That dusk, the figure of the person passing by in the setting sun, like a gust of wind, passed by silently, leaving no trace, until three days later, Yang Yun came to Zhen's house and asked Jiafu to see Jiafu. A letter, respectfully said: "Madam, this is the letter that your lord ordered me to hand over."
Jiafu looked at Yang Yun steadily, the unspeakable unease that had been haunting her heart for so long, suddenly flooded towards her and engulfed her at this moment.
She stared at the letter in her palm for a long time and asked, "Sir, something happened to him, right?"
Yang Yun knelt down slowly, lowered his head, and raised the letter above the top.
What should come, it came after all, like fate, unable to retreat, even though she was extremely reluctant to read this letter.
Jiafu closed her eyes, calmed her mind, finally opened her eyes, stretched out her hand, and took the letter over.
…
Half a month after Jiafu received the letter, on this day, Pei Youan and Li Zhong finally arrived in the capital and stopped outside the South Gate.
It was already late at night, and the city gate was already closed. After it was opened, a figure stood in the dark night in the opposite city tower.
Li Yuangui looked condensed, staring at Pei You'an outside the city gate.
Pei You'an turned over and dismounted, stepped on the bluestone ground under his feet, passed through the deep gate of the city gate, walked towards Li Yuangui, and stopped in front of him.
"Eunuch Li, I'm sorry to bother you."
He took off his crown cap and said.
"Come with us, Mr. Pei."
Li Yuangui's voice was cold, and after speaking, he turned around to a sedan chair parked aside, the little eunuch lifted it up, and a group of figures soon disappeared into the night that enveloped the imperial city.
The palace gate was heavy and opened slowly. Pei You'an walked in, passed through the heavy-walled palace engulfed in the dark night, and finally stopped outside the threshold before being taken to the emperor's study.
Li Yuangui didn't say a word. When he got here, he led the palace servants who were standing outside. The surroundings fell into a dead silence. The night wind blew in from an unknown corner and swept a palace curtain in the distance.
Pei You'an flicked the corner of his clothes, knelt upright outside the threshold, and knocked in the direction of the door, his forehead touching the ground: "Sinner Pei You'an, knock to see the emperor."
The door was closed, the lights inside the door were as dark as night, and there was no echo for a long time, and Pei Youan kept kneeling like this, motionless.
After a long time, a voice that seemed to be straight from the depths of the throat finally came out of the door: "Come in."
Pei Youan got up, pushed the door and entered.
After the long table at the end of the square room, there was a person sitting, lit by candles, and his figure was like a bell.
Pei Youan walked to the front of the case, knelt down again, and still kowtowed.
Xiao Lie's eyes fell to the top of his head, and his tone was solemn:
"Forgetting one's family is not filial piety, and abandoning the ruler is not loyal. You claim to be a sinner. Do you know what's wrong?"
"I brought you back to Wuding back then. Over the years, I asked myself whether I treated you badly, treated you as a nephew, and placed high hopes on you, but you kept my personal acquaintances behind me. How dare you come to see me today?”
"Why don't you abandon me and leave with those people?"
He asked three times in a row, and the last one seemed to contain a bit of ridicule.
"It's not difficult to do anything, and the crime does not escape punishment. This is the festival of ministers." Pei Youan replied. The tone was the same as usual, without the slightest fluctuation.
The atmosphere slowly froze.
The corner of Xiao Lie's mouth moved, as if sneering lightly, but soon, it became a sneer full of anger that could no longer be concealed.
He stared at Pei You'an who was kneeling in front of him, hehe sneered, the muscles at the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably, he stood up suddenly, and swept the things in front of the case onto the ground with his sleeves. The inkstone and cinnabar seals, together with the half-approved ensemble of memorials, were all scattered on the ground, in a mess.
"It's a good minister's festival! Do you still know that you are my minister? In your heart, I'm afraid it's another monarch?"
Xiao Lie swept away objects on the ground, squeezed his fists with both hands, trembling slightly, and then with a bang, he pressed left and right on the edge of the table, his body leaned forward sharply, looking down at Pei You'an, gnashing his teeth, his face twisted slightly, his voice almost growling, like An enraged tiger.
