All the eunuchs above the eighth rank in the Silijian gathered in front of the Silijian gate.
These people rarely saw Deng Ying. They only knew that he was in charge of the reconstruction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony and that he, like Yang Lun and others, gave lectures in the inner school. He was an exiled immortal who could not be offended. Today, the ancestor suddenly wanted to punish him with a stick, so they all had their own opinions. Some people stretched their necks to watch the fun, while others judged themselves from the perspective of others and had a sad look on their faces.
Zheng Yuejia walked to the chief executioner of the Shenxing Division with his hands behind his back and raised his hand to tap the back of his hand.
The eunuch Wang who was in charge of the punishment bowed and asked, "What does the old ancestor mean?"
As he spoke, he looked at Deng Ying, who was standing in front of the execution bench with his hands hanging down.
He was wearing a long gown instead of the official robe, and looked like he was brought directly from the office.
Zheng Yuejia knew that the reason why the construction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony could be completed earlier than planned was because of Deng Ying's self-sacrifice.
For many days after the completion of the project, Deng Ying spent most of her time resting in the duty room. Even so, she still looked a little haggard.
When Eunuch Wang saw Zheng Yuejia was silent, he looked at Deng Ying's complexion and said after a moment's hesitation, "I heard that he is not in good health. He has four canes... There are both life and death doors. Which one should we give him?"
Zheng Yuejia said: "The Hall of Supreme Harmony has been completed. Your Majesty rewarded him with talent in the Hall of Mental Cultivation today. Can you give him the Gate of Death?"
Eunuch Wang replied, "Yes... yes, I thought so too, but when I was about to come out, I glanced at the old ancestor's toes... I wanted to hit him hard."
Zheng Yuejia turned around and said, "The eunuchs are watching the execution. This is to warn the people below. You know these tricks. No matter how scary it looks, you can't hurt his bones."
When Wang Tai overheard Zheng Yuejia say this, she hurriedly said, "Yes, after I tell you these few words, we will have a clue."
After saying that, he couldn't help but sigh again, "To be honest, he is both hateful and pitiful. We are not those sour masters outside. We were overturned at the Meridian Gate and still have to bear our own difficulties. In the past, our ancestors beat these people because they were angry and angry that they didn't know what was good for them. In fact, they were very kind. Seeing the children kneeling in front of him and crying pitifully, we never asked us to be ruthless. We should have punished them, but he... Ouch."
As he spoke, he sighed, "As expected, you studied with Elder Bai, but you can't be his descendant."
He did not hold back on his sigh, and many people present heard it.
Deng Ying stood in front of the torture bench, bent down and coughed lightly.
In fact, bystanders can see more clearly. The eunuch said what Yang Lun and others were unwilling to say. And this sentence was definitely not a humiliation to Deng Ying, but an enlightenment, which was very rare.
He thought, looking down at the bloodstained torture bench. He was not without fear, but Deng Ying wanted to force it out of his heart. In the past, he could not understand why the court treated him like this, but after the tragic death of Zhang Zhanchun and the people of Tongjia Academy, he felt that those things that he could not understand gradually became insignificant.
Just like Yang Wan said, he couldn't let them die in vain. No matter what he became, as their successor, he had to live well.
**
The autumn wind blew over from the moat, seemingly carrying a faint smell of blood.
Everyone looked up and saw that it was getting dark. Someone had killed someone at the Wumen Gate today, and the new souls seemed to have taken away all the yang energy. The wind was cold like the souls, and it made people's heads numb.
The door of the prison was suddenly pushed open, and Hu Xiang walked out with his hands on his hips.
He had been beaten once by those people from the Sixth Section in the wedding hall of Mr. Zhao's house, leaving a big scar on his forehead. Now he had to rub it with his hands from time to time.
He pressed his forehead and glanced at Deng Ying, then scanned the people present, then turned around and asked Zheng Yuejia, "Is everyone here?"
Zheng Yuejia said: "All ready."
Hu Xiang felt that the scar on his forehead was even more annoying than usual. The anger that had been suppressed for several months seemed to have finally found an outlet. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's fight."
