webnovelvip Chapter 26 The Flower in the Mirror, the Moon in the Water
Chapter 26 The Flower in the Mirror, the Moon in the Water
"This thing... really belongs to Mr. Gu?"
Long Yanzhao looked at the emerald finger wrench glowing green in his hand, and asked uncertainly.
"...According to the adults' description, and the characteristics of the four captured robbers, they should be." The official below replied.
Looking at the small object in his hand, Long Yanzhao fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, he grabbed the wrench into his hand and stood up from where he was.
"Go back to the palace."
No one dared to ask the emperor why he was going back to the palace again, just as no one dared to ponder why he came out suddenly.
What's more, the emperor's complexion is not very good, which is obvious to all.
I don't know what the trigger is for.
It can make His Majesty's expression suddenly change after only one glance.
Everyone bowed and saluted and sent His Majesty respectfully. Before leaving, Long Yanzhao said to the governor of the capital, "Tell Master Gu to let him directly enter the palace to see me."
"Yes." Capital Governor Yin hurriedly replied respectfully.
On the way back, Long Yanzhao sat in the carriage and looked at the finger.
He was also full of doubts, and couldn't figure out why the family heirloom of the Yang family was in the hands of Gu Jingyuan...
When Yang Jin died in the conflict with the north, Long Yanzhao checked the details later, but he couldn't restore the whole story.
All that is known is that it was a bloody battle.
Then Yang Jin didn't come back.
No matter how brave and skilled a soldier is, facing thousands of troops on the battlefield, he will only turn into a speck of dust in the desert.
The battle lasted all day and night, and the battlefield was littered with corpses.
The corpses of many people in the sea of corpses could not be distinguished, so they didn't even know whether General Yang was dead or alive.
At that time, Long Yanzhao was far away in the capital, and he hadn't been in power yet, so he was out of reach, so he could only send people to search and identify...
It's a pity that the news was sent back and forth too slowly. When Long Yanzhao heard about Yang Jin again, it turned out that half a month later, Prime Minister Yang entered the palace alone and told him that Yang Jin's body had been found and was sent to him by someone. Back to the capital.
It was raining that day.
Yang Jin's body had been taken care of, and it was clean and tidy without a trace of blood.
Except for his pale complexion, he just seemed to be asleep, no different from before...
Long Yanzhao tried hard to recall the situation at that time.
...It seems that at that time, Yang Jin didn't wear that finger wrench anymore.
As the favorite son of Prime Minister Yang, the most capable and influential person among the noble children in Beijing at that time, Young General Yang has three treasures that never leave his body.
The first is the Tiger Talisman in charge of the soldiers and horses of the Changji Camp in the north.
The second is his token to command all shadow guards as Shadow One.
The third is the wrench.
The family heirloom of their Yang family.
After the accident, the tiger talisman and token were sent back together with the body, and were re-presented by Prime Minister Yang, and returned to Long Yanzhao.
Only the wrench finger, on the day of encoffining, Long Yanzhao noticed that he didn't wear it on his hand.
But at that time, I only thought that it was Yang Xiang who sent the white-haired man to the black-haired man. After learning from the pain, he took back the finger or kept it in another form and buried it in the coffin...
After all, it is the Yang family's business.
How could he ask such a thing at that moment when the old prime minister had collapsed several times?
But now that I think about it...
Long Yanzhao clenched the wrench in his hand, allowing the lines on it to sink into his palm.
After returning to the palace, the first thing he did was to have someone call Ying Er over.
The emperor cut straight to the point, showed the wrench directly to Ying Er, and asked, "Do you recognize this wrench?"
Ying Er glanced at it, his eyes trembled slightly, then knelt down on one knee, performed a guard salute, and replied: "I recognize it, it seems to be something that the general used to wear."
Long Yanzhao scrutinized his reaction carefully without moving his expression.
He just weighed the wrench in his hand and asked, "Then do you know where this thing went after General Yang passed away?"
"This... I don't know my humble job."
Shadow Two replied respectfully, without looking up.
