Chapter 181

14. This life is in vain to meet, where will the bright moon next year be?

Pei Niancheng ordered the accompanying shadow guards to wait for the medicine at Lian Xiao's place, and he went back to the palace to continue handling government affairs, while thinking about how to smooth over Li Han's identity problem.

Li Han's old master doesn't have any problems in this regard-whether it is the second prince or the Chen family, they are already dead.

How rich is Pei Niancheng's experience, according to the information in a few words given to him by his brother, he quickly deduced it:

Concubine Chen Gui placed such a nail beside his two brothers back then, maybe it was just to kill him with one blow when it was critical to seize the heir.

The position of Yingshou is too important. Such a nail is usually not used for things that are not very important.In case of exposure, the loss would be too great.So since Li Han followed him, it seems that he has not received any ordinary orders from the old master.

However, in those years, the two brothers hibernated very well, and the second prince and the crown prince were torn apart too much, and they were very eager to rebel.Therefore, before the Chen family thought of using this nail to deal with his two brothers, they finished playing with themselves.

Pei Niancheng held a memorial of the new grain situation in the experimental field submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture in his hand, but his thoughts were long gone.

Lin Han...

Pei Niancheng couldn't help sighing, feeling a little deeply powerless.

Of course he knew that Li Han was loyal to him now, there was no doubt about it.This kind of being forced to be a dark nail, but in the end he still switched to his command, and did not commit any substantial betrayal.

Pei Niancheng is a very practical person. He thinks that such an identity...is not worth mentioning. Since he is loyal now, there is no problem.

Along the way, how many times have he harvested people who were originally enemies as his own?Military power, scholarly prestige, popular support, which one is not taken from the enemy's hands for his own use?

If you want to say that the only anger is that Lin Han has kept it from him for so long.

But is it worth it for him to do such a risky and disobedient thing in front of so many shadow guards, just to silence him?

It made it difficult for him to smooth this matter out now.

Pei Niancheng even started to think that if it really didn't work, he might as well inform the shadow guards that it was a misunderstanding, even though it was nonsense.

But even if this is smoothed over...

Pei Niancheng suddenly realized a problem. What his brother said just now, Li Han had changed his age.

Change age - how old is he this year?

Just as he was thinking, the shadow guard reported that he had brought the medicine, so Pei Niancheng took the medicine and went directly to the prison.

………………

Before Pei Niancheng walked into the dark corridor on the westernmost side of the imperial prison, the accompanying shadow guards asked him if he needed to follow the guards.He only thought that Li Han's internal energy was blocked at this time and he couldn't hurt him, so he walked into the long corridor by himself.

But in fact, he was holding two small jade bottles, one was the antidote to hallucinogenic drugs, and the other was the antidote to unlock his inner strength.

Li Han was still unconscious when he approached.I curled up into a ball, curled up on the straw mat in the cell, and didn't wake up.

Pei Niancheng looked around, there was silence in the corridor, only the sound of his own footsteps.Then he secretly sighed, thinking that luckily the shadow guards didn't follow in, I should do it myself.

He entered the door and tried to lift Li Han's body up, and then he saw the small hole on the clothes on Li Han's chest that was cut by the blade of the fan.

The blade didn't hurt the flesh and blood, but just tore through several layers of clothes.

Pei Niancheng was stunned for a moment, and his movements stopped.

The prison guards are so strict, it is absolutely impossible for an outsider to attack, then the wound in the heart...

Li Han committed suicide again?

No, he didn't have any tools, and if he could really cut through the clothes, he would have stabbed them in by himself.

Could it be... brother?

but why?

Pei Niancheng's eyelids twitched, and suddenly some bad premonition emerged in his heart.I'm afraid I can only ask Li Han himself about this matter.

He quickly poured the medicine from the two jade bottles into Li Han's mouth little by little.

While waiting for the medicine to take effect, Pei Niancheng did not put Li Han's body down.He weighed the weight of the person in his arms—it was a little light, and one arm could completely wrap around it.

Why is this person so thin in his arms?He had never noticed it before.

Pei Niancheng thought of what his brother said about Li Han's broken bone and changed his age, and he "tsk" in his heart: it seems that he is a middle-aged man with a bad foundation.

