Xue Shu was abducted and taken back to the Eastern Palace.

The Eastern Palace, also known as the Ciqing Palace, is located north of the three gates inside the Donghua Gate. It has three courtyards and is the residence of the princes of the Great Yan Dynasty. After Yin Chengyu was made the prince at the age of seven, he moved to the Ciqing Palace to live alone.

In ten years, Ciqing Palace has been built like an iron barrel, and now there is no need to hide what is going on. Yin Chengyu sat down leisurely in the main hall. The eunuchs brought him hot tea, and he held the teacup and sipped it with his eyes lowered.

A moment later, Xue Shu, who was tied up like a dumpling, was brought up and knelt in the hall.

Yin Chengyu lowered his eyes and looked at him.

At this time, Xue Shu was still a young man of seventeen or eighteen years old, tall and thin, with clear and deep facial features, still revealing his youthfulness and immaturity, and with a fierce look between his eyebrows, he looked like a wolf cub who had just come out of the forest and was left alone.

Fierce, but not enough to shock people.

Yin Chengyu couldn't help but think of the scene when they first met in their previous life.

At that time, Emperor Longfeng had entered his old age and began to believe in the art of longevity. He often stayed in Taoist temples to seek immortals and ask questions, and ignored the affairs of the court. Xue Shu was deeply favored by Emperor Longfeng because of his meritorious service in saving the emperor, and was in charge of the affairs of the court on his behalf. Not to mention the scholars and court officials in the inner cabinet, even the concubines and princes in the palace wanted to please him.

After hearing that Xue Shu would accompany Emperor Longfeng to the imperial mausoleum to pay homage to his ancestors, he began to plan to meet Xue Shu. As long as Xue Shu could help him return to the court, he was willing to pay any price.

Xue Shu did help him, but at the cost of his own help.

He still remembered that after Xue Shu heard his proposal, he looked at him with a strange look, like a lone wolf locking onto its prey, fierce and cruel: "Any conditions are fine?"

He sensed the danger, but there was no way out.

So I nodded.

Xue Shu immediately smiled, leaned over and pinched his chin, bit his neck hard without mercy, leaving a deep red mark, and licked it repeatedly, saying in an ambiguous tone: "How about this? Is that okay?"

After so many years, Yin Chengyu actually can't remember clearly how he felt at that time.

Shock? Humiliation? Desperate?

Maybe both.

But what impressed me most was Xue Shu's sinister look at that time.

He had deep features, narrow eyes, and extremely black pupils. He had an extremely aggressive appearance, but he was wearing a crimson python robe, which made his deepness even more mysterious. He was like a colorful poisonous snake, spitting out its tongue and sending a cold invitation to him.

And he had no choice.

After five years of imprisonment, his revenge has not been taken, and the injustice is hard to wash away. He doesn't want to wait passively any longer, so he can only endure the humiliation and fight to the death.

He responded to Xue Shu.

He chose his own path, and after years of entanglements and being subordinate to others, he felt angry and unwilling, but he had no regrets.

After all, without Xue Shu, there would be no him later.

But whether he regrets it or not doesn't mean that he will be willing to let Xue Shu manipulate him. Especially now that he has the upper hand and is still the noble prince, while Xue Shu is no longer the nine thousand year old man who has the power of life and death.

Compared to the arrogant Nine Thousand Years Old in the previous life, the young man in coarse linen clothes, who was taciturn and kneeling below, was much more pleasing to the eye.

Yin Chengyu's brows relaxed and he revealed a happy smile.

"What's your name?"

"Xue Shu."

Even though he was kneeling, Xue Shu kept his back straight and showed no fear. He stared at the person sitting at the top, and clenched his fingers hanging at his sides as if he was trying to grab something.

Yin Chengyu didn't notice. He felt relaxed and comfortable at the moment, and his tone softened a little: "Come forward and let me see."

Upon hearing this, Xue Shu knelt forward a few steps and was only half a step away from him.

They were so close that he could even smell the incense emanating from the other person's clothes. It was better than any scent he had ever smelled, like plum blossoms in the snow, clear and cold, yet with a hint of sweetness.

So this is what he is like.

Xue Shu pursed his lips and looked at Yin Chengyu with burning eyes. He felt that the immortal in the sky was getting closer.

His gaze was unreserved, even a little presumptuous, which made Yin Chengyu feel offended. He sneered, put down the teacup heavily, raised his chin with his toes, and looked down at him with condescending disdain: "Do you want to serve me?"

Yin Chengyu's original intention was to humiliate the other party.

