Heavenly Prison is not the most gloomy and terrifying place in the world, but it is definitely the place where people feel the biggest gap in the world.
Everyone imprisoned in the heavenly prison, before stepping through the lacquered copper and wood gate, who is not splendid and respectable, but for those who have just left the rich and noble world, suddenly fell into the clouds and became prisoners. In other words, the Heavenly Prison, which is obviously no more sinister than other prisons, is tantamount to the most terrifying place in the world.
Old Huangtou was the guard of the Heavenly Prison, and his son Xiao Huang was also the guard of the Heavenly Prison. The father and son took turns changing shifts, guarding an independent area in the Heavenly Prison called Hanzihao. Although they have to patrol every day as usual, and the two shifts in the day and night cannot leave people, in fact, their real work is just sweeping the courtyard.
Because there were no prisoners in the Hanzi cell, not a single one.
This is the most special part of the Heavenly Prison, which has always only imprisoned the royal family with serious crimes. Although it is said that princes are guilty of breaking the law and common people, but in fact everyone knows how high the royal family is. Who dares to condemn them at will? In the vague memory of the old yellow head, he only remembered that a dozen years ago, the most noble prince in the world was once imprisoned here. After that, the Hanzihao has been so empty, sweeping once a day, clean and deserted.
On the other side of the open space outside the Hanzihao Courtyard, there is a corridor called "Netherworld Road". The other end of the corridor leads to a large inner cell made of rock bricks.
Compared with the coldness of the cold name, the Netherworld Road can be regarded as lively. From time to time, there will be crying, sluggish, screaming, and dumb... In short, people with all kinds of expressions are chained and pulled over.
The old Huangtou often stretched his neck and watched, and when his son came to take over, he sent an emotion: "It's all big masters..." This emotion has been the same for many years, and basically has not changed.
Of course, some people came out from the other end of the Netherworld. If the person who walks out is still wearing shackles and shackles, with a dry face, the old yellow head will bow in his heart and say "Xie Xiao Xie Xiao will be reborn as soon as possible", if the person who walks out is relaxed and free, and there are escorts next to him, The old yellow head would bow and bend over and say nothing.
In the boring life of guards, watching the cold and warm life drama on the Nether Road is also a good way to pass the time.
On this day, the old Huangtou swept the yard of Hanzihao as usual, locked the door, stood in the open space outside, bowed his arms and stared blankly in the direction of the Netherworld, and occasionally touched one from the oil bag in his sleeve. Peanuts to chew on.
Just when the fifth one was chewed, the gate on the outer side of the Nether Road clattered, and as soon as I heard it, I knew someone was opening the lock. Old Huangtou knew that this meant that a new criminal was mentioned here, so he hurriedly stood in the shadow next to him.
The door opened, and two familiar faces came in first, A Wei and A Niu, the prison heads.
The old yellow head shivered a bit, and quickly put the sticker on the wall again
Because the person who came in after that was really incredible. It was the number one boss of the entire Heavenly Prison, Lord An Ruian, the Prison Division. The eldest man didn't wear official uniform today, and was dressed in a navy blue robe. He smiled and raised his hand in a guiding gesture, and said, "Please, Mr. Su, please."
The man who was called Mr. Su by Mr. An was a young man in a Confucian shirt. He looked handsome, but he was thinner and didn't look like a big man. But for the respect and politeness of the lord of the punishment, the young man seemed to be at ease, he only smiled lightly, and his pace was still unhurried.
The group walked along the Nether Road, obviously going into the cell to visit the prison. The old Huangtou was frowning his gray eyebrows guessing the identity of the visitor. The young man suddenly stopped and his eyes swept over, making the old yellowtou staggered, thinking that the other party found him spying here.
"Over there... it doesn't seem to be the same..." the young man asked, pointing in the direction of the old yellow head.
"That's the Han house," An Rui replied cautiously, "Mr. Su should know that it is where the royal family is imprisoned."
"Oh." The young man nodded expressionlessly and continued to walk forward. Behind them, a figure suddenly floated past, like a ghost. After a while, the young man shouted something, the figure stopped obediently, and after a closer look, it was a normal and handsome teenager again. Master An and the two prison guards all looked curious and inconvenient to ask, and the group passed through the corridor like this and disappeared into the gate at the other end.
