Gu Yun slept until the sun was almost high in the sky.
He was very unhappy the night before and wanted to drown his sorrows with alcohol. He was so drunk that when he got up, his bones and flesh were stiff. He was even more tired than if he hadn't slept for a night.
Someone placed a bowl of hangover soup on the small table next to him. Gu Yun pinched his nose and drank it in one gulp. Only then did he open his dry eyes. He sat by the bed in a daze for a while and quickly reflected. While he was half-asleep, he realized that he had been inexplicably anxious recently.
"Is it necessary?" Gu Yun yawned and asked himself.
After thinking about it carefully, of course, it was not necessary.
The national treasury had been in a bit of trouble in recent years. Of course, the military expenditure was also tight, but it was not to the point of starvation.
The heavens were still peaceful. There were a few floods, earthquakes, and a drought two or three years ago, but they were not particularly serious. The Central Plains was so big. If the Dragon King in any cloud had a fit, wouldn't the imperial court be under great pressure to provide disaster relief? Since the beginning of the first year of the Long An, it was rare for the rivers to be clear and the seas to be peaceful.
There were two cases in Jiangnan and the southwest. Although the momentum was quite big and made the Emperor jittery, in Gu Yun's eyes, it was only a small matter. In the East Sea, the Prince of Wei was obviously not ready, and his whereabouts were leaked by Purple Gold. In the South Xinjiang, many forces collided. Fu Zhi Cheng probably did not even have the intention to rebel. In short, it was not as dangerous as them chasing the bandits in the desert.
Compared to the six countries of the Western Region who had no strong soldiers, he alone fought against Daliang and joined the rebellion.
At that time, he didn't know if he could see the sun tomorrow, so he didn't have any distracting thoughts. But now, he was in a high position, leisurely watching Iron Puppet Yangko dance in his own courtyard, but he was drowning his sorrows in alcohol. How promising!
After pouring the water, he seemed to have done something unnecessary …
What was it again?
"Oh, right." Gu Yun rubbed her temples in a daze and thought, "I seem to have taken liberties with a girl and scared her."
"This is outrageous," Gu Yun muttered to herself as she washed up and changed her clothes.
Halfway through, he suddenly paused. 'That's not right. The marquis's estate doesn't even have a mare, so where did this girl come from?'
Gu Yun finally woke up completely. He pondered for a while with a pale face. He turned around and lifted the quilt. He saw a small object rolling down from the corner of the bed. It was Changgeng's leather pouch.
Gu Yun: "…"
Shen Yi couldn't hold her liquor well. She was even more drunk than Gu Yun. Early in the morning, she hadn't even woken up when Gu Yun barged into the guest room and dragged her up.
"Let me tell you something." Gu Yun's expression was grim as if she had seen a ghost.
Shen Yi did not dare to be negligent. A bunch of messy thoughts flashed through his mind: Fu Zhi Cheng escaped from prison? Feng Han Gong was convicted by the Emperor? Did Bei Man invade? Or did the Central Plains garrison rebel?
He resisted the discomfort and tried to calm himself down, waiting to hear what Gu Yun had to say.
In the end, that person surnamed Gu stuttered for a long time. His gaze wandered from Daliang on the roof to the tip of his shoes. He didn't even let out a fart.
Shen Yi asked anxiously, "What exactly happened?"
Gu Yun: "… Forget it. I don't want to talk about it."
Shen Yi went crazy on the spot. The hair on his body stood on end. Why wasn't this person chopped to death?
"Wait," Shen Yi pounced on Gu Yun and grabbed him. He said angrily, "What exactly happened?"
At this moment, Gu Yun had already traced the "evidence" on his bed back to his drunken memories. Everything he had said and done was still vivid in his mind. It was too embarrassing, too wretched, too much of a jerk.
Gu Yun covered his face: What did he do?
He felt his stomach churn. He asked Shen Yi in pain, "Did I drink too much and go crazy?"
"You haven't drunk too much either, right?" Shen Yi hugged the quilt and curled up at the head of the bed. They were at the border all year round. Although they drank, they didn't dare to get drunk. Otherwise, it would be bad if they accidentally caused a military incident.
