Chapter 157 Civil and Military Affairs
The so-called "Civil and Military Inquiries to the Palace" refers to the examination of people summoned by the emperor before his death, in order to obtain the most authentic and error-free last words of the late emperor.
Because the emperor's last words often involve state affairs and the succession of imperial power, there must be no carelessness or mistakes. Therefore, the administrative palace, which is responsible for the internal affairs of the palace, must repeatedly question the summoned person.
As for civil and military affairs, "wenwen" refers to asking polite questions, examining and verifying each sentence, and asking questions over and over again until the person is exhausted.
"Military interrogation" is not very polite. At the mildest, water and food will be cut off during the day, and people will not be allowed to sleep at night. Rounds of interrogators will take turns to come in and force people to wake up. At the most serious level, torture is also allowed.
Since ancient times, those who were questioned by civil and military officials were concubines, princes, princesses, important ministers, etc. No matter who was questioned, they would be tortured for seven days and their skin would be peeled off.
Yun Chen knelt in the dim inner room for two whole days.
Two candles were pressed against her face, shining into her eyes, making her tears stream down her face. She couldn't see what the interrogator looked like in the dark.
He tortured me over and over again, sometimes asking from the beginning to the end, sometimes asking from the end to the beginning.
He repeatedly asked her to repeat what she had just said word for word, and if even one word was wrong, she had to start over again.
He kept repeating the same thing over and over again, and was almost numb from being asked questions. Yun Chen couldn't remember how many times he had repeated the late emperor's last words. He just felt dry mouth, dizzy, and so tired that he wanted to fall to the ground.
I hadn't eaten or drunk anything for two days, and my knees were aching from kneeling so hard over and over again.
Every time she was about to close her eyes and fall asleep, a loud gong would ring in her ears, scaring her so much that her heart would suddenly contract and she would almost faint.
She felt like she couldn't hold on any longer, and her mind was dizzy.
It seemed like an eternity, and she endured it until finally the interrogators left and the two candles were taken away.
In an instant, she could no longer hold on to her strength and fell headfirst into a warm embrace.
As the world spun around her, she seemed to see Huo Gannian wearing eunuch's clothes, the dim candlelight illuminating his handsome and gentle face.
She didn't have the energy to speak anymore. When she saw a pot of water being handed to her, she immediately picked it up and drank it.
She swallowed in big gulps in a hurry, and Huo Gannian used his sleeve to wipe the water droplets from her chin.
He hugged her distressedly, "I've asked the Prime Minister to shorten the interrogation to two days. But the Prime Minister said that since ancient times, it has taken at least three days. On this third day, you just need to stay quietly. The interrogator has sealed all the records and files. Everyone has left. This matter is over. I will stay with you for the last day."
She drank some water and finally felt a little more alive and awake. She pointed at the eunuch clothes on his body, but still didn't have the strength to ask.
Knowing what she wanted to ask, he said, "All the officials are in mourning in the main hall. I can only enter the inner palace by disguising myself as a eunuch."
She nodded, and out of the corner of her eye she saw that his arms were bulging with a piece of biscuit. She immediately took out the biscuit and started to eat it greedily without saying a word.
He hurried to grab the pancake, but was reluctant to use force. He could only watch her swallow a pancake in a few bites, almost without chewing it, and then reached into his arms to touch him.
He took her hand and said in a warm voice, as if coaxing a child:
"Don't worry, I'll give it to you. You take a break. You've drunk so much water, you can't eat in a hurry. Chen'er, be good and take it easy."
She nodded rapidly, but did not stop. She took out another piece of bread and ate it. Halfway through the meal, she suddenly felt sleepy and her eyelids felt heavy like iron gates.
She hadn't slept for two days and two nights, and had been subjected to torture that didn't result in bloodshed but was very grueling. She still had the bread in her mouth, but she had already fallen into a deep sleep in his arms.
The inner room of the interrogation was empty, with only a table and bench for the interrogator to sit on, and two cushions made by Yun Chen to kneel in the pit, with nowhere to sleep.
He then sat cross-legged on the ground, hugged her like a child, rested her head on his chest, and subconsciously put one hand around her, patting her gently.
The dim candlelight illuminated her face, which was the size of a palm, pale and thin. Her face was much thinner than when she was in Danyang City, which made him feel distressed.
He gently tidied up her messy hair. Seeing that she still had some food in her mouth, he was afraid that she would choke while dreaming, so he washed his hands with the kettle, put his slender fingers into her mouth, and took out the broken biscuits bit by bit.
When she took out the last piece of biscuit crumbs, she unconsciously moved her mouth, and her small tongue slid across his fingertips, frightening him so much that his hand trembled and he quickly retracted it, but he couldn't help laughing. He pinched her face and chuckled softly:
"You've been causing me a lot of trouble for a while now, disguised as a man. I still can't change some of these habits for a while."
She was completely unaware of how tender the eyes looking at her were. She was so tired that she snored softly and slept deeply and dreamlessly for two hours.
When people are extremely tired, they cannot sleep soundly.
Yun Chen woke up after sleeping for two hours. After waking up, he ate and drank again and finally became completely awake.
Still feeling sleepy, she leaned against Huo Gannian's arms with a red face, her voice as soft as a mosquito:
"Young Master, you..."
At this moment, the two finally spoke honestly to each other.
It felt like I had traveled around the world and finally had the chance to sit down face to face and chat.
Both of them had a lot to say, but didn't know where to start.
"Young Master, the expulsion of me from the Huo Gang was a lie. It was done so that I wouldn't get involved in the danger of the 'Huo Yu Conflict,' right?"