The old yellow head hurriedly slipped back to the courtyard gate within his guarded range, breathed a sigh of relief, sat down, and continued to frown to guess who the person would be. This is his fun. No matter how frightened he is, he will not give up, and he never cares about the result of his guess. There is no way to verify whether it is right or wrong.
This young man who had something to do on a boring day for Lao Huangtou was of course Mei Changsu.
Since King Yu personally made arrangements, how could An Rui dare to neglect. Although the other party was just an unofficial scholar in white clothes, he was still careful to accompany him in person, and did not dare to despise his identity.
The prison cells of the Tian Prison are all single rooms, built with grouting and unusually strong. Like all prisons, there are only small high windows here, the air is not well circulated, and there is a cold and musty smell. When Mei Changsu entered the corridor of the inner prison, he stopped for a while, raised his hand to rest on his forehead, as if he was not used to the dim light inside. Fei Liu came over and stood beside him, looking very obedient.
"Mr. Su, please be careful with your steps," An Rui reminded when he walked to the corner, "Xie Yu's cell is still on the lower floor."
Mei Changsu supported Fei Liu's arm, stepped down a dozen steps made of rough stones, reached the bottom, walked in two or three rooms, and came to the outside of the inner cell.
An Rui raised his hand and motioned his subordinates to open the prison door. The entire cell was about six feet square, dark and dim. Only a bleak ray of sunlight penetrated through the small slanted window on the top, and there were countless floating dust particles in the light.
"Mr. Su, please do it yourself, I'll wait for you upstairs." An Rui said in a low voice, and withdrew with the two prisoners. Mei Changsu stood outside the door for a moment, then walked slowly into the prison door.
Having probably heard the conversation outside, Xie Yu stood up from the pile of straw piled up in the corner, dragged her feet around and squinted at the visitor.
"Master Xie, stay safe?" Mei Changsu greeted coldly.
Xie Yu looked at this idle young man with mixed feelings in his heart. In fact, ever since he knew that he was Jiang Zuomeilang, who is known as a unicorn genius, he has been trying his best to guard against him. But in the end, he was still forced into a desperate situation and fell into this wet and cold prison. If all this happened because of my bad luck, it would be fine. If it was actually concocted by Jiang Zuo Meilang, then Jing Ye would be a little creepy thinking about it. How exactly did he do it.
"What? We haven't seen each other for half a month, so Mr. Xie doesn't recognize Su?" Mei Changsu stabbed him again.
Xie Yu held back the anger in his chest and snorted: "Of course I recognize it. When Mr. Su first arrived in the capital, didn't he live in my house as a guest?"
"That's right," Mei Changsu said calmly, "I remember the first time I saw Lord Xie, you were still as handsome as jade, with a handsome appearance, and the majesty of the pillars of the imperial court made you dare not look up."
"It turns out that Mr. Su came today just to get rid of me and get rid of me. This style... is not high enough." Xie Yu looked at him with deep eyes, "I am wronged today, because my fate is not good. Don't you think it's the face of a villain?"
Mei Changsu sneered: "So Lord Xie actually knows that there is a word for 'little person' in the world. You are in trouble, why have you ever been wronged? You and I both understand that Zhuo Dingfeng controls every piece of the pile. It’s not true, you are arrogant to deny it, but it’s just to save your life. Unfortunately, the iron proof is like a mountain, the Yellow Spring Road is near, how can you save your own life with all this futile struggle, at most it’s just to save Xia Jiang.”
Xie Yu's eyes moved slightly, and a sneer appeared on his lips.
As expected, Xia Jiang was mentioned so quickly. If it weren't for Xia Jiang, Jiang Zuo Meilang would probably not have come to this dirty place with dignity.
Under the circumstance that the case is so clear, Xie Yu has been imprisoned for more than half a month and still has no intention to deal with it. Xie Yu is very clear that this is because Xia Jiang is indeed fulfilling his promise and trying to lobby for his life. And this kind of behavior will inevitably anger King Yu, so that the prince will also launch a corresponding counterattack. Mei Changsu appeared in this prison cell, thinking that he was trying to draw money from the bottom of the pot and find a breakthrough point against Xia Jiang from himself.