The Ninth Five-Year Lord sat on the dragon chair, and the voice came from top to bottom, faintly, with unprecedented majesty and terror: "Ying Er, you don't have anything to hide from me, do you?"
"...I don't dare to be humble."
Shadow Two buried his head even lower this time.
He tried to ask: "Why did Your Majesty make such a statement?"
Long Yanzhao did not answer.
He stood up from his seat, with his hands behind his back, and walked up and down on the ground extremely restlessly.
The room was eerily quiet, only the sound of the emperor's footsteps.
Long Yanzhao walked like this while observing Ying Er's reaction.
As the shadow of His Majesty, even in front of His Majesty, the Shadow Guard is dressed in a black mask.
Not to mention that he himself covered his face, even with his head buried so low, Long Yanzhao couldn't see anything.
Although he had already expected it, Ying Er couldn't ask anything.
When Yang Jin's accident happened, all the shadow guards stayed in the capital, and no one knew what happened on the battlefield at that time.
They still don't know where Yang Jin went after he disappeared for half a month, what happened, and who sent his body back to the Yang family.
Long Yanzhao finally said: "Get up."
He stroked the emerald corners on his finger, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
Yang Jin sometimes had to change his identity to hide. Naturally, he would not wear such a clearly shaped and colorful finger on his hand when he was on a mission, otherwise he would be easily recognized by others.
So it is not ruled out that he lost his finger and was picked up again.
...But why is that person Gu Jingyuan?
Gu Jingyuan and Yang Jin...
When Gu Jingyuan entered Beijing, it was already the second year after Yang Jin passed away.
Logically speaking, it is impossible for them to know each other.
How old was Gu Jingyuan at that time?
A boy of fourteen or fifteen years old is still a frail scholar who studies well, so how could he get involved with Dayi's late major general.
But once you start assuming that they might know each other... it's like a tangled mess of silk gets caught by a thread, and a lot of things become intriguing again.
For example, Gu Jingyuan was recommended by Prime Minister Yang.
——If he hadn't known early on that Gu Jingyuan was Yang Youwei's person, he wouldn't have allowed himself to be so close to him.
For another example, Ah Yuan doesn't have many friends in the capital, but he is the closest to Yang Lin, and he gives enough face and cares...
Of course, it cannot be ruled out that this wrench belongs to Second Young Master Yang, and everything is due to his own overthinking.
But once the seeds of doubt are planted, they will suddenly take root and sprout in people's hearts.
In particular, there was one thing that concerned him the most, and that was Gu Jingyuan's gaffe today, and why he left the city suddenly?
Is today a special day...
Long Yanzhao's face was gloomy and uncertain, he said to Ying Er: "Go down and get busy."
"Yes." Ying Er replied.
From bowing and kneeling to quickly standing up and leaving, Ying Er completed it in an instant.
But before he completely walked out of the emperor's sight, he was stopped: "Wait, go and invite Prime Minister Yang to me, and say that I have something to ask him."
"……Yes."
"No, not looking for Prime Minister Yang." Long Yanzhao said again: "Take two people to find Second Young Master Yang, and secretly bring him into the palace to see me."
As he said that, he warned again: "Remember, don't disturb anyone, just bring him in directly. During this period, no one is allowed to have a conversation with Young Master Yang, including you."
"...a humble leader."
"Shadow Two." Long Yanzhao called him again, and looked at him with deep eyes, with a hint of gloom inside.
He looked into his eyes and asked word by word: "Can I still trust you?"
"...Of course." Ying Er hastily knelt down again, "I swear allegiance to Your Majesty to the death."
Long Yanzhao waved his hand and said with a tired expression, "Well, let's go."
Ying Er agreed again, a layer of cold sweat had already broken out on his back, but he just stiffened, not daring to show any abnormality in front of the Holy One.
After leaving the side hall, Ying Er directly jumped onto the roof. In their line of work, walking on the roof is much more convenient than walking on the ground.
It's just that before the others jumped out of the side hall, they saw a slender figure wrapped in red slowly entering the hall.
——Gu Jingyuan, who was notified by the governor of the capital, has already entered the palace.
Gu Jingyuan changed back to the red clothes she was used to wearing in the past.
