Shen Yu sat up from Shang Junlin's arms. The charming atmosphere disappeared in an instant because of this sentence. He looked at Shang Junlin with a little confusion in his eyes, "Why is there still someone here?"
Shang Junlin helped Shen Yu to stand up. He stood up and tidied his clothes, "I'll go and see."
Eunuch Meng was waiting outside. Shang Junlin changed his clothes and walked out, "What happened?"
"The leader of the imperial guards is already waiting for Your Majesty outside. Your Majesty, this way please." Eunuch Meng didn't know the details, but he knew that this matter couldn't be delayed. He hurriedly led the way for Shang Junlin.
It was still morning. Usually, Shen Yu wouldn't even get up at this time. After Shang Junlin left, he couldn't sleep, so he asked Mu Xi to order breakfast.
When he was eating alone, Shen Yu ate faster than usual. He wasn't picky about food, so he casually ate something to fill his stomach.
The snow outside had stopped. Shang Junlin didn't come back. It seemed that this matter wasn't small.
"Mu Xi, go and ask the people outside if there are any abnormalities in the capital recently."
"Yes."
After a year of training, the people Shen Yu raised in the village were now able to take charge of things independently. It was easy for them to find some information that wasn't deliberately concealed.
While waiting for the news, Shen Yu had nothing to do. He simply went to the small study room, took out a pen and paper, and wrote down what would happen in the future based on his impressions from his previous life.
Events were listed one by one on the paper. Shen Yu pressed his fingers against his forehead, trying to find something that could be related to today's matter.
After a long time, Shen Yu folded the paper and put it in the candlelight to burn it bit by bit.
Shen Yu didn't want to keep this kind of thing that was related to the future.
When he came out of the small study room, it was already noon. The weather was clear, and the sun was high in the sky, bringing a trace of warmth to the cold winter.
Shen Yu walked into the sunlight and narrowed his eyes slightly.
Thinking about it carefully, today's incident was not sudden. After King Yue was captured, Shang Junlin kept him locked up in prison without dealing with him. His purpose was to fish out all the forces behind King Yue. Although they had caught many forces behind King Yue, they still had no clue about the leader.
There had to be someone controlling such a huge faction. As long as they did not find the controller, they would not be able to feel at ease. It was very likely that these factions that suddenly appeared outside the capital were here for King Yue.
After Shang Junlin came back, Shen Yu's guess was confirmed.
"These people's whereabouts are uncertain, as if they had suddenly appeared. However, the Imperial Army still found some similarities between them and the people from before. Now that the King of Yue is locked up in the prison of the Ministry of Justice, the traces of these people's activities revolve around the prison. Their target is most likely the King of Yue."
Shang Junlin took off his cloak and sat down beside Shen Yu.
"A Yu is playing chess by himself?"
In front of Shen Yu, there was a chessboard. On the chessboard, the black and white pieces were fighting fiercely. If either side was careless, they would lose by one piece.
Shen Yu put down a white piece, and the white piece instantly suppressed the black piece with an absolute advantage.
Shen Yu did not put down a black piece again. Instead, he looked at the chessboard and asked, "Your Majesty, who do you think will win?"
"Looking at the situation, the white piece is very likely to win. The black piece is heavily surrounded and has no way to retreat."
"But it seems that if I want, the black piece can make a comeback. The real winner is not the black piece or the white piece, but me, the player, right?"
"Until the last moment, who can say that he is the chess player?"
Outside the capital.
The well-trained black-clothed men in uniform were hiding in the dark. The leader of the imperial guards led his subordinates into the area where the black-clothed men were hiding. No matter what the purpose of these black-clothed men was, since they had been discovered, they might as well stay here.
A silent battle unfolded in the deserted forest. The strong smell of blood attracted the wild beasts in the depths of the forest. They tried to approach and drag away delicious food, but before they could get close, they were forced to retreat by the murderous aura.
