The imperial capital of Jinling is divided into two parts: the inner palace city and the outer imperial city. The imperial guards of the palace city are in charge of the imperial guards directly under the control of the emperor. Compared with the singleness of Miyagi, the division of labor in the imperial city is relatively more complicated. Civil criminal cases, routine inspections, arresting robbers, rescue by fire and water, etc. are the responsibilities of Jingzhao Yamen. Matters such as city gate guards, night curfew, and suppression of armed fights are also managed by patrols. Jingzhao Yamen is a local government and has to report to six departments. Resuming life, the patrol battalion should have been controlled by the Ministry of War in terms of organization, but for a long time, because its direct commander, Ningguo Marquis, was higher than the Minister of War, it was independent and independent, and the Ministry of War did not dare to give any orders to it. In addition, there are several families in the imperial city that have the right to private soldiers. After the East Palace became independent from the Inner Palace City from the Huidi Dynasty, it was also included in the imperial city. According to the system, three thousand troops were stored, two thousand in the Prince’s Palace, and one in the Prince’s Palace. 1000, 1st grade Junhou Mansion 800. These privileged palaces will affect the movement of the imperial city more or less. It can be said that the forces of all parties are intertwined, and it is like a mess. Now Xie Yu, who also served as the commander of the patrol battalion, collapsed, as if he had forcibly pulled one out of the mess, making the rest even more messy.
About a month after the empress dowager's funeral, Xie Yu walked out of the heavenly prison and went to Qianzhou, the place of exile. He was born in an aristocratic family, the young man was the master, he was conferred to the first-rank military marquis, and he had great authority over the years. Once the ice melted and the snow melted, he would be like the moon in a mirror, the yellow beam would wake up from a dream, the wealth and honor would disappear, and only a pair of shackles could be seen, along with other exiled prisoners. In the same way, he was escorted by two rude yamen, and he didn't even bring one more fire and water stick than others.
Fortunately, the time when the exiles set off was always early in the morning. There were few people on the street, and there were no onlookers and jeering voices, which made Xie Yu feel more comfortable. He was not tortured in prison, not even a routine arraignment. Although his case was finally settled by Emperor Liang, in fact, he had never seen the Supreme Liang since he was imprisoned. Of course, the food in prison is far from the word "good", but it's good enough, and the bad rules of prison guards who abuse prisoners in private, which are common in the sky prison, have also been eliminated due to the well-managed management of the new minister of punishment, so Xie Yudai takes the lead. When Zhong Yan walked towards the South Gate of Jinling City, his physical condition was not bad.
When the escorts and prisoners arrived at Nanyue Gate, it was just the time for the opening of the city. The guards guarding the Imperial City Gate were naturally the battalion generals. At first, they did not notice the messy hair and shackles standing beside him waiting for the heavy. Who was the culprit who opened the city gates? Later, one of the yamen who was in charge of escorting met an acquaintance among the officers and soldiers of the city. After the two exchanged greetings, the yamen gave a frivolous wink and said in a voice that was not suppressed at all: "Hey, look at your immediate boss before. , How about the lord, a few months ago, buddy, you didn't dare to look up at him directly, but now go take a look, it's not one nose and two eyes, and your waist is not as straight as you!"
As soon as this statement came out, there was a slight uproar in the scene. These low-level officers and soldiers basically have no chance to have direct contact with Xie Yu. Usually, when I think of Xie Houye, he is like a person from the cloud. The person on the cloud is now in the quagmire and is standing in front of him, without any curiosity. impossible. Therefore, dozens of officers and soldiers on duty soon surrounded most of them. Some people could not see clearly because Xie Yu's hair and beard covered their faces, and they were going to stretch out their hands to take a closer look.
"What are you doing? Go back to me!" A heavy voice sounded at this moment, and the owner of the voice quickly squeezed over, trying to push the crowd away, "What's so beautiful, the city gates are open, and I can't reach myself. Where to go!"
"Seventh Uncle," an officer and soldier said in a longer tone, "just opened the city gate, there are not even half a ghost, the brothers just want to see, and do nothing."
