His words "I can't wait" made Ni Su heartbroken.
The pages were like snow, fluttering in the cold wind to bury the scholar who had read the books of sages for twenty years and was an extremely upright person. The people who forced him to death turned around and left, and only the close officials of the Night Police braved the severe cold and rowed a boat to salvage Dong Yao's body.
"Ni Su, why are you going..."
Zhou Ting took out a thick cloak and tried to put it on her, but when she shook her head, he paused and took his hand back, "Do you know him?"
"Yes, I do."
Ni Su's pale lips moved, she walked around Zhou Ting, holding the willow branch she had just picked, and walked forward step by step with a wisp of mist on the edge of her sleeve.
Zhou Ting looked at her back.
A close official ran up to him and said, "Deputy Envoy Zhou, it's too cold. The brothers can't stand it..."
"We are all living people, what can't we hold on to?"
Zhou Ting turned around suddenly and stared at him.
The close official was so frightened that he was speechless.
Zhou Ting took the knife from his waist and put it in his hand. "You also know that this water is cold...Wouldn't it be cold for people who died in it?"
"I'll go get it myself."
Ni Su had walked this road from Yong'an Lake to Nanhuai Street many times. Today she walked very fast. Water accumulated in the cracks between the broken bricks on the road and turned into ice. She almost slipped when she stepped on it.
This year's winter was too hard to bear. Except for the times when Qingqiong couldn't sleep and would go out to buy breakfast at dawn, he stayed in the clinic the rest of the time without going out.
His legs and feet seemed to be frozen and he walked very slowly. Hearing the door open, he came out of his room and saw Ni Su coming back alone.
It was not until she came closer that Qingqiong saw the mist around her sleeves and he breathed a sigh of relief, "Miss Ni."
Ni Su raised her head and asked, "Qingqiong, do you still have charcoal in your room?"
"some."
"If there is no more, remember to tell me."
Ni Su nodded, walked across the corridor, and headed towards the kitchen holding the willow branch.
She looked very calm. Qing Qiong slowly walked to the kitchen door. Seeing that she was about to light a fire, he walked in and said, "Leave it to me. If I don't do anything, I will be even more unable to move."
Thinking that he could also sit by the stove and warm himself by the fire, Ni Su said "Okay".
"That Dong Yao...how is he doing?"
Qingqiong asked as he started a fire.
The willow leaves turned pale yellow in winter. Ni Su paused when she heard the sound and said, "Dead."
The kitchen suddenly became quiet.
The fire from the stove shone on Qingqiong's overly pale face, melting some of the frost on his face, turning it into water drops that slid down. He held the dry firewood in his hand and said, "Why don't good people live long..."
"By the way, your sister General Cai just came here."
Qingqiong thought of this.
"Sister Cai?"
Ni Su raised her head, "What did she come for?"
"It seems that her husband is no longer an official. She said that she and her husband would go back to her parents' home to live for a while, so she wanted to come and see you before leaving, but you were not here again."
Qingqiong said truthfully.
The last time Cai Chunxu came, Ni Su was not at home. This time she missed him again. "I will go to the Taiwei Mansion to see her when she comes back."
Ni Su boiled willow leaf water and walked into the room with the hot water basin. She soaked the clean towel in the water and said, "Xu Ziling, why do you keep following me and not talking to me?"
The light mist gradually condensed into a human figure under the illumination of the candlelight in the room.
Ni Su turned around and found that his hair was a little messy, his face was clear and handsome, but too pale, his white clothes were stained with blood, and the light blue round-necked robe on the outside was also messed up by the blood.
A person who loves cleanliness always finds himself in such an embarrassing situation.
Ni Su put the handkerchief back into the basin, walked up to him, and reached out to untie his belt. When she saw him about to raise his hand, she immediately said, "Don't move."
Xu Hexue's hand, which was about to be raised, fell again and he stood there obediently.
Ni Su took off his outer robe and said, "I'll wipe your face first, and then you can use the other pot of water to wipe your body."
As she spoke, she raised her head and said, "How about I wash your hair again?"
"Ah Xi, I can do these myself."
Xu Hexue said softly.
"But I want to wash you."
Ni Su said.
Xu Hexue pursed her lips and said "hmm".
The sunlight outside was a little stronger, and the light golden color spread over the eaves, making the light of the candles in the room seem dimmer. After Ni Su wiped Xu Hexue's face, she let Xu Hexue lie down on a narrow bamboo couch. She sat on the edge of the bed and let him rest his head on her legs.
