Yang Wan had never thought in her previous life that she would be in the Forbidden City more than 600 years ago, teaching the builders of this imperial city how to eat. And he really did as Yang Wan said, carefully holding the nuts she held for him with his hands, stuffing them into his mouth in one breath, lowering his head and chewing slowly. The nuts were very crisp, crackling between his teeth, like a small dud that didn't explode during the Chinese New Year.
Yang Wan held her chin in her hand, feeling very satisfied with the metaphor that suddenly popped into her mind.
She sat up straight and looked at Deng Ying's silhouette under the light.
This rainy night in the twelfth year of Zhenning suddenly became very realistic, just like when she stayed up all night in the library, with lemon and wolfberry tea in her thermos and a bag of nuts next to her hand warmer. The person in front of her, named Deng Ying, turned into large pieces of sharp text, and accompanied her through several complete winters.
“Yeah.”
She couldn't help but call him.
Deng Ying heard Yang Wan's voice and wanted to answer her, but he choked. Yang Wan quickly poured a glass of water and handed it to him, "Drink some water and relax."
Deng Ying swallowed a mouthful of water while holding back her cough, and then she smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I wouldn't have been like this before."
"It's okay, you eat, I won't make any noise. It's quite unlike you when you eat."
"That... looks like what."
"Like the hamster I used to have."
"Hamster?"
"It just looks like a rat."
"ah?"
After hearing this analogy, he couldn't help but laugh and shake his head, covering his mouth and nose and swallowing the remaining nuts in his mouth.
Yang Wan held her chin and asked him, "Do you treat others like this?"
"What do you mean?"
"Good temper, never gets angry no matter what others say."
"Um… "
Deng Ying paused for a moment, holding the teacup, and said, "I don't date many people."
"What about my brother?"
When Deng Ying heard her ask this, she seemed a little hesitant.
"Your brother... is one of the few friends I have. But now I can't associate with him."
Yang Wan looked at the scar on the back of his hand and suddenly said, "He treats you like this now, don't you think he is shameless?"
shameless
Deng Ying didn't show any expression at first. After repeating these three words in his mind, he actually laughed. He raised his head and looked at Yang Wan, "You always make me want to laugh when you talk."
"That's because I love to tell the truth."
Yang Wan almost crossed her legs while speaking, "To be honest, I used to think Yang Lun was quite capable, but now it seems that he was just so-so during the Zhenning period."
She curled her lips as she spoke, "He's good to his sister, but his methods are too stupid. He doesn't know what's the best way to do it. He just protects his shortcomings. As for teaching... He's okay. He reads seriously from the book. It's really what Elder Bai taught him. Hey, Deng Ying."
When she talked about something interesting, she couldn't help but pull the mattress under Deng Ying.
"When are you going to give lectures at the inner school?"
Deng Ying looked at Yang Wan's hand, which was only three inches away from his leg. Just as he was about to withdraw it, she pulled it back at the right time.
"You must speak better than Yang Lun."
No matter what she said, Yang Wan always stood on Deng Ying's side.
Deng Ying still doesn't understand why this woman he had never met before was willing to stand with him.
In Nanhaizi, he thought it was a wrong kind of love, but now he was not so sure.
But he didn't want to ask.
"Miss, do you want to listen to Deng Ying's lecture?"
"Um."
Yang Wan said this as she took out a sealed booklet from her bosom.
"Look, I've prepared my lecture notebooks. Also, don't call me girl in the future. I have a name, I told you, my name is Yang Wan, and I also have a nickname, Wan Wan. Although they all say that my personality has changed since then, this nickname doesn't really suit me, but if you want to call me that, it's fine."
"No, the word Wanwan suits you very well."
His eyes and voice were sincere when he spoke. Yang Wan wanted to laugh after hearing this, and suddenly decided to add a note to the "Biography of Deng Ying" - Deng Ying was also a person who lied to girls with open eyes.
"You are the first person who said this since I became an adult. Alas..."
She sighed and looked out the window, "But I'm worried. Yang Lun doesn't seem to like me like this."
"Zi Xi..."
He blurted out Yang Lun's courtesy name, paused and changed his words, "How is Lord Yang these days
"Very good, what can be wrong with him?"
"And you."
"ah?"
Yang Wan didn't react for a moment.
Seeing her in a daze, Deng Ying suddenly felt a little panicked and said hurriedly, "Deng Ying did not mean to offend."
Hearing what he said, Yang Wan held up her cheek and smiled, "Are you asking about my recent situation? Are you worried that Zhang Luo will embarrass me? Ha..."
Her eyes flickered. "Don't worry. I'm afraid all the women in the capital look down on him now. They scold him every day for abandoning me and forcing me to break off the engagement and tarnishing my reputation. Yesterday, my sister mentioned something about him and me in front of His Majesty. His Majesty got angry and ordered the Ministry of Punishment to beat him with 20 boards. He's probably recovering at home now. My brother appeared on the surface to plead for the Zhang family, but privately, I think he's very happy."