Today his waist is still very high.
The long cloak that was worn was almost ankle-length, and the sleeves of his clothes fluttered with Mr. Gu's steps, making his steps more steady and his posture domineering.
He looked up in the direction of the second shadow, and walked straight forward as if he hadn't noticed his existence at all.
As one of the very few people in the palace who knew the existence of the shadow guards, every time Gu Jingyuan met in the palace, he pretended not to notice anything.
This is the norm.
It is also a kind of protection for their shadows.
This time is no exception.
Ying Er, who paused for a while, hesitated for a while, and found that Mr. Gu had already walked straight into the hall.
... Shadow has always been loyal to the emperor.
Ying Er reminded himself like this in his heart, then jumped up again, this time without any hesitation, he went to do things according to His Majesty's order.
Gu Jingyuan came to the emperor's study alone, handed the heavy cloak to the eunuch to put away, and walked into the hall as usual.
Long Yanzhao has already taken out the "National Policy" and started to read it again.
He put the finger on the desk, Gu Jingyuan saw it at a glance, his eyelashes drooped, and he saluted Long Yanzhao as usual.
"See Your Majesty."
"Get up." Putting down the volume of the book in his hand that he had no idea what it was talking about, Long Yanzhao looked up at Gu Jingyuan. For some reason, most of the anger and suspicion that had been brewing in his heart suddenly dissipated.
With a raised eyebrow, the emperor said to Gu Jingyuan, "Come here."
After he managed to hold Mr. Gu in his arms and hold the narrow waist, Long Yanzhao took the lead to ask him: "Ah Yuan was never injured, right?"
Gu Jingyuan smiled softly at him: "I have nothing to do, it was just a trivial matter, but I didn't expect to alarm His Majesty."
Long Yanzhao asked: "Are you all right?"
Gu Jingyuan said, "Yes."
Long Yanzhao pulled the man directly onto his lap and sat down, saying: "But I still don't feel relieved, I have to give Mr. Gu a good check."
Gu Jingyuan still just smiled faintly.
He didn't speak or refuse, and sat in his arms peacefully, as if he was at his mercy, so well-behaved.
Realizing that A Yuan was still the same A Yuan, the suspicion in Long Yanzhao's heart faded a little.
He checked Mr. Gu's body irregularly, and asked him: "Tell me, what did Ah Yuan go out of the city today?"
"I just have nothing to do today, so I went for a walk outside the city to relax."
"Relax?"
Long Yanzhao looked at his eyebrows and eyes slowly, and felt that although the answer was reasonable, it was too ordinary.
It's so common that it's weird.
He stretched out his arms again, hooked the emerald ring finger on the case, and pinched it on his fingertips.
"I heard that Ah Yuan's things were stolen by those robbers. Take a look, but this thing?"
Gu Jingyuan glanced at it as he said, "Exactly."
Resisting the urge to take something directly from His Majesty's hand, he looked at Long Yanzhao with black and white eyes: "This item is very important to the subject, can Your Majesty return it to the subject?"
"Very important?" Long Yanzhao's tone was very slow.
The sight also slowly echoed on the faces of Razhi and Gu Jingyuan, inch by inch, wishing to make people's hearts jump and their skin ache.
Then he took a deep breath and smiled softly: "What's so important, Ah Yuan will tell me."
Gu Jingyuan said: "It is a gift from a close friend, so it is extremely important."
"Best friend?" Long Yanzhao raised his eyebrows a little more, and a dangerous and abusive atmosphere suddenly erupted, almost sweeping the entire study room.
He tried his best to maintain a normal and caring tone and asked, "What kind of best friend?"
"Yes……"
Before Gu Jingyuan could say the answer, there was a commotion outside the hall, and Ying Er, who had gone out on a mission, had turned back.
"Your Majesty, Second Young Master Yang will bring you here."
"No no no!"
Yang Lin was brought back directly from the beams of the roof with light work while covering his eyes and mouth.
He thought he was being kidnapped, and he was terrified, but now he was finally released, and he hurriedly removed the black cloth from his eyes, and what he saw was the magnificent scene in front of him.
