Chapter 51
Since the separation of the family and the establishment of his own house, Lin Qingyu has never invited anyone to his house, including his family members. Although Gu Fuzhou has done favors for the Lin family, there are too many suspicious points about him, and there are spies from the Tianji Camp by his side. No matter what he says or does, Xiao Cheng will know it. It would not be wise to take him to the mansion at this time.
Lin Qingyu weighed the pros and cons again and again, and said, "I am a widow, and my husband has been dead for less than half a year. If I rashly take the general to live alone in the mansion, it will definitely attract criticism."
Gu Fuzhou thought about it and did not force it: "If that's the case, then let's go to Nan'an Marquis Mansion."
Lin Qingyu thought Gu Fuzhou came on horseback, but unexpectedly he came in a carriage like himself. The two of them arrived at the mansion of Marquis Nan'an. After the servants in the mansion informed them, although Marquis Nan'an did not go out of the mansion to greet them like he did to the crown prince, he also greeted them in front of the main hall.
After not seeing each other for several months, Marquis Nan'an's complexion has indeed improved a lot, and the baby in Pan's belly has played a big role in this. Gu Fuzhou and he were a first-rank general and a first-rank marquis respectively, so when they met they only had to exchange greetings.
Lin Qingyu stood quietly aside, watching the two of them chatting nonsense back and forth. When Gu Fuzhou faced the Marquis of Nan'an, his expression was stern, his words were brief and to the point, and his every move and gesture showed the capable style of a military man, making him similar to the stern and cold-faced god of war in the rumors of the past. Gu Fuzhou had just been joking and teasing him, saying that beautiful women should practice Gu, and not long ago she had even performed the art of splitting bricks with her bare hands in front of him.
This aura that could be controlled at will reminded him of someone.
Xixia, secret codes, Gu Fuzhou's strange words and deeds and excessive displays of goodwill. Is it a coincidence, or is he too sensitive, or... is there some other hidden story?
When Marquis Nan'an learned that Gu Fuzhou had come specifically to pay tribute to Lu Wancheng, he was not very relieved. Instead, he looked at the two guards following him with concern. "General, you are very thoughtful. Someone, take the general to the ancestral hall. I have to go to the palace again, so I will not accompany you."
Gu Fuzhou nodded slightly: "My Lord, please do as you wish."
From the beginning to the end, Nan'an Hou treated Lin Qingyu as if he was nothing. It was obvious that he was still brooding over the matter of a man's wife bringing disaster to the family, and he didn't want to have anything to do with him at all.
Several people came to the Lu family ancestral hall. Gu Fuzhou looked at the "Lu Wancheng's Spirit Tablet" at the bottom, his mouth twitching slightly. He wanted to laugh but felt that he shouldn't laugh. In the end, he sighed lightly and said nothing.
The servant lit six incense sticks and handed them over. Lin Qingyu and Gu Fuzhou each held three incense sticks. They stood side by side in front of Lu Wancheng's spirit and bowed three times at the same time. Gu Fuzhou first inserted the incense into the incense burner and moved aside to make room for Lin Qingyu. Lin Qingyu stepped forward and whispered, "General, wherever you are, you are always accompanied by guards, and everything you say and do is under the eyes of others. Don't you find it annoying?"
Gu Fuzhou seemed very helpless: "There is no way. The prince always thinks that I am in a hurry to return to the capital for other purposes, as if there is a contact of mine in the capital and we are going to do something big together. It is better to let them follow, at least it can dispel the prince's doubts and clear my name."
"General, you worry too much." The guard said expressionlessly, "The general was poisoned in a strange way, and the poisoner has not been caught yet. His Highness sent us to accompany the general to protect him."
The guard was standing behind them. Lin Qingyu thought he had lowered his voice very low, but they could still hear it clearly. It is said that everyone in the Tianji Camp is a talented person, and it is indeed so.
Gu Fuzhou smiled indifferently: "Alright, whatever the prince says is fine."
Lin Qingyu's heart moved, and he felt that Gu Fuzhou's words had a hidden meaning: "The general wants to clear himself of suspicion, but he came to the Imperial Medical Bureau to find me openly. Aren't you afraid that the prince will suspect me and think that I am the contact person?"
