He pressed one of his hands on the back of Gu Yanfei's hand. His palm, covered with thin calluses, was warm and dry, and the warmth penetrated her skin and blood vessels and went straight to her heart.
This simple action is worth a thousand words.
Gu Yanfei was like a cat whose fur had been stroked, and the anger in his heart was extinguished. He put his backhand on the back of his hand.
Chu You had no intention of being polite to Chu Yi and asked Baili Yin, Yuan Zhe and others to sit down.
Yes, the show has just begun.
He was in a better mood than before, with a smile on his face, and he sat down first. His eyes inevitably turned to the other person in the private room - Xiahou Qing in a red shirt.
"Who is this..." Chu You looked Xiahou Qing up and down and felt that this man was unfamiliar. He was neither a noble nor a court official.
Baili Yin had been only focused on looking at the little beauty before, and only now did he notice the young man in red in the private room, and his heart skipped a beat.
Xiahou Qing neither looked at Chu You nor Baili Yin, his face was expressionless, and he was not moved at all by the identities of the other people.
His eyes were half closed, and his long, thick eyelashes drooped, casting a light shadow on his eye sockets, making the skin at the corners of his eyes look as white as porcelain.
He held the teacup in one hand and drank tea by himself, while hiding the other hand in the wide sleeve, he felt a warm current spreading rapidly from the palm of his hand and flowing through his body, making him feel warm all over, as if he was soaking in a hot spring.
It's a wonderful feeling.
When he doesn't speak, people just feel that he is arrogant and indifferent.
Chu You only glanced at Xiahou Qing twice and quickly looked away.
"Friend." Chu Yi simply gave two words.
Then, the private room became quiet again.
The actors downstairs were singing even more enthusiastically. They had already sung the part where the protagonist Liu Qingxiao was broken off by his fiancée and then humiliated by her family. Under the atmosphere, they resolutely shouted "Don't bully the young and poor".
A small climax drew warm cheers and applause from the audience.
Yuan Zhe and Wang Nan didn't pay much attention to Xiahou Qing. Only Baili Yin's expression became increasingly strange, with doubt and surprise in his brown eyes.
Baili Yin took a deep breath, then suddenly smiled and asked casually, "Master Yi, may I ask the name of your friend?"
At this moment, he could no longer care about Gu Yanfei. His eyes kept drifting to the man in red in front of him, sizing him up.
This man's body shape is really like a human, and so are his beautifully shaped phoenix eyes.
Looks like, too much like! Chu Yi turned his head and also looked at Xia Houqing, with a glimmer of insight in his eyes, and uttered a word faintly: "Xia..."
The moment he heard this word, Baili Yin was panicked, as if his heart was hit by something. A figure wearing a pitch-black ghost mask appeared in his mind - Xiahou Qing, the Lord of Tianyuansi.
But Chu Yi only said this one word.
Xiahou Qing glanced at Chu Yi indifferently, with a smile on his face.
It's Xia, not Xiahou?! Baili Yin was confused and told himself that he must have thought too much. That's right, this person is not Xiahou Qing. How could Xiahou Qing still be in Jingguo?!
If Xiahou Qing was in Jing State, then there would be no one to supervise the country in Da Yue State. Wouldn't he have handed over the opportunity to his brother, the Crown Prince, for nothing? Xiahou Qing was an ambitious man with the ambition to control the princes by controlling the emperor. He would never miss such a great opportunity...
"Dear guests, the drinks are here." At this time, the waiter walked briskly into the private room and said in high spirits, "Qiulubai, Zhuyeqing, Luofuchun, and Huadiao are all our signature wines. I will bring a jar of each over, and the guests can try the taste..."
In the private room, the aroma of wine is even stronger.
The waiter enthusiastically served drinks to Chu You, Baili Yin, Wang Nan and others one by one, talking incessantly.
But these sounds did not reach Baili Yin's ears at all.
Baili Yin absentmindedly drank the Huadiao in the cup, and after calming down, he glanced at the handsome young man in red from the corner of his eye, and the thought floated in his mind uncontrollably: Is this person Xiahou Qing? Baili Yin was too concerned about this person, and he didn't realize that the hand holding the cup was trembling slightly.
Gu Yanfei noticed this with sharp eyes and raised the corners of his lips.
She took the glass of Bamboo Leaf Green that Chu Yi poured for her and glanced at Xia Hou Qing calmly.
Why is this person treated like a scourge?
