Shen Ruoyu followed Jianwen Tianzi and Fang Xiaoru back to Qianqing Palace. Zhu Yunwen took a seat and said to Shen Ruoyu:

"Cheng'an Yibin, I didn't take good care of you, so you were wronged in prison. I have already criticized Wei Guogong and Hou Shangshu, the Criminal Department relies on torture to investigate the case, which is a shame for the imperial court, and it is just a shame to cover up, how can you be proud of it, and force you to watch, so that people who are kind by nature are greatly frightened, what is the point in the end. I hope you can forget this misfortune and don't see the court as a cruel tiger wolf in your mind. ”

Shen Ruoyu hurriedly bowed his head and replied, "Your Majesty is serious. I'm much better and fine. ”

Zhu Yunwen said: "Cheng'an Yi Binken broke off his kindness with King Yan, abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, and served the righteous path of the imperial court. ”

Shen Ruoyu replied humbly: "Your Majesty has lifted Ruoxiao. I am grateful and respectful of King Yan, so I don't want to hurt him; However, he himself has made a wrong choice and embarked on the road of rebellion, fratricide, splitting the country, and creating war. The damage is greater than knowing that he is on the wrong path, but still supporting and letting him go further and further. When King Yan didn't raise an army, I might still have a chance to save him; Once he is in his army, I have no other way to go. For the justice of the world and the livelihood of the Li people, breaking with King Yan and swearing allegiance to the imperial court is my only choice now. ”

Zhu Yunwen sighed: "I hope the Fourth Emperor Uncle can understand your hard work." ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "One day, King Yan will definitely understand." ”

Zhu Yunwen said: "When I am in a bad mood, I often get angry with others. Are you really willing to suffer this grievance and stay by my side all the time? ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "As long as Your Majesty can afford me and is willing to trust me." ”

Zhu Yunwen said: "Then, if I give you another position, are you willing to do it?" ”

"But whatever Your Majesty wants, if you die, you will not give up."

Zhu Yunwen said softly: "Shen Ruoxiao, I have appointed you as the commander of the Yulin Guard, and the coaching and garrison matters of the Yulin Second Guard will take effect immediately. ”

Shen Ruoyu was stunned when she heard this. Among all the Praetorian Guards, only the Yulin Left Guard and the Yulin Right Guard are stationed in the palace, and they are also the elite of the entire Imperial Forest Army, ranking at the head of the Upper Twelve Guards. This official is a little too big and too important, far beyond his expectations.

He replied: "Your Majesty, Shen Ruoliao has never had experience in the battlefield, let alone led soldiers; The position of the commander of this Yu Lin Wei is too important, but I am afraid that I really don't have this ability, and please think twice. ”

Zhu Yunwen asked Fang Xiaoru: "What does Mr. Fang think?" ”

Fang Xiaoru said: "Your Majesty, experience and ability are all obtained from learning and training, as long as you have this talent and conduct, Your Majesty should give you such an opportunity to learn and exercise." ”

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "What Mr. Fang said is extremely true. Previously, Lord Wei Guogong had said the same thing to me; The matter of asking you to be the commander of Yu Linwei is actually what Wei Guogong proposed to me. He said that Cheng'an Yibin has extraordinary qualifications, although his experience is still shallow, but after all, he is still very young, and his understanding is extremely high; The current conductor, Dong Yuan, inherited his father's position and has been in charge of Yulin Erwei for many years, so he has rich experience, so he can teach and counsel you from the side. Yulin Erwei has a lot of affairs and everything is very important, originally the two commanders are not too much, but now only Dong Pingshan is worried about everything, and there should be more people to help him share his worries. It's the best of both worlds. ”

Shen Ruoyu was taken aback again; Among all the courtiers he had dealt with, the most powerful character was Xu Huizu, who had fought him for less than three rounds before being beaten by the other party. If Fang Xiaoru's trust was the easiest to get among the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, Xu Huizu, the Duke of Wei, would inevitably be the most difficult person for him to trust. He never imagined that Wei Guogong would recommend himself to the Son of Heaven as the commander of Yulinwei.

