Chapter 9: Jiangnan has nothing 2
"I just carved it for fun, but Master Cheng can use it as evidence?"
Cheng Jue was very patient today. He rubbed his cold palms and responded to him, "According to You Hu's testimony, when the seven imperial guards went to Ruan's house to kill people, they put incense in the lanterns to make everyone unconscious. When I was looking at Rui Xue's body in the backyard, I always felt that something was missing. Later, I realized that there was a lantern missing from the eaves above the door. I think the imperial guards took the lantern and put the incense in when they climbed over the wall and took it away when they left. This contradicts what you said, Lord Lin, that the mixture of zero lacquer flowers and heavy incense caused everyone to faint. You Hu can't lie, so you are the only one who lies. You said this just to lure the imperial guards with heavy incense in their badges into the game, so that You Hu would panic and have to get rid of them to silence them."
Lin Yuxiao clapped his hands gently and said with a smile: "So, it seems that I am really suspicious. How does Master Cheng plan to deal with me?"
Cheng Jue looked at him calmly, and said calmly: "I told you, this is just my bold hypothesis. Now that You Hu has pleaded guilty, everything is over. I just told Lord Lin my hypothesis. Lord Lin, just treat it as a story!"
"You..." Lin Yuxiao was stunned, and for the first time, a look of shock appeared on his face.
"The people from the Detective Department are going to put on new uniforms and go to the palace to express their gratitude. Meng Fan asked me to come and look for you. Zhou Zhenzhen also reserved a portion of the snacks she brought from the Full Moon Tea House for you... By the way, you still haven't written the letter Huo Chi asked you to write last time. He was embarrassed to ask you directly, so he asked me to talk to him."
Lin Yuxiao smiled with relief and sighed, "That's great..."
"Let's go. If we don't leave now we'll be late." Cheng Jue stood up and tightened his collar, but Lin Yuxiao still sat there and showed no intention of getting up.
Cheng Jue looked over and saw Lin Yuxiao still sitting there, holding the wood carving in his hand, looking far into the distance: "Brother Lu Fang and I hit it off right away. I can still remember that night when we talked about world affairs under the dim candlelight. He is a true gentleman, with his country in his heart, and he wants to save the people from poverty. As for me, I just want to see the mountains and rivers and be an idle person. After that night, he went to Chang'an, and I went to Jiangnan..."
After a few years, the next thing he heard was the news that Qingzhou Governor Lu Fang committed suicide in the Dali Temple prison. The people were talking about Lu Fang's cruelty, greed, and disregard for human life. His crimes were too numerous to list.
Lin Yuxiao believed in Lu Fang's character and felt that there were many doubts about this matter. He came to Chang'an, took the imperial examination, entered the Hanlin Academy, and secretly went to the Changping Princess's mansion to be Mr. Wei Wan to find out the truth. He also had ups and downs in the officialdom and repeated Lu Fang's path.
It's just that Lu Fang let himself be deeply involved, but he chose to be a bystander without getting involved at all, quietly leading others into the game.
It was just a brief acquaintance, but a gentleman will die for his friend, and he has walked this path for such a long time regardless of the consequences.
The stomach was cramped and it was a sign that the poison he had swallowed beforehand was beginning to take effect. Lin Yuxiao raised his hand to wipe the blood from his lips, untied the green purse he had been wearing around his waist, raised his hand and scattered the ashes of Lu Fang that he had collected inside to the foot of the Junzi Cliff.
Cheng Jue stepped forward first and supported Lin Yuxiao's body as he slowly fell downwards.
The blood on Lin Yuxiao's lips was getting more and more. He didn't have the strength to wipe it off, so he just let it flow. He smiled and said, "When I die, please cremate me, Master Cheng, and scatter my ashes under the cliff. I couldn't be a gentleman when I was alive, but being one after death can make up for it."
Cheng Jue's eyes were moist, he gritted his teeth, and almost shouted: "Why are you doing this?"
"A gentleman will die for his confidant. I have no regrets, and no worries. But before I die, I know that there are still people who care about me, and who are willing to give me another chance. This feels good..." A face that was always angry with him flashed before his chaotic eyes, and his smile deepened. "But without someone as interesting as the young master of the Meng family around in the future, I will be lonely..."