Although this person has a bad temper and is as unpredictable as God, and gets angry at the slightest provocation, and is indeed difficult to get along with, he is not that scary, right?
"good!"
There was another thunderous cheer from below, as roaring as the sea waves.
Chu You glanced absentmindedly at the stage below. Although he didn't watch the play seriously, he could roughly tell that the play "There is a Road to the Blue Sky" was a play based on the prototype of Emperor Taizu.
Thinking of Emperor Taizu and the "Taizu Handwritten Notes", Chu You felt a little anxious: If Emperor Taizu had given the "Taizu Handwritten Notes" to his father, the situation would not be like this! It is even possible for them, Dajing, to march south and unify the world! Chu You's heart was burning with ambition, and his narrow eyes were shining.
He drank a glass of wine in one gulp, placed the empty glass on the table, looked at Chu Yi coldly, and asked directly: "Ayi, where did you go just now?"
"I got the news that your ceremonial procession went to Wuliang Temple today and then returned to the palace."
Chu You made no secret of his concern about Chu Yi's whereabouts. His surprisingly bright eyes were fixed on Chu Yi's face, and his tone was extremely strong, not giving Chu Yi a chance to be ambiguous, and was even provocative.
Under Chu You's pressing gaze, Chu Yi smiled like a spring breeze, "The ceremonial procession went to Wuliang Temple, so of course I went to Wuliang Temple as well." His tone was extremely relaxed.
There was a hint of cold sarcasm in Chu You's eyes: How dare he acknowledge this imperial nephew!
Wang Nan, who was originally drinking alone, frowned even more tightly after hearing this. Apparently he thought of something, and his eyes glanced back and forth between Chu Yi and Gu Yanfei.
Could it be...
"Are you going to pay tribute to Gu Ce?" Chu You directly stated Wang Nan's guess and questioned Chu Yi aggressively.
The uncle and nephew stared at each other, as if they were engaged in a silent fight.
Chu Yi's jade-like bright and handsome face was serious, and he said frankly and clearly, "I went to Wuliang Temple to pay homage to Lord Gu."
When Chu You mentioned Gu Ce, his words were full of contempt;
When Chu Yi mentioned Lord Gu, his face was full of respect.
The uncle and nephew are clearly separated by a sharp distinction. Although they are only a few feet apart, they seem to be separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. Their positions are opposed to each other, and they are destined to fight to the death.
Hearing this, Wang Nan tightly grasped the wine glass in his hand, almost breaking it, and his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense again, with sparks flying in the air.
This play was just enough to watch. Xiahou Qing happily drank Biluochun and casually played with the folding fan in his hand. Only then did he start to look at these people with interest.
The calculations in everyone's eyes, the pursuits in everyone's hearts, the surprise, doubt, joy and disgust in everyone's eyes... none of these can be hidden from his eyes.
He likes to watch the show, likes to watch others calculating against each other, fighting openly and secretly, and preferably fighting to the death, while he just needs to sit high above and manipulate the world, turning the tide.
“Pah…”
Half a pine nut shell rolled to Xiahou Qing's teacup.
Xiahou Qing lowered the corners of his eyes and subconsciously looked in the direction where the pine nut shell was rolling, and looked at Gu Yanfei who was holding a pine nut in his hand.
She is the only one...
It makes him feel that he can't see clearly, can't grasp it, and can't distinguish it.
Gu Yanfei met Xiahou Qing's dark pupils. He was puzzled at first, then he blinked in sudden enlightenment.
It turned out that he wanted to eat pine nuts! Gu Yanfei considerately pushed the plate of pine nuts next to him and thought: This Xiahou guy is not that scary, but he is really troublesome! If you want to eat pine nuts, just say it directly, you always keep people guessing.
Xiahou Qing lowered his eyes and looked at the plate of pine nuts, curling his lips in disdain.
But after a while, he slowly reached out and took a pine nut, just one, and pinched it with his fingertips.
With another gentle squeeze, the pine nut shell will break, revealing a pine nut as white as jade.
Baili Yin, who had looked at Xiahou Qing for who knows how many times, also saw him eating pine nuts. The white porcelain wine glass in his hand paused in mid-air, and his hand suddenly stopped shaking.
This Mr. Xia definitely cannot be Xia Houqing! Baili Yin thought with a sense of relief and poured himself another glass of wine.
There was silence in the private room for a while, and finally Chu You's long sigh broke the silence.
"As a prince, you represent the royal family and the imperial court. How can you go and pay tribute to a traitor?"
