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A prostitute died in Fengyue Tower, in the Tomb of Ecstasy and on the Beauty's Tent. It can be said that if one dies under the peony flowers, he will be a romantic ghost.
There were many different opinions about the cause of death. The runners of the Dali Temple waited in front of Fengyue Tower for seven consecutive days, trying to catch the murderer. Finally, they secretly took a Hanlin scholar back to the torture room.
A murder case implicated many officials who lived a carefree and happy life in Fengyue Tower. The Dali Temple had no right to deal with the case privately, so it reported the case to the emperor and finally transferred it to the Censorate.
Beating thirty people would cost them half their lives. There were many diplomatic envoys from various countries in the capital now, and it was impossible to let officials drag their injured bodies every day to bring shame to Dayu. Therefore, the two Zhongcheng officials discussed it and proposed a compromise suggestion to Emperor Renshou, which was to fine everyone one year's salary.
This punishment was somewhat severe. After all, Fengyue Tower had been open for so many years and was well-known. It was the richest place in Yujing City. Even when someone died, they did not close down. In fact, there was a tacit reason among all officials:
The emperor would go there to have fun.
If you don't walk straight above, you will walk crookedly below. This is the most obvious truth, but no one dares to say it.
Emperor Renshou's face was gloomy for several days, and he had a deep prejudice against the Shaoqing who brought the matter to light.
Before the murderer was charged, he was blamed for his poor performance and was fined one year's salary and flogged ten times along with other officials who had visited prostitutes.
When Rong Tang heard the news, he stood there in the yard in a daze, unable to utter a word. For the first time in a long time, a gloomy, murderous expression appeared on Su Huaijing's face.
The sticks used in the Dali Temple were all covered with thorns, and the thorns were soaked in salt water. After ten hits with the sticks, a healthy person would have to stay in bed for half a month, but Mu Jingxu only got three days of sick leave.
Su Huaijing asked: "What does Tangtang think of Dayu now?"
"Not very good." Rong Tang said. He paused and then said, "Very bad."
Throughout history, there has always been a pattern in the decline of prosperous times.
Now, Dayu has a vast territory and its people are rich and powerful, but the rulers are closed-minded and stubborn, and they close their eyes and ears; the officials are muddle-headed and embezzle all day long; the soldiers are weak-willed and afraid of death...
The cost of building a palace for the emperor would cost millions of taels of silver, and all the people's money was used for his enjoyment and greed.
If this continues, Dayu will be destroyed within ten years.
Even if Su Huaijing did not exist in the original story line, it would be difficult for Sheng Chengli to save this prosperous and magnificent era that was like a mirage.
Su Huaijing said, "My father once said that I can only be a king who maintains the status quo. If I don't let the country fall in my hands, I won't be ashamed of my ancestors. When my elder brother grows up to be a wise king who can stand on his own, I will abdicate and let the wise man take over."
By that time, with Sheng Fuze in literature and Wei Zhun in military affairs, the emperor will be wise and the young people will have new and progressive ideas. Dayu may have a good future.
But now, upon closer inspection, the country that the late emperor had guarded for twenty-five years had begun to rot from the roots.
Su Huaijing lowered his eyes and looked at the stars in the distant autumn night. He did not speak for a long time, nor did he tell Rong Tang what his plans were.
Rong Tang did not urge him nor ask any questions. He just stayed with him quietly, along with the system, which was somewhere in the yard.
After a long while, Su Huaijing smiled, the gloom in his eyes faded away, and he asked softly: "Are you going to see your brother?"
Rong Tang nodded without thinking: "Okay."
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Mu Jingxu had his own house in the capital, located in the south of the city, not far from Yong'an Lane. When Rong Tang and Su Huaijing went there, the last purple-red cloud in the sky disappeared into the night.
There was a carriage parked at the door, and compared with Ning Xuan Palace, it was no less wealthy.
Mu Shaoqing's house was deserted and simple, but there were only a few servants. Rong Tang stepped into the house and looked carefully. Most of the people coming and going in the yard were people brought by Ke Hongxue, and they were in a hurry.
