Chapter 171 Chapter 171 She tickled him like a small animal...
I fell asleep and slept until the morning.
When I opened my eyes, it was already daybreak, casting a fresh, light blue light into the room.
Gu Huaijin's chin rested against the top of her head. For some reason, when he fell asleep, he particularly liked to press her into his arms. Often, when she woke up, she would be tucked into his arms, unable to move, as if she were tied up.
His breath fanned over her head.
Each breath is steady, even and long.
She felt slightly relieved.
People who are depressed and overthinking often have little sleep, or even no sleep at all. The less sleep they have, the more depressed they become, and the more they struggle to find a solution.
He could sleep longer, feel more energetic, and perhaps think less about the things that were causing him so much pain.
Get more sleep.
With a heavy heart, she touched his hand that was around her shoulders and gently stroked his knuckles.
However, with such a big incident last night, the situation in Beijing must have changed drastically.
It is unknown whether Mo Jiao succeeded.
If he succeeded, Emperor Jiaqing would not be able to sit on the throne for long.
Without anyone to check and balance him, Li Xuanbai's aggressive and aggressive nature wouldn't last long before he'd be put under house arrest in some palace, facing a verdant lamp and an ancient Buddha. That was still considered a good thing.
If it fails, the situation will be even more confusing.
Chang Da had suffered two assassination attempts in his own mansion, so he would certainly not give up. He might seal off the city, impose martial law, and search for the assassins from house to house. Or he might take the opportunity to stir up trouble and insist that it was the work of the Daming Palace. With a wave of his hand, all the elite Jurchen soldiers would storm into the Purple Palace and take the imperial seal.
However, does this matter have anything to do with the Daming Palace?
Wangshengmen has always been paid and commissioned to do things. Does anyone know if they were commissioned by Daming Palace?
Moreover, this matter was too coincidental. Just a few days after Concubine Chang openly assassinated the Prince Regent at a palace banquet, the higher-ups issued an order to close the net.
Even this short time difference is particularly in line with the temperament of the person in Daming Palace.
She pulled a strand of hair, who knew whose it was, and twisted it around her fingers, thinking intently.
Suddenly, she heard the breathing above her head pause for a moment. Then, she heard a long breath, and the person behind her hummed slowly, burying his head in her neck again.
His voice was muffled: "Awake?"
She turned around and hugged him: "Yeah."
Gu Huaijin still refused to come out of her neck. He closed his eyes and sniffed the scent of her hair, then kissed her drowsily: "Good girl, good girl."
She tilted her neck back and let him kiss her gently, then she hugged his head and patted his back to comfort him:
"Did you sleep well?"
"Okay." He raised his head, his eyes still closed, his whole body warm from sleep, and came over to touch her eyebrows: "I missed you so much. I woke up to hug you. It was like a dream."
"What?" She laughed dumbly. "It's not like this every day in Tianshan Mountain."
"Tianshan is Tianshan..." He sighed vaguely, not yet fully awake, and gradually moved closer to her neck again. "How long ago? Five years ago. Since we met again, have you ever indulged me? You have no conscience."
This made her feel sad again. She stroked his long hair and kissed his ear: "Don't say such things, dear. I miss you too."
He had just woken up and was already groggy and dull. After hearing these words, his heart melted into a pool of water and he kept sniffing and kissing her neck.
The smell made her hair stand on end: "Itchy."
He didn't care, he kissed and hugged her, and even commented: "The area under your neck smells the best."
She was helpless and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
In the past, he didn't seem to like to act like a spoiled child so much. Now he is very quiet with outsiders, but when he sees her, he won't let go and whines behind outsiders' backs.
"Okay." She deliberately bumped her forehead against his head. "It's getting late. Everyone in the palace should be up. I have to go back to the palace."
"Are you coming tonight?" He finally raised his head.
He was a little uneasy, like a timid child, waiting for her instructions.
She is always like a gust of snow wind, cold, erratic and elusive.
