While the palace banquet was in full swing, Chang Geng was helping to collect herbs in the small courtyard where Miss Chen was temporarily staying in the capital.

His cold came and went quickly, and after taking two doses of medicine, he was almost fully recovered. The reason why he still hadn't canceled his leave was, firstly, because of his sensitive background, Gu Yun wanted him to stay away, and secondly, he heard that Chen Qingxu had new clues about Wuergu.

"You mean the Urgu is in my blood?"

Chen Qingxu's hands were filled with various yellowed old books. He often had to rescue fallen pages. He was in a mess, but his words were calm: "Urugu harms people's minds. I always thought that its root was in the brain. If it weren't for the reminder from the Marquis, I would not have thought of this... Look here - the earliest record of the evil god Urgu by the barbarians, 'Born dangerous, eats the flesh and blood of brothers to help himself grow, has four legs, four arms, two hands and two hearts, and a sea of ​​blood flows in his chest, which is particularly violent'. I thought 'sea of ​​blood flows' was just a metaphor, but it turns out to refer to the mechanism of Urgu's attack."

Only when she talked about these things could she utter so many words at once.

"Blood and flesh," Chang Geng was silent for a moment, then shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Miss Chen, do you mean that my entire body is poisonous, unless I follow the myth of scraping off the bones and removing the flesh?"

It seems worse than having a broken brain.

Chang Geng calmly sorted the herbs into different categories, put them into containers in order and arranged them neatly. The gears on the shelf meshed with each other, making a "squeaking" sound, and slowly rose to a high place, revealing the empty boxes underneath. This was a delicate job that could not be done by someone who was impatient.

Chen Qingxu looked at him with some admiration. He was the only one in history who had the Ur bone and remained conscious until adulthood, not to mention maintaining such a calm temperament.

I don’t know if he was born strong-willed or if it’s because he has Gu Yun more than others.

Chang Geng: "To be honest, I haven't been feeling well lately, and my urinary symptoms have been getting more and more frequent."

Chen Qingxu said casually: "The Marquis told me."

Chang Gen was stunned for a moment: "He..."

Gu Yun seemed to always have the attitude of "just a barbarian voodoo", never taking this "little problem" of his seriously, rarely mentioning it, and never showing any concern in front of Chang Geng.

Did it turn out that I had been concerned about her all along?

Chen Qingxu paused, realizing that he had said too much, and changed the subject casually, "If Your Highness has no other errands, I plan to go back to the Chen family's old house in Shanxi. It will be much easier to find the root cause. There is always a way."

"Well," Chang Geng responded, and said with a bow, "Thank you, and I also have Zixi's antidote..."

Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted by someone from the palace.

The medicine boy brought in a eunuch, who greeted Chang Geng respectfully and said, "Your Majesty, the Emperor heard that you were ill, so he sent me to see you. I also brought a royal doctor with me, but the doctor didn't dare to enter Chen Shengshou's courtyard, so he is waiting outside."

Chang Geng frowned and said, "Thank you for your concern, my brother. I just caught a cold, it's not a serious illness."

The eunuch smiled and said, "Yes, I also see that the prince is in good spirits. Um... Prince, the palace is hosting a banquet tonight to entertain the three princes of the Northern Barbarians and the envoys. The envoys from the eighteen tribes mentioned the prince to the emperor. His Majesty ordered me to pass on the oral order, saying that if the prince is not in good health, he does not need to work. If he is still in good spirits, he can come out and get some fresh air."

Chen Qingxu was stunned for a moment, and quickly looked up at Chang Geng - it would be fine if no one said anything, but since the Northern Barbarian envoy had brought it up, Chang Geng really couldn't refuse outright. There was an awkwardness in the middle: the Northern Barbarians were both Daliang's enemy and the mother's family of His Royal Highness Prince Yan. Of course, he couldn't approach them intentionally, but it wasn't appropriate to avoid them intentionally either, it was very subtle.

The diplomatic corps called out his name, but the key to whether to meet him or not depends on Li Feng's attitude, which is the direction he would take to avoid suspicion.