"Will it get your clothes wet?"
Xu Hexue looked at her.
While Ni Su was undoing his bun, she said with a smile on her lips, "It's wet, so what? It's not like there's no clothes to change into."
Xu Hexue rested his head on her legs, feeling a little awkward, but her hands combed his hair again and again, and he felt a little at peace in his heart.
Ni Su used a gourd to scoop up willow leaf water to wet his hair. She found that his eyes were staring at her. She deliberately poked his cheek with her wet fingers, "What are you looking at?"
Xu Hexue didn't say anything.
With the sound of dripping water, Ni Su washed his hair while saying, "I heard that Mr. He was recommended to the government as a juren, and now he works in Guangning Prefecture. In the past, he and so many scholars went to Dengwenyuan to seek justice for my brother who was tortured. At that time, you told me not to be sad or discouraged, because the justice I wanted was wanted by others as well as me."
"You said that the officialdom is cold, but some people's blood is still hot."
The warm willow leaf water soaked Xu Hexue's long hair. Ni Su put down the gourd ladle and said, "Dong Yao's blood is hot. The blood of Mr. He and all the people involved in this matter is hot. I know there are many warm and gentle people and things in this world, but I feel a little cold now."
"Ah Xi, I'm not cold anymore."
Xu Hexue looked at her and said, "You shouldn't do this for me. People are hateful in this world, but they are also precious. Just like I died unjustly, but I met you."
"You and the teacher both believed in me and worked for me. Now there are these people who are willing to reopen the old case for me. I have been cold in Youdu for a hundred years, but now I feel warm in my heart."
He paused, "But I can't watch them go to their deaths for me. They have studied hard for many years to get to where they are today. Some of them finally got official positions. If people like them live longer, they will have the opportunity to serve more people. As long as they are here, justice will be there. Even if it cannot be in the government, it will be in people's hearts."
Ni Su held his wet long hair in her hands. She suddenly raised her head, clenched her teeth, and forced herself to suppress the sudden surge of bitterness. "What about you? What about your reputation after death?"
Who can clean it up?
"I won't ask for it."
Water continued to drip from the ends of Xu Hexue's hair into the basin. He said, "But I know you will beg for me."
Ni Su endured it again and again, lowered her head, and intertwined her fingers with his thick, wet long hair. "Yes, no matter where you are, no matter how long it takes, I will beg for you in this life."
"We who are still alive will never give up."
The light golden sunlight fell on Xu Hexue's body. He had not yet changed out of the bloodstained inner robe. He rested his head on the woman's lap. "Ah Xi, it would have been great if I had met you when I was young."
He couldn't help but confide such thoughts.
If, there had been no betrayal by Pan Youfang, if his deputy general Xue Huai and all the Jing'an Army soldiers who followed him were still alive, if he could have lived peacefully at the age of nineteen.
He still wanted to recover the Thirteen States and defeat the Danqiu Hu people so that they would never dare to bully the people of Qi again. He also wanted to meet Ni Su at that time.
He wanted to take her horseback riding, go outings with her and fly kites, or even go back to Que County where she grew up.
Xu Hexue suddenly reached out and grabbed the back of her neck, forcing her to lower her head.
The warmth of his palm was like a handful of snow wrapped around the skin on the back of her neck, and a soft kiss fell on her lips.
The sunlight is dim and the candlelight is flickering.
The sound of water dripping again and again soaked Ni Su's skirt.
Qingqiong stood outside the door with his back to the door. His loosely tied headscarf was blown outside the eaves by the wind. His bald head was exposed to the cold wind, but he remained motionless.
…
It started snowing again late at night and was getting heavier.
In the study of Jiang's residence, the old eunuch knelt down with a plop. "Sir, doesn't the Court of Justice already have a copy of Tan Guangwen's confession? Tan Guangwen is already dead, so who knows if the one you have in your hand is real!"
"I have checked the handwriting. It is definitely written by him."
Jiang Xianming stood up and walked in front of him. "The confession in my hand says it was the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, while the one that convicted Tan Guangwen says it was the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month. The sixth day of the twelfth lunar month was the day Tan Guangwen was escorted to Beijing. Why did he admit to the crimes of secretly increasing troops in Jianchi Prefecture, failing to support Mushen Mountain, and killing Miao Tianning on the sixth day, but changed his words on the seventh day, never mentioning the matter of Jianchi Prefecture, let alone the fact that General Yujie ordered the troops to be divided into three groups to besiege the Hu general Mengtuo on Mushen Mountain, and only said that Miao Tianning was killed because of personal grudges."