"Come." She smiled and pressed her index finger on his lips for a moment, "Come when you have time."
Her eyes were like lakes in the mountains reflecting sunlight, sparkling and shimmering.
Gu Huaijin felt a little relieved and kissed the end of her eyebrow again.
"I really have to go." Nan Qiongshuang got up and picked up the white clothes he had thrown on the ground last night. She smelled them and still had a nauseating smell of alcohol. When she thought about the alcohol that had been sprayed out of a Jurchen mouth, she threw it on the ground again and picked up her old clothes from beside his pillow.
He always put her clothes next to the pillow, for some reason.
Gu Huaijin sat up in shock: "What are you doing!"
"My clothes, I'm going to wear them." She pulled her hair out of her clothes as if nothing had happened. "I don't have any other clothes, and I can't go back naked. I left them here with you, but you didn't wash them..."
Gu Huaijin sat on the couch, unable to speak and at a loss for words.
If she knew that he had to smell her clothes to close his eyes during sleepless nights, would she think he was abnormal?
"But I want to ask you, are there any of your men among the Jin Ge guards?" She was busy fastening her belt. "That Zhang Du, he was the messenger for you. How did you manage to insert someone into the Regent's personal guards?"
"During the Pipa Festival, Prince Ding asked me to release the Concubine Dowager from Jingsixuan and asked if there was anything I could do for me." He calmly walked behind her, unbuttoned her belt without making a fuss, stripped off her clothes, and draped a new nightgown over her shoulders, lowering his head to tie the belt. "There's a guard in the palace under the command of General Chang Hechang. You know, the one who brought you back to the capital from Wuliang Mountain. I said, if I want to let someone join General Chang's guard, it's this measure."
"You want him to join the Imperial Guards so that he can be a Golden Sword Guard?"
He smiled.
"But..." Nan Qiong Shuang was hugged by him from behind again, "How do you know that this person is only loyal to you? Chang Da will not let you break into the Imperial Guards."
"I didn't ask him to be loyal only to me." He bent down and kissed her forehead again. "I told him to agree to whatever Changda asked him to do. Whatever Changda gave, I would give more."
"But where did you get the money?"
Gu Huaijin leaned over her shoulder and suddenly smiled deeply, his childishness gone. "The emperor has delegated his authority and allowed me to allocate funds from the Ministry of Revenue. We previously cut redundant staff and saved a lot of money. I told the emperor to use this money to smooth things over and prepare for any emergency."
"Zhang Du is yours. When did Qinglian and Yuanxiang, who are by my side, become yours? After using the Forget Worry Powder on Wuliang Mountain?"
Gu Huaijin just smiled: "People who lose their memory are always particularly vulnerable."
Now, when he smiles, it is no longer the gentlemanly smile of the past. His eyes are like a deep pool, with no bottom to be seen.
Like a smiling tiger.
She rolled her eyes at him and said nothing.
"You refused to see me, and I wanted to see you, so I had no choice but to send someone to keep an eye on you." He sighed without regret, his chin pressed against her temples. "I'm afraid if anything goes wrong with you, I won't be able to stop you."
Having said that, I actually want her to be in my hands all the time.
She is very clear about this.
Being considerate of every detail was a subtle form of control. But in the past, he was too gentle and packaged everything so cleverly that he even fooled her into thinking he was just indulging her.
She didn't want to make a fuss and tickled his chin like she was coaxing a small animal.
"By the way, dear." He touched her eyebrows with his fingers and kissed her again, "Didn't you say you would tell me the inside story of the Gate of Rebirth?"
This... is indeed true.
However, after one night, she was no longer sure whether she should tell him.
She had a vague sense of something, but she wasn't sure yet.
After pondering for a long time, she decided to compromise: "Actually, I've already written it to you. It's inside your pillow in the Four Symbols Pagoda." He couldn't return to Wuliang Mountain for a while, but she could buy him some time. "However, if you want revenge, seeking the gate of rebirth isn't the best way."
"Why?"
