This is bound to be a sleepless night.

Lu's gang was captured like a whirlwind and all were imprisoned awaiting trial.

Although Fang Qin and others had made great contributions in rescuing the emperor and had escaped implicated for the time being, the result was completely different from what they had planned and they were left in disgrace.

However, King Yan, the center of the vortex of the whole incident, is still nowhere to be found, and his life or death is unknown.

The next day was the day for a grand court meeting, so it had to be cancelled at the last minute. The Imperial Hospital rushed in and out of the palace like ants on a hot pot. Gu Yun and Shen Yi stayed in the palace for the whole night and left in the early morning of the next day, covered in the cool morning dew of early autumn.

Gu Yun's nose seemed to still be filled with the smell of medicinal soup in the deep palace. He had an extremely sensitive nose and enjoyed appreciating all kinds of smells, the sweet but not greasy scent of powder on beauties, the rich and fragrant scent of plants in the midsummer breeze, the fresh and peaceful herbal aroma on handsome boys... He just didn't like the smell of medicinal soup.

Especially when the doors and windows are closed, the stagnant smell of medicine that is trapped in the room is dull and lingering, like a quagmire that can drag a living person in.

After this battle, the two walked side by side, each exhausted, and neither of them said a word. After they left the palace, Shen Yi asked worriedly, "How are your eyes?"

Gu Yun shook his head.

Shen Yi didn't know whether he shook his head to mean "it's okay" or "not so good". After thinking about it, he felt that there was no one at Gu Yun's family to take care of him, so he ordered the driver to rush towards his home.

The martial law in the capital had not been lifted yet. There was no one on either side of the bluestone slab. When the curtain was lifted, only the rumbling sound of the carriage could be heard. Shen Yi breathed a sigh of relief tiredly and adjusted the slightly shaking gas lamp above his head. The light cast a large shadow on Gu Yun's face. There was a faint blue under his eyes and his cheeks were a little sunken. When he got on the carriage, he folded his hands in front of his chest and leaned on one side to rest his eyes, without asking Shen Yi where he was going to take him.

Shen Yi didn't wake him up until the car arrived home. In just a short while, Gu Yun actually fell asleep. He was a little dazed when he opened his eyes. He woke up after getting out of the car and blowing some morning breeze. He squinted his eyes and looked at the gate of Shen's house, and said, "Just now, there was a commotion. I think I heard someone say that Mr. Shen was sick?"

Shen Yi coughed dryly. It was not convenient for him to tell the truth at the door, so he just winked at him and smiled.

Gu Yun understood: "I am visiting the patient empty-handed today..."

Shen Yi smiled bitterly and said, "That's fine. You brought his son back with all his arms and legs intact, which is already a great gift... Shut up!"

The latter sentence was roared at the mysterious bird-like statue of the gate god in front of the Shen family's gate.

The door god myna bird seemed to be in a good mood today. It had no intention of showing off its power. It stretched its neck and stared at Gu Yun curiously. Unexpectedly, it was rebuked just after flapping its wings a little. It was immediately furious and greeted the guest with a howl, "Beast! Little beast! You look so unlucky. Die today and be buried tomorrow!"

Shen Yi: “…”

The ancestor of their family only recognized Old Man Shen. When he saw Old Man Shen, he would say "Master, wish you great prosperity." To other two-legged creatures, his attitude was "Come and fight, beasts."

Gu Yun remained calm, it seemed that this was not the first time he was scolded. He clasped his fingers together and flicked them skillfully, and a gust of wind hit the bird's beak. The starling was hit by this "slap" and turned over twice in the cage. Its feathers fell to the ground. It immediately wilted, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. After a long silence, it pinched a thin voice and said aggrievedly: "My dear, good luck and success, and your name will be on the list of successful candidates!"

General Shen is almost ashamed of himself.

Gu Yun smiled and turned to walk into the yard. Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, the bird's expression changed immediately, and it said viciously: "Pooh! Pooh!"

Logically speaking, a man weighing more than 100 pounds shouldn't have argued with this flat-haired beast weighing only 200 pounds. Unfortunately, Marquis Anding was unreasonable. He immediately took two steps back after hearing the sound, reached out and took down the bird cage on the door beam, opened the iron cage door and took out the door god. He said to Shen Yi, "Tell your grandfather that I'm taking this thing away and I'll compensate him with a new one someday."