The sky gradually darkened, and the movements in the forest gradually disappeared. The leader of the imperial guards supported himself with his sword and wiped the blood on his face with his free hand.
"See if there are any survivors. Also, check the surroundings. Don't let anyone escape."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
After packing up everything, the leader of the imperial guards went into the palace to report.
Unfortunately, this batch of people sent out were all men of sacrifice. They were completely wiped out by the imperial guards, so there was no way to get any useful information.
Since there was a first batch of people around the capital, there was bound to be a second and a third batch. Shang Junlin specially deployed an army to guard outside the capital. Once they found something wrong, there was no need to report it. They could take action directly.
"There are strict investigations everywhere. Where did these people come from?" In front of Shen Yu, there was a map of Dahuan. On the map, there were many red marks. These were the places where the rebel army had appeared.
Gu Huai was ordered to lead the army to eliminate the remnants of the rebel army. Now, he had eliminated several places, and the results were obvious.
Shang Junlin stood beside him and looked at the map. The other red marks were all connected to each other. Only the one that appeared near the capital was not connected to any other place. It was as if it had appeared out of nowhere.
"I don't know. Besides the first day, there were no traces of these people. I also sent people to watch the Ministry of Justice, but there were no suspicious people."
"Your Majesty, please withdraw those people outside the capital. If they continue to wander outside, the mastermind can only watch."
Shang Junlin turned to look at Shen Yu. Their eyes met, and Shen Yu blinked.
Shang Junlin looked away and said, "Okay."
The people in the capital suddenly realized that the imperial guards who often patrolled around the city had disappeared. The more observant people even realized that the soldiers who had been patrolling outside the city had also disappeared.
"What the hell is going on? There were suddenly more patrols on the streets, but they suddenly disappeared today? "
"Maybe the higher-ups feel that there is no more danger?"
"Don't say. When there are more patrols, there are fewer thieves. In the past, there were thieves sent to the yamen almost every day at this time. This year, there are not many."
"If you didn't say it, I wouldn't have noticed. It's true."
The imperial court did not reveal anything, so the people did not know what was happening outside. In their impression, the leader of the rebels, King Yue, had been arrested and his forces disbanded. All the problems had been solved, and they could have a good year this year.
The imperial court could not tell the people everything. Many things were selectively published in the newspapers. Some things that were not suitable to be said would not appear in the newspapers.
Subei.
Near the end of the year, Jiang Huaiqing returned to Subei after dealing with the matter of Lin Yuan.
This year was the same as last year. He and Jiang Huaiqing spent the New Year together. Many of the officials who came to Subei were young and had not been here for long. Those who did not bring their families simply suggested that everyone celebrate the New Year together.
Being in a foreign land, it was better to celebrate the New Year together than to be alone.
A few days in advance, the government of Subei had already begun to prepare for the New Year. This was their first New Year here, and also their first year on the road. No matter what the future held, at least for now, everyone's relationship was very harmonious.
On a very ordinary day, He Chengyu planned to ask Jiang Huaiqing to go out for a walk. The customs of Subei were not the same as those of the capital. Before the New Year, there would be a large market. The people would take out the goods they had hoarded for a year to exchange for what they wanted. It was very lively.
Fang Jiayi went out with her people. The other officials also called their close friends to go out with them. They did not have to buy anything. It was good to just join in the fun.
Someone invited He Chengyu, but he refused. He had already discussed with Jiang Huaiqing that they would go out together.
The person who sent the invitation teased him: "You have an appointment with Official Jiang again?"
He Chengyu smiled but did not say anything.
"I knew it would be like this," the person muttered in a low voice. "If we didn't know your identities, everyone would suspect that you were not real brothers. Even real brothers are not as clingy as you."
"Huaiqing and I hit it off at first sight. Now that we are far away in Subei, we naturally have to take care of each other."
"We know that you have a good relationship. Then we won't disturb you. Let's meet again next time." After saying this, they left together.
He Chengyu tidied himself up. After waiting for a long time, Jiang Huaiqing did not come out. He could only go and knock on the door.
