It is not the first time that a fox demon has appeared in the Imperial Palace and injured people.

When the people in Kunning Palace heard this, their faces changed drastically. The smarter ones had already gone to guard the palace gate, fearing that the fox demon would break into Kunning Palace and hit the empress.

Queen Yu also looked worried: "Have you sent people to check? Where is it this time? How many people are injured?"

The first young palace maid to report the news trembled as she said, "In Chuxiu Palace, the newly-appointed concubines had just returned from Qionghua Island and ran into the demon fox. Five or six people were injured in public, and then the demon fox ran to the west and disappeared."

Queen Yu frowned and pondered for a moment, then made arrangements one by one: "First, send the imperial physician to treat the injured concubines, and then order the Jinyi Guards to strengthen patrols within the Forbidden City to look for the fox demon. It's a good opportunity for me to go over and take a look as well." After saying that, she stood up and ordered people to drive to the Chuxiu Palace.

"Your Highness, please don't do that." The maid who was serving her repeatedly advised her against it, "What if that demon fox comes back and bumps into your Highness?"

Queen Yu looked hesitant when she heard this, but then she remembered that this was the third time this evil fox had hurt people, and her expression became firm again.

Every time the fox appeared, the people in the palace were in a panic. As the queen of the palace, she had to step in to calm people down. Although she did not believe in ghosts and gods, the fox had hurt people several times but could never be found, so rumors were bound to spread.

"Why not let me go on your behalf?"

Just when the nanny didn't know what to do, Yin Chengyu spoke.

He pressed Empress Yu's shoulders and asked her to sit down again, then he said slowly, "I have also heard about the fox demon. The Prince of Yan's Palace is a place where dragon energy gathers. How dare the evil spirit invade? I think it is probably someone playing tricks."

Empress Yu also had this suspicion, but she had not been able to find any evidence. After a brief thought, she nodded and said, "Well, there is no such thing as a third time. It would be best if we could find the root cause."

After comforting her, Yin Chengyu took people to Chuxiu Palace to check.

The evil fox appeared and injured five or six people in succession. At this time, there were no idle palace people around Chuxiu Palace. Only the captain of the Jinyiwei was guarding the surroundings, and other teams were searching everywhere with Chuxiu Palace as the center.

Seeing Yin Chengyu coming, the leading Captain Wang hurried forward to salute and greet him.

Yin Chengyu looked around and asked, "What did you find?"

"No." Captain Wang shook his head and said, "According to what the palace people who witnessed the incident said, the demon fox was red all over, and it came and went without a trace. Whenever it appeared, thick fog would rise up around it, and ghostly lights would appear in the fog. It is said that anyone who encounters the demon fox will have their soul sucked away and become unconscious."

"A gentleman does not speak of strange things." Yin Chengyu glanced at him and said, "How could there be such an evil spirit in the forbidden palace? If we search it more carefully, I'm afraid someone is causing trouble in secret."

"Your Highness is right." Captain Wang had a bitter face. Although he agreed verbally, his expression clearly showed that he believed the fox demon's claim of sucking people's essence.

Yin Chengyu didn't bother with him and just went through the motions before leaving the palace.

——According to the trajectory of the previous life, this fox demon will appear again on New Year’s Eve.

The legend of demon foxes first emerged among the common people.

It is said that a scholar named Zhao was on his way to visit his relatives and saved a woman. The woman was very beautiful and the scholar was attracted by her. He took her home and lived in love with her every day. However, the good times did not last for more than a month. After the woman entered his family, the scholar's relatives died one after another, and finally the scholar was not spared.

However, the beautiful woman who was brought back has disappeared since then.

Neighbors all said that the scholar had encountered a ferocious fox demon.

Soon after, someone in Wangjing City said that he saw a beautiful woman wandering in the streets in the middle of the night, and after that, several strong men died one after another.

Thus, the legend of the demon fox gradually spread.

At first, the foxes were only seen in the market, but this summer, even in the forbidden area, traces of the foxes were seen.

The previous two times the fox demon had injured few people seriously, only one or two palace maids said they saw the fox demon and were frightened and suffered some minor injuries. This time the fox demon appeared in Chuxiu Palace, it was the most serious one, and injured five or six concubines in a row.

In two days, this matter will reach the ears of Emperor Longfeng.

His father, the emperor, had always cherished his life and had a firm belief in the magic of gods and ghosts. He not only increased the number of patrol officers in the palace, but also sent people to search for Taoist priests with high cultivation to enter the palace to perform rituals to exorcise evil spirits.

