While the palace banquet was in full swing, Changgeng was helping Miss Chen collect herbs in the courtyard where she temporarily stayed in the capital.
His cold came and went quickly. After taking two doses of medicine, he was almost fully recovered. The reason why he did not cancel his leave was that his background was sensitive and Gu Yun wanted him to stay away. Secondly, he heard that Chen Qingxu had new clues about Wu 'er Gu.
"You mean that Wu 'er Gu is in my blood?"
Chen Qingxu's hands were filled with all kinds of yellowed old books. She often had to save the pages that fell. Although she was in a hurry, she did not speak carelessly, "Wu 'er Gu damages one's mind. I always thought that its root was in the brain. If it were not for Marquis's reminder, I would not have thought of this … Look here — the barbarians' earliest record of the evil god Wu 'er Gu.' It was born dangerous. It ate the flesh and blood of its brothers to strengthen itself. It had four legs, four arms, two hands, and two hearts. A sea of blood flowed in its chest. It was especially brutal. 'I thought that the' sea of blood flowed in its chest 'was just a metaphor, but it was actually referring to the mechanism of Wu' er Gu's attack."
It was only when she talked about these things that she could spit out so many words at once.
"Flesh and blood," Changgeng was silent for a moment. He shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Miss Chen, do you mean that my whole body is poisonous unless I follow the example of the myths and scrape my flesh?"
It seemed that it was better to have a brain injury.
Chang Geng unhurriedly sorted out the herbs and placed them neatly into containers. The gears on the shelf screeched as they slowly rose to a higher position, revealing the empty space below. This was a meticulous job, and an impatient person would not be able to do it.
Chen Qingxu looked at him with some admiration. There was no one in history who had Wu 'er Gu and was clear-headed until adulthood, let alone maintain such a calm temperament.
She did not know whether it was because he was born with perseverance or because he had Gu Yun more than others.
Changgeng said, "To tell you the truth, I haven't been feeling well recently. Wu 'er Gu attacks are becoming more frequent."
Chen Qingxu said casually, "Marquis told me."
Zhang Gen was stunned. "He …"
Gu Yun seemed to have always carried the attitude of "a mere shaman's voodoo". She had never taken his "little illness" seriously. She rarely talked about it and never showed any worry in front of Changgeng.
So it turned out that she had always been worried about him?
Chen Qingxu paused and realized that he had said too much. He changed the topic as if nothing had happened and said, "Your Highness, if you don't have any other orders, I plan to go back to the old house of the Chen family in Shanxi. It will be much easier to find the root. There will always be a way."
"Oh," Changgeng responded and cupped his hands. "Thank you. And Zi Xi's antidote …"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by someone from the palace.
The medicine boy led in a servant and bowed respectfully to Changgeng. "Your Highness, His Majesty heard that Your Highness was sick and specially ordered this servant to come and take a look. He also brought an imperial physician, but the imperial physician did not dare to enter Chen Shengshou's courtyard and is waiting outside."
Changgeng frowned. "Thank you for your concern, Imperial Brother. It's just a cold. It's not a serious illness."
The servant smiled and said, "Yes, I also think Your Highness is in good spirits. Um … Your Highness, there is a banquet in the palace tonight to invite the Third Prince of Bei Man and the envoy group. The envoys of the 18 tribes mentioned Your Highness to the Emperor. His Majesty ordered this servant to pass on a verbal order. He said that if Your Highness's body is not in good condition, you don't need to work. If Your Highness is in good spirits, you can come out and get some fresh air."
Chen Qingxu was stunned for a moment and quickly looked up at Changgeng. If no one said anything, it would be fine. But since Bei Man's envoy had mentioned it, Changgeng really couldn't refuse. There was a layer of awkwardness in this. Bei Man was Daliang's enemy and His Royal Highness Yan Wang's maternal family. Of course, he couldn't deliberately get close to him, but it was also not appropriate to deliberately avoid him. It was very subtle.
The envoy group had called his name, but the key to whether or not to see him was Li Feng's attitude. That was the direction he should go to avoid arousing suspicion.
