Half a month later.
The streets of Kyoto finally became bustling again.
But the defense is still tight.
Soldiers are guarding the gates of the outer city and the inner city every day, and anyone leaving or entering the city will be strictly checked.
Civilians can come and go freely.
However, it was very difficult for the family files of officials, nobles and wealthy people to leave the outer city.
When Qin Wenzhen was transporting cloth, he tried and was allowed to enter and exit the inner city, but when he wanted to leave from the outer city, he was stopped.
The reason is still that the murderer who wiped out the entire Zhongwu Marquis’s Mansion has not been found yet.
But everyone knew that anyone related to the eldest princess was under surveillance.
Those with a little power and influence were even placed under house arrest.
The Qin Mansion is naturally no exception.
Every day, there are plainclothes Jinyiwei officers wandering around on the streets outside.
So during this period of time, the Qin family did not go anywhere else except to the inner city to do business.
Luo Qingzhou reads at home during the day and practices martial arts secretly. At night he tells stories to the eldest lady and chats with friends such as Sister Yue Zhu Yan.
But he did not relax and was always looking for an opportunity to leave this place of trouble.
He was fine being alone, he could leave at any time.
But there were too many people in the Qin family and they were too conspicuous. They were closely monitored by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, so it was difficult for them to leave without being noticed.
But the New Year is coming soon.
At that time, envoys from various countries will come to the capital to offer congratulations, people from all over the country will come to Kyoto to watch the excitement, and those who are preparing to take part in the Spring Examination and visiting relatives and friends will also gather there.
There should be a chance at that time.
The weather was nice that day.
Song Ruyue came back from outside and said that there were fewer soldiers on the streets, more pedestrians, and many foreign tourists, making it very lively.
Luo Qingzhou kept it in mind. After lunch, he said something to Miss Qin Er and walked out of the backyard.
He put on a mask and changed clothes in the alley, then he left his body and looked around before climbing over the wall and going to the south of the city.
When he passed Lane 18 and saw the empty alley entrance, he suddenly felt a little lost.
Although Linghu Qingzhu often told him about Sister Dao's situation in Lingxiao Sect, he couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable when he saw this deserted alley.
No one brought him bread anymore.
I'm afraid it will be difficult for Sister Dao and her father to show up in front of other people in the future, unless... they change the day.
I wonder how the eldest princess is doing at the border now.
There has been no news coming back to Kyoto recently, and everything seems very peaceful.
But he knew that this peace would not last long.
When we arrived at the martial arts gym, the door was closed.
He pushed and when the door didn't open, he had to knock.
After a while, footsteps were heard from inside.
"Squeak..."
The wooden door opened and Nie Yunrong appeared in the door. After seeing him, she was stunned for a moment, and said with surprise: "Junior Brother Chu, I thought you would not come. Come in quickly."
Luo Qingzhou walked in and saw that it was deserted inside. There was no sound of other people practicing martial arts. He asked, "Where are Senior Brother Zhang and the others?"
Nie Yunrong sighed and said, "During this period, there are soldiers guarding every intersection and checking everywhere. Especially for us warriors, as long as we appear on the street, we will be questioned in various ways. Senior Brother Zhang, Junior Brother Zhou, and Junior Sister Chu are all at home and dare not come out. Master has also been called back by the sect, so I am the only one here."
Luo Qingzhou was silent for a moment, then said, "Do you know about Senior Sister Dao's matter?"
Nie Yunrong had a complicated expression on her face. She nodded and said, "I heard that her father was a fugitive. I also heard that they killed many Jinyiwei and I don't know where they fled to. Master was taken to the government office and interrogated for a long time. Senior Brother Zhang and I were also taken to the interrogation. Junior Brother Chu, what about you?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "I'm fine, no one is looking for me."
Mainly because no one could find him.
Nie Yunrong said with envy, "You are a direct disciple of the sect, they definitely won't dare to provoke you."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at the yard full of fallen leaves and suddenly felt a little guilty.
Nie Yunrong sighed again and said, "I don't know when this storm will stop. Now that everyone is gone, it's so deserted here."
Luo Qingzhou glanced at her and said, "Senior Sister Nie, why don't you go to the sect to practice?"
Nie Yunrong said with a bitter face: "I still have a younger brother to take care of at home. If I leave, what will happen to him? I am just an ordinary outer disciple, I can't take him with me."
Luo Qingzhou shrugged and said, "I also want to be with my family, so I stay here."
Nie Yunrong looked at him and said, "Does Junior Brother Chu have many family members? As Junior Brother Chu's direct disciple, you should be able to bring a few relatives with you."
Luo Qingzhou said: "About a dozen."
