Edited: 11.29.2023
On the other side, Yue Yichuan, the governor of Guangling, and Feng Yihai, the disaster relief censor, were waiting for Gu Yan’s return at the entrance of the post house. Yue Yichuan was a little older and already had gray hair while Feng Yihai was slightly younger than him but should have passed his prime.
Yue Yichuan sighed sadly: “The situation is so critical right now, why do you think Prince Rui has gone through such trouble?…….Why bother to work so hard for just a little servant?”
“He’s not just a little servant.” Feng Yihai stroked his beard and lightly mocked, “I heard that in Yi’an, Prince Rui was with this little gentleman 24/7. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell what kind of relationship do they have.”
Yue Yichuan was stunned: “You mean……”
He hesitated for a moment and then said: “But I heard that Prince Rui just married a princess consort not long ago and the two of them are very much in love.”
“Lord Yue, if you ask me this, then who am I supposed to ask?” Feng Yihao said, “When I was in Chang’an, I had the honor to meet Princess Consort Rui. Although it was a distant view, I did see the unwavering love between the Prince and the princess consort. But there are no Princes or nobles who can only love one person. Prince Rui is such a charming and talented man, so it is not unusual for him to have one or two concubines.”
Yue Yichuan sighed: “If this was the past, I would have offered Prince Rui as many beauties as he wanted. But now at this critical juncture……sigh.”
Feng Yihai laughed: “Otherwise where do you think the saying ‘beauty is the root of trouble’ came from?”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was the sound of rolling wheels behind him. The two of them turned around to look at each other and saw the carriage Gu Yan was riding in slowly approaching them.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the post house. The two of them stepped forward and opened the curtain for Gu Yan. Then they saw Gu Yan getting out of the carriage holding the rumored “troublesome beauty.”
The wound on Ye Zi’s neck was not deep and the bleeding had already stopped, but Gu Yan was still worried. After applying medicine, he wrapped it with gauze, making it look very serious.
Feng Yihai immediately put aside his previous expression, stepped forward earnestly, and said in shock: “Is the little gentleman injured? Those criminals sure have guts, to even dare touch one of Prince Rui’s people.”
When Yue Yichuan noticed him changing expressions like flipping a page in a book, he was speechless for a moment and stood there without saying a word. Gu Yan didn’t even look at the two of them and walked straight towards the post house. The two looked at each other before quickly following after him.
Gu Yan carried Ye Zi into the room and lowered him onto the bed as he glanced at the two lords standing at the door and said helplessly: “Wait for me.”
Ye Zi nodded as Gu Yan left the inner room.
Gu Yan walked up to the two of them: “What else do you two lords need?”
Yue Yichuan hesitated for a moment: “Your Majesty, that epidemic……”
Gu Yan faintly interrupted him, “Didn’t I already tell you? The previous cure for the epidemic in Yi’an was really a coincidence. Without the proper herbs, I can’t get medicine to cure people in other areas at all.”
“This……” Yue Yichuan paused and sighed, “But seeing that the epidemic is spreading day by day, if it continues on like this…….how can it be good?”
Gu Yan swept a glance at him: “What are the two lords’ insights?”
The two looked at each other for a moment and Yue Yichuan said truthfully: “If you don’t even have an idea, then this official definitely won’t have one. I think Your Majesty should still come up with something though.”
Gu Yan impatiently pressed against his temples.
Today, he was invited to the governor’s residence. The three of them had been arguing about this issue all morning, which made it difficult for him to come back and almost put Ye Zi in danger.
Now it was happening again.
Feng Yihai, however, interjected: “Your Majesty, this official has an idea, but I don’t know if I should say it or not.”
“Speak.”
Feng Yihai didn’t rush to speak and instead subconsciously looked around.
There were several people standing in the corridor of the post house and it really wasn’t a suitable place to talk about these things. Gu Yan understood and stepped aside: “Please come this way.”
The three of them sat down outside the bedroom. Seeing that Gu Yan had no intention of avoiding the person in the inner room, Feng Yihai said: “Actually, there has been a similar situation before. If we still can’t find a way to cure the epidemic, we might as well…….follow what they did in the past.”
Gu Yan narrowed his eyes: “What Lord Feng means is……..for this Prince to follow what was done to the epidemic in Chang’an twenty years ago?”
The person responsible for handling the epidemic in Chang’an twenty years ago was the current emperor, Emperor Jinghe, who was still the Second Imperial Prince at that time.
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At that time, Emperor Jinghe ordered all the patients to be driven to the outskirts and burned, thus curbing the spread of the epidemic.
This was also what happened in Gu Yan’s previous life and where the epidemic eventually ended up.
Yue Yichuan was momentarily appalled and hurriedly said: “Lord Feng, this is absolutely not possible. Right now, there are already five or six counties in critical condition, if we do this……”
“But if we don’t, should we allow the epidemic to spread and harm more people?” Feng Yihai stroked his beard and advised: “Your Majesty, you must not lose out on the big picture because of small things.”
Gu Yan was silent for a moment: “This is a matter of great importance and this Prince does not dare to make unauthorized decisions. Let’s do it this way, I’ll write a report and have it sent to His Holiness. If His Holiness approves, we’ll follow Lord Feng’s advice.”