In his previous life, it was Xue Shu who played with him in every way. Now the situation was reversed and Xue Shu fell into his hands. He would not be able to get rid of the hatred in his heart unless he took revenge on him one by one.

However, when Xue Shu heard his words, he did not show any humiliation.

The pair of black eyes, like those of a lone wolf, suddenly lifted up, and there was a sudden ripple in their eyes. Even the tone of his voice was vaguely filled with desire and joy, and it sounded heavy and oppressive: "I want to."

This was completely different from what he had imagined.

Yin Chengyu was stunned, and then he became even more indescribably angry.

Xue Shu was not a likable person at all! He should just throw him into that filthy house and let him die!

"You don't deserve it." Yin Chengyu leaned over and patted his cheek with great contempt.

Xue Shu didn't care. He said very seriously, "I will be worthy of it."

He looked around, as if trying to find evidence for his words. Finally, his eyes fell on the guard captain Zhao Lin who was guarding beside him with a knife. He raised his chin slightly and said arrogantly: "I am better than him. He doesn't dare to kill people, but I do."

Zhao Lin's face twitched, but he couldn't refute it.

It's not a question of whether he dares to kill people, but Xue Shu has a ruthlessness in his bones that no one else has. He was ordered to protect His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. If His Royal Highness was in danger, he would naturally not be merciful to the enemy. But if he encountered innocent and weak people, he would never kill them indiscriminately.

But he was certain that as long as His Highness gave the order, Xue Shu would kill whoever was in front of him.

He was like a sharp blade, with no right or wrong, good or evil in his eyes, only killing.

He had only seen this kind of person in the East Factory. Wasn't that how the East Factory barbarians acted? As long as there was an order from above, they would kill even a baby that had just been taken out of its cradle.

Zhao Lin's temples were throbbing. He didn't know why the usually kind and benevolent prince suddenly brought such a person back.

Yin Chengyu chuckled, but this time he did not question Xue Shu's words.

Xue Shu is indeed a skilled knife wielder.

But even though he wanted to use the knife, he didn't want to see him being too proud and arrogant, so he lazily propped up his chin, glanced at his abdomen, paused for a moment, and said lightly: "If you want to stay by my side, you need to purify yourself. Are you willing?"

"I'm willing." Xue Shu looked at him in surprise, seemingly puzzled.

Yin Chengyu realized it belatedly. If he hadn't tied the person back, he would have been killed by now.

Looking at Xue Shu's ignorant and fearless face, he couldn't help but sneer.

I don’t know who will regret it later.

If he had been tortured so badly, and had just cursed him as "dead eunuch", he would have gone all out to get it back. But now he is young and frivolous and doesn't know how to cherish.

Yin Chengyu was extremely bored because he didn't show any humiliation on his face. He felt annoyed when he saw him again, so he waved his hand and said, "I agree." He then said to Zhao Lin, "Take the people and settle them first."

Xue Shu looked at him again before following Zhao Lin out.

After everyone left, Zheng Duobao poured more hot tea for Yin Chengyu and asked carefully, "Your Highness, do you want to keep Master Xue in the East Palace?"

"What are you doing staying in his East Palace? Are you going to bother me?" Thinking of that scene, Yin Chengyu frowned, and his tone became a little unhappy.

In his previous life, when he was welcomed back to the court, Xue Shu also lived in the East Palace.

As the eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department and the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Factory, he had his own residence both inside and outside the palace. But he insisted on living in the Eastern Palace against his will and had to sleep and eat with him, and go in and out with him.

It was called serving the prince, but in reality it was just a way to torture him!

Recalling those dissolute past events, he just wanted to throw Xue Shu back to the Can room immediately.

Zheng Duobao saw his expression change. Although he couldn't guess the reason, he didn't dare to ask any more questions. He said more carefully: "Then what should Master Xue do--"

"Send the person to the West Factory." Yin Chengyu made the decision before he finished speaking.

Although he was angry, he didn't want to ruin the big thing because of his personal emotions.

Xue Shu is not only a good knife, but also an ally who can be trusted. Although he saved Xue Shu from the pain of purification this time, he did not want to disrupt the trajectory of his previous life.

In his previous life, Xue Shu first entered the Zhidianjian, and then went to the West Factory. He relied on ruthless means to climb all the way to the position of the West Factory Supervisor, suppressing the originally powerful East Factory and Jinyiwei.

The current governor of Dongchang is still Gao Yuan. He and the eunuch Gao Xian, who holds the seal of the Imperial Household Department, are brothers from the same clan. On the surface, they are loyal to the emperor and never interfere in the open and secret struggles among the princes, but in fact, they have long been in cahoots with his good second brother.

