After Ying Hongxue and He Shan left, it was already late, so Xue Shu went to bed early.

Autumn had already arrived in the north, and the weather had turned cold. The continuous rain made the air damp and cold. Although there was a charcoal basin in the tent, Xue Shu still slept uneasily, with the cold air in his dreams drilling into his bones.

He seemed to be back in the underground palace.

The walls were made of ice blocks, emitting a chilling cold. If you stayed in there for a long time, even your blood would turn cold.

This underground palace was built by Xue Shu for Yin Chengyu.

He personally supervised the construction of the imperial mausoleum, and even the emperor's coffin was built for two people. Originally, he was prepared to wait for Yin Chengyu to die, and then he would follow him.

Even if two people were different in life, they should at least be buried together after death.

He didn't expect that Yin Chengyu's will and testament would disrupt his entire plan. He wanted to die but couldn't, and he couldn't bear to be separated from each other even after a hundred years, so he left a secret passage in and out before the imperial mausoleum was completed.

After the national mourning, he ordered people to dig an underground palace under the mansion outside the palace, and transported countless ice to create an ice palace. He placed the body of Yin Chengyu, which was smuggled out of the imperial mausoleum, in the ice coffin.

This period lasted for five years.

The entrance to the underground palace was in his bedroom. At that time, he couldn't sleep all night, so he went to the underground palace to guard Yin Chengyu.

The ice coffin was polished to a crystal clear surface, so he could easily see the person lying safely inside, and pretend that he had not left and was still by his side.

But no matter how cold the ice is, it cannot make a corpse fresh again.

That finely carved face gradually turned pale and stiff, with thick frost forming between his eyebrows and hair. And he could only watch helplessly, just like when Yin Chengyu was sick, but he could do nothing.

Human power always appears fragile and insignificant in the face of life and death.

Xue Shu always wanted to see him, but was afraid to see him.

The chill of the underground palace enveloped him completely and dragged him into the bottomless darkness.

Xue Shu saw Yin Chengyu below, looking up at him and smiling, but in the blink of an eye, that lively face began to wither and decay, the flesh and blood melted away, leaving only dry bones.

A cold and decayed aura enveloped him.

“Your Highness——!”

Xue Shu sat up in shock, eyes wide open in fear and breathing heavily. The bandaged wound on his back was torn again due to the large amplitude of the movement, and the dark red blood soaked through his clothes.

The boy who was on night watch outside heard the noise and came in to check. He hurried over to bring the medicine box, but when he saw the terrifying look on his face, he shrank back and dared not go forward. He said in a low voice, "The wound on the warden's back has split open..."

Xue Shu woke up from the horrible dream, feeling extremely distressed. He turned his head woodenly and glanced at the little boy without saying a word.

Seeing that he remained silent, the child tentatively moved closer, bravely removed the bandage for him, and re-bandaged it.

Xue Shu did not move, and waited until his wound was treated before he put on his coat and went downstairs.

He wants to see Yin Chengyu.

He was shivering with the chill that penetrated deep into his lungs. Only by seeing that living person with his own eyes and feeling his body temperature with his own hands could he feel at ease.

He must see him immediately.

Xue Shu's face turned pale as a ghost. He snatched the medicine box and rummaged around inside. Finally, he found what he wanted. He clutched the medicine handkerchief in his hand and hurried out.

I don't know when the rain stopped, and the cold wind with moisture blew in my face, making me shiver.

Xue Shu walked out of the tent and took a few quick steps, then suddenly stopped.

He clutched the handkerchief and stood hesitantly in the cold wind.

Yin Chengyu's main tent was just ten steps away. The soldiers on night watch were already dozing off in the leeward area with their spears in their arms. If he wanted to, he could easily sneak in.

As long as he could let Yin Chengyu sleep more deeply like last time, he could hug him as much as he wanted.

Such warm body temperature is enough to dispel the deep chill.

Xue Shu's eyes flickered, he took a step forward and then took it back. Yin Chengyu's voice rang in his ears.

"I don't like people around me to have secrets, especially you."

"Just be obedient, I will take care of you in the future."

Be obedient...

Xue Shu lowered his eyes and looked at the medicine handkerchief in his palm. Such behavior could not be considered as obedience.

If His Highness found out, he would be angry, and the warmth that he had worked so hard to gain would probably be destroyed.

Xue Shu lowered his eyes and looked for a long time, but finally put away the medicine handkerchief.

He walked towards Yin Chengyu's tent step by step against the cold wind, but did not go in. He just found a seat outside that was closest to him and sat down with his back against the tent.

