On September 13th, Emperor Jiayou personally wrote and approved the new verdict on Xu Li'er's case.

Xu Li'er and the Jin family settled their injustice and finally left the prison of the Ministry of Punishment. Yang Xu's nephew Yang Rong was taken into Dali Temple Prison and sentenced to death by hanging.

Originally, the Ministry of Punishment sentenced Yang Rong to a prison sentence, but Emperor Jiayou changed Yang Rong's prison sentence to hanging in prison in order to set an example.

As for Yang Rong's uncle Yang Xu, he had been transferred away from Emperor Jiayou since Gu Changjin went to the Golden Palace on August 19 to file a case against the people.

He was originally one of the six Bingbis and the most valued godson of the Great Palm Pei Shunnian. Otherwise, Pei Shunnian would not have handed the Dongchang into his hands.

However, after Xu Li'er's case was brought before Emperor Jiayou, Pei Shunnian's attitude towards Yang Xu became somewhat intriguing.

Yang Xu couldn't sleep well every night for most of the month.

He hated Gu Changjin so much, he also hated the officials in the Criminal Department, and in the end, he even hated his nephew Yang Rong.

After hearing that Emperor Jiayou personally changed Yang Rong's punishment from imprisonment to hanging in prison, he didn't care about anything else and knelt in front of the duty room of the Supervisor of Ceremonies early in the morning.

After the previous morning court, Pei Shunnian stayed in the Qianqing Palace for a long time, and when he returned to the Supervisor of Ceremonies, it was almost time.

As soon as Yang Xu saw his figure, he immediately crawled over on his hands and feet, shouting "godfather" one after another.

Pei Shunnian didn't look at him and walked into the duty room without any expression on his face.

Yang Xu walked in on his knees, and his knees hit the ground with a "bang-dong" and "bang-dong" sound.

"Godfather! Godfather! Godfather, please pay attention to me! My son has realized his mistake! My son has really realized his mistake!"

Pei Shunnian sat down on a rosewood carved armchair and glanced sideways at Yang Xu.

"Get up! It's not embarrassing enough, is it?!"

Ken scolded him, which means he hasn't given up on him yet.

Yang Xu's face was covered with tears, and he immediately said "eh" and "eh" twice, and stood up slowly and tremblingly.

Pei Shunnian said: "Just now in Qianqing Palace, I told the emperor that you didn't know anything about what your nephew did in Changping Prefecture. At the moment, the position of admiral of Dongchang is reserved for you by the emperor, but you don't have to do it recently. You have to wait in front of the emperor, and wait for two years in the imperial prison. Then you can come back after the emperor forgets about your nephew."

Yang Xu knew in his heart that this was a way for him to draw a clear line between himself and Yang Rong, so he plopped down again . Kneeling on the ground, he cried loudly: "Brother Hai'er is only a child of Rong'er. The child has no roots. Now we are hoping that Rong'er will give our old Yang family a heir!" The

Yang Xu family has many distant relatives and side relatives, but the direct brothers His brother was the only one, and Yang Rong was his brother's only son. Once Yang Rong died, wouldn't the old Yang family be in ruins?

The reason why Pei Shunnian valued Yang Xu the most was because he valued his character that valued friendship. His health is getting worse and worse now, and he will have to retire even if he doesn't want to in a few more years.

It is said that when people leave, the tea is cold, so he must choose someone who can repay kindness and love to take his place.

Yang Xu was originally chosen by Pei Shunnian, but now Emperor Jiayou is tired of him. If he doesn't know what's good and still wants to save his nephew's life, then there is no need for him to stay in Dongchang and the imperial prison.

"Your Majesty is very angry now. If you have to keep a wife, it's not impossible. Take off your belt and go to the Emperor to plead for mercy. Your Majesty thinks that you have worked hard for many years, and you can probably give your nephew a wife. Life." Pei Shunnian lowered his eyes and said slowly.

He wants someone who values ​​friendship and can repay kindness, but that doesn't mean he wants someone who is brainless. If Yang Xu still wants to protect Yang Rong at this point, then he doesn't have to stay in the inner court anymore.

Yang Xu understood Pei Shunnian's words in an instant, and stared blankly at the big man who had dominated the inner court for twenty years.

The wailing and crying stopped immediately.

Pei Shunnian was still waiting for Yang Xu to make a decision.

For a long time, Yang Xu said sadly with a choked voice: "The child has not yet fulfilled his filial piety to his godfather. This waist card will be returned to the emperor after the child has fulfilled his filial piety to his godfather!"