Chang Geng took out a purse from his pocket in a very polite manner, stuffed it into the eunuch's pocket, and asked, "Excuse me, may I ask what my brother said?"

The eunuch felt that Prince Yan was generous, and smiled until his big round face turned red. He said politely incoherently: "I dare not... Alas, Your Majesty, please treat me badly. This... I really don't deserve it..."

He said he felt guilty, but he happily put it away. Then he said to Chang Geng, "Our prince is a man of low status. He doesn't need to give face to those barbarians who eat raw meat and drink blood. The emperor said that if the prince is willing to go out, he should come to the palace to pay his New Year's greetings to the emperor. This will save you from being bored. You can go to the palace and sit for a while before leaving. You don't need to socialize with those idle people. It's almost the end of the year. He will feel relieved if he sees you."

Chang Geng understood: "Let me rest and change my clothes, then I will go to the palace with the chief steward."

The eunuch responded cheerfully, "Then I will prepare a carriage for you."

Chang Geng watched him walk away with a smile, then turned back into the house, and his smile immediately turned cold.

Chen Qingxu followed in: "How can I help you?"

Chang Geng shook his head. "The palace banquet this year is very strict. Zi Xi is there, and everyone entering and leaving has to go through several inspections. Except for the third prince and the envoys, all the servants of the barbarians are detained in the post station. Even if the third prince of the barbarian tribe has purple gold under his skin, I guarantee that he can't do anything. You just need to lend me a room to tidy up your clothes."

Chen Qingxu didn't understand these things, so he didn't say much and asked the medicine boy to lead the way.

Chang Geng walked to the door with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, he paused and turned around: "Miss Chen, do you have a silver knife?"

Wang Guo was among the civil officials. He listened to a group of sharp-tongued Daliang civil officials venting their national hatred and family feuds, and criticizing and pressuring the northern barbarian envoys with words and pens.

The Northern Barbarian envoy was not a sharp-tongued person, but he knew when to advance and retreat. Once the topic became so sharp that he could not answer, he would just smile and remain silent. It seemed that he really came to negotiate with great endurance.

Wang Guojiu's gaze also lingered on the silent Third Prince with his head down, but he quickly shifted his attention - he was not interested in that fool and had already arranged a better show.

Wang Guo was different from those big shots like Fang Qin who always talked about the national economy and people's livelihood. He knew in his heart that no one looked up to him. Even Lord Fang and his group would only call him a gentleman when they needed him. Behind his back, they still called him "the eunuch uncle of the emperor", saying that he was "conscientious and responsible" in his duties as the uncle of the emperor, and even served as the acting chief eunuch.

Wang Guo used to be a nobody who ran errands for the late emperor, destined to be a jester and a scapegoat for the higher-ups. Ever since the incident between the late emperor and the barbarian concubine broke out, he had been living in fear.

He had no opinion on Gu Yun or even the Gu family. In terms of interests, the civil officials and military officers of Daliang rarely interacted with each other. As long as one of them did not have the ambition to cover the sky with one hand, even if they fought for power, they would not be able to fight for the same pot. Moreover, if you say it, the Gu family is the real ancestor of the aristocratic family, but the population is sparse and the marriage partner is too special. And Wang Guo himself and Gu Yun did not have any differences in opinion - he had no opinion on family and national affairs, and his only opinion was how to serve the emperor comfortably.

The court is full of important figures in both civil and military affairs, and each of them has his own ideas. There must be a few people who can allow the emperor to relax a little after a battle of wits and courage, right?

If possible, he would never do anything to hurt the Gu family even if he was full of rat poison.

But destiny is hard to understand and the will of the sage is hard to obey. Now the old sage has blown out the candle and put an end to everything, but at best he still has the perverse logic of "the king wants his subjects to die", and he has left him behind as a scapegoat for the world's curse.

Now Emperor Longan is nostalgic and is willing to treat this good-for-nothing as his uncle and protect him, allowing him to survive and beg for food.

So what about the future?