The thick tent cloth separated him and the people inside into two different worlds.

…

Xue Shu sat outside for the rest of the night, and only returned quietly to the tent when the soldiers on duty changed shifts.

The wound on his back did not open again, but the cold wind in the middle of the night made his face as pale as a ghost and his expression unhappy. The child brought him a soothing soup, and he managed to sleep for a while after drinking it.

When Yin Chengyu came to see him, he saw that his face was pale, the area under his eyes was dark, and he did not look very well.

"What's going on? Didn't Doctor Liu say that I would get better as long as I took the medicine on time? Why do I look much worse than yesterday?"

The little boy raised his head and glanced at Xue Shu, then lowered his head at his warning gaze and did not dare to speak.

"Nothing serious, I just didn't sleep well."

Xue Shu looked at him intently, and under the cover of his sleeves, he hooked his fingertips with his, and then, little by little, he held them tightly with care.

Yin Chengyu did not refuse, stroking the back of his hand with his thumb, and whispered, "Why are you so clingy today? Did you dream about me again?"

He spoke with a smile and a hint of joking.

Xue Shu felt the warmth and pulse coming from his palm and said in a deep voice, "I dream of Your Highness every night."

Yin Chengyu glanced at him, but didn't take him seriously. He only thought that he couldn't sleep because of the wound on his back, and said with concern: "Then ask Dr. Liu to give you some soothing soup to help you sleep. If your back still hurts, ask someone to send it to you first." Go back to Yidu City. There are soft beds in the city. It might be more comfortable for you to sleep on your stomach. "

Xue Shu looked at him, his eyes only filled with this person, so he agreed to whatever he said.

Yin Chengyu was a little surprised that he was so obedient today. He waved the boy away, lifted his chin, and gave him a kiss on the corner of his lips as a reward. He chuckled and said, "Take good care of yourself. I'll come to see you when I'm done with my work."

This is the departure.

Xue Shu reluctantly let go of his hand, and when he saw him turning around to leave, he couldn't hold back anymore and suddenly grabbed his arm, his eyes full of forbearance.

"What?" Yin Chengyu turned around and looked at him with raised eyebrows.

Xue Shu said nothing, but suddenly pulled him down and bit his lips.

He looked fierce, but he was very careful not to hurt him. He kept rubbing his lips and tongue for a long time before letting him go. He said in a low voice, "This is enough."

Yin Chengyu licked his lips and did not rebuke him for his rebellion.

He just took out a handkerchief and slowly wiped the water stains on his lips, threw the handkerchief into Xue Shu's arms, smiled, and then turned and left.

Xue Shu grasped the handkerchief, put it under his nose, sniffed it deeply, kissed it, and then carefully put it in his arms.

Even the chillness in my internal organs faded a little.

As soon as Yin Chengyu came out of his tent, Marquis Anyuan came to ask for a meeting.

He had a look of resignation on his face. "The Second Prince's body has been collected, but it should not be kept for long. It must be sent back to the capital as soon as possible. Now that the rebellion in Shandong has been quelled, I humbly ask His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to return to the capital as soon as possible, so as to comfort the Second Prince's soul."

Gao Youwen and Shi Hu died, Ying Hongxue and He Shan were no longer enemies. The rebellion in Shandong was quelled, and disaster relief was back on track.

It is indeed time to return to Beijing.

But Yin Chengyu still felt uneasy when he thought of Xue Shu's pale face. He was injured on his back, and the road was bumpy. If he set out on the road before his injury was healed, he was afraid that the injury would recur and it would be more difficult to heal.

"I understand Marquis Anyuan's feelings, but the earthquake has just subsided and many matters have not been properly handed over. It is not appropriate to rush back to the capital. It is better to find an ice cellar to store the body of my second brother first, and then set off after the handover is completed. Now that the weather has cooled down, we don't have to worry about the body decaying on the way back."

Although his tone was gentle, his attitude did not soften at all.

Marquis An Yuan knew that it was useless to persuade him, so he could only shut up.

The Crown Prince was not close to the Second Prince, so it was expected that he would not care about his body. But he failed to protect the Second Prince, and if he could not even take good care of his body, he would not be able to ask for mercy from Concubine Wen when he returned to the capital. But if he was asked to escort the Second Prince's body back to the capital alone, he did not have the courage to do so.

If he returns to the capital with the Crown Prince, at least there will be someone to share Concubine Wen's anger.

Marquis An Yuan thought to himself that it was time to stop talking, and without saying anything more, he hurried off to look for an ice cellar.