"Once this matter gets out, it will affect the prestige of the imperial court!"
Chu You said this in a righteous and awe-inspiring tone, with the arrogance of a winner.
Yuan Zhe, who was standing next to him, had a gleam of light in his eyes and the corners of his lips curled up behind his wine glass.
The eldest prince has been doing things very flawlessly since he returned to the capital last year. When Yuan Zhe heard today that he went to Wuliang Temple to pay homage to Gu Ce, he was a little bit unbelieving.
They were drinking at the Dragon Palace Restaurant. Yuan Zhe discussed with Chu You and decided to seize this rare opportunity and bring Wang Nan and Baili Yin to block the eldest prince. They wanted to catch him off guard...
Chu Yi also stared into Chu You's eyes and asked calmly, "Uncle, did the late emperor ever say that Lord Gu was a traitor?"
"..." Chu You's lips stiffened, and his narrow eyes dimmed a little.
Not only did he know, everyone present knew that the late emperor had never said anything. Yuan Zhe and Wang Nan actually couldn't understand why the late emperor would so easily let such a heinous crime go unnoticed.
"Did the late emperor say that?" Chu Yi asked again. His tone was gentle, but it also revealed a sense of pressure.
"..." Chu You was speechless and forced himself to keep a straight face.
"The emperor's uncle has a bad memory." Chu Yi smiled slightly, as if he was not smiling.
He raised his glass and drank, and his every move revealed a gentle and clear temperament, like a spring breeze or a clump of green bamboo, so clean that it was not stained by dust. It was difficult for people to glare at him.
Listening to the witty exchanges between the uncle and nephew, Wang Nan's anger grew steadily. He suppressed it, and every time he glanced at the sword on the ground, his expression became even uglier.
But he couldn't lower himself to pick up the sword on the ground.
Wang Nan raised his head and drank the liquor in the glass in one gulp, then roughly wiped the corners of his mouth with his sleeve.
Chu You stared at Chu Yi with a sinister look in his eyes, and asked again, "Do you think that Gu Ce was wronged for surrendering to the enemy nine years ago, and want to redress his injustice?"
His tone was extremely slow, and each word was sonorous and powerful. It was obvious that he was speaking to the others present, and it was also like putting Chu Yi on a pedestal.
Wang Nan is here. If Chu Yi dares to say that Gu Ce was wronged today, Wang Nan will make this matter known to everyone in the court tomorrow.
There was a glimmer of anticipation in Chu You's eyes, and Wang Nan's dissatisfied gaze slashed at Chu Yi like a knife.
Faced with such a situation, Chu Yi remained calm and said clearly, "No redress."
Chu You was stunned and a little disappointed. He sneered in his heart: His nephew is just like that. After all, he would not dare to risk the wrath of the world for a woman.
The next moment, Chu Yi's clear and gentle voice sounded again: "It's to rectify the name."
"It is to maintain Gu Ce's clean reputation."
Even though there was a lot of noise outside, his voice could be heard clearly throughout the private room.
“Bang!”
Chu Yi's last sentence completely infuriated Wang Nan. He suddenly exploded and slammed his palm heavily on the table, causing the wine glass next to him to vibrate and the wine to spill out of the glass.
The wine splashed on the table and the back of his hand, and one drop happened to fall on Xiahou Qing's big red sleeve.
A dark water stain suddenly appeared on the brand new and flawless sleeve.
It's dirty!
Finished!
Gu Yanfei watched the tragedy happen and his expression suddenly became strange.
Xiahou Qing's temperament changed in an instant, and he slowly looked towards Wang Nan.
Those enchanting phoenix eyes revealed a full sense of aggression. At this moment, the gorgeous eyebrows were slightly pressed down, revealing a murderous intent from the inside out.
These eyes did not look like human eyes, but rather like the eyes of a poisonous snake. There was not a single human emotion in them, only a desire to destroy the world, as if he would kill everyone present at the moment without even saying a word.
Baili Yin, who had finally felt relieved, suddenly felt his heart tremble.
He panicked again and placed the wine glass in his hand unsteadily on the table, making a harsh clattering sound.
This look is so much like Xiahou Qing! Baili Yin was so flustered that he didn't even have the heart to drink. He kept looking at the young man in red, and the more he looked, the more familiar he looked.
The look in his eyes was similar, his posture was similar, and the contempt from above and the cruelty of treating human life as worthless were even more similar! Boom boom boom! Baili Yin's heartbeat quickened involuntarily, his heart was beating like a drum, and it felt like countless ants were crawling in his heart.
