Chapter 73 Su Muzhe (VI)
There were no women's clothes in the military camp , so Ni Su had to change into a clean, new men's robe and wrapped a cloak on the outside. When she opened the tent curtain, the first thing she saw was the figure sitting by the fire.
He also changed into a scarlet robe, which was no different from the clothes worn by other soldiers under their armor. He sat quietly and upright, holding a porcelain bowl in his hand.
As Ni Su approached him, he seemed to have recognized her footsteps and turned around.
She came to his side, her figure flashed across his lifeless eyes, and he listened silently to her every move.
"Are you still cold?"
Realizing that she was sitting next to him, Xu Hexue spoke.
"Much better."
Ni Su reached out to the fire, but saw him raise his hand and hand her the porcelain bowl. She lowered her eyes and saw the snow-white fish soup in the bowl, with a slight heat mist and a fragrant aroma.
Ni Su took it, the spoon touched the wall of the bowl lightly, she took a sip, looked up at him, "Did you drink it?"
"Um."
Xu Hexue nodded.
Before the two of them said a few words, Ni Su heard the sound of footsteps. She looked to the other side and saw Qin Jixun and his personal soldier Duan Rong walking towards them.
" General ."
Ni Su was about to stand up, but Qin Jixun stretched out his hand and pushed her down, so she sat back down.
"Please forgive me, there are no better clothes in the barracks. You just have to make do with these tonight." Qin Jixun sat down on the other side of Xu Hexue, and Duan Rong stood behind him.
"No problem."
Xu Hexue spoke briefly.
Qin Jixun looked at him and asked, "You still don't know your name?"
Xu Hexue was still wrapped in a long scarf, making it difficult to see his expression. He opened his mouth and said, "Ni."
Ni Su paused while drinking the fish soup. Sparks crackled from the fire. She turned her head. His face was covered by a long scarf. His thick eyelashes drooped slightly. Facing the firelight, there was a very faint shadow under his eyelids.
"So it's Master Ni, then where is this young lady?"
Qin Jixun turned his gaze to Ni Su again.
Ni Su held the spoon and whispered , "My little girl Ni Su."
Qin Jixun was startled when he heard this, and turned to look at Duan Rong behind him.
They all have the surname Ni?
Duan Rong asked curiously, "Are you two brother and sister?"
"no."
Ni Su spoke up, and seeing that Duan Rong and Qin Jixun's eyes were on her, she pursed her lips and said, "It's just a coincidence."
"I see."
Qin Jixun nodded, and he couldn't help but look at Xu Hexue again, "Excuse me, but why do you keep covering your face?"
"When I was young, I encountered a fire," Xu Hexue said in a cold tone, "I had a facial disease that could not be cured. Because of this, my career was not smooth and I had no chance to serve my country."
When he was in Yongzhou, Qin Jixun was in the Huning Army of General Miao and was not here, so Qin Jixun had never seen him, and he was not worried that Qin Jixun would recognize him.
"I have a cousin who is also ugly. He is obviously very knowledgeable, but he is nearly 40 years old and still has not been hired." Duan Rong was touched when he heard his words. "If you ask me, why does being an official still depend on appearance? As long as you are knowledgeable and capable, isn't that enough?"
He spoke too quickly, and after he finished speaking, he saw Qin Jixun glancing at him, and then he realized that he had said something wrong, and couldn't help but say, "I'm sorry, Mr. Ni, I didn't say that you were born ugly..."
The more he talked, the more confused he became, so Duan Rong simply shut up.
"Even if your career is not going well, you don't want to live a mediocre life, so you came to Yongzhou to fulfill your ambition to serve your country, and live even if you die..."
Qin Jixun didn't know that what Ni Su meant by "living despite death" was actually death in the true sense. He just thought that this was the determination and ambition of the young man in front of him.
He pondered for a moment, "In this case, how about Master Ni becoming my staff member?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Hexue raised his eyelashes slightly, but he still couldn't see anything.
“It’s my honor.”
"good,"
Qin Jixun slapped his thigh and said, "In that case, I will just say what I want to say. I think I should go in person to persuade Shen Tongchuan. Only if I can resolve the previous unpleasantness with him face to face, will he believe me."
"But Magistrate Shen holds a grudge very well... and he is very narrow-minded." Duan Rong muttered in a low voice behind him.
"I didn't know much about the officialdom in Yunjing before, and I didn't know that he was a student of Lord Meng, but I know Lord Meng. I think he is probably not a student that Lord Meng accepted casually. If he really knows the righteousness, I will be willing to learn from Lian Po to apologize for his crime."
When it comes to state affairs, Qin Jixun can let go of everything, even his so-called face.
"General Qin only needs to make it clear to him that when Song Song was supervising the army in Yongzhou, Prime Minister Meng had not yet returned to the court. But if Song Song was not there, Prime Minister Meng would have the opportunity to place his own people, and Shen Tongchuan would no longer be constrained by others everywhere."
When Xu Hexue was still in Beijing, he had met Shen Tongchuan several times. Now that Qin Jixun was willing to go in person, it saved him some trouble.
"I understand. You two should have a good rest."
After Qin Jixun finished speaking, he stood up and strode towards his own military tent.
