Xue Shu held Yin Chengyu's hand like this and slept on the stepping stone all night.

The clasped hands made him feel at ease, and this sense of security even offset his physical fatigue. He woke up at dawn, feeling more energetic than usual.

The person on the couch was still asleep. He didn't want to wake him up, but he was reluctant to let go of his hand, so he sat on the edge of the couch with his legs propped up, looking at him intently.

I use my eyes to engrave this face that I have been longing for day and night in my heart over and over again.

Being stared at with such burning eyes, Yin Chengyu should have felt it even if he was a wooden man. He opened his eyes, turned his face to the side of the bed, and as expected, he met Xue Shu's dark eyes.

Seeing that he woke up, Xue Shu moved forward a little more, stroked the back of his hand with his fingertips, and called "Your Highness" in a hoarse voice. His voice was low and deep, like the sound of a heavy xiao, with a lingering sound.

He scratched Yin Chengyu's chest gently.

Sitting up with his elbows propped up, the quilt slipped off, revealing their interlocked hands. Yin Chengyu glanced at them, then tilted his eyes to Xue Shu: "Are you still not letting go?"

The clasped hands reluctantly let go, and their palms suddenly felt empty. Xue Shu twirled his fingertips in memory, stood up, pursed his lips and looked at him: "I will wait for His Highness to wash and change clothes."

"Lord Xue, are you not leaving yet?" Yin Chengyu stepped barefoot on the pedal. The snow-white undershirt seemed a little loose on him. The collar naturally spread out a little, revealing his slender neck and a delicate and beautiful collarbone. His black hair fell casually, and a few strands of black hair fell on the depression between the collarbone and the shoulder line, and then slid down gently.

He was unrestrained in his behavior, like a carefree celebrity who, after sleeping with many beautiful women, woke up with a romantic look all over his body.

And Xue Shu is exactly that flower and willow.

Yin Chengyu looked at him with a slight smile, as if ordering him to leave, but also as if he was just asking casually.

Seemingly ruthless, yet also seeming affectionate.

Those who are too affectionate will always be troubled by those who are heartless.

Xue Shu did not answer. He pulled the bell beside the bed and went to the cupboard to get the clothes he would wear today.

Zheng Duobao, who heard the bell and came in with toiletries, bumped into him and was stunned for a moment: "Why is Lord Xue here so early?"

Xue Shu lied calmly, "I have something to discuss with Your Highness." Then he took the copper basin from his hand and said, "Your Highness just got up. Let me serve you."

After handing him the copper basin, Zheng Duobao walked out of the inner hall in a daze before realizing that something was wrong. Xue Shu was now the chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department. In terms of rank, his rank was higher than his. Why was he still doing the job of serving His Highness?

Then he smiled with some relief. Xue Shu was indeed a grateful man. He was probably still remembering the kindness of His Highness.

It’s better not to forget your roots!

Xue Shu didn't have to go to the Imperial Household Department for duty today, so he was not in a hurry to leave.

After helping Yin Chengyu wash and change clothes, he rinsed his mouth with the remaining salt water Yin Chengyu used, and then wiped his face with the towel in the copper basin.

Yin Chengyu sneered at him and said, "You are not shy."

There was no rebuke in his expression.

"If Your Highness does not allow, I dare not do so." Xue Shu looked back at him, his dark eyes filled with deep emotions, without any concealment.

He found that whenever he showed such an expression, His Highness would be more lenient towards him.

As expected, Yin Chengyu just snorted and didn't say anything else.

Instead, Zheng Duobao came back again: "The eldest princess said she has something urgent to discuss with Your Highness."

You came to see me so early in the morning, it seems that there is indeed something urgent.

"Please invite them to the Hongren Hall."

Xue Shu followed him closely, thinking that he was still on duty at Ciqing Palace. However, the other palace servants at Ciqing Palace were surprised when they saw him, wondering why the Dongchang Supervisor appeared at Ciqing Palace so early in the morning.