Coming out of the courtyard of the Supervisor of Ceremonies, The sadness on Yang Xu's face suddenly disappeared, and his eyes that were red from crying returned to their usual vicious look.

He already knew that Yang Rong, that idiot, could not be saved.

What he was doing today was just because he was afraid that Pei Shunnian would abandon him and choose someone else.

Fortunately, Pei Shunnian has not given up on him yet.

The eunuch named Liu Yuan beside Yang Xu shook the red cloak in his hand and said: "Godfather, I'm waiting outside."

Yang Xu hummed lightly, but his eyes were fixed on the Jinshui Bridge not far away. .

There, a young man wearing a blue official robe with a heron patch was following a serving eunuch to the Daming Gate.

Perhaps noticing Yang Xu's gaze, the man paused, looked over at him, and then made a long bow with his hands in a neither humble nor condescending manner.

That calm and unhurried look made Yang Xu feel angry.

If it weren't for this little criminal department member Wai Lang, his family's Rong'er wouldn't have died.

Sooner or later...sooner or later he will ask this man to pay for Rong'er's life!

He let out a heavy breath and said: "Go to the imperial prison."

After getting on the throne, he glanced at Liu Yuan again, his eyes swept back and forth on his beautiful face, and said: "In a few days, I will invite Mr. Peng When you come to my house to have a drink, remember to prepare some music. You know Master Peng's preferences best."

The Master Peng mentioned by Yang Xu is Peng Lu, the commander of the Jinyi Guards.

Liu Yuan responded "Yes" respectfully, and a red mole between his eyebrows gave his beautiful eyebrows an enchanting look.

Gu Changjin stood on the Jinshui Bridge and looked at Yang Xu's retreating figure, calmly lowering his eyes. The eunuch in front of him choked his throat and said with a smile: "The man just now is Eunuch Yang. Mr. Gu may not know that Eunuch Yang is about to go to the imperial prison. Today, the emperor has

issued a special order."

His surname is Wang, and he is Wang Dehai, the head of Qianqing Palace.

"It turns out it's Eunuch Yang." Gu Changjin responded, with no trace of joy or anger in his tone. "I heard that Eunuch Yang and his nephew are as close as father and son. No wonder Eunuch Yang looked so bad just now."

Wang Dehai laughed . Silent.

How could you clearly see Yang Xu's expression from such a long distance? Hey, this Master Gu is really humorous.

It's not yet time to go off duty, Gu Changjin left Daming Gate and went back to the Criminal Department.

As soon as he entered, Governor Huang said to him with red eyes: "Master Gu, the Jin family...the Jin family has gone."

Gu Changjin paused and slowly clenched his hands in his sleeves.

"When did it happen? Jin, did you have time to listen to the emperor's decree?"

"I heard it, I heard it. Not only that, a palace maid from Kunning Palace also came to the Prison of the Ministry of Punishment, saying that the queen wanted to summon Xu Li'er and Jin Going to Kunning Palace. It's a pity, alas -"

It's a pity that Jin didn't have that luck. When he heard that Yang Rong was sentenced to prison, the breath that was stuck in his throat completely disappeared, and he closed his eyes with a smile.

Governor Huang shook his head and sighed, and said: "By the way, Mr. Gu, Xu Li'er... wants to see you, so I'll be waiting in the pavilion at the back."

There is a small courtyard behind the official office of the Ministry of Justice, with a few locust trees planted in it. And the sky poplar, these trees are no matter how old they are, with lush branches and leaves, and lush green leaves.

The pavilion that Governor Huang mentioned was hidden among these old trees. When Gu Changjin came over, Xu Li'er was staring blankly at a locust tree.

"Miss Xu." He called.

Xu Li'er came back to her senses and turned to look at Gu Changjin. When she saw the face of the adult opposite, her eyes were startled, and then she lowered her eyes in panic and bowed.

"The daughter of the people pays homage to Mr. Gu."

The girl's voice was like the cry of an oriole, and because of the grief of losing her mother, it was a bit desolate and made people cry.

Gu Changjin gave him a hand and said, "Miss Xu, you don't have to be polite."

Xu Li'er stood up, endured her grief, and said with a smile: "The daughter of the people and my mother-in-law have heard about your name for a long time. Two years ago. At that time, almost no one in the entire Shuntian Mansion knew about Master Gu and Master Guan's imperial petition. At that time, Aniang also told the girl that if she was lucky enough to meet the two adults in the future, she would definitely give her to them. "Handmade beasts."

