n

n

nAlthough it was important to chase after his wife, the life on a horse was just unbearable.

nAfter a night of riding, Long finally got on a carriage.

nWhile the Shadow Guards were driving, Long decided to get some sleep during the daytime.

n

n

nEven though it was still wobbly in a carriage, but better have one than not.

nAfter seven days of carriage ride on end, Long finally reached Shuanghua City.

nInside the city, there was only the Tianyin post and its citizens.

nThere were also some government departments here, although it didn’t function like one.

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n

nThat was because the public security inside the city was guaranteed by Tianyin post, and more than half of the shops in the city were owned by Tianyin post. If there were any disputes, Tianyin post could handle them on its own and there was no need for government interference at all.

nSo, inside Shuanghua City, Tianyin post actually enjoyed more prestige than the local government!

nLong felt like his bones were shattering after the long journey.

nLong chose to lie on his stomach bonelessly in Shi’s bed once he entered Shi’s room after they settled down in the hotel where Shi and Xu lived.

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n

nShi wasn’t in his room when Long arrived, so Long went to sleep, thinking Shi might have gone out to gather the information.

nAs Shi went back to his room in the afternoon, this was what he saw…

nShi smiled after seeing this.

nLong was still asleep and had no idea he was being watched by Shi, though he might not feel awkward at all as he’s got a thick face.

nShi sat down on the edge of the bed after looking at Long for a while. He pushed the man who he hadn’t seen for about ten days. Long, feeling Shi’s sense, gradually opened his eyes in a daze.

nShi chuckled at this. “Are you tired, Your Majesty?”

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n

nLong yawned and stretched his arms, “Qingzhou? Long time no see, I wanna a hug.”

nShi raised his eyebrows, “Really tired?”

n“Yeah.” Long yawned and said. “It’s really tiring.”

nShi couldn’t help laughing. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

nLong pouted his lips. “I feel upset you don’t even miss me, Qingzhou.”

n“That’s not true.” Shi’s eyes became wide open. “I miss you, Your Majesty.”

n“You don’t mean it.” Long was not pleased.

nShi sighed and said, “How come I don’t mean it? I meant everything I said.”

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n

nLong got up from the bed and pinched Shi’s face with his right hand. “I don’t see it that you meant what you said.”

nShi removed Long’s hands gently. “We have sneaked into the Tianyin post twice without disturbing the people in it, and we have also found the place where Fang Shuiyang is detained.”

n“Well?” Long raised his eyebrows. “You have found him?”

n“Yes.” Shi paused. “But unfortunately, one of his legs was… broken. We don’t know if there would be a problem if we wait for too long.”

nLong took a deep breath, “Did Xu know about this?”

nShi nodded. “He knew it and he was feeling a bit blue these days. While on the other hand, though Fang Shuoyang breaks one of his legs, he seems to be in a good mood. It’s a pity we only managed to say a few words and we retreated very soon because we thought we alarmed the guards.”

n“Do you want to go there again or get him out at once?” Long asked.

n“No, we can’t get him out, that would alert the enemy.”

nLong pursed his lips. “So, you need to sneak in there again? But you can’t guarantee you won’t be noticed every time.”Shi smiled softly. “Just need to be careful. We won’t have many people go in there at once. Plus, it would be easier since we know where Fang is detained.”

nLong knew that it would never be as easy as Shi put. He said, “Since I am here, the Shadow Guards can handle the night scouting; you don’t have to be involved, okay?”

nShi smiled softly, “Didn’t you say I am invincible?”

nLong was speechless. “I didn’t mean what I said; you don’t have to believe it!”

nThen it was Shi who became speechless. “So, I am not invincible because you didn’t mean it at all…”

n

n

n“Well…” Long touched his nose and blinked his eyes innocently. “Maybe I didn’t say anything and you heard something else, Qingzhou.”

nShi let out a cold groan and kept watching Long in a forced smile. “Really? Nothing at all?”

n“Well, nothing at all!” Long nodded heavily.

nShi didn’t bother to care about Long’s thick face and stood up straight.

n“Hey, where are you going, Qingzhou?” Long rushed to get off bed.

nShi wasn’t going anywhere, but sat at a table.

nLong followed Shi after getting off bed and served him a cup of tea with a flattery smile.

nShi was not being courteous at all and drank the tea as he got it.

nLong also prepared tea for himself and started to drink slowly.

nLong felt more comfortable after the tea.

nShi became soft-hearted after seeing that Long was so tired and asked, “How many days did you spend on the way?”

n“Seven days.” Long said.

nShi sighed and said. “Go back and take an early rest today.”

n“Okay.” Long nodded. “I wanna hug you to sleep.”

nShi’ eyebrows lifted as he smiled. “Okay.”

nLong had something before it went dark and lay himself on a big soft bed after that.

nNo wonder the hotel charged 1 liang (ancient Chinese currency) a day, its bed was really comfortable and the quilt was quite soft.

nEven though meals were included, this was still too expansive.

nLong had started his whining since dinner; Shi couldn’t help laughing. “Is 1 liang a lot to Your Majesty?”

nLong shook his head. “It is not a lot to me, but as far as I know, in some places, many people couldn’t earn 1 liang a month.”

nShi paused and said, “Places like that are rare now. You don’t have to worry a lot for that.”