"What?" Shen Yi looked at Gu Yun's face and asked excitedly, "What shameful thing did you do yesterday?"
Gu Yun reached out and pressed Shen Yi's face down into the quilt. He drifted away in a daze, thinking that he should find a belt to hang himself.
At first, Gu Yun thought to himself: Little Changgeng wouldn't lower himself to the level of a drunkard, right? If it were me, I wouldn't take it to heart.
… At most, he would make fun of this matter for a year or so.
However, this bit of luck quickly disappeared because Gu Yun remembered that Changgeng was trembling when he pressed him on the bed yesterday. It seemed that Changgeng not only took it to heart, but was also very angry.
Gu Yun frowned as he held Changgeng's purse. It was as if he was holding a bag of gunpowder that could explode at any time.
A faint calming fragrance filled the air. Gu Yun sniffed around and secretly calculated, "Should I pretend to be confused? Or should I pretend not to know? Or should I pretend that nothing happened? "
Before he could make a decision, the old housekeeper came over. Gu Yun asked like a gentleman, "Uncle Wang, where is His Highness the Fourth Prince?"
The old housekeeper replied, "I was about to tell Marquis. His Highness went to Huguo Temple early in the morning."
Gu Yun: "…"
He directly ran away from home!
The old housekeeper didn't notice his expression of swallowing a mouthful of coptis and said, "Oh right, yesterday, the Lord Jiang from the Supreme Court sent a painting to Marquis to congratulate him on his birthday. There is also a letter inside. Marquis, do you want to take a look?"
Gu Yun was stunned, "Let me see."
Although Shen Yi had mysteriously become a general with Gu Yun, he did indeed graduate from the Imperial College of Liberal Arts. The Supreme Court's Minister, Jiang Chong, was his martial brother. Through this relationship, he became familiar with Gu Yun. Later, he found that the other party's temperament was very compatible and they gradually became friends. However, in order to avoid suspicion, the two didn't interact frequently.
Gu Yun skimmed through the letter and suddenly couldn't care less about Changgeng who was throwing a tantrum with him.
In addition to greeting, Jiang Chong gave him a brief message — the Emperor intended to cut off all means of retreat and completely destroy the Purple Flowing Gold black market.
Just this sentence alone contained too much information.
That evening, the Pear Restaurant was bustling with people as usual. In the Heaven-class private room, the trusted Southwest Admiral Shen Yi was the host. He had invited his old schoolmates and friends from the Capital City as well as his peers from the Spiritual Pivot Academy. Shen Yi was going to the Southwest. Although it was located in a remote area, it was still a prestigious promotion. His old friends had long been clamoring for him to treat them.
After three rounds of wine, the Marquis of Stability also personally came to show his face. However, he only stayed for a while before he excused himself and left early. Not long after he left, Jiang Chong, who was then the Supreme Court's Minister, also took his leave.
Jiang Chong didn't take a carriage when he left Qiyuan Restaurant. He sent his family away and said that he wanted to take a stroll to sober up. Then, he only brought a servant and walked along the small path downstairs.
When he turned the small path, there was already an ordinary shabby carriage waiting there. The curtain was lifted, revealing half of Gu Yun's face. "It's too cold. I'll give Brother Han Shi a ride."
Jiang Chong said, "Thank you." He tacitly got into his carriage.
Lord Jiang was already forty years old. His face didn't show much. Other than his calm demeanor, it wasn't an exaggeration to say that he was a young master.
After getting into the carriage and warming his hands with Gu Yun's small stove, Jiang Chong didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point. "After Marquis left the palace that day, the Emperor secretly summoned the three divisions. From what I heard, he might not only want to restart the 'Gold Melting Order', but also plan to use both sides at the same time. Following the aftermath of the rebellion in Nanjiang, he will start from the Southwest and thoroughly investigate the Purple Flowing Gold black market."