Changgeng's attitude was very good. He took out a pouch from his pocket and gave it to the servant. He asked, "Sorry to bother you, but what did my Imperial Brother say?"
The servant thought about how generous Yan Wang was and laughed until his big round face turned red. He said incoherently politely, "I don't dare, I don't dare … Ah, Your Highness, this servant doesn't deserve it. This … I'm really ashamed …"
While saying that he was ashamed, he happily put the pouch away. Then he said to Changgeng, "What kind of person is Your Highness? You don't need to give face to those barbarians who drink raw meat and drink blood. The Emperor said that if Your Highness is willing to go out, you should go to the palace and pay him a New Year's visit so that you won't be bored out of your wits. You don't need to socialize with those idle people. It's almost the end of the year. The Emperor will be relieved to see you. "
Changgeng understood and said, "Let me rest and change my clothes. I'll go to the palace with you."
The servant cheerfully responded, "Then I'll prepare a carriage for you."
Changgeng smiled and watched him leave. When he turned around and entered the room, his smile immediately turned cold.
Chen Qingxu followed him in and asked, "How can I help you?"
Changgeng shook his head and said, "The palace banquet this year is very strict. Zi Xi is there. Everyone who enters and leaves has to go through several inspections. The barbarians, except for the Third Prince and the envoys, are all detained in the relay station. Even if the Third Prince's skin is purple gold, I guarantee that he won't be able to do anything. You just need to lend me a side room to tidy up your clothes."
Chen Qingxu didn't understand these things, so she didn't say much. She asked the medicine boy to lead the way.
Changgeng walked to the door with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he stopped and turned around, "Miss Chen, do you have a silver knife?"
Wang Bao was among the civil officials. He listened to a group of eloquent Daliang civil officials venting their hatred for their country and criticizing the Bei Man envoy.
The Bei Man envoy wasn't very eloquent, but he knew when to advance and when to retreat. Once the topic was too sharp for him to answer, he would just smile and say nothing. It seemed that he really endured the humiliation and came to negotiate.
Wang Bao's eyes also stopped on the Third Prince, who was silent with his head lowered. However, he quickly shifted his attention. He wasn't interested in that fool. He had already arranged a better show.
Wang Bao was not the same as Fang Qin and the others, who often talked about the national economy and the people's livelihood. He knew in his heart that no one thought highly of him. Even Sir Fang and the others only called him this and that when they needed him. Behind his back, they also called him "Eunuch Imperial Uncle" and said that he was "responsible and diligent" as the Imperial Uncle. He even acted as the Imperial Uncle's representative.
Wang Bao used to be an insignificant person who ran errands for the former Emperor. He was destined to be a jester and a scapegoat for those in power. Since the incident between the former Emperor and the Barbarian Concubine broke out, he had been living in fear.
He didn't have any opinions about Gu Yun and the Gu family. In terms of interests, the civil and military officials of Daliang rarely interacted with each other. As long as one of them wasn't so ambitious that he wanted to cover the sky with one hand, even if they fought for power, they wouldn't be on the same side. What's more, the Gu family was the real aristocratic family. It was just that they were few in number and the marriage partner was too special. Wang Bao himself didn't have any differences of opinion with Gu Yun. He didn't have any opinions about the national affairs. His only opinion was how to serve the Emperor well.
All the important figures in the imperial court, both civil and martial, all had their own ideas. There had to be a few people who could make the Emperor relax a little when he was fighting a battle of wits and courage, right?
If he could, he wouldn't do anything to the Gu family even if he had eaten too much rat poison.
But it was hard to change the destiny of heaven and the Emperor. Now that the old Sage had blown out the lamp and pulled out the candle to end all his troubles, he still had the fallacious logic of "the Emperor wanted his minister to die". He just had to leave him behind to be the scapegoat for the world's curses.
Now, the Emperor Long An cherished old friendships. He was willing to protect this good-for-nothing as his uncle and let him struggle at death's door to earn a living.
What about the future?
It wasn't scary how much Yan Wang reformed the land tax and the civil and commercial laws. What was scary was what would Yan Wang do to him once he ascended the throne?
