Bai Yuyang was annoyed by Zhang Luo and Yang Lun.
"You two mean to save even the torture?"
As he spoke, he shook the interrogation plan in his hand until it rustled. "Then what is the point of the trial? Can these be reported to His Majesty? In the huge grain administration bureaucracy of Hangzhou, those smart people are all under his control? Minister Yang, Deputy Envoy Zhang, isn't this your first year in the judicial system? Do you believe it?"
Yang Lun did not say anything. Zhang Luo said bluntly, "Master Bai, if you don't believe me, then continue to interrogate the grain officials in Hangzhou. Interrogating him is putting the cart before the horse. Master Bai is the Minister of Justice. Do I need to tell you this?"
After he finished speaking, he walked over to Deng Ying and said to his attendants, "Take the suspect back home after the trial ends at noon. The judge needs to eat, and the prisoner also needs to eat. If you want to try him again later, come back to me and ask for a written order to bring him back."
Having said this, the man strode out of the hall.
Qi Huaiyang stood up and leaned close to Bai Yuyang's ear and said, "Sir Shangshu, why don't we end the trial here today?"
Bai Yuyang suppressed his annoyance and stepped down the stairs, shouting, "Remand."
Deng Ying was taken back to the imperial prison by the captain, and met Zhang Luo who was about to come out of the torture chamber in front of the prison gate.
Zhang Luo stepped aside and signaled the captain to take Deng Ying in first.
When the two of them passed each other, Deng Ying paused.
The captain shouted, "What are you waiting for? Move forward."
Zhang Luo looked back at Deng Ying and said calmly, "Can you tell me what you are talking about?"
Deng Ying shook her head, "I don't dare."
Zhang Luo said to the captain, "Let him go."
"Sir... this..."
"Let him go, I'll take him in myself."
"yes."
The captain let go and stepped back. Zhang Luo raised his hand and grabbed Deng Ying's shackles, "Let's go."
The two walked one after the other on the prison road. Zhang Luo suddenly said, "You were right before."
He laughed as he spoke, "I really can't punish Yang Wan."
Deng Ying raised her head and asked, "Have you seen her, sir?"
"Yeah. But there's still one thing I don't understand."
He paused and turned to look at Deng Ying, "You are clearly a criminal who embezzled the school land. How can you be worthy of her joy, anger, sorrow and happiness?"
Deng Ying coughed and lowered his arms. "I don't want to take over the school land, or even be the supervisor of the East Factory. If my father hadn't committed a serious crime, I would rather follow my teacher and build an imperial city among the mud and rocks for the rest of my life."
He smiled wanly, "But even so, I dare not say that I am worthy of Yang Wan. My love for her is originally the love of a sinner. She gave me a second life..."
As he spoke, he picked up the iron chain hanging in front of his knees and raised it to Zhang Luo, "I am willing to live like this because I have not yet had enough of Yang Wan. After the Xuetian case is closed, I may die. I had already thought of this ending when I took the blame for the Silijian. But I originally thought that before I died, I would be like the people in Tongjia Academy, but I didn't expect that they would not treat me like that."
Zhang Luo said: "Your Majesty ordered that you be tried as a criminal slave, but I will treat you as a criminal official."
"Master Zhang."
Deng Ying called him, "Why is that?"
Zhang Luo turned around and said, "Because I promised Yang Wan that I would keep your clothes safe."
After he finished speaking, he led Deng Ying to the cell and asked, "Are you not going to change your confession in the Xuetian case?"
Deng Ying nodded and said, "No need to change it."
"Why do you want to protect the Imperial Household Department?"
Deng Ying said: "It is not to protect the Imperial Household Department, but to protect the cabinet and for the reputation of your majesty."
He paused after he finished speaking, "Master Zhang, I also want to ask you a question."
"Ask."
"If I die, the Eastern Investigation Bureau will return to the hands of the Imperial Household Department. If the Prime Minister case happens again, no one will be able to save the people like the elders. Lord Zhang, can you please..."
"so."
Zhang Luo interrupted Deng Ying and turned around to ask, "Back then, you insisted on getting the position of the East Factory Supervisor, increasing the East Factory Guards, building the factory prison, and dividing the power of sentencing and trial, just to protect these people?"
"yes."
"Oh."
Zhang Luo raised his finger and said, "Prime Minister Bai impeached you. In order to pry open your mouth, Minister Bai wanted to torture you to death. You are on the verge of death, but you still want to leave them a way out with me. Deng Ying, no one in this world would do things like this!"
Deng Ying smiled and asked, "Am I a complete person?"
Zhang Luo was stunned.
Deng Ying took a step closer to him and said, "There are many things I can't do. I can only watch them do it. If they can't live well, then what's the point of me living?"
Zhang Luo raised his head and said, "You are questioning me, right?"
"I don't dare."
Zhang Luo looked at Deng Ying without saying anything else.
He raised his hand and ordered the jailer to open the door of the cell, then let go of Deng Ying and let him go in by himself.
Deng Ying walked into the cell, looked back at Zhang Luo, raised his hand, and bowed to him through the cell door.
Zhang Luo was silent for a moment, took a step back, and raised his hand to return the greeting.
**
The Ministry of Justice quickly decided on the crime against Deng Ying, and he was sentenced to beheading and executed in the autumn.
Although Yang Lun wanted to take Deng Ying to the Ministry of Justice, Emperor Zhenning did not agree.
After the summer, Emperor Zhenning's throat disease became more serious. Whenever it was damp and rainy, he could not stop coughing. The concubines of the six palaces took turns to take care of the sick. The two unfavored beauties in Chengqian Palace also met the emperor several times. Because they fell in love with each other, they came back and made underwear for Emperor Zhenning.
