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Ke Hongxue lived for twenty-seven years. He knelt before his parents and the king, and also visited the ancestral temple of his mentor.
But apart from that, he was the only son of the Ke family, the top scholar in the imperial examination in Dayu, and the junior tutor of the Imperial College.
Within his authority and responsibilities, if the prince disobeyed instructions and contradicted the lecturer, he could even ask those nobles to kneel in front of the ancestral tablets.
Apart from the emperor, he rarely had to kneel to anyone.
As soon as Mu Jingxu finished speaking, Ke Hongxue smiled slightly, walked towards him in the scattered moonlight, and asked softly: "Brother, in what capacity do you want me to kneel?"
He said, "Is it the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, or the Third Prince of the previous dynasty?"
Mu Jingxu's tone was slightly cold: "You are too rude."
Ke Hongxue did not comment, walked slowly forward, and stopped when she was about to meet Mu Jingxu.
Three feet in front and behind is the rule of gentleman's friendship and also the rule between master and servant.
He deliberately maintained this vague distance, as if silently protesting against the accusation.
He is the most disciplined person in the world, otherwise how could he allow his fellow student to stand in front of him like this, admonishing him harshly like a flower on a high mountain, without being dragged into the mud of the worldly world at all
Ke Hongxue said: "Senior brother has not answered my question yet."
Mu Jingxu asked: "If neither of these is the case, can't I let you kneel down?"
Ke Hongxue laughed immediately.
He took a step forward, breaking the invisible barrier and barrier, and stepped within three inches in front of Mu Jingxu. He lowered his head slightly, his eyebrows and eyes were picturesque, and he smiled elegantly and gently. All his romantic and passionate nature turned into endless indulgence and admiration at this moment.
"That's fine." He said, "Brother, marry me like the prince did, or go home with me. I can do whatever you want."
In the capital city of Yu, there are nobles, scholars, beauties, and high-ranking officials...
But if all these chips were placed on one person, the name that would come out of anyone's mouth would be Ke Jia Hanying.
Ke Hongxue was also a teenager once, and he was always dashing and charming.
From the age of seventeen to twenty-two, he lived his life like another person should.
And from the age of twenty-two to twenty-seven, I stayed by that man's side, waiting for him to take a break and look back at me.
There are not many decades in a person's life.
I will never be a 17-year-old boy forever.
Ke Hongxue lowered his head and looked at his highness with a slight smile, but there was a hint of coldness and sadness in his eyes.
"But you won't agree to any of them."
The breath scattered with the moonlight, the autumn night was slightly chilly, and a thin mist seemed to condense as they spoke, touching the fine hairs on the cheek of the fairy under the moon.
Ke Hongxue looked at that place and said in a low voice: "My fellow student will not agree to any of them. His Highness has never admitted it once. On what grounds do you say that I am unruly? On what grounds do you ask me to kneel down? Hmm?"
The breath slowly escaped, hit the long eyelashes, and trembled slightly.
Ke Hongxue stared at him with a smile.
Mu Jingxu frowned, but said, "It is the duty of the Dali Temple."
Ke Hongxue smiled even more: "The Junior Official of the Dali Temple has been doing his duty impartially, coming to this romantic place at midnight to arrest an official appointed by the imperial court who openly visited a prostitute. I have no words to say, so I surrender and await my punishment."
He took a half step back, raised his head slightly, and said he was waiting for the punishment, but he looked at Mu Jingxu with a defiant attitude, and his tone was even a little sarcastic: "But can such an iron-faced and impartial Shaoqing tell me, why did you call me out alone among all the accomplices in the room? Why did you abuse private punishment and make me kneel down as soon as you saw me without any trial or interrogation, and without any yamen runners to witness it?"
"Are you handling the case impartially, or are you venting your anger?"
Ke Hongxue pressed forward step by step, hardly giving Mu Jingxu a chance to speak. The smile disappeared from her charming face as she stared at him intently, with a sharp and explicit look that should not appear between them.
Mu Jingxu got angry: "Ke Hanying!"
"Sheng Fuze!" Ke Hongxue shouted in a low voice, and the air fell into deathly silence.
After a long time, Ke Hongxue asked him coldly: "Are you afraid that I will harm your precious brother, or are you unhappy because I came to the brothel?"
Mu Jingxu was silent for a while, then replied: "I don't know what you are talking about."
The autumn moon hangs on the treetops, river lanterns are floating downstairs, and the sound of swallows and orioles singing in Fengyue Tower is the same as it was ten years ago and ten years later. It is a tomb of ecstasy and also a palace of bliss.
Ke Hongxue lowered his head and smiled softly for a long time, and did not speak for a long, long time.
Mu Jingxu frowned slightly, pursed his lips, and felt a hint of panic for the first time in a long time.
After a long while, Ke Hongxue stopped laughing, raised her head and looked at Mu Jingxu with her eyes bent: "You don't know what I'm talking about, but I do."
There was suddenly a small-scale commotion outside, and no one knew what the reason was.
There was the sound of a woman screaming in fear, and the sound of disorderly footsteps on the floor, and the door opened and closed repeatedly, everything was restless.
"The Emperor's birthday is approaching. The Dasui envoys entered the capital the day before yesterday. The Dali Temple received a tip-off that there is a spy from the Dongshan Kingdom in the Hanlin Academy who wants to disguise himself as a spy from Dasui and cause unrest in the capital, frame Dasui, and cause disputes between the two countries. He will then take the opportunity to make the Emperor detain the Dasui prince and start a war, just like he did ten years ago."
Ke Hongxue sounded cold and distant when he said this, clearly revealing his deep impatience, but he could see it more clearly than most people in this world.
