Chapter 50 It's Just Fate: Gu Huizhou chuckled. How could one say that Heaven didn't favor him?

A few days later.

"Your Majesty." Thirteen's face was solemn. The anger in his chest made him feel dizzy and bloated. In the past few days, he had investigated from Le Wuyou to Le Wujin, and finally the Liang family was implicated!

The previous heads of the Liang family, Liang Wangli and Liang Fu, were also involved in this matter.

“Your Majesty, yesterday I found an elderly servant in a village outside the capital. He claimed to be a former servant of Liang Wangli, the patriarch of the Liang family. Liang Wangli was already seriously ill back then, but the Liang family was not an important official in the court. Liang Wangli wanted to secure a future for the Liang family before he died, so he secretly contacted Le Wuyou.”

"I don't know what the two discussed, but I am certain that Liang Wangli and Le Wuyou are indeed in cahoots."

Gu Huizhou's expression was far from pleasant; he sat on the dragon throne listening, his brows slightly furrowed.

The Liang family did not hold great power in the court full of corrupt officials back then. It was only after the Feng family was executed that they became the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

Even a dog wouldn't believe that the two are unrelated.

Not long after the Feng family was destroyed, Le Wuyou and Liang Wangli passed away one after another. Gu Huizhou tapped his hand on the table, nodded as he looked at Thirteen's angry eyes, "Continue the investigation, but don't alert them."

Thirteen was taken aback. "Your Majesty, this time the Liang family can be convicted!"

The fact that the Liang family had affairs with concubines in the imperial harem was bound to cause gossip, regardless of the reason. If the court were to testify against them, at the very least, Liang Fu could be removed from his position as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat!

The emperor, high above, said softly, "Only demote him?"

Thirteen was stunned.

"Go."

Thirteen clenched his fist, nodded, and turned to leave. Just as he stepped out the door, he heard the emperor's slightly weary voice behind him, "I have a few longswords in my private treasury. Take them if you like."

He knelt down abruptly, overjoyed, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

How could a sword that could enter the emperor's private treasury be an ordinary longsword? Thirteen couldn't suppress his excitement even after leaving the house. Then, thinking about the old stories of the two holy maidens of the grasslands and the Liang family, he narrowed his eyes.

It was nearly lunchtime, and Yao Ruyi still hadn't seen Gu Huizhou return. He had been eating alone in the Cloud Palace for the past few days. Wang Qianshan smiled but didn't say anything. At this time every time, this young master would get distracted. He was studying well, but now he was staring out the window at the end of the corridor.

Whom they are waiting for is self-evident.

Wang Qianshan stroked his gray beard. "Young master has been working very hard these past few days. He has memorized these articles quite well." The old gentleman nodded in satisfaction. "Then let's get some rest early today."

Yao Ruyi's eyes lit up immediately, "Really!"

He listened to Wang Qianshan's lectures for many days in a row, and even when he fell asleep, the various articles echoed in his ears.

Even sleeping is not peaceful.

"Hey, wait a minute—" Wang Qianshan quickly changed the subject, "Even so, you still need to memorize this article well today, young master, because I will test you tomorrow." It was a classic case of giving a sweet treat only to slap you in the face.

Yao Ruyi chuckled awkwardly, "I know."

Wang Qianshan was satisfied. "Then I will go and have my meal first. Please make yourself at home, young master."

Yao Ruyi rose, bowed, and saw Wang Qianshan off. As he turned to leave, he saw Cui Xiangzhu pacing back and forth at the door. Eunuch Cui should have been by the emperor's side, so why was he looking for him? "Eunuch Cui, is there something you need?"

When Cui Xiangzhu saw the person come out, he quickly stepped forward, chuckling.

"As Your Excellency the Nineteenth also knows, the Crown Prince of the Grasslands has been staying in the capital these past few days. The court officials are discussing the matter of the Holy Maiden taking a son-in-law. Originally, they were full of talk about propriety and righteousness and called it absurd. Now, one after another, they are submitting memorials wanting their own sons to become this son-in-law, and they even say that they are sharing His Majesty's worries."