After he finished speaking, he also laughed. After he managed to hold it back, he continued, "Don't worry, these things have nothing to do with you. Just do your job well. When you go to the inner study, let me know so that I can ask for leave from the Shangyi Bureau."
"I haven't lectured for a long time."
"You...are still nervous."
Deng Ying shook her head. "No, I'm afraid it's not as good as you think. Deng Ying has been a name for many years, but in fact, he is just a discarded student of the teacher."
When Yang Wan heard him say this, she suddenly remembered that Yang Lun had mentioned in his private collection that Deng Ying had no coffin after his death, and no one in the entire capital dared to intervene. It was Bai Huan who gave Deng Ying the coffin he had prepared for himself, and when he died, he was hastily buried with a piece of cheap wood.
The friendship between teachers and students is so deep, but it is difficult to express it in words during one's lifetime.
This is a tragedy of the times.
Some emotions go against current ethical principles. Even though they exist, one has to use one's life to keep them from being revealed.
Yang Wan was walking back to Chengqian Palace holding a lantern, thinking about the relationship between Bai Huan and Deng Ying.
Their real breakup took place in the autumn of the twelfth year of Zhenning. At that time, a particularly tragic massacre occurred in history, and more than seventy people from Tongjia Academy were beheaded.
Most of these people were members of the Donglin Party, who had even dared to scold the cabinet. In the end, they were tortured one by one by Zhang Luo. Many of them could not bear the torture and betrayed the principles they had believed in all their lives in the imperial prison. However, in the end, no one survived.
Yang Wan had seen such a description in historical materials.
"Zhou Conghai's knees were bare, he could not bear kneeling on the execution platform. Before he died, he cursed the emperor, vomited blood and clotted his flesh. It can be said that his internal organs were all rotten from the punishment. His miserable condition is beyond description."
There are several blind spots in this period of history, and Yang Wan has researched it many times but has not found any concrete evidence.
First of all, these people were arrested and imprisoned because they felt sorry for Deng Ying, but their tragic deaths were ultimately caused by Zhang Luo. The reason why Zhang Luo cruelly killed these people is not clearly stated in historical records.
Second, the fate of these people was so tragic that it shocked the civil service group. The emperor could not bear the pressure and was forced to activate the East Factory to supervise the Embroidered Uniform Guard in order to weaken the power of the Northern Pacification Office.
It was at that time that Deng Ying walked from the Hall of Supreme Harmony to the Imperial Household Department and the entire Ming Dynasty civil service group. The historical materials do not record the exact process, but later researchers analyzed the historical fact that Bai Huan and Deng Ying broke up and concluded that this tragedy should have been caused by Deng Ying's instigation. This is also the first crime that the historians have sentenced Deng Ying to - in order to get to the top, he personally pushed those who once spoke for him at the risk of their lives into the pile of bones.
Yang Wan does not agree with this statement, but unfortunately, this is only an emotional disagreement and she has no empirical support.
Now, there is still half a year left until the autumn of the twelfth year of Zhenning. Counting it back, this seems to be the purest period of time for Deng Ying in the inner court.
Yang Wan felt a little melancholy when she thought of him sitting in front of her and eating nuts like a hamster.
She rubbed her eyes quickly and reminded herself not to think too much.
History is history after all. No matter how difficult the people involved are, it has nothing to do with her.
"aunt."
A childish voice interrupted her thoughts.
Yang Wan raised her head and found that she had arrived at the gate of Chengqian Palace.
Concubine Ning's son, the eldest prince Yi Lang, was shaking his arm, "I want to see my aunt turn into a little person again."
Seeing that there was no one around him and that he was sweating from running, Yang Wan squatted down, took out her handkerchief and wiped his sweat.
"You're calling me aunt again."
Yi Lang grabbed Yang Wan's hand and said, "My mother said that you are her sister, so you are my aunt."
Seeing that he looked like a little overbearing CEO, Yang Wan always wanted to pinch his face when no one was around.
No matter what era it is, warm-hearted children always make people feel distressed.
"Aunt, are you unhappy?"
Yang Wan shook her head, "I am not unhappy."
Yi Lang let go of his hand and asked Yang Wan seriously, "Then why were you staring at the ground and not saying anything just now?"
Yang Wan smiled and said, "My earring fell off."
Just as she finished speaking, a gentle voice suddenly came from the palace gate, "When did it fall? I will send someone to find it for you."
Yang Wan raised her head and saw Concubine Ning walking down the stairs. She had just put on her evening makeup and was dressed simply. She said to Yi Lang, "When did you run away?"
Yang Wan hurriedly bowed, and Concubine Ning held Yi Lang's hand with one hand and helped her up with the other.
“I’m back.”
"Um."
"Where did you go?"
"I went to see an old friend."
Concubine Ning asked her gently, "Does Wan'er have any old friends in the palace?"
"… "
Yang Wan just smiled and didn't respond.
"It must be Young Supervisor Deng."
Yang Wan was stunned. Concubine Ning tucked her hair that was wet by the rain and said softly, "Silly girl, you used to be the most timid. What's wrong with you now?"
Although she said this, she did not mean to blame him.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"With the Majesty protecting me, what do I have to fear?"