Lord, Your Immortal Plant has Slipped Away Again Chpt: 86

LYIPhSAA (lxxxvi)

Edited: 12.27.2023

As soon as Gu Yan made a noise, everyone who had been making a fuss looked in their direction. Qiu Luo was stunned for a moment, but she immediately came to her senses and knelt down to salute: “Greetings, Your Majesty and Your Highness.”

The surrounding people also finally realized who the people in front of them were, and they all bowed to the two of them to pay their respects.

“You may rise.” Gu Yan responded and asked Qiu Luo, “What are you doing here?”

Qiu Luo looked evasive and said hesitantly: “I……this servant is out shopping today. I stopped by…….to buy a storybook for Qiu Tang.”

“Storybook?” Gu Yan looked at her suspiciously but did not say anything else.

Gu Yan turned to look at the boss who was arguing with Qiu Luo, “This Prince and princess consort were passing by here and wanted to listen to the storyteller. Why are you guys making such a fuss?”

The boss avoided his gaze for a moment before saying with a smile: “Your Majesty might not know, we were telling the story without a problem but this girl had to come over to stop us, that’s why……”

“You——”

Gu Yan glanced at Qiu Luo, who shut up in anger. Gu Yan added: “This girl is from my manor, I will take her back and discipline her. Owner, you shouldn’t argue with a little girl like her.”

“That is natural……”

“But this Prince thought that since the store is open for business, private tampering is a loss of integrity. What’s more,” Gu Yan looked up at him, with a little coldness in his eyes, and said calmly, “You are performing a false story that is untrue to its title, aren’t you afraid that I will punish you for slandering this Prince?”

When the boss heard this, he was so scared that he fell to his knees: “Your Majesty, please forgive me, this commoner would never dare to do so.”

Gu Yan’s expression was cold and he said nothing. Ye Zi couldn’t stand it anymore and he tugged on Gu Yan’s sleeves: “Okay, Your Majesty, don’t be angry. It’s not a big deal. Just ask them to change it.”

That boss, hearing Ye Zi say this, hurriedly said: “Yes, this commoner will order someone to change it back immediately.”

Hearing the boss’s reply, Qiu Luo was obviously relieved, and the corners of her mouth curved up slightly. Gu Yan turned his head to look at her and didn’t say anything else.

After such a mess, Ye Zi was not in the mood to listen to anymore storytelling and pulled Gu Yan back to the Prince’s manor.

The next day, Gu Yan sent someone to take Pei Ge into the palace and removed all the eunuchs beside Emperor Jinghe, not allowing anyone to visit for fear of the epidemic spreading.

Emperor Jinghe couldn’t leave the bedchamber. Other than that, all matters remained as usual, but Gu Yan’s interference was naturally unavoidable.

All reports must be delivered to Gu Yan by a dedicated person every day. After confirming that there were no errors, they would be presented to Emperor Jinghe. For a time, Gu Yan actually held all the government affairs in his hands.

Pei Ge followed Gu Yan’s instructions and boiled medicine for Emperor Jinghe day and night to alleviate the symptoms. Emperor Jinghe’s illness was indeed gradually brought under control. However, with no antidote in sight, only the symptoms were treated and not the root cause.

Now, there was only one person who may have the antidote in her hands, and that was Noble Consort Yu.

But before Emperor Jinghe could send someone to force Noble Consort Yu to hand over the coil orchid seeds, a piece of news came.

Noble Consort Yu suddenly became insane, her thoughts were chaotic, and she couldn’t even speak.

When Emperor Jinghe heard the news while he was ill, he vomited a mouthful of black blood in anger. Pei Ge fed him several bowls of medicine and finally managed to save his life.

Gu Yan stood on the bedside, looking at the old man who had rapidly aged and become thinner in the past few days with calm eyes: “Your Holiness is seriously ill now, please take care of yourself, and don’t be overly sad or happy.”

Emperor Jinghe gasped and looked at him, his gaze carrying an undetectable hatred: “Noble Consort Yu……were you the one who harmed her?”

“What nonsense is Your Holiness talking about?” Gu Yan smiled faintly, “I have no grievances or enmity with Noble Consort Yu, why would I harm her.”

Emperor Jinghe said: “You……are trying to harm Us.”

“It’s getting late, Your Holiness should rest early so that your condition doesn’t deteriorate again.” Gu Yan said, “Noble Consort Yu is now being left in her chambers to recuperate, if her condition improves, I will immediately send someone to inform Your Holiness.”