“But——”
Just as Yue Yichuan wanted to say something else, Feng Yihai laughed: “What Your Majesty said is very true.”
He took out a report from his bosom and placed it in front of Gu Yan: “This official has already prepared a report and has written the situation as well as the strategy to deal with it. Please have a look at it, Your Majesty. If you think there is no problem, I will have someone send it to Chang’an immediately to be presented to the Emperor.”
Gu Yan flipped open the report, quickly scanned through it, and laughed: “Lord Feng is truly properly prepared, just send it like this.”
Feng Yihai responded, “Yes.”
“No!” Yue Yichuan flushed with anger as he slammed his hand on the table: “Your Majesty, do you know how many innocent lives will be killed if you set fire? The people of Jiangnan have already been plunged into dire straits, do you really still want to do this?”
Gu Yan looked at him calmly: “If we don’t do this, does Lord Yue have any other methods?”
“I……you, you guys——”
Yue Yichuan was so angry that he couldn’t speak. Feng Yihai patted his shoulder and laughed: “Lord Yue, relax, His Majesty is also doing this for the safety of the people. Sacrificing the lives of a few is better than harming the majority.”
As he spoke, he turned to look at Gu Yan: “This official won’t disturb Your Majesty’s rest any longer and will be leaving first.”
Gu Yan nodded: “Very well.”
Feng Yihai pulled Yue Yichuan out the door when Gu Yan suddenly spoke up: “By the way, Lord Yue, I have captured the kidnappers earlier and locked them in the government’s prison. Let them be locked up at your place for a few days first and when this Prince…..”
Gu Yan’s eyes glanced towards the inner room: “When this Prince has taken care of his personal matters, he will go to interrogate them in person in a couple of days.”
Yue Yichuan’s face alternated between red and white as he snorted coldly, turned around, and walked out the door.
“Lord Yue is an upright person, please don’t blame him, Your Majesty. I will try and persuade him.” Feng Yihai lowered his voice, exited the bedroom, and closed the door for them.
The room returned to silence. Ye Zi walked out of the inner room and looked in the direction of the door indignantly: “That dog official……”
Gu Yan smiled disinterestedly and beckoned him over: “Come here.”
Ye Zi walked over to him and sat down: “Isn’t he basically forcing you to set the city on fire? And he also had the report already prepared, he——”
“That’s enough.” Gu Yan touched his hair and said in a warm voice: “Don’t worry, I’ll have Siwei send someone to intercept them, that report won’t reach Emperor Jinghe.”
Ye Zi was slightly relieved: “Then what do we do next? Just wait like this?”
“The bait has been scattered, let’s just wait for them to fall into the trap.” Gu Yan said, “Are you tired? I’ll go in with you and lie down for a while.”
“Okay.”
As night fell, Guangling City was peaceful.
In the government prison, there was a faint sound of coughing and wheezing. A Qing sat on his knees in the prison, supporting the man next to him who was coughing up blood. His voice was filled with tears: “Big brother, big brother, if you hold on a little longer, there will be a way.”
Right at this moment, the door to the prison suddenly opened and someone walked in.
A Qing hurriedly climbed to the side of the cell and called out: “Lord, lord, please save my big brother, he’s about to die, please——”
The sound of footsteps gradually came in and the candlelight on the wall danced, illuminating the face in the darkness.
A Qing’s voice came to an abrupt end.
The visitor bent down slightly and smiled lightly at A Qing: “Saving is naturally necessary, aren’t we here to save him right now?”
As his words fell, the guards beside him came forward and placed a food basket on the ground. The food basket was opened and inside were several bowls of fresh water. At the same time, someone stepped forward and opened the cell door.
A Qing’s pupils shrunk, subconsciously ducking back: “D-Don’t come over……Don’t come over!”
“When you secretly kidnapped one of Prince Rui’s people, you should have deserved to die. Now that you have contracted the epidemic and will die soon in prison, no one will suspect a single thing.” The man paused and ordered: “Do it.”
“No, don’t, don’t!” A Qing hurriedly fled towards the back but was grabbed by the guards and pulled up by his hair.
The guard was about to feed the bowl of water to A Qing when suddenly something flew out from the shadows and struck his arm. The guard let go of his hand in pain and the bowl fell to the ground and shattered.
“Who?” The man’s demeanor changed as someone stepped out from the shadows.
Gu Yan raised his eyes to look at him and the corners of his lips curled up slightly: “Who sent you here? To interrogate the prisoner in person at such a late hour, you truly do your duty carefully.”
Inside a villa in the city, a figure quietly passed over the wall and jumped into the courtyard. It was almost midnight and the lights in the villa were still bright, but the courtyard was extremely dark, with no lights at all.
Ye Zi stood under the wall. There was a swallow on his shoulder, flapping its wings and chirping beside him.
“That’s the one, right? I got it.” Ye Zi touched its feathers, lowered his voice, and laughed, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine, do all birds talk this much?”
The little swallow pecked lightly on his finger, as if expressing its dissatisfaction with this statement.
Ye Zi smiled and said nothing more. His eyes looked towards the place where the swallow had pointed just now. Not far away, several servants were digging through the soil.
Ye Zi walked up without worry and asked: “This big brother, what are you doing?”