"Your Majesty has been so busy with state affairs these past few days that he has not had lunch for several days!"

"Although His Majesty dined with you, sir, he didn't eat much." He sighed helplessly, "His Majesty is more worried than the emperor. His Majesty has been troubled these past few days. Would you be so kind as to dine with him in the Imperial Study?"

After he finished speaking, he pointed to a row of eunuchs and palace maids behind him, who had obviously prepared lunch.

Yao Ruyi frowned, "I'll go right now."

He thought Gu Huizhou was too busy in the Imperial Study to return to Yun Palace, so he ate there instead, but he didn't expect that he hadn't eaten at all.

Yao Ruyi suddenly felt a sense of unease. The Emperor's already sickly pale complexion made him uncomfortable. If he didn't eat and damaged his health, how could a poisonous mushroom like him help him?

"Yes, yes, yes!" Cui Xiangzhu followed Yao Ruyi with renewed confidence. These past few days, every time he went, he was driven away by the Emperor's order. He'd wait and see; there couldn't be any mistake.

"Yes, put it down." Gu Huizhou said softly.

This time, it was Yao Ruyi who lacked confidence. He had just heard Cui Xiangzhu speaking from the side and his face turned red. What did he mean by "The Nineteenth Prince has not had lunch with His Majesty these past few days and has lost his appetite"?

How did it suddenly become his problem?

It was clearly Eunuch Cui who invited him to dine with the emperor...

When Yao Ruyi looked up again, wanting to confront Cui Xiangzhu, the head eunuch had already retreated with a smile. The table was full of delicious food, and Yao Ruyi swallowed her saliva without any self-control.

I swallowed the words that were on my mind.

"Can't eat?"

Yao Ruyi was holding a chicken leg to his mouth, ready to gnaw on it. There was also a Four Happiness Meatball in his bowl, which he planned to let cool down a bit before eating. The emperor's light, teasing words reached his ears from beside him.

The chicken leg beside her went up and down, but in the end, Yao Ruyi put it in her mouth.

Mushroom lacked any confidence, and her voice grew softer and softer, "Now that I've met His Majesty..."

He then chuckled.

Gu Huizhou chuckled. He knew exactly what kind of people surrounded him; those words clearly came from Cui Xiangzhu. This mushroom, at most, could only utter one sentence: "I don't want His Majesty to leave the capital."

He was neither particularly brave nor timid, and had a rather foolish appearance.

"Eat yours."

With someone around, Gu Huizhou ate a few more bites.

The fatigue of the past few days surged up all at once in that moment of relaxation. After the two had their meal, they returned to the Cloud Palace to rest. Yao Ruyi was embraced by the emperor, and the two lay down together on the golden nanmu bed. He complained, "Your Majesty, this is my bed."

Why are you holding him again?

These past few days, the emperor has been particularly fond of keeping him by his side, whether he is reviewing memorials in the Cloud Palace or going to bed.

The man was displeased, "Can't I lie down?"

"It was bestowed upon him by the emperor after all," he said wretchedly. "Yes." After Yao Ruyi finished speaking, she glanced at the pair of large hands hanging on her waist. The man had already closed his eyes, but those hands seemed to be consciously holding on tightly.

Even Gu Huizhou could see the weariness between his brows. Yao Ruyi thought for a moment but didn't move, letting him hold her. She fell asleep soon after.

When he woke up again, he was alone in bed. Yao Ruyi slowly got up, picked up a piece of sweet cake from beside the bed, and started eating it. He was thinking of going to the Imperial Hospital to have a look recently; he already knew about medicinal herbs and flowers, so learning wouldn't be difficult for him.

He clapped his hands after finishing the sweet cake. He was still a little unsatisfied when he took the last bite, thinking he would have another one later that evening.