"This confession is much clearer."
"But sir, the person who gave it to you at this time clearly has ulterior motives!" The old eunuch advised, "Today, Dong Yao committed suicide on Yong'an Lake. This incident implicated more than 60 people who were put on trial in the Night Court, some of whom were officials... Even Hanlin scholar He Tonghe was questioned by the Censorate because Xu Hexue's poems were found in his home. Now everyone is worried about being involved!"
"Aren't those treacherous villains acting this way just for the current situation?" Jiang Xianming forcibly helped him up. "The more they act this way, the more there is something fishy. They are demonstrating to people like Dong Yao not to act rashly. Not to mention that they will spare no effort to prove to the government that I did not make a wrong judgment on the treason case sixteen years ago, and the government did not make a wrong judgment either. They are using the government's hand to suppress and deter these people so that they dare not mention it again."
"They are telling these people that even if the government later finds out that this case is a wrongful conviction, the government will not allow anyone to overturn the verdict."
"They thought that this would scare everyone out of their wits."
Jiang Xianming handed the letter in his hand to the old eunuch, "This is the document that I wrote to sever the relationship between my father and me. Please keep it. When you return to my hometown, please tell him on my behalf..."
Jiang Xianming choked up, "Jingnian did something wrong sixteen years ago. Now, he can't make the same mistake again. Jingnian can no longer serve him, and he has to sever the father-son relationship with him. It's unfilial of a son, but he can only be unfilial."
With the document severing the father-son relationship as proof, his father would not be implicated by him in the future.
"grown ups……"
The old lady burst into tears immediately.
"Fortunately, my daughter is married and my wife passed away a few years ago. They don't have to be implicated by me," Jiang Xianming said. When he heard the sound of a cat, he turned around and saw a fat cat coming in. He walked over, squatted down, held it in front of Neizhi, and smiled. "I brought it back because mice were always gnawing at the books in my study. It's very good at catching mice. You can take it away too. Listen to me and leave tonight."
The fat tabby cat kept meowing in his arms. Jiang Xianming looked at it and touched its head as if to comfort it.
The snow fell heavier in the second half of the night.
Jiang Xianming sat alone in the study, lit by two candles, and repeatedly looked at the confession letter on the table.
That year,
There is a lot of sandstorm in Yongzhou .
When he was about to take office, the people of Yongzhou City surrounded the government office. While the court was deliberating on the crime and during the sentencing period, people kept requesting at the door of the government office that the culprit who had caused the attack on Yongzhou City and the killing of half of the people in the city be sentenced to death.
Having just experienced a bloody massacre by the Hu people, the people of Yongzhou were filled with hatred that was difficult to quell.
The decree to execute Xu Hexue was sent to Yongzhou. He was influenced by the public opinion of the entire Yongzhou city and sentenced him to death by slicing.
That day,
The sun was blazing, but the young general, wearing a scarlet robe and silver scale armor stained with dried blood, had a cloth wrapped around his eyes and could see nothing.
The cloth covering his eyes was stained with blood, which made his pale face and chapped lips even more striking.
He said nothing.
It was not until his silver-scale armor was taken off and his robe was torn open that his relaxed hands seemed to tense for a moment, and then clenched into fists.
Jiang Xianming saw every blow from the executioner, and the people of Yongzhou City saw it all.
Amid the cheers of relief from the people of Yongzhou City, the young man remained silent. He endured it until his bones and muscles trembled, but he did not utter a single cry.
Blood flowed on the scaffold.
Below were the people shouting with joy.
That sound seemed to have traveled through sixteen years of time, sharply piercing Jiang Xianming's eardrums. He leaned back in his chair dejectedly, covering his face with one hand.
His palms were wet and he whimpered.
He sat there until dawn.
When the candle on the desk burned out, Jiang Xianming changed into his official uniform, put on his long-winged hat, ordered the coachman to prepare the carriage, and entered the palace.
Today, Emperor Zhengyuan will hold a ceremony to worship the heavens with his ministers in Tai'an Hall. Jiang Xianming got off the carriage at Yongding Gate, and many officials were also heading towards Tai'an Hall.
On weekdays, there were almost no people who would hang out with Jiang Xianming, because he was the Chief Censor and was afraid that if he said something wrong it would get to the ears of the emperor.
Today he also walked alone.
"Imperial Censor Jiang."
When we were almost at Tai'an Hall, someone came over quickly.