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The man didn’t look up: “Lord Feng said that the flowers and plants in this yard aren’t good-looking. He told us to plant some other ones and to throw the old ones away. We’ve been doing this all afternoon, why don’t you know——”
His words came to an abrupt end and he raised his head to meet Ye Zi’s smiling face.
The man was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to call someone, Ye Zi raised his hand and hit him on the back of the neck. When the people around him noticed this, they had no time to react and were quickly subdued by Ye Zi in the same way.
After placing the people aside, Ye Zi bent down and observed carefully for a moment. The garden in this yard was filled with all kinds of flowers and plants. At first glance, they look like a cluster of flowers, but upon closer inspection, the flowers and plants were planted densely and messily without any order.
It wasn’t common for people to plant flowers like this.
Ye Zi tilted his head and thought for a moment, then squatted down and started rummaging through the soil.
In the villa’s front yard, Feng Yihai was pacing back and forth in his study with an anxious look. There was a faint noise outside the door, which made Feng Yihai increasingly upset.
He couldn’t bear it and shouted towards the door: “Someone, what is all that ruckus outside?”
The door was quickly pushed open and a person walked in. The person who came was none other than the servant who was guarding Feng Yihai’s study. He looked pale and uneasy at the moment.
Feng Yihai frowned: “Speak, I asked you what’s going on outside?”
“Nothing is going on outside, only that this Prince taught a few ignorant servants a lesson for Lord Feng.” Gu Yan slowly stepped into the room and the servant who just came in suddenly went limp and fell to his knees.
The servant said in a trembling voice: “My lord, His Majesty suddenly barged in with his subordinates, w-we couldn’t stop them……”
Feng Yihai narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly: “Your Majesty, is there some kind of misunderstanding here?”
Gu Yan smiled: “This Prince was just patrolling the prison tonight and found someone preparing to poison the prisoners. After interrogation, I found out that the person was actually sent by Lord Feng. Is this a misunderstanding?”
“This……this is naturally a misunderstanding.” Feng Yihai said, “This official doesn’t know anything about it, what poison?”
The smile in Gu Yan’s eyes dropped and he said: “Then I wonder if Lord Feng can let me search your residence?”
Feng Yihai responded: “That is only natural. After you, Your Majesty.”
Gu Yan led Feng Yihai to the courtyard like he was taking a leisurely walk and asked, “This courtyard was set up when you came to Guangling some time ago, right? It’s quite nice.”
“Y-yes, this official wanted to stay here for some more days so I set up this courtyard.”
Gu Yan hummed in response but didn’t answer.
The two of them walked towards the backyard. Gu Yan frowned at the dirt in the backyard that looked like it had just been turned over and asked, “Lord Feng, what’s going on in your backyard?”
Feng Yihai said: “This is because the courtyard was just set up recently so we got someone to renovate it. We haven’t had time to plant flowers yet which makes it look…….a bit barren. Your Majesty, the yard is in a mess, you might as well go elsewhere first…….”
“Why go somewhere else? Isn’t everything right here?” A lazy voice sounded and the two looked up. Ye Zi was squatting on the roof tiles and looking at the two of them with his head tilted.
He jumped down, patted the soil on his body, and pointed to the flower bed not far away: “Your Majesty, please take a look. I have found everything.”
The small patch of flower bed was filled with the same kind of plants. The flower was white but pink with light yellow stamens. It was exactly what Ye Zi just dug out from the many kinds of flowers and plants.
That flower was the root cause of this epidemic.
It was impossible to do anything in this world without leaving traces behind, only it becomes difficult to detect with manpower alone. Ye Zi was able to communicate with plants and animals. After asking all the plants and animals in Guangling City who had their spiritual consciousness opened, he was able to find some leads after searching around.
Feng Yihai said in a loud voice: “Why are you here, I don’t even know what that is, who are you to say I poisoned it?!”
Ye Zi blinked innocently: “I only said I found something, I didn’t say you poisoned it.”
“You——”
He walked up to the two of them and said to Feng Yihai: “But since the thing is here with you, you’re the main suspect. Lord Feng, can you tell me and His Majesty why this kind of poisonous flower, which only exists in the Western Regions, was planted in your yard and why did you dig it up overnight?”
“I——”
Feng Yihai was at a loss for words. Ye Zi didn’t wait for him to answer and continued: “You bought this courtyard just after you came to Guangling and planted the poisonous flower you brought from Chang’an. You weren’t sure about the efficacy of this flower, so you searched for a group of people who had fled the city to test the flower. After the test was successful, you began to poison the area, causing the epidemic to spread. Am I correct?”
Feng Yihai said: “Nonsense, why would I do that?”
“Of course you have to do this.” Ye Zi said, “You were sent here with His Majesty to provide relief. But before the epidemic had a chance to subside, the mess just grew bigger and bigger. Sooner or later, His Holiness will hold His Majesty accountable. By then, if you find a way to cure the epidemic here, all the credit will be yours, am I right?”
“Full of nonsense, what evidence do you have!”
“None.” Ye Zi shrugged his shoulders, “But this kind of thing, we’ll know after a trial. Am I right, Your Majesty?”
Gu Yan looked at Ye Zi with downcast eyes, shook his head with a light smile, and turned his head to call in the attendants.
