Yanyan and Yufei can't love
"Why are you crying again?"
The tears at the corners of his eyes were gently wiped away, and Ji Mingxiu opened his eyes with trembling eyelashes. The Gu Zian in his shining eyes was a familiar face to him.
There was a look of pity on his face, like gentle spring water, without any trace of the ruthlessness from earlier.
"You are not..."
He opened his lips, his voice was extremely hoarse, but his self-esteem would not allow him to utter the rest of the sentence.
But it didn't matter, Gu Zi'an saw what he had not said yet, opened his arms, took the initiative to take that step and embraced Ji Mingxiu in his arms.
"No, I'm not going anywhere."
He was not leaving Tiandu because he blamed His Majesty, but he felt that he should not abandon this guilt and stay with His Majesty.
Moreover, given his identity, there is no guarantee that His Majesty will not suspect him in the future. Rather than going that far and following in his father's footsteps, it would be better for him to give up his power as soon as possible and return to the border to guard the territory of Daxuan and also guard his Majesty.
But he was so wrong.
Gu Zi'an's sad gaze swept across Ji Mingxiu's deep red eyes and the mottled marks on his body, and the bitter guilt in his heart almost swallowed him up.
How could he, think himself to be in such a foolish position?
He only knew that his love for His Majesty was obvious to all, but he ignored His Majesty's heart. He did not dare to believe His Majesty's words of love for him, so he thought that pushing His Majesty away was the best solution to this unsolvable problem.
Until today, His Majesty has almost laid his entire heart before him without any defense, allowing him to cherish or hurt her.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
He placed a loving kiss on the corner of Ji Mingxiu's lips. He should be the one to say this.
When he received the letter from Li Qingyun, he asked Qu Chuan whether his father really had rebellious intentions.
Qu Chuan didn't look at him. His hand holding the hilt of the sword was trembling a little. He stared into the distance with a frown in his eyes for a long time, and then he sighed and uttered a sentence.
"Who knows?"
Who knows who came up with the suspicion and treason?
And why should he drag Your Majesty into the abyss of pain with him just for this matter that no one knows.
As long as His Majesty is willing, he will not leave.
"So where were you going?"
Ji Mingxiu's tears were soothed by his kiss, but he still didn't dare to let go. He felt heartbroken when he saw the way he carefully grasped the corner of his clothes and was unwilling to let go.
"I am going to prepare hot water for your Majesty's bath, not to leave."
He stretched out his hand to push aside the black hair on Ji Mingxiu's temples that was wet with sweat and tears. His Majesty always likes to be clean. After being tossed around for most of the day, he must be feeling very uncomfortable. So he thought of getting some hot water for His Majesty, but who knew that it would make His Majesty think too much.
"I don't want to bathe."
Ji Mingxiu shook his head and looked at him intently, his eyes red like a little rabbit that had been wronged.
But he knew that His Majesty didn't want to take a bath, but was afraid that he was deceiving people.
No matter what, it's all his fault.
"Then... how about going to the hot spring?"
He lowered his head to Ji Mingxiu's forehead and asked softly, his lingering breath revealing tenderness and affection.
"I will carry your Majesty down with me."
Ji Mingxiu didn't say anything, he just leaned over and hugged his neck, burying his head in his neck, so well-behaved that it made people's hearts soften.
Gu Zi'an lifted his majesty's hips and tossed them in his arms, then picked up a relatively clean outer robe from the ground and put it on Ji Mingxiu.
There is still some distance from the side hall to the hot spring pool. It would be bad if you catch a cold.
The red marks on his body slowly turned into shocking purple, and his delicate skin rubbed against the fabric, causing him intense pain. Ji Mingxiu shrank into Gu Zi'an's arms and complained softly in a hoarse voice.
“It hurts…”
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
Gu Zi'an felt so distressed when he heard this sound that he reached his hand into his outer robe, gently separating the contact between the fabric and the skin, but it was still a drop in the bucket.
"My waist hurts, my legs hurt, it hurts everywhere."
Ji Mingxiu lay in his arms and kept talking, as if he wanted to tell him all the pain he felt, but he knew that he was no longer in that much pain.
He sniffed and whispered in Gu Zian's ear.
"I forgive you."
*
After a night of tossing and turning, Ji Mingxiu could no longer hold on and fell into a deep sleep.
Gu Zi'an, however, couldn't sleep. The dark night was reflected in his eyes until dawn.
With the help of a little morning light coming through the window, he moved closer and sketched the calm brows and eyes of His Majesty. There seemed to be some redness behind his ears.
Gu Zian frowned and gently placed his hand on Ji Mingxiu's forehead.
It's a little hot, probably because I caught a cold last night.
He quietly stood up and carefully pulled the corner of his clothes from the Majesty's hand, and fetched Doctor Zhang on duty from the Imperial Hospital.
"Silence."
After entering the side hall, Gu Zi'an turned around and gave Doctor Zhang a look, indicating that the emperor was still asleep and asked him to speak more quietly.
I don't know if it's because he's been on the battlefield for too long and his eyes are too fierce or what, but Doctor Zhang looks at him as if he's going to kick his legs and die in anger in the next second.
Doctor Zhang was old and experienced, so there was no need for him to take the patient's pulse. He knew everything just by looking at the thin, purple wrist hanging from the curtain.
Treacherous ministers are in power! Treacherous ministers are in power!
He glared at General Gu, who was standing beside him with a murderous look in his eyes, and could not hold back his tears. He knelt down and could not get up.
The humiliation of the emperor is a great shame for the country!
Imperial Physician Zhang wished he could throw his head on the ground and kill himself in front of Your Majesty.