Gu Fuzhou's smile faded slightly: "I don't want to involve you. But you are my sworn brother, so it's normal for us to be closer. Those who are innocent will be innocent, so Doctor Lin doesn't need to worry too much."
The innocent are innocent themselves, provided that the innocent are truly innocent, or at least they themselves believe so, so as not to leave any evidence for others to take advantage of.
Lin Qingyu asked again: "So, the general is anxious to return to the capital just to detoxify, and not for any other purpose?"
"What bad intentions could I have? I just want to save my life and enjoy a few more years of peace and quiet. After all, no matter how brave I am, I dare not do anything to deceive the emperor. That is a capital crime."
"The northwest is in turmoil, the country is divided, and the people in the border areas are living in misery. The general has been to the gates of hell, and now he wants to enjoy a peaceful life. How can he live up to the trust of the court and the people in the general?"
"Others may not know, but I know it very well." Gu Fuzhou laughed softly, "I can win battles entirely because of luck. Five consecutive wins are fine, but if I win more than that, I will lose sooner or later. The court and the common people should not trust me. I don't want to be responsible for millions of lives anymore. It's really tiring. Incompetent people should retire as soon as possible. This is the real way to live up to the people."
Lin Qingyu disagreed. It is false that Gu Fuzhou is incompetent, but it is true that he wants to be lazy.
It really is... becoming more and more alike.
After paying tribute to Lu Wancheng, Gu Fuzhou never traveled with him again.
Gu Fuzhou got on the carriage, and the coachman asked him, "General, are you going back home?"
The groom waited for a long time, but the general didn't respond. He was about to ask again when he heard a voice from inside the car: "No, I have someone else I want to see."
After the summer came, the emperor's condition not only did not improve, but became increasingly worse. The imperial doctors were helpless, and even Lin Yuanpan, who had just returned, had no good solution.
"Your Majesty's headache is a stubborn disease. For decades, the symptoms have been treated but the root cause has not been cured. Ordinary prescriptions are no longer effective for Your Majesty, so the condition has worsened and the treatment has not been effective."
The queen stayed by the emperor's bed, anxious and worried: "Is there really no solution at all?"
Lin Yuanpan hesitated and said, "This..."
Xiao Cheng said: "Just say what you want to say."
"Today, the miraculous doctor from Southern Xinjiang was invited to Beijing to give a lecture at the Imperial Medical Bureau. He mentioned that injecting insect poison into the brain can eliminate the root cause of headaches..."
"Absolutely not!" The Queen said without thinking, "You can actually say something like you're going to poison the Emperor. Don't you want to die?"
All the doctors knelt down and said, "Queen, calm down."
Xiao Cheng looked down at Lin Yuanpan and sneered, "Like father, like son. The two doctors surnamed Lin in the Imperial Hospital are so bold. Lin Yuanpan has been with Gu Fuzhou for a long time and has become his adoptive father. Could it be that he is like some ignorant people in the army who only know General Gu but not the emperor?"
Lin Yuanpan broke out in a cold sweat and said, "I dare not."
The queen said sternly, "Don't mention this matter again. Leave."
"Wait, you haven't finished talking yet, why is mother so anxious?" Xiao Zheng curled his lips, "I have ordered you to do this. Lin Rushan is talking nonsense and trying to use the Southern Frontier Gu technique on the emperor. From today on, you will be demoted to the sixth rank official."
The clerk of the Imperial Medical Bureau was a clerical official in charge of the management of medical books and medicinal materials. He had no real power and was not allowed to see patients.
The Queen thought it was inappropriate, as Lin Yuanpan was the best doctor in Dayu, and it would be a waste of his talent not to allow him to see patients. She opened her mouth to speak, but Xiao Cheng raised his hand to stop her: "I am just an imperial physician, mother, there is no need to say more."
Judge Lin bowed his head and said, "I thank you, Your Highness."
The queen closed her eyes and endured it. No matter how unwilling she was, she had to swallow her words. The emperor was so ill that he was unconscious, so the prince could naturally act recklessly and do whatever he wanted.
"Your Highness," Xue Ying walked in from outside, "The leader of the Tianji Camp requests to see you."
Xiao Cheng said: "Let him go to the Qinzheng Palace and wait."
A feeling of sadness welled up in the queen's heart. Whether it is the old eunuchs around the emperor or the Tianjiying who serve as the emperor's henchmen, they all follow the prince's lead. The prince is really... not far from the throne.