"yes."
Eunuch Wang took a step towards him and said, "Take him down and tie him up."
“Eh eh eh?”
Hu Xiang raised his hand and said, "What kind of rules are these? They are beaten like this. Do these people have any sense of shame?"
After he finished speaking, he lowered his head and looked at Deng Ying with disgust, "Why keep this layer of dignity underneath? When we were beaten, Zheng Bingbi forgot that our ancestors showed no mercy when they taught us the rules. What kind of fun is it to peel off the bottom for him?"
Deng Ying closed her eyes and said nothing.
Zheng Yuejia watched as someone came up to untie Deng Ying's sweat towel and hurriedly said, "Wait a minute."
Hu Xiang turned around and said, "Zheng Yuejia, this is not the first time you have defended this person."
Zheng Yuejia walked up to Hu Xiang and said, "Please ask for mercy for him."
Hu Xiang smiled and said, "Oh, I forgot that you almost took the imperial examination before. What's wrong? You feel sorry for him."
"Yes, please, Hu Bingbi, have mercy on him."
Hu Xiang looked at Deng Ying's back and said, "Yes, she is young, good-looking, and very capable..."
He changed the subject and said, "You have served the old ancestor for so long, don't you know that he hates people who are too powerful? You want to beg for mercy, go and ask the old ancestor, I am here, I must avenge the old ancestor for what happened in the Yangxin Palace today."
Zheng Yuejia wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "He deserves to be punished. I dare not ask for mercy. But you have to think about it. His Majesty praised him today for the completion of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. If he knew that we beat him up so badly here today, he would definitely think that we servants are unable to understand his kindness."
Hu Xiang said: "What a joke! This is an internal matter of the Imperial Household Department. Who dares to speak to His Majesty?"
Zheng Yuejia said, "Have you forgotten that his lover is Miss Yang from the Shangyi Bureau, who is the biological sister of Empress Ning. If she knew that we went too far today, she would definitely go to Empress Ning to make trouble. Concubine Jiang is pregnant, and Empress Ning has been accompanying the emperor these days..."
After hearing these words, Hu Xiang was also somewhat frightened.
"Haha, you really know how to talk. Well, for your sake, I'll just use a layer of middle clothing and beat you like this."
"Thank you very much."
After Zheng Yuejia finished speaking, he glanced at Eunuch Wang.
Eunuch Wang understood and turned around to say a few words to the eunuch in charge of the execution.
Everyone in the prison held their breath, it was not the first time they had seen such a scene. They were all slaves in the palace, and after being stabbed with the knife, they no longer cared about anything else, and did not think it was a big deal to each other. Every time they did, they begged for mercy with tears in their eyes, thinking about being hit a few more times. However, this was the first time they had seen someone like Deng Ying, who endured it in silence and forbearingly, and refused to beg for mercy.
Deng Ying lay on the torture bench, turned his face around and leaned sideways on the bench.
He remembered that this day was also the day of autumn execution, the day Zhou Congshan and others were to die.
He had blamed himself for the deaths of Zhang Zhanchun, Zhou Congshan, and the Zhao brothers, but he could not punish himself. In this case, these four beatings could be a redemption.
Thinking of this, I can't help but feel calm.
He coughed a few times, tried to calm his breathing, closed his eyes, and waited quietly.
The clothes he was wearing were what he wore to bed, and the wind blew them against his skin, making him very cold.
It was clearly autumn, but Deng Ying felt as if she had returned to Nanhai Lake during the first month of the lunar year.
While being tortured, he pushed open the window, wanting to take a look at the people and things outside, absurdly hoping to meet someone who was warmer than he was.
Yang Wan.
Compared to the confusion he felt at that time, he now clearly remembered Yang Wan's appearance.
But in that instant, his calm state was suddenly disrupted, and he even wanted to slap himself.
How can I think of her at this time
How could he bring her to this filthy place
But no matter how hard he pushed himself, he couldn't get this woman out of his mind.
She just stood there quietly looking at Deng Ying, opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She was clearly right in front of her, yet it seemed as if she were hundreds of years away.