And this is exactly the purpose of the person behind the scenes.

The other party's painstaking efforts were just to create a "disturbance" on New Year's Eve, cause panic, and then push Taoist Wangchen in front of the emperor.

In his previous life, he lost the initiative, and by the time he realized the conspiracy, Taoist Wangchen had already gained the favor of Emperor Longfeng.

He repeatedly reminded Emperor Longfeng that Taoist Wangchen had bad intentions and that the incident of the fox demon hurting people was full of doubts, but instead he was reprimanded.

Yin Chengyu raised a sneer on his face, slowly put on his cloak, and walked slowly across the corridor with the heater in his arms.

This time, he certainly wouldn't do stupid things that would bring him no thanks.

Two days later, Emperor Longfeng heard about the fox demon that injured people in Chuxiu Palace. Just like in his previous life, he strengthened the guards in the palace and ordered people to search for Taoist priests with high attainments to enter the palace to perform rituals.

The court officials were quite dissatisfied with this.

As an emperor, he believed in the magic of gods and ghosts, which inevitably reminded people of the incompetent rulers of previous dynasties who neglected state affairs in order to seek immortality, and made people feel uneasy.

My maternal grandfather Yu Huaian even came to look for Yin Chengyu for this reason.

Yin Chengyu avoided meeting court officials, but had to meet his grandfather.

After welcoming the people in, Yin Chengyu served tea and ordered someone to bring the chessboard. After the grandfather and grandson played a game, Yu Huaian looked at the scattered chess pieces on his side and frowned in confusion, "Your Highness has changed a lot recently."

In the past, Yin Chengyu was the perfect crown prince in everyone's mind.

Gentle and kind, with an open mind. Filial to his elders and tolerant to his subordinates, he will surely be a benevolent king when he inherits the throne.

However, as Yu Huaian watched his chess moves, he discovered that he had changed his gentle style and became aggressive, even revealing a hint of rebelliousness. He was almost a completely different person from before.

Yin Chengyu smiled and avoided answering, saying only: "The world is like a chess game, unpredictable. Nowadays, people only know the prince but not the emperor, which is not a good thing for me."

After he finished speaking, he made his last move, completely blocking Yu Huaian's escape route.

Yu Huaian gave up and nodded, saying, "It's good that Your Highness understands it."

In the past, the prince was too popular, and he was a little worried and uneasy, and he had reminded him implicitly. But the prince had been taught very well since he was a child, and he always put the king and the people first, but didn't care much about himself. He was afraid that saying more would alienate the father and son of the royal family, so he could only suppress it.

It’s a good thing that he can figure it out on his own now.

I just don't know what happened to make him change.

Yu Huaian came back to his senses, bowed his hands and said, "Since that's the case, I won't bother Your Highness with the outside affairs. The inner cabinet is still piled with affairs, so I'll take my leave first."

Originally, he came here because the court officials thought that His Majesty's behavior was too absurd and wanted the Crown Prince to come out and admonish him. But now the Crown Prince is staying in Ciqing Palace and not going out, and he will not see anyone, so they have no choice but to push him out.

Now it seems that the prince will not care about this matter anymore, so there is no need for him to say anything more.

Yin Chengyu nodded and personally escorted him to Qizhi Gate. When they parted, he still said what he had been thinking for a long time: "Grandfather, it's cold and snowy today, and you are old. You should take care of yourself and stop holding up the front."

He no longer addressed the other as a king or a subject, but instead adopted the tone of a junior, with deep meaning in his eyes.

Yu Huaian is already sixty-eight years old. He was the top scholar during the reign of Emperor Chengzong. He experienced the reigns of Emperor Chengzong and Emperor Xiaozong, and experienced several ups and downs before he reached his current position.

As the chief minister of the inner cabinet, he controls the six ministries and his power is comparable to that of the prime minister.

Not to mention, he was the first to stand up and support Emperor Longfeng, who was still a prince, to succeed to the throne.

At that time, Emperor Xiaozong was unruly and licentious. The five princes resembled their father and followed his example. The struggle for the throne was unprecedentedly fierce. But no one expected that the five princes would be losers in the end, and Emperor Longfeng, whose biological mother was of low status and grew up in the cold palace, would take the blame.

Emperor Longfeng grew up in the cold palace and did not receive a good education. He knew that his family background and knowledge could not satisfy the court officials, so he pretended to be obedient and diligent, appointed Yu Huaian as his tutor, and married Yu Huaian's only legitimate daughter as his queen.

Later, Empress Yu gave birth to her eldest son, who was made the Crown Prince.

