I don't want to play anymore

The next day, after the morning court, Long Yanzhao went directly to meet the Queen Mother.

He didn't talk too much nonsense, and straight to the point, he hoped that the queen mother would come forward in person and point out a good marriage to Princess Yongxin.

Holding the Buddhist beads in her hand, the queen mother pondered: "The Ai family also wants to be the master of Yongxin, but I am afraid that the King of Yan will not agree. Not to mention that King Yan is far away in Huizhou, he naturally hopes that the princess can always be the master of Yongxin. Those who are by his side, if you choose a son-in-law in the capital..."

"Then let the son-in-law go to Huizhou with King Yan and his party, and I will arrange everything for him." Long Yanzhao said bluntly.

Empress Dowager: "..."

Long Yanzhao added: "Don't worry, Empress, Yongxin has a wild temper. I'm afraid she will look down on ordinary people, and she will not accept a forced marriage. Therefore, I have already thought about it. It is better to hit the sun than to choose a date. Princess Yongxin held a contest to recruit relatives."

"A competition to recruit relatives?"

"Yes, it's a martial arts contest to recruit relatives." Long Yanzhao smiled, showing a row of white teeth, and said with a bright smile: "The princess grew up in the army, and he is a brave and heroic person. What's more, Jingzhong is good at martial arts. There are countless honorable children, and if you don’t believe it, you can’t pick out one who can be liked by her.”

"..."

The queen mother was silent again, she twirled the rosary in her hand, the surrounding was extremely quiet, only the smell of incense spread in the air, covering her breath little by little.

"emperor."

The queen mother asked: "You tell the Ai family honestly, you are so anxious to find a son-in-law for the princess, but because of Mr. Gu?"

After hearing this, Long Yanzhao was noncommittal.

But it is actually a default.

——Huizhou folks are saying that the princess and Gu Jingyuan are a perfect match?

Then he will hold a grand wedding event, the more sensational and lively the better.

It doesn't even matter whether the princess chooses her favorite son-in-law or not in the end.

Anyway, King Yan will return to Huizhou after the new year.

Long Yanzhao also didn't think she could change Gu Jingyuan's mind at all.

He just needs to block the mouths of the folks and let everyone know that the princess held a martial arts competition to recruit relatives, and Mr. Gu is not in the list of candidates and has no intention of running for son-in-law.

When the time comes... what a match made in heaven.

Rumors self-defeating.

But the queen mother obviously didn't agree with his approach.

She said quite harshly: "As the emperor, you are the son of heaven! You are a role model for the whole world, how can you be so emotional?! Or for a courtier... The Ai family didn't even know that the son of the Ai family was so sentimental and weak!  … "

The queen mother gave him a lot of words in a series of reprimands.

Long Yanzhao didn't refute, just stood there and listened quietly.

Long Yanzhao had never been able to understand his mother's intentions before.

Sometimes he obviously did a good job, but he was complained all the way.

Sometimes he appeared to be messing around, but the Queen Mother didn't get annoyed anymore, and even praised him and comforted him.

As for the "abnormality" of the queen mother, Long Yanzhao once couldn't understand and was very confused.

It was only when he grew up a little later, and he knew how to think about things from the standpoint of others, that he gradually understood——

The queen mother also has her own position.

For example, at first she hoped that Gu Jingyuan would stay by her side, but now she wished she could break up with Ah Yuan as soon as possible... Everything was just considering the issue from the standpoint of her and the relatives behind her.

She is not wrong.

Just never thought about it for him.

……that is it.

Despite the queen mother's scolding, Long Yanzhao suddenly raised the corners of his lips, and his whole person became evil and cold.

But that feeling was fleeting, and the next moment, Long Yanzhao was still that respectful and filial son.

He said: "A few days ago, the temperature suddenly picked up, and I was busy with government affairs, so I forgot to send someone to pick up King Hao back to Beijing. The queen mother thought, how about I send someone to pick him up now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Empress Dowager's lips trembled, and she stopped talking.

Eyelids half-closed, lips pursed.

This is the expression of the Empress Dowager when she weighed the pros and cons.