Jiang Xianming looked up and said, "It's Pan Sansi."
"You look like you didn't sleep well?"
Pan Youfang asked as he walked with him.
"To be honest with you, I didn't sleep all night." Jiang Xianming curled his lips.
Pan Youfang couldn't help but sigh when he heard this. "After all, we have all been to the north. You should listen to my advice. As you get older, you should pay more attention to your health."
But Jiang Xianming only listened to the first half of his sentence and paused.
"Why don't you leave?"
Pan Youfang stopped and looked at him in confusion.
"Pan Sansi, I have something to ask you."
"What?"
"That incident sixteen years ago..."
"Stop!" Pan Youfang immediately raised his hand and bowed to Jiang Xianming, "Imperial Censor Jiang, you are in front of the emperor, don't ask me these questions at this moment..."
Jiang Xianming stopped talking and walked forward in silence.
Pan Youfang stood up and stared at his back silently.
Meng Yunxian and Pei Zhiyuan walked together. Both of them were silent. First, Dong Yao committed suicide, and then He Tong was interrogated by the Censorate. These things were like huge stones, pressing on their hearts.
When Jiang Xianming saw the two of them, he quickly walked forward and said, "Mr. Meng."
Meng Yunxian turned around with an expressionless face.
"I think there is one thing now that only you can give me the answer to."
Jiang Xianming pressed the edge of his sleeves with his stiff and cold hands.
"Mr. Meng..."
Pei Zhiyuan became alert for a moment and shook his head at Meng Yunxian.
"I just want to ask Mr. Meng, I was wrong, right?" Jiang Xianming kept staring at Meng Yunxian.
Pei Zhiyuan wanted to pull Meng Yunxian away quickly, but Meng Yunxian brushed his hand away, "In this case, I bet that you, Jiang Jingnian, are born unwilling to be a confused person. If you ask, I dare to tell you."
He met Jiang Xianming's gaze, his dark beard trembling in the wind, "Yes."
The word "yes" almost hurt Jiang Xianming's heart and lungs.
Pei Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately pulled Meng Yunxian away, gritted his teeth and whispered, "Mr. Meng! What did you say to him? What did you say to that person at this moment!"
"Minxing, please stay away from me."
Meng Yunxian was pulled forward by him and suddenly said.
Pei Zhiyuan's back stiffened. He suddenly stopped and choked up. "Mr. Meng, you are killing me."
As the time for the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven approached, all officials entered the Tai'an Hall.
Soon, Liang Shenfu, the chief eunuch of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and others escorted Emperor Zhengyuan, who was dressed in court robes, into the hall. All officials bowed and shouted "Long live the Emperor".
They welcomed the gods, knelt down, burned incense and kowtowed again, laid down jade and silk, and offered sacrificial offerings. After that, there were the initial offerings and the final offerings. The entire ceremony of offering sacrifices to the gods lasted for three full hours. Emperor Zhengyuan was still ill, and there was heavy snow and wind during these three hours. He held on until the ceremony was over, and then ordered Liang Shenfu to pass on an oral order for all officials to leave.
Prince Jia followed behind Emperor Zhengyuan all the time. When the group was about to escort the emperor away, a man in vermilion official uniform suddenly knelt down and blocked Emperor Zhengyuan's way.
"Jiang Xianming?"
Emperor Zhengyuan endured the discomfort and looked at the person in front of him clearly, "What are you doing?"
"I have something to present to the emperor."
As he spoke, Jiang Xianming took out the confession from his sleeve, raised his hands high, and under the gazes of the crowd, he said loudly, "The confession used to convict Tan Guangwen was a fake. I have in my hand the confession written by Tan Guangwen on the day he entered Beijing. Your Majesty, please take a look!"
After these words were spoken, the faces of the court officials suddenly changed.
Prince Jia immediately raised his head and looked behind the crowd at the Chief Censor, who was about forty years old and was kneeling on the ground, Meng Yunxian, Pei Zhiyuan, even Ge Rang who was about to replace the offended official Liu Tingzhi as the Deputy Privy Councilor, and General Miao. Each of them was staring at him closely.
There was not much change in the expression on Emperor Zhengyuan's face. He looked at Jiang Xianming in front of him. After a moment, he stretched out his hand. Under the gaze of everyone, he withdrew his hand before it even touched the confession letter.
Jiang Xianming raised his head. The king and father in front of him were majestic without even getting angry.
"How can you prove that the confession in your hand is the real thing?"
