Chapter 80
As soon as Lin Qingyu's tongue extended, it was hooked. Gu Fuzhou successfully distracted his attention. Lin Qingyu no longer thought about the soul leaving the body and the soul not being in the same body, and immersed himself in Gu Fuzhou's breath.
Gradually, Lin Qingyu's lips began to feel numb and his breathing became more and more rapid. He couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to push Gu Fuzhou away. Gu Fuzhou placed one hand on the back of his head and clasped his fingers with the other, hugging him tighter.
Gu Fuzhou didn't let him go until his lips were bitten.
Lin Qingyu was breathing lightly, his cheeks were very red, his lips were stained with water, and his eyes were dim, revealing a confusion that rarely appeared in him, as if he was confused by the various strange reactions in his body.
Gu Fuzhou chuckled: "Doctor Lin's face is so red." Fortunately, his skin is not white now, so he was able to pretend. If he used his own body to kiss Lin Qingyu, judging by the heat on his face now, his blushing would definitely not be much less than Lin Qingyu's.
Lin Qingyu touched his face with the back of his hand and it was indeed incredibly hot. He tried to remain calm and said, "Because you made me unable to breathe. It's normal to blush because you can't breathe."
Gu Fuzhou asked curiously, "Doctor Lin, don't you know how to breathe?"
Lin Qingyu was inexplicably embarrassed and annoyed, but said calmly, "I'm not as good as you."
Gu Fuzhou smiled: "Actually, I don't know how to do it either, but I seem to have understood a little bit just now. I can teach you."
Lin Qingyu turned his face away: "Let's do it another day."
Gu Fuzhou blinked and said, "Some other day?"
"It's getting late. I'm going to bed."
At night, the two of them slept one above the other as usual. It’s strange that they slept in the same bed several times before they got engaged, but after they got engaged, they never slept in the same bed again. Every day before going to bed, they would feel inexplicably awkward for a while. If they looked at each other for a little longer, they would blush and feel hot, making the atmosphere awkward and stalemate. In the end, they would tacitly go to their separate beds, like two shy young wives.
I don’t know what other people’s first love is like, but for Gu Fuzhou, his first love was the eagerness in his youth. Even though he and Lin Qingyu have known each other for such a long time and have had physical contact, he still occasionally gets nervous when they are alone after they become lovers. But once there are other people around, he won't be nervous anymore.
He couldn't show his nervousness, he didn't want to seem useless.
In the silence, Gu Fuzhou, who had just kissed the beautiful lady on the lower bunk, suddenly laughed: "Qingyu..."
Lin Qingyu closed his eyes: "Why haven't you fallen asleep yet?" The emotions faded, and Lin Qingyu recalled the kiss just now. He vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't remember what was wrong.
"You didn't fall asleep either." Gu Fuzhou said with a smile, "I just want to tell you that kissing you is not tiring at all, I really like it."
Gu Fuzhou's words seemed to be saying that if kissing him makes him tired, he won't like kissing anymore? The relatives are indeed not tired, but if they were replaced by someone who is tired, Mr. Jiang probably wouldn't like them much. This may be the origin of his lifelong dream.
Lin Qingyu wanted to laugh: "As long as you like it."
Gu Fuzhou asked: "Do you like it?"
Gu Fuzhou waited for a long time but did not get Lin Qingyu's answer. He turned over and prepared to go to sleep when he heard a soft "like" from the lower bunk.
When Lin Qingyu entered the palace again, he was invited by the Queen to Fengyi Palace.
When the King of the North saw that the rumors about whether Jingchun was a boy or a girl were getting more and more intense and even reached the ears of the emperor, he finally took action.
"The King of the North mentioned this in his letter of greeting, saying that this was nonsense and that his princess consort was a real girl," the queen said. "He also said that he would investigate the matter thoroughly and punish those who spread the rumors."
