Chen Tang fiddled with the wick that was about to go out.
He added oil to the lamp with a small spoon and said casually, "Hey, Wangchao, why do some people think that 'a good death is worse than a miserable life', but some people can scare themselves to death with their imagination? As long as Qiu Wenyan goes back shamelessly and with great fanfare, can Qiu Dalang still treat him harshly? Not to mention killing him. If he throws a tantrum and refuses to be escorted back tomorrow, and drags him until his classmates bring the ransom money, he can still live..."
All you need is thick skin.
Gu Chi gave the answer: "It's my personality."
Qiu Cheng's character is destined to drive him to death.
"My Lord, you may not know much about Qiu Cheng's childhood. He was born into the famous Qiu family, and the Qiu family's resounding name brought him far more burden than glory. Outsiders think that children of noble families should be dressed in fine clothes and ride horses, and should spend a lot of money, but they don't know that Qiu Cheng is short of money, and he is unwilling to show his weakness and cry poor, so he can only hold on. Over time, some things have penetrated into his bones."
The more exquisite Qiu Cheng's external packaging is, the more praise he gets, the higher he is placed, and the less able he is to face the embarrassing reality.
Gu Chi said calmly, "He is proud but also self-abased, confident but also conceited. He can't and won't throw a tantrum to the lord to beg for his life. He is also a loser, and it would be better for him to die if he had to face the ridicule of his clansmen and the charity of his brother Qiu Dalang."
"For such people, living is more difficult than committing suicide."
Chen Tang put the spoon away neatly, put the relit lamp back to its original place, picked up the scroll on the top of the table and opened it: "When Lord Wen Yan heard that his brother had forgiven the past and repaid evil with kindness, and sent him silver to buy his freedom, he reflected on his past and felt so ashamed that he drew his sword and committed suicide tonight... I wonder if Qiu Dalang was sad or happy when he heard the news?"
Gu Chi: “It’s not important.”
The important thing is that Qiu Wenyan is dead and the money is in hand.
"Yes, it can be considered an explanation to Gong Xichou."
This guy looks dumb when he smiles, as if he is innocent and harmless, but don't forget that his Wudan totem is a snake. Qiu Cheng passionately greeted the Gongxi Chou people on the tower, and this guy always remembered it. He wanted to kill Qiu Cheng with his own hands before his injury was healed. However, because Qiu Cheng was already a prisoner of Chen Tang, he was cautious and did not do anything extreme.
When he sent him away, he was still talking about Qiu Cheng's head. He reluctantly stopped when he heard Chen Tang say that he would find a way to kill Qiu Wenyan after getting the money to redeem him. Qiu Cheng didn't have to die, but Chen Tang needed to kill a chicken to scare the monkey, so he had to die.
I have to die, but not because of Chen Tang.
Just after reading two lines of words, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the meeting room. The clerk who came in had not even caught his breath when he bowed and said, "My lord, Wen Yan committed suicide. The doctor was unable to save him when he arrived."
Snap!
Gu Chi was so “shocked” that he let go and the letter hit the table.
After a while, the clerk heard his lord's calm response: "I see. Did Lord Wen Yan leave any last words?"
The clerk replied, "Mr. Wen Yan ordered his wife to remarry."
Chen Tang paused holding the scroll.
"… He can barely be considered a man of character." Some leaders of powerful forces were defeated, and fearing that their women would be touched by others, they would use a sword to take them to the underground to become ghost couples. In comparison, what Qiu Wenyan did was still considered a human thing.
"My Lord, is this matter going to be announced?"
It took Gu Chi a while to come back to his senses.
Chen Tang pondered for a moment before speaking: "Let's announce the funeral. Quickly order people to set up the mourning hall, and make the whole story public, and allow the old ministers of Lord Wen Yan to come and pay their respects. After the seven-day funeral is over, escort his relatives to carry the coffin back to his hometown, so that he can return to his roots."
The mourning hall was quickly set up.
The old ministers of Prime Minister Qiu who were still in Xiaocheng received the news of their old master's suicide that night. They had known Prime Minister Qiu for more than a year or two and knew his temper well. He was capable of doing this. The crowd did not know the details of Chen Tang's message to the clerk, so they did not suspect anything. When they heard that Chen Tang allowed them to go to the funeral, some left immediately, while the rest delayed until daytime or simply did not come.
White banners were hung everywhere in Tangyuan.
When everyone arrived, Qiu Cheng's body had been cleaned up. The eldest lady changed him into his favorite clothes and put on some light makeup. She even sewed up the deep scar on his neck with an embroidery needle, so that no obvious stitches could be seen. Qiu Cheng closed his eyes and clasped his hands in front of his chest. At first glance, he looked like a living person. But the eldest lady, who had been working so hard for this, looked more like a dead person.
Qiu Cheng's children knelt on the ground.
The youngest didn't know what was going on, the oldest knew whether they were alive or dead, and their faces were filled with confusion and fear for the future, while the middle ones cried loudly. The old ministers who came over saw this and wept bitterly. The eldest lady knew them all.
The voice was hoarse: "Wen Yan left, and left cleanly, and he didn't want to drag you down, so why did you come here?"
Some of them were unwilling to surrender to Chen Tang and could only wait for the redemption money to be sent, or if they could not wait for the redemption money, they could only roll up their sleeves to earn working hours, and some had already changed their families. Especially the latter, they were not afraid of arousing Chen Tang's suspicion by coming here at this time
"Why are you saying these polite words, mistress? Who is afraid of these?" The one who spoke was a burly man, the only brave warrior who lowered himself to earn working hours. Because he slept on a big bunk bed every day, his body still exuded a fermented sweat odor. When he received the news, he summoned his warhorse and galloped all the way over, "My lord, why are you doing this?"
