Chapter 061 Water Dragon Song (VI)
The bright light in the palace shone on the cinnabar red sleeves of Emperor Zhengyuan. The veins on his forehead bulged, and he suppressed his anger in a deep voice: "What do you mean by a worthy death? Zhang Jing, are you scolding me with these words? I am not the king you are loyal to in your heart, am I not!"
The hall was extremely cold. Liang Shenfu and the others knelt on the ground, terrified. They did not dare to raise their heads. Liang Shenfu only dared to look at the sleeves of his emperor and father, and his hair was soaked with sweat.
"I am loyal to my sovereign, but my sovereign has no regard for his subjects or his people!" Zhang Jing looked at the gloomy face of Emperor Zhengyuan, "How did the thirteen states in the north get lost? My sovereign knows, I know, and everyone in Da Qi knows! But they dare not speak!"
"Kechen wants to say it!"
"I want to ask you, my Lord and father, have you forgotten the people of the thirteen states in the north? Have you forgotten that they were also your people? You are also their Lord and their father! What were you doing when they were slaughtered by the Hu people? You signed an alliance with Danqiu, stopped the war, rested, and paid the annual tribute!"
"Zhang Jing!"
Emperor Zhengyuan shouted angrily.
“Although a country may be great, it will perish if it loves war; although the world is at peace, it will be in danger if it forgets war!”
Zhang Jing leaned forward and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, I would rather die than not. If you are a benevolent monarch, you must not neglect the country and put yourself first! The dozen officials involved in the Daizhou grain bill must be severely punished, and Your Majesty's repair of the Taoist temple hurt the people, and you should also give an explanation to the people of the world for this!"
For many years, Liang Shenfu had never heard of anyone daring to say such treasonous words in front of his emperor and father. This was tantamount to pointing at his emperor and father's nose and calling him an unkind monarch.
Liang Shenfu's heart was trembling. He knelt on the ground and slowly raised his head to look at Mr. Zhang with white hair and beard. Liang Shenfu's face showed worry. He wanted to persuade him very much, but he must not hurt the emperor's heart with every word he said and must not anger the emperor. However, the emperor was here at this time, and Liang Shenfu dared not say a word.
"The officials of Daizhou are reselling government grain, but I allowed them to do so?"
Emperor Zhengyuan had a headache and was in severe pain. This official who was good at controlling his emotions and liked to play political games was led to the edge of losing control step by step by Zhang Jing. "Zhang Jing, today you are checking the grain bill of Daizhou. Will you also check Yongzhou City tomorrow?"
"If you hadn't built a lot of buildings, the treasury wouldn't have been so tight on military expenses. If you hadn't been content with staying in a corner, our Great Qi wouldn't have to pay 100,000 tributes to the Danqiu Hu people every year. If you hadn't been afraid of military officers and unwilling to give them real power, our Great Qi wouldn't have failed in both northern expeditions. You've been in power for twenty years, and you've been wrong for twenty years."
"Mr. Zhang..."
Liang Shenfu felt cold all over, and he could not help but shout out, but he saw Emperor Zhengyuan's chest heaving violently, with one hand on his forehead, almost falling down. He immediately got up and rushed forward to support Emperor Zhengyuan.
"Sure enough, you haven't forgotten your good student in your heart!"
Emperor Zhengyuan leaned against Liang Shenfu and panted, "Even if he surrendered to the enemy and betrayed the country, and the evidence is irrefutable, will you still feel unfair for him, Zhang Jing?"
Zhang Jing raised his head and said, "Yes."
Emperor Zhengyuan sneered: "Come on, drag him out for me!"
Miao Jingzhen, the chief of the imperial guards, led his men into the palace. Seeing this, he was about to kneel down, but he heard the angry voice of Emperor Zhengyuan, which was intimidating. "Anyone who begs for mercy will be punished with the same crime!"
Miao Jingzhen froze. He gripped the scabbard tightly and stood silently, watching Zhang Jing calmly take off the long-winged hat on his head. Then he was escorted by two squad leaders from the Palace Front Department to stand up and go out of the Qinghe Hall.
Large swathes of sunlight fell on the palace gate, causing Zhang Jing to squint slightly. He looked at the ridges on the eaves, and his heart was extremely calm. He smiled, and as he stepped out of the palace gate, he said loudly: "If there is justice in the world, I will sacrifice my life for it. If there is no justice in the world, I will sacrifice my life for it..."
Zhang Jing was led out of the Qinghe Hall by the Palace Guard. The officials who were discussing matters in the Political Affairs Hall heard the news. Meng Yunxian almost fainted. Pei Zhiyuan supported him and asked the eunuch who was called by Liang Shenfu to deliver the message, "Why would the emperor sentence Zhang Xianggong to death? Did you hear it clearly?!"
"Mr. Zhang committed treason in the palace, contradicted the emperor, and forced the emperor to issue an imperial edict to censure him..." The eunuch was so frightened that his eyes became wet. "The emperor has ordered that he be executed immediately for the crime of disrespect, the crime of swallowing up thousands of acres of fertile land, and the crime of forming a clique for personal gain!"
"When will he have a field!"