The emperor grew up, and it was the time of rebellion, not to mention, and his temper became bigger and bigger.

He didn't call King Hao back to the palace, and the queen mother didn't dare to rush to urge him.

After all, the emperor has a stubborn temper, and she was afraid that pressing too hard would have a bad effect.

Long Yanzhao has always been soft rather than tough.

So the queen mother is also waiting, and wait for the right time to mention this matter.

Now, the emperor is obviously negotiating terms with her.

Ask her to come forward and talk to King Yan, and preside over the recruitment of relatives for the princess.

The Queen Mother didn't like the feeling of being blackmailed.

Not to mention that if Gu Jingyuan really left with the princess, the emperor would no longer be as stubborn as he is now, and it would be much easier to control...

But her birthday is only half a month away.

She really hoped that she could see King Hao on her birthday. She was not young, and she didn't know how many more birthdays she could have, and she didn't want to miss any of them.

Therefore... it seems that I have to compromise.

Thinking of this, the empress dowager's half-closed eyelids suddenly opened, and a bright light shone inside.

——Actually, it’s nothing to agree to the emperor’s request.

Even if she didn't come forward to hold a wedding for the princess, it's impossible for Gu Jingyuan to leave the emperor and choose a bratty girl.

It is a foregone conclusion that the princess will choose another son-in-law.

King Yan lost his wife in the early years, and the daughter of the princess has never been disciplined by her mother, so there is no one who can make decisions for her in the marriage. This time, I might as well show this face, so that I can win King Yan...

The empress dowager raised her rouged lips again, showing a graceful and luxurious smile, and said: "The princess is not too young, the Ai family should worry about her...then do as the emperor wants."

"I would like to obey Yi's order," Long Yanzhao said.

After the matter was finished, the mother and son had nothing to say to each other.

Long Yanzhao said as usual: "The empress had a rest, so my son went back first."

The empress dowager's eyes closed again.

It means that the emperor acquiesced to leave.

Long Yanzhao didn't stay too long, he just turned around and left with a flick of his clothes.

It's just that he just walked to the door when the queen mother's voice came from behind.

"Is the emperor a little too concerned about Mr. Gu these days?"

"..."

Long Yanzhao's footsteps suddenly stopped for a moment.

The queen mother's voice was very soft and calm, and there was no wave in the ancient well.Her usual tone of voice when chanting scriptures hardly seemed to be speaking to the emperor.

But just such a sentence fell into Long Yanzhao's ears, but it made the Ninth Five-Year Master feel as if he had been struck by thunder.

He stood there for a long time.

It seems that it hasn't been long, and the time has only passed for a moment...

After that moment, the emperor took another step and left Yong'an Hall.

The corners of the raised lips were gradually drawn into a straight line.

The face of the Ninth Five-Year Lord became more and more serious, and his steps became heavier and heavier.

When he returned to the imperial study room and saw Gu Jingyuan obediently sitting in front of the copybooks, carefully flipping through the memorials one by one, and marking the key points for him, Long Yanzhao's mood suddenly became very complicated.

He stood aside, his eyes fixed on Gu Jingyuan, and he looked at him without saying a word.

Mr. Gu's facial features are actually very prominent, but the skin is too white and tender, so at first glance, it looks like a delicate and handsome type, and it will not give people the feeling of being too sharp and straight.

But viewed from the side, Master Gu's eyelashes are slender and protruding, the bridge of his nose is high and straight, his thin lips are beautifully shaped, and there is a handsome and resolute look between his brows...

No matter from which angle you look at it, this is a handsome man.

Long Yanzhao stared at his profile for a while, the scar on Gu Jingyuan's brow bone was still very eye-catching.

But maybe because he got used to seeing that scar, sometimes Long Yanzhao would ignore it.

He simply looked at Gu Jingyuan.

Look at his handsome and elegant.

His obedience and quiet beauty.

……

This is something that Long Yanzhao himself did not notice.

……

"His Majesty?"

The emperor entered the room without moving or making a sound for a long time, Gu Jingyuan looked up at him in puzzlement: "What did you do just now?"

Just after the morning court, the emperor left a message, telling him to read the memorial here obediently, and then left. He didn't say anything else.