Flowers in brocade, oil boiling over a raging fire, it's nothing more than that.

Over the years, the throne under Emperor Longfeng's buttocks has become more and more stable. Not only is he no longer as obedient as before, but he has also gradually neglected state affairs, revealing his true colors. However, Yu Huaian cares about the prince and the people in the court, and still cleans up the mess for Emperor Longfeng without complaint.

The doctor retired at the age of seventy, and he only had two years left before he could return to his hometown and enjoy his old age.

But in his previous life, when he retired, he ended up with a miserable end with his reputation ruined, his property confiscated and his ancestors exterminated.

That's why Yin Chengyu implicitly advised him to quit while the going gets tough.

He knew that his grandfather was the chief minister of the inner cabinet, and that if he made a move, the whole body would be affected. Even if he wanted to retreat, it would probably not be that easy. So he could only be alert now.

As for the aftermath, we have to plan it slowly.

Yu Huaian was stunned for a moment, revealing a thoughtful expression. After a long while, he nodded and patted his shoulder heavily: "Grandfather, don't worry about it."

The two separated at the Qizhi Gate. Yin Chengyu looked at the snowflakes flying in the air and narrowed his eyes.

Next, all we have to do is wait for New Year’s Eve.

On New Year's Eve, a banquet is given to all officials, and officials of the fourth rank and above can attend with their families.

Emperor Longfeng will also be present on this day.

Because of the rumors of the fox demon that had appeared a while ago, the palace's defenses were strengthened a lot, with almost one guard every five steps and one guard every ten steps. Not only the Jinyiwei, but also the guards from the East and West Factories were all dispatched.

Yin Chengyu saw Xue Shu outside the Huangji Palace.

He was tall and long-legged, with arms and waist like an ape, and stood out among the guards who were hunched over and lowered their heads. The uniform brown clothes and white boots worn by the guards actually gave him a sense of intimidation.

Yin Chengyu already knew that he was good-looking, but he couldn't help but take a few more glances at him.

Xue Shu, who was on duty, noticed his gaze and looked over at him.

The two looked at each other for a moment, and Yin Chengyu withdrew his gaze as if it was burned, snorted coldly, and walked past him without looking around.

Xue Shu looked at his back, clenched his fingers hanging at his sides, and called out "Your Highness".

Yin Chengyu heard it, but pretended not to hear it and walked into the hall with a wave of his sleeves.

The court officials who attended the banquet had already taken their seats. Yin Chengyu sat down at his seat and waited for a moment before Emperor Longfeng arrived late.

He sat down at the head of the table, raised his cup from a distance and said a few words to make the occasion more formal, then he ordered the banquet to begin.

As the music started, the dancers entered the hall on tiptoe, spinning lightly.

The orchestra plays stringed instruments and beautiful women dance gracefully.

The court officials drank and talked, and the atmosphere was very harmonious for a while.

Yin Chengyu was holding a wine glass. When someone came to toast him, he took a sip, but in fact he was counting the time in his mind.

Three quarters of an hour later, there was a sudden commotion outside the Huangji Palace, and faint sounds of panicked shouting.

Yin Chengyu put down his wine glass in a hurry and thought, here she comes.

The noise outside was so loud that even the singing and dancing could not cover it. Emperor Longfeng stopped the singing and dancing unhappily and said, "Send someone to check what happened outside."

Gao Xian, the eunuch in charge of the seal who served beside Emperor Longfeng, immediately made a gesture, and the young eunuch in attendance hurried out of the hall to check.

But after a while, the little eunuch came back, his face was obviously filled with fear, and his voice was trembling: "The demon fox, the demon fox has appeared!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole room burst into laughter.

Some court officials who did not believe in the evil immediately refuted it, but there were also some who were skeptical and felt that the eunuch's expression did not seem fake.

People were whispering to each other, and there was a buzz of voices everywhere.

Emperor Longfeng's face turned extremely ugly. He wanted to let others protect him and leave first, but he was too embarrassed to show his weakness. His expression changed several times, and finally he looked at Yin Chengyu who did it: "How dare the evil spirits appear under the feet of the emperor? Prince, go and take a look for me."

Yin Chengyu curled his lips, hiding the sneer in his eyes, and stood up to respond.

Some court officials who did not believe in the evil followed him out to investigate, but even the most resolute faith was shaken when they saw the fallen guards, the red mist filling the sky, and the eerie ghost lights in the mist.

The court officials who followed out saw that something was not right and immediately protected Yin Chengyu behind them and prepared to retreat back into the hall.