It is not scary how much land tax and civil and commercial laws the King of Yan reforms. What is scary is what will the King of Yan do with his royal family once he comes to power?

Prince Yan has had a close relationship with Gu Yun since childhood, and he himself is the son of the late emperor and the Barbarian Concubine. As a child, it is impossible for him to pursue the sins of his parents. In order to further win over Gu Yun and gain the hearts of the army, the first thing he must do is to capture this unfortunate guy to offer sacrifices to the Gu family's ancestors.

What Lord Fang and the others are worried about is nothing more than Prince Yan's reshuffle in the court. It's just about fame, wealth and the future of the family. However, Uncle Wang Guo's life is hanging by a thread, and he is always worried about his own head - high positions and generous salaries can only be enjoyed if one is alive.

When the barbarians first arrived in the imperial capital, they were very honest and did not try to make trouble everywhere - the capital was full of princes and nobles, and no one was so poor that he was crazy and would not be so short-sighted as to bear the charge of "treason and collaborating with the enemy" for a little benefit.

Just before the palace banquet, the envoys from the eighteen tribes extended their tentacles for the first time and contacted a person, who was none other than Wang Guojiu, the seemingly insignificant flatterer.

The envoys of the eighteen tribes swore an oath to Changshengtian and gave the king two promises: first, to make sure that King Yan would no longer be the sword hanging over his head.

Second: Regardless of whether this matter succeeds or fails, Wang Guo will not be recruited. If Wang Guo is desperate in the future, the eighteen tribes are willing to save his life.

The mobs of the Eighteen Tribes were uncivilized, cruel and bloodthirsty, and they liked to tinker with poisons, but they had one good thing: they took oaths very seriously.

And all they asked for was a simple favor - Prince Yan would most likely not show up to avoid suspicion, and this time, Uncle Wang would make sure that Prince Yan appeared at the palace banquet.

The barbarians did not say what they were going to do, so Wang Guo planned to wait and see. In case the barbarians failed, he had prepared a backup plan - this was thanks to Lord Fang. In order to overthrow King Yan, Fang Qin secretly kept a person in the Fang family's villa.

When Concubine Man absconded, a large number of palace maids, guards and imperial physicians were implicated, many of whom died unjustly. However, those who had real problems were well prepared. The old imperial physician in the Fang family's villa was one of those who absconded for fear of crime. His son accidentally killed someone, and because of the debt of his children, he had to sell a secret: when Concubine Man absconded, who was pregnant, Princess Xiu, who was following her, was pregnant out of wedlock.

Xiuniang Hu Geer colluded with the barbarians in Yanhui Town to enter the country, and hated Daliang to the core. Will she really raise her enemy's son honestly?

Is the person that Gu Yun brought back from Yanhui the son of the previous emperor, or a bastard born by Hu Geer whose biological father is unknown?

Fang Qin took in the imperial physician and did not act rashly. He had learned from the lesson of not being able to bite Prince Yan to death last time, and this time he planned to hit the target with one strike. He was still slowly formulating the plan, but Prince Yan was not going to cooperate and wait for him anymore.

The great have their own ways, the small have their own ways. It doesn't matter if you are very skillful or even very despicable, as long as it is effective.

When the envoys of the eighteen tribes asked to see the King of Yan, Li Feng did not respond immediately. He just asked the eunuch to run errands to check on him after he found out that the King of Yan was ill. Li Feng's original words were "Bring a doctor to take a look, and let Amin take good care of himself. If he feels better in a few days, he should not stay in the room all the time, but come to the palace to pay New Year's greetings to me, and there is no need to socialize with other people."

After saying this, Emperor Longan fulfilled his obligation to appear at the palace banquet and left.

Wang Guojiu is not the "eunuch uncle" for nothing. He has bribed and arranged a group of seemingly insignificant eunuchs who run errands. As long as the messenger skillfully distorts Li Feng's words a little, Prince Yan will definitely come.

Prince Yan, who had taken leave, made a special trip to meet the Northern Barbarian envoys after the Emperor left. Then, in full view of everyone, he revealed a story that confused the royal bloodline and his unknown background - how will he end up?