Not long after, Lin Han woke up slowly, and Pei Niancheng naturally put him down when he saw this.

"……Owner."

Li Han gradually felt that his internal energy recovered, knowing that the master gave him the antidote, although he didn't know the reason, he finally got up on his knees and saluted.

In fact, he never thought that he would wake up in this way.Before he fainted, he thought that the next time he woke up, he would be woken up by being splashed with water, or on the execution ground, or simply in front of the palace of Lord Hades.

He looked at the master in front of him, did he have any doubts about being the master?

"You...so how old should you be this year?"

"Back to the master, it's already thirty and nine. It's the fault of the subordinates who have kept the master's secrets for so long."

"That's why you have to take so many... medicines to maintain power and physical condition? Since when did you start taking them?"

Li Han was silent for a moment:

"At the age of thirty-five. The inner strength mentality learned by Gein Shadow Guard can make people improve quickly when they are young, and they can only be used when they reach the first-class level in the world."

"The disadvantage is that after the age of thirty-five, there will be a decline in skill. The amount of decline...depends on the level of talent. So usually the shadow guard retires at the age of thirty-five."

Pei Niancheng felt absurd for a while.

Li Han has already paid for him four more years of working time, and even had to secretly take so many drugs that damage the body in order to keep working.

These four years happened to be the four years he had been on the throne.

There are many things going on, and the forces of all parties will sing and come and I will appear on the stage.His elder brother has been recuperating in the palace for the past few years, so he doesn't see him as much as when he was the same prince as before.

In the four years since he took the throne, when Li Han's physical condition and energy and martial arts began to decline, it was Li Han who helped him withstand these hardships and difficulties.

But Li Han is in charge of all the shadow guard affairs and intelligence collection in one hand, and as he gets older, of course, there are occasional times when he is unable to handle things and makes mistakes.And he also got angry at Li Han, reprimanded him and punished him.

Pei Niancheng suddenly felt a little uncomfortable.

"Cough... I already know your identity. Now I will ask you personally, after you followed me, have you ever done anything for Concubine Chen, the Chen family, and the second prince in private?"

Li Han lowered his head slowly:

"They didn't give me an order. This subordinate... I don't know if the master is still willing to believe me, but at that time, this subordinate has already submitted to you. Even if they give an order, this subordinate will not obey."

"But when the Chen family ransacked the house, you rescued the young orphan of the Chen family."

Li Han did not deny:

"The subordinate is guilty."

"Since you said it was not an order from the Chen family, then you saved her, but you have nostalgic feelings for the Chen family?"

"...Young son is innocent and should not have died for the crimes of the Chen family."

Pei Niancheng nodded, not surprised by the answer:

"I see. Where is she now?"

Li Han raised his head abruptly, then bowed down again, begging:

"Master...! All the crimes are due to the subordinate, that child, she doesn't know anything... Please..."

Pei Niancheng sighed, feeling that Li Han became so panicked because his identity was exposed:

"Li Han, do you think I don't know right from wrong? I just want to ask if her whereabouts are safe."

"Yes, my subordinates are worrying too much. She is in a village outside Nanyang City, and I handed it over to a peasant couple I once knew."

"That's fine. I don't have to tell her my life experience in the future. It's not good."

Pei Niancheng asked all the details he wanted to ask, and suddenly changed the subject:

"By the way, how did you scratch this on your clothes?"

Li Han suddenly trembled all over, and looked at Pei Niancheng in disbelief.

"Huh? What?"

"Yes...His Royal Highness King Yu, didn't His Highness tell you..."

"tell me what?"

Li Han's throat choked, and he had no way of guessing the prince's intentions.However, when things came to an end, telling the cruelest truth to the master himself was much calmer than he imagined:

"The Peach Blossom Gu on the lord's body was placed by me. That was my first mission after I officially became a shadow guard."

"……What did you say?"

Pei Niancheng didn't even react for a moment.

After a long while, he suddenly pushed Li Han away, only to feel blackness in front of his eyes:

"It's you...it's you? Why didn't my brother tell me?!"

Why didn't my brother tell me?

Pei Niancheng's mind flashed the expression of his brother when he told him today, and finally found the clue.

Of course it was for him, of course it was for him!

