He said calmly, "The Imperial Aunt is fine now. She just went to bed. Seventh brother, please don't disturb her rest. Wait until she wakes up, then you can go see her."

The emperor's words were reasonable and Chu You could not insist, so he nodded and said, "Your Majesty is right. The Royal Aunt is fine, and I am relieved."

"Royal brother, I wonder what disease the royal aunt is suffering from?" Chu You asked with concern.

The emperor didn't care about Chu You's probing. He sighed and said, "My aunt is old and weak. She has been suffering from old illnesses for many years. She is most afraid of others worrying about her, so she always keeps it secret. This time, I will let her have a good rest."

The emperor said a few words casually, but it seemed as if he said nothing.

"My aunt has always been like this." Chu You's eyes flickered with a faint light. "When my father was alive, he often advised my aunt not to be too stubborn and to take care of her body. My aunt is a lucky person, and she will be fine."

The emperor tapped his knuckles casually on the coffee table without saying a word.

Sitting in the corner, Gu Yanfei held a pastel enamel teacup and silently sipped the fine Longjing tea in the teacup.

After a pause, Chu You sighed and changed the subject, "It's been almost a year since my father passed away. If my brother plans to go to the imperial mausoleum to pay homage to my father, I would like to go with him so that he can see my princess."

"Unconsciously, a year has passed." The emperor sighed with emotion and sighed, neither saying that he would go nor saying that he would not go.

Chu You's lips tightened slightly, his eyes darkened, and he continued, "After paying homage to my father and queen, I plan to take the princess back to my fiefdom. I hope my royal brother will agree."

As the last word fell, Chu You lowered his head, still clasping his fists, and respectfully made a gesture of submission.

The emperor sitting by the window looked at Chu You quietly. Under the backlight, his expression seemed a little deep, and it was impossible to tell whether he was happy or angry.

Chu You didn't care and continued, "I was ignorant in the past. If I have been disrespectful to you, I hope you will forgive me. Now that I'm married, it's customary for me to take my princess with me to my fiefdom."

The emperor's knuckles were still tapping lightly on the coffee table, as if he was thinking.

The room became quiet, with only the rustling sound of wind blowing through the flowers and trees outside the window.

After a long silence, Chu Yi put down the teacup and suddenly asked, "I remember that the fief of the Seventh Uncle should be in Yangzhou, right?"

The late emperor favored his youngest son Chu You and gave him the rich land of Yangzhou as a fief. On the other hand, Yangzhou was far from the capital and the late emperor was far away. He always considered his youngest son Chu You. When he was alive, he thought that if he could not support his youngest son to succeed to the throne, he would at least leave a way out for him.

Yangzhou is the escape route prepared by the late emperor for Chu You.

Even if the late emperor did not explicitly state this, everyone else, including the emperor, could see it clearly.

Chu You's gaze slowly shifted from the emperor to Chu Yi. He remained silent, wondering in his heart: I don't know what Chu Yi means by asking this question even though he knows the answer.

Chu Yi did not intend to wait for the other party to answer, and continued: "Come to think of it, nine years ago, the Seventh Uncle went to Yangzhou to see the fiefdom."

"My nephew, you remembered it wrongly. I went to Yangzhou on behalf of the Queen Mother to visit my grandfather's family in Linchuan City." Chu You's narrow eagle eyes half-narrowed, a sharp light flashed, and his cold eyes swept across Chu You's face.

This was just an external reason. In fact, everyone knew that the biggest purpose of Prince Kang going to Yangzhou was to select a site to build Prince Kang's Palace.

Chu You thought Chu Yi was going to bring up the Gu Ce case again by using the topic of Yangzhou, but Chu Yi asked casually, "What do you think of Yangzhou, Uncle Seven?"

The uncle and nephew stared at each other for a moment, and Chu You said calmly: "Yangzhou has 38 counties and 195 counties. It is vast and has a rich and simple folk customs. There is also a Grand Canal that connects the north and the south. It is a beautiful and prosperous place."

His answer was standard and nothing surprising. In the end, he threw a question to Chu Yi, "Didn't your nephew also visit Yangzhou when he returned from Yue State last year?"

"Seventh uncle is really..." Chu Yi opened a folding fan with a swish sound and waved it gently, "Back then, Yangzhou was in chaos and many civilians and soldiers were killed and injured. However, Seventh uncle paid more attention to the scenery."