"Huaiqing, it's time. Do you feel unwell anywhere? If you don't feel well, it's the same to go another day."
The door was opened a small crack. Jiang Huaiqing poked his head out: "I don't feel unwell, but something happened. Brother Chengyu, come in first."
He Chengyu calmly observed Jiang Huaiqing. Seeing that he was just a little depressed and had no other problems, he was slightly relieved.
"What is it?"
"I'm afraid I can't go and talk to Brother Chengyu again." Jiang Huaiqing walked to the table and sat down, "I have to leave Subei."
"His Majesty wants to summon you back?" For some reason, He Chengyu's heart skipped a beat.
"No." Jiang Huaiqing held the cup, his gaze somewhat blank, "His Majesty has given me a new mission."
When the secret order was issued, Shang Junlin did not say anything definite. He gave Jiang Huaiqing the leeway to refuse. This trip was very risky, but at the same time, if it was successful, the rewards would not be small. With Jiang Huaiqing's background, if not for Shang Junlin's intentional nurturing, it would be impossible for him to make a name for himself in court without a decade or two.
Therefore, after receiving the secret order, Jiang Huaiqing did not hesitate to agree. He had things he wanted to do. If it could shorten the time, he was willing to pay any price.
Jiang Huaiqing was a very decisive person. Once he made a decision, he would not regret it. The only thing that made him hesitate was He Chengyu. He and He Chengyu had discussed how to build Subei well together, how to strive for the best in these few years, and then return to the capital in glory. Now, he was going to break the contract.
"Can you tell me?" He Chengyu suppressed the panic rising in his heart, "It's okay if you don't want to talk."
"I can't tell you about His Majesty's secret order." Jiang Huaiqing shook his head.
"Okay, I won't ask. When are you leaving?" He Chengyu paused, "You should be able to tell me about this, right?"
"It'll probably be after the New Year, or maybe before. After I leave, I'll need you to cover for me. You can't let anyone know that I'm not here. Luckily, I don't have much of a presence," Jiang Huaiqing said with a smile.
"How long will you be gone? I... "He Chengyu's fingers moved, as if he wanted to hold Jiang Huaiqing's hand on the table. In the end, he held back," I'll wait for you to come back. "
"It shouldn't be too long. A year at most? Two years? If I can come back... "If he could come back, he would be closer to clearing his teacher's name. If he couldn't, his name would be buried forever with his teacher.
"There are no ifs!" He Chengyu suddenly stood up, grabbed Jiang Huaiqing's shoulder, and said word by word, "I'll wait for you here. You must come back."
After that day, Jiang Huaiqing was much quieter. For several days, he stayed in the place where the files were kept. He Chengyu noticed that most of the files he read were about the Northern Desert.
Jiang Huaiqing didn't say anything, and He Chengyu didn't ask either. He just asked someone to find a lot of records about the Northern Desert and send them to Jiang Huaiqing's room.
Jiang Huaiqing felt that He Chengyu should know something, and he didn't want to hide it from him. He had to go to the Northern Desert alone. If he really couldn't come back, he hoped that at least one person would know what he was doing.
"Knock, knock."
There was a knock on the door. Jiang Huaiqing opened the door, and an unfamiliar man walked in and handed Jiang Huaiqing a token.
Jiang Huaiqing took the token, "This is?"
"My Lord, please keep this well. This subordinate has been ordered by His Highness to escort you throughout the journey."
Jiang Huaiqing held the black token in his hand tightly.
When Shen Yu suggested that Jiang Huaiqing go to the Northern Desert, he would definitely do something. It was inconvenient for the Hidden Dragon Guards to be deployed. Coincidentally, the people he trained could be put to good use. He could also let these people investigate the Northern Desert first.
"The Hidden Dragon Guards said that an unknown force has appeared around Jiang Huaiqing. A Yu, do you know what is going on?"
"His Majesty sent the Hidden Dragon Guards around Jiang Huaiqing?"
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