With that thought in mind, Yao Ruyi got up and headed to the Imperial Hospital.

He has been in the palace for half a year now, and has been to everywhere except the inner palace. He is also very familiar with the Imperial Hospital.

But just as they were about to reach the Imperial Hospital, Yao Ruyi stopped. Her eyebrows twitched slightly, and her gaze fell on a wall at the corner.

Are people having a secret meeting in the palace?

He walked lightly and was still quite a distance from the corner, so the people on the other side didn't notice Yao Ruyi, and the two kept talking quietly.

"Brother, what's going on? I heard that the Thirteenth Lord is investigating the matter of Consort Yue Wuyou from back then?"

The voice was old and hoarse, and the tone was urgent. Yao Ruyi recognized it. He walked almost silently, took a few steps forward and stood close to the other side of the corner, his gaze fixed on the bright light on the ground, which revealed the shadows of two other people behind the corner.

Thirteen?

Yao Ruyi straightened her expression.

This is not the road leading to the Imperial Hospital. It is located in a remote area. If you want to get to the Imperial Hospital from here, you have to cross a rockery.

The craftsmen who built the palace at the time did not expect that the artificial hill would block the way, but after hearing from a feng shui master that placing the artificial hill there could cure illness, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department gave up the idea of ​​smashing the artificial hill.

Thirteen told him all this; Yao Ruyi had walked this road once with Thirteen and remembered it.

It takes about an incense stick's time to get to the Imperial Hospital from the palace road.

The two men probably hadn't expected anyone other than the Imperial Hospital personnel to pass by. He lowered his breathing again, pressed his body against the wall, and leaned back, hiding himself in the shadows beneath.

"Hmph! It's all because of the grassland prince's visit to the capital!" Yao Ruyi had never heard the other person's voice before. He saw that the person's figure was short and thin, and he didn't remember anyone like that in the Imperial Hospital.

"What does this have to do with the former Crown Prince of Liao?"

"I saw the former Liao prince from afar the day he entered the palace. Do you know who the servant following behind him was?"

"What would you like to hear from Physician Cao?"

"Those were servants of Feng Qi from the Feng family back then!" Cao Li said viciously. He had managed to keep his past misdeeds a secret until now, and even if the emperor sent people to investigate, they might not be able to find anything.

But this matter remained a thorn in his side; no matter what he did, it felt like a huge rock was pressing down on his feet. For so many years, he had been working in the Imperial Medical Academy, preparing and dispensing medicine, barely able to leave its doors, living like a bedbug!

If the emperor can thoroughly investigate this matter, he will have survived this ordeal; if he cannot...

“So…” Zhang Yuqun lowered his head and thought for a while. He felt that it might not come to that result. Back then, he worked as a physician under Imperial Physician Cao. Cao Li was the most famous imperial physician in the palace and was about to be promoted to the fourth-rank Imperial Physician.

To be promoted from an eighth-rank imperial physician to a fourth-rank court judge—what a great favor!

In recent years, he claimed to have bad legs and stayed in the Imperial Hospital, which also left him with no way out. He served in the palace for more than 20 years and was still just an imperial physician!

It was Wang Ran, that old fellow, who benefited. Now, the new emperor has been on the throne for more than two years, and that man has only served as the abbot for this long.

"No one else would know that Consort Yue poisoned him back then, because the Feng family had already been destroyed. Who would support a deposed consort, especially after all that time..."

Cao Li frowned. "What do you mean?"

Zhang Yuqun chuckled, his voice sounding grating as if squeezed out from a crack in the wall. "I heard that Consort Wei had long since fallen out of favor at that time. When the people of the Feng family were beheaded, Consort Wei was visiting relatives at the Feng family residence. Only Consort Wei and her maid were left in the pool of blood."

Consort Wei was ill for three whole days, and upon waking, she had a huge argument with the late Emperor. From then on, she wouldn't let him into the palace. How could she possibly remain in the Emperor's favor under such circumstances?

