Chapter 201 Night Visit to the Prince's Palace
"Although there are big plans, only small plans are needed to deal with Your Majesty."
The Taoist priest twirled his beard with his black nails and shook his head. He didn't look like a good guy, but no one in the house would doubt his ability. A quick calculation revealed that even Mr. Sang, whose nickname was Gouzhu, knew that when he was five years old and stole a chicken, he accidentally saw a widow taking a bath and was beaten to the ground.
Huo Lang didn't need anyone to plan for the world for him, but he really needed someone to help him see the emperor's heart.
Careless person?
Huo Lang slowly lowered his eyes, his gaze flickering. He didn't believe that there were really heartless people in the world. Even if there were, he would personally cut open Lu Yan's chest to see if there was really no heart inside.
Lu Yan was confined to the palace and was not allowed to go out. Upon hearing that the imperial physician he sent was kicked out before he even entered the palace gate, he sat on the dragon throne for a long time without saying a word.
According to Huo Lang's usual habit, if the other party heard that he favored the concubine, he might come to the palace to kill him the next day. How could he stay in the mansion and recuperate? Could it be that he really vomited blood and was too sick to get out of bed?
Lu Yan thought about this, stood up and paced back and forth in front of the case. Although his expression did not change, his fingertips stroking his sleeves behind him revealed a bit of restlessness. He frowned slightly and said, "If he goes to diagnose the patient again and can't get in one day, I will let him squat outside the Regent Palace and he doesn't have to come back!"
"yes."
For the first time, the eunuch who delivered the message felt that being a eunuch was better than being an imperial physician. In the past, he was often buried with the dead, but now he had to diagnose the pulse of the evil star, the Regent King. He might even be chopped to death if he was not careful.
How could Wu Mei not notice Lu Yan making such a big commotion? He took advantage of Zhao Kang taking medicine and falling asleep and went straight to Lu Yan. His drooping eyes always reminded people of a poisonous snake, sinister and venomous, and his whole body exuded an indescribable dampness:
"Your Majesty, you know that making trouble for no reason will only bring trouble to yourself. Whether the Regent is sick or dead, it is none of your business. Just do what you should do."
Wumei enjoyed great trust from the late emperor. Rather than saying that all the power and connections were in the hands of Zhao Kang, it would be more accurate to say that they were in the hands of this eunuch. Although he was not clear about the relationship between Lu Yan and Huo Lang, he still sensed something unusual with his amazing sensitivity.
It’s a pity that Lu Yan can’t die now.
This substitute must stay alive until Zhao Kang has an heir.
Lu Yan was not afraid of this old eunuch who had one foot halfway into the coffin. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingertips against his temples, rubbing them lightly from time to time. He seemed to have a little more interest in it: "What should I do?"
There was a smile on his lips, without any warmth: "Why don't you tell me, Mr. Wumei, what should I do? Review memorials?"
"Isn't this what the emperor should do?"
Wu Mei's hands hidden in his sleeves had become claw-shaped due to anger, and his cheeks could not help shaking. He asked in a deep voice: "Master, do you really think I dare not kill you?!"
Lu Yan smiled slightly: "If you dare to kill me, you would have killed me long ago. Why wait until today?"
Without warning, he finished speaking, flipped over the memorials on the table, turned around, left the study, and returned to the underground palace along the secret passage. The mechanism on the wall was reassembled, and no trace could be seen.
We can't delay any longer.
Lu Yan walked slowly through the secret passages of the underground palace. The dark green light of the night pearl fell on his face, making him look a little more gloomy for no reason. He had to get rid of the remaining two people of the Zhao family as soon as possible and get rid of this life of being controlled as soon as possible.
Lu Yan originally thought that he could take his time to achieve his goal. After all, what he lacked the most was patience. He had endured more than a decade of blood feuds, so what else could he do in the next few days? But the news of Huo Lang's serious illness made him lose his patience. Wu Mei's obstruction and hindrance were like adding fuel to the fire, making the fire in his heart burn more and more fiercely.
After nightfall, everything is quiet and evening is when people are most sleepy.
