On the day that Shen Zechuan entered Zhaosin Temple, it was rare to see a sunny day. White snow covers the palace tiles, and the red walls reflect green plums. Sunlight filtered through the eaves, slanting a yin and yang line in front of his feet.
He had just recovered from a serious illness and was thin to the bone. Fifteen-year-old past and old dreams were like ashes, and after opening his eyes, he was blown away by the cold wind.
Ge Qingqing went down the stairs first, looked back at him, and said, "It's getting late."
Shen Zechuan supported the pillar and walked down the steps slowly. He was exposed to the sun, neither adapting nor panicking. The boy's childishness seemed to be crushed in the pale, and he could see nothing but sickness.
Ji Lei was waiting at the entrance of Zhaosin Temple, with Xiao Fuzi by his side. Xiao Fuzi looked up at this ancient temple, and said, "The Xiongqi Temple, it really doesn't look like a place where people are imprisoned."
"You don't know its history." Ji Lei said, "Zhaosin Temple was originally a place for the royal family to offer incense, and the handwriting of Lord Guangcheng was enshrined in it. At its peak, all eminent monks from all over the world gathered here, and the chat was all the rage."
"Why haven't you heard your master mention it in recent years?" Xiao Fuzi looked at the temple gate, "It's quite dilapidated, hasn't it been repaired for a long time?"
Ji Lei calmed down for a while, and said: "Twenty years. The prince of sin instigated the eight major battalions of the capital to rebel. After the defeat, he retreated to this place. He was trapped in the temple and fought with animals. In the end, blood splattered the Buddha statue and killed himself. After that, the late emperor no longer When I set foot here, I picked the name of the temple and reiterated the word "sin"."
"Twenty years." Xiao Fuzi choked his throat as if he was rare and strange, "Then I haven't given birth yet! Master Ji only joined Jinyiwei, right?"
Ji Lei didn't answer this, turned to the back, and scolded: "Why haven't you arrived yet?"
Xiao Fuzi was still circling around the stone tablet of "Zhao Sin", and finally asked Ji Lei: "Can you go to someone you haven't heard of?"
Ji Lei seemed to be overwhelmed and said, "All the ministers involved in the case of the Crown Prince were locked up. Civil servants and military generals all executed the nine clansmen, and very few remained. Twenty years later, who still remembers!"
The prison car ran over, and Ge Qingqing saluted Ji Lei: "Sir, someone has brought it here."
"Send it in." Ji Lei said to Shen Zechuan, "If we say goodbye today, I'm afraid I won't have a chance to see you again. The grace of the emperor is mighty, and you should be grateful for the rest of your life."
Shen Zechuan turned a deaf ear, he entered the Zhaosin Temple, and the lacquered red gate moved with a roar. He stood in it and looked at Ji Lei. Ji Lei was stared at by this gaze, and was about to attack when he saw a smile on Shen Zechuan's clean face.
crazy.
Ji Lei thought subconsciously, but listened to Shen Zechuan.
"Master Ji." His voice was calm, "See you in the future."
The Zhumen slammed shut, causing countless dust to rise. Xiao Fuzi covered his nose and cough, and stepped back again and again, only to see Ji Lei standing there, not moving.
Ji Lei was called a few times before he came back to his senses. He trotted on his horse, his back was dazzled by the sun, before he said, "...Bah, bad luck!"
* * *
Xiao Chiye rode his horse across the street and collided with Ji Lei. He reined in his horse and laughed and said, "Lao Ji, aren't you on duty at the imperial front?"
Ji Lei looked at Xiao Chiye's warhorse with covetousness, and said, "Today, the remnant was brought into the temple, and he is heading to the palace. Second Young Master, what a horse! I heard that they were all tamed by themselves?"
"It's nothing to do at your leisure." Xiao Chiye whipped his horsewhip, and Costin in the sky fell on his shoulder. He said, "I can play with a hawk and play a horse. That's all I can do."
"Wait for you to be a clerk after the new year, but you will be busy." Ji Lei said, "The upstarts in the city! I'm not on duty tomorrow, so I'm going to have a drink together?"
Xiao Chiye said, "The wine is not good, I won't go."
Ji Lei laughed and said, "Good wine, it must be good wine! Who dares to invite your second son if it is not good wine? Later, I will go to the door to invite you. Does the prince have time to play together?"
