The Evil Emperor's Favorite: The Sickly and Poisonous Concubine Goes Crazy

"Beauty is a disaster?"

Gu Yan'an chuckled when he heard this and leaned closer to Su Jingning.

"I will only harm you." Before he finished speaking, he pecked Su Jingning lightly on the lips.

Su Jingning's face instantly turned red with shame. She gently pushed Gu Yan'an and said, "You have no shame in broad daylight."

Gu Yan'an looked at Su Jingning with a sly smile, "What are you afraid of? There's no one here. Besides, the one I kissed was my own princess, so it's legal and reasonable."

Su Jingning glared at him helplessly, but felt sweet in her heart.

Gu Yan'an took her hand and said softly, "I have nothing to do today, I will take you out of the city for a walk."

Su Jingning nodded.

He stood up, took the white fox cloak, put it on her, and then took her out of the room. The wind outside was chilly, and Gu Yan'an hugged her tighter.

The two men rode their horses slowly out of the city. It had snowed not long ago, and the world after the ice and snow melted was particularly peaceful and leisurely.

The wind from the northern border, with the unique chill of this vast land, blew across Su Jingning's cheek, as if it could blow away all distracting thoughts. She looked up at Gu Yan'an, whose profile looked particularly resolute in the winter sun, and his deep eyes were full of tenderness for her.

The sound of horse hooves echoed in the open fields, breaking the silence of winter. Gu Yan'an tightly embraced Su Jingning's waist and held her in his arms. Su Jingning snuggled in his arms, feeling the warmth and strength coming from him, letting Gu Yan'an lead her, as if the whole world only had the two of them.

Gu Yan'an lowered his eyes from time to time and observed Su Jingning with his peripheral vision. Her face was filled with a happy smile, and her eyes were shining with satisfaction and dependence. A warm current surged in his heart, as if all the fatigue and troubles of these days had disappeared.

"Hold on tight, I'll take you to a good place!" Gu Yan'an smiled, held her tightly with one hand, held the reins with the other hand, and shouted softly.

"drive!"

Chengfeng understood his master's order and galloped wildly across the field. Su Jingning screamed and held the saddle tightly in his hands. The cold wind blew across his cheeks and into his collar. He lowered his head to prevent the wind from blowing in.

"Where are you going?"

"You'll know when you arrive."

As the horse galloped, the surrounding scenery passed by Su Jingning's eyes quickly. She held the saddle tightly, feeling the sound of the wind whistling past her ears, with anticipation and curiosity in her heart.

Gradually, the horse slowed down. Su Jingning looked up. The endless winter grassland was light yellow in color. There were herds of cattle and sheep. Herdsmen were busy shuttling among them. From time to time, melodious singing and the calls of cattle and sheep could be heard, creating a harmonious and peaceful environment.

Gu Yan'an pulled the reins and stopped Chengfeng at the edge of the pasture, then took Su Jingning's hand and slowly walked towards the center of the pasture.

"This place is called Brutus. It used to be an ancient battlefield. Xiliang, Beiyan, and Dazhou all fought here. Rivers of blood flowed and countless lives were lost. Later, my father took over Northern Xinjiang. He ordered the Beiyang Army to guard the northernmost end of the pasture. Since then, there has been no more fighting here. The herdsmen gradually returned here, and this place became the largest winter pasture in Northern Xinjiang. Every winter, they would drive their cattle and sheep here to spend the winter."

Su Jingning listened to his words, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and yearning. She had never been to Northern Xinjiang, seen such a vast world, and never felt such a free atmosphere. She held Gu Yan'an's hand tightly, as if she wanted to use his power to integrate this freedom and tranquility into the depths of her soul.

At this moment, a herdsman noticed the two people coming. He rode his horse and galloped over with a warm smile on his face.

The young herdsman probably didn't know Gu Yan'an's identity, he only knew him as the Han general who often helped them.

"General Gu, you're back?"

The herdsman dismounted, crossed his hands in front of his chest, and bowed to Gu Yan'an.

Gu Yan'an nodded and smiled, returning the greeting.

"Yushan, long time no see."

"Who is this?"

The man named Yushan spoke unfluent Chinese with joy between his eyebrows, and there was confusion in his eyes when he looked at the Han woman next to the general.

Gu Yan'an held Su Jingning's hand and introduced her in a gentle voice: "This is Yushan, the young patriarch of the Muyun clan here."

"This is my wife, Su Jingning."

