Yin Chengyu turned away and avoided his gaze.

In his previous life, he always felt that Xue Shu's gaze was too deep and heavy, and contained too many unclear emotions. Every time he looked at him, it was as if he owed him a debt for eight lifetimes, which was unpleasant.

Nowadays, Xue Shu's eyes are much more straightforward when he looks at people, without so many deep emotions, and it is almost written nakedly: I want a reward.

It's such a small thing, you're quite willing to ask for reward.

Yin Chengyu snorted in his heart, deliberately stopped looking at him, and moved his gaze to the group of people who hurriedly arrived from the back.

——The Taoist Wangchen finally arrived.

He was wearing robes and holding a peach wood sword, looking a bit like a Taoist master.

"Where is the demon fox? The poor man is here to capture it—"

But he stopped talking in the middle of his words, staring at the fox's corpse with his mouth wide open, which was really not serious and even a little funny.

Yin Chengyu glanced at him, then glanced at Yin Chengjing, who was looking grim in the crowd, and the corners of his mouth curled up imperceptibly.

Before everyone could react, the cold expression on his face changed instantly. With a worried look on his face, he quickly stepped forward to help the fallen Emperor Longfeng up, looked at the silent Taoist Wangchen, and said in a gentle tone: "The fox demon has been killed, there is no need to trouble you." Then he looked at Gao Xian on the side and said: "Please ask Eunuch Gao to call for the sedan chair. Command Gong, you send people to search the surroundings carefully. I think this matter is most likely caused by someone secretly causing trouble. Don't let the troublemaker get away..."

He made arrangements one after another, remained calm in the face of danger, and acted like a filial son. Only then did the others come to their senses a little late.

The Imperial Guards immediately scattered in all directions to search for any suspicious persons; the court officials did not even bother to tidy up their clothes, as they rushed over to check on Emperor Longfeng's health and show their loyalty.

Emperor Longfeng, who was surrounded by the crowd, looked unhappy.

He was almost attacked and lost such a big person in public. Even though he was panicking at the moment, he was unwilling to leave like this. He had to save his face.

"Has the fox demon been executed?" Emperor Longfeng acted like a king, took two steps forward and wanted to kick the beast, but when he got close, he saw the blood all over the ground, and he stopped hesitantly, watching from half a step away.

"Your Majesty, the beast is dead."

It was not until Xue Shu spoke in response that everyone's attention was focused on him again.

Emperor Longfeng also looked at him, and when he saw the clothes he was wearing, he asked casually, "Are you from the East Factory? This time you killed the fox demon and saved the driver, and you deserve a reward."

Gao Yuan, the commander of the East Factory, was delighted when he heard this. Just as he was about to step forward to claim credit, Xue Shu replied in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "I am on duty at the West Factory. It is my duty to protect Your Majesty. I dare not claim credit." He paused after saying this, and his expression seemed to be hesitant: "Besides... that was not a demon fox, but a wild wolf."

The smile on Gao Yuan's face froze, and he was startled when he saw Xue Shu, who was covered in blood.

The West Factory had been suppressed by the East Factory for a long time, and all the good talents were picked by the East Factory. When did the West Factory produce such a great figure?

"Wild wolf?"

Emperor Longfeng's expression suddenly became very interesting, and he looked at the corpse on the ground doubtfully.

The beast was not only much bigger than an ordinary fox, but even bigger than a wild wolf. It also looked very strange, with blood-red eyes and long canine teeth sticking out of its lips, looking very ferocious. Judging from its appearance and size alone, it certainly didn't look like a fox.

But it doesn't look like a wolf.

Only the legendary fox demon could grow into such a terrifying appearance.

"The green light on the fox has dissipated." Yin Chengyu stepped forward at the right time, squatted down and touched the body. When he saw the red on his fingers, he smiled. He spread his palm to show everyone: "This red color was dyed."

His palms were covered with mottled red dye.

Yin Chengyu came closer and sniffed it, then confirmed, "It's ochre. As for the red mist and green will-o'-the-wisp, I've seen something similar in the market before."

"How dare some villain play tricks in the palace!" Emperor Longfeng was furious upon hearing this, and glared at the Jinyiwei commander Gong Hongfei: "Are the imperial guards all useless? How could they not notice anything?!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Unexpectedly, the anger suddenly turned to himself. Gong Hongfei secretly groaned and immediately bowed his head to plead guilty.

