As Yang Wan spoke, she rolled up her sleeves and sat down beside Deng Ying's couch.
"Change your clothes and I'll help you apply the medicine."
After she said this, she waited for him to refuse, but he buried his head in the pillow and uttered "OK" in a muffled voice.
He decided to give himself to Yang Wan.
Give your heart and soul, leaving no room for yourself.
"It will be difficult for you to get up here."
Yang Wan raised her head and choked up, "It's so difficult."
As he spoke, he removed the blanket from his lower body. The blood clots were stuck to his pants and could not be removed by hand.
Yang Wan got up and found a pair of scissors. She carefully picked up Deng Ying's pants with her fingers and cut the sticky parts bit by bit. Every time she cut, Deng Ying's shoulders shrugged upwards.
"Deng Ying."
Yang Wan called Deng Ying softly, but Deng Ying was in so much pain that she couldn't speak.
Yang Wan pursed her lips, put down the scissors, stroked Deng Ying's back, and slowly soothed the tremors in his body.
"Deng Ying, guess what the Ming Dynasty Code will look like six hundred years later."
Deng Ying still said nothing.
Yang Wan raised her head, looked at the cold window, and continued softly, "I feel that after a few hundred years, there will no longer be punishments such as caning, nor will there be castration. Everyone's sin will be settled on their own body, and the family will not be implicated. People who build buildings can carve their names on the walls of the buildings, so that everyone who passes by can remember them."
Her voice was very gentle, and Deng Ying gradually felt soothed.
"What..."
“Yeah.”
Yang Wan lowered her head, brushed away the wet hair on Deng Ying's face, and bent down to whisper in his ear.
"Deng Ying, I like the 'virtue of women' that men require women to abide by, so I am really happy to be with you."
She paused and said, "But I know that even if I give myself freedom, I can still kill people here..."
After she finished speaking, she pressed her eyebrows.
"I still want freedom, and I want to give it to you and my sister. Although I know that you and your sister may not want to believe in me anymore..."
"No."
Deng Ying coughed and gently held Yang Wan's hand, "I trust you."
Yang Wan looked down at Deng Ying's hand and said, "You said it. You must believe it to the end."
"Um."
Deng Ying nodded.
"Wanwan, it doesn't hurt that much anymore."
"I'll help you apply the medicine."
**
That night, Yang Wan did not stay in Deng Ying’s room. After Deng Ying fell asleep, she returned to Chengqian Palace.
She did not go to Yilang either. Instead, she took the key and went straight to the palace where Concubine Ning used to live.
After Concubine Ning went to the banana garden, Yi Lang almost entered the rear main hall, and Yang Wan sealed all of Concubine Ning's former clothes and gold and silver in the back hall. There were about dozens of boxes of various sizes.
Yang Wan lit the lamp and opened the boxes one by one.
Concubine Ning's half-life accumulation amounted to more than a thousand taels of silver, as well as a box of gold, jade, and agate. Yang Wan squatted behind the box with her knees hugged, lowered her head and said to herself: "Sister, I am about to touch your things, I will definitely return them to you."
**
Yang Wan was very calm during the days when she accompanied Deng Ying to recover from her injuries.
Deng Ying was a very cooperative patient. He drank the medicine when it was brought to him. When Yang Wan asked him to walk around, he walked back and forth in the hall with his clothes on. In addition to Li Yu and Chen Hua, several eunuchs from the inner school also came to see him. He knelt beside the couch and kowtowed to Deng Ying. After getting up, he chattered to Deng Ying about the books he had read recently.
Since Deng Ying became the director of the East Factory, he has been going to the Inner Academy more often.
Perhaps because he was the only eunuch among all the lecturers, the eunuchs felt close to him and had no fear, so even after many days, they were still close to each other.
Deng Ying leaned on the couch and listened to him talking. Yang Wan took some nuts and shared them with him. She also sat aside and listened to him asking Deng Ying questions from the book.