The so-called 'Gold Melting Order' was something that happened during the reign of Gu Yun's maternal grandfather, Emperor Wu of the Liang Dynasty. At that time, sea transportation had just started, and the private use of Purple Flowing Gold was difficult to control. In order to strengthen the control of Purple Flowing Gold, Emperor Wu issued four strict orders, which were later known as the 'Gold Melting Order'.
However, later on, as the civilian use of fire engines and steel armor increased, the Gold Melting Order slowly lost its effectiveness and was abolished during the reign of the late Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty.
Jiang Chong said, "Marquis will probably return to the Northwest when spring comes. It's reasonable to say that even if the capital changes, it won't affect Marquis. However, if the Emperor wants to strictly investigate the Purple Flowing Gold black market, I'm afraid that Marquis will be stationed at the border for a long time. At that time, it's inevitable that there will be trouble. Please be careful …"
Jiang Chong couldn't directly point at Gu Yun's nose and say, "I know that your subordinates are not clean. Recently, the investigation is very strict. Clean up the black market in your hands and stop it for two days." The hint in his words was quite clear.
Gu Yun understood in his heart and said gratefully, "Thank you, Brother Han Shi, for your advice."
Jiang Chong saw that he had already spoken, so he didn't say anything more. His tone changed as he said with a wry smile, "Once the Purple Flowing Gold is involved, it's inevitable that we will have to face a group of extremely vicious people. It's fine if the Jianghu is extremely vicious, but I'm afraid that they are secretly colluding with many important officials of the imperial court. Who will be investigated and who won't be investigated? How will we investigate? Ai, to tell you the truth, Marquis, I don't have a clue right now. "
If the water is too clear, there won't be any fish. I don't know if the Emperor Long An wants to pacify the world or stir up chaos. "
Gu Yun knew his difficulties and comforted him, "Brother Han Shi, don't worry. Once this news comes out, as long as they aren't too blind, they will know to hide their strength and bide their time. Which one of us isn't more nervous than you? When the time comes, if there's really something difficult, you can send someone to send me a letter. Now that there's no Xuan Tie and Tiger Tally, the garrisoned troops are no longer under my command. However, I still have to give you some face. "
Jiang Chong smiled bitterly, "Then, thank you very much, Marquis. First, it was the Imperial Decree, then it was the Gold Melting Decree … I rarely leave the capital, so there are many things that I don't know. I only heard people say that in the early years, 'the streets were dyed with white fog, and no one could be seen during the night watch.' Everyone said that in the future, they would have to ride 'flying horses' to travel. However, the glorious scene has long disappeared. "
Gu Yun fiddled with the old wooden beads in his hand. He didn't continue the conversation and changed the topic, "How is Duke Feng Han?"
"He's still locked up," Jiang Chong said, "Don't worry, I've already taken care of it. Marquis, do you plan to write a memorial on behalf of Duke Feng Han?"
Gu Yun smiled bitterly, "Me? Writing a memorial can only be used to hasten his death. In fact, there's no need to say it clearly. Many of the artifacts in the palace were made by the Lingshu Temple. When His Majesty sees it, he will naturally think of his benefits. Duke Feng Han is obsessed with scheming and doesn't understand human relationships. His Majesty also knows that dog's temper. It'll be fine after two days. "
It was easy to say, but how to cleverly bring up Duke Feng Han, who raised a dog as his son, after the Emperor's anger subsided? How to make the Emperor feel angry and amused at the same time and unable to lose his temper. It was very deliberate.
Jiang Chong glanced at Gu Yun and knew that he had probably secretly made arrangements. The Marquis of Stability grew up in the palace, so it wasn't strange for him to have a few people who could be used. However …
Jiang Chong whispered, "Marquis has returned from the northwest this time. It seems that his conduct has become much more harmonious."
Gu Yun replied meaningfully, "When tigers and wolves are outside, we don't dare to not exhaust ourselves. When the mountains and rivers are not settled, we also don't dare to belittle ourselves. It's useless to fight for loyalty and temper."