After Zhang Shiquan finished his work, he left the Northern Territory with his people early in the morning. Even if the King of the Northern Territory wanted to investigate, he had no way to start. The King of the Northern Territory did this simply to protect Jingchun and to avoid any rift with the capital.
Lin Qingyu asked: "Did the emperor believe it?"
"Your Majesty naturally believes what the King of the North wrote."
"Not necessarily." Lin Qingyu said, "Does your Majesty want to investigate further?"
The Queen was surprised and said, "Now that the truth is out, what else is there to investigate?"
"What if the King of the North deceives you?"
The Queen was puzzled: "Why would the King of the North lie about this?"
Lin Qingyu said: "In order to make the capital relax its vigilance and attack them when they are unprepared."
The queen's face darkened: "This matter is of great importance, and we must not speak nonsense."
"Because this is a serious matter, Your Majesty should be more careful and not listen to the one-sided words of the King of the North. As the saying goes, those who are not of our race must have different hearts. As the mother of a country, Your Majesty has the responsibility to correct the emperor's ears. Please remind the emperor to prepare for a rainy day, so that there will be no chaos when the war comes."
The queen was thoughtful: "I know."
After Lin Qingyu left, the queen went to the emperor's bedroom. The Imperial Hospital had just delivered medicine at that time. While feeding the emperor the medicine, the empress repeated what Lin Qingyu had said one by one. "In my opinion, this matter should be thoroughly investigated."
The emperor looked at the queen with a probing look. The queen forced a smile and said, "But what's wrong with what I said?"
"No, I just didn't expect that the Queen and I have the same idea." The emperor's eyes were full of doubts, "The King of the North is so sure, but it seems that he is trying to cover up something. The Queen is right, this matter must be investigated thoroughly, but it cannot be made public. We can investigate it secretly."
The queen nodded and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will check it out."
The emperor held the queen's hand and said gently, "In the harem, only the queen can share my worries."
The Queen was quite moved: "Your Majesty..."
The rare warmth between the couple was interrupted by Xue Ying who came to deliver the message: "Your Majesty, Queen, the Imperial Master wants to see you."
The queen was surprised and said, "The imperial teacher suddenly came to the palace. It must be something important."
The emperor sat up and said, "Please invite him in."
Xu Jun was willing to live in seclusion from the world, and detach himself from the mundane affairs of life. Unless summoned by the emperor himself, he seldom took the initiative to seek an audience. The emperor always treated Xu Junyuan as a guest of honor, because decades ago, Xu Junyuan had cast a divination for Dayu's national destiny, and the interpretation was: a dispute over the throne, a marriage in the northern border, and a ghost general from Western Xia.
Over the past ten years, everything Xu Junyuan said has come true one after another. The emperor has always advocated the theory of celestial phenomena, and now he treats Xu Junyuan with even more courtesy. In front of the emperor, Xu Junyuan's casual words might be more useful than those of the censors.
After Xu Junyuan entered the hall, the emperor immediately allowed him to sit down without formalities. Xu Junyuan was not extremely respectful to the emperor, but he was also very polite: "Your Majesty does not look well. I hope you take care of yourself."
"My headache is an old problem. It sometimes gets better and sometimes gets worse. I don't know when it will end." The emperor asked earnestly, "What did the Imperial Master calculate when he came to the palace this time? Is there any possibility that my body can be cured?"
Xu Junyuan said: "Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor, and I am just an ordinary man. I am blinded by the clouds, so how can I see the way of the emperor?"
The emperor slumped his shoulders, looking a little disappointed. This was not the first time he asked Xu Junyuan to help him change his fortune, and Xu Junyuan's answers were always the same.
The Queen asked: "If so, why did the Imperial Master come here? But Li'er's soul-losing disease..."
The emperor glanced at the queen sideways, and the tenderness in his eyes was gone. The queen sensed his displeasure and had to keep her mouth shut.