Because my elder brother couldn't bear to destroy the remaining friendship between their monarch and his subjects.

Pei Niancheng thought of his brother's weak expression today, and the sadness of waking up from a nightmare.

——How broken and painful his elder brother must have been when he first heard the truth, and how much strength did his elder brother use to hide this matter so lightly from him?

Pei Niancheng held on to the railing of the cell with one hand, suddenly choked up and couldn't talk to himself.

He thought that his heart of an emperor had already been achieved, and he was much stronger than his kind-hearted brother.However, he only discovered now that he was actually far worse than his brother.

Brother, can you do this for me...

I am Pei Niancheng, what can I do?

Although Li Han was also shocked by Pei Nianyu's patience, how could he bear to see his master in such pain, and said:

"...The subordinates are all at fault for everything. The master will take my Li Han's head and give an explanation to His Royal Highness King Yu."

Pei Niancheng forced himself to calm down and shook his head:

"You...I came today to let you go out, but now...how to deal with you depends on what my brother wants."

"Li Han, I want to ask you two things. First, before and after my brother was established as the prince, we traced who placed the peach blossom Gu in the first place. You were watching at that time, right. Although we didn't find youbody, but are the other people dealt with innocent?"

"...No. The source of the Gu traced by the master is correct. They are members of one lineage of the Southern Border generation of refining Gu. The offshoots of the Chen family two generations ago in the rivers and lakes are related to this family by marriage.The Chen family transported medicine, poison, and Gu for the use of the imperial concubine and the second prince. What the Chen family promised them was the fiefdom and autonomy that the second prince gave them in the Southern Border after he ascended the throne."

Pei Niancheng's face turned cold.

"The second question, after I ascended the throne, Lou Yefeng went to southern borders for a few months to find a way to dispel the Gu, but failed. Later, he found the secret technique of inner strength from the previous dynasty to transfer the Gu out. I suddenly remembered something.After I succeeded, I will discuss this matter with you, and you seem to know a lot about this secret technique... Did you give this secret technique to him?"

Li Han froze for a moment, shocked by the master's amazing memory.

"...Not really. The subordinate just put the few exercises that might be useful in the few days when he secretly came to the palace to browse the classics, and put them on the bookshelf he often goes to."

"The martial arts attainments of my subordinates are not as good as Lou Yefeng's, and it is really impossible to judge which of these secret methods may be effective just from the books. Lou Yefeng chose the right solution because he has the courage to make his own decisions."

Pei Niancheng sneered:

"But when I asked you what you think about this matter, what you told me was——Lou Yefeng acted recklessly, really deserve to die."

Li Han lowered his head, not daring to look at his master:

"If a subordinate bluntly says that Lou Yefeng has done a good job, wouldn't it be inconsistent with his usual style. In order to hide this matter, then..."

"Anyway, Lou Yefeng is the prince's shadow guard, no matter what the subordinates say, it doesn't matter whether he lives or dies."

Pei Niancheng suddenly laughed at himself and said:

"We searched and searched for the Peach Blossom Gu, and while you were watching, we even thought you didn't know about it from the beginning to the end. This is simply... too ridiculous!"

Li Han was speechless.

Pei Niancheng was exhausted looking at this man who had lost all his anger.

"Your life no longer belongs to you. You are not allowed to commit suicide easily."

"……yes."

After that, he didn't leave another word, turned around and left quickly.

……………………

Pei Niancheng returned to the inner study with mixed emotions in his heart. He pondered for a long time, but still didn't know how to treat Li Han.

Sympathy, or anger, it's all there.

Now he felt the same feelings as his brother, but more importantly - how should he face his brother?His own men had stabbed his brother, and he had even been sympathetic to Li Han not so long ago.

Pei Niancheng sighed, took up a pen and wrote a note to his brother:

"Brother, why didn't you tell me about the Peach Blossom Gu? If Li Han didn't tell me, brother, are you going to hide it from me forever?"

The handwriting was messy, but Pei Niancheng couldn't care less about it.

Pei Nianyu who was in the palace at that time also drank the antidote and was recuperating. After receiving the note, he glanced at it and handed it to Lou Yefeng.

Lou Yefeng held the note, noncommittal.

"Master, what are you going to do?"

