No matter what happened the night before, the first ray of morning light still fell on the gate of Taihe Palace as usual.
After a night of purging, the sage king Fu Ji'an forced himself to remain calm, gritted his teeth, and took on the responsibility of appeasing everyone, cleaning up the rebels, and rewarding merit and punishing crimes.
No one disputes his decision.
Feeling that the imperial palace was too bloody, Gu Heyan asked his subordinates to send Mu Boren and Mu Zhiming back to the Mu Mansion immediately after quelling the rebellion. He followed the order of King Xian Fu Ji'an and arrested the traitor who escaped to prevent him from doing chaos and hurting others.
Mu Zhiming experienced great joy and great sorrow in just a few hours, and was knocked unconscious when his memory was chaotic. He is now unconscious and in a trance. After returning to Mu's house, he has been stunned, and others do not answer questions. Even if he wanted to see his wounds and bandage his wrists, he leaned on the bed with his head down, suddenly awake from dreams, and was in a daze, like a puppet with a broken thread, making the family anxious.
Upon hearing the news, Gu Heyan handed over the arrest matters to Hao Tianqin, and immediately rushed back to the Mu residence.
It was noon, and there was a group of people in the wing room. Wen Heyin, the doctor, and the servants who served were all there. Mrs. Gong was carrying a bowl of clear porridge, sat beside the bed, scooped up a spoonful and coaxed Mu Zhiming softly: "Die Li. Zhu, would you like something to eat?"
It took a long time for Mu Zhiming to respond and answer, he spoke slowly, his eyes were slack, and his voice was exhausted, as if one sentence could consume all his strength: "Mother, I can't eat it."
Gong Shi sighed, "If you don't want to eat it, your mother won't force you to eat it, but at least let the doctor see your injury."
Mu Zhiming was silent for a moment, then nodded numbly.
The doctor hurried forward, bandaged and fixed Mu Zhiming's dislocated wrist, and then checked other injured areas on his body.
It was at this moment that the door of the wing was opened, and a person walked in quickly.
Wen Heyin's eyes were quick, and she dragged the doctor in front of Mu Zhiming away and pulled him aside.
The doctor was still holding a cotton cloth and ointment in his hand, and was stunned when he saw a man approaching Mu Zhiming and sat down carefully beside the bed.
Gu Heyan didn't wear armor and was wearing plain and simple black ink clothes.
He held Mu Zhiming's hand, his eyes were anxious, his tone was uneasy, and his voice was very soft: "I'm here, are you okay?"
The moment he was grasped by the generous and warm hand, Mu Zhiming reacted.
He raised his head, his eyes focused on Gu Heyan's face, his blood red and painful eyes filled with tears again. This time, his emotions were not as excited or out of control as when he first saw Gu Heyan. Mu Zhiming's tears rolled like beads of broken thread, he opened his mouth slowly, choked and said, "They said you died, you died in battle..."
He sobbed and whimpered, both fearful and aggrieved.
Gu Heyan took his hand and stroked his cheek, letting him feel the warmth of his skin.
When the two were talking, Gong Shi had already told everyone to leave the wing and closed the door. At this time, the huge room was peaceful and quiet, with only Gu Heyan and Mu Zhiming.
Gu Heyan leaned over to kiss the tears from the corner of Mu Zhiming's eyes and explained to him.
A few months ago, when the Rongyan Army was fighting against the Xirong tribe, all the strategies that the enemy had made were deciphered by the enemy, so Gu Heyan guessed that the army had meticulous work.
He remembered what Mu Zhiming had told himself before he lost his memory, that King Su had colluded with the Xirong people. He knew that he must be in peace before fighting the outside world, and he also knew that there might be a bloody storm in the capital, so he discussed with General Wei Lingyun. Wan Yuqi pretended to be in an ambush by the enemy, but in fact bypassed the battlefield, secretly returned to Beijing, and hid in the rarely-populated mountains and forests near the Luodu camp. He Yan devoted all his efforts, but he still did not expect that King Su would dare to assassinate the emperor himself at the banquet, but in the end he could not save the emperor.