Gu Jingyuan was not really curious about what he was doing, but the smell of incense on the emperor had already let him know that the emperor had gone to the queen mother.

When he asked this question, he actually couldn't think of why the emperor suddenly visited the queen mother today.

But this time Long Yanzhao didn't answer his question seriously.

He said perfunctorily, "I just went out."

"……Oh."

Gu Jingyuan didn't ask any further questions, just nodded slightly, and looked at the memorial in front of him seriously.

Master Gu has a little habit of becoming extremely serious when he is not careful when doing things.

No matter what you do, once you start, you want to keep doing it until you finish it.

So Mr. Gu read the memorial in his hand again at a glance.

On the other hand, the emperor was even more irritable.

He also sat by the side to read the memorial, but he was a little absent-minded, and he had to get up and walk around twice from time to time, and then went back to continue writing notes.

With slender fingers holding on to the ink brush, the emperor's words were sharper than ever.

"...I even came to ask me how much coal should be purchased in the palace this year, what's the use of keeping my salary and supervising things?!"

"The group of Prime Minister Zuo's subordinates have started to criticize Yang Youwei's people again. What's the matter, do you think I'm blind? Can't tell good from bad, loyal and evil?!"

"What does the Ministry of Rites mean? You have to ask me what kind of ceremonial guard the Queen Mother will use on her birthday, such a trivial matter..."

Facing Gu Jingyuan's clear and innocent eyes, Long Yanzhao couldn't continue cursing.

Gu Jingyuan asked: "Your Majesty is in a bad mood today?"

Emperor Yuwen opened his eyes, this time he didn't linger much on his red eyes, but just tidied up the intricately embroidered sleeves on his dragon robe, and said, "It's nothing."

Later, Gu Jingyuan went through all the memorials, and after sorting them out, he applied to leave because the Ministry of Rites still had something to do.

Long Yanzhao pondered for a moment, but in the end he didn't say anything else, he just told: "Then I will send someone to take you there, and Ah Yuan should be careful on the way."

Gu Jingyuan smiled softly, did not refuse, and responded directly.

After Mr. Gu left, the emperor's vermilion pen hung in the air for a long time without falling a single word.

In the past, when Gu Jingyuan was around, he would only feel peace and tranquility, but today he began to feel uneasy for no reason.

I thought it would be fine if Mr. Gu left.

But when the person really left, he still felt annoyed.

It's even more annoying.

This kind of trouble is not the trouble after coming back from the mother's queen every time in the past.

The source of the trouble this time is clear.

...It's about Gu Jingyuan.

Does he like Gu Jingyuan?

If he had thought about this issue before, the emperor would probably just smile coldly, expressing that it doesn't matter.

They still have so many things to do, they want to overthrow the regent, they want to climb high and look far away together, and point out the country...

Perhaps for Gu Jingyuan, he did all this because he liked it.

But for the emperor, whether he likes it or not is never important.

He never cared too much about his feelings.

Gu Jingyuan should also be well aware of this, so he never asked or begged for anything.

They have always had a tacit understanding.

Just like just now, he knew that Ah Yuan's proposal to leave was not because the Ministry of Rites really had something to do.

Gu Jingyuan is very smart.

I can guess that he went to the Queen Mother, and I also know that I will often be in a bad mood at this time.

He never gets stuck at this time.

Gu Jingyuan would not lie to herself.

So going to the Ministry of Rites is just a blatant rhetoric, Gu Jingyuan said it, he listened, and the two of them tacitly agreed.

This is their tacit agreement.

All along, the reason why Long Yanzhao seldom thinks about feelings and his relationship with Gu Jingyuan is because of this tacit understanding.

They can stick very close, the most intimate distance.

But there is a space in each other's hearts, and they tacitly don't touch each other's defense line.

But just now, just after being asked such a sentence by his mother, for such a small moment, Long Yanzhao subconsciously questioned himself, and suddenly realized that at some point, his mind was full of thoughts about Gu Jingyuan It's over.

It seemed that the line in his heart had faded a lot unconsciously.

……

This is bad.