As for the commander of the Jinyiwei, Gong Feihong, he has always been a fence-sitter. Now that he is powerful, Gong Feihong often shows his favor to him; but once he is in trouble, he can turn around and join the second brother's side.

In the past, he was devoted to being a filial son and had never thought of winning over the people around the emperor. But now, after counting, he found that there was no one he could use.

We can only put our hopes on Xue Shu.

He saved Xue Shu's life, and it was only right for Xue Shu to repay his kindness by serving him.

Thinking of this, Yin Chengyu instructed again: "Don't let anyone know that he hasn't purified himself." He paused and said, "It's best not to let anyone know about his relationship with the Eastern Palace."

Zheng Duobao smacked his lips. Even though he had grown up under the care of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, he still had no idea what His Royal Highness' attitude was towards this Master Xue.

If you valued him, why did you send him to the West Factory? Although the West Factory and the East Factory are only one letter apart, everyone knows that the West Factory is a mere formality, a place where people waste time. But if you said you didn't value him, why did Your Highness send so many people to this place and waste half a day's work just for this one person?

His Highness has always been strict with himself, and he has never seen His Highness lose his composure like this.

After thinking for a while, Zheng Duobao replied "yes" and went to arrange Xue Shu's affairs.

Xue Shu was taken to the West Factory by an old eunuch.

The Xichang Factory Office was located at Xi'an Gate, just east of the Dongchang Factory Office at Dong'an Gate. The Xichang Factory Office was originally established during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong to balance the power of the Dongchang Factory Office and the Jinyiwei Office. During its heyday, the number of cavalry officers under the Xichang Factory Office was twice that of the Dongchang Factory Office. Its authority was greater than that of the Dongchang Factory Office and the Jinyiwei Office. It could not only detect the words and deeds of its subjects, arrest and torture suspects, but also arbitrarily arrest court officials without asking the emperor for permission. [1]

Because of its excessive power, many unjust, false and wrong cases occurred during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, causing great resentment among the people. Therefore, after Emperor Longfeng ascended the throne, he deliberately weakened the power of the Western Factory.

Today, the West Factory has lost its former glory and can only survive under the suppression of the East Factory.

When the old eunuch brought Xue Shu in, they saw several guards wearing pointed hats, brown clothes and white leather boots drinking in the yard. When they saw someone coming, they hurriedly put away their bottles of wine and came to greet them.

The head waiter recognized the old eunuch as someone from the Eastern Palace, and a bit of flattery appeared on his face: "Your Excellency, it is a great honor for our humble family to have you here."

"Enough of the nonsense. I heard that the West Factory is short-handed, so I was ordered to send someone to you." He raised his chin arrogantly, pointed at Xue Shu beside him, and said without saying much: "I'll leave the person to you. I have something else to do, so I'll leave first."

"Go slowly, eunuch. I will take good care of him." The waiter sent him to the door, then turned around, looked Xue Shu up and down, and clicked his tongue.

He looks like a tough guy. He must have offended someone in the East Palace, so he was exiled to this barren place.

He had seen many people like this before, so he was too lazy to waste his energy and just randomly picked someone to take him to get his clothes and a place to live, and then he ignored him.

Anyway, if he stays in this damn place for a long time, even the hardest bones will become soft, and he doesn't need to do anything more.

Xue Shu silently changed into the uniform brown clothes and white boots worn by the servants, then sat on the bed, having nothing to do.

He listened to the sounds of drinking and fist fighting coming from outside and thought of Yin Chengyu sitting high in the hall.

The man was wrapped in a snow-white fox fur coat, but his face was three points whiter than the fur coat, which only made his pupils look darker and his lips look more red. He sat on a high platform, like an unreachable immortal.

The cool scent of winter plum blossoms floated into my nose again.

Xue Shu spread out his five fingers, clenched them loosely, and then his lips, which had been pursed into a straight line, curved upwards in a slight arc.

He is not an unattainable immortal; the distance between them is within reach.

After Laba, Yin Chengyu rested for another five or six days before he recovered from the cold.

After he recovered, he was not in a hurry to share the worries of Emperor Longfeng like before. He just used the excuse that he needed to recuperate and stayed indoors in Ciqing Palace. He did not take care of government affairs or meet with court officials. He only went to Hongren Hall on time every day to listen to lectures, being a prince who kept to himself and did not dare to overstep his boundaries.

But because he was so obedient, Emperor Longfeng became anxious and sent Gao Xian to the East Palace to visit him.