Xiao Chiye rubbed his bone wrench and said, "My eldest brother, don't like this. Why, if I just go, it's not considered a platoon?"
Ji Lei hurriedly said, "I didn't say that! Second Young Master, that's it."
Xiao Chiye agreed, and he was about to leave, as if he remembered when he was about to leave, and asked, "How does the rest look like, can you walk with your legs?"
"It is possible to walk," Ji Lei said, "but it doesn't look very convenient. There are a few Tingzhang who have no back injuries, and it is already his luck to be able to walk."
Xiao Chiye didn't say much, and left on horseback.
* * *
Later, the handyman from Zhaosin Temple brought the meal, and Shen Zechuan lit the oil lamp, but did not touch the meal. He took the oil lamp and walked along the small corridor beside the main hall.
The dust has accumulated here for a long time, some wing rooms are dilapidated, and the doors and windows are rotten. Shen Zechuan saw several corpses, and fell over when the wind blew. Because no living creature was found, he returned to the main hall.
The Buddha statue has collapsed, the incense case is old, but very strong. The bottom is the right size, Shen Zechuan hung up the torn drapery, and lay down with his clothes on the bottom. He suffered from cold and pain in his legs, he endured the pain, closed his eyes and counted the time.
In the second half of the night, when the snow fell, Shen Zechuan listened to two night owls. He sat up and lifted the cloth, and saw Ji Gang in front of the door stepping in.
"After dinner," Ji Gang unpacked, "just punched. It's too cold to cover the wind at night. Master is afraid that you will get sick when you fall asleep."
Shen Zechuan looked at the roast chicken wrapped in oil paper and said, "Don't eat meat when you are sick, Master, eat it."
Ji Gang shredded the roast chicken for him and said, "Bullshit! It's time for you to have a full stomach. Master likes to eat chicken butt, and he likes it very much at home. You leave it to me."
Shen Zechuan said, "I'll follow you. What do you eat, what do I eat."
Ji Gang glanced at him, laughed a few times, and said, "Stinky boy."
The master and the apprentice divided the roast chicken, and Ji Gang seemed to have developed teeth and chewed the chicken bones. He handed the gourd to Shen Zechuan and said, "If it's too cold to bear, drink it. But don't drink too much, just like your brother, drink according to the amount."
They haven't mentioned Zhongbo, Duanzhou, or Chashi Tiankeng these days. Shi Niang and Ji Mu were like tacit wounds between the master and the apprentice. They thought they were covering it up secretly, but they didn't know that the blood had already flowed out, and the pain coexisted.
Shen Zechuan took a sip and handed it to Ji Gang.
Ji Gang didn't answer, he said, "I've stopped drinking, Master doesn't drink anymore."
The hall fell silent, and there was no door to block, and the fine snow fell in front of him, becoming the only view of the long night.
Ji Gang said, "What are you stunned for?"
Shen Zechuan said, "Master."
"Say something."
"sorry."
Ji Gang was silent for a while, then said, "It's not your fault."
Shen Zechuan clasped his fingers tightly, and he stared at the snow, as if he would shed tears in the blink of an eye. His voice was rough and he said, "Did you go to Chashi to find us?"
Ji Gang leaned against the incense case slowly, his body buried in the shadows. He seemed to be looking for his own voice, and after a long time he said, "Go, found it."
found it.
Ji Gang found his son who was covered in arrows in the deep pit of heavy snow. He jumped down, stepped on the thick corpse, and found Ji Mu's body.
Ji Mu was only twenty-three years old and had just raised the flag of the Duanzhou garrison. The armor was new, and on the day she put it on, Hua Pingting hung a peace charm for her son in the lock. When Ji Gang found him, he was bruised and froze with his colleagues.
Shen Zechuan raised his head slightly and said, "Master, I'm sorry."
Ji Gang was already old. He rubbed his white hair and said, "Is he an elder brother? He should be. It's not your fault."
Snow fell for a while.
Ji Gang curled up his arms and legs and said, "Who knew that Biansha Baldy would come. He became a soldier and rushed to the front, which is impossible. I taught him boxing, and he had that temper again. You let him run, It's better to kill him. He usually can't bear to see people suffer and suffer, what is he, how can he run?"
