Shi Jun smiled. Yes, she was there too. That little child, crying and clamoring, tried to rush into the fire to find her. He would never forget that fearless look. Brothers from the same mother, so to speak. In his time of danger, everyone was watching, apathetically. The only one who actually cared about his safety was his half-sister.
He would never forget this affection. "I knew you were here, otherwise I wouldn't have told you alone about my return. Since he wants to know who I am, I'll go with you to see him tomorrow. That old scoundrel Xiahou, I haven't seen him for years, and I thought his kung fu was much better. But it seems he's nothing special."
Shi Jun had noticed Xia Houqing was following Shu Yang early on, so he arranged for a fake Shu Yang to lead him somewhere else. Otherwise, if he heard all this, wouldn't there be no fun tomorrow?
...Emperor Gan Zhao knew from Xiahou Qing early in the morning that Shu Yang had gone to meet the mysterious man, and he had also agreed with him to come to see him today. Therefore, when Shu Yang came to ask for permission, he was not shocked.
The next day, at the previously agreed time, Shu Yang led his men straight to the palace: "Father, I have brought the person with me. He is waiting outside the palace now."
"pass."
Shi Jun appeared in the hall in a black robe and black mask, and kowtowed, saying, "I, Shi Jun, pay my respects to Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor."
Seeing him like this, the eunuch waved his whisk and scolded him, "How dare you! How insolent!"
Emperor Gan Zhao signaled the eunuch to calm down and said, "It's alright. Shi Jun, raise your head and take off your mask so I can see."
"yes."
As Shi Jun removed his cloak and mask, Shu Yang, standing beside him, tacitly took them one by one. It was as if she had known this person for a long time. Emperor Gan Zhao thought he knew quite a bit about the people Shu Yang interacted with, but he had actually discovered this person before Xiahou Qing came to report.
The man beneath the mask and cloak had a well-proportioned build, but where his clothes weren't covering his face, wrinkles and scars abounded. Even his face, aside from the seven orifices, seemed devoid of any visible area. Those eyes, sharp and bright, seemed to have evoked the feeling that he had seen them somewhere before, yet he couldn't place them.
The eunuch was stunned when he saw this. He had never imagined that the person Shu Yang loved would be so horrifying.
"Your Majesty, this..."
Emperor Gan Zhao glanced at Shu Yang beside him, and his tone suddenly became cold: "What's wrong with your face?"
Shi Jun did not hide anything and said frankly: "My father suspected that I wanted to steal his things, so he set a fire while I was sleeping."
Upon hearing this, Emperor Gan Zhao's eyes twitched. If he was going to come up with an excuse, he had to come up with one that made sense. As the saying goes, even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs. Where in the world could such a person exist? Although this person spoke with a certain frivolity and rebelliousness, he was well-mannered and didn't seem like a commoner. "...Please stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Putting aside other matters, it was clear from Emperor Gan Zhao's expression that he was not at all satisfied with the man before him. Even upon seeing his true face, he felt an inexplicable disgust. Therefore, without further questioning, he waved him and Shu Yang away, "I am tired. Please kneel down and pay your respects."
After Shi Jun left the palace, Emperor Qian Zhao summoned Xia Hou Qing and said, "Investigate this man named Shi Jun thoroughly. The more detailed the better."
"yes."
Emperor Gan Zhao's intuition told him that things were far from as simple as he had thought yesterday: "Shu Yang couldn't possibly be interested in someone like this. There must be some other connection between them."
On the way out of the palace, Shu Yang remained silent. Such a calm reunion was beyond her expectations. She had thought that as a father, he should be able to recognize his child's eyes at a glance, but she didn't expect it to be wrong: "Brother, are you okay?"
Shi Jun stopped and smiled, "Very good, very good, why not? From now on, Tianshu Tower will definitely keep a close eye on you and me, so let's not have any contact for now. I will notify you through Liuying if anything happens."
Shu Yang nodded and replied: "Well, be careful when you are out there."
Shi Jun lowered his head and looked into Shu Yang's eyes. He suddenly became worried: "...Are you scared when you see my face?"
Today, Shu Yang finally saw the face beneath the mask. The sight of centipedes crawling all over his face was heartbreaking. Who knew how he had survived the fire, and how much courage he must have mustered to choose to live.
Shu Yang reached out and gently touched the cold mask on Shi Jun's face, and smiled: "A little bit."
Shi Jun turned his head and looked at the tall palace wall and said, "We'll send you here. Let's go back."
...The chrysanthemums lining the streets of Qinghe County, responding to the call of nature, opened their stamens. Without Shangguan Bing'er's annoyance, business at the Liuxiang Tavern finally returned to normal.
Yan Shaoqing took off his bamboo hat and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he walked into the store: "Young man, where is your shopkeeper Shen?"
The guy counting the money at the counter saw that the newcomer looked unfamiliar and asked, "The shopkeeper and his family have gone back to their hometown. Who are you?"
The Yan family was in a delicate situation, and Yan Shaoqing didn't dare to give his full name, saying only that he was Shaoqing and that he was their friend. The young man was also smart, guessing that Tang Chen had given some instructions before. When he heard the name Shaoqing, he hurriedly stepped out from the counter and took Yan Shaoqing into the inner room.
Yan Shaoqing sat down and took a breath before saying, "Since they're not here, I don't have the time to chase them to Qingliang Valley right now. Could you please pass on a message for me, young man?"
The young man said, "Of course, Master Yan will give his orders. Madam told us to treat Master Yan well if he arrives in Qinghe County before she left."
Yan Shaoqing watched the young man release the falcon carrying the message before leaving. He had come to deliver something important to Tang Chen, and since the Liuxiang Tavern might not be safe at the moment, he decided to stay in the suburbs for now.
...Several carriages stopped in front of the palace, and Steward Wang and Zhong Qin led servants forward to help move things. All matters in the palace were already prepared, just waiting for their return.
Seeing that Liang Shuyi was having trouble moving because of her big belly, Tang Chen asked Chen Xin and Wang Yanzhou to accompany her inside first while he arranged things outside.
After Zhong Qin had been busy for a while, she suddenly remembered that she had a letter from Qinghe County in her sleeve. "Oh, a messenger falcon came earlier, and it seems to be a letter from Young Master Yan to you."
Tang Chen was counting the things he was going to use to bribe Lin Qinghui, so he said, "Put them aside for now. I'll take a closer look after you finish packing."
After counting the things, Tang Chen began to rummage through the boxes and took out a lot of clothes and valuables and packed them up. Liang Shuyi and Shen Xin saw her anxious look and thought that she was going to run away from home again because Wang Yanzhou disappeared as soon as he returned to the palace. They hurriedly took her bag and asked, "What's wrong? You want to run away from home right after you come back?"
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