Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.

Yin Chengyu looked up at the figure walking slowly towards him, and his eyes darkened.

The man wore a three-peaked hat inlaid with rubies, with the hatband tightened under his chin, and a purple brocade python robe tied at the waist with a black leather belt. On his chest sat a python with angry eyes and bared teeth. The bright colors made his narrow eyebrows look more evil, and his thin lips were pursed, like a man-eating beast that would suddenly jump up and eat anyone in the next moment.

As he walked leisurely from the end of the corridor, Yin Chengyu felt as if the Nine Thousand Years Old Man from his previous life had walked out of his memory.

But the next moment, this illusion was shattered by him himself.

While Xue Shu asked, "Does His Royal Highness the Crown Prince want to find me?", his eyes clearly said, "If nothing else, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince would probably have forgotten who I am."

There was also a hint of grievance and resentment in this kind of questioning, which was completely different from the gloomy and cruel look in the previous life.

If Yin Chengyu had not caught him by surprise and figured out his background, he would probably still be kept in the dark.

He is good at pretending.

Yin Chengyu snorted and laughed, ignoring his gaze. He didn't offer him a seat, but asked him to stand aside. He spoke slowly, "There are some things I need you to do." After that, he looked at Yin Ciguang and asked, "Your matter needs Xue Shu to do it. He will never leak the secret before it is done."

This is what I meant by asking Yin Ci Guang.

Yin Ciguang had met Xue Shu in Ciqing Palace before, and had guessed that the relationship between Xue Shu and the prince was not as bad as the rumors said, but he did not know that the prince trusted Xue Shu so much.

He nodded gently: "It's okay."

Yin Chengyu then told Xue Shu about Yin Ciguang's situation, and said thoughtfully, "This matter concerns the royal bloodline. If we don't want to anger our father, we have to find a suitable reason and opportunity. Do you have any ideas?"

If we were to ask who knows Emperor Longfeng's temperament best, it would probably be Xue Shu.

Xue Shu was able to hold Emperor Longfeng firmly in his hands for two lifetimes, and even his own son Yin Chengyu was not as good as him.

"It's easy to find a reason." Xue Shu said, "Your Majesty is a firm believer in gods and Buddhas, so just make up a mysterious story. But even if he believes it, he may not punish you, so this matter must be of some benefit to Your Majesty, so that Your Majesty will be willing to take the responsibility of the hidden things on himself."

Emperor Longfeng was an extremely suspicious person, stubborn and self-willed, and quite arbitrary.

In the case of Yin Ciguang, in a small sense, he just changed his identity to avoid disaster. But in a big sense, it confused the royal bloodline. Emperor Longfeng, as the master of the harem and the biological father of Yin Ciguang, was kept in the dark for so long. When he suddenly learned about Yin Ciguang's identity, he would not only be angry, but also feel ashamed.

If he does not benefit from it at all, Emperor Longfeng will most likely punish him in order to save face and demonstrate his authority.

Yin Chengyu knew from his expression that he must have come up with an idea, so he raised his eyebrows and looked at him: "Master Xue, do you think you have a solution?"

"Your Majesty has been suffering from a cold since returning from the palace. He has been suffering from nightmares lately and cannot sleep at night."

To say that he couldn't sleep at night was an understatement. In reality, Emperor Longfeng had been having trouble sleeping and eating recently, and he was rapidly aging.

He had been frightened by the tiger encounter in the enclosure before, but his symptoms had not yet taken effect. Later, on the way back to Beijing, he indulged two new beauties in the carriage, which was a bit "overworked". In addition, the various drugs he was fed took effect at the same time, and he aged overnight and looked much more haggard than before.

This news was kept secret by Emperor Longfeng and never spread. But in fact, several old doctors from the Imperial Hospital were summoned to the palace to treat the patient.

Emperor Longfeng originally wanted to continue taking the pills, but Master Ziyuan was timid and was afraid that he would take too many pills and really kill himself, bringing trouble upon himself, so after a lot of confusing coaxing, he told him to stop taking the pills temporarily and use the decoction prescribed by the imperial physician first.