When Gu Heyan said these things, his anger and agility gradually returned to Mu Zhiming's eyes. He listened carefully and didn't want to miss a word, but he didn't stop crying. Although he didn't cry, he kept choking in a low voice. , can't stop.
Seeing Mu Zhiming like this, Gu Heyan felt both self-blame and distressed. He hugged the man in his arms, patted him on the back to comfort him, and let him go after he stopped choking. On the wooden stool beside the bed, Mu Zhiming wiped his face and hands.
Mu Zhiming wiped away the tears, put the towel in the copper basin full of hot water and rubbed it, thinking of something, he asked Gu Heyan, "When I was protecting the concubine De and the Thirteenth Prince, two arrows pierced through it. I killed the rebels beside me and saved my life, did you shoot those two arrows?"
"It's me." Gu Heyan nodded.
Mu Zhiming's eyes instantly turned red again.
Gu Heyan was startled and at a loss.
Mu Zhiming picked up a warm towel and put it on his eyelids, without tears, he said, "If it's you, I know it must be you."
Mu Zhiming suddenly remembered something, took off the towel over his eyes, looked at Gu Heyan, and asked, "Then why is the Moon Hunting Crossbow worn on Deputy Captain Hao's arm later?"
Gu Heyan showed a guilty look, and he said, "The Moon Hunting Crossbow is broken."
"Broken again?" Mu Zhiming made a light 'ah'.
"Yeah." Gu Heyan said, "During the fight, he was chopped up, and Hou Tianqin's arm was injured and his bones were broken, so I used the broken Sun Hunting Moon Crossbow to help him fix his injured arm."
"So it is." Mu Zhiming suddenly realized, "I thought..."
Halfway through his words, he stopped abruptly.
As long as Gu Heyan was in front of Mu Zhiming unscathed, Mu Zhiming still didn't dare to say the wicked words.
Gu Heyan saw Mu Zhiming's expression of anxiety and panic for a moment, knowing that he was still frightened, so he reached out and stroked his forehead and cheek to comfort him, and then gave him a gentle kiss.
At the moment when his lips were entangled, what Gu Heyan was in front of his eyes became real, Mu Zhiming no longer bothered himself, and closed his eyes to chat with Gu Heyan.
After the kiss, Gu Heyan asked him, "Are you hungry? Do you want some snacks? I'll go..."
Mu Zhiming interrupted him abruptly and grabbed his arm: "No, I'm not hungry, don't go anywhere."
Gu Heyan was slightly startled, then nodded: "Okay." He looked at Mu Zhiming's tired expression and red and slightly swollen eyelids from crying for a long time, and advised, "Close your eyes and sleep for a while."
Saying that, Gu Heyan lightly pressed Mu Zhiming's shoulder, pressed him to lie down on the bed, and pulled up the light and soft quilt on his body and tucked it to his chin.
Mu Zhiming looked at him and refused to close his eyes: "After I fell asleep last time, you went to the frontier without saying a word, and you didn't even say goodbye to me."
Gu Heyan lay down beside him: "I'm sorry, I won't this time. I'll watch over you and wait for you to wake up."
Hearing these words, Mu Zhiming curled up into Gu Heyan's arms, wrapped his hands around Gu Heyan's waist, closed his eyes and said no more, because he knew that Gu Heyan would not lie to him.
He didn't close his eyes all night, and after going through twists and turns, Mu Zhiming was actually already exhausted, and he fell into a deep sleep soon after closing his eyes.
Gu Heyan hugged him, listening to his long breathing, not knowing what to think, frowned slightly, showing a very worried look.
Mu Zhiming slept until dawn the next day, and when he woke up, he was still held firmly in his arms by Gu Heyan.
Mu Zhiming woke up due to a fall yesterday, and every bone on his body seemed to be trampled by thousands of horses, but Mu Zhiming was not afraid of the pain. He looked at Gu Heyan beside him, and his heart was peaceful.
Gu Heyan didn't sleep soundly, Mu Zhiming moved slightly, and Gu Heyan woke up.