Shen Yi had had enough, and said with tears of gratitude: "Okay, no problem, I don't need to thank you for your kindness!"

The "door god" was horrified, and all the feathers on his body exploded. He screamed, "Murdering my husband—Gah!"

...It was strangled by Gu Yun.

This shout woke up the dozing gatekeeper. The old servant rubbed his eyes, and when he saw Gu Yun coming, he hurriedly led the way to welcome the guest, and there was another commotion.

After entering the inner courtyard, Shen Yi looked around and saw that there was no one around. He lowered his voice and asked, "Where is His Royal Highness Prince Yan?"

Gu Yun shook his head slowly.

Shen Yi was surprised: "You don't know either?"

"We lost contact in Yangzhou," Gu Yun held the bird in one hand and pinched his brow with the other hand, soon his brow turned red. He first briefly told Shen Yi about his itinerary, and then said, "He asked Xiao Cao to pretend to be me and flatter Yang Ronggui, while he secretly went to Chencang. I heard from the guards I left with him that he seemed to be looking for refugee witnesses in a gang. On the way, he only brought a short note saying 'I'm fine, don't worry', and told us to return to Beijing and not to worry about him. After that, there was no contact. Yang Ronggui rebelled in his name, and I really had to come back to help him. I left a few people there and asked General Zhong to secretly send people to investigate, but until now..."

After all the fuss, the other party is still worried.

Shen Yi didn't know what to say for a moment, so he reached out and pressed Gu Yun's shoulder: "Don't you know what King Yan is capable of? You see he didn't show his face, but he knew it in his heart, so I knew it would be fine. Besides, he has been traveling around the world with Zhong Lao and others since he was a child. What hasn't he seen? It's okay."

Gu Yun's frown showed no sign of loosening.

Shen Yi had no choice but to change the subject and asked, "How is the emperor?"

Gu Yun sighed: "He is not injured. The imperial physician only said that he was extremely angry and needs to rest. But to be honest, I have heard the word "rest" so many times that my ears are callused. It seems that the doctors always use these two words to treat everyone. If he can rest, who wouldn't rest?"

Shen Yi asked cautiously: "When he asked you to come in, he didn't say anything, right?"

Gu Yun was silent for a moment: "Yes, he asked me, 'If it rains heavily and the river floods, will the dragon grow horns?'"

Shen Yi held his breath immediately - the dragon with horns was about to become a dragon, so it was obvious who this was referring to: "You..."

Gu Yun said, "In folklore, Jiao and dragon are close relatives. They can call the clouds and rain and moisten the earth. They are the same. But even if it is a divine Jiao, if it causes the river to swell and abandons both banks in order to grow horns and turn into a dragon, wouldn't that be stirring up trouble? It must be an evil Jiao with a long criminal record, causing trouble to the village."

Shen Yi: "...Is this what you told the Emperor?"

Gu Yun: "Hmm."

In fact, Li Feng told him something else.

When the man in his prime was leaning against the bed, he suddenly felt that his life was about to end. Li Feng asked without warning, "What did the late emperor say to you before he passed away?"

The late emperor said a lot, and Gu Yun still remembered it all vividly. When Li Feng asked, he thought for a moment and picked the safest answer, "The late emperor told me, 'In everything, excess is as bad as deficiency, so we should cherish our blessings and know when to advance and retreat.'"

Li Feng was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Chen Xi who had just woken up, and repeated the words "too much is as bad as too little" several times, and then said ramblingly: "...Amin told me that he was abused by a barbarian girl when he was a child. Does the emperor know about this?"

Even though Gu Yun was extremely alert, he was still a little confused for a moment and didn't understand what Li Feng meant.

At that time, a little bird happened to accidentally break a branch outside the window, and flew into the sky in fright. Li Feng was awakened by the noise, and the dazed and tired look on his face suddenly disappeared. He turned around and glanced at Gu Yun, his eyes seemed to contain a lot of words, but in the end he didn't say anything, just waved and let him leave.

Shen Yi sighed in his ear: "The king's heart is hard to predict, and the human heart is also hard to predict."