There is a flying Vermilion Bird painted on the folding fan. When the fan is gently waved, people's eyes can't help but fall on the bright red Vermilion Bird. The flying Vermilion Bird is as red as fire and blood, so bright that it is almost dazzling.

What does that mean? Chu You's pupils twitched slightly.

Chu Yi turned his head and looked at the emperor with a gloomy gaze, "Father, I recently received a new file about the Yangzhou case nine years ago."

"This file came from the Kingdom of Yue. It was given to me by Xia Houqing, the current chief of the Tianyuan Division who is in charge of the imperial court."

"Oh?" The emperor stopped tapping his fingers.

Xiahou Qing? Chu You slightly raised one of his thick black eyebrows, and curled the corner of his mouth slightly, looking at Chu Yi with a scrutinizing look in his eyes, "Could it be that the royal nephew is very familiar with Xiahou Qing?"

Chu Yi smiled like a spring breeze, looked at Chu You calmly, and said: "When I was in Yue State, I met Lord Xiahou several times."

"Back then, it was the people of Yue who claimed that Gu Ce opened the city gates to surrender the enemy. This case still needs to be investigated from Yue." The folding fan in his hand stopped, and he asked Chu You, "Isn't it?"

The red bird painted on the folding fan with a white background has its head raised and its sharp beak open, as if it is singing or sneering contemptuously.

"..." Chu You's eyes twitched, and he felt in his heart that Chu Yi was really despicable.

Chu You avoided answering Chu Yi's question and said in a tone of earnest instruction: "My nephew, you only met the Lord Xiahou in Yue State. It was only a few times. As the saying goes, you can know a person's face but not his heart. No one knows whether this file is true or false."

"You can't just let him say whatever he wants, right?"

Chu You's expression remained motionless, without the slightest change, and his tone was cold and arrogant.

As we were talking, the wind outside picked up, making the branches rustle. The messy catkins and flower petals danced in the wind, and occasionally a few catkins floated into the house through the window.

Chu Yi casually brushed off a small tuft of willow catkins floating on his shoulder, and his tone remained calm: "Father, Xiahou Qing has sent someone to deliver the files from the capital of Yue State at full speed."

"The truth of what happened back then will surely be revealed soon."

He was speaking to the emperor, but his eyes were looking at Chu You on the other side. His dark Ruifeng eyes were as clear as water, and the red teardrop mole at the end of his eyes was bright and tempting.

"In Lord Xiahou's letter, it said that during the war between the two countries, the Seventh Uncle made a lot of efforts."

He also did not say how King Kang "contributed". At first glance, it seemed as if he was praising King Kang for helping to defend the city of Tailing.

“……” Chu You’s handsome face was tense, and the little finger of one hand twitched slightly.

He glanced at Chu Yi with the corner of his eye, thinking coldly: What a lie! If Baili Yin hadn't lied to him, then Xiahou Qing was most likely in the capital during this period.

And Baili Yin had no reason to lie to him about this matter. After all, where Xiahou Qing was concerned about the power struggle in the court of Yue State, which had nothing to do with him, Dajing.

Chu You's twitching little finger relaxed again, and he said to the emperor calmly, "Brother, Xiahou Qing is a cruel and murderous person. Not only did he commit atrocities of slaughtering ten clans, he also killed the censor on the spot in Fengtian Hall. It's outrageous."

"This person has such a bad reputation. I think his words cannot be trusted!"

"Recently, the Saint of Yue State has been seriously ill, and Yue State is in great trouble. Xiahou Qing is insidious and cunning. He must be deliberately provoking civil strife in Dajing. On the one hand, he wants to save his country from foreign threats, and on the other hand, he wants to reap the benefits."

Chu You's speech was righteous and passionate, and there was absolutely no fault to be found in it.

Gu Yanfei chopped on the sweet candied crabapple and thought: It's a pity that he didn't go to the Censorate to be an imperial censor since he is so good at sophistry.

Chu Yi just chuckled.

"Civil strife?" Chu Yi raised his eyebrows, smiled gently, and looked puzzled. "Why does the Seventh Uncle think that Lord Xiahou wants to instigate civil strife in my Dajing?"