"The Wangsheng Sect's work is always done on commission. It's not that the spies want to harm Tianshan, there are other people who want to harm Tianshan."
"The Tianshan case..." She turned around, picked up a strand of his hair and twirled it around her finger, her eyelashes drooping. "It started with your father's generation. The spy back then failed to succeed, so he sent me to you. It must be a grudge from a previous generation, starting with that spy entering the mountains, at least twenty years ago. It's been so long, did your father have any grudges against anyone back then?"
Gu Huaijin thought for a moment, and finally frowned: "My father has a good temper and has never made any enemies."
"Then I will complete my mission and, when I return to report, I will ask my connections to check the files at the Records Office to see who commissioned this."
"It's impossible to check the old secrets for you easily." He gently held her face, distressed and worried, "Don't take any risks."
“It’s not necessarily an adventure.”
Her eyes were calm and clear.
"The Wangsheng Sect has a new leader."
"I think the new sect leader is someone I'm familiar with."
*
Rumors were spreading in the capital, and everyone was in danger.
Within a few days, the Prince Regent and Prince Ding were assassinated in quick succession. The three Fuyu Guards looted the Duke's Mansion, leaving assassins scurrying through the streets. The Feiyu Guards worked tirelessly, enforcing martial law, patrolling, and apprehending assassins day and night. Not long ago, the Emperor's trusted advisor attempted suicide.
Even the street vendors selling salted duck eggs knew that the weather was about to change drastically.
People are in panic.
There are rumors that the regent has sent people to mobilize the army in the capital overnight. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers are waiting outside Luojing City, waiting for the order to break through Shanhaiguan.
The extent of Prince Ding's injuries remains unknown. Someone witnessed over a dozen black-clad assassins fleeing the palace, and no one has seen Prince Ding since. Although the palace hasn't announced his death, who knows what the situation is.
All the officials and guests who went to Prince Ding's mansion to inquire about the news were stopped by Jiang Qiang, who had one arm broken, without exception.
At this time, news came out that Prince Ding's youngest son, Chang Ping, was sent to the outside of Shanhaiguan to lead hundreds of thousands of Chang family troops to directly attack the Purple Palace in the Forbidden City.
Emperor Jiaqing was so frightened that he felt dizzy and his courage was trembling.
His way of relieving panic is divination.
For the past few days, Gu Huaijin had been accompanying him in the palace day and night, and he had been pestering her to tell fortunes almost every moment. After burning the tortoise shell, he flipped a coin, and after flipping the coin, he calculated his eight characters. After calculating his eight characters, he calculated the crape myrtle, six-ren, and plum blossom.
What's even more bizarre is.
It turns out that Emperor Jiaqing's time has come.
Just these few days.
Gu Huaijin didn't know how to tell him the truth, so he racked his brains to package his words, quoting classics and talking nonsense to appease him.
Emperor Jiaqing seemed to have felt the same way, but he refused to listen no matter what.
After much persuasion and persuasion, Emperor Jiaqing finally looked at the sky outside the window with tears in his eyes and said to him blankly:
"Sir, I want to ask the will of Heaven once more. This time, I won't need your help. I'll ask Heaven to personally grant me a sign."
Gu Huaijin: "The dragon body is precious..."
Emperor Jiaqing: "I must use my own body to communicate with the spirits and gods. Sir, I would like to open the Nine Bends of the Yellow River Lantern Array."
The Nine-Bend Yellow River Lantern Array is a palace custom. After autumn, 365 lanterns are arranged to form a maze within the palace. Lanterns are suspended from bamboo poles or copper pillars, creating a circuitous path, with the emperor leading the way with a lantern. This custom originates from the novel "Investiture of the Gods." Good or bad luck is determined by whether one can escape the array. Each lantern represents a deity, serving as both divination and a prayer for blessings.
If you can get out of it safely, it means you have found a way to survive and escape the disaster of life.