Although Deng Ying felt comfortable, she still endured the pain and answered him in detail.
Listening to Deng Ying's voice, Yang Wan couldn't help but think that many people she knew had changed over the years, but Deng Ying was the only one who remained the same, always willing to talk to everyone seriously.
Talking to the eunuch boy was a moment of leisure, while the people from the Eastern Depot who came to see him all had matters to discuss with him.
In the first month of the lunar year, the factory prison was about to be completed, and Deng Ying requested an imperial decree to transfer 1000-man criminal officers and more than 100 lieutenants from the imperial prison. This way, the regulations of the prison and the factory prison were almost the same.
When Qin Wende came to report this, Yang Wan was cooking noodles outside. Deng Ying was lying on the couch reading a book. When Qin Wende came in, he asked Yang Wan, "Why is the young prince so angry? What kind of respectful words did the governor say yesterday?"
Yang Wan shook her head and handed him the bowl of noodles. "Bring it in and give it to him. Let him eat it well and don't leave any leftovers. Go and wash his clothes."
Qin Wende hung Deng Ying's clothes on the willow branches, some of which had a faint blood color.
"Hey... you said that the governor lives a hard life, but Miss Yang, can you just let the people from Chengqian Palace do this kind of thing?"
Yang Wan tied up her sleeves with cotton ropes and said, "I don't have the habit of ordering people around."
Then he glanced into the main room again. "By the way, can you help me with something?"
"you say."
Yang Wan retracted her gaze and asked, "What is the situation of Qingbo Pavilion now?"
"It's closed. The seal had been removed when I went there the other day."
Yang Wan nodded.
"Their boss should be back. Kuanqintang and several other bookshops may want to take over. Please help them take care of it and allow it to be sold."
Tan Wende said: "What are you going to do, girl?"
Yang Wan pursed her lips and said, "I must buy it."
It doesn't actually cost much money to buy Qingbo Pavilion, but the cost of just buying it and running it is very low.
After Deng Ying got out of bed, Yang Wan took half a day to ask He Yu to invite Song Yunqing to Chengqian Palace.
Song Yunqing followed Yang Wan into the back hall and said as he walked, "I heard something big."
"What's up."
Song Yun smiled and said, "It's the first time in this dynasty that a son has arrested his father."
After hearing this, Yang Wan pursed her lips and pushed open the window, "Tell me in detail."
Song Yunqing said: "
"Winter is coming soon. Chen Hua is out every day doing coal mining. I heard from him that Zhang Luo personally arrested Zhang Ci Fu from his home and put him in the imperial prison. The capital was in an uproar over this. Don't you think the officials in Youdu are too cruel?"
After hearing this, Yang Wan turned around and asked, "Is it today's?"
"Early this morning, Chen Hua was waiting at Xihua Gate."
Yang Wan's shoulders suddenly relaxed.
Song Yunqing continued, "This Zhang Cifu is a senior official of the Ming Dynasty. He got the position just like that. He knows what will happen to him. In fact, he should be able to return to the cabinet and be the teacher of the young prince again. Well, who should the Hanlin Academy recommend if that's the case?"
Yang Wan nodded blankly, but didn't bother to answer her question.
In history, Zhang Cong was an assistant minister during the Jinghe Dynasty. If what Song Yunqing said came true, then the history she knew would have been revealed by her.
"Oh right... ahem."
Song Yunqing coughed a few times due to the dust in the bathroom, waved his sleeve to fan away the dust and said, "Why did you bring it here?"
Yang Wan bent down and opened the box, and Song Yunqing was immediately dazzled by the gold and silver in the box.
"You...ah..."
"Yes. It was left by Empress Ning. I want to sort it out and clear it out. But Deng Ying was injured, and I've been too busy these days, so I asked you to help."
Song Yunqing squatted down and said, "Why did you think of all this?"
Yang Wan replied: "Prepare it for the young prince. The new year is coming soon."
Song Yun chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll help you settle the accounts. It's been a while since I've worked with you."