nLong smiled and said. “I see.”

nLong went to an early bed after meal as expected.

nThere was only a wooden bucket for taking a shower in the hotel, not even close to the facilities in the imperial palace, however, Long wasn’t being picky about this and could make do with it!

nLong went straight to bed after shower.

nWhile Shi, of course, stayed next to him.

nTonight was the best night as Long hugged Shi to sleep!

nLong got up the next morning when the sun was rising up high.

nLong’s life without memorials or morning meeting just couldn’t get any better!

nThe only pity Long realized was that his empress had left him the moment he woke up.

nHe stretched himself with a pout and then got up.

nBut Shi came at the right time.

nHe came in as soon as Long got off the bed.

n“Well, you are up?” Shi walked in.

nLong blinked his eyes and kissed him hard after seeing the door being shut.

nShi didn’t realize all this until he had already been undressed and pushed onto the bed by Long.

nWhen the heat went up and Long’s hands began to wander around Shi’s body. Shi grunted and said. “Don’t… there are people outside.”

n“Never mind about them… Qingzhou, we haven’t got the chance to celebrate our reunion.”

nShi should’ve rolled his eyes as he thought this was not like they had been apart for half of their lives and was not worth celebrating at all.

nBut Shi failed to speak out his mind, it was not because he didn’t want to say but he couldn’t. As Long’s desire was really aroused, he himself found it hard to maintain his own consciousness!

nLong kissed all over his empress after Shi got undressed.

nThe heat was on for a long time.

n“Qingzhou, take a nap, I will ask someone to bring the bathing bucket and we can take a shower.”

n“No need for that.” Shi waved at him. To let someone send a bathing bucket during daytime was like telling the world what they had just done in their room. He wouldn’t do so as his face was not as thick as Long’s!

nMost importantly, it was rare for men to take a shower together. He couldn’t afford to reveal his identity.

n“How about asking someone to get some hot water to wash ourselves?” Long said.

nShi nodded this time. “Okay.”

nLong asked the Shadow Guards from the back window to bring some hot water.

nAfter the water was delivered, Long rubbed the sweat on Shi as gently as he could.

nShi pursed his lips, his ears burning hot.

nLong’s eyes darkened after looking at Shi; he didn’t say anything to flirt with Shi, after all, he was afraid that he would grab on him and have another round of sex!

nLong got Shi dressed after finishing everything else while Shi remained still and served by Long.

nLong also loved dressing Shi and was thus enjoying himself.

n“Qingzhou, you got any plan today?”

nShi shook his head. “No, the Shadow Guards have finished all what needs to be done, but since you are here, let me take you somewhere.”

n“Hum?” Long’s interest was aroused and said, “Sounds good. Where is it?”

nShi smiled and said, “I can’t explain to you right now, you may see it when you get there.”

n“Very complicated? Alright.” Long didn’t want to push him too hard. “Then let’s wait till I get there.”

nTwo of them left after breakfast while Xu didn’t even know that Long was here!

nShi walked with Long across a few blocks and stopped when they were about to get outside of the city.

n“From this way up there was the Fenghuang (Phoenix) Mountain. Shi said.

nLong was astonished, “Fenghuang Mountain? What place again?”

n“The name of the mountain.” Shi explained.

n“A phoenix once appeared on the mountain?” Long was amazed.

n“No, it was because there used to be a girl who lived on the mountain and the girl finally became the Empress (TN: In Chinese traditional culture, the phoenix represents the Empress while the dragon represents the Emperor). That’s how the mountain got its name.”

n“What? How come I have no idea about that? Which empress?”

nShi smiled and said. “It was the empress from the former dynasty.”

n“Oh.” Long nodded, “No wonder I have no idea about that.”

n“Haha.” Shi chuckled at him.

nLong groaned and said, “What’s so funny about this, isn’t it normal that I don’t know anything about this?”

nWhich emperor would bother to care about the empress of the former dynasty!

n“Yeah, pretty normal.” Shi said it as he lifted the corner of his mouth.

nLong calmed himself and said, “As long as I know about my empress, I don’t have to care about other empresses!”

n“Yeah.” Shi burst into laughter and said.

nLong had a gentle kiss on Shi’s face. “Why do you want to take me up on the Phoenix Mountain, Qingzhou?”

nShi shook his head slowly. “There is something… up there.”

n“Well? What is it?” Long was confused.

n“I don’t know yet… I searched it twice but couldn’t find anything, but I feel there must be something up there, or else, Zhou Hengliang and Fang Qiuhua will never go there at night!”

n“They went up on the mountain?” Long was alerted.

n“Yes, twice, and they stayed there for more than an hour each time.”

n“That long time…” Long squinted. “Looks like we need to have a look… but if there’s only two of us, maybe it’s not enough.”

nShi paused and asked, “What?”

nLong smiled and said, “That Phenix Mountain is not under an individual’s ownership, right?”

n“No.”

n“That’s great, I have an idea.” Long kind of sneered.

nShi became speechless.

nCould you not sneer like that? After all, you are the head of our country.

nIf the courtiers saw the way you sneered… wouldn’t it ruin your reputation?

nLong didn’t care about the reputation crap; he took Shi by his backhand… and ran away!

nIn no time, Shi knew what the “good idea” was… although it sounded not bad… it was a pretty nasty one.

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