Meng Yunxian's eyes were red. "He is a widower who has been exiled for fourteen years. His family doesn't even have a few strings of money. When will he have a field?"
He Tong couldn't hold back and ran out immediately.
Meng Yunxian and Pei Zhiyuan and others immediately rushed to the Qinghe Hall, but the door of the hall was closed. Liang Shenfu was watching them from outside, shaking his head with a complicated expression, "Mr. Meng, my lords, the emperor has a headache and is now unconscious. He cannot see you..."
"Eunuch Liang, how is the emperor?"
A beautiful woman wearing an apricot-red dress and a bun came hurriedly with several palace maids, her face full of worry.
"Please go in, Madam Concubine."
Liang Shenfu stepped back and lowered his head.
Meng Yunxian, Pei Zhiyuan and others watched Concubine Wu walk in, and then the palace door slowly closed. He Tong stood up with his hands on the ground, grabbed the hem of his clothes and ran towards the white jade steps.
The sun is bright and it is almost noon.
Xu Hexue's body was like a thin mist and he could no longer reveal his figure in front of people. He wanted to enter the imperial city countless times, but as a ghost, there were always places he could not set foot in this world.
He was almost losing consciousness, but still stubbornly stayed in the shade outside the imperial city. He thought of Ni Su, and suddenly he wanted to listen to her.
He wanted to see his teacher again.
Even if it's just a glance.
He curled up in the shadow of the tree branches, with his ears filled with noisy sounds. His consciousness became unclear for a while, and even his eyes could not see clearly under the sunlight.
“Teacher! Teacher…”
A man staggered out of the palace gate, sobbing and shouting.
Xu Hexue forced himself to open his eyes. The man below, wearing a cinnabar-red official uniform, stumbled forward, and someone behind him shouted, "Master He!"
He Tong.
Xu Hexue immediately thought of the name.
That was his senior brother.
Several officials at the back waved to call for their own carriages. One official wiped his sweat and said, "Does the emperor really want to execute Mr. Zhang?"
"Both blasphemy and forming a clique are punishable by death..."
They didn't notice that there was wind blowing under the shade of the tree nearby, causing the branches and leaves to tremble.
Ni Su searched for Xu Hexue for a long time. She held a lamp and searched for him on the street since before dawn. She would look at her sleeves from time to time. The mist that only she could see had not returned to her yet.
"Miss Ni!"
Suddenly someone called her.
Ni Su turned around and recognized that the young man was the bookstore clerk who had delivered books to her before. He quickly came out of the bookstore and came to her. "I have found all the books you wanted last time!"
"What book?"
Ni Su didn't remember it for a moment.
"Don't you want all the books related to Mr. Meng? How come you forgot?" the waiter said with a smile.
After he reminded her, Ni Su finally remembered that this was the case.
She noticed that Xu Ziling seemed to know Mr. Meng very well. He could guess his plans and was aware of his temper. He even knew how much salt Mr. Meng used.
Meng Yunxian might be his teacher.
Ni Su once guessed this.
That's why she found this book delivery boy and wanted to buy all the books related to Mr. Meng and give them to him.
If we can't meet face to face, then meet on paper.
"Is that all?"
After entering the bookstore, Ni Su placed the glass lamp with the burned-out candle on the table and watched the waiter carry out a dozen volumes of books.
“Not really…”
The waiter scratched his head and lowered his voice, "There is another volume, which is the miscellaneous notes of Mr. Meng. It was also there originally, but it was later banned by the government."
"Why?"
"Because Mr. Meng praised someone there."
Seeing Ni Su's confused expression, the waiter added mysteriously, "It's the general who defected to the enemy sixteen years ago."
Ni Su's heart moved. She felt like she had touched upon something. "Little brother, don't you have a copy?"
The waiter's face changed, but seeing Ni Su's serious expression, he hesitated for a moment, "Well, it's not that there is no, but..."
“I can pay more.”
Ni Su took out a few Jiaozi from her sleeve.
It is not uncommon to sell a few banned books privately, not to mention that Mr. Meng is now the prime minister. There are countless scholars like the woman in front of her, scrambling to collect all of Mr. Meng's books.
It was not the first time that the waiter had the guts to do such a thing. When he saw the money, he secretly stuffed a book into Ni Su's hands and said, "Young lady, please keep it carefully!"
"I know."
Ni Su took the copy of the miscellaneous notes, flipped through several pages in the shadow of the bookshelf, and finally found the article that the young man mentioned.
Ni Su had heard of the name of the general who defected to the enemy and betrayed his country sixteen years ago, but Meng Yunxian called him "Zi Ling" in this article.
Xu Hexue, also known by his courtesy name Ziling.
What made Meng Yunxian's miscellaneous notes a banned book was that in this article he praised Xu Hexue, who passed the imperial examination at the age of 14, as "as bright as jade and as hard as stone."
Ni Su's knuckles loosened and the scroll almost slipped out of her hands.
"The emperor wants to execute Mr. Zhang!"
Suddenly a young man came running out of the door, panting.
"What?"
Several young people who were reading in the bookstore almost immediately dropped the books in their hands and ran to him, "Are you drunk?"