He replied humbly: "If you dare to disobey your orders, you can only share your worries for Your Majesty and Commander Dong." ”

Zhu Yunwen said: "From tomorrow onwards, you will come to the palace at sunrise every morning, go to the morning with me, and go home before dinner in the evening." ”

Shen Ruoyu asked, "Who will be the guard at night?" ”

Zhu Yunwen said: "At night, except for the officials specially summoned, no outsiders will be in the palace. I will only call Mr. Fang, Qi and Huang, and Wei Guogong, and they will not harm me. You don't need a special guard, you can go home with peace of mind. In addition, during the day, most of the time you and I are together, Yulin Erwei is on the other side, and you practice intensively every ten days, you don't have to bother every day, Dong Pingshan is responsible for managing the soldiers, you only teach them martial arts, your skills, I think the soldiers will be eye-opening when they see it. ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "I understand, thank you Your Majesty." However, if there is an emergency, I should come to the palace in the middle of the night, right? ”

Zhu Yunwen nodded and said, "It stands to reason that this is the case, but emergencies rarely happen." In addition, since you are a close guard, you can wear weapons when you enter the palace. In the future, you can always carry your favorite sword with you, which is also the glory of your imperial guard. ”

Shen Ruoyu smiled faintly: "I am already very glorious." ”

After returning home, after he had dinner, he pressed Nangong Qiu to the edge of the bed and sat down, squatted down in front of her, and asked:

"Qiu'er, are there any conditions for you to follow me?"

Nangong Qiu looked at him inexplicably. "On what terms?"

Shen Ruoyu said: "For example, if what happens to me, you will leave me?" ”

Nangong Qiu thought hard about it. "What if...... If you don't like me anymore—"

"What else?" He asked eagerly.

Nangong Qiu looked at him with a smile. "What's wrong with you? What do you think of again? ”

Shen Ruoyu thought about it and decided to say it directly.

"Qiu'er, what if I betray King Yan?"

Nangong Qiu was slightly stunned, looked at the seriousness on his face, and asked, "Did you say something wrong?" It should be a betrayal of the Son of Heaven. ”

"No, I'm not wrong, I betrayed King Yan;" He said clearly, "From this day on, from the moment I knew that he had risen up to take the throne, I stood on the side of his enemy, betrayed him, opposed him, and even struck him mercilessly. ”

Nangong Qiu chuckled: "You won't, what are you testing me?" ”

Shen Ruoyu said: "I'm serious, Qiu'er; Do you think I'm acting? My heart has betrayed King Yan. I chose to stand with the Son of Heaven, help him come up with ideas to fight against the Yan army, and even go to the battlefield for him to destroy the Yan army. I've made up my mind. Now, I want to know, would you like to follow me? ”

Nangong Qiu looked at him blankly. "Why? Why betray him? The Son of Heaven still put you in prison and scared you to death, how could King Yan ever treat you badly? ”

"Never," Shen Ruoyu said, "that's why I betrayed him." ”

Nangong Qiu didn't understand, and looked at him in reproach and surprise: "Why?" He's my godfather, why are you? ”

Shen Ruoyu said softly and patiently: "Qiu'er, I can't tell you. It's a secret, a secret that only I know from the bottom of my heart. Even if I say it, I'm afraid no one can understand, no one can understand it, no one can accept it; But it doesn't matter, I just don't say it. And if I tell the secret, all my efforts will be in vain, and all my efforts will be in vain. ”

"What's the secret, why can't you tell me?" Nangong Qiu looked at him puzzled. "Don't you trust me enough?"

Shen Ruoyu said: "Qiu'er, forgive me; Because this is a secret between me and King Yan, if you know, you will definitely be tempted to tell King Yan, after all, he is your godfather and is so good to you. Don't ask any questions, okay? Just tell me, would you like to follow me? If you want, I have one more request, I hope you can join me and sever all relations with King Yan from now on, and only treat him as an enemy. ”

Nangong Qiu was stunned. She stood up, shook him, and shouted:

"Why? How do you let me choose, on one side is my godfather, on the other side is my lover? Why are you so cruel? Why do you have to betray him? What the hell do you want me to do? ”

Shen Ruoyu smiled a little sadly. Then, he hardened his heart, stood up, and said:

"Think about it; Don't worry about my feelings, just your own feelings. Whatever you choose, I'll be happy. ”

He left her alone in the house and went outside to practice his sword.

