The spring breeze in February was still dry and cold, blowing the weeds on the shed everywhere.
The dust was all over the ground, which was dazzling. The captain in brocade clothes wiped his face and shouted again, "You don't recognize it, right..."
As he spoke, his fingers swept across everyone's face, finally landing on Zhou Muyi's face, "Come here, tie this guy up and take him away."
"Why are you taking me away?"
Zhou Muyi was unwilling to give in. He twisted his arms and struggled desperately. Seeing this, the people around him also rushed over, "Yeah! Why are you taking him away?"
These scholars were all from the countryside, most of them were in the capital for the first time, and it was also the first time they had a confrontation with the Jinyiwei. They all knew how to protect themselves, so they confronted the Jinyiwei. They were all good at talking, and once they started to argue, they couldn't stop, and inevitably uttered some inappropriate remarks. The Jinyiwei didn't want to argue with them, so they took advantage of their verbal mistakes and arrested thirteen people in one go, tied them up with ropes one by one, and escorted them out of the yard like animals.
The candidates who were passing by on Donggong Street all saw this scene and stood on both sides of the street pointing and talking in anger.
An old Hanlin who had retired from the Hanlin Academy was heartbroken when he saw the miserable state of these students. He leaned on his cane and trembled as he stood in front of the Jinyiwei. "My lords, they are all people with honors. They can be killed, humiliated, and even kidnapped! They can be kidnapped!"
Zhou Muyi said loudly: "Old sir, your sincere righteousness is understood by all students. Please go back. We have a lot of enthusiasm, but you are deaf and blind! Mr. Zhou Congshan died in the Meridian Gate in the future, and today we are humiliated like this. It's really..."
"Shut up! Shut up!"
The old Hanlin raised his bamboo stick and swung it at Zhou Muyi, but was pushed away by the Jinyiwei. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. His elbows and palms were bleeding, and no one in the crowd dared to step forward to help him.
The old Hanlin struggled for a long time but was unable to stand up on his own.
"Old man, did you get hurt?"
A woman walked out of the crowd, rolled up her sleeves, squatted in front of the old Hanlin, and rolled up his sleeves to help him check his injuries.
The old Hanlin waved his hand and said, "I'm fine."
After saying that, he glanced at her and said, "You are a young daughter-in-law, don't come out and talk."
Unexpectedly, she did not respond, but turned to the Jinyiwei and said, "Apologize."
After she finished speaking, she looked at Zhou Muyi again, "I'll give you back, and you have to apologize too!"
Zhou Muyi recognized the woman who was speaking as Yang Wan, and sneered: "Apologize? Do you dare to tell the old man who you are? See if the old man is still willing to let you support him."
After hearing this, the old Hanlin's arms trembled, and he looked up at Yang Wanyu: "You are..."
Zhou Muyi said: "She is Yang Wan, the vegetable farmer of the man from the East Factory."
The old Hanlin was stunned and quickly pushed Yang Wan's hand away.
Yang Wan said nothing, but took a step back, bowed to him, and said, "I appreciate your compassion for the younger generation, and I have no intention of offending you. If you dislike me, I will send someone to take you back."
The old Hanlin shook his head and said, "I will not go back."
After he finished speaking, he picked up the bamboo stick on the ground and said to the crowd, "Although I have been away from the court for many years, I once worked in the Ministry of Rites and presided over the imperial examinations. I never thought that the Spring Examination of fourteen years would be like this."
He raised his staff and pointed it at Zhou Muyi: "If you do not study properly, what do those Donglin people think? The future of these people is nothing in their eyes. If they just teach them to curse the court and the emperor, sooner or later, there will be another Tongjia case..."
As he was talking, his vision went dark and he almost lost his balance.
Zhou Muyi said: "Old sir, warriors die in battle, scholars die in remonstration. We study only to serve our country, so why should we fear death!"
"Yes, why fear this death?"
The place was bustling with noise and a lot of emotions were expressed. Facing this group of scholars, Yang Wan suddenly felt a wave of cold sadness in her heart.
The rebellious spirit in human nature exists in every era, but the people before us cannot be classified as part of the revolutionary spirit of "give me freedom or give me death".
That was the literati mind that was distorted by the Ming government, used by the Donglin Party, and deceived by themselves. They were not afraid of death, but wanted to correct their reputation with death. The military died in battle, the literati died in remonstrance. This sentence sounded so "fearless" and so helpless. They knew that the future was bleak and that death was meaningless, but they still wanted to die. In the end, what they wanted was not the world's innocence as they said, but their own innocence.
This is meaningless.
Yang Wan was at a loss for words about this matter.
Just as she was struggling with her inner struggle, she suddenly heard a voice coming from the crowd.
"Did you study for more than ten years just to die at the Meridian Gate?"
Everyone looked behind Yang Wan and saw Deng Ying standing in front of the crowd with the iron chain of shackles in his hands.
He took a few steps towards Yang Wan, and the sound of the iron chain scraping against the ground was slightly harsh.
He walked up to Yang Wan and bowed to the old Hanlin.
Hanlin waved his hands and shook his head, refusing to accept it, but Deng Ying still insisted on finishing the conversation before standing up.
Zhou Muyi struggled and shouted at Deng Ying: "Deng Ying, everyone in the world knows that you locked Mr. Bai in the factory prison and tortured him. Even if you pretend to be righteous now, you are still despised by others!"
Yang Wan could no longer bear it, "Zhou Muyi, I think you are stupid, right? Do you know why the old man is going to scold you?"