After listening to his introduction, Yushan's eyes showed respect.

"Yushan has met Madam Gu."

Su Jingning smiled and returned the greeting.

Yushan led them towards a felt tent, with joy and enthusiasm in his eyes.

"Moma was talking about you a few days ago. She must be very happy that you and your wife are here."

He lifted the curtain and invited the two of them in.

"Moma, General Gu is here."

The tent was warm, clean and tidy, and covered with colorful carpets. An old man with gray hair and wearing nomadic clothing was sitting cross-legged inside. When he saw them come in, a kind and warm smile appeared on his face.

"The general is back?" She stood up to salute Gu Yan'an, but he took two steps forward to stop her.

"No need to be polite, Momo."

Gu Yan'an helped her sit down.

She hurriedly asked her grandson to bring them some food. When she saw Su Jingning beside Gu Yan'an, a look of relief flashed in her eyes.

"This must be the lady."

Gu Yanan nodded: "Ningning, this is the chief of the Muyun tribe, she is my elder, you can call her Moma with me."

Su Jingning bowed to her and called her "Moma" softly.

"Good boy, come and sit here."

She looked kind, pulled Su Jingning to sit next to her, and gave her the dried meat and milk cake in front of her.

Then he looked at Gu Yan'an with a sad look in his eyes: "The old general came here before he passed away. He was so happy that day that he drank three jars of milk wine and said he would return to the capital to marry you."

She held Su Jingning and Gu Yan'an's hands, looking pleased: "What a good girl. With her by your side, the old general can rest assured in the future."

Su Jingning just listened to them quietly. The Muyun clan leader should be familiar with the old prince and knew about his death. She could feel that Ah Yan was relaxed, peaceful, and defenseless. Moma's voice was gentle and kind, and he spoke to them like a close elder, which made people feel at ease and warm.

In the afternoon, A Yan took her to visit the ranch. They strolled through the ranch, past the grassland where cattle and sheep were grazing leisurely, and past the busy figures of herdsmen, feeling the vitality and vigor of this land. This land is vast and boundless, and the sky is high and deep, as if it can accommodate all freedom and life.

Gu Yan'an held her hand, walked beside her, and told her the stories of this place.

He talked about his experience of coming here with his father when he was a child, his father's love for this land, his care for the herdsmen, and the efforts his father made to protect the peace of the people of this land.

He rarely spoke so much. Su Jingning listened to his story quietly, feeling inexplicably moved. She could feel the warmth and strength of this land, and could also feel A Yan's cherishment of this place.

In the past half month, the blood parasite in his body has not recurred. Perhaps, coming here with A Yan was the right choice.

They reached a high ground, Gu Yan'an stopped, pointed to the distance and said to Su Jingning:

"Ningning, look, beyond that mountain is the border between Great Zhou and Northern Yan. The old man has spent his entire life trying to defend that line."

Su Jingning looked in the direction of his finger and saw the undulating mountains in the distance, covered with snow. She held his hand tightly, her voice soft and firm:

"From now on, I will work with you to guard that line and this land for our father."

Gu Yan'an lowered his eyes and looked at her, the tenderness in his eyes seemed to be drowning. He held her in his arms with one hand and looked into the distance.

"it is good."

.......

Half a month later, Imperial Capital.

The spy sent by the prince to Youzhou to investigate Mu Ling's death returned to the capital. It was found that Mu Ling had indeed been poisoned by miasma and had died.

When the prince heard this, his face showed a hint of sadness and annoyance.

"I was born into a family with him, but I never thought I would never see Ah Ling again."

Liu Xiang was sitting on the other side. He had always admired the prince's steadiness and kindness. Seeing him so worried about a deposed king who had committed a serious crime and was banished to Youzhou, he nodded slowly. The royal family was heartless. He was in a high position, but he still cared about his blood relatives who were already commoners. The prince was kind and virtuous, and he valued affection. This was a quality that many royal descendants did not have.

"Your Highness, please do not worry. Right now, there are other important matters. Princess Xuyang is the legitimate daughter of the late queen. She is your majesty's only legitimate child. She has been raised by your majesty since she was young and taught by your majesty personally. She was also chosen by Mo Linyuan and became his disciple. Your majesty intends to train her and now has her join the Imperial Guards Camp. There are even rumors in the court that Princess Xuyang has the strength to compete with you."