Gu Yun came back to his senses: "Tired."

"Isn't it?" Shen Yi said with the same feeling. "Lawless, desperate, taking advantage of troubled waters... I think it's better to fight at the border - in fact, being a long-arm master in Lingshuyuan is the least troublesome. Zixi, sometimes I think this capital city is just like Pansi Cave, full of dangers. Why don't we just quit and find a small shop somewhere to do some small business together? We won't starve to death and we don't have to look at anyone's face. What to sell... Well, let's sell long-arm master's tools and engine oil, what do you say?"

"Are you sick?" Gu Yun rolled his eyes at him. "I won't make myself greasy all day long and serve a bunch of equally greasy and smelly customers. If I have to sell anything, I'd rather sell rouge and powder. It's also good to welcome and see beauties every day."

When Shen Yi heard this, his hypocritical heart immediately overflowed, and he said sarcastically with a fake smile: "You have such great ambitions, does His Royal Highness Prince Yan know?"

Gu Yun laughed too, but only for a moment. He soon couldn't laugh anymore and showed his worry in front of Shen Yi without much effort to hide it.

Where is Chang Gung now?

Even if he could return safely, what would Li Feng say? After this battle, would the two brothers still have no grudges against each other?

Shen Yi watched coldly, and when the topic turned back to King Yan, Gu Yun couldn't even pretend anymore. He had never seen Gu Yun care so much about anyone, and he was a little frightened for a moment, and didn't dare to continue.

In recent years, the world has been very chaotic. Some places among the people are very unrestrained, and there is a tendency to imitate foreigners in throwing away the strict barriers between men and women. At the same time, some great Confucian families have become even more determined to cling to the old system, crying out that rites and music are collapsing, and restrictions on their relatives' children are becoming increasingly tight.

But somehow, Shen Yi always felt that this world was a bit cruel - the former was together for three days and broke up in two days. Putting aside the arrangements of parents and matchmakers, everyone actually had their own plans in mind regarding marriage. Even if others didn't care, they would still make their own calculations, and in the end they still had to make do with being well-matched.

Needless to say, the latter, marriage at the appropriate age is just a process according to ancient rituals. Forcing two people who have nothing in common together is no different from breeding pigs, horses, cows and sheep.

The flowers are in full bloom, the moon is full, and everything is perfect, but it seems that only a blind cat can catch a dead mouse. There is so little love in the world. A madman takes some, a fool takes some, and there is very little left. How can it be enough to share?

People like King Yan and Gu Yun are rare.

Although neither of them revealed much in front of outsiders, based on Shen Yi's understanding of Gu Yun, if he was not unable to let go, Gu Yun would never cross the line between adoptive father and son.

Shen Yi couldn't help but feel terrified when he thought about it. His mother hen disease came back again, so he asked in a low voice: "Zi Xi, I'm not saying bad things, but have you ever thought about how you plan to end it if there are any problems between you two in the future?"

Gu Yun didn't say anything for a long time, but this time, he finally didn't talk about other things. When he was about to walk to the backyard, Gu Yun suddenly said inaudibly: "I thought about it, but I don't know."

Shen Yi was speechless for a moment.

Even the most earth-shattering vows of love would not sound as earth-shattering as these five words to him.

Entering the backyard, I saw the legendary bedridden Mr. Shen practicing boxing vigorously in the backyard, with no intention of dying at all. Gu Yun's visit made the old man very happy. He pulled him to talk about his health-preserving experience and also kindly invited Gu Shuai to push hands with him.

Shen Yi was afraid that his father would be pushed over the wall by General Gu, so he stopped the invitation in a cold sweat and took Gu Yun to rest.

Gu Yun slept until the afternoon. Before he could wake up, Shen Yi came in and pulled him up: "The emperor urgently summons you to the palace."

Gu Yun hurried to the palace, and was first dazzled by a guard he had sent to Chang Geng. The guard looked very disheveled after a long journey, with wounds and blood on his body. Gu Yun's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and he moistened his lips with difficulty, barely suppressed his emotions, and quickly saluted Li Feng.

"Uncle, please don't be polite," Li Feng, who looked haggard, climbed up and turned to the guard. "What do you think is going on with Prince Yan?"