His voice gradually became lower and lighter, like the sob of fate: "I heard that before Brother Lu Fang left, Master Cheng gave him a glass of wine. So Master Cheng asked the young master of the Meng family to bring me a glass of wine as well. I have already given him the money for the wine. He is so stingy, he won't buy me wine if I don't give him money..."
He recalled the first time he drank all night with Meng Fan at Liuyeju. Meng Fan left the place drunk, stumbling every two steps. Finally, he couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so he kindly half-carried and half-dragged him out the door.
The moon was very big that night, and Meng Fan was vomiting bile on the side of the road, ruining the beautiful scenery. When the alcohol wore off a little, he climbed onto his shoulder and muttered drunkenly, "You're not a bad person..."
Lin Yuxiao smiled. He didn't know how long it had been since he heard someone talk about him like this.
He thought he would walk this journey alone, but he didn't expect that someone would give him warmth in the end.
But neither love nor tenderness was what he wanted.
The old friends are gone, and Jiangnan is getting old.
That night, Liuyeju was still as lively as ever, with singers singing and beauties dancing in the lobby, creating an atmosphere of decadence and decadence.
There was only one person sitting at the table near the window. On the table in front of him was an exquisitely carved wooden sculpture, and in front of it was a wine glass. He took the wine glass, filled it with wine, and gently clinked it with the wine glass in front of the wooden sculpture before drinking it.
One cup after another, the wine glass in front of the wood carving was knocked over and most of the wine spilled, and Meng Fan finally got drunk.
The singer sang softly and gently, and the song floated in the hearts of everyone who came to Liuyeju to seek a night of deep sleep.
"The wind and rain are howling, the cocks are crowing. Now that I have met a gentleman, how can I not be healed?"
"The wind and rain are dark, and the cocks are crowing. How can I not be happy to see a gentleman?"
"Now that I have met a gentleman, how can I not be happy... Now that I have met a gentleman..." Meng Fan leaned over the desk, repeating this sentence unconsciously, and suddenly burst into tears.
Now I have met a gentleman.
He is a gentleman.
"Hey, little Meng, you look really ugly when you cry!" A lazy male voice sounded faintly, and it was unclear whether it was in a dream or somewhere else. Meng Fan stood up suddenly and looked around. There were many people in Liuyeju, but there was no one he was looking for.
Yes, no more.
Never again.
At the same time, in Yancheng under the same night sky, the scent of spring grass spread.
After the death of Duke Qing, the Duke's mansion was confiscated and sealed off, and all the people were escorted to Chang'an City. Before the people from the Yancheng government office arrived, the wife of Duke Qing, Zhao, hanged herself, and the fire burned the backyard to only ruins. The mysterious and pitiful woman had lost her life.
The Qingcheng Army stationed outside the city of Chang'an dispatched a team of troops to connect with the people from the Yancheng government office and took away Duke Qing and his men.
The Qingcheng Army stationed that night all withdrew, and the guards at the city gate returned to their original positions. Taking advantage of the darkness of the night, a dark shadow flashed out from an inconspicuous small courtyard on the east side of Yancheng, and hurriedly walked towards the city gate.
Over the past few days, this road has been clearly imprinted in her mind, and she can walk out without a lamp.
She knew that tonight was the best time for her to leave. Otherwise, once the young master's men found out that it was not her who committed suicide in the Duke of Qing's mansion, she would never be able to escape.
Zhao had put on a disguise cream to change her appearance. After a deliberate hunger strike, she became thinner and more hunched. Ordinary people would think she was a refugee begging for a living in the city. The journey to the city gate was smooth. Yancheng did not block the entrance at night. From a distance, she saw the half-open city gate. The lanterns hanging on the tower cast a faint golden glow on the gate.
There is no time when the light makes people feel more hopeful than at this moment.
Zhao took a deep breath, pulled the hood on her head lower, covering half of her face, and continued forward.
The closer she walked to the city gate, the stronger the smell of spring grass became, choking her and causing her to cough slightly. As soon as she made a sound, she immediately covered her mouth. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew over and suddenly blew off her hood.