When the people from the Ministry of Justice went to Changping Prefecture to escort her and Yang Rong, she specially asked one of the government officials to go back to the old house and pick up these two little bamboo beasts.

Jin has a pair of skillful hands. As long as he has fresh bamboo strips and daylilies, he can weave interesting little things such as grasshoppers, dragonflies, and grasshoppers.

It was much more difficult to weave the gai beasts for Gu Changjin and Guan Shaowei. It took Jin several months of free time to weave these two little beasts.

Now three years have passed, the two beasts have lost their former lush greenery, leaving only a withered and pale pale yellow color.

Gu Changjin solemnly took over the two beasts.

"Thank you so much, Miss Xu. Mr. Guan is not in Beijing now. If I see him someday, Gu will definitely hand over this beast to your mother."

Xu Li'er suddenly felt the tip of his nose sore and his eyes completely wet.

She was only fifteen or sixteen years old, and she was originally very beautiful. However, due to the suffering she had suffered in the past nine months, she had lost her appearance.

Xu Li'er wiped her tears with a handkerchief, and when she calmed down a bit, she kowtowed solemnly again and thanked Gu Changjin for saving his life.

The two beasts in his hands weighed a thousand kilograms. Gu Changjin looked at Xu Li'er and said slowly: "The Queen is most considerate of orphans and weak women and children. If Miss Xu enters the palace, she might as well ask for a favor from the Queen and stay by her side to serve her." "

Yang Rong is in prison, but Yang Xu and his party are still at large. Changping Prefecture is the hometown of Yang Xu, and the Yang family is the local emperor there. Xu Li'er can't protect himself when he goes back there.

Not only in Changping Prefecture, as long as Yang Xu is still alive, there is probably no place for Xu Li'er in this world, unless those who even Yang Xu are extremely afraid of can give her shelter.

Now there is a suitable candidate -

Queen Qi of Kunning Palace.

Gu Changjin and Xu Li'er only talked for a moment before returning to the check-in room, and then buried their heads in the paperwork without saying a word.

In the evening Changji came to pick him up, and the master and servant were silent all the way.

Gu Changjin got off the carriage and walked quickly inside, Chang Ji silently followed him.

It wasn't until Gu Changjin took the wrong road at a fork in the road that he couldn't help but say, "Master, that's the way to Songsiyuan."

The man's steps stopped for a moment.

He should have gone back to his study.

In the past few days, he went straight back to his study after getting off duty and never went to Songsi Courtyard again. The order in my mind when I got off the carriage just now was to go to the study.

But for some reason, my body seemed to have its own consciousness, and I just wanted to go to Songsiyuan. If it weren't for Chang Ji's shout, he wouldn't even have realized that he was going the wrong way.

It seems that going to Songsiyuan is never the wrong way.

Gu Changjin turned around without looking at Chang Ji, and went to the study in silence.

It is the quiet time of dusk, the shadows of the trees are whirling, and the silent setting sun lies in the tops of the sycamore trees.

Under the sycamore tree, the girl was holding a green gauze lantern and silently counting the fallen leaves on the ground.

Gu Changjin stopped and looked quietly at the slim and delicate figure under the tree.

Then, very strangely, the fire spreading in the flesh and bones seemed to be soothed and became silent in a very submissive manner.

I no longer feel pain, and even the heavy and dull gloom in my heart dissipates in an instant. Instead, there was a "thumping" and "thumping" feeling of heart palpitations.

The evening clearing gradually faded, and the twilight touched his eyebrows, and the lamp in the girl's hand became brighter and brighter. The soft light illuminated the moment she looked back, and there seemed to be vast stars in her eyes.

Gu Changjin's breath suffocated slightly.

Rong Shu had not seen Gu Changjin for several days.

He only spent one night in Songsiyuan. After that day, he went back to the study. He went out early and came back late every day. The two of them never exchanged a word.

Today, Emperor Jiayou ordered the verdict of Xu Li'er's case to be displayed outside the official office of the Ministry of Punishment, and all the people in Beijing rushed to see it.

I don't know how many people were cheering, and some brave ones were waiting to throw stones at Yang Rong's prison car while he was being escorted to Dali Temple Prison.

Yingyue and Yingque were talking about this early in the morning. If Zhang's mother hadn't stopped her, Yingque would have wanted to run quietly to the street to see Yang Rong being thrown stones.

Rong Shu had actually been waiting for this day.

