Deng Ying looked at Yang Wan standing in front of him, and felt an indescribable chill in his heart.
At Huiji Gate, she hid behind him to avoid Zheng Yuejia's gift.
At this moment, he wanted to pull her back and pull her behind him.
But he also discovered that Yang Wan's courage and fear seemed to be the opposite of everyone else's.
"Oh."
Zhang Luo laughed softly, which frightened many officials present.
He walked down the stone steps, the rain water on the ground making crackling sounds under his feet.
He walked up to Yang Wan step by step, "Be blamed, huh? What blame?"
After saying this, without any hesitation, he turned the handle of the knife and chopped it towards Yang Wan's knee.
Yang Wan was caught off guard and was immediately thrown into the rain by his force.
The pain that made her speechless came from her knee, but she also realized that Zhang Luo should not have used his full strength, otherwise her bones would have been broken.
"Yang Wan!"
When Zhang Luo heard Deng Ying's voice, he didn't even raise his head and said to the Jinyiwei beside him, "Hold that slave girl."
Then he turned to Yang Lun and said, "This is a lesson for her offending the superior."
After saying this, he ordered someone to lead the horse, climbed onto its back, lowered his head and said to Deng Ying, "You two are extremely filthy."
"Zhang Luo, stop right there!"
When Yang Lun saw him riding his horse, he immediately wanted to chase him, but Yang Wan hurriedly called out, "Don't chase him."
After saying that, she struggled to stand up, but gasped in pain. Deng Ying hurriedly supported her arm.
Yang Lun said anxiously, "Who allowed you to touch her?"
Deng Ying was startled, and Yang Wan grabbed his sleeve and said, "Don't be silly and let go. If you let go, I will fall."
Deng Ying hurriedly said, "Okay, I won't let go. Can you stand still?"
Yang Wan tried to stand up straight, and said despite the pain, "It's okay, I can still walk. He didn't use any force, I just fell down."
Seeing Yang Wan dragging Deng Ying, Yang Lun didn't know what to say to Deng Ying anymore, and instead raised his voice and cursed: "This Northern Pacification Office is almost lawless."
Yang Wan smiled bitterly, "Isn't he the king's law? He enforces the law for the emperor."
Yang Lun said: "That's true, but if you go to the extreme, you will become a madman. Who can stop you?"
After hearing this, Yang Wan couldn't help but look at Deng Ying beside her.
During the Zhenning and Jinghe dynasties, Deng Ying, the director of the East Factory, had always been in charge of checking and balancing the Imperial Guards.
Yang Lun didn't know that the "whom" he was talking about was standing in front of him at this moment.
"There's always someone who can check him. Right?"
Deng Ying realized that she was speaking to herself.
He actually didn't know how to answer, but he didn't want to disappoint her.
"right."
He responded with this word instinctively.
Yang Lun didn't pay attention to the conversation between the two. He bent down to check Yang Wan's injuries, but he couldn't let her show her skin in public, so he could only pinch her leg gently, "Are you okay?"
Yang Wan gritted her teeth and shook her head, "It's okay, maybe a little swollen."
Deng Ying said to Yang Lun, "I'm sorry, Lord Yang. I'll leave it to you."
Yang Lun scolded, "Do you think I'm stupid? It was Zhang Luo who hurt her."
Yang Wan let go of Deng Ying, "Okay, I'm fine. Go in quickly. Don't waste time."
Deng Ying stood there without moving.
Yang Wan pursed her lips and forced a smile at him, "Go ahead, I'll wait for you outside."
Deng Ying freed one hand and held up the umbrella to cover her body. "I'll help you go in and sit down."
Yang Wan shook her head, "No, I can't kneel down in this state, and... I'm not sincere, I'm afraid it will offend the deceased inside."
Yang Lun pulled Yang Wan to his side, looked up and said to Deng Ying: "Okay, go ahead, don't let her down. I will take care of my own sister."
Yang Wan nodded to Deng Ying in accordance with Yang Lun's words.
"Go ahead, I'll wait for you to return to the palace together."
After listening to this, Deng Ying took a step back, bowed deeply to Yang Lun, and walked straight towards the mourning hall.
The people in front of the door dispersed, each with their own thoughts.
Yang Lun asked Yang Wan: "Can we go?"
"Yes, thank you, Master Yang."
For some reason, Yang Wan mostly called him by honorifics and rarely called him brother.
Yang Lun was very upset about this, but ethics and moral principles were too deeply rooted in his heart, and serious words were not suitable to express his loss as the eldest brother.
"I'm sorry I embarrassed you today."
She said, rubbing her hands.
Yang Lun helped her sit down by the mountain gate and asked, "Do you feel guilty?"
“Some for you, some for no one else.”
Yang Lun smiled, took the umbrella from the servant, and asked someone to bring his cloak to her.
"Put it on."
After that, he held the umbrella steady for her, lowered his head and said calmly, "Forget it this time."
He lowered his voice and said as he did so. He also gathered Yang Wan's cloak.
"I really don't want to see him touch you."
"Deng Ying?"
"right."
Yang Wan didn't answer.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Yang Lun couldn't help but ask again: "Has he offended you before?"
Yang Wan looked at the figure that was trampled to pieces in the rain.
"Do you think he will?"
"He doesn't dare."
"yes."
She looked up at Yang Lun. "You put handcuffs and leg irons on him, and you also put emotional shackles on him. So far, he has accepted it and has not resisted you. But I don't think this is him admitting his guilt or showing weakness to you. He just doesn't want to give up on himself, not you. Even if you don't want to listen to him, don't force him with these people, okay? If one day he is tortured to death, you and I will regret it."