"The confession used to convict him only stated that Tan Guangwen had killed Miao Tianning in revenge, but the confession in my hand contains very detailed causes and consequences."
Jiang Xianming said loudly, "Sixteen years ago! General Xu Hexue of Yujie ordered his troops to be divided into three groups to besiege the Hu general Meng Tuo in Mushen Mountain. However, at that time, Wu Dai believed the secret letter from Prince Rili of Danqiu and thought that the Danqiu Hu people were going to attack Jianchi Prefecture by water. He forced the then Yongzhou governor Yang Ming to send half of the troops guarding Yongzhou City to support Jianchi Prefecture. The commander Miao Tianning refused. Yang Ming used means to obtain Miao Tianning's token and dispatched troops to Jianchi Prefecture, but those Yongzhou troops met the people of Danqiu Nanyan tribe on the way and were annihilated!"
"But their deaths were counted as part of the Yongzhou defense battle! They deceived the emperor and father for sixteen years!"
"General Yujie ordered Tan Guangwen and Ge Rang to support Mushen Mountain from Nianchi and Longyan respectively. However, Lord Ge did not receive this military order. When Tan Guangwen was urged by Wu Dai to support Jianchi Mansion, Du Cong falsely passed on the military order, saying that the general ordered him to support Jianchi Mansion first and then go to Longyan, but..."
"But Tan Guangwen was not familiar with Longyan's terrain and got lost, causing 30,000 Jing'an soldiers to die... in Mushen Mountain!"
Tai'an Hall fell into deathly silence.
The wind and snow poured in through the wide-open palace door, howling non-stop.
General Miao secretly clenched his knuckles between his sleeves. As a fierce general under General Yujie in the past, Ge Rang was also heartbroken when he heard this.
"Imperial Censor Jiang! What do you mean by this? You just relied on the confession in your hand, which you didn't know where it came from, and you made it sound like the truth in front of the emperor! Was the military report from Yongzhou fake? Did the people sent by the court to investigate Yongzhou not know?" Hanlin Attendant Scholar Zheng Jian was the first to stand up, "The decree of the Danqiu royal court to confer the title of prince on Xu Hexue is also ironclad evidence! Tell me, you who tortured Xu Hexue to death in Yongzhou, what are you doing now?!"
"I don't know what Censor Jiang heard or where he got this confession. Now that rumors are rampant, why would Censor Jiang add fuel to the fire? Do you also believe in Dong Yao and his ilk?" Ding Jin, the Palace Censor, said at the right time.
"You don't have to play tricks here,"
Jiang Xianming sneered, "Dong Yao was forced to death by your Lord Ding on Yong'an Lake. There are still more than 60 young men like him imprisoned in the Night Police! Don't you want to use them to intimidate all those who dare to overturn Xu Hexue's case? You think there are no more people who dare to do so, but I want to tell the world that if you want to uphold justice and fairness in this world, you have to be brave!"
Meng Yunxian was standing by and was trembling in shock.
Things that the king and father didn't know before, no matter how many people tried to stop them, are now being presented to the king and father openly.
The king and father have to know.
Emperor Zhengyuan glared at him, "Jiang Xianming, you were the one who executed him personally."
"I know."
"Now that you know, what are you doing today?"
"I have done something wrong, and I cannot deny it."
Emperor Zhengyuan asked coldly, "You mean, I misjudged you?"
Jiang Xianming raised his head and met the gaze of Emperor Zhengyuan. His lips moved slightly, "Since the execution of Xu Hexue sixteen years ago, I have been trusted by the emperor. I served as the governor of Yongzhou for only a few years and then returned to Beijing to serve as the Chief Censor. I am grateful to the emperor. Throughout my life, I have always believed that I am fulfilling the duty of a minister, serving the emperor and the people. Over the years, I have always wanted to be a person with a clear conscience."
"But, it turns out that all along the way, I stepped on the corpses of the Jing'an Army and drank the blood of General Yujie..."
Jiang Xianming's eyelids were wet, "I... tortured to death the youngest and best General Yujie of the Great Qi in Yongzhou!"
"Jiang Xianming!"
Zheng Jian said sternly, "This case has not yet been retried, but you have already made such a conclusion! What is your intention?!"
"minister!"
Jiang Xianming bowed, the cold wind blowing through his sleeves, "I beg the emperor to re-examine the case of General Xu Hexue's treason!"
"I, Jiang Xianming, am willing to return the 136 blows General Yujie received during his lifetime!"