Xu Junyuan seemed not to hear the second half of the Queen's words. He said: "Yesterday, I observed the sky at night and saw the sign of four stars in a row. If the four stars are in a row, it means the Great Tang. Wars and deaths will occur simultaneously, the nobles will worry, and the villains will flee.①"
The emperor's face turned extremely ugly. The Queen also frowned: "Imperial Master, what you mean is that Dayu might have a military conflict? Is he talking about the northwest, or..."
Xu Junyuan did not comment, and continued: "What's even more bizarre is that the south has the reversed yin and yang. The yang is actually the fate of the phoenix flying high."
The Yang one...the phoenix is flying high?
The queen looked at the emperor anxiously: "Your Majesty, this..."
The emperor's face was pale, his whole body tensed, and he said in a deep voice: "Empress, I give you three days to find out Qing Jingchun's true identity. If you can't find it out, I will let Concubine Chen to find it. From now on, you don't have to keep your Phoenix Seal and Book of Records."
The queen knelt down quickly: "I obey your command."
Lin Qingyu left the palace and saw the general's carriage at the door. He and Gu Fuzhou had a growing tacit understanding, and as long as both of them entered the palace, they would wait for the other to return home together. Lin Qingyu got on the carriage, and Gu Fuzhou was indeed taking a nap with his long legs crossed. Seeing him coming, Gu Fuzhou put down his legs and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Doctor Lin. Let's go out for dinner today."
Lin Qingyu asked: "Where are you going?"
Gu Fuzhou pulled him to sit beside him: "Jinxiuxuan."
Jinxiuxuan is the most famous restaurant in Beijing. When Gu Fuzhou was still Lu Wancheng, the two of them visited this place. When he revisited the old place, Jinxiuxuan was still the same Louwailou, and Mr. Jiang was still by his side.
General Gu and his wife have come to visit, so Jinxiuxuan has to vacate a private room even if it means vacating it. However, Gu Fuzhou declined the shopkeeper's kindness and took Lin Qingyu to a compartment. The compartment was divided into two by a screen. Lin Qingyu just sat down when she heard a voice from the other end: "Aunt Wuya, I haven't seen you for a long time. Is everything going well outside the palace?"
This is Xi Rong's voice.
Lin Qingyu cast a questioning look at Gu Fuzhou, and Gu Fuzhou lowered his voice and said, "Don't worry, you will understand as you listen."
A timid female voice that sounded to be in her thirties or forties rang out: "All is well, all is well. Thank you, Eunuch Xi, for your concern."
Xi Rong's voice became a little colder: "Since I have followed the prince out of the palace, I am no longer a eunuch. Auntie can just call me 'Butler Xi'."
"Yes, Steward Xi." The woman named Wu Ya said cautiously, "I wonder if His Royal Highness Prince Ning wants to ask me for something."
Xi Rong said: "I vaguely remember that Princess Jingchun was taught by you when she was in the Shangyi Bureau?"
"……yes."
"Then you should know clearly whether Princess Jingchun is a man or a woman."
Wu Ya hurriedly said: "Since Princess Jingchun is a maid of the Shangyi Bureau, how could she be a man?"
Xi Rong asked: "You are so sure, but have you seen his body with your own eyes?"
Wu Yanan said: "Although I have never seen it, but when a maid enters the palace, she must be examined by the head aunt in person."
"It's a pity that the former head of the Shangyi Bureau who examined Princess Jingchun has long since died and there is no evidence to prove it. If someone is not guilty, why would they kill people to silence them?"
Wu Ya was shocked: "Dead?"
"The Queen is investigating this matter, and she will find out about you soon." Xi Rong said slowly, "The Prince hopes that you can provide the Queen with some useful clues. Of course, after the matter is accomplished, the Prince will definitely benefit from you. For example, your daughter who is terminally ill, don't you want to find a good doctor to save her life?"
Wu Ya said in a panic: "I, I don't understand what the prince means."