He asked Su Huaijing: "Are they living together?"
Su Huaijing raised his eyebrows slightly, but it was unclear what emotion he was expressing. He just took Rong Tang's hand and walked into the yard.
The lights were on in the house, and the furnishings were very simple, yet there was a sense of low-key luxury. It was clear that the salary of a Shaoqing of the Dali Temple was not enough to buy it.
When they walked in, they ran into Ke Hongxue who had just come out to change the water.
The latter paused for a moment, then laughed naturally: "My senior just fell asleep. If I had known you were coming, I should have told him to wait a little longer."
Rong Tang lowered his eyes and took a look, then looked away reluctantly.
The water in the copper basin was dyed light red, and the towel in which it was soaked was stained with blood of varying depths, indicating that it had been changed many times.
Su Huaijing's face darkened almost instantly, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on Rong Tang's hand.
He relaxed quickly, but couldn't hide his overflowing emotions. He slowed down and asked, "Is there any vacant room in the mansion? Tangtang and I will stay here tonight."
"One room or two?" Ke Hongxue asked in a low voice, afraid of waking up someone who had finally fallen asleep.
Su Huaijing: “Two.”
Ke Hongxue and Rong Tang were both a little surprised for a moment. They each looked at him and then looked away.
Master Ke ordered someone to clean the room. Su Huaijing stood at the door and watched for a while, then left in front of Mu Jingxu's door.
Rong Tang asked him, "Don't you want to go in and take a look?"
"It's easy to wake him up." Su Huaijing's voice was very soft, and his calmness revealed a hint of panic and fear that he himself was not aware of.
Rong Tang squeezed his hand and accompanied him silently.
No matter what you say, it's pale and it seems none of your business.
Mu Jingxu's body would faint if he was exposed to the cold, and he would feel pain if he got cold in the dungeon. Like Rong Tang, his sick body could not withstand the slightest exposure to rain or wind.
What's more, he died earlier than Rong Tang in his previous two lives.
Having witnessed the ending, Rong Tang was even more panicked than Su Huaijing.
He tossed and turned in bed unable to sleep at night, so he got up, put on his clothes, and saw that Su Huaijing's room was pitch black. He did not disturb him and slowly walked to Mu Jingxu's door.
But I saw Ke Hongxue standing in the yard, still in a red dress, looking elegant and graceful, but there was a hint of dark red on the lapels of her clothes that could not be clearly seen under the night sky.
Rong Tang lowered his head and saw that the sleeves of Master Ke's clothes hanging at his side were trembling slightly. His fingers were clenched into fists, but from time to time, a little shadow would still appear out because he couldn't control it.
He stood as tall as a pine or cypress, yet he was so frightened and afraid that he would fall down if the wind blew.
When Rong Tang came to him, Ke Hongxue came back to her senses. She blinked her dry eyes and smiled after seeing who was coming. "You and Xiao Su are really interesting. You stay up late at night and come here to do this night raid. Aren't you afraid that it will get out and ruin your reputation?"
Rong Tang was stunned for a moment and looked back subconsciously. A faint light shone through the window frames. There was no sound in the entire yard, even the chirping of cicadas and insects that should have been heard in an autumn night had disappeared.
Ke Hongxue saw that he was confused and said, "I drugged him and drove him away, for fear of disturbing my senior."
He didn't say who drugged him, and Rong Tang didn't ask any further questions. It could have been Ke Hongxue or Su Huaijing.
Rong Tang said softly: "Go back and get some sleep."
Ke Hongxue shook his head: "No, I've asked for leave, so I won't have to go to lectures in the next few days. But Su Huaijing has to go to court tomorrow, so I'll replace him later."
Rong Tang: "How long have you not slept?"
Ke Hongxue: "It's not a big deal."
Rong Tang: "Huai Jing and I will take turns guarding it."
Ke Hongxue laughed immediately: "Forget it, my Lord. If there is one more patient, aren't you afraid that your husband will find a way to kill the emperor when he goes to court tomorrow?"