"Aren't you happy to be seen by others like this?"
"I don't do anything wrong, why should I be seen? He's no longer the great marquis. What are you doing to please him?"
Seventh Uncle's face sank, he spat on the ground, and scolded: "When you are a prince, you should please, and if you do something, you should step on it. What kind of man is a snobby like this?"
In fact, most of the onlookers are just curious, and they are naturally angry when they are scolded like this. Fortunately, the seventh uncle is usually well-connected and has deep qualifications. Immediately, someone came out to mediate and persuade him to make peace. The two yamen watched as if they were watching a good show, provoking a few words from time to time, but Xie Yu himself, who had caused confusion, quietly retreated to the side, his whole face was hidden behind his beard and hair, so he couldn't see his expression clearly.
The small team leader in charge of this group of officers and soldiers originally just stood by and didn't want to care. In the army, when is it not a small quarrel for three days, and a big fight for five days, it will be fine if you don't fight and don't hurt anyone, not to mention that the genius is bright now, and the city gate is deserted. , Anyway, it's boring, just when everyone warms up. But later he inadvertently saw the two yamen secretly pouting and showing contempt, and suddenly realized that there were outsiders present, which would have caused others to see the jokes of the officers and soldiers of the patrol battalion. His anger rose in his heart, and he grabbed a whip from the side and shook. With a crisp sound, he scolded loudly, "Shut up, Lao Tzu!"
Although he was only a small leader, the magistrate might as well take care of it now. Seeing him suddenly angry, everyone was surprised and did not dare to disobey, so they shut their mouths and spread out. When the two yamen saw the end of the good show, they did not continue to add fuel to fire, but pushed Xie Yu out of the city gate.
Out of Nanyue Gate is a loess road, which is very flat and easy to walk. Xie Yu's martial arts practice is not weak, and he did not give the two escorts a chance to beat him with sticks, and he did not walk slowly. About half an hour later, the sky was already bright, and a yamen stopped to wipe his sweat, glanced back inadvertently, and saw dust flying, a carriage with a black perimeter of Sugai came galloping, just looking at the god horse pulling the carriage. Pei, I know it's not an ordinary family.
The three of them flashed to the side of the road together, and the two yamen looked around curiously, but Xie Yu turned his back and was half-hidden in the grass beside the road.
The carriage stopped three feet away, the curtain was lifted, and a young man in plain clothes jumped down, stuffed a large amount of silver into the hands of the two yamen, and said in a low voice, "If you're here to see you off, please do it for your convenience. ."
Although I don't know who the visitor is, the person who came to see Xie Yu off must not be a person from the market.
"Father..." Xie Bi cried out tremblingly, with red eyes, "Are you alright?"
Xie Yu stood silently for a while, and finally replied lightly: "Well."
Xie Bi opened his mouth again, as if he didn't know what to say next, he stayed for a while, then turned to look at the carriage.
Xie Yu immediately realized that there were people in the car, and his eyes jumped. In this situation, he didn't know if he wanted to see her again. However, whether he wanted to see it or not, there was no choice at this moment. The curtain was lifted again, and Li Yang, who was dressed in filial attire, slowly got off the carriage. To Xie Yu's surprise, it was Xiao Jingrui who accompanied the weak eldest princess.
When he was five or six steps away from Xie Yu, Xiao Jingrui let go of his mother and stopped in place and stopped moving forward. Princess Liyang continued to walk in front of Xie Yu and stared at him quietly. Xie Bi wanted his parents to say a few words alone, and realizing Jing Rui's current conflict and sadness, he walked over and pulled him to a farther place.
"Is it over?" After a long silence, the eldest princess asked the first sentence.
"No."
"How can I help?"
"No," Xie Yu shook his head, "you can't protect me in the capital, and you are even more powerless in the vast rivers and lakes."
Princess Liyang's eyes were calm and sad. Although there have been a lot of tears recently, the color around the eye sockets is already withered and yellow, and the wrinkles are deep, but there is still the look of autumn water in the eyes, and the occasional rippling is still intoxicating.
