Big Moon Ballad

Chapter 2503 Confusion

The Afang Palace was brightly lit at night.

Three days had passed since that earth-shattering upheaval, but the bloodstains on the bluestone slabs in front of the hall had not yet been completely washed away.

Although the rescued palace servants had been cured of the poison, most of them were still too weak to return to their original posts. The work of restoring order in the palace was mostly taken over by the Mu Family Army and the Gui Family Army, and soldiers standing guard could be seen everywhere.

The atmosphere in the palace was solemn, and it was obvious that it was in a state of temporary tension. However, with Ying Baoyue's arrangements over the past few days and the efforts of the Mu Family Army and the Gui Family Army, the entire Afang Palace and Guiyang City were gradually returning to normal order.

It was already very late at night. Ji Jiashu, dressed in a plain robe, walked along the stone steps on the side of the Afang Palace and climbed up to the Former Qin Imperial Prayer Province.

The King of Former Qin originally lived and handled government affairs in Ganlu Palace, but after the great battle three days ago, the entire Ganlu Palace collapsed and needed to be rebuilt. Ying Baoyue temporarily moved his living place to the study room in the Imperial Prayer Province that originally belonged to the National Master.

Two fully armed Mu family soldiers were standing in front of the study, and Ji Jiashu recognized one of them.

"Mu Qi."

"Mr. Chunhua," Mu Qi, who was standing guard in front of the door, took off his armor. The young man's eyes were full of fatigue and bloodshot. It was obvious that he was very tired, but fortunately he was still in good spirits.

"How long have you been on guard today? Aren't you going to change shifts?" Ji Jiashu asked.

"Captain Lou will come to replace me in the second half of the night," Mu Qi showed an honest smile and glanced at the lighted study behind him. "Captain Lou is searching for the remaining Zen disciples in the palace today. He has been tired all day. I will guard for a while longer so that he can rest for a while."

Ji Jiashu nodded, "You have worked hard."

Ying Baoyue had just ascended the throne, and there were many opposing forces inside and outside the palace, and there were not many people around her whom she could trust. The guards in her palace could only be taken care of by a few fixed people, which was inevitably hard work.

It’s better to say that during these three days, everyone around Ying Baoyue was extremely busy, as there were too many things to arrange inside and outside the palace.

Gui Chen and Mu You need not be mentioned. Ji Jiashu has not seen these two people in the past three days. Even Gui Li, Mu Rongyin and Yao Nuguan are busy taking care of the palace servants and arranging Ying Baoyue's food and daily life. Everything Ying Baoyue takes in must be carefully checked, because just yesterday, a wave of poisoning occurred in Yuzhu Province, and two immortal officials died unfortunately.

It is no exaggeration to say that the current state of the Former Qin Dynasty is in a state of disrepair, but the officials inside and outside the court cannot be trusted. On the second day of Ying Baoyue's accession to the throne, he cleared out a wave of spies planted by the Zen temple. Although no problems have been found with the remaining ones, they cannot guarantee that they are truly loyal to the new monarch, so they can only observe first.

Apart from the guards, these days Ying Baoyue's old acquaintances have basically been working as five people each, and have been very busy.

However... there was only one exception.

Ji Jiashu hesitated for a moment and glanced at Mu Qi, "Has Zhao Huajun come here today?"

Mu Qi's eyes suddenly became complicated. "He came once, but only said a few words to His Majesty and then left."

Ji Jiashu's eyes flickered, "Did His Majesty ask him to leave?"

Mu Qi seemed a little uneasy. He swallowed and nodded quietly.

Ji Jiashu's heart sank and he took a deep breath.

The scene three days ago was like a thorn, deeply embedded in his heart.

Among those who have been traveling with Ying Baoyue, the most capable person is Li Ji. Whenever something happened before, Li Ji was the first one to take charge of the situation.

But now at this most hectic moment...

Li Ji was absent.