"I know that Your Highness is kind and considerate of the relationship between brothers, but we still have to be on guard." Prime Minister Liu thought of the rumors that had been circulating in the court in recent days and was thinking deeply.

After hearing what he said, the prince was surprised and spoke in a serious tone:

"Teacher, why do you say that? Xi'er is my biological sister. Father wants her to join the Imperial Camp because she is very skilled and capable. With her in the Imperial Camp, father is relieved and so am I. I don't want to hear such words from you again."

Seeing this, Prime Minister Liu had no choice but to agree. He didn't say anything else, sat for a while and then left.

The prince looked in the direction he left, slowly put away the gentle and kind expression on his face, and lowered his head to fiddle with the tea set on the table.

It took a long time before someone was called in to question them.

"How is the situation at the martial arts arena today?"

"Your Highness, Commander Hua narrowly defeated the young general Su Jingmo of the Su family. Su Jingmo's strength is much stronger than your Highness guessed. His Majesty was very pleased and appointed General Su as the commander of the Imperial Camp on the spot. Princess Xuyang fought with Commander Hua for a hundred moves. His Majesty specially ordered Princess Xuyang to join the Imperial Camp and serve as the right deputy envoy of the Imperial Camp."

"General Su asked someone to pass on a message, thanking Your Highness for recommending him to His Majesty that day."

The prince showed no emotion on his face, he just nodded and ordered:

"In my name, I will privately send a valuable gift to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion tomorrow to congratulate General Su on his promotion to the commander of the Imperial Camp. As for Mu Xi, the Imperial Camp is related to the safety of the imperial city. Even though she is a princess, as a woman, if she wants to join the military camp, there will be many people who oppose me. She will suffer more in the future."

"Yes, my subordinate will do it now."

The prince put down the teacup in his hand, and suddenly spoke as if he remembered something, and asked the person hidden in the dark behind him:

"Have you made any progress on the things you investigated before?"

After Prince Chen died, he would always think of what he said in the hall. What exactly did he want to say? It seemed that his father was afraid that he would say something that day.

Who is the "he" mentioned by the Prince Chen?

What truth is hidden behind the death of Concubine Shu?

The person hiding in the dark replied:

"I have carefully checked the people that Prince Chen and Concubine Shu had contact with during their lifetime, and found some clues two days ago."

The prince stopped making tea.

"What was found?"

"Shu Guipin had secretly sent people to assassinate the Prince of Beiyang many times, that is, the current Beiyang King Gu Yan'an. The previous assassination during the spring hunting was done by Shu Guipin, and the goal was to kill Beiyang King. In addition, Shu Guipin was thrown into the Hell by His Majesty after the lake tour that day, and was torn to pieces by the beasts in the Hell. Before the rebellion, Prince Erchen also went to the Beiyang Palace to see the Beiyang King, but was stopped outside the palace. When His Majesty found out that day, he was called into the palace and punished to kneel for a night."

The prince pondered for a while and said, "Gu Yan'an? Wasn't it the Imperial Grandmother who instructed Concubine Shu to deal with the Beiyang Palace?"

"According to the information I have found, Concubine Shu wanted to kill Prince Beiyang, but she kept it a secret from everyone, including the Queen Mother, Prince Chen, and everyone in the Shen family."

The prince's expression gradually became serious, with heavy suspicion in his eyes.

Gu Yanan?

He is the only son of the Beiyang Palace, and he is gifted and famous at a young age. In addition, the emperor and the old prince grew up together and have a deep relationship like brothers, so the emperor has always been very fond of this nephew.

In the past, he only thought that it was because the young master of the Gu family had made many achievements and became famous at a young age, and he really had the ability to receive this honor.

But now that I think about it, my father's favoritism seems to be too much.

If the Prince of Chen was talking about him, then everything he said in the palace that day would match up.

Even Mu Xi, with her unruly personality, would ignore everyone she met, depending on her mood, except for Gu Yan'an, whenever he returned to Beijing, she would rush to approach him, and she had never seen her get angry even if he gave her the cold shoulder. He used to think that it was the son of the Gu family who caught her eye, but from the time Gu Yan'an got engaged to the time he got married, Mu Xi had never shown any abnormality, and it was said that she even got along well with the young lady from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

If you look into each and every one of these things carefully, you will find something strange in them.

"Go check on Gu Yan'an. I must know who the prince was talking about in the palace that day! What exactly does father want to hide?"

The prince's voice was cold and cruel.

"Yes."