Shut Up

Inside the warm pavilion, the lights were bright, and the elegant scent of ambergris intertwined with the fragrance of ink.

Emperor Luo was leaning behind the red sandalwood imperial desk, reviewing a mountain of memorials.

The chief eunuch, Lyu Fang, stood in attendance to the side, maintaining a composed and focused demeanor, his breathing steady.

When Gu Chengyin, led by Huang Jing, appeared at the entrance of the warm pavilion, even the worldly Lyu Fang could not help but be taken aback, his eyes widening a fraction.

Gu Chengyin was bathed in blood, his clothes in tatters, his face pale as a sheet, swaying with every step he took.

Such a miserable state formed a stark contrast with the solemn and majestic environment of the imperial presence.

Lyu Fang opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to ask what had happened, but he forcefully swallowed the words right before they left his lips.

It was an ironclad rule that one must not speak carelessly in the emperor's presence.

He quickly adjusted his expression, turned toward Emperor Luo behind the imperial desk, and reported respectfully,

"Your Majesty, Marquis Bingjian, Gu Chengyin, has arrived."

Hearing this, Emperor Luo put down the memorial he was reviewing and looked up.

When his gaze fell upon Gu Chengyin, the unfathomable emperor was also visibly stunned, seemingly not expecting such a sight.

Immediately after, a scoff escaped Emperor Luo's nose, sounding partly helpless and partly amused.

He shook his head and spoke,

"Gu Chengyin, oh, Gu Chengyin."

"Your twisting schemes are even more convoluted than the winding alleyways of the Divine Capital."

Hearing this, Gu Chengyin immediately dropped to his knees with a heavy thud. With a face full of grief and indignation, he began his tearful and bloody accusation,

"Your Majesty! You must seek justice for your subject!"

"I had just taken over this major case, wholeheartedly wanting to share the burdens of the royal court and Your Majesty, but I never expected to suffer such a vicious attack!"

"Five! A full five atrocious assassins ambushed me right on the street, every strike aimed to kill!"

"My eldest brother, in order to cover my retreat, fought to the death!"

"It was only by sheer luck that I managed to escape with my life, Your Majesty! This is clearly someone..."

"Enough."

Gu Chengyin's wailing complaint had barely begun when Emperor Luo unceremoniously interrupted him.

Emperor Luo waved his hand, his demeanor implying that he could not be bothered to watch this performance:

"Considering the fact that you were 'assassinated'."

Emperor Luo deliberately paused on the word 'assassinated', casting a meaningful glance over the wounds on Gu Chengyin's body.

"I will not bicker with you, nor with that loose-lipped Shangguan Yuan."

He looked away from Gu Chengyin and instructed Lyu Fang, "Lyu Fang, take him to the side hall. Give him a good wash and clean up this bloody mess."

"Then have an imperial physician examine him. Make him look presentable before he comes back to see me."

Having said that, he leaned back into his throne, picked up the memorial he had just set down, and resumed his reading.

Lyu Fang immediately bowed and replied, "This servant obeys."

He then walked briskly to Gu Chengyin's side, bent down, and said in a low voice, "Marquis Gu, please follow this servant."

Gu Chengyin was very tactful. The grief and indignation on his face vanished in an instant. He climbed up from the ground nimbly and bowed respectfully toward Emperor Luo:

"I thank Your Majesty for your profound grace! I am endlessly grateful for Your Majesty's compassion toward your subject!"

With that, he turned around, acting as if nothing had happened, and followed Lyu Fang toward the side hall.

Emperor Luo's hand, holding a vermilion brush, paused slightly. He raised his eyes to glance at Gu Chengyin's departing back.

His mouth twitched, but he said nothing, lowering his head to continue reading the memorial.

In the side hall, hot water, clean clothes, and an imperial physician on standby had already been prepared.

At Lyu Fang's gesture, Gu Chengyin quickly washed away the bloodstains on his body. Under the warm water, those hideous wounds were washed away to reveal mostly intact skin underneath.

The imperial physician stepped forward to examine him and found that they were all superficial wounds; after cleaning, there was no major issue. His pulse was slightly erratic but fundamentally stable.

Lyu Fang watched silently from the side, his eyes calm and unperturbed, evidently accustomed to such sights.