Long Yanzhao was silent for a long while, but he still forced himself to calm down and get down to business.

Until the night fell, the lights came on, and the night was quiet, the Ninth Five-Year Master didn't intend to stop.

The second day is Muxiu.

Long Yanzhao only slept for less than three hours, then got up and changed his clothes, and continued to deal with state affairs.

Gu Jingyuan did not enter the palace today.

In the past, on the days of rest, the emperor seldom had time to rest.

But on this day, Mr. Gu would often go to the palace to accompany him. Apart from discussing state affairs, the two of them could also do some boring little things, which would not make people feel tired.

It's just that today, he didn't send anyone to pick him up.

Master Gu didn't come either.

Long Yanzhao was twisting a memorial in his hand, and after much deliberation, he didn't send anyone to deliver the decree.

——If you don’t come, don’t come.

Coincidentally, he also wanted to be quiet now, and he didn't want to see Gu Jingyuan's face.

I can't read the memorial.

The key points outlined above by Gu Jingyuan will remind him subconsciously of the seriousness of young people when they do things.

It will upset people for no reason.

So Long Yanzhao chose to give up, rested for a while, and picked up a copy of "National Policy" to read.

...It is clean, without traces left by Gu Jingyuan.

Ah Yuan seldom reads books with him, but he has only been to Gu Jingyuan's house, and indeed he saw a lot of books in Mrs. Gu's bedroom...

Long Yanzhao frowned fiercely, forbidding himself to think about what is there and what is not.

Forced to put my thoughts on the book, the time has passed a lot faster. Near noon, His Majesty has already turned over half of the "National Policy". Suddenly, someone from outside the palace reported that Mr. Gu encountered a group of robbers in the suburbs of the city...

"What did you say?!" The emperor directly threw the scroll in his hand aside, uncertainly asking him to repeat it.

The guards who came to report knelt on the ground and replied as concisely as possible: "My Majesty, Mr. Gu was robbed by a group of robbers in the outskirts of the city..."

Long Yanzhao's eyes widened: "The robber?! How is the situation now?!"

Gu Jingyuan woke up early.

Because I have to go out today, I lay down early yesterday.

He wanted to rest earlier, but he couldn't fall asleep as usual. In the end, he didn't know how long he slept in a daze. When the hour passed, he opened his eyes on time.

After washing my face with cold water, I immediately became sober.

Gu Jingyuan changed into black clothes and was wrapped in a dark cloak. Before he had time to eat breakfast, he got into the carriage he had prepared in advance.

In the middle of winter, it was extremely cold inside the carriage.

Gu Jingyuan didn't bring a hand stove, he just hugged the cloak that was covering the outside tightly. He leaned against the body of the car, closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The carriage swayed, left the capital just as the city gate was just opened, and rushed straight to the outskirts of the capital.

There is a piece of land in the suburbs of Beijing that is the ancestral property of the Yang family.

Prime Minister Yang's ancestors have been officials for many years and have taken root in the capital for several years. The ancestral property is also a treasured land of geomantic omen, so it was divided into a piece and simply changed into a ancestral hall and ancestral grave.

Today is not a special day.

No rain, no snow, and not much sunshine.

The sky was dark, only the howling north wind.

There was no one around the Yang family's ancestral grave and ancestral hall.

Gu Jingyuan didn't disturb anyone either.

He asked the coachman to stop at a far away place, and then walked in the deserted wilderness by himself, only to come to a fairly new tombstone...

Then he stood quietly in the cold wind for a long time.

Say nothing.

Silently.

It took more than an hour to stand, and when the winter sun slowly climbed to the top of the head, releasing a layer of light like a white mist, Gu Jingyuan finally moved away, turned and walked back in the direction he came from.

It was at this time that he met the robbers.

Gu Jingyuan's five senses were keen since he was a child, and he had already spotted the group before they got close.

There were only four people in total, holding hoes or knives in their hands. They were dressed as burly men, their faces could not be seen clearly, but there was panic in their eyes, and they did not seem to be people who often do this kind of thing.

There are no bandits near the capital, and the Dayi Dynasty has long been in peace, and generally speaking, there will be no poles that rob houses for a long time.