On this day in the previous life, Jin died, Yang Rong was taken to Dali Temple Prison, and Xu Li'er was found hanging himself in the posthouse the next day, leaving a blood letter before his death.

Rong Shu did not know the content of the blood letter, and Gu Changjin had never told her about it.

But at that time, all the people in Beijing were saying that Xu Li'er was devastated by the loss of her mother, and she was angry that Yang Rong's uncle Yang Xu had blocked the sky with his hands and connived at the people of Dongchang and Beizhen Fusi to kill her mother. , then he left the blood letter and committed suicide.

Xu Li'er's suicide caused a stir in Shangjing, and the common people no longer applauded the verdict outside the government office. Everyone was saying that the real culprit had not yet been brought to justice, and that Xu Li'er and the Jin family would die in peace.

Rong Shu remembered that Xu Li'er's body was found at dawn. She had been dead for less than three hours at that time.

In other words, Xu Li'er hanged herself when she was young, and now, there are still more than two hours before she hangs herself.

Rong Shu's hand without the lantern held a square wooden box, and Gu Changjin recognized it as the Shenrong Pill she had brought back from the Hou's Mansion on the day she returned home.

The man pursed his lips.

Is she here to give him Shenrong Pills again?

Didn't he say that he was taking medicine and couldn't take this Shenrong Pill?

Rong Shu didn't know that this man had such a big misunderstanding.

Holding the lamp, she walked towards him, smiled lightly, and said: "I heard that the case that Lang Jun handled earlier has finally come to light today. I have an unkind request, and I want to ask Lang Jun." An

unkind request . ?

Gu Changjin lowered his eyes and glanced at the box she was holding in her small white hands, and said calmly: "What's the matter? Tell me."

"Miss Xu's mother passed away today. Miss Xu must not be feeling well at this time. She was in Yang Rong earlier. My family is also suffering from the loss of a close relative. I am afraid that my body will not be able to bear it, so I thought of sending her some Shenrong Pills to express my feelings. "

Rong Shu had been practicing these words all afternoon. She spoke without blushing or out of breath, and she managed a tone of anger, sympathy and sadness very well.

But she didn't know what was going on, and the hand holding the lantern couldn't help but squeeze the long wooden handle.

Gu Changjin narrowed his eyes.

The last time she mentioned Yang Xu's adopted son to him, she also acted like this.

This was probably because she didn't realize her little habit. When she was nervous, her onion-like fingers couldn't help but pinch things.

But what is she nervous about?

Gu Changjin's unglamorous gaze slowly and slowly traveled over her face, and immediately settled on her clear, dark eyes.

It was clean and tidy, with a gentle and graceful smile.

Gu Changjin tapped the side of his leg with his long finger and thought slowly.

Intellectually, he shouldn't have done it.

Jin's body is now lying in Yizhuang on the outskirts of the city. Empress Qi showed mercy and gave Jin a catalpa wood coffin to bury her in a rich burial. She also allowed Xu Li'er to send Jin's coffin to Da Ci'en Temple for forty-nine days.

Daci'en Temple has always been a place where people who are not relatives of the emperor are not allowed to have their souls rest. Empress Qi took pity on the Jin family and had a motherly heart, so she made an exception.

Xu Li'er is staying in a post house not far from Yizhuang. Tomorrow morning, the people at the post house will take her to Yizhuang and let her personally carry the soul to Da Ci'en Temple.

The man remained silent for a long time, which Rong Shu had expected.

In his previous life, when Xu Li'er and Jin were still in prison, Rong Shu asked once if he could give them some food, food and clothing.

At that time, Gu Changjin refused coldly.

Today's request is much more extraordinary than sending food, clothing and clothes, and he will definitely not agree to it.

In fact, Rong Shu had no intention of meeting Xu Li'er.

He just wanted to save Xu Li'er with Gu Changjin's hand.

Xu Li'er's death was not as simple as it seemed.

Everyone said that she hanged herself, but Rong Shu knew that there was something fishy about Xu Li'er's death.

If it hadn't been for her in the previous life, Xu Li'er might not have died.

She had already thought about making a request that Gu Changjin would refuse. After he refuses, suggest another one that is less outrageous, and he will probably agree.

This has been like this in the past. As long as he refuses her one thing, he will probably agree to the second thing.

The fingers holding the lamp handle were slightly loosened. Rong Shu felt that this was the right time, but the words that had been brewing in his heart for a long time were about to come to his mouth. The man in the green robe opposite him suddenly raised his eyebrows and said lightly. He said:

"Changji, go prepare the carriage. I will take my wife out."