Changing into a clean and refreshing set of cyan casual clothes and having his hair tied up neatly once more, Gu Chengyin looked completely renewed, having restored his usual handsome and composed image.

Not long after, Gu Chengyin returned to the warm pavilion looking refreshed. He stood a few steps away from the imperial desk, straightened his attire, and bowed respectfully:

"Your subject Gu Chengyin greets Your Majesty. I thank Your Majesty for granting me a bath and a change of clothes; I am now presentable."

This time, Emperor Luo did not even lift his head. He simply continued marking the memorial with his vermilion brush and casually asked,

"Is Zhao'er still waiting outside?"

Lyu Fang hurriedly bowed and replied, "To answer Your Majesty, Her Highness has been waiting outside for your decree."

Emperor Luo gave an affirmative grunt, still not looking up: "Let her in."

"Yes."

Lyu Fang accepted the order and walked briskly out of the warm pavilion.

Soon, Luo Zhao, led inside, walked in with her eyes lowered and a subdued demeanor.

She looked straight ahead, as if she had not noticed the completely renewed Gu Chengyin at all.

She walked straight to the imperial desk and offered an elegant and flawless bow:

"Your daughter greets Imperial Father."

Only then did Emperor Luo finally set down his vermilion brush and the memorial.

He then picked up another memorial from the desk, but did not open it.

His gaze swept over Luo Zhao, who stood with her head bowed, and then glanced at the seemingly respectful Gu Chengyin beside her, before asking,

"Do you know why I summoned the two of you into the palace?"

Luo Zhao kept her eyes lowered and did not answer immediately, seemingly weighing her words.

However, the moment Emperor Luo's voice trailed off, Gu Chengyin stepped forward half a pace without any hesitation. With an expression of utmost reverence, he said sincerely,

"Because Your Majesty is peerlessly wise and sagacious! Your brilliance illuminates ten thousand miles! You are like the blazing sun high up in the nine heavens, shining upon the rivers and mountains of Great Luo, nourishing the myriad people!"

"You are also like a guiding beacon in the darkness, lighting the way for your lost subjects! Your Majesty's wisdom is as deep as the abyssal ocean and as high as Mount Kunlun!"

"Your Majesty's heart encompasses heaven and earth, gracing all living beings! Your Majesty's judgment sees through every detail and acts with the speed of lightning and the force of the wind! Your Majesty..."

Once he opened his mouth, it was as if a switch had been flipped. A continuous stream of sycophantic praises poured out endlessly, like the bursting of the Luo River's banks.

Moreover, he did not repeat a single word. From astronomy and geography to humanities and philosophy, from imperial achievements to personal virtue, he flattered Emperor Luo comprehensively, from multiple angles, and in a multi-dimensional manner.

Let alone Luo Zhao, who frowned slightly as she listened, even Lyu Fang, who stood in attendance nearby, was left dumbfounded.

Having served Emperor Luo for so many years, he had seen at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, bootlickers.

But someone like Gu Chengyin, who could deliver flattery with such majestic momentum, without blushing or skipping a heartbeat, as if stating universal truths, was truly a first for him.

At first, Emperor Luo listened expressionlessly, seemingly wanting to see how far Gu Chengyin could stretch this.

But as he listened, he realized that Gu Chengyin had no intention of stopping.

Instead, he grew more energetic the more he spoke, his vocabulary becoming increasingly flamboyant, and his metaphors increasingly outrageous...

Emperor Luo's brows gradually furrowed, and a vein throbbed faintly on his temple.

Finally unable to endure it any longer, he raised his hand and tapped the handle of his vermilion brush against the imperial desk.

"Smack."

A soft sound echoed.

"Shut up."

Emperor Luo's voice was not loud, but it carried an irrefutable majesty.

Gu Chengyin's torrential flood of words was instantly cut off.

He immediately snapped his mouth shut, stood up straight, and focused his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, as if the person speaking just now had not been him at all.

Emperor Luo was given a slight headache by this sudden and unprovoked barrage of flattery, his train of thought thrown somewhat into disarray.

He massaged the space between his eyebrows, glared at Gu Chengyin in annoyance, and warned:

"Gu Chengyin, if you keep playing tricks like this, I shall have Zhao'er punish you."