At this time, Gu Jingyuan had already sat up from the emperor's arms, and the first thing he saw was Long Yanzhao sitting alone behind the desk.
Immediately frightened even more stupid.
"Your Majesty? Your Majesty?!" Yang Lin exclaimed in a fuss, "Oh my god, it's actually the Emperor! I was so scared to death, I thought someone was going to kidnap me!"
At least not being kidnapped, Yang Lin felt like weeping with joy right now.
But when he realized that he was facing the Ninth Five Lord, he reacted, knelt down to salute, and fell silent.
"The grassroots see the emperor, long live my emperor, long live, long live!"
He knelt on the ground and kowtowed, his hands naturally supporting the ground.
The five fingers are separated, and they are clearly visible. The thumb spanner that he wore on the thumb when they ate together last time is gone.
Long Yanzhao couldn't help raising his brows even higher.
"Flat body."
Only then did Yang Lin climb up from the ground tremblingly. He looked at the emperor, and then at Gu Jingyuan who was standing behind the emperor. He was completely stunned, as if he was full of doubts but dared not ask.
Long Yanzhao has been observing his reaction.
Then he looked at Gu Jingyuan again, but he didn't ask anything after all.
He didn't say a word about Mr. Gu's loss of the finger pull given by his best friend because of encountering bandits. He just asked for Second Young Master Yang to be sent out of the palace intact.
During this period, Second Young Master Yang still had question marks all over his face.
His reaction did not seem to be fake. After he left, Long Yanzhao finally handed back the ring he was playing with in his palm to Gu Jingyuan.
The emperor suddenly became amiable at this moment.
He said: "If it is a gift from Yang Lin, it is indeed a gift from a close friend. No wonder Ah Yuan is so nervous."
Gu Jingyuan took the ring, lowered his eyebrows, and said respectfully: "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Jing Yuan." Long Yanzhao called him again.
When Gu Jingyuan raised his head and met those charming peach blossom eyes, Long Yanzhao suddenly asked, "Do you know Yang Jin?"
Gu Jingyuan's slender eyelashes trembled.
After a while, he replied: "I have heard of it."
The peach-blossom eyes were red and the tails of his eyes were raised slightly, and he said solemnly: "General Yang is a young talent, and his reputation is far-reaching. I have heard of it."
Gu Jingyuan came out of the palace, ostensibly to appease the frightened Second Young Master Yang.
Although the emperor didn't ask about the finger pulling again, he obviously still had hesitation, and didn't keep him, only let him go home and rest.
The Sacred Heart is unpredictable, and Gu Jingyuan didn't explain any more. He walked out of the palace and walked to a remote place. After making sure that no one was around, he boarded a low-key carriage.
The person sitting on the carriage is none other than Yang Youwei, the Right Prime Minister of the current dynasty.
When Gu Jingyuan saw him, he took the lead in saluting and said, "My minister has met the prime minister."
"Nephew, please get up quickly." Yang Youwei said, "It's just the two of us here, Yaoyang, you're welcome, please sit down."
As Gu Yuanjin's adopted son, Gu Jingyuan never had any contact or meeting with Prime Minister You in order to avoid suspicion, what's more, the two of them were at odds with each other in court.
But in private, Yang Youwei directly called Gu Jingyuan by his name instead of calling him Mr. Gu or others, which shows that the relationship is unusual.
Prime Minister Yang is not yet 50 years old this year, but he lost his son in middle age and was in pain several times, so he looks much older than his peers.
Every time Gu Jingyuan saw him, he felt a little bit unbearable.He said: "What happened today is all my fault, and I have also implicated the second son..."
As he said, he put his hand into his bosom, and presented the wrench finger with both hands: "For now, I can only return this thing to the prime minister, and hope that the prime minister will be happy."
"Hey." Yang Youwei waved his hand, not taking what was in his hands, and said: "When the old man received the news from you, he asked Yang Lin to pick off his fingers and hide them at home. Is it implicated? As for the finger pull..."
"Since it was a gift from my son during his lifetime, there is no reason for me as a father to take it back. But His Majesty...doesn't he know the past between my nephew and my son?"