As long as the green mountains remain, there will be no shortage of firewood!
The eldest lady's eyes were red. She wiped her tears with a handkerchief and said weakly: "His temper is so bad... How can we persuade him?"
Young couples understand each other best.
"Alas, my lord... If I had known that would be the last time we met..." The burly man regretted and blamed himself, wiping tears with the back of his hand, "I would never argue with my lord... Saying such harsh words..."
The eldest lady interrupted him: "Light a stick of incense."
The "dispute" he mentioned happened not long ago.
Miao Shu's body was left in the courtyard of Tangyuan, and no one paid attention to it. It was left there for five or six days. He accidentally learned the news from his old colleagues. He rushed over with a bad temper and asked Qiu Cheng when he became so cold and heartless. Not to mention that Miao Shu was once an old official under his command, but also Qiu Cheng's concubine. After all, they were husband and wife. How could it be that after death, they were not even worthy of a thin coffin
How could Qiu Cheng bear such questioning
He immediately said that this was a family matter, and Miao Shu was an insider, her identity was sensitive, and how to deal with it had nothing to do with the outside man. He also said that Shen Tang's move had a deeper meaning, and he couldn't mess around in his current situation. The burly man didn't listen to these roundabout things. He didn't even set up a mourning hall, and threw the person in the courtyard, and was watched by people coming and going every day. It was a great shame!
The burly man raised his knife and said angrily: "My lady has saved my life, how can I watch her die in such misery? Since my lord is unwilling to take the risk, I will take the lead! All the consequences will be borne by Lord Shen!"
At that time, he was very angry at Qiu Cheng for being cowardly and cold-hearted.
Now that I am dead and the world is gone, I can’t care about these things anymore.
Everyone came to burn incense one after another, and one of them was particularly eye-catching. He was limping, with his right hand hanging in front of his chest. Judging from his face, he was obviously deficient in both qi and blood, and should have been seriously injured and not yet recovered. He struggled to burn incense for Qiu Cheng, and asked the servants for a cushion to prepare for the old master's wake.
The eldest lady hurriedly said: "Sir, it is inconvenient, or..."
He refused: "It's no problem."
The lady had no choice but to agree.
He asked: "Why did Lord Wen Yan suddenly decide to die?"
The lady numbly repeated what she had said many times. The other mourners comforted her by saying "let's be patient", but this man continued to ask: "Can you tell me in detail what the clerk said?"
The eldest lady was puzzled, but still did as she was told.
The scholar chewed over the lady's reply several times.
He lowered his eyebrows and showed little emotion.
The eldest lady asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
The scribe shook his head: "…No."
After the two exchanged a few words, a message came from outside Tangyuan that the county magistrate Chen Tang had come to pay his respects. The mourning hall was silent for a moment until Chen Tang, dressed in plain casual clothes, appeared. Gu Chi and Liao Jia followed him, and Liao Jia rarely changed into a dark blue straight-hemmed gown.
Everyone saluted.
Everyone: "Hello, Mr. Shen."
The lame scholar said, "Greetings, sir."
"No need to be so polite, everyone." Chen Tang returned the greeting, ignoring the awkward atmosphere in the air, and turned to the eldest lady to comfort her, "Madam, please accept my condolences. If Lord Wen Yan were still alive, I think he would not want you to be so sad."
The eldest lady performed a blessing ceremony.
Regardless of what others might think, Chen Tang lit incense, looked at Qiu Cheng in the coffin, and said with a little self-blame: "Although I didn't kill Bo Ren, Bo Ren died because of me. The world is not at peace, wars are not over, and all living beings are suffering... Lord Wen Yan, rest in peace."
As the victor, Chen Tang didn't need to say too many polite words, which would easily attract hatred. Gu Chi and Liao Jia also followed suit and burned incense. Gu Chi listened to everyone's voices with an expressionless face.
The content was mostly ridicule such as "You are pretending to be compassionate at a time like this" and "You are here to laugh at someone's joke at a funeral". Someone also whispered, "In the underworld, you have let down this good friend. Is it true? Or is it false?"
Gu Chi remained calm.
Taking the opportunity, I turned my gaze towards that place.
The scholar had his right hand hanging in front of his chest, expressionless.
He had some impression of this person.
Then he winked at Liao Jia.
The two were both in Qishan's circle of friends, and they had a natural tacit understanding. Liao Jia understood and glanced at him secretly. He had an impression of this lame scholar. It was said that he was the most trusted scholar of Qiu Cheng, but he was also the first to change his allegiance.
The lord asked him if he was willing to serve him, and he agreed without much thought. However, he was too seriously injured and was still recovering, so he had not reported to the government office. Liao Jia and Gu Chi whispered in secret: What's wrong with this person
Gu Chi told what he heard.
Liao Jia heard Gu Chi's doubts and said, "Didn't you personally check him?" This sentence only shows that he has a good relationship with Qiu Wenyan, and it doesn't mean anything. If you are worried, find an opportunity to let him go peacefully!
Gu Chi: …
Gu Chi couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly.
When did they say they wanted to kill him? If he died, how could the former subordinates of Qiu Cheng who surrendered be truly at ease? Let's wait and see.