It was called a visit, but it was just to urge him to go back to work.

After seeing Gao Xian off, Yin Chengyu held his tea with a cold smile in silence.

His father, the emperor, was lucky enough to sit on the throne, but he had no real talent or ability, and he loved pleasure. And because of things that happened during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, he became suspicious and always felt that someone was trying to harm him and seize his throne.

On the one hand, he relied on himself and the inner cabinet, pushing government affairs wherever possible; but on the other hand, he was wary of them, fearing that he, the crown prince, would not wait until he died. He copied others' ideas and played some crude checks and balances to support the second son to oppose him.

In the past, he kept in mind the father-son relationship and turned a blind eye to these tactics.

Now that he had fulfilled the other party's wish and no longer interfered in state affairs, Emperor Longfeng was unhappy again.

He has been ill for more than half a month. Previously, he never sent anyone to ask about his condition. But now that there is no one to do the work, he comes to urge him again and again.

But Yin Chengyu just didn't want to do as he wished.

In his previous life, he thought too much of people's hearts. He thought he was upright and honest, and was not afraid of conspiracy even in a high position. However, he didn't know that the means behind the scenes were even dirtier than he thought, and the emperor's heart was much colder than he thought.

In that case, he will not accompany you in this life.

Whoever wants to go to that high place can go, but he won’t go anyway.

After Yin Chengyu calmed down after drinking a cup of tea, he went to Kunning Palace to pay his respects to Queen Yu.

This was the first time he went to Kunning Palace to pay his respects since his rebirth.

As he grew older, he stopped going in and out of the harem frequently to avoid suspicion, and only went to pay respects on the first and fifteenth day of each month. In the middle of last month, he caught a cold, and his mother was pregnant, so he was afraid of being sick, so he stopped paying respects. It has been nearly a month since the mother and son last saw each other.

When Yin Chengyu reached the gate of Kunning Palace, he paused, calmed his fluctuating emotions, and then went inside.

When Empress Yu heard that he was coming, she went out to greet him with the help of her female officials.

She was now more than six months pregnant, and although her movements were a little clumsy, she was still graceful and elegant. Seeing her son coming against the wind and snow, she avoided the palace maids' support, took out her handkerchief to brush the snow from his hair, and asked someone to bring him ginger tea.

"I just recovered from my illness, why are you here now?" Although there was some complaint in her words, there was joy in her eyes and eyebrows.

"I missed my mother, so I came to see her." Yin Chengyu personally helped her to sit down, and even took a soft cushion to put behind her waist. "Did the imperial physician come to check your pulse on time? What do you think?"

"The doctor said everything is fine." Empress Yu stroked her bulging belly, her eyes very gentle: "After the New Year, I think I can give you a brother or sister."

"I dreamt about it a few days ago. It was a younger brother." Yin Chengyu responded with a warm smile, but when he lowered his eyes, there was a gloom in them.

He is indeed a younger brother.

In his previous life, something happened to the Yu family and his position as crown prince was abolished. His mother was so frightened by the bad news that she went into premature birth.

At that time, the Yu family and he had encountered great changes one after another, and the people in Kunning Palace were in turmoil. Someone took the opportunity to tamper with the birth. Queen Yu suffered from hemorrhage during childbirth, and only one of the mother and child could survive. She gave her chance to live to the unborn child, and replaced the newborn son with a dead baby, and asked her trusted nanny to take the child out of the palace to raise him.

All of this was told to him by the nanny that Yin Chengyu had brought with him after he was released from confinement and returned to the court.

He could hardly imagine how desperate his mother must have felt, left alone in the palace, facing a life-and-death decision with no one to help her.

Even though he later found out the culprit and had Concubine Wen tied up and executed in front of Kunning Palace, it could not undo the suffering his mother had endured.

Now, if he had the chance to do it again, he would never let anyone hurt them again.

"Mom, take care of yourself. When your little brother is born, I will teach him how to read and write myself."

Hiding the dark emotions welling up in his heart, Yin Chengyu smiled gently, still the handsome and cheerful Crown Prince.

Queen Yu glanced at him and said, "It's too early to talk about this now..."

Before she finished her words, a palace maid ran in in a hurry, looking panicked and said, "My queen, this is bad! The evil fox, the evil fox is out to hurt people again!"

The author has something to say:

Yin Chengyu: It’s over now :)

Xue Shu:? Even if I am dead, I can still get things done.

Yin Chengyu:.

Note [1] Part of this article is quoted from Baidu Encyclopedia.