The personal guard bowed his head and said to Gu Yun, "I was ordered by the Marshal to accompany His Royal Highness Prince Yan and Lord Xu to secretly investigate the epidemic in Jiangbei. The traitor Yang Ronggui had bad intentions. We went to the Jiangbei camp to report the news and lost contact with Prince Yan for a while. Later, Yang Ronggui escaped and went north. The Marshal was not sure whether Prince Yan was held hostage by him or had another way to escape, so he took people back to Beijing and left us in Yangzhou Prefecture to try to search for Prince Yan's whereabouts..."

These words were given by Gu Yun in advance - in fact, the guards were left in Yangzhou Prefecture when Chang Geng joined the Shahai Gang.

Later, Gu Yun went north to the capital. He was really worried about Chang Geng, so he left them in Yangzhou and asked them to continue searching for Chang Geng's whereabouts.

Gu Yun frowned, and suddenly had a bad feeling in his heart.

"The person in Yang Ronggui's hand is fake," Li Feng interrupted, "So you know where Amin is?"

The guard took out a letter from his bosom: "Your Majesty, please read this."

The envelope was written in Chang Geng's handwriting, which was a little sloppy compared to his usual neatness, and there was blood on it.

Gu Yun's fingertips felt slightly numb, and he suddenly understood how Chang Geng felt when he "fainted at the sight of blood" when he came to bandage his wound during the defense of the capital.

Li Feng took it and frowned more and more the more he looked at it. After a long while, he actually sighed, said nothing, and handed the letter to Gu Yun.

Gu Yun probably used all his strength to avoid looking so anxious and impatient.

The beginning of the letter was relatively normal, but it was basically nonsense - it made up a story about how he cleverly escaped from Yang Ronggui, and later fell into the hands of the Shahai Gang by accident. It was also discovered that some of the Jiangbei refugees were secretly detained and persecuted by Yang Ronggui, and some had joined bandit gangs. In order to get witnesses, Prince Yan decided to infiltrate the bandit gang with Lord Xu to investigate the matter... It seemed that the nerd Xu Ling had been fooled by Chang Geng and had lost his way.

The following content is wrong——

Chang Geng explained in just a few words what he had seen and heard in the Shahai Gang. Yang Ronggui's lawlessness was a bit sensational. However, just when he had persuaded a group of Shahai Gang bandits to follow him to Beijing to meet the emperor, problems arose within the Shahai Gang.

Although they accepted a lot of refugees, the gang was still a gang after all and had an inherent malice towards the government. Some fierce bandits suspected that King Yan joined the Shahai Gang with ill intentions and came to recruit him. The arguments became more and more intense, and even conflicts broke out among the various forces within the gang.

There were also many troublemakers in the gang who loved to sow discord. The local people were already resentful, so they quickly picked up trouble and triggered a mob rebellion.

Chang Geng warned in the letter that although the mob seemed to be powerful, they had limited weapons and armor, and might not be able to withstand the regular army of Jiangbei Camp. However, if this happened, the situation would inevitably escalate and the people's resentment would inevitably deepen. Suppression by force was the worst option, so the Jiangbei Camp should not be allowed to intervene as much as possible. He said that he would maneuver and do his best to win over the people and calm their grievances.

When Gu Yun saw this, he really wanted to kill someone - isn't this just bullshit?

Can this be called "safe and sound"?!

The guard said, "General, the prince has given an order, and I dare not disobey it. However, the situation is getting worse and worse. After Yang Ronggui left, the city defense officers and soldiers under his command were leaderless and were tossed around by the mob. Some of the mobs had relatives and friends killed by Yang Ronggui. They hated the local government and used cruel methods. They often tortured the captured officers and soldiers to death. It seemed that it was difficult to control the situation. General Zhong ordered us to report to the court as soon as possible and ask for the emperor's order."

Li Feng asked, "What about the Amin people?"

The guard knelt down and said, "… Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Yan… After His Royal Highness Prince Yan sent this letter through someone else, there has been no news since then. The person who secretly sent the letter was a monk, and the temple where the monk was was burned down the next day."

Gu Yun almost couldn't catch his breath.

Li Feng was also stunned by the series of unexpected events.