Nie Yunrong was surprised and said, "So many? I definitely can't take them with me. But Junior Brother Chu actually has so many family members. You can go to the sect to practice by yourself. After all, there are much more abundant resources for practice there, and there is also a master to guide you. As for home, there will be other people to watch over it, right?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "I am worried."
The two chatted for a while and then went to the martial arts training ground to practice.
In the evening, Luo Qingzhou took a shower, changed his clothes, said goodbye and left.
He returned to the mansion carefully along the way.
As soon as I entered the Meixiang Garden, a familiar voice suddenly came from inside: "Second Miss, I will leave before dark. There are people watching outside the mansion. I..."
Before he finished speaking, Miss Qin Er beside him smiled and said, "He's back."
Luo Qingzhou looked towards the corridor.
Hua Gu was wearing a bright red dress, standing gracefully beside Miss Qin Er. When she saw him, her eyes suddenly lit up like stars, and a happy smile appeared on her face.
She quickly bowed her head and saluted, "Master Luo, Hua Gu is here to bother you."
Miss Qin Er said, "Brother Qingzhou, Miss Huagu has been here for a long time and has been waiting for you. There must be something important. Please go into the study and talk."
Luo Qingzhou's expression froze and he took her into the study.
Miss Qin II closed the door outside, then took Zhu'er and Qiu'er out and went to Lingchan Moon Palace.
In the study, the stove was burning and cigarettes were smoking.
Hua Gu took off her shoes, revealing her pink stockings under her skirt. She bowed and said softly, "Sir, Hua Gu came to see you today because I want to tell you about His Highness's recent condition."
Luo Qingzhou invited her to sit on the couch, poured her a cup of tea, and said, "Miss Huagu, please speak."
Hua Gu glanced at the boudoir in the inner room, then looked at him and said, "Young Master, have you been okay these days? Have the government officials come to cause trouble for you?"
Luo Qingzhou said: "It's okay, it's just a routine check."
Hua Gu frowned slightly and said, "My lord, your highness is at the border confronting the demon tribe. The battle was about to break out, but he discovered that the food and military pay were either withheld or not delivered in time, and the military supervisor has been making orders in the army, urging your highness to quickly attack the demon tribe army... Some of your highness's orders were rejected by the military supervisor, and finally your highness was furious and beheaded the military supervisor and killed an official who was escorting the food and grass..."
"Your Highness felt that the army was unstable, and other armies had gathered in nearby cities. The leader was the King of Thailand, but he did not explain the situation to Your Highness, so Your Highness kept his troops in place... Then news came from somewhere on the border, saying that Your Highness was going to rebel, and that Your Highness was going to collude with the demons. The news became more and more intense, and after it reached the Fire Moon Kingdom, some of the troops left behind in the Fire Moon Kingdom actually gathered together privately and were still recruiting soldiers, saying that they wanted to cooperate with Your Highness in the rebellion..."
"Your Highness sent Yueying back to the Fire Moon Nation to stop them, but I don't know who instigated them, or maybe they thought they had already raised a banner to become rebels, so they ignored him and almost killed Yueying..."
"Now everyone in Kyoto is saying that His Highness is going to rebel. Many people and officials are scolding His Highness, saying that they had misjudged His Highness... They are saying that His Highness, a woman, actually wants to be the emperor..."
"Your Highness has no excuse. Apart from writing a letter to His Majesty and the Queen Mother, he has no other explanation. He just deployed troops on the border and dared not fight the demon tribe again, fearing that it would end up in a loss..."
"Your Highness asked Hua Gu to ask the young master what to do now..."
After listening to this, Luo Qingzhou frowned and said, "From what you said, someone is forcing Your Highness to rebel. The rumors that Your Highness is colluding with the demons to rebel should have been deliberately spread by someone in the court. Those people in the Fire Moon Nation were probably deliberately instigated... If Your Highness really rebels at this time, he will fall into their trap. Now is not the time. We should at least wait until after the Chinese New Year to see the situation."
"The court's current policy has not yet caused public outrage, and there are demons causing trouble on the border. Everyone wants to unite to face the outside world, and they all hope that Your Highness can repel the demons first and save the people on the border first. If Your Highness suddenly leads his troops to attack his own people at this time, it will indeed end up in a loss for everyone. Although Your Highness is powerful, if he loses the support of the people and has no reason to fight, it will be difficult."
"The King of Thailand has deployed troops on the border, probably to prepare for Your Highness. Once Your Highness makes a mistake, he will summon the army of the whole country to suppress the rebellion. Moreover, envoys from various countries are coming to Kyoto recently. The emperor will probably promise some benefits and join forces with them. With the addition of other armies in Da Yan, I am afraid that Your Highness..."
Hua Gu said solemnly: "Young Master, what you mean is..."
Luo Qingzhou said: "We can't take the initiative, and there is no good opportunity now."