"It's not your fault, it's the master's bad. I drink too much, and your wife has scolded me for so long, but I didn't quit. When the cavalry came, I couldn't punch well either. At my age, I'm old and useless. used."
The gourd was wet, and Shen Zechuan held the gourd without saying a word.
"Old and dead." A head suddenly stuck out behind the Buddha statue and said with a smile, "Old and dead!"
Ji Gang jumped up like a leopard and shouted, "Who!"
The man was disheveled, and gradually leaned out, imitating Ji Gang and saying, "Who, who!"
Ji Gang heard this sound clearly, pressed Shen Zechuan, and was stunned: "... Master Qi!"
The man shrank back suddenly, kicked the Buddha statue, and shouted: "No! It's not Taifu!"
After Ji Gang chased after the Buddha statue in a few steps, he couldn't help grabbing the man's ankle when he saw that he was going to run through a hole. The man suddenly made a sound like killing a pig, and he shouted: "His Royal Highness! Your Highness, go!"
Shen Zechuan covered his mouth and worked with Ji Gang to bring the person back.
"Who is this?" Shen Zechuan asked.
"You're young, you've never heard of it before." Ji Gang's voice was unstable, and he said, "Mrs. Qi, okay! You're still alive! Where's Lord Zhou, is Lord Zhou here too?"
Mrs. Qi was so thin and small that he couldn't move, so he stared at him and whispered, "Dead, dead! I am dead, His Highness is dead, everyone is dead!"
Ji Gang said in a deep voice, "Master, I'm Ji Gang! Jinyiwei knows Ji Gang together!"
Taifu Qi was still in shock, he hesitantly raised his neck, looked at Ji Gang's face, and said, "You are not Ji Gang, you are an evil ghost!"
Ji Gang said: "Master! In the 23rd year of Yongyi, I escorted you into the capital, and His Royal Highness is here to greet you. Have you forgotten?"
Taifu Qi's eyes flickered, and he said madly: "They killed the prince... His Royal Highness!" He whimpered and said, "Ji Gang, Lord Ji! Take your highness away! The East Palace has become the target of public criticism, His Highness He Gu!"
Ji Gang let go of his hand dejectedly, and said, "Teacher... In the 29th year, Lei recognized a thief as a father, and I was kicked out of the capital. In the 20 years, I became a gangster, married and had children in Duanzhou, Zhongbo."
Taifu Qi stared at him blankly and said, "... Your Highness is only going, the emperor is still here! You take him away, you, you take him away!"
Ji Gang couldn't help closing his eyes and said, "In the thirty years of Yongyi, the prince committed suicide here, and no one in the East Palace survived."
Master Qi leaned back and murmured, "Yes, yes..." He was sobbing like a child, "How did it become like this?"
Ji Gang was exhausted that night, he said: "After the clouds left, it has been ten years of running water [1]. How can I expect to see you in such a situation in this life."
Master Qi turned over to cover his face and said, "Are you locked up too? Lock it up! Let them kill all the people in this world."
Ji Gang said, "My apprentice suffered for his father."
Taifu Qi said, "I have suffered for my father... Okay, who is his father and also angered the emperor?"
Ji Gang sighed and said, "Last year, Shen Weibing was defeated..."
Unexpectedly, when Master Qi heard the word "Shen Wei", he suddenly turned his head, crawled towards Shen Zechuan with his hands and feet on the ground, and asked, "This is Shen Wei's son?"
Ji Gang noticed something was wrong, and was about to shoot, but Master Qi had already rushed out. With his dry fingers, he grabbed Shen Zechuan and said hideously, "Shen Wei! Shen Wei killed His Highness!"
Shen Zechuan's eyes are fast and his hands are fast, and he has already grasped Mrs. Qi's wrist. Ji Gang immediately captured Taifu Qi and said, "Taifu! Why did the emperor's grandson die, why do you want my apprentice to die today? No matter what evil things Shen Wei did, what did you have to do with my apprentice! "
Master Qi gasped harshly and said in a trembling voice, "Since he is Shen Wei's son, Shen Wei's son..."
"He was Shen Wei's son when he was born." Ji Gang captured Taifu Qi, kowtowed violently, and said, "But he later became my Ji Gang's son. If I lie tonight, I will die! Mrs. Fu, are you going to kill my son?"
The author has something to say: [1]: Wei Yingwu, "Huaishang Happy Meeting Liangzhou's Old People"