Rong Tang frowned and wanted to persuade him again, but Ke Hongxue said, "Go back. He specifically asked for two rooms because he was afraid that you would worry. It's late at night and the dew is heavy. Be careful not to catch a cold."
Rong Tang suddenly felt an indescribable sense of deep powerlessness.
It’s not that the Mu Mansion has no servants, nor that they can’t hire doctors and boys to take care of him personally. It’s just that to them, outsiders are never as attentive as they are. They have to stare at Mu Jingxu without blinking until he opens his eyes, drinks medicine, and falls asleep, only then can they feel at ease.
There is never more than one patient in this yard.
Rong Tang frowned and asked one more question before leaving: "How did you deal with the suspect in Fengyue Tower?"
"He's just a spy from Dongshan. Half of his skin was peeled off and fed to the dogs." Ke Hongxue said coldly.
Rong Tang was slightly startled and a little surprised.
Mu Jingxu was beaten with a stick in the morning, and now the murderer was punished at night. The efficiency was astonishing.
Perhaps the expression on his face was too obvious, Ke Hongxue smiled softly, curved her eyes and teased him: "My Lord, do you think that I am just a clean-handed young master who doesn't care about government affairs?"
It's just that we are concerned about the diplomatic envoys coming to Beijing, so we can't convict him directly. My senior brother is a very strict rule-abiding person.
They wanted revenge, but were also worried about the two countries becoming enemies and the people living on the border suffering. Even though they had clearly found the murderer, they still had to wait for the emperor's so-called golden words before they dared to execute him.
As a result, he waited for a punishment.
Ke Hongxue lowered his eyes, a gloomy and fierce expression appeared between his brows: "He can still be alive after half of his skin is peeled off. Who knows if he has been tortured after wearing prison clothes? It's a pity..."
He paused as he spoke, and again with a smile he invited Rong Tang to go back to the courtyard. He took a moment to calm down, then walked into the house.
So no one heard the nonsense words: "It's just a pity, why can't Sheng Xuyan be skinned as well?"
The emperor's name is Sheng Xuyan, and he harbors evil intentions and is extremely rebellious.
Rong Tang returned to his room and lay on the bed for a long time. The moment sleepiness finally hit his brain, the sky outside was as dark as a pool of ink, but then a chicken from the neighbor's house crowed loudly, indicating that dawn was about to break.
The door was pushed open, and Su Huaijing walked into the room, covered in dew. He quietly took off his outer robe and lay down on the bed, hugging Rong Tang to make up for the sleep he had to get up soon.
Someone held my hand, and the fingers gradually opened up, allowing another person's fingers to crawl in.
Rong Tang almost shrank from the cold.
This was the first time that he felt Su Huaijing's extremely cold body temperature; it was also the first time that Su Huaijing climbed onto his bed and forgot to warm up his hands and feet.
Rong Tang closed his eyes, feeling a dull pain in his heart, and rolled into his arms without making a sound. It was a very rare opportunity for him to keep the big villain warm.
They stayed at Mu Jingxu's home for three days.
The next morning, Mu Shaoqing opened his eyes. His face was as pale as paper, but his expression was calm, as if he had never been tortured.
He was holding a case file and chatting casually with Su Huaijing. Ke Hongxue came into the room with medicine. His temple throbbed and he tore the roll of paper from his hand in annoyance.
On the day when Mu Jingxu's sick leave ended, the whole city of Yujing was filled with joy. River lanterns made of gold foil floated on the Jinfen River, and each lantern was praying for the emperor.
The city gates were wide open and people from all directions came to congratulate. The three-day birthday festival of the Emperor of Dayu finally began.
Rong Tang left the Mu Mansion and watched Mu Jingxu, wearing a white robe with an expressionless face, being carried by Ke Hongxue into the carriage to the palace. There was a little blood seeping from the back of his robe. Only one thought flashed through his mind for a moment:
Why would the dog emperor celebrate his birthday? He might as well just die.
(End of this chapter)