This group of people are probably gangsters from a nearby county town. They have been in the capital for a year and haven't made any money. It's almost Chinese New Year, so they started to block roads and rob. There is an explanation.

So in the face of the robbery, Gu Jingyuan's reaction was also very calm.

He directly took out a few ingots of broken silver from his pocket and handed them out.

The black clothes made his figure look taller and thinner.

Her bright eyes and white teeth were as white as jade, not as gorgeous and dazzling as in the past, but a little more deep and unpredictable.

The four gangsters surrounding him were stunned.

——It is not uncommon for them to meet robbers who voluntarily hand over their money.

But this is the first time they have seen a person with such a calm expression, such a straight back, and no fear!

But looking at this person's frail temperament and thin body, he doesn't look like he can fight.

Moreover, his slender and white fingers are like onion roots, and the pieces of silver that he is pinching add up to more than one or two, and it really doesn't look like he doesn't want to care about them and sends them away at will...

The robbers couldn't understand it anymore, they didn't do much to block roads and rob.

But this is the first time I have seen such a wonderful thing!

However, this group of robbers also have different personalities, some of them are careful and like to think too much, so they are even more afraid of Gu Jingyuan.

I just think he is a hero who can fight and is not short of money.

But some people don't like to use their brains at all. Seeing that this thin scholar is still a fat sheep, they immediately asked in a rough voice: "Is there anything else on you? Don't wait for the master to search, take it out yourself!"

"No more." Gu Jingyuan shook his head calmly, and said kindly, "If you take the money and leave now, I won't care about it. But."

With her thin lips slightly parted, Gu Jingyuan's charming peach eyes were neither sad nor happy, "There is only one chance."

"Hahaha, what a joke!" The robber laughed and said to his companion, "Boss, I think this white-faced scholar is stupid in reading! He must have something good on him, otherwise he wouldn't have given us money so neatly. I said we still have to search him..."

The other robbers actually wanted to take the money and leave, but after hearing what their companions said, they felt that it made sense.

What's more, this is the outskirts. In summer, people come and go when farming is lively. Now that it is winter, the farmers are all at home, so no one will come. They squatted here for a few days, and only met Such a fat sheep, it is a pity to let it go like this.

The little bastard known as the boss thought about it, held up the sickle and handed it to Gu Jingyuan, and asked him: "What good things do you have on you? Take them all out!"

"Boss, I just look at his outer clothes..."

"The clothes are stripped, hold him down, we can go straight up and search!"

The others had no objection, and planned to go forward and hold down the frail scholar in their eyes.

The four thieves themselves were in a state of encirclement, and they were not afraid that Gu Jingyuan would take the opportunity to escape, so they threw the murder weapon aside.

But it was at this time that something happened suddenly!

Although Gu Jingyuan has no internal strength and is not born with supernatural power, he is not really as fragile as it appears on the surface.

He has practiced martial arts.

When I was young, I practiced martial arts to win my father's attention.

Later, he practiced martial arts because that person would get up in the morning to practice kung fu every day. He saw a lot, so he also learned some.

Even though he was a show of strength in front of real knights, it was more than enough to deal with a few gangsters.

……

The guards in the palace reported back to the emperor: "Master Gu is fine, he beat all those robbers away."

"...It's fine as long as it's okay." Long Yanzhao let go of his hanging heart, and then asked again: "Then what about Mr. Gu? Why are you here to report? Where is he?"

"The gang of robbers seemed to have stolen something from your lord before they ran away..." The guard said: "When Mr. Gu found out, he chased after him. The driver who accompanied him reported to the official, and the governor of the capital city had already sent someone to look for it. Mr. Gu arrested those gangsters at the same time..."

"What??" Long Yanzhao frowned.

"What is it?"

I was too worried just now so I didn't think about it so much, but now I want to come... Ah Yuan actually left the city?What did he do this morning when he didn't come?

What else is so important... It can make Gu Jingyuan, who has always been calm, unable to sit still? !

"This..." The guard couldn't explain why.

The governor of the capital came to report the letter, but he was just a messenger, so naturally he didn't know all the details.