Lu Yan added some sleeping pills into the incense burner, and the dumb slaves began to doze off one after another, leaving only Lan Yin, a close friend of theirs, to provide cover.
The previous emperor spent countless manpower and resources to build this underground palace, firstly to provide cover for Zhao Kang, and secondly to provide an escape route in case of an emergency. Lu Yan had looked through the map of the underground palace's secret passages, and there was a passage that led directly to a dry well in a farmer's house in the north of the city. He changed into a dark-colored casual suit, held a candle, and walked directly towards the secret passage.
It was freezing cold, and the night patroller Wu Hou moved less frequently. Under the cover of darkness, no one noticed a nimble figure leaping along the roof into the Regent's Palace and entering the main courtyard with ease.
Huo Lang liked quietness, and there were few people serving in the yard, which inadvertently made it convenient for Lu Yan to investigate. He hid above the eaves and quietly lifted a tile, only to see the dim light of a candle below. The man had not rested yet, but was leaning on the couch reading a military book alone.
Huo Lang's thin body could hardly support the fox fur coat on his shoulders. He occasionally let out a few low coughs, which he quickly suppressed with a frown. The room was so quiet that the only sound could be heard for a while: the flipping of books.
Whether the vomiting of blood was true or false, Huo Lang's poor health was an indisputable fact. His old illness was difficult to cure, and he could not sleep at night. The court was in turmoil, and the Beishu border was in chaos. Every single thing was draining his mind.
Huo Lang didn't know how to help the other party save this crumbling kingdom.
If one day he died on the battlefield, Lu Yan would lose his support and no one would risk their lives for him. Those jackals, tigers and leopards would quickly swarm over him and chew up Bei Shu's bones until nothing was left.
Huo Lang had never told anyone about these worries. They would only pop up in his mind when it was late at night and everyone was asleep. They were like three thousand threads of worries that could never be cut away.
Huo Lang turned a page of the book and stared at the words on it. He thought that when he felt a little better in the spring, he would take the initiative to request troops to guard Guiyan Pass. The Xiling people were ambitious. Since they dared to invade once, they would do it a second and third time. If he got rid of them, his position as emperor would be more stable.
I don’t know if he dares to hand over the Wei family’s half of the military power to me?
Most likely he didn't dare. He was already worried about the fact that he only controlled half of Beishu's troops, and he would probably be unable to sleep if he controlled the other half. Tomorrow, the Wei family would leave Beijing, and he had to find a way to protect them secretly.
Huo Lang thought about many trivial things. Finally, he felt sleepy and fell asleep leaning on the couch. The military book slipped quietly from his hands and fell on the soft carpet.
There was only a little light left from the candle, and the room gradually became darker. A bony hand picked up the scroll silently.
Lu Yan never knew that Huo Lang would also read these flowery things. He thought that only someone as scheming as himself would have sleepless nights. It turned out that Huo Lang also had a lot of worries since some time ago.
People who practice martial arts will wake up immediately at the slightest movement, but perhaps because the scent of the calming incense on Lu Yan was too familiar, Huo Lang did not notice it. He closed his eyes and leaned against the pillow, his brows were wrinkled even in his sleep.
Lu Yan sat beside the couch and quietly took Huo Lang's pulse. His expression looked grim. It was obvious that Huo Lang's physical condition was not optimistic. If he did not take good care of himself, it might be a problem whether he could live past fifty.
He was distracted for a moment and lost control of the strength in his hand, so he clenched it a little too tightly. Huo Lang was awakened from his sleep almost instantly, his eyes were sharp, and he slapped the intruder with a palm: "Who!"
Lu Yan dodged quickly and grabbed Huo Lang's wrist: "It's me!"
This familiar voice was like a bucket of cold water, which suddenly extinguished Huo Lang's murderous intent. He looked around in the dim moonlight and found that the man in black beside the bed was Lu Yan. He couldn't hide his surprise: "Why are you here?!"