"That Mr. Su... sent someone to see me yesterday and told you to hand me a letter."
"Letter?" Xie Yu was stunned for a while, but when he thought of what the thought-provoking Mei Changsu said, he didn't dare to take it lightly, and hurriedly racked his brains to think.
"The man said, if you haven't written it yet, he told you to write it now, because there must be something deeper behind what you said. Write it down and hand it over to me, and you can live." Princess Liyang did not Knowing the meaning of these words, she just relayed them carefully, word by word.
Although this man killed her youthful love, even though this man had tried to murder her child, after all, there was a relationship between husband and wife for more than 20 years, he was the father of her three children, and she did not want to hear of his tragic death news, especially since the man himself did not want to die.
Xie Yu rolled his eyes and suddenly realized what Mei Changsu meant.
Apart from what he told Mei Changsu face to face that day, there were a lot of secrets he didn't want to tell or couldn't tell for the time being. This is a long road to punishment, if Xia Jiang wants to kill him, it is impossible to guard against it. The only way to save his life is to write down all the secrets in his heart and entrust it to Li Yang for safekeeping. If he is fine, Li Yang will not disclose his manuscript. If he dies, the manuscript will become irrefutable evidence. Xia Jiang is not a confused person. After a calculation, he knows that it is better to let himself live. No matter how unreliable his life is, he will not casually reveal the secrets related to the life and death of the two of them.
This is indeed, indeed the last straw...
Princess Liyang was still watching him quietly, waiting for his decision, without any intention of urging or persuading him.
Xie Yu's heart suddenly became hot, and her eyes couldn't help but get wet. Although he has been a partner for many years, the only person in the world who still dares to believe, and the only person who dares to hold a glimmer of hope, is Li Yang.
"Do you have a pen and paper?" Xie Yu asked in a low voice after calming down.
Princess Liyang took out a long box from the sleeve pocket of her robe, which contained ready-made ink and ink, and a long piece of plain silk.
"Write it on this."
Xie Yu hesitantly looked at the two yamen in the distance who were looking at this side, and Li Yang immediately said, "It's okay, that Mr. Su said, the more people know that you have written this thing, the better."
Xie Yu immediately understood and hurriedly picked up the pen. Because he was carrying the shackles, Princess Liyang spread plain silk on the wooden shackles, and when he wrote a few words, he helped him move the silk face, but from beginning to end, her focus never fell on those writings. When Xie Yu finally finished writing, she immediately folded the plain silk, put it into an embroidery bag, pulled out a thin needle stuck on it, and sealed the bag tightly.
“Liyang…”
"I won't show anyone what you wrote, and I won't read it myself. I don't want to know what you've ever done, because for me it's best to know nothing..." Princess Liyang put the embroidered bag into her arms, her eyes were dazed, "I also prepared some silver taels of clothing, you can take it with you on the road."
Xie Yu looked at her softly, wanting to touch her face, just when she moved her hand, she was shocked that she was being shackled, she could only hold back, and said softly: "Liyang, take care, I will definitely come back and see you again. yours."
Princess Liyang's eyes were a little red, she turned her head away and didn't take this sentence, she raised her hand to signal Xie Bi to come over. Xie Yu was in a hurry, and before his son approached, he quickly said: "Li Yang, this embroidery bag, you must not give that Mei Changsu."
Princess Liyang glanced at him and nodded lightly: "Don't worry, as long as you are alive, I will always carry this embroidery bag with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Bi came over. He was a thoughtful person, and he understood when he saw his mother's signal, so he went around to the carriage to take off the burden and tied it to Xie Yu's back. Xiao Jingrui was still standing far away, occasionally turning his eyes to look at him.
Xie Yu had never had a real father-son relationship with Xiao Jingrui. Princess Liyang felt the pain and sadness in her son's heart now, and Xie Bi had always been careful and considerate, so no one called Jing Rui over. Everyone looked at each other silently for a while, but Xie Yuxian said: "Today my journey is not short, so let's break up. Bi'er, take good care of your mother."