Yang Wan smiled and said, "Have you ever thought about it? When you leave the palace in the future, you can work with me."
Song Yun chuckled and said, "I have saved some money, enough to live in poverty for the rest of my life. When I leave the palace, I will find a place to live and live alone in peace and quiet."
Yang Wan nodded, smiled and said, "Okay."
After saying that, he took out a pen and handed it to her.
Everyone counted on their own, and by dusk only half of the number had been counted.
Yang Wan observed the sky and estimated that Yi Lang would be back from school soon.
Song Yunqing stood up and said, "You go and take care of His Highness. I'll finish the calculation for a while. I'll order a little more. I'll be on duty the day after tomorrow and help you finish the calculation."
Yang Wan nodded, and just as she walked out to the courtyard, He Yu came up to her and said, "The governor has brought the little prince back."
Yang Wan was startled and hurried to the study, but He Yu held her back and said, "Don't worry, aunt. Qing Meng said that His Highness met the governor on the road. They talked all the way back and there was no argument."
Yang Wan felt a little relieved after hearing this.
"Where is he?"
"His Highness asked the Governor to go to the study."
Yang Wan walked lightly and quietly out of the study.
The charcoal inside was burning very warmly, and gusts of warm wind blew out from the gap in the door.
Yi Lang and Deng Ying stood under the lamp together, and Yi Lang looked up at Deng Ying.
"I questioned Deputy Envoy Zhang today and learned about the Qingbo Pavilion case, but I don't understand why the teacher did this."
Deng Ying squatted down.
His wounds had not yet healed, so to steady himself, he leaned on the windowsill.
He looked up at Yi Lang, "Your Highness, are you looking for the 'Plan for Clearing the Fields' written by Lord Yang?"
Yi Lang nodded and said, "My dear uncle, I want to return the land to the people and implement a new tax system in the south."
"Hmm. What's wrong, Your Highness?"
Yi Lang was silent for a while, "I think returning the land to the people and returning taxes to the land are both policies that benefit the people."
"What does Master Zhang think?"
"You are a student..."
Yi Lang lowered his head. "Master has always been too supportive of this new policy. He said that the ancestral system cannot be easily violated."
Deng Ying coughed, "So, Your Highness, do you understand?"
Yi Lang's eyes reddened, he nodded silently, raised his head and said: "This is... It's a party dispute."
"yes."
Deng Ying closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "In the officialdom of ancient and modern times, party struggles are always unavoidable. Your Highness should not be afraid. You only need to choose a place from his political system that is beneficial to both the country and the people."
Although Yi Lang nodded after listening, his eyes became redder and redder. He raised his sleeve to wipe his eyes, and then kept pursing his lips to hold back tears.
Deng Ying asked: "Can I ask Your Highness why you are in trouble?"
Yi Lang shook his head and said, "I feel that everything I learned before was fake."
"Yes."
Deng Ying changed his supporting leg and put his other hand on the ground. "Your Highness, you must understand that "Zhenguan Zhengyao", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Book of Changes", and "Five Classics" are all works of painstaking efforts by ancient sages. They taught you how to be a good person, and they also taught me how to behave in the world. It is not important who put these books in front of your Highness. What is important is your character and whether you can resonate with the ancient sages."
The candle flickered and went out, and a shadow fell on Deng Ying's face.
"Deng Ying."
Yi Lang called him.
Deng Ying raised her head and replied, "I am here."
"I've been so harsh on you, why are you still willing to tell me this?"
Deng Ying smiled and said, "Your Highness is confused, then we can be confused. Your Highness is clear-minded, then the people of the world can be clear-minded."
After listening to this, Yi Lang lowered his head and remained silent for a long time.
"I have never punished anyone before. I know..."
"Your Highness did nothing wrong."
Deng Ying interrupted him and said, "Your Highness is punishing me for my respect for your aunt. I will bear it in mind. I hope Your Highness will understand that the punishment is cruel and use it with caution."