Chapter 9 Chapter 9 A Yan wants to sleep with me
The evidence in the case of Prince Huai is now conclusive. Even his biggest trump card - the late emperor's will - can only save his life at this moment.
He only needed to wait for Chang Ye and his men to thoroughly investigate the scholar's case. Then, the two cases would be tried together. Even if someone wanted to plead for Prince Huai, they would have to think carefully about whether they would be condemned by the literati. He could take this opportunity to replace the officials of the three Jiangnan counties with his own people. From then on, the entire Jiangnan region would be firmly in his hands.
Mu Congmo was delighted and asked Man Ziling, "Besides seeking justice for your father, is there anything else you want?"
Man Ziling just shook her head upon hearing this and replied respectfully, "Apart from that, I have no other request."
Gu Shiyan originally wanted to discuss piano skills with the girl in front of him, but the current situation was obviously not appropriate.
"You continue to wait here. If I need you to testify, I will send someone to notify you." Mu Congmo ordered Man Ziling.
The two of them walked out under Man Ziling's respectful gaze, ignoring the envious and scrutinizing looks from the surrounding customers. They walked straight out. During this time, Mu Congmo asked the waiter, "You guys are responsible for our tea. Is that a promise?"
The waiter nodded quickly and was secretly puzzled. These two young men looked like they came from wealthy families, so why were they so fussy about such a small amount of money? Little did he know that neither of them had any money with them.
Mu Congmo had resolved a major issue, and the burden weighing on his shoulders had lightened a bit. Everyone envied the emperor's esteem, but he had inherited from the previous emperor a dreadful burden of aristocratic families abusing power, officials protecting each other, and the people's suffering. His efforts over the years had alleviated this situation somewhat, but this had also led to his reputation for tyranny. He naturally didn't care. The world was ignorant, and such evaluations were nothing to him.
He is not a wise ruler in the secular sense. Even if he is criticized by thousands of people, as long as he has a clear conscience, it doesn't matter.
The sun outside was about to set, and the afterglow of the sunset was reflected on the surface of the river. The evening breeze blew gently, taking away the haze of the world.
"Ayan is really my lucky star. If you hadn't followed the beautiful music of the piano subconsciously, I wouldn't have been able to find something to hold against Prince Huai so easily." Mu Congmo looked at Gu Shiyan and joked.
Gu Shiyan did not want to receive a reward without merit, and did not understand why Mu Congmo took the credit for this matter. He just said politely: "Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor, so he can naturally get rid of treacherous ministers and villains."
Seeing him being so polite, Mu Congmo was not annoyed. Instead, he sighed to himself that Gu Shiyan was his benefactor.
It was another rainy night. After the two of them had dinner, Gu Shiyan took the initiative to ask Mu Congmo to stay in his room for the night.
Mu Congmo was so shocked by this sudden surprise that he was at a loss for words. Before he could say anything, Gu Shiyan continued, "If you don't mind sleeping on the couch outside, come over."
Mu Congmo finally realized that, that's right, with Gu Shiyan's personality, it would be impossible for him to share a bed with others. Mu Congmo was already very satisfied to be able to sleep in the same room with him.
Now that we are living in the same room, we should sleep in the same bed next time, Mu Congmo comforted himself in his heart.
Seeing that Mu Congmo didn't say anything and seemed to be thinking about something, Gu Shiyan began to explain, "Changye and Hongting won't be back tonight. If you stay alone and something happens, I'm afraid I won't be able to rush over in time. If you feel aggrieved by the soft couch, then you can just endure it for one night."
Seeing Gu Shiyan's serious words about letting him suffer all night, Mu Congmo chuckled softly. Sure enough, Gu Shiyan wouldn't budge when it came to sleeping. At the same time, he secretly made up his mind that when he returned this time, he would have the Internal Affairs Department make his bed in the palace more comfortable.
In reality, the emperor's bedroom should have been extremely comfortable, with everything from the various utensils to the small ornaments carefully selected. However, he didn't care about these things and ordered that it be kept simple.
Night had already fallen, and Gu Shiyan fell asleep quickly. In less than half an incense stick of time, Mu Congmo heard steady breathing coming from the inner room.
He listened to the boy's weak breathing, suppressed his inner restlessness, and fell asleep with difficulty.
The next day, at dawn, Hongting and Changye safely delivered the group of scholars to the county magistrate's office and handed them over to Yongzhou, then hurried back to report.
The two of them didn't care about Bao Chengen's charcoal-black face at all, and even teased Yong Zhou, asking him to remember to treat them to a meal.
Bao Chengen, who was standing by, not only could not get angry, but also had to find a way to eliminate his suspicion. He was really like a dumb person eating bitter herbs, unable to express his pain.
He could only curse in his heart that the subordinates of Prince Huai were a bunch of trash, but he knew that the secret guards secretly trained by Prince Huai were vulnerable in front of the well-trained Shadow Dragon Guards, not to mention the powerful helper Hong Ting, who was at the peak of the Linhai Realm.
Although the Shadow Dragon Guards were extremely anxious when facing the Demon Lord's men last time, it was because the latter's martial arts did not follow the usual routine, but were unpredictable and carried an evil nature.
When the two saw Mu Congmo and Gu Shiyan sleeping in the same room, they saw shock in each other's eyes.
Could it be that my son/his majesty has been possessed by someone else? How could he possibly sleep in the same bed with someone else?
At the same time, Hong Ting couldn't help but feel a little respect for Mu Congmo. If he had accidentally woken his son at night, he would probably have become a cold corpse by now. He was also worried that Gu Shiyan would accidentally kill the king one day.