"Mr. Zhang is such a good man, why would the government want to execute him? Why would they behead him immediately without even considering his crime?!"
"Quick! Let's go!"
They all ran out.
Ni Su stuffed the volume of notes back into the clerk's hands and said hurriedly, "Please keep it for me first , and then send it to my house together later!"
Before the waiter could respond, she lifted her skirt and ran out.
He turned around and looked at the glass lamp on the table, "Hey! Miss Ni, your lamp!"
On the execution platform in Caishikou, Zhang Jing was stripped of his purple official uniform and knelt in front of the guillotine.
"Mr. Zhang!"
Many scholars who heard the news rushed to the scene and pushed aside the people blocking their way. They were stopped by the soldiers under the execution platform and could not get any closer. They could only call him over and over again.
Zhang Jing calmly watched the increasing number of people gathering under the execution platform. Several unfamiliar faces were calling him, and a smile appeared on his usually serious face.
The breeze blew, and his gray beard trembled.
"Why are you young people crying?"
He raised his voice, "Everyone will die eventually. I, Zhang Jing, have lived enough, but you are different. You are still young, and your blood is still hot. Because it is hot, you should cherish yourselves, remember why you study, and remember the principles taught to you by the sages. If you want to enter the government, you must serve the people as a ruler. If you want to educate people, you must first be upright. The Great Qi will ultimately rely on young people like you."
"Mr. Zhang, why did the emperor kill you? Why did he kill you..."
Someone cried.
"If the ruler wants his subjects to die, they must die. Why do you ask? Why do I answer? Being an official is like this. Those who want to enter the officialdom should have this awareness."
The supervising official was at the back, his hands trembling as he supported himself on the table. The guards from the Palace Front Office were there, and he had been waiting until noon, but still no one came with an official decree to keep the executioner.
He raised his hand, but felt it weighed a thousand pounds.
Ni Su followed the scholars from the bookstores to Caishikou, where she saw the execution platform. It was here that she saw with her own eyes the murderer who killed her brother being beheaded. Now she was standing underneath, looking up at the old man who had been stripped of his official uniform.
She finally knew,
On the day he first arrived in Yunjing, Xu Ziling was on the Rainbow Bridge, looking at someone on the Imperial Street.
She once thought it was Meng Yunxian,
It turned out to be Zhang Jing who was now on the execution platform.
The executioner pressed his old and weak body onto the guillotine. Many people below were calling him "Mr. Zhang". He calmly glanced at the sharp guillotine hanging above, and suddenly said: "How can beheading compare to the pain of slow slicing! I, Zhang Jing, once had a best student. He passed the imperial examination at the age of fourteen and went to the border at the age of fourteen. Who would have remembered that he became famous in Danyuan? Who would have remembered that he defeated the Hu army at Yinma Lake, killed the Hu prince Duoling, and recaptured Yanguan thousands of miles away! Who would have remembered! He was only nineteen years old and was named General Yujie, so that the Hu people dared not to live near Hanguan again! But the world killed him, the king skinned him, and his sword-like bones and bamboo heart fell into the mud without anyone to bury him, and he bore the infamy of treason for sixteen years!"
"I was once one of those loyal people who cut off his flesh and blood, but today, I want to cry for him and speak out for his injustice!"
The dirty name of Xu Hexue was wiped clean by him and brought back to the world.
Everyone below looked surprised and suspicious.
Ni Su saw someone going up to untie the ropes that bound the guillotine. She hurried forward, but was blocked by the soldiers and could not go any further. On the execution platform, Zhang Jing closed his eyes and two lines of tears fell silently:
"People of the world, please remember this: don't let the loyal bones pile up like a mountain , and the red blood and loyal hearts be consumed by hatred!"
Xu Hexue came hurriedly. His figure had become very thin, and his clothes were almost stained with blood. On the execution platform was his teacher. He flew forward, but his two fingers could not gather any dust, which made it even more difficult for him to maintain his figure.
He has exhausted all his energy in searching for Dong Yao.
No one could see him.
Only Ni Su saw him.
"Xu Ziling..."
She wanted to go forward, to be in front of him.
The ropes binding the guillotine suddenly loosened, and the blade flashed. Ni Su pushed away the soldier's arm that was blocking her. She heard Xu Hexue shouting at the top of his lungs: "Teacher!"
His thin figure fell down and leaned over to block Zhang Jing.
The guillotine pierced through his translucent body and cut off Zhang Jing's neck. He looked down and saw his teacher's head rolling under the guillotine, with his eyes closed and covered in blood.
A cold and chilly wind blew in.
Without any warning, heavy snow fell from the sky.
Snow flakes brushed against her hair. Ni Su saw the misty figure on the execution platform suddenly shatter. Her lips trembled as she saw a lot of white dust slowly floating up.
They condensed into a ball of white, furry light in mid-air.
Just like his shadow.
"teacher……"
When He Tong arrived and saw the blood on the execution platform, he collapsed to the ground and cried loudly.
The wind and snow howled,
Ni Su stood among the crowd, stretched out her hands, and held the bright white light in her palms.