"Or..."

"Seventh Uncle already knows what is written in the file sent by Lord Xiahou?"

The smile in Chu Yi's eyes became even more intense, but the meaning of his words was extremely sharp, and he was just short of directly questioning what King Kang was feeling guilty about! "..." Chu You realized that he had spoken out of turn, and the muscles on his cheeks jumped, and his face became as cold as iron.

The room was silent. All that could be heard was the emperor moving the tea lid slowly and casually on the teacup. The subtle clash of porcelain made the surroundings seem even quieter.

Chu You's face darkened a bit, he bit his back teeth fiercely, and said in a deep voice: "My nephew, you are overthinking. How can I know what is written in the file sent by Xia Houqing? I just don't trust the people of Yue."

"Your Majesty, nephew, has been in Yue for eight years. I think you know best how treacherous the people of Yue are, right?"

His deliberately raised tone sounded sharp and harsh at this time, and he looked at Chu Yi coldly: Chu Yi can dig a hole for himself, and so can he! Chu Yi smiled and said nothing to Chu You's provocation, which he thought was a counterattack. The folding fan in his hand gently waved again, with his usual elegance.

His gentle smile was as kind as a spring breeze, but his actions somehow revealed an unspeakable irony.

Chu You's little finger twitched involuntarily again, his chest was churning, and his eyes were cold.

The jade ring was engraved with a simple Qilin pattern. The warm jade material made his fingers look white and delicate, and his bamboo-like fingers looked even more slender.

This jade ring looks really good on him! Gu Yanfei praised it in his heart with great satisfaction.

She knew that the jadeite she chose was suitable for him, and she carved it well! What would she give him next time?

Gu Yanfei was thinking, when suddenly, her half-closed eyelashes trembled and she looked in the direction of the door curtain. The next moment, the door curtain was opened from the outside, and a middle-aged eunuch hurriedly lifted the curtain and came in, reporting: "Your Majesty, the eldest princess has just woken up."

Chu You, who originally wanted to say something, shut his mouth, and the topic about Xiahou Qing and the files ended there.

The emperor stood up first, and Chu Yi, Gu Yanfei and Chu You also followed the emperor to visit Fengyang.

Two imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau were also inside. The imperial physician gave a long and incessant report, saying that they had just checked Fengyang's pulse and found that Fengyang was deficient in qi and blood, with qi stagnation and blood stasis, and both yin and yang were deficient.

What the imperial physician said was all nonsense to Chu You. It didn't make any sense. Chu You ignored it and didn't take it to heart. He said nothing but looked at Feng Yang lying on the couch with a dim gaze.

Although Fengyang woke up, he was still very weak. He forced a smile and said only to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I'm sorry for your worry," before falling into a deep sleep again.

The sleeping Fengyang's face was as pale as paper and his lips were slightly blue.

Since the purpose of this trip was achieved, Chu You did not stay in the South Study for too long. After a while, he asked to leave on the pretext of "not disturbing Fengyang's recuperation."

Chu Yi personally escorted Chu You out of the South Study.

After stepping over the high threshold, Chu You walked down the white marble steps step by step. When he reached the last step, he heard Chu Yi's indifferent voice suddenly sounded from behind him: "Seventh Uncle really plans to return to his fiefdom?"

Chu You paused, neither looking back nor answering Chu Yi's question.

His broad shoulders seemed a little stiff in the shadow cast by the eaves above.

Chu Yi didn't seem to care whether Chu You answered or not, and continued in a tone that was neither light nor heavy: "Tens of thousands of people are buried in Yangzhou, and their souls are still lingering. When the Seventh Uncle returns to his fiefdom in the future, please remember to ask a few Taoist priests to perform a ritual to help those who died in vain, so that their souls won't wander around the world."

Chu You couldn't help but clench his hands into fists at his sides, and this time, he couldn't help but turn his head back.

The young man standing at the threshold had handsome features, eyes as bright as the moon, and a meaningful smile on his lips.

He seemed to be just giving a kind reminder, but also seemed to have some hidden meaning.

Boom boom! Chu You's heart beat wildly twice out of control. He felt a little scared and his eyes were dark.

He looked at the young man with picturesque features under the eaves, and his thoughts couldn't help but go back to Tailing City in Yangzhou nine years ago.

