Chapter 71 Chapter 70 Heartfelt
Mu Congmo was suddenly humiliated. He was not displeased at all, but just a little confused. His hand was still in the air, as if he was about to grab the edge of the boy's clothes, but after thinking about it, he felt that it was a bit inappropriate and was afraid of causing the other party's disgust, so he just stood there in a daze.
The night was deep, and the mountains were exceptionally quiet. Even the birds, which usually sang, had stopped chirping, as if they knew Mu Congmo was in a bad mood. The mountain night was chilly, and Hu Xian, noticing that Mu Congmo was still stunned, quickly sent for a robe. He was about to put it on Mu Congmo when he was stopped by a gesture from the latter.
Mo Yu thought, this is over, His Majesty will interrogate me again. Meanwhile, Hong Ting, standing nearby, even though he was slow to react, could sense the strange atmosphere. Gu Shiyan had left him outside, and he stood there, somewhat bewildered.
Mu Congmo glanced at him, and Hongting shuddered, standing straighter. He had been prepared for his anger, but unexpectedly, Mu Congmo gently warned him, "If he needs anything, just speak to the eunuch outside."
Hong Ting nodded, somewhat bewilderedly, as if he hadn't expected Mu Congmo to say this. After instructing Hong Ting, Mu Congmo turned and headed towards the main hall, giving Mo Yu a look before leaving.
Mo Yu followed him resignedly, glancing at Hong Ting with envy. Hong Ting didn't understand why, but he felt that his leaving figure was a little lonely.
In the main hall, Mu Congmo sat on the armchair. His face looked a little broken, as if he still couldn't figure out why the other party was so cold to him today.
Mo Yu knelt in the center of the hall, reporting what happened tonight. Seeing that the emperor was in a bad mood, he emphasized Gu Shiyan's words, "You touched someone you shouldn't have touched."
Unexpectedly, the emperor showed no joy at these words. His expression remained as cold as ice. Seeing this, Mo Yu felt completely disheartened. Wasn't even Yue Zun of any use today? Was he going to die today?
Mu Congmo didn't care about Gu Shiyan's words. If it were any other day, he would have thought that the person he was referring to as "the one who shouldn't be touched" was referring to himself, but the boy's slightly distant tone and actions were still lingering in his mind.
Then he remembered that Gu Cheng was in the hall today. He was A Yan's father. It was possible that the person he mentioned who could not be moved was Gu Cheng.
Mo Yu below didn't dare to speak. He was trying his best to reduce his presence. However, he went over everything that happened tonight in his mind. He should not have offended Yue Zun in any way.
Seeing Mu Congmo's unhappy expression, Mo Yu, as a caring subordinate, tentatively asked, "How about I ask the servant who follows Yue Zun?"
Mu Congmo's heart was shamefully moved when he heard this suggestion. Then he realized that if the other party didn't want him to know about this, rashly sending someone to inquire would only deepen their dissatisfaction with him. If there was a chance, he wanted to hear the other party tell him these things in person.
"Don't act on your own." Mu Congmo's voice sounded with a hint of warning. After saying this, he immersed himself in his own world again, and he couldn't figure out what he had done wrong to anger the young man.
Could it be that the other party knew that he had seen through his identity and was a little dissatisfied? But today he was not wearing a mask, obviously not intending to hide his identity.
Or was it because he had made him kneel on the ground for a long time when they first met, but he didn't know his identity at the time and really didn't pay attention to him. Now Mu Congmo regretted it. Or was it because he had made him review the memorials for a long time?
Thinking about it carefully, Mu Congmo felt that his future was bleak. It turned out that he had inadvertently caused the young man to suffer so much injustice. Now Mu Congmo no longer felt that he was innocent. After all, he was the one who made the mistake first. However, the young man could hit him and scold him as he pleased, but he could not accept that he was alienated from him and left him.
The most important thing now was how to keep him by his side. Now that Gu Shiyan had found his biological parents, he would definitely stay in the capital, and Mu Congmo wasn't worried about that. The imperial decree appointing him as a minister had already been issued, and Mu Congmo consoled himself mentally. But at the same time, he knew full well that if he truly wanted to leave, he couldn't stop him, nor would he.
He racked his brains, trying to find a reason to make the other party stay, but none of those reasons could convince him.
The night dragged on, and Mu Congmo sat huddled on the armchair, somewhat forlornly. Mo Yu, who had been kneeling beneath him, had long since been dismissed. He dared not sleep, fearing that upon waking he would hear the news of her departure.
Gu Shiyan was in the same situation as him.
He came to the side hall and felt relieved. Without even bothering to wash up, he took off his outer robe and crawled into the quilt, covering his entire body with the thin and somewhat cold quilt, even covering his entire face.
He tossed and turned on the large bed, unable to sleep at night, and the words Ji Ruoxi said to him before she left kept echoing in his mind.
That day, several elders worked together to suppress the poison in his body with a formation. During a game of chess, Ji Ruoxi chatted with him, and the latter mentioned, "The new imperial preceptor of Beirong has arrived in the capital."