Yang Lun was stunned.
"Did he tell you?"
"Yeah. I was scared. He wasn't really humble when he was with you guys, but he really didn't dare to be with me."
She paused, pursed her lips and lowered her head, "I don't want to see him like this."
After hearing this, Yang Lun was silent for a long time.
"Are you blaming me?"
"A little bit."
Yang Lun nodded.
"Okay, I won't say those things to Deng Ying anymore. You better stop looking so sad at me."
"Thank you."
She said, and the smile on her face faded away.
Yang Lun sighed and laughed, then changed the subject: "By the way, I want to ask you something."
"Um."
"I heard that His Majesty almost beat Zheng Yuejia to death, but later pardoned him. You were in the palace, do you know why?"
Yang Wan thought of Concubine Ning and couldn't help but avoid the main point.
"That's the Yangxin Palace's business, no specific news can be heard."
Yang Lun pinched his jaw, "This matter is a little strange."
“What’s so strange about that?”
Yang Lun said: "Logically speaking, His Majesty has already ordered the execution, there is no reason to suddenly bring him back."
Yang Wan asked back: "Do you think this is very important?"
Yang Lun shook his head, "I'm a little unsure now, whether this is a good thing or a bad thing."
"bad thing."
She said very straightforwardly, "The cabinet allowed the six departments and the Inspectorate to force remonstration. His Majesty has been angry for a long time. However, his murderous intention was only directed at Zheng Yuejia, and he did not mention the Ministry of Ceremonies and He Yixian. This attitude shows that the people of the department have already lost. If this continues, something bad will happen sooner or later. This time, your cabinet is hiding behind, but what about the others
Yang Lun said: "Not really."
Yang Wan continued, "Yes, the court will not punish the entire six departments. But will they punish other places?"
When Yang Lun heard her say this, he suddenly remembered the half sentence that Zhang Luo had not finished.
He quickly turned around and said, "Hold the umbrella, I'm going to see the teacher."
Yang Wan looked at Yang Lun's back and took a deep breath, letting it get stuck in her throat and refusing to exhale for a long time.
Sometimes, she would have a horrible illusion.
It seems that history is made up of the life and death of a group of people.
At the beginning of the twelfth year of Zhenning, Deng Yi was beheaded.
In the summer of the twelfth year of Zhenning, Zhang Zhanchun died.
In the autumn of the twelfth year of Zhenning, more than eighty people from Tongjia Academy died in the imperial prison.
…
Some of these people have clear faces in historical records, but some don't even have names.
But they made up the joys and sorrows of the Zhenning year, and paved the way for living people like Deng Ying, Yang Lun, and Zhang Luo.
If Yang Wan could be a little more ruthless, this would undoubtedly be a blood feast to entertain her.
But can she enjoy it alone
Yang Wan looked at the silent mountain gate and shook her head.
At this moment, she could only try her best not to think too much and wait quietly for Deng Ying to come back.
About an hour later, the person she was waiting for finally came out alone, with a sad but forbearing look on his face.
Yang Wan staggered forward, and Deng Ying almost subconsciously reached out to support her, forgetting that she was holding a jadeite hibiscus pendant in her hand.
Yang Wan lowered her head and held up his hand, "Hey, what is this..."
"nothing."
He put the jade pendant into his arms, his movements somewhat flustered.
Yang Wan looked at his bewildered look and asked tentatively:
“Who gave it to you?”
"The teacher left it to me."
Yang Wan nodded without asking any more questions, "Then keep it."
After saying that, he gently shook the umbrella and said, "Let's go back."
"good."
She listened to his promise, but did not move immediately, "I want to pull your sleeve and leave."
"I can help you walk."
Yang Wan shook her head and reached out to pinch Deng Ying's sleeve.
"I'll wait until the day you're willing to help me. By the way, when I get back, I'll go to your place to get some medicine and change clothes. I don't want the queen and Jiang Shangyi to know what happened today."
While she was talking, she kept pulling at Deng Ying's sleeve gently. She didn't know if it was because of the cold or the pain, but her body was shaking a little.
Deng Ying turned her head to look at her.
"Are you afraid of Zhang Luo?"
"Afraid."
Yang Wan nodded. "He is someone I am afraid of. Not only am I afraid of him, but Lord Yang and the others are also afraid of him."
After hearing this, Deng Ying was silent for a moment.
Yang Wan shook his sleeve.
"what's on your mind."
"I was thinking about what you said."
Yang Wan stopped and said, "Don't think too much."
Deng Ying smiled and didn't respond to her.
**
The bloody banquet to entertain Yang Wan finally kicked off in June of that year.
The literary uproar lasted for a whole month, involving nearly a hundred officials in the capital. The emperor was furious and ordered the Jinyiwei to beat dozens of officials, including the two censors Huang and Liu, with sticks. He also ordered all officials to gather at the Meridian Gate to watch the execution.
However, such punishment did not deter these young officials.
Instead, it became the new material for the Donglin Party to submit memorials. The writers who were so eager to write that they did not mind being caned in court, and even took pride in it, became more and more unscrupulous in their words, and involved more and more things.
Bai Huan remained silent, and Zhang Cong tried to suppress the situation several times, but failed.
One day, as soon as Zhang Luo walked out of the Beizhenfusi, he saw a sedan chair parked nearby.
"Who?"
"It's the old slave."
He Yixian got out of the sedan chair and saluted to Zhang Luo.
Zhang Luo said, "Why are you here instead of serving Your Majesty?"
He Yixian raised her head and said, "I am your Majesty's servant, so I am here for your Majesty's business."