearm-length wound with a cold expression. He wasn't dead; those people must be extremely disappointed.

Staring at the wound, a hint of satisfaction appeared on his face. Gu Huizhou rummaged through a wooden box in the corner of the bed and pulled out a bottle of medicinal powder.

He casually opened the bottle and sprinkled it on the wound, his brows instantly furrowing. The white powder seemed to transform into a transparent film the moment it touched the wound, and the bleeding that had been gushing out slowly stopped.

The man's furrowed brows relaxed, a drop of sweat accompanied by a low gasp slid down his chin and seeped into the blood-stained gold brocade quilt. He was wearing a silk undergarment under the bedding, which was now mostly stained with blood.

Gu Huizhou took a breath, casually unbuttoned his undergarment and tossed it aside. He then used the hot water that Cui Xiangzhu had prepared earlier to wipe his body. The man's fair skin was exposed to the air. He took a few leisurely steps, picked up a clean set of clothes, and slowly and methodically put them on in front of the bronze mirror.

The man in the bronze mirror looked relaxed, with smooth and powerful muscle lines on his arms. The bluish veins stretched from his elbows to the backs of his hands, appearing blurry in the mirror.

The scar on his chest was quickly concealed, along with the freshly healed wound, which was also covered by his undergarments. The man appeared unharmed, and after dressing, he acted as if nothing had happened.

He wore a long, luxurious, and supple black robe, the satin fabric shimmering as he passed the window. The gold-embroidered dragon pattern seemed to dance around his legs with every step he took.

Gu Huizhou, with his hair disheveled, didn't move. He walked to the bedside, picked up the mushroom, and then sat down on the soft couch.

"Now it's mine."

He spoke in a relaxed and natural tone, which sounded to others like a teenager arguing with a friend over a toy.

The area of ​​the red cap grew increasingly red, eventually becoming almost indistinguishable from orange.

Gu Huizhou raised an eyebrow; she was indeed an exceptional person.

-

Three days later.

A young man dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe was surrounded by a group of people, looking formal and proper.

Cui Xiangzhu had to talk himself hoarse before he finally convinced Gu Huizhou to change out of his red brocade outfit.

Now, a sigh of relief finally came. "News has arrived, saying that the two generals will arrive in the capital in an hour. The imperial carriage is already prepared outside the gate, Your Majesty, what do you think..."

Gu Huizhou chuckled, toying with a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand. "I will lead all the civil and military officials to welcome the two renowned generals back to court."

"yes."

"Then let's hurry up and go, or we'll keep them waiting."

Cui Xiangzhu's heart skipped a beat. It would only take half an hour to get there now. This was hardly making others wait.

Hopefully, nothing goes wrong with those two generals, otherwise—

Cui Xiangzhu closed his eyes.

"Cui Xiangzhu."

"Your servant is here!"

"Take that pot of mushrooms with you."

Cui Xiangzhu was taken aback. With mushrooms? But his mouth moved faster than his brain, and he quickly replied, "Yes."

Gu Huizhou leisurely left the palace aboard the imperial carriage and waited at the palace gate with the officials.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The shouts of a hundred people resounded through the sky. Gu Huizhou raised his hand, and immediately there was silence. "Today, I am here with all my beloved ministers to welcome the two famous generals back to the court. My ministers, please do not be reserved. I am happy just to see the two famous generals."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After speaking, Gu Huizhou returned to his carriage and sat down. It was now the twelfth lunar month, and the end of the year was fast approaching. The chill in the air was becoming more and more obvious. A thick layer of blankets was laid in Gu Huizhou's carriage, and there were countless heaters placed inside.

"Um?"

Cui Xiangzhu was assigned to do something, but he never expected that the mushroom would end up here.

"Orange-capped mushrooms aren't afraid of the cold." Gu Huizhou chuckled, placing the mushrooms and their pot next to the heater, with a thick blanket beneath him.

At first glance, her treatment was even better than Gu Huizhou's.

Gu Huizhou reached out and lightly tapped the mushroom cap a few times, then leaned against the wall, picked up a book, and leisurely flipped through it.

They looked like they were going to be staying here for quite a while.

When Yao Ruyi woke up, he saw this scene. He stared at the man for a long time and finally confirmed that he was the most handsome person he had ever seen.

I couldn't help but watch for a while longer.

Feeling warm all over, Yao Ruyi felt as if he had been softened by the heater. Although he wasn't afraid of the cold, it was extremely comfortable to be warmed by the heater in winter.

"It's been over an hour, and we haven't heard a single sound!"

"It's time! How can we keep His Majesty waiting?"

"Quickly, go and send someone to see what's going on."

...

More and more noise came from outside the dragon carriage. Seeing that Gu Huizhou did not move, Yao Ruyi quietly turned around and peeked out from the gap to see what was happening outside.

"Another half hour?!"

An old minister, feeling like he was about to die of anger, trembled as he said, "Wasn't it supposed to be one hour?!"

The soldier was also quite innocent. "General, the general said that the soldiers were tired and rested for half an hour."

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Mushroom: [Starry eyes] I have a home now.

Xiao Gu: [Starry-eyed] There are mushrooms.