He no longer had time to care about what Chu You, Chu Yi and the others were talking about.
At the same time, a torrential sound of string music came from the lobby downstairs. The fast-paced music made the guests who were listening to the opera excited.
In a rage, Wang Nan slammed his palm heavily on the table again, not caring that his hands were stained with the splattered wine. He raised his finger and pointed at Chu Yi, raising his voice and questioning: "Gu Ce has harmed countless people, how can he be innocent?!"
"What is black cannot be washed clean!"
"I will definitely not sit idly by and watch this matter!!"
Wang Nan's last words were tantamount to declaring war on the eldest prince.
Chu You and Yuan Zhe looked at each other silently, carefully hiding the complacency in their eyes. The next moment, Wang Nan stood up with a sullen face, and bowed to Chu You, Yuan Zhe, and Baili Yin as a farewell.
"Goodbye!"
Then he strode out without looking back, leaving behind an angry back.
Chu You watched Wang Nan leave quietly, neither trying to persuade him nor trying to keep him.
He picked up the wine glass and seemed to be drinking leisurely, but in fact he was checking Chu Yi's expression subtly.
Seeing that Chu Yi didn't even move his eyes or eyebrows, and was still calm and composed, Chu You tightened his right hand holding the wine glass slightly, and remembered the Prime Minister Xiao Fengyuan's evaluation of Chu Yi:
"Your Highness, you are too impatient. You are not as good as the eldest prince who keeps his emotions to himself and is not easily shocked by honor or disgrace."
Upon hearing these words, Chu You was furious.
But now looking at Chu Yi who was calm and composed, Chu You finally realized something.
The Prime Minister is right.
Chu Yi put down the blue and white porcelain teacup in his hand and said indifferently to Wang Nan who had just walked to the door of the elegant seat: "In the sixth year of Xuanren, the army of Yue State suddenly attacked Yangzhou. Gu Ce guarded Yangzhou for two years with 40,000 troops, drove back the army of Yue State, and defended the gate of Dajing State."
"In the ninth year of Xuanren, Liaodong was plagued by mountain bandits. Nine out of ten villages and towns were deserted. The various mountain strongholds were connected to each other and had a tendency to become a country of their own. Gu Ce was ordered to suppress the bandits. In just one year, Liaodong was stable. The people were grateful for Gu Ce's kindness, and every family set up a long-term tablet for him."
"In the eleventh year of Xuanren, the Western Rong attacked Yizhou. Yizhou's general You Bi was killed in battle, and our army suffered heavy casualties. It was Gu Ce who rushed to Yizhou from Yangzhou and severely defeated the Western Rong army."
Most of the people present knew everything Chu Yi had said.
Gu Yanfei also heard about these things from Gu Yuan.
It also includes the battle in Yangzhou nine years ago, that is, the twelfth year of Xuanren.
That year, the Yue army besieged Tailing City in Yangzhou and cut off its supply lines from the rear.
Urgent reports of requests for help were sent to the court one after another over a distance of 800 miles. The late emperor initially wanted to dispatch troops from Yizhou to provide assistance, but Yizhou rebelled, and the governor and general of Yizhou were killed. The late emperor temporarily sent the Duke of Weiguo to lead 10,000 imperial troops to Yizhou to provide assistance and take charge of the overall situation.
At that time, the late emperor should have ordered the three camps of the imperial guards to rush to the aid of Yangzhou. However, the late emperor was afraid of the rebellion in Yizhou and was afraid that the empty capital would give others an opportunity to take advantage of it. Therefore, he was reluctant to rush to the aid of Yangzhou and was only thinking about negotiating peace with the Kingdom of Yue.
For a full three months, Tailing City fought alone, with countless casualties. The city was short of soldiers, weapons, and food. Soldiers and civilians had to eat tree bark to fill their stomachs...
Later, Gu Ce's head was sent to the capital in a box by the Yue people.
Gu Yanfei picked up a pine nut and squeezed it gently, but he accidentally lost control of the force and the pine nut was crushed.
Yuan Zhe curled the corners of his lips slightly, picked up the wine glass, watched and listened coldly from the side, and thought to himself: Indeed, Gu Ce was once brilliant and shining, but it's a pity that no matter how many military exploits he had, they could not make up for one act of infidelity.
"May I ask General Wang, how did General Zhao evaluate Gu Ce back then?" Chu Yi asked in a calm tone.
(End of this chapter)
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