Pei Nianyu shook his head:

"How can I reply? Am I going to write it down solemnly: I am all for you, Xiaosheng, and I deliberately hid it from you so as not to hurt your relationship? Isn't it sick?"

"That's it, just don't reply."

Lou Yefeng said again:

"I didn't expect Li Han to say it himself... It's hard for him to be cruel, but he still has a little conscience left."

——This time it was Pei Nianyu's turn to sigh.

Xu Shi saw that his brother didn't reply for the first time, and Pei Niancheng panicked.

A day later, another letter came from the palace:

"How does brother plan to deal with Li Han? Whether to kill or release, or other punishments, now it's up to brother to say, I will do it, don't worry about me."

Pei Nianyu sighed again.

"Ye Feng, why do you think Xiao Sheng has been sending such questions that I can't answer these two days. If I had an idea, wouldn't I have told him earlier?"

Without him, Gein has been struggling with this issue for the past few days.

The hallucinogenic drugs come and go quickly, and after drinking the antidote for the symptoms for a day, they have no effect on the body at all.

So in the past two days, Pei Nianyu's lack of energy was entirely due to a bad mood.

Li Han's matter... is stuck in his throat.Pei Nianyu was very upset every time he thought about it, but he didn't really want the other party to die immediately, and he couldn't hate him to this extent.

Pei Nianyu was caught in such a dilemma, he didn't go to the dim sum shop these few days, and he didn't bother to teach his apprentices.She nestled sleepily in the palace, holding Lou Yefeng's stickers in search of comfort.

"This note... I won't return it either."

………………

Pei Niancheng, who did not receive a reply from his brother twice in a row, was a little at a loss. However, unlike his brother, he never liked being indecision on one matter.

After careful consideration, he summoned a shadow guard:

"Go to the prison, let Li Han take a shower and wash, and change him into clean clothes. Let him tidy himself up, and then bring him here."

"yes."

Not long after, Li Han, who had finished packing, was brought into the quiet upper study room by the shadow guard.

Li Han thought that the master's order was to announce his death, and he even thanked the master for allowing him to die with dignity.

Unexpectedly, when he reached the study room, Pei Niancheng put down his pen and said:

"If you deserve to die, I shouldn't have taken your life. I will send you to my brother, and you will be left to him to do as he pleases. I will not persuade him to kill you, nor will I intercede for you."

"Li Han, the Chen family saved your mother and son. You have served the Chen family. This is not your choice. With this status, I don't blame you."

"—But you have other sins to atone for. After you go to the palace, your life or death will be decided by your elder brother, and I won't ask any more."

Pei Niancheng walked down the steps, looked at the kneeling man, and thought of the time he spent with him for so many years, he finally sighed:

"The shadow guards of the Wangfu are waiting for you outside the door. Their duty of guarding is over, and they will go to the Wangfu with you."

"If you have anything else to say, you can tell me now."

Li Han knew that this was to leave a last word for himself.

In fact, there are many things he wants to leave to his master.

He wanted to say thank you master for allowing his subordinates to live for the past few years, these years by your side are the happiest time for them.

He wants to say that his subordinates will not be able to accompany you in this life. If there is an afterlife, can the subordinates follow you with a clean identity.

He wanted to say that you should take care of your body after your subordinates leave, don't stay up so late, don't be picky about food, don't get angry and hurt your body.

He wanted to say that if the new shadow guard commander is still a little tender, you can tolerate him more, and he will become your new right-hand man.But if Izumi knew this, I'm afraid he would still be jealous of him being able to stand beside his master...

However, Li Han was silent for a moment, and finally said nothing.

Why bother, with a body of guilt, how can I have the right to say these things.

He gave a full salute to Pei Niancheng, then stood up slowly:

"Farewell, subordinate."

Seeing that he was just about to turn around and leave, Pei Niancheng said in a strange way:

"You... really have nothing to say?"

Li Han paused, thought for a while, and suddenly with longing eyes, carefully stretched out his hand from Pei Niancheng's shoulder, and plucked two black strands that fell on his clothes.

Then he walked out the door without looking back.

Pei Niancheng stared blankly at the movement of him holding his hair in the palm of his hand and the back view of him leaving, his heart was shocked.

With black hair and hair, he still doesn't know what it means.

Li Han, don't you...