Since Li Feng left, the palace banquet had passed most of the time in peace. Seeing that it was almost over, Gu Yun breathed a sigh of relief. He picked up the wine glass and touched his lips. Before he could taste the flavor, the eunuch suddenly came to report that Prince Yan had arrived.

Before Gu Yun had time to sort out his thoughts, his heart skipped a beat.

Fang Qin was a little surprised, but Wang Guo lowered his head. The envoys from the eighteen tribes turned to the outside of the hall with a smile on their faces, while the third prince of the barbarian tribe, who had been eating and drinking in the corner with his head down, suddenly stopped eating.

The first thing Chang Geng saw when he walked into the hall was that there was no one on the throne. He knew at that moment that he had been tricked.

However, it was too late to go back now. Chang Geng did not stop, his slightly sick face remained calm, and he maintained a gentle smile. He walked in leisurely, took off his cloak, and passed it to the servant. He glanced at the eunuch who had tricked him in, and he was gone.

Although a member of the noble family party didn't know why Prince Yan was here, he was unwilling to give up the opportunity to add insult to injury, and immediately said with a meaningful smile: "Your Highness Prince Yan had already asked for leave for the palace banquet today, but it seems that the guests from the eighteen tribes are so prestigious that they actually invited Prince Yan here with just one word."

Another person continued, "You should be fined for what you said. It's fine for others, but how come the guests here today are just ordinary guests? The Eighteen Tribes are your maternal family, so you should treat them differently."

Chang Geng's wide court robe almost fell to the ground. He calmly replied, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sending someone to ask me about this. I came to the palace to wish you a happy new year, but I came at an unfortunate time. Has Your Majesty left already?"

"Your Highness Prince Yan came here at an unfortunate time, but we came here at the right time. It is a great honor to meet the two great men of the Daliang Dynasty today. My prince would also like to toast Your Highness!"

As they were talking, the envoys from the eighteen tribes helped the third prince to stand up.

Gu Yun quickly winked at Shen Yi, and several guards who were hiding in the dark in the hall suddenly revealed their murderous intent and locked onto the barbarian envoy and the third prince.

The third prince stepped out from the table, looking very nervous. His hand holding the wine glass was shaking violently, and before he got close to Chang Geng, half of the wine had already been spilled.

As the young man approached, Chang Geng suddenly felt an uncontrollable heat. The fever that had subsided came back fiercely again. His ears were buzzing and the blood in his body seemed to be ignited by purple gold, boiling violently.

The hairs on Chang Geng's body stood up. The countless pairs of eyes around him, some of which were long-planned, some of which were gloating, were not as stressful as the pressure this young man gave him. He almost forced himself to endure the severe discomfort, struggling to maintain the dignity of a prince, and forcing himself to smile and said, "Why, do princes of your department always say nothing when they toast?"

The Northern Barbarian envoy suddenly laughed and slowly retreated one foot behind the Third Prince.

The trembling third prince suddenly stopped without any warning. His hands, suspended in the air, were pale and glowed with a lifeless light.

Then he raised his head and met Chang Geng's gaze directly.

The young man had a pair of red eyes on his pale face, and his cold pupils were like an ice spike, piercing towards Chang Geng without warning.

This young man is actually a Ulgu!

No one knows what will happen when two "evil gods" fight against each other, and there has never been any record of it - how crazy is Urgu, how much hatred and luck does it take to achieve one?

How chaotic does an era have to be for two Urgu to come face to face?

There seemed to be some kind of indescribable connection between the two of them. For a moment, the entire palace hall disappeared in front of Chang Geng's eyes. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if it was about to explode.

All illusions and realities became a mess. The poison suppressed in his bones and blood for many years was like hot oil poured on a raging fire, erupting like a tsunami... All the indigestible hatred and rage surged into Chang Geng's heart. All the nightmares that were brewing in the abyss came out in droves, opened their bloody mouths, and wanted to swallow him whole.