At the banquet, there were staggered cups and cups, and the wine was too drunk.
The emperor looked at Shen Jiayan who was pressed in front of him in an extremely embarrassed posture, and asked with drunken eyes: "Who is this person?"
Su Yun took a step forward and knelt down: "Back to the emperor, this is Su Yichen, the minister's younger brother, who is also a disciple of the national teacher. He was supposed to be the pillar of my court and serve the country. But he committed the crime of dirtying the court." .These princes and ladies were all witnessed by the same minister. Therefore, the minister brought him here to plead guilty to the Holy Majesty."
"The court is filthy!" The emperor's wine immediately woke up halfway, and he looked at Shen Jiayan coldly. Immediately, an invisible force overwhelmingly pressed towards Shen Jiayan, "Speak! Who is the other person who is making trouble with you?"
When the emperor was angry, it was like the power of thunder.
If you were timid, you would have already been frightened to kowtow and admit your mistake. Shen Jiayan lowered his head, pursed his lips, but remained silent.
"You still have a hard mouth." The emperor laughed back angrily, "Don't you think I won't be able to find out if you don't tell me? Come and beat me until he is willing to speak. I want to see if he can persist until When. Bring the torture tools, I want to see him executed in public, as a warning to others."
"One, two, three, four..." The guard counted, and hit Shen Jiayan vigorously with the board. Suddenly, a burst of pain rose from a hidden place, corresponding to the place where he was beaten.
Shen Jiayan couldn't hold back a groan of pain. But even though he gritted his teeth, he didn't cry out no matter how painful the punishment was.
"Thirty, thirty-one, thirty-two..." The board kept falling, Shen Jiayan's skin was swollen, blood stained the board, and then splashed on the ground, like blossoming red plum blossoms.
The atmosphere changed from being calm at the beginning to faintly uneasy.
When the guard counted to "fifty-six", there was a "pop" and the board broke.
Yu Chiyan couldn't help standing up, and interceded for Shen Jiayan: "Father, since the board has been broken, it shows that it is the will of the heavens. Why don't the punishment stop here, which is also in accordance with the will of the heavens."
The emperor was still thinking about Yu Chiyan's words, and hadn't spoken yet.
When the prince caught the opportunity, he opened his mouth angrily and poured the dirty water over: "Hey, Lao Qi, look at your heartache, you are the one he is protecting, right?"
The sixth prince followed suit and said: "Lao Qi, you said that the breaking of the board is in accordance with the will of God, so don't you say that the emperor's order to beat him was against the will of God in the first place?"
As soon as the sixth prince said this, the emperor's expression immediately turned cold: "Change the board for me, continue!" As an emperor, he will never allow others to say that he is wrong. Even if he is really wrong, he is right.
Yu Chiyan lifted his robe and knelt down: "Father has learned from you, but I dare not. I just think that God has the virtue of good life, maybe I know that my father is also a benevolent person, so I want to spare his life."
The emperor's expression softened a little, pointed at Shen Jiayan, and finally let go: "In this case, then I will give him a chance. If you ask him who the other person is, if he is willing to tell, I might spare him Little life."
Yu Chiyan made a kneeling salute: "Father is wise."
It wasn't until Yu Chiyan walked to Shen Jiayan's side that he realized how badly he was hurt. There was hardly a piece of good flesh on his back or legs, and his clothes and wounds were stuck together, and every movement was painful. If the beating continued, I was afraid that the whole person would really be beaten to death.
"Then who is the other person?" Yu Chiyan tried to persuade Shen Jiayan, "If you still want to protect him now, no one will be able to protect you."
Shen Jiayan opened his eyes and shook his head firmly: "Sorry, I can't say."
"Is that person more important than your own life?" Yu Chiyan asked in puzzlement, he really didn't understand why Shen Jiayan was so persistent.
Unexpectedly, Shen Jiayan admitted without hesitation: "Well, it's more important than life."
For the person he could protect with his life, Yu Chiyan thought of Sanskrit for a moment, but he denied it the next second. Sanskrit is a person who devotes all his heart to the Buddha, so where can he pretend to be anything else? Not to mention that he has always been self-denying and respectful, it is impossible to do such a thing with Shen Jiayan in the palace.
Seeing that Yu Chiyan couldn't come up with a result, the emperor waved his hand: "Continue the execution."
The guard made a promise, and before the stick fell, he heard a cold male voice: "Don't ask, that person is a poor monk."
The voice was obviously not loud, but it shook everyone's heart and blood, and they didn't know what expression to make for a moment.
Even the emperor was stunned by the news: "Master, how could it be you? You are a holy monk of my pilgrimage, how could it be...? Could it be that you made up a lie to save your apprentice?"
"If your Majesty doesn't believe it, can you send someone to check Su Yichen's shoulder blade, is there a small red mole?" Sanskrit said very calmly, only occasionally glancing at Shen Jiayan's eyes, could there be a hint of anxiety.
After the inspection, a servant reported back: "Back to the emperor, the national teacher has spoken word for word."