“Lock him up in prison and hand over these flowers to Lord Yue.” After Gu Yan gave his order, he said calmly, “Who gave you these flowers, and who gave you the idea of poisoning others? Think of a good explanation while you’re in prison.”
After Gu Yan finished arranging everything, he pulled Ye Zi away from the villa.
Once they got on the carriage, Ye Zi was still a little worried: “Your Majesty, aren’t you going to keep an eye on him? What if the governor does something……”
Gu Yan glanced at him: “How do you want me to go? By bringing you along?”
Ye Zi wondered: “So what, I can’t go?”
Gu Yan looked at him deeply and suddenly chuckled as he stretched out his hand to rub Ye Zi’s face. Ye Zi was stunned for a moment. He looked down and saw a small, shallow stain on Gu Yan’s fingertips.
Just now, in order to rummage for that flower, Ye Zi had crawled around the flower garden, leaving nothing on his face or body spared. Especially that fair face, which was now covered with dirt like a little tabby cat.
Ye Zi screeched and immediately realized what state he was in now. He hastily wiped his face with his sleeve and collapsed: “Y-Y-You——why didn’t you tell me? And to think I had said so much in front of that dog official, how shameful!……”
Gu Yan held back his laughter, took out a silk handkerchief, and dipped it in some warm water to help him wipe his face as he comforted him: “No need to worry, it was dark just now, so I couldn’t see much. Moreover, that Lord Feng was too busy trying to protect himself, how could he have had time to pay attention to what you look like?”
Ye Zi lowered his head and allowed Gu Yan to wipe his face as he muttered aggrievedly: “I thought I could act dashing for once, but why did it turn out like this?……”
In the typical scene of catching the culprit on the spot, shouldn’t the protagonist appear dashing and then take the person down dashingly?
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Why was it a bit off when it came to him?
Gu Yan said helplessly: “Alright, we should go back so you can bathe and change first. Go to rest early, or you’ll be tired the next day.”
Ye Zi blinked and talked about the conditions: “Then I want you to help me bathe.”
In the past, before the misunderstanding between the two was resolved, Gu Yan often took various opportunities to deliberately bully Ye Zi and force Ye Zi to serve him. But since the two of them talked about the matter, Ye Zi became less and less afraid of Gu Yan and always liked to ask the aloof Prince Rui to do this and that for him. At the same time, Gu Yan seemed to enjoy it without complaint.
The wash room was filled with steam. Ye Zi narrowed his eyes and leaned against the bathtub, feeling comfortable and drowsy.
Gu Yan patiently helped him wash away the mud and dirt on his body and didn’t look at other places or touch him randomly. Ye Zi frowned in dissatisfaction and tilted his head to look at him.
Recently, Gu Yan was always like this to him.
A few days ago, he said that he wasn’t in good health, and then became busy with work. Every time Ye Zi wanted to get closer to him, the man always found various reasons to shirk. Although they sleep with each other and were constantly by each other all day long, they haven’t been really close to each other for a long time now.
The more Ye Zi thought about it, the more dissatisfied he felt, and he couldn’t help but call out: “Zicheng……”
Gu Yan raised his eyes to look at him: “What, did I hurt you?”
“No.” Ye Zi pursed his lips and the words that came to the tip of his tongue wouldn’t come out.
If he were to ask him directly, wouldn’t it be a bit too unreserved?
Ye Zi thought about it and changed the topic: “Zicheng, I remember you sent a letter to Taoist Priest Guangxu before. Didn’t he say something about the immortal dew? What else did he say…….I’ve somewhat forgotten.”
Gu Yan was silent for a moment: “He said that your immortal dew can cure all kinds of poison and asked me to add it to the epidemic treatment medicine so that a single drop would be enough for a city. Other than that……”
Ye Zi pursued: “Other than what?”
Gu Yan glanced at him and answered truthfully: “Other than that, he instructed me that your vitality would be damaged after losing the immortal dew and asked me to take more care of you.”
Ye Zi’s profile turned red from the steam and he asked slowly: “What…….kind of care?”
At this point, how could Gu Yan not understand what he wanted to say? He bent down and chuckled: “Taoist Priest Guangxu said that in Taoism, there is a method of dual cultivation that can help restore your vitality. Since you are an immortal plant, the method will be of great help to your vitality. That’s what you want to hear, right?”
Ye Zi’s face reddened a little more and he stammered: “T-That’s not, I was just……just making sure. Zicheng, will you do what he says?”
“That’s only if you really use your immortal dew to save people.” Gu Yan said, “I don’t want you to use this kind of body-harming method until it’s absolutely necessary. Tomorrow, I will go meet with Imperial uncle again. If the worst comes to worst, then we can…….talk more about it.”
Ye Zi was disappointed and didn’t say anything else.
Before going to sleep, someone knocked on their bedroom door. Gu Yan went to open the door and it was none other than Gu Yi standing outside.
It was already late at night, but Gu Yi was fully dressed and looked like he was about to go out. Gu Yan looked him up and down before sidestepping to let him into the room
Gu Yi nonchalantly entered the room and smiled: “I’m sorry to disturb your rest, but I’m about to leave Guangling, so if I don’t come to you now, I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to meet you again.”
********
The author has something to say:
Ye Zi: I’m going to ask you in a more reserved way, when are you going to take care of me?