“You——”

Gu Yan looked at him faintly: “Although Dr. Pei’s medical skills are superb, he is not a divine doctor who can bring people back from the dead. In the end, if Your Holiness is always overly worried like this, I’m afraid that even if the gods of heaven come down to earth, it will be difficult to save your life.”

Gu Yan wanted to leave after saying this, but Emperor Jinghe suddenly raised his voice and called out to him.

“Gu Zicheng!” Emperor Jinghe barely sat up, his voice hoarse: “Do you think I don’t know what you are doing? In the past few days, you have manipulated the government and the public, replacing all those who are dissatisfied with you. What do you want to do? Plot to usurp the throne?!”

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Gu Yan paused slightly in his footsteps and laughed: “Your Holiness is overly concerned, I had those lords transferred out of their original positions, but only because they were negligent in their duties and did nothing while in their high positions. I have already presented the evidence to Your Holiness, if Your Holiness missed it, I’ll go and look for it again for you?”

“You don’t have to keep this façade.” Emperor Jinghe said, “I know that you’re hanging on to Our life like this because you want the throne.”

“We’re telling you, dream on. We will not pass the throne to you no matter what, this throne will only go to the Crown Prince, if you have the ability, you can come and fight with him for it, so that the whole world will know that the titular Prince Rui is actually the one who has formed a party and conspired against the throne and rebelled.”

Gu Yan said: “Your Holiness doesn’t seem to understand. If I really want to seize the throne, the world may have already changed hands.”

“Then what exactly do you want to do?”

Gu Yan looked back at him: “You will know soon, there is no hurry, just wait patiently.”

After Gu Yan finished saying this, he pushed the door and left Emperor Jinghe’s chambers. The moonlight in the sky was just right and several stars dotted the night sky, making the moon even brighter.

The weather had gradually cooled down in the past few days. The moment Gu Yan stepped out of his chambers, a eunuch immediately brought him a fox fur cloak. Gu Yan wrapped the white cloak tightly around himself and slowly stepped out of the palace gate, and from afar, he saw a Prince Rui Manor’s carriage parked at the entrance.

Gu Yan lifted the curtain and Ye Zi was curled up on the seat inside the carriage, sleeping soundly.

Inside the carriage, there was no warm incense. It wasn’t noticeable in the daytime, but at night, it was a bit cold. Ye Zi only wore a thin outer robe and was curled up on the cushion as if fearing the cold, however, he slept soundly.

Gu Yan gently walked up and took off his cloak to cover him.

Gu Yan was busy with government affairs these days and couldn’t help but be a little negligent about Ye Zi. Fortunately, he seemed to have found some kind of fun recently. Every day after Gu Yan left the palace, he would take the two maids out and usually didn’t come back until evening.

He was as busy as Gu Yan.

Gu Yan now had no doubts about Ye Zi. As long as he didn’t encounter any danger, he would still let him wander outside.

The carriage jolted back and in no time, it woke Ye Zi up.

Gu Yan was sitting at the table sipping tea while admiring his little princess consort’s sleeping face. Seeing that he woke up, he smiled at him: “We’re about to arrive home, so don’t sleep anymore.”

Ye Zi looked like he was in a sleep daze. He blinked in confusion with a blank look, not fully waking up for a while.

Gu Yan was aroused by his lovely appearance and went over and kissed the other party gently on the lips: “My beloved consort, if you don’t wake up now, I will take advantage of you.”

Ye Zi’s eyes gradually regained clarity. Just as he wanted to get up, Gu Yan held down both ends of his cloak and pressed him down on the soft seat.

Ye Zi suddenly couldn’t move and opened his mouth: “Zicheng, what are you?……”

“Hush.” Gu Yan was turned on and he lowered his head to kiss him deeply.

Ye Zi was quickly out of breath from his kiss as he feebly pushed Gu Yan’s chest.

Gu Yan released him and laughed softly: “It’s been so long, how come you still can’t breathe properly?”

Ye Zi’s cheeks turned red from his kiss. Half of his face retracted into his cloak and he said angrily: “I kindly came to take you back home, how could you repay my kindness like this and even laugh at me?”

Gu Yan raised his eyebrows and looked at him: “What do you mean? Aren’t I rewarding you?”

As soon as he said this, it wasn’t known what came to Ye Zi’s mind but the tips of his ears turned a few shades redder.

Before he was sure about Gu Yan’s feelings, he had used this method to trick Gu Yan into kissing him. He would pester him for rewards every day. If he was not satisfied once, he would sometimes try different methods to ask him for it several times.

Ye Zi had been complacent at that time, but now when he thought about it, he was full of regret.

Gu Yan wrapped the person in his arms with a cloak, restrained Ye Zi’s hands and feet to prevent him from escaping, and pecked him on the face: “Why did you want to pick me up outside the palace gate today? It’s so cold, why didn’t you wear more clothes?”