So Xie Yu made full preparations, shrunk himself into the iron shell, and insisted on clenching his teeth and not responding no matter how he touched it.
"Thank you, Marquis," Mei Changsu took a step closer and leaned over slightly, "I know... as soon as you see me, you can't help but wonder, how the hell did you lose to me, right? Now, I'm afraid you still haven't been able to come up with a reasonable reason, right? You don't even know which step you did wrong, which step you missed, and you don't know how things are developing like this, wave after wave, suddenly One day I will throw you into the abyss, from a noble person to a prisoner to die, right?"
Listening to these cold and piercing words, Xie Yu tensed her face, her cheeks were sore and sore from the force of her teeth, but she still didn't say a word.
"Actually, you don't need to think so hard. I'm here today to tell you plainly. Lord Xie, the reason why you lost..." Mei Changsu's eyes were like ice ridges on the prisoner's face. Scraping, slowly spit out a few words, "It's because you're stupid."
Xie Yu's eyebrows jumped suddenly.
"I'm not saying that you are stupider than the average person, you are just stupider than me." Mei Changsu smiled, "It's because I'm smarter than you, so how do you react, how do you act, what are you planning, what are you planning? , I can see through it. On the other hand, you can't see through what I'm thinking, what I'll do, and how I'm planning. In this way, how can you not lose, how can you not lose? And after losing in a row, you can't figure out how you lost, this is not stupid... what is it?"
Xie Yu's face turned pale, he suppressed the ups and downs of his chest, and his breath became thicker.
Mei Changsu walked a few steps in the room, as if he was admiring this humble room, turned his head to look around, and finally stopped in front of Xie Yu, squatted down slowly, looked directly at him, and smiled suddenly: "Do you know who is smarter than you besides me?"
Xie Yu turned his head and insisted on ignoring it.
"Xia Jiang." Mei Changsu didn't take it seriously, and still spit out the name lightly, "Xia Jiang is much smarter than you, so you will still repeat the same mistakes as me, and keep losing like this."
Mei Changsu paused deliberately, looked at the throbbing veins on Xie Yu's neck, and continued in a flat but seductive tone: "Let me tell you how a smart person will deal with you. Actually, just think about it. It's over, it's really simple. First of all, he came here to visit you, the marquis in distress, and tell you that he won't stand by and make a deal with you. You don't reveal his secret, he saves your life. This deal Of course it's not fake. He will try very seriously to get you out of this heavenly prison alive. If you get out of the heavenly prison without being sentenced to death, his promise will be fulfilled. He saved your life, and of course you will not confess it again. Any of his crimes. Then you will be sentenced to relocation, exiled to a land of bitterness. Maybe you think you can get through that hardship, but in fact you have no chance to endure it at all. Because at this time your case It's over, no one will come to interrogate you, no one will listen to you seriously, and no matter how many secrets Xia Jiang is in your mouth, you won't have the chance to reveal them. It's a long way from the capital to the exile, no matter where you are. It may be your door to hell. And at that time, your death is just the death of an exile, no one cares and no one cares, even if someone cares about it afterwards, so what if you are already dead, there is no time to use you at all If the secrets he guards threaten anyone, he can easily die and bring everything to another world. Xia Jiang... He is a smart person who will live well, and he will never have to worry about anything from now on. Well, that's great, isn't it?"
Beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolled down Xie Yu's forehead, dripping on his dirty prison uniform, and he fainted into a black ball.
"Marquis Xie," Mei Changsu's pressing voice was as cold and cruel as it came from hell, every word stuck in Xie Yu's heart, "You'd better raise your head now and look at me , the two of us also come and have a good talk, how about it?"
Xie Yu didn't raise his head as he asked, but every word that Mei Changsu said pierced into his heart like a poisonous thorn. Even if he is really stupid, he knows that what Jiang Zuomeilang said is true, not to mention that he is not stupid at all.
But if you don't rely on Xia Jiang, are there other options? absolutely not. The last straw, no matter how illusory, can only be firmly grasped, there is no room for calculation.