The two exchanged information in a few words. Jiang Chong bid farewell and left. Before he left, he suddenly stopped and said to Gu Yun, "To say something disrespectful, in the past one or two years, the local government has reported year after year about the harvest of farming puppets and where there are steam lighters that can weave cloth and make clothes. However, my treasury is not full. All kinds of decrees are like shackles. This lowly official really has an illusion that after so many years, Daliang has returned to the era of Emperor Wu."
Gu Yun smiled and said, "To tell Brother Han Shi the truth, in the past one or two years, I've often been inexplicably anxious. However, when I think about it carefully, I feel that it doesn't make sense. Perhaps people are all like this. They always want to get better day by day. Once there's a temporary stagnation, even if they are already in a high position, they will still feel frustrated and frustrated, right?"
Jiang Chong's expression changed, as if he wanted to say something but stopped.
Gu Yun asked, "What's wrong?"
The Chancellor of the Supreme Court whispered, "As people who investigate cases, sometimes we have a kind of intuition. There's no reason or basis for it, but it's very likely to come true in the end. The more experienced a person is, the more accurate their intuition is. Marquis, you've been on the battlefield and have gone through fire and water. Your intuition may have really foretold something … Take care of yourself."
Gu Yun was stunned for a moment. He did not say anything else. The two of them bid farewell and left with heavy hearts.
When Gu Yun returned to the Marquis's mansion, the sky was already dark. He asked the imperial bodyguard and was told that Changgeng had not returned yet. He only brought a message saying that Master Liao Ran had returned to Huguo Temple and planned to stay there for a few more days.
Gu Yun could only helplessly think, "If he wants to stay, then so be it. It's also good to come back after he calms down."
Who knew that Changgeng had an 'exceptionally bad temper' or something else. He stayed for four to five days and seemed to have the intention of settling down there. Gu Yun could not stay in the capital for long. If he left again, he might not be able to see him for a few more years. Finally, he could not hold back and went to Huguo Temple while pinching his nose.
The monk Liao Ran was still the same. Throughout the year, it was only during the few days he returned to Huguo Temple that he met with distinguished guests. He could wash himself clean like a hibiscus in clear water. Every day, he would go around pretending to be a ghost. That afternoon, he finally had some free time. He played chess with Changgeng in the meditation room. The two of them communicated with hand signals. It was quiet but they spoke a lot.
Changgeng said, "I want to ask Great Master about something. What happened to my adoptive father's eyes and hearing?"
Liao Ran quickly replied with hand signals, "Talking behind people's backs will not end well."
"I must know about this." Changgeng said sternly, "And I will definitely investigate to the end. If Great Master does not tell me, I will find someone else."
The monk Liao Ran fixed his gaze on him for a moment.
After a long time, Liao Ran deliberated and replied in sign language, "This monk has only heard a rough idea. When Marquis was young, The Old Marquis and Her Royal Highness took him to the northern border. At that time, the war between Daliang and Bei Man had already subsided. Logically, there should not have been any danger. Unexpectedly, a group of Bei Man's men of sacrifice put up a desperate struggle and broke into my garrison. Marquis was injured by a stray arrow. Unfortunately, it happened to be a barbarian's poisonous arrow."
This explanation coincided with Gu Yun's evasive explanation.
Changgeng asked closely, "What kind of poison?"
Liao Ran shook his head, "Your Royal Highness has learned from Miss Chen, so you should know that even the Chen family is helpless against the barbarian's poison. The poison is very strong. Those who were hit by it died within a few days after being paralyzed. However, the effect on children is much slower. That year, Old Master Chen rushed from Shanxi to the northern border's garrison overnight. He did not sleep or rest for two days and one night. He used the Chen family's golden needle technique to save young Marquis's life. However, his vision and hearing were seriously damaged."
Changgeng frowned slightly, "The northern border …"
If this was done by the Bei Man's men of sacrifice, how could Shen Yi's words of 'they destroyed you' be explained? '
Could it be that he was really drunk and was talking nonsense?
At this moment, a young novice monk suddenly came in and reported, "Prince, Martial Uncle Liao Ran, the Marquis of Stability is here."
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