Xie Bi responded with a sound, and supported his mother to slowly back away. When the two yamen saw the farewell ended, they also walked over with sticks. Xie Yu didn't want to watch Liyang's carriage go away, so she turned around first, took a deep breath, and was about to take a step, when she suddenly felt a chill hit, she couldn't help shivering, and she looked up quickly, only to see the surrounding old grass and ancient roads, There was no trace of the beast, thinking it was just a mistake, and shook his head vigorously.
At this moment, he heard Xie Bi's sound of gasping for air.
Looking up again, I saw that there was no one in front just now, the tall pennywort grass was separated like a wave, and Xia Dong, dressed in a pure black dress, walked over slowly.
If it was Xia Dong alone, it would not be enough to make Xie Bi gasp. What really surprised Xie Bi was the expression on Xia Dong's face, which was as deep as the sea, cut into the bones, cold as ice, and frost, filled with resentment. With hateful expressions…
Since Xie Bi felt the chill and hostility around Xia Dong's body, of course the others were not slow. Princess Liyang immediately got off the carriage and called out, "Xia Qing..."
Xia Dong ignored her and didn't even look away for a moment, still walking towards Xie Yu with a slow and firm, but full of threatening sense, until she was only three feet away from him. down.
But Xia Dong didn't want to stop by herself, she stopped because Xiao Jingrui was in front of her.
Since it took less than a month for him to recover from his serious injury, Xiao Jingrui's face was still pale and his cheeks were thinner, but his eyes were still gentle, but a little more gloomy, sad and dazed. Facing Xia Dong, who was like a sister and a teacher, he bowed his hands as a salute, and asked in a calm tone, "What's wrong with Xia Dong, can I ask Jing Rui to do it for you?"
"What do you think I'm doing?" Xia Dong provoked a sneer that was extremely cold, and his face shook with murderous aura, "You don't need to do it for you, you just need to get out of the way."
Xiao Jingrui met her fierce gaze for a moment, but still had no intention of retreating: "My mother is here, my brother is here, please forgive Jingrui for not retreating."
"I'm not trying to embarrass the eldest princess and Xie Bi, what's their business?"
"But the people that my sister wants to make trouble with are related to them."
Xia Dong's long and narrow eyes were like knives, and a flash of anger flashed across Xiao Jingrui's face, "Do you think...you can stop me?"
"Unstoppable and unstoppable are two different things. Jing Rui just wants to do his best."
"What's the use of trying your best? I can step on your body and go there."
Xiao Jingrui nodded indifferently: "Then ask Sister Xia Dong to try to step on it."
Following his words, the pupils of Xia Dong's eyes suddenly shrank, and his ice-like gaze was deeply fixed on the young man's face, without moving for a while.
In this chilling atmosphere, Xie Bi felt a little uneasy, rubbed his hands, and looked at his mother with a solemn expression.
However, Xiao Jingrui remained unmoved. He quietly endured Xia Dong's gaze, looking like he was fighting, but in fact, he just didn't care.
After such a tragic night, how could Xiao Jingrui care about whether Xia Dong would really step on him.
For this quiet blocker, Xia Dong kept a cold gaze. However, as time passed, the lines of the corners of her lips gradually loosened, and slowly turned to a slight rise. After the rise reached a certain level, it suddenly turned into a burst of laughter. After the laughter, the feeling of her whole person was It suddenly changed, and it changed back to the Xia Dong that everyone was familiar with, that Xia Dong who was somewhat evil, somewhat arrogant, always smiling but awe-inspiring.
"What are you nervous about?" Xia Dong brushed the hair on his cheeks, his eyes slanted, "What can I do here, I'll just show you off, and it can be considered as a return to the favor of Lord Xie Hou for sending my husband's bones back to Beijing. ."
The female hanging mirror changed from murderous cold frost to smiling like flowers, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Xie Bi raised his eyebrows and said, "Sister Xia Dong, you still don't change your tricks, what time is it now? Play this joke with us."