For the sake of integrity, he could fight against the traitor Gu Zi'an, but he had a wife and children at home, so he could only place his trembling hand on the Majesty's bruised wrist.
Look, there are bite marks on it!
Doctor Zhang suddenly felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat, and his vision went dark for a few moments.
"How is your majesty?"
Gu Zi'an stood aside with a frown on his face, watching Imperial Physician Zhang's hand reluctantly taking it off His Majesty's wrist. His expression was so grief-stricken that it was inevitable for people to think too much.
"Your Majesty is physically weak, your vital energy is severely depleted, and you also have a fever caused by an external cold."
Doctor Zhang hung his head, and every word he spoke seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying tears of humiliation.
The traitor Gu Zi'an led a large army into Tiandu, thinking he was going to rescue the enemy, but who would have thought he had actually attracted a vicious wolf.
As an imperial physician who couldn't even lift anything, he couldn't influence the situation and could only beg the culprit in front of him.
"Your Majesty has always been in poor health. You must take good care of yourself, otherwise you will develop a chronic illness."
"I see."
Since it concerns His Majesty's health, Gu Zi'an dare not be careless.
"Ahem...what are you arguing about?"
Ji Mingxiu's hoarse voice came from inside the tent. Doctor Zhang felt sad again and wiped his tears silently.
"Your Majesty is awake?"
Gu Zi'an raised his hand to signal Doctor Zhang to go down and prepare the medicine, while he brought the warm tea, lifted the curtain, and carefully helped Ji Mingxiu moisten his throat.
"Drink slowly."
Ji Mingxiu leaned on him and drank a little quickly. The tea overflowed from the corners of his lips and flowed down to the depth of his collar.
He stretched out his hand to wipe it away gently, but was glared at by His Majesty with resentful eyes.
"Why did you call the imperial physician? If I record it in my daily records, how can I face people?"
It was for this purpose.
Gu Zi'an laughed dumbly. His reputation as a fighter against thieves was in great turmoil now. Tiandu had just been killed as a warning to others by Li Qingyun. No one would dare to touch this mold.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. No one dares to tell anyone."
He turned around and put down the green teacup, his thick fingertips caressing the wall of the cup without leaving.
"Your Majesty, I have something else I want to discuss with Your Majesty."
Gu Zi'an looked down at Ji Mingxiu, his eyes filled with complicated emotions. He had been thinking about this matter all night.
"Whatever it is, as long as you don't want to leave again, I will definitely agree to it."
Ji Mingxiu raised his eyes and looked at him half-jokingly, but in Gu Zi'an's long silence, he gradually retracted the smile on his lips, looked at him steadily, pursed his lips stubbornly and said nothing.
But even if His Majesty didn't say anything, he could see the grievance in those wet eyes.
"It's not what your majesty thinks."
He sighed and pulled Ji Mingxiu into his arms, analyzing the situation in detail in front of His Majesty.
"Things in the northern border seem to have calmed down, but the Tak tribe in the northern desert still has some strength left. And although the tribes in the southern border had already submitted to Daxuan during the time of the previous emperor, the management was not thorough. Now is a good time to build military settlements and establish provinces and counties."
Ji Mingxiu understood what Gu Zi'an meant. Thoroughly managing the northwest and bringing it under the unified jurisdiction of Daxuan would be a great thing that would benefit the present and future generations. And the most available and most daring candidate he had was Gu Zi'an.
But……
He buried his head even deeper, still feeling too aggrieved to speak.
"Three years, I promise."
"In three years at the latest, I will be able to return a stable northwest to Your Majesty."
Gu Zi'an gently stroked His Majesty's drooping black hair, feeling extremely reluctant to let him go.
Ji Mingxiu was not an unreasonable person after all. He just wanted Gu Zian to coax him. However, Gu Zian was so unromantic that he couldn't even say a word of love, so he could only speak awkwardly.
"Let Xu Yan stay there to help you. There is no one more suitable than him to be the first official in Northern Xinjiang."
Xu Yan believes in the unity of knowledge and action. He was born in a humble family but cares about the world. He is a rare talent. However, he has no real experience as a parent official. After his three-year term in Northern Frontier is over, he plans to transfer him back to Tiandu to take over the vacancy left by Li Qingyun.
After all, he still kept his top scholar for Xu Yan.
"Your Majesty is confident in him."
Gu Zi'an felt inexplicably jealous, and his tone was sour that it made people's teeth itch.
He and Xu Yan worked together in Northern Frontier for two years. If you add the three-year term, that means they have been friends for five years. Yet, His Majesty is still confident in letting Xu Yan return to Tiandu to take charge of power.
Even though this jealousy was unreasonable, Gu Zi'an couldn't help but go up to her and ask for a kiss for comfort, but was pushed away by Ji Mingxiu.
We are talking about business, why are you kissing me?
"Of course I'm relieved. The way Xu Yan looks at you, he wants to eat you up."
Ji Mingxiu looked at Gu Zi'an with a teasing look. He could probably guess how terrible the image of Gu Zi'an was in Xu Yan's mind, but fortunately Xu Yan was a man who knew his limits.
"I will punish him and won't let him do whatever he wants."
"But I am warning you."
Ji Mingxiu tapped Gu Zian's lips in a menacing manner.
"You are not allowed to not write back for a long time, do you understand?"
"good."
Gu Zi'an gently held the tip of His Majesty's white finger in his mouth, with deep throbbing in his eyes.
Over the years, he wrote countless letters, but he did not dare to send them. He could only sit under the lamp again and again and let his boiling emotions die down little by little.
Now, he finally dared to tell everything to the world.
They will be separated for three years, but they will have a long, long future.
It was so long that he didn't dare to think about it, but he couldn't help thinking about it.