Lu Yan found Huo Lang's expression quite interesting. He leaned closer to him, his gentle eyes unable to hide his smile: "Of course you came to see my regent. Why did you get so angry that you vomited blood? Tell me so that I can vent your anger for you."
Huo Lang's expression was uncertain, and he just felt that Lu Yan was here to make fun of him: "Draw your sword and kill yourself right now. If you die, I will be no longer angry!"
Lu Yan shook his head in disapproval: "Too bloody."
Huo Lang: "There's a pool outside, jump in!"
Lu Yan complained, "It's too cold."
Huo Lang: "Then just hit your head against the wall and die!"
Lu Yan: “It hurts so much.”
Huo Lang grabbed Lu Yan by the collar and asked sinisterly, "Are you kidding me?!"
Lu Yan was able to pretend to be serious at first, but when he saw Huo Lang's eyes were red with anger, he finally showed a hint of smile. He pulled the hand off his collar, hugged Huo Lang into his arms, and whispered in his ear:
"Fool, I worked so hard to come out of the palace to see you, is it just to play a trick on you?"
Huo Lang sneered: "Who knows why you left the palace? Why doesn't His Majesty continue to favor your concubines, the Lan Consort, the Yun Consort, and the Xue Consort? Why do you have to step on this lowly place and come to the Regent Palace?"
Lu Yan stroked his eyebrows with his fingertips and asked in a low voice: "Are you jealous?"
Huo Lang turned his head coldly.
Lu Yan couldn't say that he didn't touch those women. The history of Zhao Kang's favor was recorded. He smiled and turned Huo Lang's head around, giving him a delicate and gentle kiss on the cheek, and said half-truthfully:
"No matter what people say outside or what you hear, just remember one thing: no one in this world can compare to you in my heart."
He always managed to use those tender and sweet words to dispel the sour hatred in Huo Lang's heart. His warm kisses caressed the other's eyebrows and eyes, and finally he bit down on the lips, pried open the teeth and drove straight in.
Huo Lang resisted, but his strength was very weak. He closed his eyes and frowned, feeling inexplicably powerless. He whispered to himself, "You are deceiving me again..."
Lu Yan chuckled and said, "Why would I lie to you? If I lie to you, I will die a miserable death."
Huo Lang stared at him with his dark eyes and twitched his lips coldly: "Don't tell others such nonsense. I don't believe in retribution from gods or Buddhas."
If he believed it, he, who had blood on his hands and killed countless people on the battlefield, would be the first to suffer retribution.
Lu Yan pressed Huo Lang under him, his eyebrows drooped, looking as handsome as a painting, and said in a gentle voice: "I'm only saying this bullshit to you alone. It doesn't matter whether the gods and Buddhas believe it or not, you have to believe it."
Huo Lang turned his head impatiently: "I don't believe it!"
Lu Yan: "You really don't believe it?"
Huo Lang: “No… um…”
He was bitten by the stingy dog emperor and suddenly he couldn't say anything, only a vague groan.
Huo Lang's last thought before he lost his mind was to skin and pull out the tendons of those guards on duty. It was a great shame and humiliation that the Regent's Palace was broken into by a dog emperor.
Little did they know that in the hall where the inner courtyard guards rested, those people were crowded together around the fire, and in the middle sat a Taoist priest in a black robe, stroking his beard and telling their fortunes one by one. Occasionally he made a comment, which caused the guards to exclaim in surprise:
"Amazing! You are so good at calculating! You even knew when I fell off a cliff as a child!"
The guard's eyes sparkled with excitement. He rubbed his hands nervously, stepped forward and asked, "Master, you are so powerful, could you help my brothers calculate their career prospects?"
"Official career?"
The Taoist priest raised his eyelids and pretended to count with his fingers: "You can't expect to have a good career, but I have something to advise you. You'd better not leave this room today, otherwise there will be a bloody disaster."
The guards felt uneasy after hearing this: "But how can we guard if we don't go out? What if the prince finds out..."
The Taoist priest shook his head and said, "Don't worry. Tomorrow, if the prince blames you, I will plead for you. Just remember not to leave this room before dawn, otherwise there will be a bloody disaster!"
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