Yin Chengyu understood what he meant: "Then I'll leave this matter to you to arrange."

Xue Shu bowed his head and responded. Seeing that he was still sitting in the pavilion sipping tea and had no intention of leaving, he could not help but say, "I have another matter to report."

After saying this, he looked at Yin Chengyu steadily with eyes filled with earnest affection.

Yin Chengyu looked at him for a moment, sneered, but still turned around and said goodbye to Yin Ciguang: "Next time I will invite the emperor elder sister to taste tea."

Yin Ci Guang nodded, stood up and watched them leave.

Xue Shu lagged behind Yin Chengyu half a step, and seemed to be talking to him with his head down. Yin Chengyu glanced at him sideways, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he was smiling.

The two people had already walked far away. Yin Ci Guang could not hear any sound, but he could see the closeness between the two people.

Just now in the pavilion, he noticed that there was a kind of intimacy between the prince and Xue Shu that no one else could interfere with.

The figures of the two people slowly disappeared at the end of the corridor. Yin Ci Guang withdrew his gaze, feeling a little envious.

A faint sense of melancholy arose in my heart, but was quickly suppressed.

Yin Ciguang said to the maid, "Pack up the tea sets and go back."

The maid packed up the tea set and followed him back to Yongxi Palace.

Yongxi Palace is located in the East Six Palaces, but it is the last one in the East Six Palaces. It is located in a remote location. Only Rong Fei and Yin Ciguang lived there. When Rong Fei was still a concubine, the mother and son could only live in a side hall. After she was promoted to concubine, she moved to the main hall and became the main seat of the palace.

Yin Ciguang walked through the corridors and it took him two quarters of an hour to reach Yongxi Palace.

He brushed off the fallen snow from his shoulders and stepped into the hall. Before Yin Ci Guang opened his mouth, he saw the woman sitting in the hall and the smile on his face faded.

"How come Aunt Qiu has time to come to Yongxi Palace?"

Aunt Qiu was a female official who was a close confidant of Concubine Wen. Whenever she saw them mother and son, her eyes would roll up to the sky.

But today, she put on a smile and said very kindly, "It's almost the New Year, and the Inner Textile and Dyeing Bureau has sent a lot of cloth to Jingren Palace. The Imperial Concubine asked me to notify the ladies of the various palaces to make the selection."

This was indeed a custom in Jingren Palace, but Concubine Wen had always been targeting them, and they had never been given any share of these things in the past.

When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong.

Yin Ciguang wanted to refuse, but unexpectedly, Aunt Qiu changed the subject and said without allowing any argument: "All the palaces have been notified. Now only Concubine Rong and the eldest princess are left. If I am late, Concubine Gui will probably blame me. The eldest princess and Concubine Rong should hurry up and follow me."

Although she was smiling, there was impatience and urgency in her eyes.

Yin Ci Guang and Concubine Rong looked at each other, shook their heads slightly, and said with eyes closed: "Then my mother and I will go with my aunt."

When Aunt Qiu saw that he agreed, she curled her lips quickly and led the way.

When we arrived at Jingren Palace, we did not see any concubines from other palaces, but there were a few pieces of cloth piled haphazardly on the table.

Aunt Qiu tried to smooth things over perfunctorily: "Empress Rong and the eldest princess arrived a little late. It seems that all the good materials have been picked out by the ladies in the other palaces."

Concubine Wen Gui, who was sitting lazily in the main seat, smiled and said, "It's okay. I specially left a piece of good material for the eldest princess. The inner weaving and dyeing bureau said it is the most fashionable pattern at the moment. The color is a bit lively for me to wear, not solemn enough, but it is just right for the eldest princess."

As she spoke, a female official came forward holding a piece of light red cloth.

Concubine Wen raised her hand to stroke the fabric, pointed at the female official and said to Yin Ciguang, "This is Manager Zhao from the Needlework Bureau. He is here today to measure my body and make new clothes for me. Since Concubine Rong and the eldest princess are here, it is a good opportunity to ask Manager Zhao to measure your bodies so that new clothes for the New Year can be made as soon as possible."

