Chapter 055: Walking on the Grass (VI)
"It's you..."
Jiang Xianming immediately remembered the person who spoke to him through the window screen in his home that night. It was this person who handed him Du Cong's account book.
"Why do you say that?" Jiang Xianming supported himself with one hand in the rain and stood up with difficulty. "When did I ever lie to you?"
"You said that you followed Hu Lijin, the owner of Manyu Bank, to buy tiles on the night of the Lantern Festival ."
"good."
Jiang Xianming nodded.
"What happens after we get in?"
"There are too many people in the tile house, and I lost them." Jiang Xianming's official robe was soaked, and water droplets slid down the brim of his hat and across the bridge of his nose.
"When did you enter the tile house?" Xu Hexue asked.
"The hour of Xu."
In the rain, Jiang Xianming stared at the mysterious young man in front of him, "I only tell you this because you saved me. Anything more is not your business."
"Well, that's enough." Xu Hexue raised his sword and put it on Jiang Xianming's collar. "You went in at 11:00 and left at 11:00. What were you doing in the tile house during that time? Looking for Hu Li? If you were looking for someone, why didn't Censor Jiang even go upstairs? I was also in the tile house at that time, but I don't know when you went upstairs."
As soon as these words came out, Jiang Xianming's face changed slightly. He looked at the man in front of him and said, "Who are you? What do you want to do?"
In fact, Xu Hexue never saw Jiang Xianming in the tile house from beginning to end. It was when Ni Su took General Miao to change clothes that she saw Jiang Xianming with her own eyes, and helped him and General Miao leave the tile house.
This trick really elicited some reaction from Jiang Xianming.
Raindrops dripped onto the sword, making a crisp sound. Under the veil, Xu Hexue's bloodless lips twitched slightly: "Don't be nervous. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't give you Du Cong's account book. I just want to know whether I should save you tonight."
"I'm still investigating Du Cong's matter. Since you handed the account book to me, it means you trust me to investigate the matter." Jiang Xianming paused. He looked at the man's wet hat, but couldn't guess what kind of face was hidden underneath. "You care so much about this matter. I think you must have some grudge against Du Cong or someone above him."
Xu Hexue said calmly, "Imperial Censor Jiang, what I want to hear is whether you have the secret account of Hu Li?"
"What secret account?"
Jiang Xianming was relatively calm.
Xu Hexue said nothing, but wiped the remaining blood on the blade onto Jiang Xianming's cinnabar red official robe. The blood didn't stain his clothes at all. "We are all wearing the same official uniform, but some people are clean and some are dirty. Which one do you think you are?"
"Let me ask you again, do you have Hu Li's secret account in your hands?"
"Your Excellency's identity is unknown, why do you think I should trust you?"
Jiang Xianming lowered his eyes and looked at the sword.
"Censor Jiang, please trust him."
At the dark alley, a clear female voice was heard.
Jiang Xianming and Xu Hexue turned around almost at the same time, and saw a woman holding a glass lantern and wearing a veil hat walking out of the shadows step by step. Under the dim light, she was holding an umbrella, and raindrops were like broken beads, scattered on the brim of the umbrella.
"you……"
Xu Hexue shook his head at her. He hoped she would turn around and go back into the dark shadow, not come over or get close to him.
But every step she took was very neat, and she was by his side almost instantly, holding his arm and providing support for his frail body.
"Who are you?"
Jiang Xianming looked at the woman who also covered her face.
"Why do you have to be so obsessed with our names, Censor Jiang? You are a well-known figure in Yunjing. When we went to war with the Hu people, you put your life at risk and volunteered to go to the border to serve as the governor of Yongzhou. Who doesn't know that?"
Ni Su bowed his head towards him, "We have a grievance, and the root of this grievance lies with Du Cong and the people above Du Cong. We trust you, so we handed over Du Cong's account book to you. If it weren't for the investigation of the White Jade Horse Stepping on Flying Swallow incident, you wouldn't have encountered this disaster tonight. And the Du Cong incident involves so many people that you can't investigate it thoroughly by yourself. Since Censor Jiang has the same goal as us, why can't he be on the same boat with us?"