"Wanwan is back."
Yang Wan's chest was heaving with anger. Deng Ying pulled her hand and she retreated behind Deng Ying, pursing her lips.
Deng Ying walked towards Zhou Muyi and said as they walked: "Do you know that it is very difficult to find a good desk in a peaceful place? Chushan Academy is a private school. It has been supported to this day by the grace of the court and the hard work of several old Hanlin scholars in Hangzhou. The court and the adults support the academy and support your studies, just to let you travel thousands of miles to the capital to die."
Zhou Muyi spat at Deng Ying, "How dare you mention Chushan Academy? Our academy has been in dire straits for the past two years. For this imperial examination, the teacher almost emptied his family's assets and sold his own land to raise funds for us. Who did this happen to you? Does Governor Deng know?"
He raised his voice and said, "You embezzled the school land and enriched yourself, while we studied hard for ten years and lived in poverty. We watched you and those people in the Imperial Household Department live in luxurious houses and beautiful clothes. Where is the king's power and where is the justice of heaven?"
"Is the king here?"
Deng Ying's throat choked and she raised her hands to him, "Then what is this?"
Zhou Muyi was stunned.
Deng Ying looked him in the eyes and continued, "I was involved in the Xuetian case, so I ended up in this situation. I was tortured and tried in the Ministry of Justice. People waiting for punishment have no dignity. You studied hard for ten years. Do you want to end up like me?"
He said, looking at the people behind Zhou Mushan, "Do you want to be like me?"
After this question, everyone fell silent.
Yang Wan heard a tremor in Deng Ying's voice.
"If you study to become an official, and then work hard for the people's livelihood, what kind of scholar are you?"
After he said this, he slowly put down his hands, turned around, took Yang Wan's hand, and walked towards the crowd.
The guards of the East Factory immediately stopped the Jinyiwei people. Tan Wende said: "We will take these people away from the East Factory."
Captain: "Why?"
Qin Wende wiped his face and said, "According to our supervisor's opinion, and our East Factory's order to supervise your case, if you handle the case well, we will naturally take over. If you are satisfied, you can ask Deputy Envoy Zhang to come to the factory to ask our supervisor."
As he spoke, he lifted Zhou Muyi's wrist and said to the guards, "Untie the ropes that are tying them up. The old man also said that these are people with honors. It's too ugly to tie them up like this."
Zhou Muyi said: "I'd rather die than go to the East Factory!"
Qin Wende was getting furious, and he used the hilt of the knife to push him to the ground. "Why, do you want to live in the imperial prison so much? Fine, go ahead. We'll take the rest of the people away, but I'll leave you to the Northern Pacification Office. Are you Zhou Congshan's nephew? Come on, go with these Jinyiwei and see where your uncle is suffering."
A factory guard saw that what Tan Wende said was true and hurried forward to say: "Really save this Zhou, the governor did not order that."
Qin Wende snorted, "I'm just too angry."
After saying that, he waved his hand and said, "Alright, take it away, take it all away."
**
On this side, Yang Wan was sitting in the carriage waiting for Deng Ying.
After the factory guards came over to report, Deng Ying kept his head down and did not speak for a long time.
The factory guards could not help asking, "Master, if the Northern Pacification Office comes to ask us about our treatment of these people, how should we write them a reply?"
Deng Yingchao: "The examination will be held in a dozen days. We cannot detain these people."
The factory guard said: "If it is closed, then we have to close it."
After listening to this, Deng Ying pinched her sleeves and nodded after a while.
Yang Wan held Deng Ying's hand and helped him get on the carriage, while asking, "It will take a lot of effort."
Deng Ying coughed and said, "Zhou Muyi will be caned twenty times, and the rest will be caned ten times."
Yang Wan looked at Deng Ying's profile and said softly, "They must hate you to death."
"Hate it if you want."
As he spoke, he closed his eyes, raised his head, supported his forehead with both hands, and began to cough intermittently.
Yang Wan reached out and gently stroked Deng Ying's ear, "Deng Xiaoying, what's wrong with you?"
Deng Ying said nothing.
Yang Wan sat a little closer to the side, "If you want, you have to lie on my lap for a while."
Yang Wan thought Deng Ying would postpone, but he slowly bent down and leaned his face against Yang Wan's legs.
Yang Wan lowered her head and asked softly, "Are you mad at them?"
Deng Ying closed her eyes obediently and said "hmm".
Yang Wan touched Deng Ying's forehead and said, "This is the first time I've seen you speak like that."
"I won't do that again."
Yang Wan asked gently, "Deng Ying, how did you study back then?"
"Same as Zhou Muyi."
"Yes, you are much better than him."
Deng Ying coughed and laughed, "How do you know?"
Yang Wan raised her head, "You made me understand one thing - what is the true literary spirit of the Ming Dynasty. It is not to seek fame and reputation, to die for fame, but like you, no matter who you are, no matter where you are, you will not forget your original intention and live for this world. You are willing to save these scholars, just like you protected Yi Lang. What you see is the future of the court and the people's livelihood. You are much nobler than Zhou Muyi and others. Deng Ying, from beginning to end, you have never let down your teachers, nor have you let down yourself. You are worthy of being a scholar of the Ming Dynasty."
Deng Ying's throat felt a little hot. "Wan Wan, I don't know how long I can help these people."
"Still looking at me."
After she finished speaking, she covered Deng Ying with her cloak and said, "Let's go see Master Bai. You can sleep with me for a while. I'll call you when we get there."