The emperor slammed the table with his hand, and his eyes almost burst into flames: "Fanyin, as my national teacher, you did such absurd things in my palace, what should you do?"
"It's my fault." Fanyin admitted the guilt without hesitation, "But no matter what the fault is, it is the fault of the minister alone and has nothing to do with him. He has already received fifty-six sticks for the minister, and please ask the Holy Majesty We must punish one of the ministers and let him go."
The emperor pointed at Fanyin's nose angrily: "Fanyin, you think I dare not punish you, don't you?"
"I don't dare." Fanyin lowered his eyes, "I know that I have committed a serious crime, so I have come here to resign from the position of the national teacher to the Holy One. I hope the Holy Majesty will allow it."
As soon as Sanskrit's words came out, no matter how many fires the emperor had, they were extinguished in an instant. Praying for blessings, praying for rain, divination... he can't do without Sanskrit.
Sanskrit is threatening him. But what made the emperor most aggrieved was that he clearly knew that Sanskrit was threatening him, but he still wanted to be threatened by him.
The emperor cleared his throat: "There is no need to mention resigning from the position of the national teacher, but you made a mistake after all. In this way, I recently received a memorial from the north, saying that the plague is serious there. I will order you to govern there. The plague counts as punishment. Do you have any objections?"
"I accept the order." Fanyin looked at Shen Jiayan unabashedly, "Can I take someone away now?"
The emperor waved his hand aggrievedly: "Take it away!"
Sanskrit carefully supported Shen Jiayan's neck and legs, avoiding Shen Jiayan's injury, and hugged him up. Then, step by step, he walked steadily and firmly, as if what he held in his arms was already his whole world.
Lying in Sanskrit's arms, Shen Jiayan touched his eyebrows and eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Master, who is Xiaoyin?" It's obviously one person, why do they have two different personalities? One is deserted, but the other is like a child.
"He is also me." Fanyin explained with downcast eyes: "I studied Buddhism since I was a child. He is the human side of me, so my temper was sealed in childhood; and Sanskrit is the Buddha-nature. The Buddha loves the world, but He is alienated from everyone, so the Buddha does not love anyone. He wants me to save you, so he integrates himself into my Buddha nature."
Shen Jiayan silently nodded.
Not long after Sanskrit left with Shen Jiayan in his arms, Yu Chiyan also found an excuse to come out. As soon as he came out, he went to Tingchan Temple to find Sanskrit.
When Yu Chiyan arrived, Fanyin was treating Shen Jiayan's wound.
Shen Jiayan's back was covered with large purple bruises, the skin was broken in some places, and the inner muscles and bones were injured. If Shen Jiayan gently pulled the outer clothes, Shen Jiayan would be in pain for a long time.
Yu Chiyan looked at Shen Jiayan, who had been beaten so many times just now but remained silent, but now he seemed to be a different person. When the ointment was applied to the wound, it was painful, and when the clothes were pulled away from the wound, tears would flow. Even if Sanskrit accidentally touched his skin, he said that there was a dark wound there, and it hurt when he touched it.
As for Sanskrit, although he still had that indifferent look on his face, the movements of his hands had completely betrayed him.
Whenever Shen Jiayan yelled for pain, his hands would tremble unconsciously; the movement when pulling off the clothes was extremely light; when applying the ointment, the slight distress in his eyes was beyond words.
Looking at the two of them, Yu Chiyan suddenly felt envious.
Shen Jiayan doesn't cry out for pain in front of outsiders because he knows that even if he shouts, no one will feel sorry for him; but in front of the person he likes, he always hopes that he can feel sorry for himself a little more.
Sanskrit, however, no matter how calm and self-possessed he was in front of others, he always lost his mind when he saw Shen Jiayan. Even he, an outsider, could see how much water Shen Jiayan had mixed in by pretending to be in pain just now. But Sanskrit couldn't see it at all, but always subconsciously felt sorry for him a little more.
Yu Chiyan just waited outside the room until Shen Jiayan's injuries were taken care of, and Sanskrit finally shifted his gaze to Yu Chiyan: "What's the matter?"
"It's about the plague in the north." Yu Chiyan looked serious, "I have received news that the plague in the north is probably not a natural disaster, but a man-made disaster. So, I plan to go with you this time."
"Your body is not suitable for long-distance travel." Sanskrit looked at Yuchiyan, and calmly explained a fact.
Yu Chiyan covered his lips with his hands, and suppressed his coughing: "No, you really need me this time. It is said that the officials in the north are colluding. If you don't have my status as a prince, you can hold back ?"
Sanskrit groaned for a while and said, "Prepare enough medicinal materials for yourself."
"Don't worry, I'll save it." Yu Chiyan knew that Sanskrit had agreed, and his face showed a bit of relief, "Then when shall we set off?"
"You guys go first, I'll go after you after he recovers from his injuries." Fanyin glanced at Shen Jiayan in the room, and said.
Yu Chiyan nodded slightly: "Okay. By the way, I also got a piece of news. During this northern plague trip, the emperor also sent another person as an imperial envoy—Su Yun, the eldest son of the Su family."