"I'm sorry." Xia Dong apologized casually, didn't move on, just stood where he was, locked his eyes on Xie Yu's face, and said slowly, "Xia Dong is here to see you off, please take care of the Hou Ye all the way. The future is very difficult, I am afraid that there will be no peace for a moment. I advise Hou Ye to pay attention to it at all times, and don't relax your mind. Qiandi is bitterly cold, please be patient. There are many situations in this world that are more difficult than death. Get over it."
On that day, Xia Dong and Jing Wang Tian Prison and his party were very secretive when they came and went, and Xie Yu didn't know that they were next door. But maybe it's because Xia Dong's expression when he just came out is too shocking, maybe it's because the guilty person in his heart is inevitably guilty and sensitive when facing the bitter master, Xie Yu did not like other people because of Xia Dong's attitude. Changed and relaxed, on the contrary, it was confirmed in an instant that Xia Dong must know the truth.
Just now, the feeling of being born out of desperation was instantly sunk into the bottom of the valley, and Xie Yu was almost on the verge of collapse due to this sudden emotional change. Xia Dong is different from Xia Jiang, what she harbors is pure hatred, and she has no scruples at all. Therefore, she will take revenge, she may come to take revenge anytime and anywhere, and she will choose extremely cruel means to take revenge, there is no doubt about it, but she has nowhere to ask for help.
At this time, Xia Dong smiled, although there was no smile in her eyes. For her, the first step is over, Xie Yu will embark on the road of exile in infinite panic, and in the future, she will have countless ways to achieve her goals.
"Master Hou should be on your way, don't delay your trip today." Xia Dong stepped aside and walked out of the way, Xiao Jingrui also stood beside her, but Xie Yu couldn't move. He couldn't see his face between his beard and hair, but the beads of sweat that fell on the yoke, the tight muscles, the stiff legs, and the slightly trembling bow all showed that he was afraid. , it's just that Li Yang's mother and son didn't know what he was afraid of.
The two yamen looked at the sky at this time, looked at each other, and walked up to one person to hold Xie Yu by one arm, saying, "It's time to go!" The dirt road went to the southwest.
After watching her husband for a moment, Princess Liyang slowly turned around, glanced at Xia Dong, and asked in a low voice, "Is Xia Qing going back to the city?"
"Yes." Xia Dong nodded coldly, "How about the four of you?"
"So are we." The eldest princess answered casually without hearing anything different. Instead, Xiao Jingrui's brows twitched, and his eyes began to search around.
Xia Dong is not ignorant, since she said "the four of you", there must be another one.
This one is not difficult to find, and it only takes a glance around to find her trace. Standing very far away, on a slope, half hidden behind an old willow tree, revealing a pink shirt and a yellow skirt.
The Great Chu embassy had already left, but she, a little girl, didn't leave. It seemed that Yu Wenxuan and Yue Xiuze both loved her very much, how could she be assured of letting her stay alone...
Xiao Jingrui was injured first, then Xie Qi passed away, and the Empress Dowager passed away. But she didn't say that everyone knew in her heart that she wanted to bring Xiao Jingrui to Da Chu.
Princess Liyang didn't stop Yu Wennian from coming to see Jing Rui, whether it was the Princess Mansion or the ancient temple, she kept letting this little girl dangle around. But in terms of a mother's mentality, she is not willing to let Xiao Jingrui out of her sight at this time, not because she is afraid of losing him, but because she is very clear in her heart that her gentle son is not particularly excited on the surface. , but in fact he has been trapped in the shadow of the truth of his life and has not come out.
This subversion and collapse-like pain cannot be cured by comfort. It takes time, and you need to slowly adjust and adapt yourself. Princess Liyang hopes to spend this time with her son, instead of letting him go to a strange country, meet a strange father, and face a new emotional shock.
If Xiao Jingrui wants to see what his biological father is like after his emotions recover and stabilize in the future, and he wants to live by his side, then Princess Liyang is ready to agree. But at this stage, she had to watch Xiao Jingrui beside her, so although she didn't expel her, the eldest princess basically turned a blind eye to Yu Wennian who was always patrolling around.