Gu Yan: ……
Edited: 11.29.2023
On the other side, Yue Yichuan, the governor of Guangling, and Feng Yihai, the disaster relief censor, were waiting for Gu Yan’s return at the entrance of the post house. Yue Yichuan was a little older and already had gray hair while Feng Yihai was slightly younger than him but should have passed his prime.
Yue Yichuan sighed sadly: “The situation is so critical right now, why do you think Prince Rui has gone through such trouble?…….Why bother to work so hard for just a little servant?”
“He’s not just a little servant.” Feng Yihai stroked his beard and lightly mocked, “I heard that in Yi’an, Prince Rui was with this little gentleman 24/7. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell what kind of relationship do they have.”
Yue Yichuan was stunned: “You mean……”
He hesitated for a moment and then said: “But I heard that Prince Rui just married a princess consort not long ago and the two of them are very much in love.”
“Lord Yue, if you ask me this, then who am I supposed to ask?” Feng Yihao said, “When I was in Chang’an, I had the honor to meet Princess Consort Rui. Although it was a distant view, I did see the unwavering love between the Prince and the princess consort. But there are no Princes or nobles who can only love one person. Prince Rui is such a charming and talented man, so it is not unusual for him to have one or two concubines.”
Yue Yichuan sighed: “If this was the past, I would have offered Prince Rui as many beauties as he wanted. But now at this critical juncture……sigh.”
Feng Yihai laughed: “Otherwise where do you think the saying ‘beauty is the root of trouble’ came from?”
As soon as he finished speaking, there was the sound of rolling wheels behind him. The two of them turned around to look at each other and saw the carriage Gu Yan was riding in slowly approaching them.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the post house. The two of them stepped forward and opened the curtain for Gu Yan. Then they saw Gu Yan getting out of the carriage holding the rumored “troublesome beauty.”
The wound on Ye Zi’s neck was not deep and the bleeding had already stopped, but Gu Yan was still worried. After applying medicine, he wrapped it with gauze, making it look very serious.
Feng Yihai immediately put aside his previous expression, stepped forward earnestly, and said in shock: “Is the little gentleman injured? Those criminals sure have guts, to even dare touch one of Prince Rui’s people.”
When Yue Yichuan noticed him changing expressions like flipping a page in a book, he was speechless for a moment and stood there without saying a word. Gu Yan didn’t even look at the two of them and walked straight towards the post house. The two looked at each other before quickly following after him.
Gu Yan carried Ye Zi into the room and lowered him onto the bed as he glanced at the two lords standing at the door and said helplessly: “Wait for me.”
Ye Zi nodded as Gu Yan left the inner room.
Gu Yan walked up to the two of them: “What else do you two lords need?”
Yue Yichuan hesitated for a moment: “Your Majesty, that epidemic……”
Gu Yan faintly interrupted him, “Didn’t I already tell you? The previous cure for the epidemic in Yi’an was really a coincidence. Without the proper herbs, I can’t get medicine to cure people in other areas at all.”
“This……” Yue Yichuan paused and sighed, “But seeing that the epidemic is spreading day by day, if it continues on like this…….how can it be good?”
Gu Yan swept a glance at him: “What are the two lords’ insights?”
The two looked at each other for a moment and Yue Yichuan said truthfully: “If you don’t even have an idea, then this official definitely won’t have one. I think Your Majesty should still come up with something though.”
Gu Yan impatiently pressed against his temples.
Today, he was invited to the governor’s residence. The three of them had been arguing about this issue all morning, which made it difficult for him to come back and almost put Ye Zi in danger.
Now it was happening again.
Feng Yihai, however, interjected: “Your Majesty, this official has an idea, but I don’t know if I should say it or not.”
“Speak.”
Feng Yihai didn’t rush to speak and instead subconsciously looked around.
There were several people standing in the corridor of the post house and it really wasn’t a suitable place to talk about these things. Gu Yan understood and stepped aside: “Please come this way.”
The three of them sat down outside the bedroom. Seeing that Gu Yan had no intention of avoiding the person in the inner room, Feng Yihai said: “Actually, there has been a similar situation before. If we still can’t find a way to cure the epidemic, we might as well…….follow what they did in the past.”
Gu Yan narrowed his eyes: “What Lord Feng means is……..for this Prince to follow what was done to the epidemic in Chang’an twenty years ago?”
The person responsible for handling the epidemic in Chang’an twenty years ago was the current emperor, Emperor Jinghe, who was still the Second Imperial Prince at that time.
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At that time, Emperor Jinghe ordered all the patients to be driven to the outskirts and burned, thus curbing the spread of the epidemic.
This was also what happened in Gu Yan’s previous life and where the epidemic eventually ended up.
Yue Yichuan was momentarily appalled and hurriedly said: “Lord Feng, this is absolutely not possible. Right now, there are already five or six counties in critical condition, if we do this……”
“But if we don’t, should we allow the epidemic to spread and harm more people?” Feng Yihai stroked his beard and advised: “Your Majesty, you must not lose out on the big picture because of small things.”
Gu Yan was silent for a moment: “This is a matter of great importance and this Prince does not dare to make unauthorized decisions. Let’s do it this way, I’ll write a report and have it sent to His Holiness. If His Holiness approves, we’ll follow Lord Feng’s advice.”
