However, after he waited for a long time, Gu Yun did not spit out his anger, but suddenly asked, "Was it because I asked you that day 'When can we settle the refugees, when can we recover the Jiangnan', that gave you pressure?"

When he said this, there was a wrinkle in his eyebrow, and his expression was almost lonely. Chang Geng had only seen it once on the Red Kite on New Year's Eve, when Gu Yun used three cups of wine at that time to offer sacrifices to thousands of dead souls. His face was so lonesome and quiet that the bright lights of the entire capital could not light up his profile.

Chang Geng almost panicked for a moment, his words becoming incoherent: "I am not... I... Zi Xi..."

When Gu Yun was young, he did not like to talk about his feelings with others — it was for no other reason. He felt that hanging all of his joys and sorrows on his face was like opening his clothes at any time to show others his skin and flesh. It was very indecent, and others might not want to see it either.

It had nothing to do with being happy or unhappy. It was purely a teaching from the family. In daytime, a group of people sitting together eating meat and drinking alcohol, only when they got drunk would they show their differences. Some people would cry and shout wildly, while others would only sing at most.

Untimely words rolled on Gu Yun's tongue several times, floated up and sank again. Finally, he opened his mouth as if to try: "While coming here from the capital, I..."

Chang Geng’s observation skills were very sharp, he could feel what he was going to say in a blink of an eye. His pupils shrank slightly, he looked at Gu Yun with both panic and expectation.

Perhaps Gu Yun had never said such difficult words aloud in his life, he almost ran from it.

Chang Geng: "How were you while you were on your way?"

Gu Yun: "...My heart was burning with anxiety."

Chang Geng looked at him in a daze.

That year, when the entirety of the Jiangnan Navy was overthrown and the Black Iron Camp was damaged by more than half, while Gu Yun himself was just released from the prison by Li Feng in a hurry, did he ever mention the words ‘burning with anxiety’?

Never.

Gu Yun seemed to forever remain stable, never panicking, and even if he was in a panic, it was mostly a pretense.

He was so strong it almost appeared false, making people always have a feeling that it was unreal, suspecting that one day he would be like the tall and grand Nine Gates of the Imperial City, suddenly collapsing.