Who could have imagined that there were people so bold as to play tricks inside the Forbidden Palace?

"Father, please calm down. I'm afraid Gong can't be blamed for this." Yin Chengyu slowly wiped his fingers clean and poured a bucket of oil on the raging fire: "I heard that when the emperor was still alive, a traitor used this trick to enter the palace and assassinate. The person who planned this fox demon incident now, could it be... the remnant of the thieves during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong?"

He looked worried: "Who would have thought that after so many years, these rebels are still alive and well."

Emperor Xiaozong was Yin Chengyu's grandfather and Emperor Longfeng's father.

During his reign, he was licentious and cruel, and not only did the court officials suffer, but the people also suffered for a long time. At that time, a righteous man from the people disguised himself as a juggler and sneaked into the palace to assassinate him.

This assassination attempt naturally failed to scare the violent Emperor Xiaozong, but being brought up at this moment was enough to become a thorn in the heart of Emperor Longfeng.

During the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, there were hundreds of assassinations, both large and small. The government called these assassins traitors and thieves, but the people called them loyal and righteous men. Not only did they secretly worship them, but many people also joined them. It was not until Emperor Xiaozong passed away and Emperor Longfeng succeeded to the throne that he followed Yu Huaian's advice and adopted the policy of appeasing the people, which restored the reputation of the royal family and calmed the unrest among the people.

Now Yin Chengyu deliberately brought up the past and attributed the instigation to the remnants of Emperor Xiaozong. The timid and life-thirsty Emperor Longfeng would never let this matter go easily.

He lowered his eyes, his thick black eyelashes blocking the dark light in his eyes. He carefully wiped the last red stain on his fingertips and threw the handkerchief to the eunuch serving beside him.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longfeng's face flashed with shock: "Investigate! We must find out who is behind this!"

His eyes swept over Gong Hongfei and Gao Yuan, and finally landed on Xue Shu, as if he was weighing the options.

"Leave this matter to Xichang, just you! Go and investigate!" Finally, he nodded at Xue Shu and said, "I'll give you ten days to report back to me with the thief's head."

Xue Shu knelt down to receive the order.

Gong Hongfei and Gao Yuan looked unhappy, but they did not dare to touch the mold at this time.

When something happened in the Imperial Palace, His Majesty did not hand the case over to the Jinyiwei or the East Factory, but instead handed it over to an unknown person in the West Factory. It is self-evident what this means.

At least at this moment, the emperor no longer trusted them.

After Emperor Longfeng had vented his anger, he felt empty all over, so he did not linger any longer and got on his sedan chair and drove back to the Qianqing Palace.

The New Year's Eve banquet was turned into a mess, and the court officials who attended the banquet left with worries in their hearts.

As the crown prince, Yin Chengyu stayed until the very end before leaving.

It was a farce, and the time had long passed midnight. Snow began to fall from the sky again without anyone knowing when. Yin Chengyu felt a little cold and pulled the collar of his coat tighter.

Seeing this, Zheng Duobao stepped forward to shield him from the wind and said worriedly, "Your Highness, do you want to take shelter from the wind and snow here? I will send for the sedan chair."

"It's only a few steps away." Yin Chengyu exhaled a breath of white air and shook his head.

The Huangji Palace was not far from the Ciqing Palace. They could reach the palace in half a minute by taking a shortcut through the middle left gate.

The wind and snow were getting stronger, and Yin Chengyu couldn't help but quicken his pace. When he was about to approach the middle left door, he saw a blurry figure standing by the door.

Zheng Duobao was startled, fearing that he had run into an assassin on the run, so he and his guards quickly protected Yin Chengyu behind them and shouted, "Who's in front?"

The other party did not answer. He was about to ask Zhao Lin to go forward to check, but he heard Yin Chengyu behind him say: "Everyone, step back. It's not an assassin."

He took a step forward and looked at the man through the wind and snow: "Xue Shu, why are you standing here instead of going back to treat your injuries?"

As he spoke, his tone became unhappy again.

After hearing him calling his name, Xue Shu moved, took two steps towards him, and called out "Your Highness" in a low voice.

The blood on his face had not yet been wiped clean, and the wound on his left arm had not been treated. He looked frail, but his pair of dark eyes were shining brightly, which made people think of a lone wolf hunting at night, adding a bit of indescribable fierceness to him.

Yin Chengyu glanced at his wound and frowned: "What's the matter?"