“But——”
Just as Yue Yichuan wanted to say something else, Feng Yihai laughed: “What Your Majesty said is very true.”
He took out a report from his bosom and placed it in front of Gu Yan: “This official has already prepared a report and has written the situation as well as the strategy to deal with it. Please have a look at it, Your Majesty. If you think there is no problem, I will have someone send it to Chang’an immediately to be presented to the Emperor.”
Gu Yan flipped open the report, quickly scanned through it, and laughed: “Lord Feng is truly properly prepared, just send it like this.”
Feng Yihai responded, “Yes.”
“No!” Yue Yichuan flushed with anger as he slammed his hand on the table: “Your Majesty, do you know how many innocent lives will be killed if you set fire? The people of Jiangnan have already been plunged into dire straits, do you really still want to do this?”
Gu Yan looked at him calmly: “If we don’t do this, does Lord Yue have any other methods?”
“I……you, you guys——”
Yue Yichuan was so angry that he couldn’t speak. Feng Yihai patted his shoulder and laughed: “Lord Yue, relax, His Majesty is also doing this for the safety of the people. Sacrificing the lives of a few is better than harming the majority.”
As he spoke, he turned to look at Gu Yan: “This official won’t disturb Your Majesty’s rest any longer and will be leaving first.”
Gu Yan nodded: “Very well.”
Feng Yihai pulled Yue Yichuan out the door when Gu Yan suddenly spoke up: “By the way, Lord Yue, I have captured the kidnappers earlier and locked them in the government’s prison. Let them be locked up at your place for a few days first and when this Prince…..”
Gu Yan’s eyes glanced towards the inner room: “When this Prince has taken care of his personal matters, he will go to interrogate them in person in a couple of days.”
Yue Yichuan’s face alternated between red and white as he snorted coldly, turned around, and walked out the door.
“Lord Yue is an upright person, please don’t blame him, Your Majesty. I will try and persuade him.” Feng Yihai lowered his voice, exited the bedroom, and closed the door for them.
The room returned to silence. Ye Zi walked out of the inner room and looked in the direction of the door indignantly: “That dog official……”
Gu Yan smiled disinterestedly and beckoned him over: “Come here.”
Ye Zi walked over to him and sat down: “Isn’t he basically forcing you to set the city on fire? And he also had the report already prepared, he——”
“That’s enough.” Gu Yan touched his hair and said in a warm voice: “Don’t worry, I’ll have Siwei send someone to intercept them, that report won’t reach Emperor Jinghe.”
Ye Zi was slightly relieved: “Then what do we do next? Just wait like this?”
“The bait has been scattered, let’s just wait for them to fall into the trap.” Gu Yan said, “Are you tired? I’ll go in with you and lie down for a while.”
“Okay.”
As night fell, Guangling City was peaceful.
In the government prison, there was a faint sound of coughing and wheezing. A Qing sat on his knees in the prison, supporting the man next to him who was coughing up blood. His voice was filled with tears: “Big brother, big brother, if you hold on a little longer, there will be a way.”
Right at this moment, the door to the prison suddenly opened and someone walked in.
A Qing hurriedly climbed to the side of the cell and called out: “Lord, lord, please save my big brother, he’s about to die, please——”
The sound of footsteps gradually came in and the candlelight on the wall danced, illuminating the face in the darkness.
A Qing’s voice came to an abrupt end.
The visitor bent down slightly and smiled lightly at A Qing: “Saving is naturally necessary, aren’t we here to save him right now?”
As his words fell, the guards beside him came forward and placed a food basket on the ground. The food basket was opened and inside were several bowls of fresh water. At the same time, someone stepped forward and opened the cell door.
A Qing’s pupils shrunk, subconsciously ducking back: “D-Don’t come over……Don’t come over!”
“When you secretly kidnapped one of Prince Rui’s people, you should have deserved to die. Now that you have contracted the epidemic and will die soon in prison, no one will suspect a single thing.” The man paused and ordered: “Do it.”
“No, don’t, don’t!” A Qing hurriedly fled towards the back but was grabbed by the guards and pulled up by his hair.
The guard was about to feed the bowl of water to A Qing when suddenly something flew out from the shadows and struck his arm. The guard let go of his hand in pain and the bowl fell to the ground and shattered.
“Who?” The man’s demeanor changed as someone stepped out from the shadows.
Gu Yan raised his eyes to look at him and the corners of his lips curled up slightly: “Who sent you here? To interrogate the prisoner in person at such a late hour, you truly do your duty carefully.”
Inside a villa in the city, a figure quietly passed over the wall and jumped into the courtyard. It was almost midnight and the lights in the villa were still bright, but the courtyard was extremely dark, with no lights at all.
Ye Zi stood under the wall. There was a swallow on his shoulder, flapping its wings and chirping beside him.
“That’s the one, right? I got it.” Ye Zi touched its feathers, lowered his voice, and laughed, “Don’t worry, it’ll be fine, do all birds talk this much?”
The little swallow pecked lightly on his finger, as if expressing its dissatisfaction with this statement.
Ye Zi smiled and said nothing more. His eyes looked towards the place where the swallow had pointed just now. Not far away, several servants were digging through the soil.
Ye Zi walked up without worry and asked: “This big brother, what are you doing?”