Xie Yu himself knew very well that even if he was released from the prison in the future, he would never betray Xia Jiang again, because there was no benefit in doing so. Xia Jiang can save his life, take care of him, and even become an opportunity for him to make a comeback in the future. He will definitely keep Xia Jiang secret to the end, as long as the head of the hanging mirror believes him...
"Who can say what will happen in the future?" Mei Changsu said coldly, as if he could see through his thoughts, "It's like half a month ago, you didn't think you would end up in this situation, right? Judging from the current situation, as long as Xia Jiang saves you, you really don't have any reason to betray him, but everything in the world is always ever-changing. Instead of trusting you, he might as well trust a dead person. The style of the head of the hanging mirror, right?"
Xie Yu finally raised his head and met Mei Changsu's gaze, still maintaining his own insistence: "You are right, Xia Jiang may indeed kill me after I get out of the prison, but that's just It's possible. I can only bet on this last game now, if I don't believe him, can't I believe in you?"
"Why can't you trust me?" Mei Changsu smiled slightly.
"Believe in you? What are you kidding, Mr. Su? I'm most of the time today thanks to you. It's better to commit suicide if I believe you."
"You're wrong." Mei Changsu's words were icy as ice, "You are all to blame for what you have today, and there is no grievance at all. But the reason why I asked you to believe me was naturally not a joke."
Xie Yu's eyes trembled quickly, but he didn't answer.
Mei Changsu pursed the lines of his lips, and said slowly and clearly: "Because Xia Jiang has a reason for wanting you to die, but I don't."
"You don't want me to die?" Xie Yu laughed loudly, "You don't want me to die too slowly, do you?"
"I've said it just now," Mei Changsu didn't mind, but still said quietly, "Even if you get out of the Heavenly Prison, you're still just an exile. What's the difference between life and death for me? I'll deal with you, It's just because the power you hold has hindered His Royal Highness Prince Yu, and now you are completely defeated, it doesn't matter whether you want to die or not."
Xie Yu looked at him suspiciously: "Since I only have one life left that you are not interested in, why don't you let me fend for itself, why do you spend so much energy in this dark prison?"
"Good question," Mei Changsu nodded slowly, "I'm really not interested in your life at all, what I'm interested in... is only Xia Jiang..."
Xie Yu suddenly turned around: "Su Zhe, you really dare to say it. Now Xia Jiang is my last hope, you actually expect to use me to deal with him, aren't you crazy?"
"What's wrong with taking advantage of you?" Mei Changsu glanced at him, "If Marquis Xie is in such a situation, there is still a place to be taken advantage of, so you should be happy. If it's really useless, the road will come to an end."
"That's probably going to disappoint Mr. Su." Xie Yu gritted his teeth, "I still have to bet on Xia Jiang, betting that he believes I will never betray him, this is my only way to survive."
Mei Changsu tilted his head and looked at him, a smile suddenly appeared on his face, obviously elegant and weak, but unreasonably chilling: "I'm really sorry, I have already blocked this way of life for Lord Hou. "
Xie Yu knew that he should not be teased and asked, but he couldn't help but blurt out: "What do you mean?"
"Thirteen years ago, you sent someone to kill a nameless teacher, Li Zhongxin. This person was killed for Xia Jiang, right?"
Xie Yu was shocked and forced a smile: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Maybe I'm talking nonsense," Mei Changsu said in a relaxed tone, "I'm just taking a bet and guessing. But King Yu has already gone to ask Xia Jiang why he wants you to kill an insignificant scholar. Of course Xia Jiang He will definitely deny it, but after denying it, he will inevitably think in his heart, how did King Yu know that Li Zhongxin was going to kill him, and after thinking about it, unless it was said by Mr. Xie..."
"I did not say!"
"I know you didn't say it, but Xia Jiang didn't know." Mei Changsu smiled slightly and spread his hands, "Looking at your reaction, Lord Hou, I guessed right. So I'm sorry, you have already betrayed Xia Jiang once, Even if he still believes that you didn't leak it intentionally, it at least proves that your mouth is not as reliable as a dead person, and there are many ways to dig it bit by bit. Of course, in order to keep a deeper secret, he will still save you, But after being rescued, in order to be able to do it once and for all and avoid future troubles, he has no choice but to be what I call a smart person... Lord Xiahou, you will definitely lose if you bet on Xia Jiang, because your chips are only what he has for you. Trust, and now this trust has long since disappeared..."