By the time he returned, it was already dark. There were no lights in the room, and it was dark. Somewhat uneasy, he stood at the door, and called softly:

"Qiu'er!"

There was no answer. He hesitated for a moment, then shouted again, "Beans? ”

The maid Dou'er ran out of the other hut and knelt down in front of him.

Shen Ruoyu looked at this maid who looked two years younger than Nangong Qiu, and said helplessly:

"How many times have I told you, don't kneel to me, let me die? Get up! Where has the county lord gone? ”

Dou'er stood up, still keeping her head down: "The county lord is in the house." ”

"Why is the light dark?"

The county lord said no, she said she liked the dark. He also said that he liked to be alone and kicked me out. ”

Shen Ruoyu thought about it.

"Go back and go to bed early." He pulled his legs and walked into the house.

When he entered the house, he opened the window, and the moonlight poured in, and he was surprised to find that the room had changed, and the tables and chairs had all fallen to the ground in a mess, and nothing was in their original place. There were still broken porcelain tiles on the floor, and the light was dim, and he couldn't tell if it was a teapot or a dish.

"Qiu'er?"

Still no one answered. The only thing in the house that didn't move the nest was the bed, which was too big and too heavy, and Nangong Qiu couldn't smash the bed no matter how strong she was. He walked over gently. There was a mass on the bed, curled up motionless, like a kitten. Shen Ruoyu walked to the side of the bed, a little scared. The mess in the house shows that Nangong Qiu has lost his temper, he has never seen her so angry, and he is really worried that something will happen to her when she is angry.

He reached out and patted the soft mass gently.

"Qiu'er?"

Still no response. Shen Ruoyu crawled to Nangong Qiu's side and reached out to probe her breathing, which was still very even, but accidentally wiped a sticky snot with one hand.

He was taken aback, wiped his hands clean, couldn't help shaking his head and smiling bitterly, pulled her up, hugged her into his arms, and said:

"Angry? Crying nose? I got my hands full of snot, and I don't know how to wipe it, how adult. ”

Nangong Qiu sobbed and said, "Why are you coming back, you should die in the palace." I don't know you......"

She began to cry again. Shen Ruoliao comforted her and said:

"Don't cry, don't cry, I'm sorry for you, but I can't help it. Forget it, don't take it too seriously, you see it's difficult for me to make a choice, I thought about it for a long time, and suddenly in an instant, I had an epiphany. You don't have to be in a hurry, you can eat and sleep every day, and soon you will involuntarily figure it out. ”

"What else do I have to think about," Nangong Qiu cried: "I'm all your people, I can only follow you." ”

Poor silly girl, she doesn't know what the phrase "I'm your person" means.

Shen Ruoyu said softly: "You have the right to choose. Neither King Yan nor I have the right to control your life. ”

Nangong Qiu cried: "You are so unreasonable. I don't know what my life is at all, I just know that I like you, I'll follow you, leave my grandfather, come to the capital, only you are my goal, I will get lost without you. But now you want me to walk by myself, you don't want me anymore. ”

Shen Ruoyu had never thought of this, and couldn't help but be stunned. Indeed, he brought her out, and he should be responsible for her to the end. She doesn't understand anything, she hasn't experienced anything, she takes everything for granted, she can only rely on him completely, she and him can't be separated.

Shen Ruoyu hugged her tightly and said softly: "Qiu'er, you have wronged me, how can I not want you, do you know what you mean to me?" I can't live without you. But if I keep you by my side, it will be too unfair to you, because I have betrayed your father. What should I let you do? ”

Nangong Qiu said: "I still have to go with you anyway, and I will betray him too." ”

Shen Ruoliao said: "You are too anxious. Such a thing cannot be decided in a moment. ”

Nangong Qiu said: "If I think about it for another half a year, I will still follow you, what can I do." ”

Shen Ruoyu sighed. "Well, it's not that hard. Even if you have already decided, in the future if you feel uncomfortable and want to regret it, you can turn against me at any time. ”