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The man didn’t look up: “Lord Feng said that the flowers and plants in this yard aren’t good-looking. He told us to plant some other ones and to throw the old ones away. We’ve been doing this all afternoon, why don’t you know——”
His words came to an abrupt end and he raised his head to meet Ye Zi’s smiling face.
The man was stunned for a moment. Just as he was about to call someone, Ye Zi raised his hand and hit him on the back of the neck. When the people around him noticed this, they had no time to react and were quickly subdued by Ye Zi in the same way.
After placing the people aside, Ye Zi bent down and observed carefully for a moment. The garden in this yard was filled with all kinds of flowers and plants. At first glance, they look like a cluster of flowers, but upon closer inspection, the flowers and plants were planted densely and messily without any order.
It wasn’t common for people to plant flowers like this.
Ye Zi tilted his head and thought for a moment, then squatted down and started rummaging through the soil.
In the villa’s front yard, Feng Yihai was pacing back and forth in his study with an anxious look. There was a faint noise outside the door, which made Feng Yihai increasingly upset.
He couldn’t bear it and shouted towards the door: “Someone, what is all that ruckus outside?”
The door was quickly pushed open and a person walked in. The person who came was none other than the servant who was guarding Feng Yihai’s study. He looked pale and uneasy at the moment.
Feng Yihai frowned: “Speak, I asked you what’s going on outside?”
“Nothing is going on outside, only that this Prince taught a few ignorant servants a lesson for Lord Feng.” Gu Yan slowly stepped into the room and the servant who just came in suddenly went limp and fell to his knees.
The servant said in a trembling voice: “My lord, His Majesty suddenly barged in with his subordinates, w-we couldn’t stop them……”
Feng Yihai narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly: “Your Majesty, is there some kind of misunderstanding here?”
Gu Yan smiled: “This Prince was just patrolling the prison tonight and found someone preparing to poison the prisoners. After interrogation, I found out that the person was actually sent by Lord Feng. Is this a misunderstanding?”
“This……this is naturally a misunderstanding.” Feng Yihai said, “This official doesn’t know anything about it, what poison?”
The smile in Gu Yan’s eyes dropped and he said: “Then I wonder if Lord Feng can let me search your residence?”
Feng Yihai responded: “That is only natural. After you, Your Majesty.”
Gu Yan led Feng Yihai to the courtyard like he was taking a leisurely walk and asked, “This courtyard was set up when you came to Guangling some time ago, right? It’s quite nice.”
“Y-yes, this official wanted to stay here for some more days so I set up this courtyard.”
Gu Yan hummed in response but didn’t answer.
The two of them walked towards the backyard. Gu Yan frowned at the dirt in the backyard that looked like it had just been turned over and asked, “Lord Feng, what’s going on in your backyard?”
Feng Yihai said: “This is because the courtyard was just set up recently so we got someone to renovate it. We haven’t had time to plant flowers yet which makes it look…….a bit barren. Your Majesty, the yard is in a mess, you might as well go elsewhere first…….”
“Why go somewhere else? Isn’t everything right here?” A lazy voice sounded and the two looked up. Ye Zi was squatting on the roof tiles and looking at the two of them with his head tilted.
He jumped down, patted the soil on his body, and pointed to the flower bed not far away: “Your Majesty, please take a look. I have found everything.”
The small patch of flower bed was filled with the same kind of plants. The flower was white but pink with light yellow stamens. It was exactly what Ye Zi just dug out from the many kinds of flowers and plants.
That flower was the root cause of this epidemic.
It was impossible to do anything in this world without leaving traces behind, only it becomes difficult to detect with manpower alone. Ye Zi was able to communicate with plants and animals. After asking all the plants and animals in Guangling City who had their spiritual consciousness opened, he was able to find some leads after searching around.
Feng Yihai said in a loud voice: “Why are you here, I don’t even know what that is, who are you to say I poisoned it?!”
Ye Zi blinked innocently: “I only said I found something, I didn’t say you poisoned it.”
“You——”
He walked up to the two of them and said to Feng Yihai: “But since the thing is here with you, you’re the main suspect. Lord Feng, can you tell me and His Majesty why this kind of poisonous flower, which only exists in the Western Regions, was planted in your yard and why did you dig it up overnight?”
“I——”
Feng Yihai was at a loss for words. Ye Zi didn’t wait for him to answer and continued: “You bought this courtyard just after you came to Guangling and planted the poisonous flower you brought from Chang’an. You weren’t sure about the efficacy of this flower, so you searched for a group of people who had fled the city to test the flower. After the test was successful, you began to poison the area, causing the epidemic to spread. Am I correct?”
Feng Yihai said: “Nonsense, why would I do that?”
“Of course you have to do this.” Ye Zi said, “You were sent here with His Majesty to provide relief. But before the epidemic had a chance to subside, the mess just grew bigger and bigger. Sooner or later, His Holiness will hold His Majesty accountable. By then, if you find a way to cure the epidemic here, all the credit will be yours, am I right?”
“Full of nonsense, what evidence do you have!”
“None.” Ye Zi shrugged his shoulders, “But this kind of thing, we’ll know after a trial. Am I right, Your Majesty?”
Gu Yan looked at Ye Zi with downcast eyes, shook his head with a light smile, and turned his head to call in the attendants.