Wu Ya didn't understand, but Lin Qingyu almost understood it. He asked Gu Fuzhou: "Do you want her to give false testimony?"
"Although it was perjury, what she testified was all true."
"Even if we have witnesses, what about the physical evidence..." Lin Qingyu thought of the token that Gu Fuzhou asked him to get from Shen Huaishi, and suddenly said, "That palace belt?"
"There are three palace belts, one for each of Shen Huaishi, Jingchun, and Xiao Cheng. The three of them have always carried the tokens of their childhood friendship with them, and they never thought that one day the tokens would become death warrants."
On the other side, after Xi Rong explained his purpose, Wu Ya did not agree immediately. Xi Rong did not force her, and said: "Go back and think about this matter carefully. However, it is best not to think about it for too long. It is not that the prince cannot wait, but your daughter cannot wait."
After Wu Ya left, Xi Rong came around from behind the screen and said, "Greetings, General, Madam."
Lin Qingyu said, "Thank you for taking this trip, Steward Xi - would you like to stay and have dinner with us?"
"No need, the prince is still waiting for me." Xi Rong bowed and said, "I'll take my leave first."
Xiao Jie handled the matter of general pay quickly and well, which impressed the emperor. The emperor assigned him more and more tasks. Xiao Jie knew nothing about state affairs and could only rely on Xi Rong for everything. Lin Qingyu could imagine who would be the person who would write the imperial edicts when Xiao Jie ascended the throne in the future.
When eunuchs are in power, it has always been a national disaster throughout history. As Xiao Cheng's luck was about to end, he should prepare a retreat for himself and Gu Fuzhou, just in case.
The dishes at Jinxiu Xuan are exquisite and varied. Gu Fuzhou rarely comes here, so he ordered all of their signature dishes. Halfway through the two of them eating, Gu Fuzhou suddenly put down his chopsticks, his expression suddenly changed: "Oh no."
"What's wrong?" Lin Qingyu was shocked. "Is the food poisonous?"
"That's not the case." Gu Fuzhou said slowly, "A fish bone is stuck in my throat."
Lin Qingyu: “…”
Gu Fuzhou was unhappy: "That's why I hate eating fish. Why do fish have bones?"
"Stop talking nonsense." Lin Qingyu lifted Gu Fuzhou's chin, "Open your mouth, let me see."
Gu Fuzhou did as he was told. The fish bone was stuck in a deep place and was hard to see with the naked eye. Lin Qingyu poured him a cup of tea and said, "Try to see if you can swallow the fish bone."
Gu Fuzhou drank a pot of water before swallowing the fish bone. Lin Qingyu looked at him and said meaningfully: "Sure enough, it was not an illusion last time."
Gu Fuzhou had a bad feeling: "What illusion?"
Lin Qingyu said slowly: "The general is tall and majestic, but his tongue seems to be smaller than that of an ordinary person."
Gu Fuzhou was confused: "Ah?"
Lin Qingyu raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said jokingly: "No wonder, last time you... I always felt something was wrong."
Gu Fuzhou: “…”
The biggest use of the tongue is speaking and eating. Gu Fuzhou is no different from ordinary people in both of these, so he has never paid attention to the size of his tongue. Now that Lin Qingyu said this, he was shocked to realize that the tongue of this body seemed to be quite small, at least shorter and smaller than Lu Wancheng and his own. No one would believe him if he pretended to be a hanged ghost.
Lin Qingyu said nonchalantly: "You don't have to worry about it. Although your tongue is a little smaller, it will not affect your daily life." In fact, it's quite cute.
Gu Fuzhou had a complicated expression: "Thank you, I'm not comforted."
Two days later, a major event occurred in the palace - the prince's biological mother, Concubine Chen, who had been favored for many years, abused her power for personal gain and caused chaos in the harem. She was stripped of her title of concubine by the emperor and sent to the cold palace.
