NCCnovel Chapter 267 A Man's Energy
Chapter 267 A Man's Energy
The two slept in the same room that day. When Shen Li woke up the next day, she still felt weak in the waist. Gu Chang'an, who was beside her, had already left. Lian Qiao said that he had gone to the study to discuss matters with Prince Rui early in the morning.
"The lord was in high spirits this morning, looking refreshed. He must have obtained concrete evidence that the Crown Prince had mobilized troops," Peony guessed from the side.
Shen Li thought about the ordeal in bed last night, which she herself could hardly bear, but she didn't expect that he was completely unaffected.
"I'm moving back tonight," she decided.
Gu Chang'an was injured after all, so it was best to avoid contact with others for a while, otherwise the healing process would be indefinitely delayed. No matter how good his constitution was, he couldn't afford to keep putting himself through this.
"Yes, General Lin sent someone today to invite you to go out of the city to ride a horse. Would you like to accept?" Lian Qiao asked.
"Send someone back to her and say another day." Shen Li waved her hand. Why did she have to choose today of all days? She can barely walk, let alone ride a horse.
When Gu Chang'an returned in the evening and didn't see Shen Li, he assumed she was angry and hurriedly went to chase after her. It was at this time that the soup for Lian Qiao was brought in.
"My lord, Madam said that you are not feeling well, so please don't overexert yourself. This is a nourishing soup that Madam ordered someone to make for you. Please drink it and go to bed early." Lian Qiao relayed Shen Li's instructions one by one.
Gu Chang'an felt a little relieved. In front of the servants, his expression remained unchanged. He simply said slowly, "Tell Madam that I have changed my dressing today and will rest early."
"Yes."
"How is Madam today? Is her appetite good?" he asked, still concerned.
Ah Li wouldn't let him go over. He couldn't see people's true feelings and was always worried. He wondered if he had been too reckless last night, so he didn't ask Ah Li for her opinion.
"Miss has a good appetite and is in a good mood, but she doesn't like taking her medicine. You should try to persuade her when you see her again." Lian Qiao didn't know who else to complain to.
Because of her good health, the young lady didn't take the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician on time, and she would skip a meal every day.
Gu Chang'an thought that Ah Li always strictly supervised him to take his medicine, so it turned out that he didn't like to take it either.
"Okay, take some fruit and candied fruit and coax her to eat them." His voice softened.
"Yes, this servant will take her leave."
After Lianqiao left, Gu Chang'an finally felt relieved. However, he found it even harder to sleep alone. If it weren't for the deep-seated hatred he had to avenge in the document in front of him, he would have found it difficult to read a single word.
The alliance between Prince Rui and Gu Chang'an was virtually unstoppable. They arrested all the suspicious officials and their subordinates involved, totaling hundreds of people, and held the local government office for interrogation day and night.
The interrogators were the Flying Fish Guards. One confession after another appeared on Gu Chang'an's desk, almost all of them stained with blood. He looked at them one by one, deciding which one was usable and which one needed to be investigated further.
As a result, more and more people were involved, and more people were arrested.
For a time, all the officials in Jiangxi Province felt as if a knife was hanging over their heads, and everyone was in danger. Before leaving home in the morning, they even had to give their last words, because they might not be able to come back.
I had long heard of Gu Chang'an's reputation as a cruel official, and thought that since the emperor was far away and I was not in his position, I would never have expected that someone would be so foolish as to summon such a living devil.
The common people were happy to see the officials make fools of themselves. Gu Chang'an's handling of the case did not disturb the people. Unless they were relatives of the officials and sought personal gain, the people were at ease, knowing that the fire would only burn the officials.
Shen Li was recuperating here. She had long since recovered and was unaware of the passage of time. She only felt that the weather was getting colder and colder, and it turned out that it was already early winter.
"This year has gone by so quickly," Shen Li said, nestled in Gu Chang'an's arms. A heater was burning in the room, and Gu Chang'an was peeling oranges for her.
"We'll be returning to the capital in a few days. Is there anything you need to do, A-Li?" Gu Chang'an gently asked, feeding her a segment of orange.
"Wan'er and I have been going out quite a bit these days, but my husband has been cooped up in the yamen. Would you like to go out for a stroll?"
Gu Chang'an shook his head slightly: "The case files are as numerous as hairs on a cow, and they can't be separated from me."
“It’s really not easy for a husband to be in this position. Others think that being a favored minister is easy, as long as you just have to please the emperor.” Shen Li sighed slightly: “How can the emperor be so easy to please?”
She thought about how she was kidnapped while saving the emperor, and the emperor's first thought was not to save her life. The ruthlessness and cruelty of the emperor far exceeded the imagination of ordinary people.
It's no easy feat to gain a foothold by the emperor's side and take advantage of his power; one wrong step and you could lose your head.
Gu Chang'an remained noncommittal, but seeing her distress, he could only comfort her: "It's alright, I'm naturally good at this."
"So, is my husband aiming his sword at the Crown Prince this time he returns to the capital?" Shen Li was quite looking forward to it.
"Yes, it has been confirmed that he secretly contacted the city defense army to carry out the assassination. However, the case is not closed. Several surrounding provinces are connected with the Zhou family and the Crown Prince. We should take advantage of this opportunity to eradicate them completely." Gu Chang'an narrowed his eyes.
Dangers must be eliminated as soon as possible; leaving them will only bring trouble.
Shen Li nodded: "My husband is very thoughtful. Letting these people stay under the city walls will only bring trouble. Replacing them with suitable people is the right way."
With A-Li's affirmation, Gu Chang'an felt that everything was easy to handle. Now that the situation was settled, whether it was carrying out large-scale criminal trials or overthrowing the Crown Prince, it was all inevitable. He only needed to go with the flow to ensure that the Crown Prince would never be able to recover.
“Talking about serious matters is really boring.” Shen Li said, yawning. “Husband, let’s get settled. I’ll go for a walk around the neighborhood tomorrow morning.”
"Okay." Gu Chang'an looked at her playful and cute appearance, his voice becoming slightly hoarse.
However, he was worried about tiring Ah Li, so he restrained himself and did not have too frequent contact with her even now that his injury had healed.
Seeing that he was a bit far away from her, Shen Li moved closer and whispered, "I'll sleep in your arms."
Gu Chang'an blushed deeply as he felt the soft fragrance in his arms. He turned over slightly and pulled the small Shen Li under him, whispering in her ear, "Ah Li, go to sleep later."
That husky voice was incredibly alluring, especially captivating in the stillness of the night.
"...Huh?" Shen Li was both amused and exasperated. "Are you sure it's just a little while?"
She had experienced it several times before; Gu Chang'an's injuries never healed in a short time, let alone now that he had fully recovered.
"Is Ah Li in a hurry?"
"I'm not in a hurry, but you have to get up early tomorrow. Can you manage?" Shen Li was mostly worried about him.
"It's alright." Gu Chang'an gently kissed her collarbone for a while, then gradually moved downwards.
Shen Li's gaze gradually became hazy, and things indeed went as she expected. This ordeal lasted for most of the night, and she felt that it was almost dawn when she finally fell asleep.
The next morning, she lay in bed feeling like her arms and legs were about to fall apart. Gu Chang'an was nowhere to be seen in the room. She was amazed by the man's energy; he really did have a good constitution, and his old ailment didn't seem to have any effect on him.