Yang Wan followed them and learned secretly. Concubine Chen asked her, "Why do you bother to serve His Highness in the Needlework Bureau?"
Yang Wan cut the lanterns for them. "This won't be a salary penalty. We should save as much as possible. The two ladies are so good at embroidery. I want to learn it, too."
Lady Chen remembered Yang Wan's kindness and taught her everything she knew, but Yang Wan really didn't have much talent in this area. Song Yunqing couldn't stand it anymore and came over to help her correct the needlework.
"What is this for?"
"Shirt."
Song Yun gently shook the cloth in his hand and said, "The sleeve seams are all wrong."
Yang Wan hurriedly moved the lamp over and said, "What's wrong? Please teach me how to fix it."
Song Yunqing said: "This is for Deng Ying, right?"
"Um."
Song Yun shook his head lightly and said, "It's gray."
Yang Wan took the needle and thread and put it under the lamp. "He likes to wear gray."
Song Yunqing looked at Yang Wan with some concern, "He's been sentenced to death, and after doing all this, how can he still wear it?"
Yang Wan didn't look at her, she just said calmly: "Please teach me how to correct it first."
Song Yun sighed and said, "I told you before that in the palace, you should just treat them as companions and not get yourself involved. Look at you now..."
Yang Wan smiled and said, "I don't have anything to say right now, so stop wasting time and teach me."
Song Yunqing thought that she didn't want to face it, and didn't want to make her sad anymore, so she raised her hand and moved the lamp to the embroidery table, "Okay, I'll teach you how to fix the sleeve seam."
Yang Wan spent the entire summer making that shirt.
Not to mention that Song Yun was weak, even Yi Lang was a little worried about her emotions.
He often asked Yang Wan if he could plead with Emperor Zhenning on Deng Ying's behalf, but Yang Wan always shook her head.
Yi Lang couldn't help but ask her, "Aunt, aren't you sad that the factory official has been convicted?"
Yang Wan hugged Yi Lang, gently placed her head on his shoulder, and said softly, "Come back a little."
Yi Lang turned his head to look at Yang Wan, "Aunt, I don't want Changchen to die."
"Um."
Yang Wan said softly, "Aunt thanks His Highness on behalf of the factory minister."
Yi Lang let go of Yang Wan, stood up and held Yang Wan's hand, "Aunt, why didn't you let me go and plead for mercy? I saved the students of the academy last time, why can't I save the factory officials this time?"
Yang Wan looked at Yi Lang in front of her and rubbed her sore eyes. "Because he is a eunuch, and those people are scholars. Pardoning scholars is benevolence and righteousness, but what is pardoning eunuchs?"
“It is unrighteous.”
Yi Lang went straight ahead.
Yang Wan felt a pain in her heart, but she could only say, "Your Highness is right."
Yi Lang looked at Yang Wan and said in a serious tone, "That's why the factory official told me not to show him any mercy in the future."
Yang Wan was startled. "When did he tell me that?"
"Once, when my aunt went out to cook noodles, he told me this in the study. He also taught me to write something..."
As he spoke, his voice became smaller and smaller. Yang Wan squeezed Yi Lang's hand and said, "What is that?"
Yi Lang shook his head, his voice becoming a little anxious, "I won't tell you, I promised the factory official that I must not tell you this..."
Yang Wan touched Yi Lang's forehead and comforted him, "Okay, Auntie won't force you to say it."
Only then did Yi Lang relax his shoulders.
Yang Wan asked, "He doesn't let Your Highness show mercy to him. What does Your Highness think?"
Yi Lang did not answer immediately, but folded his arms and looked outside the hall.
The giant crown tree in the courtyard swayed its leaf crowns in the early autumn wind, and the rustling of the leaves made one's spine cold.
Yang Wan followed Yi Lang's gaze and said softly, "No matter what Your Highness thinks, Auntie will save him. Even if Your Highness doesn't like Auntie anymore, or even thinks that Auntie is a hateful woman, Auntie will not give up on him."
"I won't!"
Yi Lang said anxiously: "I will always be good to my aunt."
Yang Wan smiled, opened her arms and said to Yi Lang gently, "Come."
Yi Lang quickly huddled into Yang Wan's arms. Yang Wan held him and listened to the wind outside the palace. "Your Highness, he is a young man with a bright future. When he grows up, he will live more freely and more firmly. But the person your aunt loves has only a past and no future. He has always been like this, and your aunt can't do anything about him, but your aunt doesn't want to blame him. She just wants to give him more, so..."
She lowered her head and looked at Yi Lang in her arms. "If in the future, your aunt does something that you think is wrong, you don't have to show mercy to her."
"Aunt..."
Yi Lang grabbed Yang Wan's sleeve and said, "Don't say such things."
Yang Wan held Yi Lang's hand and said, "Don't worry, even if you are unforgiving, your aunt may not lose."
After she finished speaking, she raised her hand and tightened Yi Lang's robe.
In the fourteenth year of Zhenning, in early autumn, the bright moon was in the window, and people all over the world were looking at it.
Although Deng Ying suffered some injuries in prison, he never gave up eating. He listened to Yang Wan, ate well, and slept as much as possible. Even though he became a death row prisoner, he did not deliberately count the days, but only occasionally asked the jailer how many days it would take to enter autumn.
Yang Wan continued to learn needlework with Concubine Chen and Song Yunqing in Chengqian Palace. Although her work was still ugly, the autumn shirt that she had promised to bring to Deng Ying was finally completed.
In the mid-August of the fourteenth year of Zhenning, Emperor Zhenning's throat disease became more serious.
Yang Lun was in the cabinet duty room, and finally waited for the turning point that Yang Wan had mentioned.