Zhang Yuqun scoffed, "Consort Wei is foolish. With her looks, if she had stayed quietly by the late emperor's side, how could she have become a Noble Consort? After that, the late emperor no longer cared about the power of the Feng family. Wouldn't she have everything she wanted?"

"Even if not for myself, I must do it for the little prince."

The two men suddenly stopped when the young prince was mentioned. Their eyes met, and they could see the tremor in each other's eyes…

No one could have imagined that the seventeenth prince, who was bullied and insulted back then, would eventually become the current emperor.

That man returned everything he had suffered. What happened to the eunuchs who had been whipped? They were lashed all over with a whip with rattan attached, and he was hung on a rack and hacked at with a knife until their skin was completely peeled off!

Finally, it stained the winter snow red and was thrown at the entrance of the Imperial Hospital. It is unknown whether it froze to death or bled to death.

Some brave people went to take a look and said that only half of the tongue was left, as if they had bitten it off themselves.

It's worse than death.

They had served as imperial physicians in the Imperial Hospital their entire lives, and this was the first time they had ever witnessed such a horrific scene. Nearly a hundred people in the Imperial Hospital vomited for several days.

"Imperial Physician Cao, speaking of why Consort Le wanted to kill Consort Wei back then, I heard that Consort Le, as a holy maiden of the grasslands, was unwilling to enter the palace to serve the late emperor, so it wasn't because of the competition for favor."

Cao Li glared at him and waved his sleeve, saying, "Why ask so many questions! The most important thing now is how to escape this matter! Thirteen has already investigated the Liang family. If Liang Fu can hide, then it has nothing to do with us!"

"Yes, yes, Physician Cao is right. But if the Liang family falls from grace in this matter, shouldn't we also think of a way to extricate ourselves?"

Cao Li had also thought of this. The Liang family had lost a lot of power this year. Liang Fu was no match for Liang Wangli, and Liang Chengfeng was no match for Liang Fu. He said in a low voice, "The guards of the Liang family will keep an eye on things for us these next few days. If there is any disturbance at the Liang family, we will leave the capital overnight."

"If I can't keep my official position, I must keep my life!"

He gripped the wall tightly with his hands.

Yao Ruyi felt a chill in his heart. It was a certainty that the first person to enter the palace was the Holy Maiden Le Wuyou and the Consort Wei. His heart was pounding. He could only hear their voices now, but he couldn't remember what they looked like.

If those two get away...

A cold look appeared on Yao Ruyi's delicate and handsome face. Even if they had to tie them up, they had to be tied up and taken back.

"Who goes there!"

The two were startled and quickly walked out from inside. Yao Ruyi's pupils dilated, and she also turned to look at the other side. A young palace maid who was passing by was so frightened by the scene that her legs went weak. She was holding a potted plant in her hands and ran away when she saw this.

"My lord! My lord, spare my life!" That was all he could manage to shout in his haste as he fled.

Yao Ruyi is on the other side of the corner, and the little palace maid can see him from that direction, but the two of them may not.

Zhang Yuqun exchanged a glance with the person next to him, "We can't keep them."

"Don't worry, Imperial Physician Cao, she's just a lowly palace maid."

Yao Ruyi frowned. He had originally planned to ask Thirteen to help him tie the person up and take her back, but now, if he waited any longer, the palace maid's life would probably be over.

Her right index finger instantly turned orange-red, blood dripping from its tip. Fearing the two might have poison hidden in their teeth, Yao Ruyi moved swiftly, dodging in a flash. Her sharp finger sliced ​​open a wound on the neck, blood seeping into the skin before disappearing completely in the next second.

"you--"

The terror in their eyes had not yet faded, and they couldn't even utter a word before collapsing to the ground with two thuds.

A cloud of dust was kicked up.

Yao Ruyi quickly took two steps back, his face showing disgust, afraid that if he retreated too slowly, the dust would stick to his clean white robe.