In the subsequent game, Gu Shiyan was obviously absent-minded. Ji Ruoxi, who was familiar with his character, naturally noticed his abnormality, but he did not say anything at the time. Instead, he waited until the end of the game before speaking.
"You are confused and worried about the emperor." Ji Ruoxi put down the white chess piece, announcing the end of the game. His tone was not one of questioning, but of affirmation.
Facing Ji Ruoxi's probing gaze, Gu Shiyan remained calm and said nonchalantly, "How did you guess that? Why would I worry about him if there's nothing wrong with me?"
Ji Ruoxi chuckled. "The Northern Rong Imperial Preceptor's visit to the capital was undoubtedly aimed at the Emperor, likely hoping to seize the opportunity to force a truce between the Emperor and the Northern Rong. Ever since I mentioned this, your mind has been distracted from the chessboard, which has given me an opportunity to defeat you once again."
"You don't seem to realize that you have strange feelings for him. You have already fallen in love with him," Ji Ruoxi said with a heroic smile and left, leaving Gu Shiyan sitting there alone, staring at the chessboard covered with black and white chess pieces in a daze.
Gu Shiyan admitted that the moment he heard the news, his first reaction was to return to Beijing to save him, even though the other party did not need him.
But how could this mean that he had fallen in love with him? Gu Shiyan was a little confused. The image of Mu Congmo immediately emerged in his mind. Although he was a little thick-skinned and a little strange, Gu Shiyan had already made a place for Mu Congmo in his heart without even knowing it.
Ji Ruoxi was right, Gu Shiyan had fallen in love with Mu Congmo, without him even realizing it.
When he figured everything out, he quickly stood up from the stone chair, pulled Hongting with him, said hello to Ji Ruoxi, and ran towards the capital.
After Gu Shiyan left, Ji Ruoxi smiled and said to the elders in the hall, "Before he left the mountain that day, he said he wanted to marry the most noble person in the world. I thought it was a joke, but I didn't expect that he was really moved, and he didn't even realize it."
"What we said that day was indeed a joke, but who could have thought that this joke would come true today?" An elder agreed with a smile.
Ji Ruoxi looked thoughtful, then spoke thoughtfully, "Three years ago, when he went to the border to fight the Northern Rong State Master, he asked me for the White Feather. He said he left Pohong in Jiangnan to protect others. It turns out he was already interested in the emperor at that time."
Gu Shiyan was unaware of everyone's joking conversation. He was anxious and did not stop at all along the way. It took him several days to suppress the poison in his body. If he didn't hurry up, it would be too late.
The two figures flew through the air like an arc of light. Hong Ting had never felt such speed before and felt dizzy. Then the two of them successfully arrived. After Gu Shiyan taught Huan Zai a lesson, he was a little unsure how to face Mu Congmo.
Gu Shiyan had never felt anything like this before, and for a moment, he was inevitably a little confused. The cool quilt covered his slightly hot face, and a familiar scent entered his body. The fragrance was deep and heavy, the smell of ambergris on Mu Congmo.
He kicked the quilt away in annoyance. He thought he was going crazy. How could a perfectly good quilt smell like Mu Congmo? But what he didn't know was that Mu Congmo was trying to say that this side hall was where he usually lived. Although it was originally prepared for Gu Shiyan, he had lived here for many days.
If it were before, Mu Congmo would have definitely wondered if this meant he and the boy were sleeping together, but he wasn't in that mood at the moment. And Gu Shiyan wouldn't have thought that the emperor would leave the more authentic main hall unused and go to sleep in this side hall.
Gu Shiyan's face was no longer covered by the quilt, and fresh air passed through his nostrils. The heavy smell of ambergris also disappeared.
He sat cross-legged on the bed, his head tilted as if he was thinking about something.
Time passed silently. Unnoticed by either of them, the sun had already risen silently in the mountains. Its pale red light bathed the mountain, waking the sleeping birds. Suddenly, the mountains were filled with the joyful chirping of birds, interspersed with what sounded like the roars of wild beasts.
After a night of contemplation, Gu Shiyan finally realized what he was thinking. He just had different feelings for Mu Congmo, but so what? He would never compromise himself. He would get what he wanted. After all, it was Mu Congmo who provoked him first.
Thinking of this, Gu Shiyan no longer thought about how to avoid Mu Congmo, and just wanted to get along with him as usual.
It was a rare sleepless night, but Gu Shiyan didn't show any dissatisfaction on his face. Instead, he felt happy because he had seen through his own thoughts. He stood up and walked out of the side hall. The morning breeze from the mountains blew his hair, and he felt refreshed.
On the other side, in the dim main hall, there was a completely different scene. Mu Congmo was curled up in a chair, having maintained this posture since last night. There were some dark lines at the corners of his eyes, and he looked a little haggard.
Late in the same night, both of them stayed awake because of each other, but they didn't know it.
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