No matter what was lost, Long Yanzhao immediately said to the guards: "Tell Huo Linping to lead a team to find Mr. Gu immediately, and make sure to bring him back intact."

"Yes."

Although everything was arranged, Long Yanzhao still wandered around the hall for a few times, feeling his eyelids twitching.

In the end he asked Hong Taiquan to find a set of his regular clothes and bring them over.

The emperor came to the Yin of the capital in person.

Mr. Gu encountered a robber near the capital, and went to chase the criminal by himself. What if something happened on the way... The governor of the capital did not dare to hide it, so he immediately sent someone to the palace to report it to the emperor.

But he never expected that the emperor would come here in person!

When Long Yanzhao arrived, he directly presided over the overall situation. In short, he wanted people to chase Mr. Gu back quickly, but nothing happened.

He called the coachman again to inquire about the situation.

The coachman was just a driver, and Mr. Gu got out of the car much earlier. He didn't know what Mr. Gu was doing alone, but he only knew that after waiting for Mr. Gu in the carriage all morning, Mr. Gu came back.

It was still intact when it came back... Your lord got into the car and ordered him to return.But before he took two steps, the adult said that he had lost something and asked him to drive back to check immediately.

The coachman said: "Caomin has been searching for a long time in the countryside with my lord, but I didn't see anything. My lord said that he might have been taken away by those robbers. Only then did Caomin know that my lord was robbed... Your Majesty forgive me!"

Long Yanzhao wanted to hear his story, not any forgiveness.

The Ninth Five-Year Lord asked with a terrifying expression: "And then?"

"Then my lord went after him personally, and the grassroots couldn't stop them, so they had to hurry back and report to the officials..."

"Ridiculous." Long Yanzhao slapped the table, the more he heard it, the more unrealistic he felt.

He asked: "What the hell is it? It can make Mr. Gu so impulsive?!"

The coachman said tremblingly: "Your Excellency said it was an emerald finger, no matter how many people there are, I really don't know..."

"Emerald Wrench?"

Long Yanzhao was even more confused.

Ah Yuan is an extremely simple and simple person, and rarely wears any accessories.

In Long Yanzhao's memory, Gu Jingyuan never had a finger wrench.

Besides, what kind of ring is so important that Gu Jingyuan should go after it himself? !

Long Yanzhao felt baffled, flustered, and had a faint headache.

He pressed his aching temple, but felt that he couldn't stay here any longer, couldn't sit still, so he simply stood up and wanted to find Gu Jingyuan in person.

"Your Majesty, you can't go anymore, Your Majesty!" The governor of the capital hurriedly stopped him: "The outskirts of the capital are so big, what if Mr. Gu has already gone back, and you will miss it again? The most urgent thing is your majesty's dragon body. I think your majesty should Wait here for a while..."

Simply at this time, a government official came back and reported that Mr. Gu had been found, those gangsters were also found by another team, and the finger puller that Mr. Gu lost was also found.

Hearing the words, the capital governor heaved a sigh of relief, and wiped the hot sweat that was about to drip from his forehead by the way.

... In less than an hour after the incident, his subordinates found everyone. Although it was his fault that bandits appeared near the capital, the emperor could not say anything bad about such efficient work.

His black hat was saved today.

Only then did Long Yanzhao sit down again.

The emperor also breathed a sigh of relief and took a sip of hot tea.

Long Yanzhao became even more curious when he learned that Gu Jingyuan's lost finger wrench had been found from the four thieves and brought back in a hurry.

He beckoned: "Bring it here and show me."

The jade finger was wrapped in a soft cloth.

The governor of the capital did not dare to look at it, so he held it in both hands respectfully, and handed it together with the soft cloth to Long Yanzhao's hand.

Emperor Yuwen lifted the soft cloth and took a look...then fell silent.

This emerald wrench means he has seen it before.

Some time ago when I was eating with Yang Er, I saw it, and Yang Lin put it on his hand.

Long Yanzhao knew it.

...I saw it a long time ago, and I saw it more than once or twice.

This is a family heirloom of the Yang family. It is exactly the same, and there are two pieces in total.