The two men on the ground, one fat and one thin, were the same height. Yao Ruyi frowned and looked at them for a while. He didn't want to pry open their mouths to check for poison; that would be too disgusting.

"hiss--"

"hiss--"

Several strips of cloth were torn from the hem of the two men's official robes. Yao Ruyi skillfully stretched the strips of cloth and stuffed them into the men's mouths, wrapped them around their ears and tied them to the back of their heads, and then stuffed the remaining strips of cloth into their mouths.

Mushroom sighed; he wasn't satisfied with this. He tore off several more strips of cloth and tied their hands and feet together, finally leaving the longest strip to tie their feet together.

I reached out and lifted it up to test it; the strength was acceptable.

Yao Ruyi pursed his lips in satisfaction. He looked at the two imperial physicians lying unconscious on the ground with displeasure. These two, as imperial physicians, had actually helped the concubines in the harem to poison the emperor, and the Feng family's affairs were also inextricably linked to them.

Filled with anger, Yao Ruyi reached out, picked up the strip of cloth, turned around, and strode towards the Cloud Palace.

Two people were being dragged along, and the sound of clothes scraping against the ground could be heard behind them, gradually fading away. Sometime later, traces of blood appeared on the ground.

Yao Ruyi dragged along in front, expressionless. The eunuchs and palace maids who passed by stared in horror, lowered their heads and kept silent, and hurried away.

The Imperial Medical Academy wasn't far from the Cloud Palace, and he had taken the shortcut. Just as he reached the Cloud Palace, he bumped into Gu Huizhou leading Thirteen and Cui Xiangzhu out from the end of the long corridor. Yao Ruyi let out a long sigh, beads of sweat dripping from his forehead. He quickly waved, "Your Majesty!"

Dragging this all the way here must have been exhausting for him.

Yao Ruyi looked at the marks on her hands, rubbed them, and casually showed her palm as the man approached.

With a loud "bang!", the legs of the two people lying on the ground behind them slammed heavily onto the ground.

However, it did not attract the emperor's attention.

"How did you do that?"

Gu Huizhou frowned, took the person's hand in his, and as he spoke, he took out a bottle of ointment from his body and gently applied it to the person's hand. Only then did he glance at the two people on the ground and ask, "What are you doing?"

Two long trails of blood were left on the ground, but Gu Huizhou didn't seem to care much. He just raised his eyebrows slightly and even curved his lips into a slight smile, which startled Cui Xiangzhu, whose heart was pounding.

The two people being dragged behind the 19th Party Congress member looked like imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy; it was unclear whether they were dead or alive.

"this……"

Cui Xiangzhu looked cautiously at Yao Ruyi, who was rubbing her hands with her head down. "Could these be two assassins disguised as imperial physicians who have infiltrated the palace?"

Yao Ruyi shook his head, then met Gu Huizhou's probing gaze with a serious expression. "Where should we talk?"

Gu Huizhou grabbed the person's hand first, "Imperial Study."

"Thirteen, take these two to the Ministry of Justice."

Thirteen glanced at Yao Ruyi's retreating figure. "Yes." His gaze lingered for a moment, then he silently picked up the strip of cloth Yao Ruyi had thrown on the ground and, just like Yao Ruyi had done, dragged the two of them away.

What kind of good person could make Xiao Shijiu so angry?

Inside the Imperial Study.

Gu Huizhou smiled as he looked at the person sitting in the chair, constantly rubbing his palms together, and asked with a smile, "Why is Your Excellency so angry? Tell me."

Yao Ruyi looked up, but how could Gu Huizhou still manage a smile?

He had just seen Thirteen walking with the man, and must have found out something. "I went to the Imperial Hospital today and happened to overhear these two talking by the artificial hill behind the hospital. They—"

Before she could finish speaking, the man frowned and interrupted her, "What are you going to the Imperial Hospital for?"

Yao Ruyi was taken aback, then watched as the emperor stepped down from the dragon throne, stood in front of her, and looked down at her. "Where do you feel unwell?"