Yin Chengyu, however, showed no sign of panic. He stood still and gave the order in a clear voice: "Call in the archers and double the torches. I want to see who is playing tricks here."

The prince remained calm in the face of danger, and the panicked guards finally found their backbone and calmed down. Some deployed troops, some searched for torches, and rebuilt the defense line.

However, Emperor Longfeng, who followed behind, was so frightened when he saw this scene that he shouted in a hurry, "Quick! Quick! Go and ask Taoist Wangchen to catch the monster!"

His words made people's hearts beat fast again.

Is this caused by evil spirits or villains?

Just as everyone was looking at each other in bewilderment, Yin Chengyu said in a clear voice: "Father, this red mist ghost fire is similar to the method used by street jugglers. I'm afraid that the fox demon is someone——"

What he said made sense. The court officials followed his words and changed their way of thinking when looking at the red mist will-o'-the-wisp. They no longer felt it was so eerie and terrifying.

But Emperor Longfeng obviously didn't believe it. He interrupted Yin Chengyu and shouted with a pale face: "Someone come and escort the carriage, drive the Qianqing Palace!"

He was actually going to abandon everyone and leave alone.

Yin Chengyu was about to speak but stopped, as if he wanted to persuade him again. At this time, the second prince Yin Chengzhang said, "Whether it is man-made or evil, we should put our father's dragon body first. Since my brother thinks it is man-made, why don't we stay and catch the mastermind behind it!"

This conversation also happened in the previous life.

However, Yin Chengyu was not prepared at the time. Although he stayed, he failed to catch the person behind the scenes, nor could he drive away the evil spirit. In the end, it was Taoist Wangchen who took action to disperse the red mist and kill the fox demon.

But this time, he was prepared.

He glanced at Yin Chengzhang and the third prince Yin Chengjing standing beside him, and smiled faintly: "You dare to play tricks in the palace, I will naturally catch the mastermind behind it."

Emperor Longfeng was unwilling to listen to these useless arguments. He valued his life very much, so he ordered the Jinyi Guards to surround him in three layers from front to back and from left to right, and then he was ready to leave.

Yin Chengyu had done enough to show off, and now he no longer tried to persuade or stop them. He just narrowed his eyes and looked at Emperor Longfeng who was in the center of the protection.

He counted slowly in his mind, and when he counted to "ten", he saw a huge beast suddenly rushing out from the red mist, opening its mouth and letting out a sharp and strange roar, then heading straight for Emperor Longfeng who was in the protection center.

The beast's fur was red, but its entire body was glowing with an eerie green light. A foul odor came out of its open mouth. As soon as it appeared, it caught everyone off guard.

"It's the demon fox! The demon fox is coming!"

The peaceful situation that was barely maintained was disrupted again. Everyone fell into panic, and the timid ones began to flee in all directions.

Emperor Longfeng was retreating under the protection of the Jinyi Guards, but because they were too close to each other, they were unable to return to defense in time, and the ferocious beast immediately broke through the guard circle and went straight to Emperor Longfeng.

"His Majesty!"

"Hurry up and protect the driver!"

Suddenly, cries of surprise were heard everywhere.

Emperor Longfeng was so frightened that he turned pale and fell to the ground, unable to move.

Yin Chengyu watched coldly, without much emotion, and turned his head to Xue Shu who was not far away and said silently: Kill it.

Everyone was busy protecting themselves or escaping, except Xue Shu, who went upstream, as if wanting to get to his side. He received his order as soon as he raised his eyes.

After hesitating for only a moment, Xue Shu quickly turned around and rushed towards the stunned Emperor Longfeng. While protecting him with his body, he drew the sword at his waist and stabbed it fiercely into the abdomen of the fox demon.

The fox demon was injured, screamed in pain, and slapped him with its sharp claws.

Xue Shu took the blow without dodging. He grabbed the fox's fur and used the force to ride on its back. He clamped his legs together to stabilize his body and stabbed the knife into the fox's neck with both hands.

The long sword enters from the back of the neck and exits from the front of the neck.

The fox demon was stabbed through and through, blood splattered everywhere, and it fell to the ground struggling.

The scene was so bloody that the surroundings fell into silence for a moment.

Xue Shu drew out the knife while panting, casually wiped the blood that splattered on his face, turned his head and looked straight at Yin Chengyu.

It's like saying: You asked me to kill, so I killed.

The author has something to say:

Xue Shu: Your Highness will definitely like someone as handsome and capable as me.

Yin Chengyu: (.)