"Yes. Since you left, the princess and I have been closely preparing to deal with the Yu family. This palace banquet was an accident. If the late emperor had not sensed the will of heaven and executed the treacherous ministers and eradicated the Yu family's powerful faction, the princess and I would have needed to spend some time planning, and I would have been separated from you for quite some time."
"That wind-burning grass..."
"I know."
"Danyang City..."
"I know."
Just a few words can convey what is in your mind, no need to say anything more.
Yun Chen let out a long sigh, his heart completely relaxed. He no longer had any worries and felt completely relaxed.
Then she suddenly remembered something extremely important, slapped her head, sat up quickly, and shouted:
"Young Master, after I confessed my feelings to you, I never told you that I'm actually a woman... In order to find my benefactor from the past, I disguised myself as a man and worked as a bodyguard, mixing with men. I never dared to... and never had the chance to tell you..."
Huo Gannian was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and really wanted to give Yun Chen a slap on the head.
She left this most important thing to the last.
If he had not already tricked Yan Shijiu and found out that she was a girl, he really didn't know how long he would have to suffer, and he would have had to copy the Huo family rules hundreds of times!
Thinking back on the past, he felt a mixture of bittersweet emotions, all of which rushed to his lips, transforming into a helpless yet amusing sigh:
"I know that too..."
She was surprised. "When? When was I exposed?"
He held her in his arms again, whispered softly in her ear, and said in a low and ambiguous voice:
"you guess?"
I didn't need to look, I just felt her body tense, and I knew that her face must have turned red with embarrassment, and even her ears were probably red.
"Young Master, do you also... like me? Just like I like you?" Her voice got lower and lower as she spoke, becoming too shy to control herself.
He chuckled and said:
"you guess?"
She was a little annoyed and hid away, refusing to let him hug her.
He held her face in his hands, suppressed his smile, and looked into her eyes, his gaze full of tenderness, and said firmly:
"Even worse."
It took her a moment to realize what he meant by "even worse."
She liked him, and so did he, even more than she did.
Finally getting the answer she had been thinking about for more than a year, she was both excited and shy. She kept smiling with her lips pursed, not daring to look up at him.
He just felt that her shy look was so alluring that it almost took his heart away.
"Chen'er, this inner room is empty, there are no windows, it's quiet and warm..."
Afraid of shocking her, he didn't say the second half of the sentence.
How could she, who was so ignorant, know how distracted he was while holding her close to him for the past two hours?
Looking at the fair skin and red lips of the person in his arms, his voice unconsciously became hoarse:
"Chen'er, there seems to be a wound mark on your mouth."
She recalled the scene outside Danyang City where she had her first kiss snatched away by a shameless thief. She frowned and said angrily:
"Don't mention it. When I was waiting for you outside Danyang City, a 'rogue dog' bit me, but there were no marks. I must have bitten him."
He curled his lips into a smile, lowered his head and gently sucked her earlobe:
"I know that too—the bite hurts—"
She opened her eyes wide in surprise and wanted to say something, but he bent down and kissed her. All her shy accusations came out in sobs.
His long eyelashes drooped, and his straight nose touched her cheek again and again.
After lingering on her lips and teeth for a while, he kissed her eyes.
"Chen'er, close your eyes."
She closed her eyes obediently, but was still nervous.
For her, this was truly the first time she kissed him.
Seeing her closing her eyes and her eyelashes trembling with nervousness, he suddenly felt itchy and couldn't help but put her down on the mat and kissed her more deeply and passionately.
Although the inner interrogation room was quiet, one could occasionally hear the footsteps of palace servants running around outside.
A palace attendant outside asked anxiously, "Have you seen Commander Huo? All the civil and military officials are kneeling in the Yong'an Hall to observe the late emperor's funeral rites, but Commander Huo is missing. The Prime Minister is looking for him, and the princess is also looking for him after suppressing the rebellion. The Huo gang is also frantic outside the palace gates!"
It's really not suitable to be intimate right now, especially in this imperial palace, with strict rules and strict security. It's really...
It's really too exciting...
He tried his best to restrain himself, trying to control his hands from moving around, telling himself to just taste the sweetness on his lips and teeth, as there was still a long way to go.
But after sucking the soul and taking the spirit away, Yun Chen's clothes were still in a mess.
The two of them sat in the inner room where the candlelight had gone out. All they could hear was the two people's heavy breathing and the "thump thump" sound of their heartbeats.
His face was hidden in the darkness, but his phoenix eyes were sparkling and surprisingly bright.
He lit a candle and saw her straightening her clothes, sitting obediently with her head lowered, a soft and fragrant smile on her red and slightly swollen lips. He couldn't help but feel moved and wanted to lean over again.
"Sir, people from the administrative palace are coming this way. They must be releasing people!" Outside the door, a palace servant's low voice sounded at the right time, stopping Huo Gannian's actions.
Needless to say, Yun Chen knew that the palace maid must be Huo Gannian's man, who had been keeping watch outside.
She shyly buried her head in her knees and raised her hand to gently push his shoulder, "Stop it, someone is coming..."
He grabbed her hand, gave her a light kiss, and said with a smile: "Listen to Chen'er."
When the interrogator from the Administrative Palace entered the inner room, he saw Yun Chen sitting alone on a futon with messy hair as if he had just woken up.
The interrogator bowed and said, "'Civil and Military Interrogations' are standard practice. I hope you will forgive me for any offense I may have caused to the Xuandu Guards. Now that the interrogation is over, I've thanked you for your hard work these past three days. Please leave the palace and return home to take a shower and rest."
After saying this, the interrogator looked at Yun Chen and said with a smile:
"Those who practice martial arts are truly a hundred times stronger than ordinary people. After going through such a grueling palace visit, the guard is still glowing with joy. I truly admire him!"
Yun Chen returned the greeting, feeling too guilty to look up.
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