“Yan’er…” Gu Chaobei turned his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Behind him, a group of young ladies had already gone mad. Taking advantage of the festive atmosphere, everyone just wanted to join the commotion and directly pulled Gu Chaobei down from the flower carriage. Zhuiyun wanted to stop them but feared injuring innocent citizens. He could only grab the Emperor’s arm and was swept into the crowd together with him.

“This is truly lively.” Baoshan helped Shen Guiyan down from the carriage as well. Watching the Emperor and Zhuiyun being swept away by the crowd, she couldn’t help but sigh. “Much livelier than the palace.”

Who could say otherwise? The palace was so quiet it was as if no one was there. Occasionally the people one could encounter were all palace servants who would bow respectfully, then stand far off to the side. The palace walls were towering and majestic, and human warmth was also thin.

Each had its merits. Shen Guiyan laughed softly and hurried to catch up. Joking was joking, but it wouldn’t do to actually let the Emperor be snatched away by someone else.

However, the crowds surged on the street. In a moment, the Emperor and Zhuiyun had disappeared. The shadow guards all followed behind Shen Guiyan and Baoshan. With the Emperor scattered like this, it was like strolling on a battlefield without armor.

“Baoshan, have the people behind find His Majesty.” Shen Guiyan’s expression became serious. “Everyone be alert.”

“Yes.” Baoshan also sensed something was wrong and hurriedly went to find the disguised shadow guards. But with this turn of her head, Shen Guiyan was also carried away by the crowd.

“Mistress!” Baoshan panicked.

A few disguised shadow guards still followed Shen Guiyan. Though scattered, at least she was still within sight. But the Emperor and Zhuiyun had gone far—no matter how they pursued, they couldn’t catch up.

Shen Guiyan followed the crowd to the Magpie Bridge. The bridge was high, allowing a view of the surrounding areas below. She hurriedly lowered her head to search everywhere.

Today Gu Chaobei had come out wearing white robes embroidered with golden edges—very eye-catching. By rights, he should be very easy to find.

But when she looked, she actually saw many people in the crowd all wearing white robes with golden trim at the collar and cuffs, their backs all similar to Gu Chaobei’s.

What was going on?

During the Lantern Festival, the capital had customs of guessing lantern riddles and releasing flower lanterns, so the riverside was full of people. With one careless moment, someone was pushed into the river. Shen Guiyan could see clearly from the bridge—it was an old man in black clothes. The person who pushed him into the river wore white robes with golden edges that bloomed on the water. When he turned back, the face was one she didn’t recognize.

After being stunned for a long while, Shen Guiyan suddenly remembered what Gu Chaobei had said when leaving the palace.

He had said, “Lately I always feel uneasy in my heart, with cold hands and feet. Why don’t we leave the palace to take a look?”

She had curiously asked, “Go out for what? You’re the Emperor now. Being too casual—I’m afraid it will give people an opportunity.”

Gu Chaobei had said, “I just want to see the flower lanterns. But there are many people on the streets. If Yan’er gets separated, don’t panic.”

She had thought it was a momentary whim. How did it suddenly feel wrong somewhere? That detestable person—was he hiding something from her again?

The old man in black who had been pushed into the water originally wanted to leave, but was seized by several people dressed as common citizens around him and dragged to the side. The crowd had no reaction at all. No one noticed.

Looking at another area, street performers were breathing fire and wielding knives. Among the crowd was also a young master in white robes. Just as the performer was about to act, the knife barely swung in front of the white-robed young master when a group of citizens from the side surged up, praising his excellent skills repeatedly and dragging the performer to the side as well.

During the lively Lantern Festival, the atmosphere wasn’t disrupted at all, but quite a few people had gone missing. Shen Guiyan couldn’t help but want to follow and see where those people were being dragged. The shadow guard behind her came up and said quietly, “Your Majesty, His Majesty is waiting for you at the flower carriage.”

Hmm? Back at the flower carriage? Shen Guiyan hurriedly followed the shadow guard back. Down from the Magpie Bridge and across a street, Gu Chaobei was indeed already waiting on the flower carriage full of fruit and fragrant sachets.

“Couldn’t find me, panicked?” Gu Chaobei smiled roguishly. Seeing her gasping for breath, his mood was clearly much better.

She had worried for so long for nothing. Shen Guiyan got on and pinched him hard.

“Hiss, murdering your husband! Stop fooling around. I’ll take you to see something interesting.” Gu Chaobei lightly begged for mercy, pulling her onto the carriage. He dismissed the shadow guards and drove the carriage himself toward a less crowded area.

“You have matters—can’t you tell me in advance?” Shen Guiyan frowned. “What if I hadn’t seen clearly and truly thought it was you being pushed into the river, you being slashed by a knife—what then?”

Gu Chaobei touched his nose. “My Yan’er isn’t that foolish. Those people were very similar to me, but they’re not as good-looking as me.”

Shen Guiyan: “…”

Seeing her nails come out again, the Emperor hurriedly said, “Actually I wanted to tell you in advance, but after all, it was just my speculation. If I didn’t guess correctly, I would be very embarrassed, so I waited until there truly was movement before bringing you to see.”

“What movement? That group of people on the street who wanted to harm you?” Shen Guiyan asked.

“Mm.” Gu Chaobei turned to look ahead, saying indifferently, “Today when you and I left the palace together, only the shadow guards nearby, Baoshan, Zhuiyun, and Mother Empress knew.”