When he said this, Ye Zi remembered his purpose and said hurriedly: “I came to look for you, but the head guard said that you were at Emperor Jinghe’s place. Since I couldn’t get in, I had to wait outside.”

“Looking for me?” Gu Yan asked: “Did something happen?”

Ye Zi was about to answer when the carriage the two of them were traveling in shuddered gently and came to a stop.

They had arrived at the Prince Rui Manor.

Ye Zi hurriedly took advantage of Gu Yan’s unawareness to break free from his arms and pulled Gu Yan out of the carriage. Ye Zi pulled Gu Yan all the way back to the courtyard where the two of them lived and the moment he stepped into the courtyard, Gu Yan was stunned.

The courtyard had obviously been carefully arranged. The vines wrapped around the walls to create unique patterns. The peach tree in the courtyard seemed to have been blown open by the wind overnight, producing small pale pink flowers that did not belong to this season. A few birds sat on the branches and were chirping crisply.

All the Spring feelings that shouldn’t have appeared at this moment miraculously appeared in this ordinary courtyard.

“This……”

Gu Yan was rarely shocked. Ye Zi pulled him under the peach tree and the stone table under the tree was filled with a table of delicacies.

Ye Zi said smugly: “How is it, do you like it?”

Gu Yan came back to his senses and asked: “Did you make all these?”

“Yeah.” Ye Zi pursed his lips and laughed: “Zicheng, do you not remember, today is your birthday.”

The word birthday was too far away from Gu Yan.

When he was very young, the late Emperor would always celebrate his birthday every year, bringing him a bowl of longevity noodles. But after the late Emperor passed away, Gu Yan gradually stopped celebrating birthdays. In this life, he didn’t care much about it.

However, he didn’t expect that this person would actually remember.

Ye Zi took Gu Yan’s hand and pulled him to sit down at the stone table: “I know you don’t remember it anymore since you are busy with all kinds of things. But can’t you be a little more attentive to yourself?”

Gu Yan lightly laughed and shook his head: “It is as my beloved consort says.”

Ye Zi pushed the longevity noodles on the table in front of him: “Hurry, give it a taste. I’ve been learning for a long time.”

Gu Yan took a bite as he was told and raised his eyes to look at him: “For the past few days, you’ve been going out early and coming home late, is that what you’ve been doing?”

“Yes, I went to find someone to teach me these dishes. After studying for several days, I wanted to give you a surprise. How does it taste?” Ye Zi looked at him expectantly. If there was a tail behind him, at this time It must be wagging like crazy.

Gu Yan deliberately thought about it slowly for a moment: “It’s roughly just a little better than me.”

“Only a little better than you?” Ye Zi frowned, “Your Majesty, I’m not trying to be mean, but with your ability to make porridge and destroy the entire kitchen, you dare say that I’m only a little better than you? The chef who taught me said that I have talent and wants to take me on as an apprentice.”

“That won’t do.” Gu Yan raised his eyebrows and said in a serious manner: “Which chef is this bold enough to take advantage of Princess Consort Rui? What you make can only be given to me and not to others.”

Ye Zi pouted.

Although Gu Yan’s words were meant as a joke, there was no less jealousy in them. Having been with him for so long, Ye Zi had already figured out his innate ability to be jealous anytime and anywhere. When he noticed something was off, he immediately shut up and said no more.

The two did not speak again as they sat down for a quiet meal.

The night wind blew the peach blossoms as the petals fell one after another. Gu Yan looked up and a piece of peach blossom happened to fall in Ye Zi’s hair. He raised his hand, held the petal in his fingertips, and asked, “How did you do this?”

Ye Zi sipped his tea and laughed: “I’m awesome, right?”

“……Actually, I just wanted to give it a try, but I didn’t expect it to go so well. I poured a few drops of immortal dew on it and it really bloomed.”

Ye Zi stood up and stroked the trunk of the peach tree: “But even if the flowers bloom, they can only stay for one night, and they will return to their original state tomorrow.”

Gu Yan got up and walked over to him, wrapping his arms around him from behind, “Your immortal dew is so precious, why are you using so much for me?”

Ye Zi tilted his head with a smile in his eyes: “I have heard before that the ancients gave peach branches to each other to show their affection. Zicheng, you are so kind to me. You have given me so much, but I don’t even know what to give you……”

“If I give you this many peach blossoms, you will never forget me and will think of me forever. And……” Ye Zi paused and tilted his head to kiss Gu Yan on the side of his face, “It’s just immortal dew, how can it be as precious as you?”