Gu Jingyuan shook his head as an answer.
He still held the finger wrench, bowed his head, and looked more humble and obedient than when he was in the palace.
Seeing his stubborn appearance, Yang Youwei couldn't help but sigh more and more.
Back then when Gu Jingyuan came to him with a tiger talisman, a token and a jade wrench, asking to help His Majesty unify the situation, the only request was not to tell anyone his identity.
Even Prime Minister Yang only knew where he came from, why he came, and no matter what...he never asked about the things between the two children.
In fact, Yang Youwei has never seen such a mature, deep-minded young man with such a pure heart. He has tested him and tested him. The result is that Gu Jingyuan's purpose in Beijing is as pure and clear as his own.
——He wanted to get rid of Gu Yuanjin, dismember his relatives who interfered in the government, and remove all obstacles that hindered him from ruling the world for His Majesty.
This is indeed Yang Jin's unfulfilled wish.
Yang Youwei was eager to think about it, and was moved by Gu Jingyuan's sincerity, so he came up with the following arrangements.
As for the private matters between Gu Jingyuan and the emperor, he never asked about them.
If you want to take care of it, it is because of your love for Gu Jingyuan that you will persuade him.
It's a pity that Yaoyang has always had his own ideas and is very stubborn.
Yang Youwei said: "The Emperor is the person who can best distinguish between loyalty, evil, good and evil. Even if Yao Yang confessed to His Majesty, it is expected that the Emperor will not have any other thoughts."
Upon hearing this, Gu Jingyuan shook his head slightly, and just said, "This junior just doesn't think it's necessary to explain so much."
Although judging by the emperor's reaction today, he should have already noticed it...
Thinking of this, Gu Jingyuan said again: "Of course, if the emperor really finds out in the future, if the younger generation is to be punished for deceiving the emperor, it will be a matter for the younger generation alone. Neither you nor the others know about it, Prime Minister."
"Why do you..." Yang Youwei looked a little excited, sighed and shook his head, sometimes even he couldn't understand Gu Yaoyang's persistence and stubbornness.
Concealing the acquaintance between the emperor A Yuan and Yang Jin, A Yuan's original reason was that there was no need to tell the emperor.
Yang Youwei also agrees with this.
Even if they are loyal courtiers to the emperor, they all have selfish motives.Like their Yang family, what they want is to rely on Kuang Fu to make their orthodox name go down in history - if the current emperor is a desolate, lecherous and unmotivated fool, their Yang family will not give full support.
So it's not surprising that Gu Jingyuan has selfish intentions.
As for the emperor, what the emperor wants is to hold the imperial power and sit in the world, and their courtiers only need to assist with their hearts and have no disagreements.
Yang Youwei thought so at first.
Until Mr. Gu and the emperor... At first, he suspected that he had misjudged the person. Ah Yuan deliberately concealed the matter with Yang Jin. In fact, he was just afraid that the emperor would misunderstand and it would be inconvenient to charm the monarch.
But after observing for a period of time, Gu Jingyuan is still the low-key, calm and dedicated Gu Jingyuan in the past, and Yang Youwei feels ashamed of his previous dirty guesses.
Fast forward to today, and he can only understand this kind of concealment as Ah Yuan really doesn't want to have too many ties with the emperor other than the relationship between the monarch and his ministers and dewy marriage.
Since I'm ready to leave, I don't need to explain anything.
Because I have never done anything to offend my sage, there is no need to explain.
Prime Minister Yang asked him: "So, Yaoyang is determined to leave when things are done?"
"This is the only reason why the junior is still here."
Sure enough, Gu Jingyuan said: "Now the big event is about to happen, in order to prevent further incidents, I also ask the prime minister not to disclose my affairs to His Majesty."
"Ah Yuan is very clear about love and hate. I admire you very much. But Your Majesty..." At this point, Yang Youwei paused: "Have you ever thought that maybe he already has you in his heart? "
In recent days, when going to court, His Majesty's eyes are more often directed somewhere, and the civil and military officials who are good at observing words and expressions all know it well.