This incident came unexpectedly. On the surface, it was a matter of the harem, but it was inextricably linked to the previous dynasty. Xiao Cheng knelt at the gate of the Qinzheng Hall all night despite his illness, but the emperor refused to see him and showed no affection to them mother and son.
The prince gradually lost the emperor's favor and also lost the support of his mother. On the other hand, Xiao Jie was granted the title of prince and was entrusted with important tasks. The civil officials and censors who had always been on good terms with the prince felt threatened and did not dare to act rashly. These people didn't even know why the imperial concubine was deposed, let alone speak up for her.
There were many different opinions about what happened in the palace that day, but only a few people knew the truth, including the palace maid named Wu Ya. Later, Lin Qingyu learned the whole story from Xi Rong.
The Queen was ordered to investigate the case of Princess Jingchun. No clues could be found in the palace, so she had to investigate outside the palace. Princess Jingchun entered the palace ten years ago. Most of the maids-in-waiting at that time have left the palace and married, and Wuya is one of them.
The emperor attached so much importance to this matter that he even brought up the phoenix seal and the imperial edict. The queen did not dare to be negligent and did everything herself. She interrogated Wu Ya personally.
Wu Ya did not directly reveal Jing Chun's identity, but only said that Jing Chun was different from other palace maids. Jingchun has never had her period and always wears high-necked clothes regardless of the season. Later, she happened to see Jingchun changing clothes, and discovered that there was something unusual about Jingchun's throat. She told the matter to the maid in charge at the time, but she insisted that she had seen it wrong and ordered her not to spread the matter.
"So, it is the maid in charge who is protecting Jingchun?" The Queen said, "How can she, a palace maid, be so capable of hiding things from the world?"
Wu Ya took out a purple palace sash and said, "After Princess Jingchun got married, I was ordered to clean the room she lived in before, and I found this item inside. The silk ribbon used for this palace sash is specially made in the palace, and only concubines and princes above the rank of concubine can use it. I wanted to give this item to the queen, but unexpectedly, the Shangyi Bureau suddenly changed the head maid, and I was also framed with a false charge and sent out of the palace."
The queen took the sash and looked at it carefully. She felt that it looked very familiar. "This style of sash was popular in the palace for a period of time ten years ago, but it is rarely seen now."
Lai Fu said sharply, "The palace belt tied to the prince's jade pendant is exactly the same as this one - they should be a pair!"
The Queen looked solemn and confirmed again and again: "Do you recognize it clearly?"
"The Crown Prince wears that jade pendant to pay respects to the Fengyi Palace every day. I am sure I am not mistaken."
"Okay... okay." The queen could not hide her excitement. "Go ahead, I want to see the emperor."
Wu Ya said again: "Your Majesty! Your Majesty, I have something else to say, but I don't know whether I should tell you or not."
The Queen couldn't wait: "What other clues do you have?"
"When the queen mentioned His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, I just remembered that in the past, all the pens, inkstones, and paper in His Royal Highness's palace were sent by Princess Jingchun. I once ran into the two of them talking in the Imperial Garden, and they mentioned something about their childhood and the Changsheng Temple..."
Lai Fu suddenly had an idea: "When the Crown Prince was young, he and Concubine Chen lived in Changsheng Temple for a period of time to avoid illness. Could there be any connection between them? Your Majesty, please be patient and find out the truth before reporting to His Majesty."
Soon, there was news from Changsheng Temple. According to the monks in the temple, when the prince was hiding from illness in Changsheng Temple, in addition to the palace maids and eunuchs, he was also accompanied by two young children who were not much different in age. One of them was Shen Huaishi, a young guard sent by the Tianyu Gate to the prince; and the other was a young monk adopted by the Changsheng Temple. He became a monk at a young age and was a smiling and lovable little monk. Even though they have different identities, the three of them often play together. They can be said to be childhood friends who always talk and laugh happily.