She looked at the two of them with a smile, and although her words were polite, her tone was unyielding.

The chief officer Zhao had already walked up to Yin Ciguang holding the cloth and said, "Princess, please follow me to the back to get measured."

The pressure was so intense that even Concubine Rong could tell that the newcomer had bad intentions. She turned pale and wanted to say something but held back and didn't utter a word.

With his hands clenched tightly in his sleeves, Yin Ciguang politely declined, "There's no need to trouble the Imperial Concubine and Director Zhao with this little matter. The needlework bureau should have the sizes of my and my mother's clothes on file. We can just follow the ones from previous years."

Upon hearing this, Concubine Wen smiled even more and stopped pressing her.

She waved her hand, and Director Zhao retreated with the cloth in his hands, along with the other palace servants who were serving in the hall.

Aunt Qiu came back after closing the door, followed by four burly maids who looked like they were used to doing heavy work.

Yin Ciguang tightened his jaw and blocked Concubine Rong behind him: "What does the noble concubine want to do?"

Concubine Wen Gui did not want to beat around the bush with him. After just a few tests, she was sure that Yin Ciguang was hiding something.

She stroked the sharp armor on her little finger, and her voice echoed in the palace, revealing a chill: "The eldest princess? Or should I call you the eldest prince? Let's be frank, your excuses are in vain. Jingren Palace is my territory. What do you think...if I ask four maids to strip you naked and examine you, what will be the result?"

Admiring the pale faces of the mother and son, she sneered and stabbed Rong Fei with a look like a knife: "You can't judge a person by his appearance. I didn't expect you to have such courage and ability!"

Mubal discovered Yin Ciguang's abnormality and thought that Yin Ciguang was a hermaphrodite, a monster with both male and female bodies.

It's just because he doesn't know the inside story.

After all, which woman in the harem doesn't want to give birth to a prince and become a noble mother? He naturally didn't expect that Concubine Rong would raise her son as a daughter.

But Concubine Wen Gui only had someone do a brief investigation, and without even needing any evidence, she was able to determine Yin Ciguang's true identity.

She stared at Concubine Rong fiercely. She and Concubine Rong had been pregnant at the same time, but her baby died while the bitch Concubine Rong gave birth smoothly.

If she had known that it would be a boy, she would never have let Yin Ci Guang live to this age!

Both of her children are gone, so how come these bastards' children are able to live and grow up?

Concubine Wen Gui's eyes flashed with cruelty, but she smiled playfully: "I don't know if His Majesty will pardon me for the crime of deceiving the emperor for the sake of the eldest prince."

"Did Concubine Wen invite us here just to listen to your nonsense?" His identity had been exposed, so Yin Ciguang simply stopped pretending. He held Concubine Rong's hand soothingly, and looked straight at Concubine Wen.

"A dog that becomes the crown prince is different. It dares to bark at me."

Concubine Wen sneered and raised her chin. Then she saw Aunt Qiu holding out a sachet from behind the screen: "Since you are so loyal, let me see which one you choose between the Crown Prince and your mother."

Aunt Qiu handed the sachet to Yin Ciguang and said, "This sachet is mixed with snake bile grass. Wearing it for a long time can gradually erode one's mind. The snake bile grass is ground into powder and mixed with spices. It is colorless and odorless. Even the imperial physician cannot find out what it is."

"I heard that Rong Fei's embroidery is very much loved by the Empress. How about you embroider this sachet and present it to the Empress?" Seeing Rong Fei was about to speak, she raised her hand to stop her from talking and said with a smile: "Don't be in a hurry to refuse. Listen to the consequences of refusing first."

The smile on her face faded, and she said gloomily, "His Majesty has been ill recently. If I tell him now that there is a male and female monster in the harem, and it is the monster that suppresses the dragon body, will you and your son still have a chance to survive?"

The author has something to say:

Big Dog Gou: I have another matter to report (x)

Big Dog Gou: I want to be intimate with His Highness (√)