"Rumors are spreading in the capital, and everyone is worried. Some even say that the country's fate is about to end." Gu Huaijin also sighed, "If you personally lead the ministers out of the maze, it will be a comfort to the people. The lantern array has eunuchs to guide the way, so I'm sure the emperor won't get lost."
He said, "If the emperor has this intention, I will do it."
In the next few days, yellow lanterns were hung high in the imperial garden one by one. The eunuchs and palace maids were busy on the palace roads all day long, and even Nan Qiongshuang's Handan Palace had no peace.
The Nine-Bend Yellow River Formation was accompanied by all the officials, and as a concubine, she had to follow as well.
The situation has changed. She hates hustle and bustle the most and doesn't want Emperor Jiaqing to want hustle and bustle at this critical juncture.
She had no mood for fun at all.
The situation was already tense as a knife on a bowstring, so why hadn't she been ordered to close the net yet?
If she didn't take action, she wouldn't be able to escape. Was she really going to drag her into an irretrievable situation?
She leaned on the brocade pillow of the chaise longue, unable to rest and tossing and turning.
Qinglian and Yuanxiang were both sent away by her this afternoon on the pretext of something.
The palace was quiet, with only Li Shenshu accompanying her.
She suddenly wanted to drink brown sugar blood swallows, so she sent Li Shenshu away. Now that there was no one around her, she leaned on the couch, looking at the early autumn sky boredly.
Suddenly, the mist blade's secret voice rang in my ears:
"Auntie, I have something to report to you."
She stopped gently waving her fan and rested it on her chest: "Speak."
"The Prince Ding's residence has been guarded like an iron barrel these past few days. It took me a while to get the information. But I finally found it."
Her heart slowly dropped to her stomach, and she felt a little bit of weightless tension.
"Prince Ding is not dead." He chuckled, "but he is injured."
She chuckled, "Mo Jiao waited outside his house for most of the night, but in the end he still failed? You're useless. Where are you hurt?"
"The wound is in my waist and abdomen. I kept the news secret every day. Even Gongsun Hong only found out today. To prevent anyone from knowing, I didn't even call a doctor. I simply used some Jinchuang Powder and stayed at home. I was so dizzy that I almost turned into the roasted lamb leg in Grandpa's mouth. I just woke up today."
"Where are his sons?"
"This is the big story I want to tell you." Wu Dao rubbed his hands with a smile. "His two sons, seeing that their father was dying, fought openly and secretly, and the fight was bloody. The older one, who was more experienced than the younger one, wanted to leave his brother at home while his father was still asleep and go to the border to mobilize troops. Unexpectedly, the moment he stepped out of the door, Chang woke up."
"He went outside the Great Wall to mobilize troops himself" should be intended to send Chang Ping away and monopolize Changda's army of more than 100,000.
"After waking up, the youngest son was screaming beside his bed, but the eldest son was missing. When asked, he said he had gone to lead troops outside the Great Wall. This made the man surnamed Chang very angry. He accused him of neglecting his father and worrying about his military power. So his eldest son came back in disgrace. Now the father and son are very nervous."
She found it amusing, and she covered her lips with the fan, giggling.
"Also, Auntie, I followed Xu Wei, the one you asked me to watch, for a while. He turned out to be an honest man, nothing out of the ordinary."
"But there's one thing. Wasn't Mr. Chang injured? He refused to see a doctor and spent all day in his house swallowing elixirs. He had a lot of those little red pills. Chang Zhong wanted some, too, but his father wouldn't give him any. So Chang Zhong sneaked into his father's room and snatched up a mouthful of cinnabar paste. Unexpectedly, he started bleeding from the nose after taking it."
"He was so angry that he kept cursing his father, saying that he was not only stingy but also used useless things to harm others."
"Then Xu Wei said that maybe his father knew he would come to the room to steal the medicine, so he replaced the cinnabar paste with something else to punish him. This made that round-headed guy so angry that he wanted to kill him."
"Chang Da changed the medicine specifically to harm him"?
Although this speculation is not without reason...is it a bit too extreme?
It's so extreme that it's almost alienating.