Could it be that he was offended at Ciqing Temple in the past and is here to seek revenge now?

The two of them went to the Hongren Hall and saw Yin Ciguang and others in the hall.

He did not wear the palace dress of the Princess of Dayan today. Instead, he wore an inconspicuous gray-blue robe of a young eunuch. His long hair was tied up in a hat, and his completely exposed facial features were pale and delicate, making him look even more sickly.

It was obvious at first glance that she was deliberately disguising herself to hide her identity.

After seeing Yin Chengyu, he bowed deeply and said, "I am sorry for disturbing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Yin Chengyu raised his hand and asked the palace servants to leave, leaving only Xue Shu: "But what happened?"

Yin Ciguang told her what happened in Jingren Palace yesterday, and took out the sachet given by Concubine Wen from her sleeve: "This was given by Concubine Wen. I have carefully checked it after returning, and I did not find anything wrong with the fragrance."

Concubine Wen said that the spices were mixed with powdered snake bile, and wearing it for a long time could cause people to lose their minds.

But he had read all the medical books and had never heard of snake bile grass. After a careful inspection, he did not find anything wrong with the sachet.

He had some guesses in his mind, and then he heard Yin Chengyu speak out his guesses: "Concubine Wen is not a fool, how could she allow Concubine Rong to murder the Queen Mother so easily? This sachet is probably a test."

Although a sachet cannot indicate anything, looking at Concubine Wen's actions, it is clear that she is a cautious person.

The so-called snake bile grass that even the imperial physician could not diagnose was more like a deception against Yin Ciguang and her son.

If the two turned against her and told Yin Chengyu the truth, a sachet that could not be found to contain poison might instead create a rift between the two parties; and if the two presented the sachet to Queen Yu as she said, then the sachet would be a ready-made handle for Concubine Wen.

"Send it to the imperial physician for confirmation." Yin Chengyu threw the sachet to Xue Shu, with a gloomy look on his face. "Yin Chengzhang is already dead. I didn't want to kill a woman like Concubine Wen, but now it seems that I was too kind."

It was the first time that Yin Ci Guang saw him with such a gloomy look. At first glance, he found that he was somewhat similar to Xue Shu who was standing next to him.

"Concubine Wen can't stay."

Yin Chengyu put his hands behind his back and thought for a moment before saying, "Since Concubine Wen wants to test us, let's just take advantage of her and keep her stable for now. As for restoring her identity..." He turned to look at Xue Shu, "Go and do it as soon as possible."

Xue Shu put away the sachet and replied.

"Royal elder sister, please go back first. After the sachet is examined by the imperial physician, I will have someone return it to you. You don't have to worry too much." Yin Chengyu said.

Yin Ci Guang nodded, and before leaving, he bowed deeply, "I will never forget your kindness, Your Highness."

Ever since the sachet was sent out, Concubine Wen had been sending people to keep an eye on the goings-on in Yongxi Palace.

Two days later, when she heard that Concubine Rong had gone to Kunning Palace to pay respects, Concubine Wen laughed and said, "What did I say? It hurts the most when the dog you keep by your side bites you back."

She hated Concubine Rong and Yin Ciguang, but she hated the Empress and the Crown Prince even more.

Didn't Yin Ciguang want to seek the protection of the crown prince? Didn't the crown prince want to be a kind and generous prince?

Then she planned to force Yin Ciguang to bite back at the prince, and let the two of them fight each other.

Concubine Wen gently stroked the person in the painting, her voice soft and cold: "Don't worry, Zhang'er, your mother will avenge you."

She stared at the portrait for a while before carefully putting it away, hiding the resentment in her eyes. She asked the court lady to put on fashionable makeup for her, put on brightly colored clothes, and went to the Qianqing Palace to serve the sick.