"If you two need anything, just come to me." Duan Rong said something to them hurriedly and followed them.
The porcelain bowl in Ni Su's hand was empty, so she put it aside. Her face was a little hot from the burning fire, so she moved back a little. In the long silence, she secretly looked at Xu Hexue.
"Are you sleepy?"
Xu Hexue suddenly spoke.
Ni Su wanted to shake her head, but suddenly realized that he couldn't see her, so she immediately said, "I'm not sleepy."
"you……"
Then, she couldn't help but ask, "Why did you say your last name is...Ni?"
Hearing Xu Hexue's voice, he slightly turned his head, lowered his eyes, but followed her direction and asked, "Is it okay?"
"……Can."
Ni Su responded in a low voice.
But there are so many surnames in the world, and he could have said any surname at random, but he blurted out the word "Ni".
Suddenly,
Ni Su suddenly remembered what he once said - I depend on you.
Her hand suddenly grasped the edge of her sleeve.
Xu Hexue is already dead, and the remaining soul attached to her has used her surname in front of others.
"That's good."
The long scarf covered Xu Hexue's face, but his eyes had a slight curve.
Ni Su looked at him, and suddenly picked up a piece of dry firewood from the side and threw it into the fire, which caused thousands of sparks to fly, lighting up his pupils.
His dim eyes suddenly became clear and bright.
The flames were dancing wildly, and Xu Hexue was caught off guard and saw her face clearly. The confusion in his eyes had not faded, but he heard her suddenly say, "You are very happy, right?"
She felt that she could already detect his changes from his few emotions. He was a man soaked in snow, with the bleakness of winter everywhere, but today he had some subtle and vivid emotions.
As he sat here alone with a bowl of fish soup, he would stretch out a hand to try to feel the warmth of the fire, and his eyes would curve when he heard her say "yes".
Under the moonlight, the sparkling dust floating around him seemed to reveal a silent joy.
Xu Hexue was a little dazed, but after a moment, he said "hmm".
"Why?"
Ni Su asked.
Why? Xu Hexue thought of the phrase "although dead, still alive", and remembered the complete words she said to Qin Jixun while standing beside him, holding his arm.
"This is the second time you have come to my side. Please believe me."
In Yunjing, on the rainy night when Jiang Xianming was attacked, she also stood by his side and asked Jiang Xianming to believe him.
Ni Su immediately thought of Jiang Xianming. She couldn't help but feel nervous. Her voice was a little hoarse when she spoke, "I didn't know at that time that he had given you..."
Jiang Xianming was the one who sentenced Xu Hexue to death by slicing in Yongzhou.
The 136 cuts recorded in the inscription were made under the personal supervision of Jiang Xianming.
Until now, she dared not go to see the execution platform where he was tortured.
Ni Su couldn't help but feel the sourness in her nose. "Why did you save him when he treated you like that? If I had known earlier, I would..."
"The 'iron evidence' is before us, and the people are boiling with resentment. He is the one who caused my punishment, but he is not the one who killed me."
Xu Hexue looked at her and said, "He was a good and upright official. My death was not caused by him, but someone took advantage of his uprightness and made the good official kill me."
"I know,"
Ni Su lowered her head and looked at the hem of her clothes. "But I still..."
She felt a chill in her heart. Even though she was beside the fire, she could still feel the chill embedded in her bones. The person hiding the truth was too cruel and vicious.
Xu Hexue could have hated Jiang Xianming, but he didn't. He faced his own death rationally and endured the excruciating pain of having his flesh and blood peeled off. For the sake of the overall situation, he was even able to put aside his past grudges, save Jiang Xianming's life, and investigate the Daizhou grain draft with him.
“Maybe I’m narrow-minded.”
Flames danced in Ni Su's eyes. Whenever she thought of the humiliation and pain that this man had suffered in his lifetime, she could not look at Jiang Xianming calmly.
But he was right. Jiang Xianming was the one who tortured him, but he was not the one who actually killed him.
“It’s not narrow-minded.”
The night wind blew Xu Hexue's long scarf. He stared at her with his cold eyes, "You are never narrow-minded."
She was never a narrow-minded woman. She was broad-minded and cared about the sufferings of the people in the world. She would also feel aggrieved for him.
The last person who felt indignant for him was his teacher Zhang Jing.
The teacher is dead.
And she in front of me,
He wanted to protect it well.
The fire collapsed and sparks spread out again. Ni Su came back to her senses suddenly and saw a cold hand holding her wrist, pulling her towards him to avoid the broken light splashing on her clothes.
He quickly released her hand.
But Ni Su still felt the feeling of being wrapped in ice and snow. She raised her eyes and looked at him. Not far away, the soldiers on patrol marched in unison, and their armors clattered against each other.
"Ni Su, I will go to Suchile's military camp alone,"
Ni Su heard his voice again. She saw him turn his head and the moonlight was shining brightly. The dust around him was floating, and the whole person was as fascinating as an illusion. "Just listen to me and wait for me here."
Sixteen years late.
He met this woman in the form of a ghost .
Before she recognized his stigma, she first recognized him as a person, beyond rumors, beyond life and death, gave him trust, and defended him.
In this world,
There is no one like her.