Deng Ying was a little frightened.
At this moment when his dignity had been stripped away and he was barely surviving, no matter how much he rejected the pity shown to him by everyone present, he really wanted Yang Wan's mercy.
Although he tried his best to hide his inner trauma from her, he also wanted to expose all the humiliation and pain to her. It seemed that only in front of her could he admit that he could not accept his life. If possible, he hoped that he would not be treated too cruelly. If possible, he also wanted to live a better life.
The executioner did not give him any extra time to recover.
The first blow of the stick came down, and it was particularly dull through the clothes.
The person in charge of the punishment received the instruction from eunuch Wang. Although his posture was scary, he held back. Deng Ying's body shook. When he was imprisoned by the Ministry of Justice because of his father's crime, Deng Yi's crime was already determined, and the Ministry of Justice had nothing to interrogate him, so he was only detained and not tortured. Therefore, the pain at this time exceeded his understanding of this punishment, like a blunt knife cutting flesh, almost shattering his rationality. At first, he could still control his body, but by the eleventh stroke, he could no longer care. However, as soon as he struggled, someone immediately held him down.
Hu Xiang watched as the cane hit Deng Ying again and again, and blood appeared after just two hits.
"Stop for now."
After that, he walked a few steps towards Deng Ying, squatted down, approached Deng Ying, and lowered his voice and said: "The ancestor asked me to ask you on his behalf, why did you say such words to His Majesty in the Yangxin Palace today."
This is the real purpose of this beating.
Deng Ying recalled that at noon today, he and Xu Qi from the Ministry of Works reported to Emperor Zhenning in the Yangxin Palace that the Hall of Supreme Harmony had been completed.
The emperor was delighted and immediately issued an edict to accept congratulations from all officials in the Hall of Supreme Harmony on the day of his birthday. He Yixian, Zheng Yuejia and others knelt down to congratulate Emperor Zhenning.
Emperor Zhenning looked at Deng Ying and suddenly said to He Yixian, "It was you who stopped me from killing him and made me grant him this grace. In the end, he didn't let you down, nor did he let me down. You are indeed old and have a way of judging people, but you didn't make a clear judgment on the matter of the East Factory."
After hearing this, Zheng Yuejia quickly bent down and said, "This servant deserves to die."
Emperor Zhenning shook his head. "You, a servant, don't care about anything. You only serve my writing every day. You really serve my writing well. I can't live without you. Don't run back and forth between the two places anymore. I think you are not up to the task."
Zheng Yuejia kowtowed and said:
"Yes, I thank your majesty for your grace."
The emperor nodded and looked at Deng Ying who was kneeling behind Zheng Yuejia.
"How old are you this year."
Deng Ying raised her head and said, "Your servant, second, third, fourth."
"Twenty-four is a good age."
The emperor said, holding his forehead, and recalled: "I remember that you seemed to have passed the imperial examination ten years ago. Now that I think about it, you were once my disciple."
"I dare not."
The emperor waved his hand and said, "I've heard this kind of talk a lot, Deng Ying."
"exist."
"Let me ask you, what do you think when I let you live like this?"
"Your servant..."
"to be honest."
The emperor suddenly raised his voice, "Otherwise, I will beat you to death immediately."
Deng Ying took a deep breath, knelt down, and then said: "I am a guilty person, and I was saved by the grace of God. Therefore, I have no other thoughts. I only hope to serve Your Majesty with my remaining life and share Your Majesty's worries, hoping to atone for one ten-thousandth of my father's sins."
The emperor glanced at He Yixian and asked, "What does Otomo think?"
He Yixian asked hurriedly, "What does your majesty mean?"
The emperor was a little impatient and said with a sigh:
"I ask you to recommend someone else."
When He Yixian saw the emperor's eyes turned to Deng Ying when he said this, he could only lower his voice and say:
"Your Majesty, Deng Ying is the descendant of a criminal."
The emperor smiled, without looking at He Yixian again, and said to Deng Ying, "Xiao, you get up first. I will think about how to let you share my worries."