After a brief shock, the two reacted and Chang Ye was about to report what happened last night, but Mu Congmo waved his hand, interrupting him and indicating that they should wait until Gu Shiyan woke up before reporting.
Chang Ye's position in his heart was elevated a bit. Mu Congmo never made mistakes because of certain people or things, but this Yue Zun was a first. The vacant Queen's throne was likely to be filled soon, but the Zun's intentions were still unknown.
Half an hour later, they heard Gu Shiyan groaning from the inner room, and the three realized that he was about to wake up.
Mu Congmo just thought it was cute, Chang Ye really couldn't connect such a voice with the venerable who killed people without blinking an eye that night, but Hong Ting had long been accustomed to it.
Hong Ting was about to go in to serve, but was stopped by Mu Congmo. He picked up a cup of warm tea and walked in. He half-huggled Gu Shiyan in his arms and fed the tea into his mouth through the mask.
Mu Congmo took out an exquisite jade comb from somewhere and combed Gu Shiyan's cascading black hair with it. He combed it slowly and attentively. Finally, he took out a light blue hairband and tied up Gu Shiyan's long hair.
Gu Shiyan took a sip from his hand. The water was neither too hot nor too cold, very comfortable. Half asleep, half awake, Mu Congmo had already put his outer robe on him and even half-knelt on the ground to put on his shoes and socks.
Hong Ting, who was peeking from the outside, instantly widened his eyes in disbelief. He looked at Chang Ye next to him, trying to find the same shock in him as himself, in order to seek comfort.
But Chang Ye lowered his head, wishing he could bury it in the floor, not daring to even glance inside. If he was caught peeking by His Majesty, even if he had ten lives, it would not be enough to torture Mu Congmo. Moreover, Hong Ting, the idiot, had Yue Zun to protect him, but he had no one to protect him, so his life was more important.
In the inner room, Gu Shiyan had already tidied his clothes with the help of Mu Congmo, who also tied a jade pendant engraved with birds, beasts, fish and insects around his waist.
Because Gu Shiyan was wearing a mask, Mu Congmo didn't dare to act on his own, fearing that he might displease the person in front of him. Aside from wiping his face, Mu Congmo meticulously cleaned Gu Shiyan's entire body.
Gu Shiyan was still not fully conscious at this moment and did not realize that it was Mu Congmo who was taking care of him. He just felt that Hong Ting was a little different today. Usually, although Hong Ting was carefree, he still took into account the difference between the high and the low and would not touch his body too much.
It wasn't until he was led to sit on a chair outside that he saw Hong Ting standing next to him and realized who had taken care of him. However, Gu Shiyan didn't think much about it, only sighing that the emperor had really gone to great lengths to win him over.
However, Mu Congmo was not unfamiliar with serving others, and his movements were very careful. You know, he usually had a bad temper when he just woke up. Sometimes even Hong Ting would make him unhappy. Only Hua Ling was more experienced.
Gu Shiyan didn't really like being touched, but Mu Congmo's actions just now were very delicate, like he was wiping a rare treasure, so he didn't mind. If it were someone else, they would probably have been beheaded by now.
Seeing that Gu Shiyan was somewhat more awake, Mu Congmo raised his hand to signal Changye that he could begin his report. He then picked up the snacks that had been prepared and placed them next to Gu Shiyan, using a coaxing tone: "It will take some time before dinner. Ah Yan, please have some snacks first to fill your stomach, okay?"
Gu Shiyan ignored him. They were clearly discussing business, so what was the point of letting him eat snacks alone? Besides, he had no appetite at the moment.
Chang Ye told what happened last night one by one.
Last night they secretly followed those officers and soldiers, and because of their excellent lightness skills, they were not discovered.
After the soldiers sent the scholars back to the academy, one of them secretly ran to the Huai Palace to tip off the situation. However, Song Ji believed that there was no need to alert Mu Conghao to such a trivial matter. A few weak scholars could be dealt with by ordinary secret guards in the Huai Palace.
Furthermore, the cooperation between the Demon Lord and the Prince of Huai didn't seem so close. By sheer coincidence, the assassination mission was carried out by the secret guards of the Prince of Huai's mansion, whose leader was only at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm. Before Chang Ye could even make a move, he was dispatched by Hong Ting.
For the rest of the time, Chang Ye led his men up the river where the bodies were found, eventually discovering a hidden village at the end. Inside the village was a pond, connected to the river. Many bodies were soaking in the pond, and the bodies that had been salvaged probably flowed out from here.
The accompanying Shadow Dragon Guards wanted to step forward to investigate, but were stopped by Chang Ye. He sensed several auras within the chamber that were as powerful as his own, and one even faintly surpassed him in strength. They didn't dare to act rashly, fearing they would alert the people inside, and ultimately returned empty-handed.
While soaking the corpse in the pond, Gu Shiyan recalled a technique called Purple Frost Buddha Miasma. He placed the corpse in the water and, during the full moon, absorbed the remaining energy from the corpse to improve his cultivation.
This technique is extremely vicious and is strictly prohibited by the martial arts world. Even Buddhists believe that the name of this technique is insulting to the Buddha and regard those who practice it as public enemies of Buddhism.
The last practitioner clearly recorded in the martial arts world was the current Demon Lord.
Unfortunately, his cultivation had already reached the Free and Unrestrained Realm. The Martial Master remained in seclusion, the Confucian Master was far away in the northwest, and only the Buddhist Master, Master Jingkong, emerged from the Huguo Temple to fight the Demon Master. However, the battle ended in a draw, with both men suffering heavy injuries.
In the end, Master Jingkong retreated to the Huguo Temple in the capital, and the Demon Lord disappeared without a trace since then.
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