The corners of Gu Yan’s mouth lifted slightly and his heart felt like it had been filled with honey, sweet and warm.

He couldn’t help but lift Ye Zi’s head up and kiss him deeply. Ye Zi was soon kissed until he couldn’t stand. He turned around, leaned against the trunk of the peach tree, and gasped a few times: “Z-Zicheng……”

Gu Yan paused and distanced himself slightly, as if he had thought of something: “So you fell asleep while waiting for me today because you lost too much immortal dew?”

Ye Zi was so dizzy from his kiss that he didn’t understand why Gu Yan suddenly mentioned this. But he responded honestly: “Yes, what’s——”

Before he could finish his sentence, Gu Yan suddenly picked him up horizontally.

Gu Yan pushed open the door to the bedroom, gently placed Ye Zi on the bed, and pressed up against him, “In that case, let your husband help you replenish your energy.”

The next morning, the sunlight shone into the room through the window. Ye Zi murmured lowly, as if he was afraid of light, and shrank his furry head into Gu Yan’s arms.

There was a sudden knock on the door and Gu Yan opened his eyes.

Without disturbing Ye Zi, he carefully got up, put on an outer robe, and went out the door.

Inside the courtyard, Siwei was standing there looking a bit anxious.

The morning wind brought a bit of chill, Gu Yan closed his collar and asked: “What’s wrong?”

Siwei responded: “Prince Jing……has rebelled.”

Last night’s peach blossoms really disappeared without a trace and were replaced by a yard full of golden fallen leaves. Gu Yan stared at the fallen leaves on the ground with a calm expression, as if he was not surprised: “I got it.”

There was a rare hint of impatience in Siwei’s eyes: “Master, why don’t you take action? If Prince Jing makes his way here, the world will——”

“It’s not time yet.”

“But……”

“Siwei.” Gu Yan raised his eyes to look at him: “You have resentment in your heart. Emperor Jinghe destroyed your home and made you lose your closest relatives, you hate him, I understand all of this. However, a small impatience can ruin a big plan. Since you have endured it for so long, why rush at this moment?”

“…….When have I ever let you down on what you want?”

Hearing his words, the anxiety in Siwei’s eyes suddenly faded and was replaced by another emotion of surprise and delight.

Siwei asked: “Master, do you mean to say……”

Gu Yan didn’t say anymore and only said calmly: “Go down first, I have a plan in mind.”

“Yes.”

As Siwei left the courtyard, Gu Yan let out a light sigh and turned back to head inside. He took off his outer robe and placed it on the hanger. He was just about to return to the bedside when he saw that Ye Zi had already opened his eyes.

Gu Yan sat down beside the bed: “Did I wake you up?”

“No.” Ye Zi shook his head, “What are you doing out there, who was it?”

“It was Siwei.” Gu Yan said, “He came to deliver the news that Sixth Imperial Uncle decided to rebel last night.”

Ye Zi was stunned for a moment: “So fast……”

Gu Yan smiled: “Yeah, I didn’t expect it to be so soon. A few days ago, I ordered people to spread the news that Emperor Jinghe was critically ill. Through some calculations, it probably took no more than two days for the news to reach Sixth Imperial Uncle’s fiefdom. He didn’t disappoint me at all.”

Ye Zi rolled over to the edge of the bed, wrapping his arms around Gu Yan’s waist: “What’s Emperor Jinghe’s reaction?”

“He probably doesn’t know yet.” Gu Yan said, “Siwei always delivers news to me faster, perhaps it will take a few hours before the news spreads throughout Chang’an City and the court. I will go to the palace in a while and stabilize everything first.”

Ye Zi chuckled: “You can’t stimulate Emperor Jinghe anymore. If he gets irritated, he might really be angered to death……”

Gu Yan continued: “Letting him die like this is letting him off too easily.”

Ye Zi was silent for a moment, then asked, “What are your next plans?”

“I’m going to wait to see what happens for the time being.” Gu Yan said, “In the past few days, I have been involved in government affairs and I realized that things are far more difficult than I thought. No matter how useless Emperor Jinghe is, he is still the Emperor of a country and he will not be brought down so easily.”

“Then……”

Gu Yan curved the corners of his mouth: “So, Imperial uncle’s arrival is really timely.”

He didn’t say anymore as he wrapped his arms around Ye Zi and lay down again: “Lie with me for a while longer, after such a big incident, the palace might be chaotic in a while.”

Ye Zi gently nodded and lay down against Gu Yan. However, he didn’t feel sleepy and stared at Gu Yan with bright eyes.