Mu Zhiming leaned over to kiss his forehead and heard him ask, "What time is it?"
Mu Zhiming guessed: "About 90 hours."
Gu Heyan opened his eyes, and his eyes gradually became clear. He got up and looked at the sky outside the coffin, showing the same melancholy look he had before going to bed last night.
Mu Zhiming asked, "What do you want to eat in the morning? I'll ask the cook to make it."
"I..." Gu Heyan hesitated, he looked at Mu Zhiming, some words could not be said, so he just said, "It's fine."
Mu Zhiming looked at him quietly, and sat up after a while: "He Yan, do you have something to tell me?"
Gu Heyan lowered his eyes, not looking at him: "...No."
Mu Zhiming sighed deeply. He stretched out his hand to hold Gu Heyan's ten fingers and tried to keep his voice calm. He asked, "When are you going to the northwest frontier?"
Gu Heyan suddenly raised his head to look at Mu Zhiming, a little surprised.
Mu Zhiming smiled mildly, but the smile was a little reluctant: "Are you so surprised? Now the war in the northwest is still unresolved, and you came back to Beijing to escort you. Now that the rebellion in the capital has been leveled, you, as Rongyan's coach, must Immediately return to the battlefield, such a simple inference, how could I not have thought of it, so when will I leave?"
Gu Heyan: "Today."
Mu Zhiming froze all over, and then slowly relaxed, he said, "Accompany me to finish breakfast before leaving."
Gu Heyan: "Okay."
Mu Zhiming: "Go early and return early."
Gu Heyan: "I will."
Although King Su died, the Xirong people were unwilling to give up their previous achievements, and the iron cavalry invaded the Dajin frontier with a ferocious momentum.
Gu Heyan left Hao Tianqin and 20,000 Rongyan troops in the capital, guarding the palace, which had only experienced rebel intrusion, and drove his horse to the frontier day and night to join General Wei Lingyun.
On the day Gu Heyan left, the golden bell rang through the capital, and the sound of mourning shook everyone's heart.
After the great mourning, the national mourning period is coming.
On the third day after the late emperor left, all the ministers made a concert, saying that the country cannot live without a ruler for a day, and that the wise king Fu Jian should be asked to supervise the country.
Although the previous emperor did not establish a prince, but Mu Qingwan was the empress, and her direct son was Fu Ji'an, and Fu Ji'an had always been supported by the civil and military of the Manchu Dynasty, so Fu Ji'an should supervise the country because of reason.
Fu Ji'an did not refuse, and took over all the government affairs of the court, large and small.
Because of the sudden death of the emperor, the Ministry of Rites responsible for the funeral was in a hurry at first. Although it was not a complete mess, there were indeed many trivial mistakes.
Fu Ji'an then persuaded Mu Zhiming to leave office and return to the Ministry of Rites.
Mu Zhiming agreed.
Although Mu Zhiming was young, he kept the rules and etiquette in mind, and he was careful and calm. After taking over the burden, he arranged everything properly.
In fact, if only the funeral of the late emperor had to be busy, the Ministry of Rites would not be so panicked.
Just because in addition to the first emperor, there is also the funeral of King Su.
King Su was buried in a princely manner, and the coffin was placed in the imperial tomb.
This was Mu Qingwan's request, so Fu Ji'an made an effort to settle the matter.
However, there are many people who criticize it, and even Yanguan wrote a long memorial to criticize it.
Fu Ji'an turned a blind eye to those memorials, which would be the only wayward decision he had made as a king for decades.
In October, Fu Ji'an became the new emperor, and Mu Qingwan became the queen mother.
After the enthronement ceremony, Mu Qingwan, who can enjoy all the glory and wealth, made a decision that puzzled the world.
She shaved her hair to become a nun, and lived in Chenyuan Temple on Qingyun Peak outside the capital city.
Today, she can die anywhere in the world, but she chose to be with the ancient Buddha with the blue light.
In November, good news came from the northwest frontier.
The Rongyan Army led by Gu Heyan not only defeated the Xirong tribe, but even pursued and killed the enemy army to the territory of Xirong.