Xu Wei, who fawned over Chang Zhong all day, must be Chang Zhong's confidant. It's normal for him to think from his perspective.
She didn't know if she was being too concerned.
She was thinking in her heart and didn't say anything for a while, just pinching the edge of the fan with her fingers without moving.
After a moment, she asked, "Is his youngest son, Chang Ping, particularly favored now?"
"Of course. It seems he became famous at the palace banquet and said, 'When the snipe and the clam quarrel, the fisherman benefits.' Since then, he has been valued by the Chang family. Plus, when Chang Da was injured, this youngest son cried and waited by his bedside - now, he has more power than his eldest son."
Interesting, interesting.
She had long felt that Chang Da and his son could be exploited. Now, without her instigating any conflict, the three of them were already riddled with conflicts.
Who knows, these three fathers and sons may make a crucial move in the future.
"I see." She fanned herself and lazily lay back on the chaise longue. "You go back and keep an eye on it."
"Okay."
"There's one more thing," she suddenly said. "I asked you to look at Xu Wei's scabbard. Did you go and see it?"
When she sneaked into Prince Ding's mansion to discuss the details of the Pipa Festival with Gongsun Hong, she ran into Chang Zhong and Xu Wei drunkenly chatting in a small pavilion. At that time, she noticed something strange about Xu Wei's scabbard.
"Hey, let's go take a look. I took a closer look." Wu Dao smiled, "It's a pattern of two dragons playing with a pearl, inlaid with jade carvings."
Two dragons playing with a pearl?
No wonder she'd instantly sensed something was amiss. The scabbard was too ornate and ostentatious, clashing with the rest of his attire. Anyone who noticed would have noticed.
She pondered for a long time.
Two dragons playing with a pearl, inlaid with jade carvings.
She waved her hand and said, "Okay, got it. Go back and keep an eye on it."
Wu Dao agreed readily and fell silent in an instant.
Ever since Wu Dao was captured alive by Gu Huaijin on Wuliang Mountain and fed with Forget Worry Powder, he had become her most useful dog. Fast, with a keen nose, and able to appear and disappear at will, his life and property depended on her whims. If she said east, he wouldn't dare go west.
It would be great if this kind of day could come earlier.
She sighed contentedly, leaned back on the brocade pillow, and fanned herself listlessly.
Unconsciously, I closed my eyes.
Suddenly, a gentle and cautious voice said, "My Lady."
When she opened her eyes, she found that Li Shenshu had returned to her side without her knowing.
Nan Qiongshuang leaned lazily on her temples and glanced at her with her eyes lowered.
Li Shenshu was still gentle and measured, smiling appropriately, and bowed while holding a tray with a bowl of steaming blood swallows on it.
Nan Qiongshuang stared at her beautiful face for a long time, which showed no fault at all.
Li Shenshu only raised his eyes to meet her for a moment, then lowered them again to avoid looking directly at his master.
He just smiled and said, "Be careful, it's hot."
He looked so humble. If she hadn't seen Li Shenshu hiding in the crack of the door with her own eyes, she would have thought that he was a docile person.
Nan Qiongshuang held a handkerchief to pad the bottom of the bowl, carefully took it, held it in her hand, and stirred it with a porcelain spoon.
She scooped up a spoonful and sniffed it carefully: "It's so hot."
Unable to drink it, she put the bowl on the small table beside her and curled up her legs out of boredom.
With a "bang".
It was the Bodhisattva jade token that Yun Manyue tied to her body as a token of trust a few days ago when he saw that she had been poisoned.
As he moved, it slipped from his waist and fell onto the couch.
Li Shenshu raised his eyes when he heard the voice.
The Bodhisattva has a kind face and sits upright on a lotus throne.
She glanced at him quickly, as if she was caught off guard. Her gaze remained fixed for a moment before she turned away nonchalantly.
What are you looking at?
Nan Qiong Shuang then lowered her head to look, and there was still only the Bodhisattva jade token, nothing else.