Gu Yan pinched his face and laughed: “Aren’t you tired? Or do you want to do it again early in the morning?”

When Ye Zi remembered last night, he still found it a bit difficult to accept. He trembled all over and said in a muffled voice: “No, you almost killed me last night.”

Gu Yan deliberately said: “Who was it last night who said that he would give himself to me as a gift, saying that he would let me do whatever I wanted?”

Ye Zi’s ears under the quilt turned red quietly and he said awkwardly: “How can you take what I said in bed seriously?”

Gu Yan’s hand rubbed around Ye Zi’s waist as he asked dangerously: “So……you were lying to me?”

Ye Zi flinched and didn’t dare to answer any more. He lay in his arms obediently and pretended to sleep with his eyes closed.

Later in the evening, Gu Yan entered the palace.

The court was really in chaos because of Prince Jing’s rebellion. Everyone was talking to each other, but they couldn’t come up with a proper response. Gu Yan was tired of hearing this and couldn’t bear it anymore and shouted. Just when everyone didn’t know what to do, Crown Prince Gu Xuan stood up.

Gu Xuan asked to lead the army into battle.

Ever since he became Crown Prince, Emperor Jinghe had been bedridden. Most of the government was in the hands of Gu Yan and Gu Xuan didn’t have many opportunities to stand out. But Gu Xuan always had a nonchalant attitude towards this. He turned a deaf ear to what was going on outside and didn’t think there was anything wrong with Gu Yan controlling the government.

The Crown Prince had been invisible for more than half a month and when he suddenly made such a request, the entire court couldn’t help but be surprised.

After the court was dismissed, Gu Xuan met Emperor Jinghe with the permission of Prince Rui.

Gu Xuan only stayed in the bedchamber for an incense stick time. The bedchamber was empty and no one knew what happened inside. But when Gu Xuan pushed opened the door, he was already holding an Imperial decree written by Emperor Jinghe.

It ordered the Crown Prince to lead an expedition three days later to apprehend the rebels.

On the eve of the last day of the expedition, Ye Zi met Gu Xuan and the little gray sparrow at the Prince Rui Manor.

It turned out that the little gray sparrow’s transformation technique seemed to have exhausted all its spiritual power. After returning to its original form, it was unable to return to its human form. It dragged its increasingly rounded body and lay on Ye Zi’s shoulder, weeping.

“Little Leaf……I can’t bear to part with you……” The little gray sparrow sobbed and cried, which made Ye Zi feel a little at a loss.

Ye Zi pursed his lips and advised: “Little sparrow, don’t be like this, it’s not like we can’t see each other anymore.”

The little gray sparrow was crying so hard that it was out of breath: “B-But A Xuan said…….A Xuan said the battle will take a long time and I can’t bear to leave you for such a long time.”

Ye Zi was helpless: “This……”

On this side, Ye Zi coaxed the little gray sparrow in every possible way. On the other side, Gu Xuan and Gu Yan stood in the courtyard, looking back in the direction of those two.

Gu Yan said: “Your Imperial Majesty the Crown Prince, have you really decided?”

“Yes.” Gu Yan said, “I’ll lead the troops out to battle tomorrow and in the meantime, I’ll have to trouble Cousin with the affairs of Chang’an City.”

“That’s natural.”

Gu Xuan nodded and couldn’t help but frown when he saw that the little gray sparrow was still pestering Ye Zi and refusing to leave. He took a few steps over and grasped that little ball of fluff tightly in his palm: “Alright, it’s time to return to the palace.”

The little gray sparrow was caught by his two fingers and couldn’t move. It kicked its little feet a few times: “I haven’t finished talking to Little Leaf yet, I…….”

“What’s there to say? You’re a bird, if you really want to see him, you can just fly back at any time.”

“That is true……Then can I fly back every seven days?”

“……No.”

“Why don’t you ever keep your word? Who treats their husband like you do?!”

“……”

As one man and one bird left the manor arguing, Ye Zi looked at their backs thoughtfully and said doubtfully: “It’s not like there are no generals available in the court. If there truly isn’t, can’t they just dispatch from the northwest? Why does the Crown Prince want to lead the troops in person himself? “

Gu Yan sighed lightly and thoughtfully said: “I think……”

He never finished his sentence.

On the following day, Crown Prince Gu Xuan led his troops out to battle, traveling all the way south.

Ten days later, the army led by the Crown Prince officially fought with Prince Jing, thwarting Prince Jing’s vigor in one fell swoop and the battle was at a stalemate.

Half a month later, the Crown Prince’s army fell into an ambush set by Prince Jing, the army was wiped out and the Crown Prince’s whereabouts were unknown.

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