Hua Gu sighed and said, "But what should His Highness do? The news of His Highness' rebellion has spread throughout Kyoto and other places. We can't wait any longer. I'm afraid that the longer we wait, the more unstable the army will be, and then the soldiers will slowly disperse..."
Luo Qingzhou frowned and thought for a moment, then looked at her and said, "Does Your Highness dare to return to Kyoto?"
Hua Gu was stunned when she heard this, and then she was surprised: "Sir, you actually have the same idea as His Highness."
Luo Qingzhou said: "Your Highness thinks so too?"
Hua Gu nodded and said, "Your Highness means the same thing. The emperor has issued an order to summon the kings from all over the country to return to Beijing for the New Year. Your Highness can come back with them. In this way, the rumors that Your Highness is going to rebel will naturally be refuted. With Your Highness's merits and prestige, and with envoys from neighboring countries visiting Kyoto and troops on the border, no one dares to touch Your Highness at this time."
"Her Highness said that after she came back, she took the initiative to tell the Queen Mother and His Majesty that she wanted to give up her status as the ruler of Fire Moon Country and her military power, and then get married..."
Luo Qingzhou frowned and said, "Your Highness... have you given up?"
Hua Gu was silent for a moment, then shook her head: "I don't know what His Highness is thinking. His Highness just asked me to ask you, if she did this, would it be right?"
Luo Qingzhou was silent for a moment, and said: "Let His Highness decide for himself. Maybe His Highness saw the cruelty of the demons and the pity of the people at the border, and didn't want to kill each other anymore. But... forget it, let's not talk about it. His Highness has his own ideas and must have made up his mind long ago. However, those people from Huoyue Country..."
Hua Gu said: "Her Highness said she would take care of it."
Luo Qingzhou nodded and said nothing more.
The two talked for a while.
Seeing that it was getting dark outside the window, Hua Gu stood up and said, "Master, it's time for Hua Gu to leave. There have been people watching us outside for a while. Hua Gu was afraid of causing trouble for you, so she didn't come. Today..."
She paused, bit her pink lips, and whispered, "I dreamed of you last night, and I missed you so much that I came here today... I hope you don't mind."
Luo Qingzhou also got off the couch and said without saying anything more: "Then I'll see you off."
"Um."
Hua Gu lowered her head, walked to the door, and put on her shoes.
Luo Qingzhou stood behind her, watching her bend her slender waist and raise her round buttocks, smelling the sweet scent wafting from her body, and couldn't help but recall the scene of bathing in the palace that night...
"Sir, let Hua Gu serve you once, okay?"
Hua Gu put on her own shoes, picked up his shoes, then bent her knees and knelt at the door, looking at him with her watery eyes and a pleading look on her face.
Luo Qingzhou was stunned for a moment, but did not refuse and nodded slightly.
Hua Gu's face was immediately filled with joy. She lowered her head, gently held his feet, and slowly helped him put on his shoes. Then she raised her beautiful and charming face and said, "Master, thank you. In fact, Hua Gu doesn't expect anything. As long as I can serve you once in a while, Hua Gu will be very satisfied..."
Luo Qingzhou sighed in his heart, helped her up, and said, "Let's go, it's getting dark."
Huagu nodded slightly: "Yeah."
The two of them left the yard together.
Luo Qingzhou accompanied her to the gate and watched her get on the carriage.
The carriage slowly drove away.
Hua Gu suddenly opened the curtains, poked her head out, looked at him and said, "Master, when Hua Gu comes next time, can you take Hua Gu? The doctor said that Hua Gu can live to 20 years old, but Hua Gu feels that Hua Gu's time is running out... Hua Gu wants to serve you a few more times..."
Luo Qingzhou looked at her face that was both pure and charming, remained silent and did not answer.
The carriage gradually went away.
Huagu kept leaning her head out of the window, looking at him reluctantly until he disappeared at the alley in the distance...
Luo Qingzhou was stunned at the gate again before turning around and going back.
Night falls.
Hua Gu rode in a carriage and quickly entered the inner city, turned into an alley, and then stopped in front of a mansion.
She had just got off the carriage when an old eunuch suddenly walked out of the mansion.
Behind the old eunuch were several palace guards.
Hua Gu's face changed when she saw the old eunuch.
This old eunuch was called Eunuch Wei. He had watched the emperor grow up since he was a child. He had always been by his side and seemed to have never left the palace.
Hua Gu looked at the smile on his face and her heart suddenly tightened.
Eunuch Wei stopped on the steps, looked her up and down with a fake smile, and said, "This must be the beautiful lady that the palace maids talked about, the one who is as beautiful as a fairy, and even her breath is sweet with the fragrance of flowers and honey, right? Miss, please come with me to the palace. My master has heard about your beauty and strangeness, and wants to meet you."