Your Majesty had been on good terms with Mr. Gu before, and the Ninth Five Lord's behavior was normal at that time.
When the two just got together, Mr. Gu often stayed overnight in His Majesty's bedroom, and he never saw the emperor like this...
But these days, the emperor's gaze on Mr. Gu has become more frequent and hotter, and many people have already discussed this matter in private.
Yang Youwei stroked his beard and said, "Although His Majesty said that he has the light in his heart and has unusual feelings for the King of Zhenbei, but it has been so many years, and he has not seen anything from His Majesty. On the contrary, it is towards you Yaoyang..."
When Yang Youwei said this, he stopped at the point.
To be honest, he hopes that Gu Jingyuan will have a good ending more than anyone else.
This child sometimes has a confused look in his eyes... just like the look now... Maybe he hasn't noticed it himself, but Yang Youwei has read countless people, so how can he not see that Gu Yaoyang must have experienced many great joys and great sorrows people.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to have that look.
So when it's time for him to talk, he always wants to mention one or two points. He really loves this child, just like his own son, and wishes him the best.
He was very afraid that Yaoyang would leave His Majesty because of his stubbornness, and finally missed more...
But Gu Jingyuan just blinked his eyes.
The confused look faded from his eyes, and he smiled calmly.
"Because he hasn't done anything..."
Not wanting to talk about this, Gu Jingyuan smiled and shook his head: "Of course the emperor loves the powerful position, he doesn't really need me."
Gu Jingyuan lowered his eyelashes again.There was neither sadness nor joy in his eyes, he was defiant, and seemed to have seen everything through.
——No one knows Long Yanzhao better than him.
The old saying is not often said, the most ruthless emperor's family.
As for Long Yanzhao, he was born to be an emperor.
So they are nothing more than two people who have the same destination and walked together for a certain distance, and there is no cheating or taking advantage of them.
Not to mention feelings.
Gu Jingyuan returned home and stood quietly in his room for a while.
He still holds the jadeite finger wrench in his hand.
Prime Minister Yang insisted that the wrench is his now, just like when he returned the three tokens, insisting that he take the wrench away.
In the winter afternoon, the sun quickly receded, and the room was empty and cold.
Gu Jingyuan stood in the room and stood blankly for a while, until the palm was carved with deep lines by the corners of his fingers, then he came back to his senses, walked to the cabinet where the clothes were placed, pressed the mechanism, and opened the secret door inside .
The secret door has a large space, and there is only a small square box inside.
Gu Jingyuan just put the jadeite finger into the box, and then there was a hint of dodge in his expression, he quickly put the box back to its original place, and closed the secret door.
After all this was done, he suddenly leaned against the cabinet and closed his eyes weakly.
His complexion was as pale as paper, and Gu Jingyuan's expression was extremely haggard. He was silently suppressing the nausea churning in his stomach.
He has a problem, every time he tells a lie, his body will feel sick.
And obviously, he lied again in the palace just now.
There are some things he can't say to the prime minister.
...not even able to tell anyone.
In fact, it's not necessary to hide it, to the point where he has to lie... It's just that when the emperor asked him if he knew him, he thought it over and mustered up his courage, but finally he blurted out a lie.
because……
The jade ring finger had to be wrapped layer by layer and hidden in the cabinet. If it wasn't for a day like today, he would never have dared to take it out to have a look.
He didn't want to hear about the man, didn't want to mention his name, let alone tell about his past.
I dare not mention it or even think about it.
Why even think about it?
Living alone in this world is obviously very hard work.
Since things are different, why should we force ourselves to recall again?
He tried so hard not to think about it.
It's just that sometimes, people's memory is too good, which is also a curse.
……
Maybe it was because he woke up too early in the morning and didn't sleep well at night, Gu Jingyuan leaned against the cabinet, and was actually in a daze, as if he fell asleep for a few moments.
Fell asleep.
Also had a dream.
In the dream, it was today a few years ago, when the Northland was covered by heavy snow, and amidst the falling snowflakes, a young general in white and silver armor stretched out his hand wearing a jade finger wrench, and pulled him up from the ice hole, who was about to suffocate.