Until now, Ji Jiashu still hasn't figured out what exactly happened to Li Ji.

Ji Jiashu closed his eyes, and the scene three days ago appeared before his eyes again.

Just when Ying Baoyue sat on the throne and couldn't find Li Ji, he looked up and saw Li Ji suddenly appear in front of Ying Baoyue.

From his angle, he only saw Li Ji bending down and saying something to Ying Baoyue, then he took a step back and fainted on the ground.

Everyone present was shocked. Just when they thought something had happened to Li Ji, the unconscious Li Ji opened his eyes and stood up as if nothing had happened.

Li Ji looked down at Ying Baoyue, then turned around and walked down the stone steps.

The wounds on his body had healed and everything seemed normal. He even looked more energetic than before, and his previously unsteady steps were now steady.

The people who were originally panicking found out that it was a false alarm, and continued to celebrate with laughter that Ying Baoyue had ascended the throne.

But Ji Jiashu felt something was wrong at the time. Li Ji was obviously fine, but Ying Baoyue stood in front of the throne, staring at his back, as if she had lost her soul.

"Hug the moon?"

Amidst the laughter and joy, Ji Jiashu saw Ying Baoyue's lips move.

He only heard a few faint words, so faint that it seemed as if they were his illusion.

"no……"

"no……"

……

"Chunhua-kun?"

Ji Jiashu suddenly came back to his senses and looked at Mu Qi, "Sorry, I was distracted."

"Nothing, are you okay? I heard that you haven't slept for several days," Mu Qi looked at him worriedly, "You must take care of yourself."

Although the new King of Former Qin has ascended the throne, the position of Former Qin's national master is still vacant, and the Imperial Prayer Province is leaderless. Although most important affairs are currently handled by Ying Baoyue himself, there are still many things that require a high-level practitioner who can convince the public to make decisions.

Although Ji Jiashu is only fifteen years old, as the cultivator with the highest level in Afang Palace except for Ying Baoyue, he has taken on most of the affairs that a national teacher should do and has become the backbone of these people.

Mu Qi and others originally thought that Li Ji would take on this role, but they did not expect that after the coronation ceremony, Li Ji claimed to be ill and rarely saw outsiders. When they encountered problems, they could only go to Ji Jiashu.

  "I'm fine," Ji Jiashu smiled at Mu Qi's worried look. He looked towards the study room where the lights were still on.

"Is your Majesty still handling official business?"

Mu Qi nodded, "Do you want to go in?"

Ji Jiashu nodded.

Mu Qi stepped aside and Ji Jiashu stepped into the study.

Although he came here many times every day during these three days, Ji Jiashu still felt a sharp pain in his heart when he saw the thin figure sitting behind the official documents after he went in.

Ying Baoyue sat in front of Lin Shubai's old desk. On the desk were piles of letters, bamboo slips, and official documents, almost burying her.

But there was no sign of fatigue on her face. She handled all matters in an orderly manner, and gave secret instructions from time to time.

Ji Jiashu knew that she was talking to the secret guards of Shanhaiju. Although she was in Afang Palace, she was paying attention to the situation of the entire continent and had spies in various countries inside and outside the Great Wall.

When Ying Baoyue noticed someone coming in, he knew who it was without even raising his head.

"Jiashu."

She finished writing a memorial in her hand before looking up and smiling at him, "What's the matter?"

Ji Jiashu did have a lot of things to discuss with her, but when he saw her eyes, he felt a sharp pain in his heart.

Ying Baoyue's eyes were calm and clear, but deep inside... there was unimaginable pain.

She was here, yet seemed extremely lonely, isolated from the world.

"Hug the moon."

Ji Jiashu couldn't bear it any longer, so he reached out and took the memorial from Ying Baoyue's hand.

"Don't give me the cold shoulder."

"Tell me," Ji Jiashu stared into Ying Baoyue's eyes.

"You are so tired, why doesn't he come to help you?"

"What happened to Li Ji?"