Later, the little monk’s biological parents came to the temple and asked him to return to secular life. The queen followed this clue and found out that the little monk's father was addicted to gambling. The reason he took the little monk back was to sell him into the palace as a eunuch. Who would have thought that there would be no news about the little monk after he entered the palace. The empress ordered the Imperial Household Department to investigate, but they could not find any clues about the little monk.
After finding out this, the queen could no longer sit still and asked to see the emperor with witnesses and evidence.
"After Jingchun entered the palace, he changed from a little eunuch to a palace maid. If it weren't for a relationship, who would risk losing their head to help him?" The queen said, "As for relationships, he only knew the prince and Shen Huaishi in the palace, and Shen Huaishi was obedient to the prince at that time... Your Majesty, the prince must be involved in Jingchun's matter."
The emperor listened to the whole story, looked at the palace ribbon, was silent for a while, and said: "Call Concubine Chen."
The queen was stunned: "Your Majesty?"
The emperor said coldly: "Go quickly."
Concubine Chen was brought to the Qinzheng Palace. In the face of overwhelming evidence, she had no way to defend her son. She knelt in the palace with a pale face and said with tears in her eyes, "It was me. I did all this. When I was in Changsheng Temple, I loved the well-behaved and lovely Jingchun. I couldn't bear to see him suffer the pain of purification, so I did such a stupid thing. But I never thought that Jingchun would be favored by the King of the Northern Territory... Your Majesty, I didn't mean it, Your Majesty!"
The Queen slammed the table and stood up: "Nonsense! Imperial Concubine, do you think that your fault for not educating your children well is not serious enough? Do you want to commit the crime of deceiving the emperor?"
"Every word I said is true." Concubine Chen cried like a pear blossom in the rain, her beauty was gone, but she did not hesitate at all, "That palace belt was given to Jingchun by me. It and the one the prince uses are both from my palace. They are a pair, and the prince is not aware of this."
"The maids in the Shangyi Bureau have seen the Crown Prince and Jingchun meet privately many times. How do you explain this?!"
Concubine Chen sobbed and said, "Princess Jingchun is as beautiful as a flower. She was the most beautiful woman in the capital at that time. It is only natural for the prince to treat her differently. But since the emperor betrothed Jingchun to the prince of the northern border, the prince has no contact with her anymore."
"You are talking nonsense! The matter of Jingchun concerns the safety of the northern border. Your Majesty, please look into it carefully!" The queen was extremely angry, otherwise it would not be difficult for her to see that the emperor wanted to remove Xiao Cheng from this matter.
"That's enough." The emperor closed his eyes and said, "From today on, Chen will be stripped of her title of Imperial Concubine and banished to the cold palace. This matter ends here."
After listening to Xi Rong's account of what happened, Lin Qingyu was not surprised at all: "Sure enough, the emperor still doesn't want to touch Xiao Cheng unless it is absolutely necessary."
"Concubine Chen has taken great pains to protect her son. Little did she know that they would prosper together and suffer together. Concubine Chen was deposed, Xiao Cheng lost the emperor's favor, and it was difficult for him to hold on alone. How long could he hold on?" Gu Fuzhou said with a smile, "Qingyu, we have done something bad again."
Lin Qingyu smiled. The feeling of doing bad things together was much better than doing it alone.
The author has something to say: This chapter is a combination of two chapters, and the 11W debt is paid off.
I know you don’t like to watch the plot QAQ, so at the end I’ll attach a clip of a beauty wearing a modern theater costume (continued from last time):
Student Jiang, who had lost his memory of traveling through time, received a text message and reported it as a fraud. Then the stranger sent another message: [Photo] This is what your wife looks like.
Classmate Jiang: This photo-editing is too much, brother.
A stranger called via video. Student Jiang picked up the phone and the beautiful lady’s face appeared on the screen.
The beautiful lady frowned, with anxiety and fear in her eyes: ...Husband?
Student Jiang: Um...where are you?
① "Book of Han·Astronomy"
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