Zhao was startled, but it was too late to run away.
This wind was not real wind at all, but the wind created by the sharp sword flowers. It passed over her head and suddenly slid down!
"Ah——" Zhao screamed miserably, covering her eyes with both hands, bright red blood dripping down through her fingers. In an instant, she could no longer see hope, and she collapsed to the ground in pain, "My eyes, my eyes..."
The black-clad killer sheathed his sword and came down from the city wall, then flew up again, as if nothing had happened in front of the city gate.
Zhao was trembling all over, trying to stand up again with her arms, when she suddenly heard heavy footsteps approaching, as if they were playing a game. The other party deliberately came slowly, crushing her mind step by step, making her move backwards little by little until her back was against the cold wall, and she could no longer retreat.
The next moment, her chin was clamped with such force that it seemed to be crushed, but her voice was very gentle: "Even without these eyes, I can still recognize you. What about you, without these eyes, can you still know who I am?"
"Master... Please forgive me... I have listened to you and stayed by Duke Qing's side, but he insisted on killing Ruan Wenqing's family, and I had no choice..."
The man smiled softly and pinched her thin shoulder blades: "Listen to me? Then I didn't ask you to fake your death and run away, so why did you run away?"
"I... I heard that my brother was locked up in the prison for killing Ruan Wenqing. I just wanted to see him one last time..." Zhao's tears stained with blood flowed more and more, dripping on the man's hand. He wiped the blood and tears on her neck with his backhand, and then moved them back.
"I'm really unhappy to lose such a great ally as Duke Qing. I'm even more unhappy that the person I've raised for so many years actually wanted to betray me. I didn't even let you take medicine like those women before letting you be with Duke Qing. I just trusted you, but you, Ying'er, you really disappoint me."
His hand stroked Zhao Ying, and Zhao Ying trembled all over, with her upper and lower teeth chattering.
Back then, she was abducted and sold to a brothel in Qingzhou City. When she was unable to bear the humiliation and wanted to commit suicide, it was the young master who saved her. At that time, she thought she had escaped from the clutches of the devil, but she did not expect that she would step into hell.
The young master is a demon, possessing everyone's mind.
She was grateful to him and admired him, but she couldn't help but fear him from the bottom of her heart.
"Master, I won't dare to do it again. Please forgive me this time..."
"If a person has a rebellious heart, he is worse than a dog." The young man hooked Zhao Ying's neck, pressed her head on his shoulder, and said in a strange voice, "I was angry at first and wanted to tie you up and throw you into the fire to burn you alive. I wanted to hear your screams of pain, but when I saw you, I couldn't bear to treat you so cruelly. Ying'er , your brother has been sentenced to beheading, and it will be in the next few days. If you want to see him, you can go downstairs and wait for him first..."
The tip of the long needle was against the back of his neck. Zhao Ying tightly grasped the hem of his clothes and groaned in pain.
"Be good, don't be afraid..."
The poison needle took effect in just a moment, and the person in his arms was no longer alive. The young man lifted her limp arm, rolled up her sleeves, and the gorgeous red plum blossom on her right forearm looked like it was carved out of blood.
The assassin in black came down like a ghost, stood beside him, and asked, "Sir, do you want to cut it off?"
"No need for that. Since she pretended to die in the fire, let her do that." The young man took off the earring from one of Zhao Ying's earlobes and held it in his hand. He didn't look at Zhao Ying again, but looked at the city behind him. It was so quiet and peaceful that not even the sound of bloodthirsty killing could be heard.
This place is not suitable for You Hu, nor for him. What suits them is the city of Chang'an where people are killed without bloodshed.
"Go to Chang'an City and deliver a message. I will be there soon. We can't delay any longer."
"yes."
On the 15th of August, the Mid-Autumn Festival, all the government offices in Dayu were closed for half a day. At noon, officials from the Dali Temple were discussing where to go in the afternoon. Zhou Zhenzhen went to the East Garden to get the files. She saw people talking lively inside, but Meng Fan, who usually made the most noise, was sitting alone at the desk.