Inside the Qinzheng Palace, the leader of the Tianji Camp was reporting to Xiao Cheng in detail about Gu Fuzhou's schedule for the day: "Today, General Gu left the palace for the first time since returning to the capital. He first went to the Imperial Medical Bureau to pick up Imperial Physician Lin from school. After that, the two of them went to the Nan'an Marquis's Mansion to pay tribute to Young Marquis Lu. The Nan'an Marquis only said a few words to him and left in a hurry. Finally, General Gu went to the Fourth Prince's Mansion again."
Xiao Cheng narrowed his eyes: "Xiao Jie?"
In the fight for the throne, apart from him who won a great victory, only two princes escaped unscathed. One of them was the stupid son born to the queen, and the remaining one was the fourth prince, Xiao Jie.
Although Xiao Jie is not a fool, he is not much different from a fool. He is just a useless idiot. His biological mother was born in a humble family and he himself was not favored by his father, so he was not even qualified to join the fight for the throne.
Xiao Cheng asked: "What did they say?"
"It was just a casual greeting. General Gu told a lot of interesting stories about the battlefield, and the Fourth Prince listened with great interest. He even invited him to come to his mansion to roast lamb and drink wine together next time."
Could it be that Gu Fuzhou went to great lengths to return to Beijing just for Xiao Jie? No, Gu Fuzhou knew that someone was monitoring them, so what they saw on the surface was just what Gu Fuzhou wanted them to see. So did Gu Fuzhou want to muddy the waters deliberately to hide his true intentions?
"Keep watching." Xiao Cheng said, "Report if there is anything unusual."
When the news about Lin's father reached the Imperial Hospital, Lin Qingyu immediately took leave and returned to the Lin Mansion. He thought his father would be depressed because he was demoted, but he didn't expect his father to be calm and even told his mother with a smile that he could return home on time every day.
Lin Qingyu was helpless: "Father can actually laugh."
Father Lin said, "It's nothing more than a job from the fifth rank to the sixth rank, which is nothing. Speaking of which, before I returned to the capital, the general reminded me to be careful of the crown prince. I was too eager to save people and was careless."
Lin Qingyu was slightly surprised: "The general asked you to be careful about the prince?"
"Yes. He said he was eager to return to the capital, so he had to leave a lot of doubts. The prince would definitely be more cautious about the people around him. I didn't expect that I would be demoted because of this. Qingyu, you and I have both seen the Southern Frontier medicinal Gu. It can cure common people, but it cannot cure the emperor's illness - it's sad and lamentable."
Lin Qingyu had no intention of thinking about the southern Xinjiang poison. He reviewed Gu Fuzhou's words over and over again, and he seemed to be vaguely touched by something, as if he was admiring flowers in the fog, and he could never see clearly.
The man surnamed Jiang could not recognize him. Besides the two possibilities of being far away and having to hide his identity, could there be another possibility -
"Whatever. Now is not a good time."
"I don't want to involve you either."
Lin Qingyu pondered for a long time and asked, "Father, you said that 'Odd things change but even things don't change' was obtained by General Gu when he intercepted the Xixia secret letter. Besides General Gu, has anyone seen the secret letter with their own eyes?"
Father Lin didn't know why his eldest son asked this question, and said, "Such a secret, the general will naturally not show it to others."
"Even General Zhao has never seen it?"
Father Lin said, "I don't know about that."
Lin Qingyu's eyes moved slightly.
Perhaps, he was wrong from the beginning. The source of the secret letter was not in Western Xia, but in... Yongliang.
The next day, Lin Qingyu went to the general's mansion to deliver medicine as usual. As soon as he got off the carriage, Yuan Yin came up to him and said, "Doctor Lin, the general is not at home today."
Lin Qingyu asked: "Then where is he?"
"The general is at the Fourth Prince's residence." Yuan Yin said with a smile, "Doctor Lin, give me the medicine. I will send someone to deliver it to the general right away."
Lin Qingyu thought about it and said, "No need, I'll just make another trip."
There is a rule in the palace that all adult princes, except the crown prince, must leave the palace and set up their own residences. When the crown prince ascends the throne in the future, these princes will be granted the throne and moved to their fiefdoms. And the fourth prince just turned eighteen this year.