Yan Wang had a close relationship with Gu Yun since he was young. As the son of the late Emperor and the Barbarian Consort, it was impossible for him to pursue his parents' sins. When the time came, in order to further rope in Gu Yun and win the hearts of the army, the first thing he would do was to take down this unlucky guy and offer him as a sacrifice to the ancestors of the Gu family.
Master Fang and the others were worried about Yan Wang's reshuffling of the cards in the court. It was just fame and fortune and the future of the family. Uncle Wang's life was hanging by a thread. He was always worried about his own head. He had to be alive to enjoy a high position and generous salary.
When the barbarians first arrived in the capital, they were very honest. They didn't blindly bribe anyone. There were nobles everywhere in the capital. No one was so poor that they were willing to bear the charge of "treason" for a little benefit.
Before the palace banquet, the envoys of the 18 tribes stretched out their tentacles for the first time and contacted a person. It was Uncle Wang, the seemingly insignificant bootlicker.
The envoys of the 18 tribes swore to Tengri and gave Wang Bao two promises. First, Yan Wang would no longer be the sword hanging over his head.
Second, no matter whether this matter was successful or not, they wouldn't call Wang Bao out. In the future, if Wang Bao had no way out, the 18 tribes were willing to save his life.
The mobs of the 18 tribes were uncivilized. They were cruel and bloodthirsty. They were good at playing with poison. But there was one good thing about them. They were very serious about their promises.
And what they asked for was just a little help. Yan Wang probably didn't show up to avoid suspicion. This time, Uncle Wang had to make sure that Yan Wang appeared at the palace banquet.
The barbarians didn't say what they wanted to do. Wang Bao planned to wait and see. In case the barbarians failed, he also prepared a backup plan. This was thanks to Master Fang. In order to bring down Yan Wang, Fang Qin secretly raised a person in the Fang Family's courtyard.
When the Barbarian Consort fled, she implicated a large number of palace servants, bodyguards, and imperial physicians. Many of them died unjustly. The real problem was that they were prepared in advance. The old imperial physician in the Fang Family's courtyard was one of those who fled in fear of punishment. His son accidentally killed someone. Because of his son's debt, he had to sell a secret. When the pregnant Barbarian Consort fled, Princess Xiu, who was with her, was unmarried and pregnant.
Xiu Niang, Hu Ge 'er colluded with the barbarians in Yanhui Town. She hated Daliang to the core. Would she honestly raise the son of her enemy?
Was the person Gu Yun brought back from Yanhui the son of the former emperor or the illegitimate child of Hu Ge 'er whose biological father was unknown?
Fang Qin took the imperial physician in and didn't act rashly. He learned from the lesson of not being able to bite Yan Wang to death last time. This time, he planned to kill him in one strike. He was still slowly brewing the plan, but Wang Bao didn't plan to cooperate and wait for him.
Adults had their ways, and villains had their ways. They didn't need to be skillful, and it didn't matter how despicable they were, as long as it was effective.
When the envoys of the 18 tribes asked to see Yan Wang, Li Feng didn't answer immediately. He only asked the eunuch to run an errand and take a look at Yan Wang after hearing that he was sick. Li Feng's original words were, "Bring an imperial physician over and let Ah Min recuperate. If he gets better in two days, don't stay in your room all the time. Come to the palace and give me a New Year's greeting. There's no need to socialize with irrelevant people."
After saying this, the Emperor Long An fulfilled his obligation to appear at the palace banquet and left.
Uncle Wang didn't hold the title of "Uncle Eunuch" for nothing. He had already bribed a group of seemingly insignificant eunuchs to run errands. As long as the messenger misrepresented Li Feng's words a little, Yan Wang would definitely come.
After the Emperor left, Yan Wang, who had asked for leave, made a special trip to see Bei Man's envoys. Then, in front of everyone, he would reveal a story that mixed up the royal bloodline and his origin. How would he end up?