Shen Guiyan was startled.

“Don’t you find Xu Shi and Gu Chaonan have always been very strange?” the Emperor said in a low voice. “They seem to be able to predict everything. During these three years of campaigns, Gu Chaonan could always accurately judge where enemy troops would flee to, whether to pursue or not. He even knew where Wen Shoushan was hiding—more impressive than the Imperial Preceptor.”

Shen Guiyan nodded. “I know this. Mengdie, she…”

Xu Mengdie had told her she was someone living a second life. Since she was living again, knowing things that had already happened wasn’t strange.

But she couldn’t directly tell the Emperor this. Xu Mengdie had helped her so much over these years. She couldn’t very well have her seized as a demon.

“What about Mengdie?” Gu Chaobei looked at her curiously.

Shen Guiyan lowered her eyes. “Mengdie should have opened her heavenly eye.”

Gu Chaobei frowned. “I don’t believe in such things. I’m only afraid—if she can know everything, what if it’s detrimental to the realm? Now Gu Chaonan is already the Grand Marshal of Military Forces. I’ve given him half the military authority. If he wanted to harm me…”

The consequences would be unthinkable.

Shen Guiyan shook her head. “It shouldn’t be. Xu Shi has been very good to both you and me from the beginning, and so has Second Young Master Gu.”

Previously at the Gu residence, Xu Mengdie had repeatedly saved her. If she wanted to harm her, the very first time she could have left her alone in the eastern courtyard and let her never rise again.

“How could I not know this?” Gu Chaobei smiled lightly. “In the past at the Gu residence, Elder Brother and Madam Gu didn’t treat me well. It was all Second Brother helping and protecting me. Even after I ascended the throne, he didn’t throw his weight around because of our brotherly bond, but has always thought of me and made great military contributions. If I wrongly suspected him, that would truly be too ungrateful.”

“So when I left the palace today, it wasn’t in the plans. I just wanted to see if someone could still guess it, and whether that person would be harmful to me.”

Shen Guiyan understood. It was said that emperors were always suspicious. Xu Mengdie and Gu Chaonan receiving divine assistance had aroused the Emperor’s suspicion—a very normal thing.

But the abnormal part was that today there truly was unusual activity.

The flower carriage stopped at a warehouse entrance. Gu Chaobei brought Shen Guiyan inside. Though empty with nothing there, voices could faintly be heard.

Making a gesture for silence, the Emperor brought her to an inner door and they listened together, ears against it.

Inside were imprisoned all the people who had just been caught at the flower lantern fair. No one guarded them—only the windows and doors were locked. They were clearly panicked.

“Is anyone there?”

“How did you get caught too?”

“Who knows? I thought debt collectors had come. Did our master want us to stop our actions, so he sent people to arrest us all?”

“That doesn’t seem right. When we were paid, it was made clear—once the order is given, it will never be recalled.”

Chattering noisily together, the only useful thing Shen Guiyan and Gu Chaobei could hear was that they had a master.

Who was that master?

“Send people to interrogate them and we should know.” Shen Guiyan said softly. “These people take money to do jobs—naturally they don’t want to lose their lives.”

Gu Chaobei’s expression didn’t look good. After listening for a while without hearing anything else useful, he pulled her to hide to one side, then ordered shadow guards to enter and interrogate.

Shen Guiyan looked at his profile. She could clearly feel that although the Emperor suspected Gu Chaonan and Xu Mengdie, he still didn’t want to hear that they were the masterminds behind this. After all, one was a person he’d regarded as a brother since childhood, the other was his sister-in-law who had treated him well. If these two people both had thoughts of harming him, the world would be too frightening.

The shadow guards’ methods of extracting confessions were extremely bloody. The people outside couldn’t withstand it for long before confessing: “We’re all ordinary assassins from the martial world. We received payment from a very beautiful blue-eyed beauty to help kill someone. The deed didn’t succeed—please spare us, sir!”

Blue-eyed beauty? Shen Guiyan’s heart jumped. Gu Chaobei also breathed a sigh of relief.

In the capital, there was only one person with blue eyes—Gu Chaodong’s wife, the one sent from the foreign kingdoms.

But Shen Guiyan couldn’t understand—why would she do this? At the Gu residence, she had food and drink, living well. Why would she hire assassins to kill for no reason?

Moreover, how could she possibly know that His Majesty would leave the palace today?

“The foreign kingdoms don’t want peaceful friendship anymore.” Gu Chaobei said in a low voice. “They’ve actually set their sights on me. In one month, it will be the tribute day again. Aren’t they afraid I’ll lead troops to conquer their barbarian lands?”

“Your Majesty, calm your anger.” Shen Guiyan said. “Let’s not discuss whether what they’re saying is true. Even if it is true, what’s the purpose?”

The Emperor fell silent.

This was also what he couldn’t figure out.

Continuing the interrogation, none of the people showed any intention of changing their story. If they weren’t telling the truth, they shouldn’t know there was a blue-eyed person in the capital.

When the Emperor brought Shen Guiyan away from the warehouse, sky lanterns had already risen outside. Along the less crowded riverbank, the two walked slowly.

Gu Chaobei was thinking about matters, and Shen Guiyan didn’t disturb him.

“When the foreign kingdoms come to pay tribute, we’ll discuss it further.” At the palace gates, Gu Chaobei finally spoke. “Today, I and the Empress only came out to see the flower lanterns.”