…

Cleaning up the disaster area, treating the injured, resettling the victims...it was already early October when everything was done.

After all matters were handed over, Yin Chengyu prepared to return to Beijing.

In addition to the 5,000 soldiers of the Fourth Guard Battalion, more than 3,000 Red Army soldiers who were recruited also returned to Beijing.

After careful consideration, Ying Hongxue and He Shan finally accepted the imperial court's offer of amnesty.

Of the more than 5,000 Red Army soldiers who followed He Shan, more than 1,000 chose to return home, and the remaining 3,000 were homeless refugees who voluntarily followed He Shan to accept the amnesty and would be incorporated into the guard army in the future.

The trip back to Beijing was not as urgent as the trip here, so Yin Chengyu was not in a hurry.

The night before departure, he ordered people to buy live pigs and sheep and slaughter them as a reward for the soldiers.

After October, the heavy rain finally stopped.

A bonfire was lit in the camp. The soldiers lined up with their bowls in hand and received large meat buns, which they ate happily with hot meat soup.

In the central military tent, Yin Chengyu was drinking with several generals. Ying Hongxue, He Shan and others were also there.

The military officers were not as elegant as the civil officials, and there were not so many twists and turns in their conversations. The best way to communicate was to drink.

The threat from Shandong had been resolved, and the enemy Yin Chengzhang had also been eliminated. Yin Chengyu was in a good mood and drank more with them.

Yin Chengyu was already drunk by the end of the night. He said goodbye to the generals and, supported by the young eunuch, he managed to stay awake and return to his own tent.

When I got closer, I found Xue Shu waiting in front of the tent, and I didn't know how long he had been waiting.

Yin Chengyu squinted at him for a while, waved away the eunuch, and handed the handbag to him.

Xue Shu supported him and went into the tent with him.

Yin Chengyu sat down at the table, poured himself a cup of tea and drank it before going to see him.

As she watched, her brows furrowed, and she pinched his face and looked at him carefully: "Why do you look so bad?"

He suspected that Xue Shu's back injury had not yet healed, so he pointed to the bed and said, "Go sit over there and take off your shirt so I can see it."

Xue Shu's throat tightened, his jaw stiffened, and he stared at him for a few breaths before he walked to the couch and sat down, unbuttoning his shirt with his back to Yin Chengyu.

Yin Chengyu sat down behind him and checked the injuries on his back in the dim light.

Xue Shu's wound was below his scapula, and after more than half a month of rest, it had healed and scabbed. The brown scab was the size of an egg, and it looked very abrupt on this strong and beautiful body.

"Does it still hurt?" Yin Chengyu stretched out his hand and gently touched the red tender flesh at the edge of the scab.

"It doesn't hurt anymore." Xue Shu's back muscles tightened, and his voice seemed to be squeezed out of his throat.

The person behind him didn't say anything else, and Xue Shu didn't get a response. He subconsciously wanted to look back, but he heard Yin Chengyu say "Don't move" again.

He stopped and resisted the urge to turn around.

The skin around the wound suddenly felt warm and wet. After Xue Shu realized what he was doing, an indescribable numbness climbed up his spine to the top of his head.

He froze, his back tensed, his smooth and powerful muscles bulged. His fingers hanging down at his sides tightly grasped the quilt beneath him, suppressing the desire that was rising instantly.

"Your Highness..." Xue Shu groaned in unbearable pain, and managed to hold back without moving.

The warmth behind me has gone, and there has been no response for a long time.

Xue Shu waited patiently for a moment, and finally couldn't help it. He turned around tentatively, but saw Yin Chengyu leaning against the bedpost with his eyelashes drooping, and he had fallen asleep drunk.

He looked a little disappointed.

He stared at him for a long while before putting on his coat again and asking the eunuch waiting outside to bring in some warm water. After wiping his face, hands and feet and loosening his clothes, Xue Shu helped him to sleep.

Yin Chengyu drank a lot of wine and slept very deeply.

Xue Shu stood beside the couch for a long while, but finally couldn't bear to leave. He sat down on the couch, reached under the quilt, held Yin Chengyu's hand tightly, and fell asleep.

He hadn't had a good night's sleep for half a month. Every time he closed his eyes, he fell into the cold underground palace. Only when he was extremely tired during the day and took a tranquilizing soup could he barely sleep for a while.

At this moment, the warm body temperature continued to flow through their clasped hands, making him feel extremely at ease.

This time, Xue Shu no longer had nightmares.

The author has something to say:

#The obedient dog gets candy#

Big Dog Gou: Be obedient, be disobedient, be obedient, be disobedient, be obedient...