"What kind of injustice is the girl talking about?" Jiang Xianming stared at her.
Ni Su thought for a moment and raised her head. "This person beside me is covered in wounds, he cannot see his teachers and friends, he cannot enjoy his youth, he cannot redress his old grievances... can this be considered an answer?"
The wet red on his collar stained the light gauze of his veil. Xu Hexue looked at her, and his knuckles curled up when she held them. He heard the rustling sound of rain, and under his clothes were the traces of the punishment he had suffered on the execution platform in Yongzhou during his lifetime. His body was mutilated and covered in blood.
“Is it really… like this?”
Jiang Xianming looked at Xu Hexue. He carefully examined the young man again, but because his face was covered, he really couldn't see anything.
For no reason, his gaze dropped and he saw a red mole on the back of the man's hand.
Jiang Xianming always felt a sense of familiarity, but he didn't know where this familiarity came from.
Xu Hexue came back to his senses, his voice slightly hoarse, "From the night of the Lantern Festival till now, you, Censor Jiang, have not reported this matter to the emperor, but the people listed in the secret account book are not named?"
These words immediately hit the nail on the head for Jiang Xianming. His expression froze and he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart. This person saw through everything and had made it impossible for him to refute or say that the secret account was not his.
Jiang Xianming looked at the couple supporting each other in front of him, two glass lanterns shining together. He wiped the rain off his face and said, "Although I didn't name them, I have actually investigated them almost completely these days. I have their names and official positions. However, just knowing them is not enough. Except for Wu Dai, there is no trace of them and the people above Du Cong."
He sighed and said, "It is because I wanted to investigate further that I kept it secret and did not report it to the government."
"If it is convenient, please let me have a look at the secret account, Censor Jiang."
As soon as Xu Hexue finished speaking, he saw Jiang Xianming's hesitation, so he moved his sword down and landed on Jiang Xianming's button. "Of course, you don't have to lend it to me."
“…”
Jiang Xianming took out the account book from his lapel with a stern face.
"I did see Hu Li in the tile house. He was meeting someone in the room. I was watching from outside, and he suddenly rushed out with injuries on his body. He ran into the crowd to find me, and then I realized that he had already discovered that I was following him. He hurriedly handed me this secret account book. I guess, after the incident with Du Cong, someone wanted to kill him and get rid of the account, just in case."
Jiang Xianming finally revealed everything he had hidden before. He looked at the young man flipping through the account book under the woman's umbrella. His sleeves were bloodshot. As he turned the pages, there seemed to be some injuries on his pale wrist bones hidden in the gaps at the edge of his sleeves. He didn't see clearly, but he remembered what the woman next to him had said just now, so he said, "If you have been wronged, I, Jiang Xianming, will definitely clear your name for you."
Hearing this, Xu Hexue paused in turning the pages. He did not raise his eyes and said calmly, "Thank you."
The empty alley where the attack occurred was not far from the Jiang residence. After Jiang Xianming showed the account book to Xu Hexue, he saw the old housekeeper bringing people out to look for him. He hurriedly stuffed the account book back into his arms, and Jiang Xianming was helped back by the old housekeeper.
Ni Su supported Xu Hexue and walked forward step by step. His steps were very slow, so she also walked slowly. She sensed his difficulty and simply hugged his waist with both hands.
The wound on his waist and abdomen under his robe was made more painful by her clasped arms. Xu Hexue paused and lowered his eyes. She had taken off her veil, and her fair face was wet with raindrops. He moved his throat slightly, "Ni Su, don't..."
Don't hold me like this.
Ni Su was about to speak when she felt his figure suddenly fade and turn into white mist. She lowered her eyes and saw the thin mist gently clinging to her sleeves.
She is the only one left here.