Ever since Li Feng left, more than half of the palace banquet had passed peacefully. Seeing that the banquet was coming to an end, Gu Yun heaved a sigh of relief. He picked up the wine cup and dabbed his lips. Before he could taste the wine, a chamberlain suddenly came to report that King Yan had arrived.
Gu Yun didn't have time to sort out his thoughts. His heart skipped a beat.
Fang Qin was a little surprised, but Wang Bao lowered his head. The envoys of the 18 tribes turned to the outside of the hall with a smile. The Third Prince of the Barbarian Tribe, who had been eating and drinking with his head lowered in the corner, suddenly stopped eating.
After Changgeng walked into the hall, he saw that there was no one on the throne at first glance. At that time, he knew that he had been schemed against.
However, it was too late to go back now. Changgeng didn't stop walking. His slightly sickly face was calm, and he still maintained a gentle and elegant smile. He walked in unhurriedly, took off his cloak, and passed it to a servant. He glanced with the corner of his eyes — the eunuch who had tricked him into coming here was gone.
Although one of the aristocratic families didn't know why Yan Wang appeared here, he didn't want to give up the opportunity to hit him when he was down. He immediately smiled meaningfully and said, "His Royal Highness Yan Wang had already asked for leave from today's palace banquet. It seems that the guests of the 18 tribes have more face. They actually invited Prince Yan here with just a few words."
Another person continued, "These words should be punished with wine. It's fine if it's someone else, but why is it an ordinary guest today? The 18 tribes are His Highness's maternal family. Naturally, they should be treated differently. "
Changgeng's loose court robe almost reached the ground. He calmly returned the greeting and said, "I've troubled the Emperor to send someone to ask. I specially came to the palace to give His Majesty a New Year's greeting. It's just that I came at a bad time. Has His Majesty left first?"
"His Royal Highness Yan Wang came at a bad time, but we came at a good time. Today, we can see Daliang's Twin Jade Annulus. It's really a blessing of three lifetimes. My Prince also wants to give a toast to His Highness!"
While speaking, the envoys of the 18 tribes supported the Third Prince to stand up.
Gu Yun quickly gave Shen Yi a look. A few guards who were hiding in the dark suddenly revealed their killing intent and locked onto the barbarian envoys and the Third Prince.
The Third Prince walked out of the banquet table. He seemed to be very nervous. His hand that was holding the wine cup trembled violently. Before he reached Changgeng, half of the wine had spilled out of the cup.
As the young man approached, Changgeng's body suddenly had a trace of heat that could not be suppressed. The fever that had already subsided came back to him again. His ears were ringing. The blood in his body was like purple gold that was ignited and fiercely boiled.
Changgeng's hair stood on end. There were countless pairs of eyes around him that either had been plotting for a long time or were gloating over his misfortune. But none of them gave him as much pressure as the young man. He almost resisted the intense discomfort and struggled to maintain the dignity of a Prince. He forced himself to smile and said, "What's wrong? Do all the princes of your tribe not say a word when they give a toast?"
Bei Man's envoy suddenly smiled and slowly retreated to a spot one foot behind the Third Prince.
The trembling Third Prince stopped without any warning. His hands, which were suspended in the air, were pale and suffused with a lifeless light.
Then he raised his head and looked straight into Changgeng's eyes.
The young man's pale face had a pair of red eyes. His cold double pupils were like an icicle, piercing towards Changgeng without warning.
This young man was actually a Wu 'er Gu!
No one knew what would happen when two "Evil God" Kings faced each other. There had never been any records of it. How crazy was a Wu 'er Gu? How much hatred and how much luck did it take to create one?
How chaotic did an era have to be for two Wu 'er Gu to meet each other face to face?
There seemed to be some kind of indescribable connection between the two of them. For a moment, the whole palace hall was reduced to ashes in front of Changgeng's eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if it was about to explode.
All the hallucinations and reality were in a mess. The poison that had been suppressed in his blood and bones for many years was like hot oil that had been poured onto a raging fire. All the indigestible hatred and anger rushed to Changgeng's heart. All the restless nightmares in the abyss came out and opened their bloody mouths, wanting to swallow him whole.
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