"I'm fine," he said with an embarrassed smile, after all, he had just shown the red marks on his hands in front of others. "I originally wanted to find this Imperial Physician to study pharmacology."

Upon hearing this, Gu Huizhou seemed to realize something. His expression softened, and instead of returning to the dragon throne, he sat beside Yao Ruyi, holding her hand in his own, and said, "Hmm."

"The two of them brought up the matter of Consort Yue Wuyou from back then. These two were the ones who helped Consort Yue drug Consort Wei back then," Yao Ruyi said succinctly. "The two of them were afraid of being suspected, so they haven't shown up in the palace often since then."

The old stories of the palace were overheard by a mushroom.

Gu Huizhou paused, stared into Yao Ruyi's eyes for a moment, then continued massaging her hands, a murderous glint in his eyes. "Well done."

How can you say that God didn't favor him?

How could a poisonous mushroom from the deep mountains outside the capital transform into human form just because of a drop of his blood? And how could this stupid mushroom happen to stumble upon the two men's secret conversation just as he learned that the Liang family had colluded with the imperial physician and Le Wuyou?

It's just fate.

Gu Huizhou, a deposed prince who had been skinned and dismembered since childhood, still became the emperor who held the power of life and death over them.

With his tongue pressed against the roof of his mouth, the man couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.

He added, "Well done."

Gu Huizhou reached out and pulled the person into his arms, but was pushed away just as his head was about to touch that fair neck. "Your Majesty, what are you doing?"

The man chuckled, "As a reward for you."

This wasn't a reward for him, Yao Ruyi thought, displeased; it was clearly a reward for himself. Mushroom had been getting bolder lately; he pushed the man's face away, which only deepened the man's smile.

"Take it and play with it."

Gu Huizhou took a thumb ring off his hand. The thumb ring was dark red with gold lace trim on an inconspicuous spot on the side. The man reached out and lifted Yao Ruyi's hand. The thumb ring was several times larger than Yao Ruyi's hand. He couldn't wear it, so he could only hold it in his palm and fiddle with it.

Thumb rings symbolize power and status. Emperors would never give away thumb rings they wore casually, but Gu Huizhou didn't care about that. He didn't like anything else, but he really liked gold, silver and jade.

"I can't wear it."

As Yao Ruyi spoke, she was about to return the thumb ring to Gu Huizhou.

"Here you go, just take it and put it in your flowerpot."

Mushroom was taken aback, then frowned. "Your Majesty, how did you know there was something in my flowerpot?"

"I don't know."

"and you……"

Gu Huizhou leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "I was just saying." He suddenly sat up straight, raising an eyebrow at Yao Ruyi. "Is there something in the flowerpot?"

"..."

No one will believe me if I say this now, but...

It's good to fool yourself, Mushroom said resignedly, "No."

"Heh," the emperor nodded, as if to say, "If you say it doesn't exist, then it doesn't exist." He tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest of the wooden chair, his eyes unfathomable.

Something bad is about to happen to the Liang family.

Yao Ruyi imitated him, leaning her head back in the chair and tilting it slightly backward. She felt dizzy and was about to fall asleep.

After a while, while Yao Ruyi was half asleep, Thirteen walked in, his smile barely concealed, "Your Majesty, Yuan Liao has relented!"

"Le Wuyou's maid was always by his side, and the former Crown Prince of Liao said he was willing to hand her over to His Majesty."

Gu Huizhou nodded, "Then release him quickly. Your Highness is of noble health. Send my ointment to Your Highness to apply it."

Yao Ruyi shook her head. No wonder there had been no news of the former Liao prince these past few days; His Majesty had arrested him again.

He wanted to continue listening, but the next second a large hand covered his eyes, almost blocking half of his face. "If you're sleepy, keep sleeping. I'll carry you back in a bit."

————————

[Green Heart][Green Heart][Green Heart]