Back to the day that was etched in his memory.

The city was filled with incessant shouts of killing, the air was thick with the smell of blood, which made people want to vomit. Everywhere you looked, there were corpses lying all over the place and blood flowing like a river.

This was the first time in Chu You’s life that he realized what the four words “mountains of corpses and seas of blood” meant.

Thinking about it at this moment, Chu You could feel the lingering smell of blood lingering in his nose again, and his gaze on Chu Yi froze instantly.

Chu Yi smiled lightly and bowed gracefully, "Seventh Uncle, I will take you here."

After he finished speaking, he turned around without any reluctance, stepped over the high threshold and walked back.

Only Chu You was left standing on the last step, watching Chu Yi's slender figure disappear behind the door curtain in front.

It was not until his personal eunuch called out "Prince" that Chu You came to his senses. He turned around and continued walking towards the palace gate, striding forward with big strides.

Chu You said nothing. All he had in his mind was what Chu Yi had just said, pondering and chewing it over and over again.

The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and the more he felt that every word Chu Yi said just now had a deeper meaning.

“Boom!”

A thrilling spring thunder suddenly sounded in the sky.

A bolt of lightning suddenly struck from the sky, illuminating the surroundings for a moment, and also cast a strange shadow on Chu You's handsome and cold face, making his expression look unusually cold.

The bright light brought by the lightning flashed and disappeared, and then the surroundings became dark again.

Chu You couldn't help but think of Tailing City nine years ago, and the long-forgotten memories emerged in his mind.

When the city was broken, the black mass of Vietnamese troops poured into the city like a tide and marched straight in.

The Dajing soldiers in the city were leaderless and overwhelmed by the enemy's momentum, and were defeated step by step. The Vietnamese army entered the city and burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of atrocities.

Countless civilians also died in this battle. In front of the wolf-like Yue army, the civilians became lambs to be hunted. They could only keep running away, wailing, and begging for mercy...

But they still cannot escape death.

Some people had their arms, heads, and legs chopped off; some people’s heads were smashed beyond recognition, with red and white pieces stuck to the city wall; some people had their bodies stabbed through with a knife…

Gu Ce's head was cut off by the enemy and hung high on the city wall.

Almost all the people I knew in Tailing City are dead...

Another deafening spring thunder exploded in his ears, waking Chu You up.

Chu You continued to walk forward, and without stopping, he went straight out of the Meridian Gate and mounted his horse.

As the man and the horse galloped out, there was a dripping sound on the ground and a spring rain began to fall from the sky, with the rain getting heavier and heavier.

Passersby were running around, and soon there were no pedestrians left on the street.

“Huahuahua…”

The heavy rain poured down, forming a dense rain curtain.

Chu You didn't care at all and let the rain wet his clothes and hair. The rain stuck to his eyelashes, making his vision blurry.

Chu You rode his horse non-stop all the way, splashing water wherever the horse's hooves stepped on.

After an incense stick of time, he returned to Prince Kang's mansion. The gatekeeper of the mansion had already been looking forward to it, shouting, "The prince is back, the prince is back!"

Chu You, who was soaked all over, turned a deaf ear and saw a graceful figure walking out of the corner door at a glance.

Li Yun'er was holding an oil-paper umbrella, standing in the drizzling spring rain, looking at him with a smile.

The big red oil-paper umbrella made her face seem rosy, as if it were the morning glow, and her small chin was soft and graceful, outlining a graceful curve like that of a jade statue.

Just looking at her like this, Chu You felt soft and sweet in his heart.

At this moment, what came to his mind was his first meeting with her in Yangzhou nine years ago.

It was also such a drizzling spring day.

At that time, she was also holding an umbrella in her hand, and he was also riding a horse. She was startled by the horse and the umbrella fell out of her hand. He caught the umbrella for her.

When she was a child, she was like a delicate water lotus, which made people feel pity when they looked at her.

"Aun'er." Chu You smiled brightly, got off the horse, and walked towards her quickly in the pouring rain.

After riding all the way here, he was already soaked, his hair and clothes were wet, and a few strands of hair stuck to his cheeks, making him look a little disheveled.

But his eyes were surprisingly bright and shining when he looked at her, as if she was the only one in his eyes.

(End of this chapter)