The two glass lamps collided gently in her hands, and the candlelight inside swayed, lengthening her shadow.
But there was a faint whitish glow beside it, so faint that it seemed like it would dissipate in the rain at any time.
Ni Su walked forward silently with the lantern in hand, the bright white light always accompanying her shadow.
The spring rain was pouring and there was no moon tonight. Several lamps were lit in the clinic on Nanhuai Street. The warm yellow light was gathered between the eaves. Ni Su boiled willow leaf water and pushed open the door to go in. The room was almost full of white candles with flickering flames. She walked behind the screen and placed the basin on the wooden stool beside the bed.
The sound of her twisting the handkerchief startled the person on the bed. His long eyelashes trembled and he opened his eyes blankly.
As soon as Ni Su held his hand, he subconsciously tried to pull it away, but she immediately held his knuckles tightly, causing his clear eyes to look at her.
"Are you blaming me?"
Ni Su wiped the blood from his knuckles with a warm handkerchief.
"No."
Xu Hexue's voice was weak and hoarse, and his figure was as faint as mist. "It's just that Ni Su, you and I clearly agreed tonight that you would wait for me at the alley entrance."
"Well, I promised you."
Ni Su nodded. She looked at his hands under the light. They were long and beautiful, and his bones were as flexible and beautiful as thin bamboo. "But, I saw your back there. You were alone. I thought at that time that I should go to your side."
"I forgot to listen to you. I'm sorry, Xu Ziling."
She apologized so sincerely.
Xu Hexue could feel the warm handkerchief in her hand wrapped around his fingers, wiping them so gently that his heart trembled with every touch. He couldn't help but look at her, "Why?"
Why did you have to go to his side, why did you have to say those words to Jiang Xianming?
The execution platform in Yongzhou had long since destroyed his past. His life in Yunjing, his teacher's teachings, the love of his brother and sister-in-law, all his unbridled playfulness, the pen he had held, the poems and essays he had written have all turned to dust. People in this world only remember that he had an ugly face and that he had a home but no country.
He should be alone.
But she had to be by his side and form a "we" with him.
"You always stayed by my side when I was seeking justice and being punished. No matter if it was a person in this world or a ghost like you from the underworld, I think we both hate loneliness." Ni Su didn't dare to wipe the wound on his arm. It was so bloody, as if the flesh had been torn off alive. Her eyes were slightly hot. "Xu Ziling, your wound hurts so much just looking at it, but I just can't stop you from feeling so much pain..."
"some."
Xu Hexue said softly.
"What?"
Ni Su looked up suddenly.
Xu Hexue pursed his pale lips, realizing that he had said something wrong. He could no longer say anything difficult to say. After a moment, he called out, "Ni Su."
"Um?"
Ni Su put the handkerchief back into the basin and wrung it out, then leaned over to wipe his face.
Xu Hexue was about to speak but was interrupted by her sudden action. He was almost stiff and dazed as he endured her wiping.
She's so close.
Xu Hexue noticed that her eyes were a little red.
"What are you going to say?"
Ni Su asked before he could even speak.
But her hands didn't stop moving.
Xu Hexue was like a puppet controlled by her, letting him wipe her face obediently. Her fingers touched the tip of his nose and she even rubbed it with her fingertips.
A slight itch that penetrates into one's heart.
Xu Hexue was at a loss as to what to do and grabbed her wrist without using any force.
"You have a blood scab here."
Ni Su easily broke free from his hand and whispered, "I'm going to clean it for you."
The heart in her chest was actually not calm at all.
Just looking at his hands, his eyes, his face, she would hold her breath.
The raindrops rustled outside the eaves, and for a moment Xu Hexue felt that after being wiped by her , he could really become very clean, like a living person, rather than a shapeless ball of blood mist.
"Ni Su, do you want anything? I want to give it to you."
Whatever it was, he wanted to give it to her.
Thank her for her kindness, her beauty, thank her for standing by him tonight and speaking up for him.