Lin Qingyu got off the carriage and saw dozens of horses parked in front of the Fourth Prince's mansion. These horses are all majestic, like the war horses in the military camp. It seems that Gu Fuzhou is not the only military officer who came to the Fourth Prince’s residence today.
Lin Qingyu explained his purpose and the servants went into the mansion to pass on the message. Soon, a handsome man with a feminine appearance and an androgynous look came out. Judging from what he is wearing, he should be a steward in the mansion.
"Greetings to Imperial Physician Lin." The steward said, "Please follow me."
Lin Qingyu followed the steward all the way to the back garden and could smell the aroma of wine and meat from afar. I saw a bonfire in the garden, and a big sheep was roasting on the bonfire. Dozens of people were gathered around the fire, most of them wearing armor and military uniforms, drinking with one hand and eating meat with the other, not caring about details and looking very happy. The only two people who were relatively polite were a young man dressed in brocade clothes. He had red lips and white teeth, and was smart and cute. Although he was also tearing mutton in his hands, his movements were not rough. This person is the fourth prince, Xiao Jie.
Another gentleman was Gu Fuzhou. But he was seen sitting in the crowd, with cold and sharp eyebrows, tough features, and a chilly aura. When he saw Lin Qingyu, the coldness disappeared and he smiled and raised his glass to him.
The steward said, "Your Highness, General, Imperial Doctor Lin is here."
"I heard that a beautiful imperial physician has come to the Imperial Hospital. Is that you?" Xiao Jie's face flushed. "You are really a beauty."
A military officer said carelessly: "Isn't this much prettier than the most beautiful Princess Jingchun back then?"
"Old Wu, you've really drunk too much. How can a man and a woman compare..."
Gu Fuzhou said, "Doctor Lin is here to bring me medicine. Please come over here."
Lin Qingyu asked: "General, have you drunk any wine?"
"No." Gu Fuzhou took the initiative to let Lin Qingyu check the wine glass, "I always drink tea instead of wine."
Lin Qingyu looked behind Gu Fuzhou. The guards of the Tianji Camp were still there, but their faces looked extremely ugly, and could almost be described as shame and humiliation. Soon, Lin Qingyu found out the reason.
"General Gu finally came back to Beijing, and he has people following him wherever he goes. It's only because the general has a good temper. If it were me, I would have lost my temper a long time ago. What is this, house arrest?"
Gu Fuzhou said: "I suddenly asked to return to the capital, so it is normal for the prince to be suspicious of me."
"Even if you suspect something, you need evidence! It's been more than half a month, and there's not even a scrap of evidence. Why is the prince still sending people to watch the general?"
"The Crown Prince has always been close to those sour civil officials, and has been extremely cautious with us military generals. He must have forgotten who conquered Dayu's kingdom and who defended it!"
Gu Fuzhou's expression changed: "General Wu, be careful with your words."
"I dare to say it here now, and I dare to say it at the morning court tomorrow. General Gu has fought for sixteen years and made countless military achievements. Why should he suffer such humiliation? This is too aggrieved. I can't stand it!"
"Me too!"
"Tomorrow we will advise the prince together that he cannot treat the general like this!"
"That's right! At worst, let the prince keep a watch on all of us brothers and see who will still work for him in the future!"
"Hey, hey, hey, don't get excited." Xiao Jie was caught in the middle and looked a little at a loss.
Gu Fuzhou looked solemn: "Your Highness the Fourth Prince organized this game today just for the sake of a reunion of brothers. If you continue to say such treasonous words, then all of you should disperse."
"Fuck him!" General Wu threw the cup to the ground and said angrily, "I, Wu Lao San, refuse to accept this! I want to enter the palace now!"
Gu Fuzhou shook his head and sighed: "I can't control you anymore." After that, he said nothing more, no matter how excited the generals were.
Lin Qingyu sat beside him, watching him drink the medicine, and said, "When the prince is forced to clear the general of suspicion, he will withdraw the Tianji Camp. Then, the general can speak freely and do whatever he wants."
Gu Fuzhou pretended to be enlightened and laughed softly, "It seems so. I hadn't thought of this. Doctor Lin is really smart."
Lin Qingyu's heart moved, he lowered his eyelashes, and smiled: "Not as good as the general."
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