"You... you..." Xie Yu gritted his teeth, his whole body trembled violently, his eyes spitting fire, he was about to pounce on Mei Changsu, and there was another Fei Liu who was looking at the straw play next to him. He gasped and said angrily, "Su Zhe, why do I have any grudges against you, do you want to force me to such a point?"
"Why... what..." Mei Changsu murmured and laughed loudly, "Thank you, Marquis, you and I are for the sake of fame, and each protects its owner. In order to achieve your own goals, why don't you use any means? Today Don't you think it's funny to ask me that?"
Xie Yu fell down and sat in the straw, his face was pale, and his heart was full of despair. Mei Changsu in front of him was like a cat playing with a mouse, but with a slight flick of his paws, it made him unable to resist at all.
Such a formidable person, should I regret letting the prince easily give up on him...
"Thank you, Marquis, while you still have a chance, hurry up and bet on me. I have nothing in your hands, I don't care about keeping you alive," Mei Changsu squatted in front of him and said softly, "Anyway, there are more here. A lifeline."
Xie Yu lowered his head, his whole body was sweaty and wet, and he said in a low voice for a long time, "What do you want me to do?"
"Don't worry, I won't let you testify against Xia Jiang, and I don't even want to find out another case about Xia Jiang," Mei Changsu let out a soft laugh, "You and I know very well that whatever Xia Jiang did Everything is according to the holy will, but... he used some means that even the emperor didn't know to achieve his goal. I guess right?"
Xie Yu paused blankly and nodded slowly.
"Your Majesty's Sacred Heart is unpredictable, suspicious and suspicious. The means that were concealed from him in the past, and now Xia Jiang wants to continue to conceal it, but that's all." Mei Changsu said lightly, "In the end, these things have nothing to do with what I am planning now. There is not much connection, and I have no intention of asking for trouble. But His Royal Highness Prince Yu has to worry about whether Xia Jiangbao is for the prince, and whether he will break the routine of the Xuanjing Division over the years and participate in the party disputes, so I I had no choice but to come and ask. Mr. Xie Hou, please tell me about Li Zhongxin. As long as I can confirm that this matter has nothing to do with the current party struggle, I will not make a fuss about it. Because everyone knows it. Du Ming, the Xuanjing Division is not so active, after all, it is often under secret orders, if you are not careful, if it touches the sore spot of His Majesty, how can it be good?"
Xie Yu gave him a deep look: "I'll tell you, what's in it for me?"
"I can't give you more, but please let Wang Yu let go and let Xia Jiang save you out of prison, and then keep you safe in exile, and live as your exile."
Xie Yu closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking intensely in his head. He wasn't worried that after he revealed Li Zhongxin's secret, King Yu would make a fuss about it. Because of the matter involved in this secret, King Yu himself is also one of the recipients of the benefits, but he was not mature enough back then, and he did not participate more deeply. When it comes to things like fueling the flames and getting into trouble, the queen and him are both Not much. As long as Mei Changsu went back and told him, he would immediately understand in his heart, and he would never ask Xia Jiang to make this difficult for himself. And what Xia Jiang was guarding against was that he didn't want the whole thing to be spread out, or that some of the details he had concealed were known to the emperor.
However, if he said it himself, would Jiang Zuomeilang really fulfill his promise
"This is a gamble," Mei Changsu said lightly, as if he once again knew what he was thinking, "You have nowhere else to bet. I am from Jianghu, and I know how to keep you alive, except believing My promise, you have no choice."
Xie Yu seemed to have been completely overwhelmed, his whole body leaned forward weakly, leaning on the ground with both hands and barely sitting on the ground. After being silent for about a stick of incense, he finally opened his chapped lips.
"Li Zhongxin... is indeed just a teacher, but he has a strange talent, that is, he can imitate any characters he has read without any flaws, and no one can tell the authenticity. Thirteen years ago... He wrote for Xia Jiang I wrote a letter, the fake one is Nie Feng's handwriting..."