“Lock him up in prison and hand over these flowers to Lord Yue.” After Gu Yan gave his order, he said calmly, “Who gave you these flowers, and who gave you the idea of poisoning others? Think of a good explanation while you’re in prison.”
After Gu Yan finished arranging everything, he pulled Ye Zi away from the villa.
Once they got on the carriage, Ye Zi was still a little worried: “Your Majesty, aren’t you going to keep an eye on him? What if the governor does something……”
Gu Yan glanced at him: “How do you want me to go? By bringing you along?”
Ye Zi wondered: “So what, I can’t go?”
Gu Yan looked at him deeply and suddenly chuckled as he stretched out his hand to rub Ye Zi’s face. Ye Zi was stunned for a moment. He looked down and saw a small, shallow stain on Gu Yan’s fingertips.
Just now, in order to rummage for that flower, Ye Zi had crawled around the flower garden, leaving nothing on his face or body spared. Especially that fair face, which was now covered with dirt like a little tabby cat.
Ye Zi screeched and immediately realized what state he was in now. He hastily wiped his face with his sleeve and collapsed: “Y-Y-You——why didn’t you tell me? And to think I had said so much in front of that dog official, how shameful!……”
Gu Yan held back his laughter, took out a silk handkerchief, and dipped it in some warm water to help him wipe his face as he comforted him: “No need to worry, it was dark just now, so I couldn’t see much. Moreover, that Lord Feng was too busy trying to protect himself, how could he have had time to pay attention to what you look like?”
Ye Zi lowered his head and allowed Gu Yan to wipe his face as he muttered aggrievedly: “I thought I could act dashing for once, but why did it turn out like this?……”
In the typical scene of catching the culprit on the spot, shouldn’t the protagonist appear dashing and then take the person down dashingly?
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Why was it a bit off when it came to him?
Gu Yan said helplessly: “Alright, we should go back so you can bathe and change first. Go to rest early, or you’ll be tired the next day.”
Ye Zi blinked and talked about the conditions: “Then I want you to help me bathe.”
In the past, before the misunderstanding between the two was resolved, Gu Yan often took various opportunities to deliberately bully Ye Zi and force Ye Zi to serve him. But since the two of them talked about the matter, Ye Zi became less and less afraid of Gu Yan and always liked to ask the aloof Prince Rui to do this and that for him. At the same time, Gu Yan seemed to enjoy it without complaint.
The wash room was filled with steam. Ye Zi narrowed his eyes and leaned against the bathtub, feeling comfortable and drowsy.
Gu Yan patiently helped him wash away the mud and dirt on his body and didn’t look at other places or touch him randomly. Ye Zi frowned in dissatisfaction and tilted his head to look at him.
Recently, Gu Yan was always like this to him.
A few days ago, he said that he wasn’t in good health, and then became busy with work. Every time Ye Zi wanted to get closer to him, the man always found various reasons to shirk. Although they sleep with each other and were constantly by each other all day long, they haven’t been really close to each other for a long time now.
The more Ye Zi thought about it, the more dissatisfied he felt, and he couldn’t help but call out: “Zicheng……”
Gu Yan raised his eyes to look at him: “What, did I hurt you?”
“No.” Ye Zi pursed his lips and the words that came to the tip of his tongue wouldn’t come out.
If he were to ask him directly, wouldn’t it be a bit too unreserved?
Ye Zi thought about it and changed the topic: “Zicheng, I remember you sent a letter to Taoist Priest Guangxu before. Didn’t he say something about the immortal dew? What else did he say…….I’ve somewhat forgotten.”
Gu Yan was silent for a moment: “He said that your immortal dew can cure all kinds of poison and asked me to add it to the epidemic treatment medicine so that a single drop would be enough for a city. Other than that……”
Ye Zi pursued: “Other than what?”
Gu Yan glanced at him and answered truthfully: “Other than that, he instructed me that your vitality would be damaged after losing the immortal dew and asked me to take more care of you.”
Ye Zi’s profile turned red from the steam and he asked slowly: “What…….kind of care?”
At this point, how could Gu Yan not understand what he wanted to say? He bent down and chuckled: “Taoist Priest Guangxu said that in Taoism, there is a method of dual cultivation that can help restore your vitality. Since you are an immortal plant, the method will be of great help to your vitality. That’s what you want to hear, right?”
Ye Zi’s face reddened a little more and he stammered: “T-That’s not, I was just……just making sure. Zicheng, will you do what he says?”
“That’s only if you really use your immortal dew to save people.” Gu Yan said, “I don’t want you to use this kind of body-harming method until it’s absolutely necessary. Tomorrow, I will go meet with Imperial uncle again. If the worst comes to worst, then we can…….talk more about it.”
Ye Zi was disappointed and didn’t say anything else.
Before going to sleep, someone knocked on their bedroom door. Gu Yan went to open the door and it was none other than Gu Yi standing outside.
It was already late at night, but Gu Yi was fully dressed and looked like he was about to go out. Gu Yan looked him up and down before sidestepping to let him into the room
Gu Yi nonchalantly entered the room and smiled: “I’m sorry to disturb your rest, but I’m about to leave Guangling, so if I don’t come to you now, I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to meet you again.”
********
The author has something to say:
Ye Zi: I’m going to ask you in a more reserved way, when are you going to take care of me?
Gu Yan: ……