"I have done everything your Highness said." He looked at Yin Chengyu steadily, licked his dry lips, and his intentions were clearly written on his face.

Yin Chengyu had never been chased by anyone for a reward, especially by Xue Shu.

This gave him a sudden sense of absurdity.

Who is Xue Shu?

He commands hundreds of thousands of imperial guards and has spies all over the world. His power and status are unmatched. Even the king of a country has to submit to him.

People like him always go and get what they want on their own.

Power, status, even him.

However, now, the 9,000-year-old man from the future had been standing in front of the Zhongzuo Gate in the snow and wind, waiting for who knows how long, just to ask for a reward from him.

This realization greatly pleased Yin Chengyu, and even his expression softened.

"This is a great job. What reward do you want? I will do my best to satisfy you."

"I don't want to stay in the West Factory. I want to come and serve His Highness." Xue Shu looked straight at Yin Chengyu without any hesitation, with desire surging in his eyes.

Although it has nothing to do with lust, it is still annoying.

This ambitious guy really can't be treated with the slightest bit of kindness!

Yin Chengyu frowned, brushed past him with his sleeves, and his angry voice was blurred by the wind and snow: "No!"

Just stay in the West Factory honestly and serve him for the rest of your life!

Yin Chengyu's figure quickly disappeared in the wind and snow.

Xue Shu stood there for a while before returning to the West Factory.

Today, he had performed meritorious service in protecting the emperor and was highly valued by His Majesty. All the people in the West Factory changed their previous cold and sarcastic attitude and treated him politely from top to bottom. They even replaced the big shop with a separate room.

Xue Shu rejected his colleagues' suggestion to ask an imperial physician to see his injury and went into the house with the medicine.

The wound on the arm was quite deep. There was a lot of dirt on the beast's claws, which now remained in the flesh and blood of the wound and needed to be cleaned.

Such injuries were common to him. Xue Shu expressionlessly cleaned the wound over and over again with liquor until the blood turned bright red, and then he applied medicine and bandaged it.

Afterwards, he washed and changed into clean clothes, then took out a plain white handkerchief to play with.

The handkerchief was used by Yin Chengyu, and it was stained with red dye. Yin Chengyu threw it to the eunuch after using it. Xue Shu caught a glimpse of it and asked for it for some unknown reason.

Gently twirling the soft cloth with his fingertips, Xue Shu recalled the sight of Yin Chengyu wiping his fingers with a handkerchief.

The hands were very white, with long, thin fingers and distinct joints, without a single flaw, as if they were carved from the finest white jade. They were clearly as cold and aloof as their owner, but with a red halo at the fingertips, adding a bit of allure.

Xue Shu felt the softness of his fingertips and lowered his eyes to think:

Your Highness, are your hands as soft as this handkerchief?

Yin Chengyu returned to Ciqing Palace, but his anger had not yet subsided.

He only knew that Xue Shu was extremely bold, but he didn't know that he dared to be so presumptuous in such a situation!

If it weren't for the fact that he had just made a contribution and was injured, he would have been dragged out and beaten with a few sticks as a warning!

Zheng Duobao asked someone to prepare hot water for bathing and saw that Xue Shu still looked unhappy. He guessed that he was still unhappy about what happened just now. Although he didn't understand why the good-tempered prince targeted Xue Shu, this did not prevent him from making suggestions for the prince: "Xue Shu really doesn't understand his identity. Do you want me to find a reason to punish him?"

Although in his opinion, Xue Shu was unwilling to stay in Xichang and wanted to serve His Highness, his vision was indeed good.

But if this made His Highness unhappy, it was his fault.

Zheng Duobao took the initiative to share his concerns, but Yin Chengyu became hesitant instead.

The beast was quite strong, and Xue Shusheng didn't know how serious the injury was. He was angry, but after he calmed down, he realized that he was just angry because of something in his previous life.

In this life, Xue Shu did nothing, and when he said he wanted to serve him, he did not mean anything else.

"Forget it, at least he has done something good." Yin Chengyu sighed, "Go to the Imperial Hospital tomorrow morning and ask Imperial Doctor Liu to check on him. Don't delay his recovery, as he will be of use later."

Zheng Duobao answered yes, but he was thinking in his heart that he had never seen His Highness be so fickle.

The author has something to say:

Xue Shu: I am injured and need Your Highness to kiss me before I can get up.

Yin Chengyu:?

Yin Chengyu: Get lost:)