Emperor Longfeng had been ill for some days and his condition had not improved, so naturally he had no energy to pamper women anymore. But he was probably old, and although he could no longer till the fields, he especially liked young and fresh girls to serve him.

It seemed that this could help him get rid of his old age and feel a little more energetic.

These days, Concubine De has been trying to figure out the emperor's intentions, and has sent two young girls with outstanding looks and figures to serve him. It is said that they have made Emperor Longfeng so happy that he has conferred titles on them as beauties.

Concubine Wen had no advantage in age, but she remained favored for so many years, not only because of her appearance, but also because of her understanding of Emperor Longfeng.

Today she had prepared herself with all her might to compete for favor, but unexpectedly, when she arrived at the Qianqing Palace, she came up empty-handed.

She looked at Gao Xian, who always served Emperor Longfeng, and said in surprise, "Your Majesty's body has not recovered yet, why don't you rest in the palace?"

Gao Xian's face was not very good, but he still had to give face to Concubine Wen. He suppressed his unhappiness and said, "Your Majesty has gone to the Xuanqiong Palace to discuss Taoism with Master Ziyuan." And the person accompanying him was Xue Shu.

He vaguely felt that there might be some relationship between Master Ziyuan and Xue Shu, but now Emperor Longfeng worshipped Master Ziyuan as a god, so he did not dare to speak rashly. He could only watch Xue Shu arrogantly taking his place.

"Your Majesty has been in better spirits these past two days. Every day after taking the medicine, he would go to the Xuanqiong Palace to stay for a while. He has been gone for an hour today and will be back soon. If your Majesty is not in a hurry, you can wait a little longer."

Concubine Wen understood his suggestion and did not go back. She asked someone to bring tables and chairs and waited in the corridor of the Qianqing Palace.

At this time, in the Xuanqiong Palace, Emperor Longfeng was asking for divination with Master Ziyuan.

"You mean, the reason why my illness hasn't been cured for so long is because of the excess of yin and the deficiency of yang?"

"That's right." Master Ziyuan stroked his snow-white beard and said in a mysterious way, "Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor, a person with strong yang energy. But now your dragon body is damaged, and your yang energy is leaking out. In addition, there are many concubines in the harem, and the yin energy is gathering. It is a sign of strong yin and weak yang, which is not conducive to the recovery of the dragon body."

Emperor Longfeng frowned in thought. The reason he fell ill in the first place was because he had favored two beauties in his carriage.

He originally thought it was just a minor cold that would heal quickly, but after taking medicine for more than half a month, he still didn't get better, and his energy and spirit became worse and worse. He felt that the Qianqing Palace was boring, so he summoned a few young concubines to take care of him, which made him look more lively.

But if what Master Ziyuan said was true, the reason why he couldn't recover for a long time was probably because of these concubines who were taking care of him.

After figuring out the secret, Emperor Longfeng asked anxiously, "Is there a solution?"

Master Ziyuan closed his eyes and counted on his fingers for a long while, then said, "I have calculated that there is a person with extremely strong Yang energy in the northeast of the Yan Palace. Your Majesty only needs to find this person and keep him by your side. This will naturally offset the excessive Yin energy, and your dragon body will be as healthy as before."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Longfeng was delighted, but then he became a little hesitant: "There are tens of thousands of concubines in the Prince of Yan's palace. How can we find him? What are the characteristics of this person?"

However, Master Ziyuan shook his head: "Only three-tenths of the secret is revealed. All I can say is that this person has a very close relationship with Your Majesty."

If the relationship is extremely deep, then she is not an ordinary palace lady, but most likely a concubine in the harem.

While recalling which concubines' palaces were in the northeast direction, Emperor Longfeng turned to Xue Shu and said, "Go and take people to search for them. Gather all the concubines I have favored who live in the northeast direction. Then ask the real person to identify them one by one. Find this person as soon as possible."

The author has something to say:

Big Dog Gou: Your Highness turns against me as soon as he wakes up.

Your Highness:?