Bodhisattva jade amulets are very common items, and even as cautious as she is, she doesn't think this amulet is anything special.
Li Shenshu spoke up, "Your Majesty, just now I went to the Imperial Household Department to get this month's blood swallows. I passed by the Purple Palace and saw Feiyu Guards, Jinge Guards, and the Chang Family Army at the entrance. So I went to the palace maids who serve the Purple Palace to get some information. I heard that there's a dispute going on between the three parties in the Purple Palace."
"What were you talking about?"
"It's about whether the three guards of Fuyu should stay or go."
"It is said that the Duke's Mansion was plundered by the Three Guards of Fuyu, and the Regent Prince issued a death order to expel the Three Guards from the capital. Prince Ding flatly disagreed."
Li Xuanbai wished that this group of brave barbarians would get out of the capital, but of course he refused.
"The Emperor also disagrees and hopes that Prince Ding will send this group of people outside Shanhaiguan."
Emperor Jiaqing was as timid as a mouse, so naturally he dreamed of this group of people disappearing.
"Mr. Gu is the only one who wants to keep the three guards of Fuyu in the capital."
She just picked up the bowl of bird's nest and almost knocked it over.
Li Shenshu looked at her calmly in bewilderment.
"He's truly crazy! I wonder what this Imperial Master is thinking." She shook her head bitterly. "Everyone says we can't stay, but he insists on being isolated. Why does he have to keep that group of people here?"
Li Shenshu hesitated: "This...I don't know."
Nan Qiong Shuang sneered, raised her hand and slowly rubbed her brows:
"Just wait and see. Qi and Song will eventually be destroyed by this guy. It's unclear whether these barbarians are soldiers or bandits, and they can't be used by him. But for some kind of check and balance, he's even keeping them in the capital. If my cousin can't defeat him, there's really no hope for Qi and Song."
Li Shenshu did not want to talk nonsense about his master, so he just listened attentively with his hands down without answering.
Nan Qiong Shuang scooped up the food intermittently with her spoon. "He's been telling the emperor's fortune all day. I wonder if he's ever predicted his own death date?"
After saying this, he looked contemptuous and raised his collar as if nothing had happened.
He loved to kiss her neck the most, sucking it endlessly, sucking on the top and rubbing on the bottom. She always suspected that there would be marks on her body.
When I think about it, I feel like ants crawling on my heart.
Li Shenshu just didn't look up and didn't respond.
"Forget it. It's useless for the harem to worry about the affairs of the previous dynasty." She sighed, raised her chin and nodded at the bird's nest, "Auntie, try the temperature."
"yes."
Li Shenshu scooped a spoonful of the bird's nest, brought it to his lips and took a sip.
Opposite the porcelain spoon, Nan Qiongshuang rested her hand on her chin, her eyes wide open, smiling, staring at her intently.
One third, two thirds, all.
Li Shenshu indeed swallowed the entire spoonful.
Nan Qiongshuang was caught off guard and slightly stunned.
She fanned herself and smiled nonchalantly, "Is it still hot?"
Li Shenshu still smiled:
"It's still hot. My Lady, you'd better let it cool down before drinking."
Nan Qiongshuang looked at her perfect smile that was unshakable and flawless, and slowly tightened the handkerchief in her hand.
A pair of eyes looked her up and down from head to toe.
That night, Wu Dao took her out of the palace on an errand, and Li Shenshu saw it. She was also from the Wangsheng Sect, so she naturally knew that Wu Dao's attire was a sign of Wangsheng Sect's teachings.
Li Shenshu must know her identity.
In order to trick her and expose her, she deliberately gave her an opportunity to poison her and sent Qinglian Yuanxiang away to help her succeed.
Who knew that there was no medicine in this bowl of bird's nest?
Did she really bring her a bowl of good bird's nest and give it to her to drink?
Nan Qiongshuang looked at her face with lowered brows and a faint smile, and suddenly realized that Li Shenshu might be even more unfathomable than she thought.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