However, the perseverance of the little girl Niannian is really admirable. After following her for so long, she has no intention of being discouraged. As long as the eldest princess is not around, she will come up to talk to Xiao Jingrui. Although looking at her face that resembled his own, it was inevitable to think of that sad and sad night, but after all, this was her younger sister. Jing Rui still treated her very gently. Safe and healthy.
Yu Wennian felt that she liked this brother more and more, and she was more and more determined to bring him back to Chu.
At this time, Xia Dong had already left on her own, and Princess Liyang also boarded the car silently with her son to go back to the city. Yu Wennian rode a red horse and followed, neither approaching, but would never be thrown away.
Before entering the city, the group accidentally encountered Yan Yujin.
But speaking of an accident, it was only a one-sided accident. For Yan Yujin, he came here on purpose because he heard that Xie Yu was being escorted out of the city today.
After that thrilling birthday night, another serious injury and another national mourning, Yan Yujin never found a chance to say a few words to his friends. So today he originally planned to find Xiao Jingrui, drag him out for a drink, and tell him that no matter what his background is, he will always be his best friend. If Xiao Jingrui is still sad, then try to comfort him.
But after meeting, he realized that he was wrong.
When Xiao Jingrui got off the stopped carriage, his expression was normal and his tone was normal. When talking to him, there was a faint smile: "Yujin, what's the matter?"
"I can't come to see you if I have nothing to do!" Yan Yujin laughed at first, trying to respond with the same attitude as before, "You said it's been a long time since we went out for a walk together. Are you alright today, accompany me to Taibai to sit down Sit down."
Xiao Jingrui shook his head gently and said, "I'm sorry, Yujin, I want to send my mother back."
"Then I'll accompany you first, and we'll go after sending Her Royal Highness the eldest princess back to the mansion."
"Sorry," Xiao Jingrui still shook his head, "Can you find someone else to accompany you?"
"You have nothing to do, I came to pick you up on purpose," Yan Yujin dragged Xiao Jingrui's arm, "That's it, let's go, let's go, let's send the eldest princess first."
Xiao Jingrui slowly pulled out his arm and pushed him away without a trace, "Thank you for inviting me, but I really won't go, you can find other friends to accompany you."
Xie Bi also leaned out of the carriage at this time, and did not speak, just looked here silently.
"Jing Rui, just accompany me for a drink... I want to chat with you..." Yan Yujin couldn't keep the smile on his face, and looked at his friend with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry," Xiao Jingrui apologized again, the expression on his face was always light and did not fluctuate, "Let's go another day. I'll go first."
After saying this, he turned around and returned to the carriage. Xie Bi stretched out his hand to pull him up, and the carriage shook and resumed its journey.
Yan Yujin was stunned. Looking at Xiao Jingrui's thin figure and Xie Bi's drooping eyes, he suddenly realized that he couldn't go back.
The time of youthful laughter and hilarity and harmony in the past is gone.
Although he has been saying that he has not changed, Jing Rui is still Jing Rui and his best friend, but for Jing Rui, for Xie Bi, and for most people related or unrelated in this world, everything has already been done. It has changed, and it has become so radical, so irreparable.
Instead, he was talking about his "unchanged" self, obviously deceiving himself.
Looking at the carriage that was slowly going away, Yan Yujin kicked the sand under his feet violently, feeling the anger and helplessness he had never felt before.
No matter how much he wanted to help Jing Rui, he couldn't reconnect his torn life back to perfection.
The sand that was kicked up flew up and scattered, dazzling the eyes. Yan Yujin rubbed his eyes, rubbing red and painful. In the blurred vision, he suddenly saw a somewhat familiar figure leaning in front of a red horse and looking at him quietly.
Yan Yujin recognized that it was Yu Wennian, Jing Rui's younger sister in Da Chu.
"You are a good friend," Yu Wennian said softly when he saw him, "but brother has to get through this by himself, we can only watch by the side and prevent him from falling."
Yan Yujin was stunned, and before he had time to respond, Yu Wennian had already turned on his horse again and followed the carriage in front of him, walking further and further away.