"Who is Nie Feng?" Mei Changsu asked deliberately.
"He was the forward general of the Chiyan Army at the time and the husband-in-law of Xia Dong, so Xia Jiang had many opportunities to get the draft of the book he wrote, and cut some words from it and showed it to Li Zhongxin, so that he could write Publish a letter that is so seamless that even Xia Dong can't tell the difference..."
"What's in the letter?"
"It's a letter for help, it says 'The coach has the heart of rebellion, I investigate, in order to silence, drive me to death, hope for rescue.'"
"I seem to know about this, so the letter is fake." Mei Changsu sneered, "So... you ran thousands of miles to rescue Nie Feng, but in the end, because it was late, you could only bring back his bones. fake?"
Xie Yu was silent.
"According to the legendary story I heard, it was General Xie, you traveled long distances to save your colleagues, and arrived at the Soulless Valley where Nie Feng was located, but there were reports that there were no friendly soldiers in the valley, and only the barbarians of the enemy country were about to rush out. So you acted decisively, logging and setting fire to seal the mouth of the valley. Only then did you stop the force of the barbarians and protect the left-wing defense line of the Liang Liang. This story is truly awe-inspiring to those who heard it." Mei Changsu sneered, "I think about it today, What you sealed was actually Nie Feng's retreat, making this forward general who was not dead because of you to die because of you, causing the final tragedy. Am I right?"
Xie Yu's lips pursed into a straight line, still not answering his words.
"Forget it, these are all past events, and it's useless to investigate them." Mei Changsu narrowed his eyes and said coldly, "What's next?"
"At that time, only Xia Jiang and I knew that the letter was fake. He had his purpose, I had mine, and we didn't say anything, just tacitly. Because he didn't want his disciples to notice the difference, he didn't Using the power of the Xuanjing Division, he only hinted at me, and I killed Li Zhongxin's family for him." Xie Yu's words were calm, and he seemed to have no regrets about this matter, "The whole thing is like this. It doesn't matter, are you satisfied?"
"It turns out that this is how the pillars of the imperial court laid the foundation." Mei Changsu nodded, holding the hands hidden in his sleeves tightly, his face still calm. Of course, what Xie Yu said was just the tip of the iceberg in the hidden affairs of the past, but if you push too hard, it would be useless. This short dialogue can already achieve the purpose of coming here today, and the road ahead will still be slow. Slowly and carefully, go down step by step.
As for Xie Yu's fate, others are worried. In fact, sometimes death is not necessarily the most terrifying ending.
"Hey, take a rest. Xia Jiang won't know that I came to see you today, and His Royal Highness Prince Yu has no interest in the old things. I will fulfill my promise and not let you die, but if you can't stand the hard labor of exile yourself, I will Don't care." After Mei Changsu said the last sentence lightly, she stopped looking at Xie Yu and turned to leave the cell. Fei Liu hurriedly dropped the straw he was knitting and playing, and followed behind him.
On the way back to the stone staircase leading to the ground floor, Mei Changsu glanced at the dark room next to Xie Yu, but he did not stop at all, and quickly disappeared at the exit of the stone staircase.
A moment after he left, the door of the black room was silently pushed open, and the two walked out one after the other, walking very slowly, and their footsteps were slightly unstable.
The man in front is slender, in black clothes and a black dress, with two silver threads in his black hair that are eye-catching at first glance. There is no trace of blood on his handsome face, as pale as a piece of paper, just a small stone on the dark corridor. , so she almost fell down, but fortunately she was supported by the person behind.
The two went out of the dark room without a word of conversation. Even the supporter just pulled one hand and immediately retracted it, silently. They also slowly walked to the first floor along the stone ladder that Mei Changsu walked just now. The only difference was that the person waiting outside the door to lead them out was not the one who punished An Rui, but the one who had been officially promoted to the minister of punishment. Cai Quan.
"Trouble Master Cai."
"His Royal Highness Prince Jing is not welcome."
Just these two conversations, and then there will be no politeness. A group of people exited the prison from the back door, and Xia Dong ran away without looking back, without moving his lips from beginning to end. Behind her, King Jing silently stared at her lonely back, but a scorching flame secretly ignited in his eyes.