He looked at Mu Jingxu's slightly surprised eyes and said, "During the Wanshou Festival, all places in the capital have strengthened their security, and the Jinwu Guards patrol day and night. If you want to achieve your goal, you must choose a place that has always been prosperous. There are many people and high mobility, so it's easy for a stranger to sneak in, or sneak in with colleagues without being noticed."
"Gambling houses, restaurants, brothels..." Ke Hongxue smiled and asked, "Brother, in this city of Yujing, is there any place more chaotic than Fengyue Tower, a place more suitable for causing a few deaths? When the beams from the top of this building fall down, half of the people lying under the wood are the children of the rich and powerful, and the other half are the officials of the court who are favored by the emperor. A few drops of poison in the wine cup, a few daggers stabbed when passing by, can kill people invisibly; in the chaos and trampling of the crowd, who can find out who did it?"
He spoke very lightly, not as if he was discussing national affairs or a murder case. He was just sitting on the roof of the academy's ever-bright library with his fellow senior schoolmate, with the bright moon and fresh breeze above their heads, and with fine wine and roast chicken at hand, chatting frivolously about the unknown stories in the books of sages.
Mu Jingxu suddenly felt angry and asked in a deep voice: "Since you know everything, why did you bring Rong Tang here?"
Ke Hongxue smiled indifferently: "Don't worry, I have watched and tasted every drop of wine and every dish that your brother's beloved husband sent to me. As long as I am not dead, he will not die."
Mu Jingxu was speechless for a moment and opened his eyes in shock.
He doesn't just treat other people's lives as worthless, he doesn't even care about his own life.
This was a sober and knowledgeable madman, and Mu Jingxu seemed to be meeting him for the first time.
Ke Hongxue looked at the expression in his eyes with amusement, and felt a bit of joy and the satisfaction of having succeeded in a prank.
Outside the door, there was a sound of commotion rising and then gradually calming down. Ke Hongxue looked at Mu Jingxu for a moment, then added with a smile: "But I won't let myself die. I can't let you feel any more guilt in this world, and I can't leave before my goal is achieved."
He said, "Brother, do you have anything else you want to ask?"
Mu Jingxu's heart trembled, and his heart beat irregularly in his chest, which started to hurt him. The bones in his body that were dislocated and restored hurt all over, which clearly alerted him.
He closed his eyes and admitted, "No, I am indeed here for official business, get out of the way."
He walked forward, but Ke Hongxue stopped him and asked with a smile, "So you admit that you abused the power of private punishment and bent the law for personal gain?"
Aggressive, persistent...
Mu Jingxu never thought that Ke Hongxue would use this method on himself.
He was silent for a moment, then said coldly: "I will go to the Dali Temple to receive punishment."
Ke Hongxue laughed angrily: "You would rather accept the punishment than tell me the truth, right?"
Mu Jingxu finally couldn't hold back his temper after suppressing it all night. He stood there, looking up at Ke Hongxue's eyes, with a hint of anger in his pupils. He asked, "What truth do you want?"
Ke Hongxue: “A lot.”
"I want to hear a lot of truth. Who are you? Why did you go to Linyuan Academy? Why did you become friends with me? Why did you enter the court? Why don't you ever tell me the truth?" Ke Hongxue asked one question after another, and finally walked in front of him, lowered her head and looked at him: "Why didn't you allow me to join the army back then?"
"Sheng Fuze, if you want to lie to me, you should have done the whole thing from the beginning." He laughed meaningfully, and it was unclear whether he was mocking Mu Jingxu's naivety or saying that he had not done a perfect job and was trying to cover up his mistake.
Ke Hongxue reminded him in a low voice: "Don't forget, my Ke family has been a great scholar for generations. I was once a top student in the academy and a top scholar among millions of people."
The young man is as beautiful as jade, unparalleled in the world. If it weren't for Mu Jingxu, Ke Hanying would have been the top scholar in the imperial court, riding a horse in the streets and admiring all the spring flowers in the capital city of Yu.
His voice was very soft, and he pressed on: "There are so many schools in the world, and so many ways to hide your identity, why did you choose to go to Linyuan School? You clearly know where I am."
"If you want to use me, why don't you reveal your identity?" He was smiling, but the corners of his eyes were gradually dyed with an uncontrollable red: "Do you think I, Ke Hanying, am so stupid and worthless that I will do my best to protect him and clear all obstacles for him if he wants to find someone to be my fellow student?"
"When have you ever told the truth?" Ke Hongxue asked in a hoarse voice. In the darkness, only the moonlight witnessed this confrontation.
Mu Jingxu pursed his lips for a long time, then spoke in a low voice, uttering two words: "Insolent."
It is a rebuke and a blame, it is the natural oppression of those in higher positions over those in lower positions.
Ke Hongxue smiled suddenly: "Your Highness, you finally admitted it."
“… Ke Hanying, you asked for it.”
Mu Jingxu raised his hand, grabbed Ke Hongxue by the collar, pulled him in front of him, and stared at him.
You asked for it. You want to walk with me in this dark hell.
The person being coerced did not show any dissatisfaction or embarrassment, but instead smiled gently and said calmly: "Yes, I am willing to do it."
He said: "You can use me until I die. If my bones can pave your way forward, I am willing to be stepped on by you."
"But you can't abandon me." Ke Hongxue said softly, "Your Highness, we don't have many decades left, and I can't wait for the next ten years."
Mu Jingxu stared at him for a long time, until his eyes were almost sore. Finally, he exerted force with his wrist, pulled the man over, raised his head, and bit his lips hard.
Like a drowning man finally dares to grab a life-saving piece of driftwood.
(End of this chapter)