A ray of candlelight from the nearby candlestick swayed with the dark wind blowing from his robes.
Pei You'an straightened up.
"In the hearts of sinners, there is only a long-lived monarch, this is what I say from the bottom of my heart."
Pei You'an spoke slowly, raised his eyes, and looked at Xiao Lie, who was leaning towards him.
Xiao Lie's chest rose and fell slightly, his breathing gradually calmed down, and his eyes met for a moment.
"Then why do you still disobey me?"
Pei Youan was silent.
"I want you to speak!"
His voice was long and slightly trembling.
Pei You'an remained silent.
Xiao Lie slowly straightened up.
"In the past, King Wen buried withered bones, Duke Liu Dun walked the reeds, and the world was called benevolence. It is also called a gentleman seeking fame, and a villain seeking profit. Of course, you are not seeking profit, so you offend the king because you want to imitate the ancient sages and seek benevolence and righteousness. ?"
"The reputation of the sinner is like a light feather in the dust. The reason why the sinner is like this is not entirely out of the love of teachers and students, nor is it to serve the emperor Tianxi. Without it, it is for my heart."
"He shouldn't die."
Pei You'an finally spoke, his voice calm.
Xiao Lie was stunned for a moment, then sneered: "You have your heart, have you ever thought about my heart? You once said that the young emperor is just an ordinary boy now. It is true that he is now. Just who can guarantee that he will not change in the future. What do you want? For the sake of this position in the world, brothers can kill each other, and my own son will also take my life, what guarantee do you take that the young emperor will not come back and fight for the emperor in the future? Success is the king and the bandit is lost since ancient times!"
He paused.
"Now that I have come to this point, I will ask you again, if I let that young man go now, but there is a day in the future, when this young man has the desire to seize the throne, how will you handle yourself then?"
"Long live, even if there is such a day, the sinner will not help him to fight with the long live. The sinner still remembers that when His Majesty was enthroned, the civil and military made a vow to the people. The sinful minister took it seriously. The world is not the world of one person, and naturally it is not the world of that young man. Long live in line with the times, ascend the throne as an emperor, and be diligent in government and love the people. Privately, and openly become the enemy of the people?"
Xiao Lie stared at his calm face for a long time, the anger in his eyes slowly faded, but his face still seemed to be covered with a layer of frost: "It's good that you know this truth. This time I don't blame you. You save him once. , it can be regarded as the complete relationship between you and his teachers and students, and it can't be blamed on him. Even if you really don't know where he is now, there must be a way to get in touch. If you tell me, how did you and I, the ruler and the minister, used to be? , what will happen in the future.”
Pei You'an seemed to have never heard of it.
The atmosphere froze again, Xiao Lie stared at Pei You'an, and the anger that had just subsided gradually climbed back into his eyes.
"You'an, you keep saying that you only have one king in your heart, but at this moment, you are still deceiving me! You clearly have two hearts, and you are uncertain! I have given way again and again, but you have no regrets at all! I know you, and you are not afraid. Death, this time I am determined to die, but it is not an exaggeration to punish the nine clans for the crime you committed! I am surprised, are you not afraid that the Zhen family will be implicated because of you?"
"Criminal ministers have followed Long Live for many years, knowing that the sage and the monarch will not be angry with the innocent. Long live the sinful minister's letter."
Xiao Lie raised his brows slightly, and said coldly: "You seem to be quite good at observing people's hearts, but this time, I tell you, you are afraid that you are going to make a mistake! You look up to me!"
Pei Youan didn't speak, Xiao Lie didn't speak anymore, just stared at him, the dark light flickered in the bottom of his eyes, after a while, he slowly let out a breath, and stepped on the purple jade pipe that he swept to the ground just now. Mobi, walked in front of Pei You'an and stopped.
"You'an, listen, you are different from others. I will never allow you to be second-guessed. I will give you three more days to consider. After three days, if you still refuse to be loyal to me, I will not move you, I will call you first. I know that the Zhen family has been implicated by you!"
"You have to think clearly. Think clearly, I will see you again."
Pei You'an kowtowed to the empty throne in front of him, then got up and walked out.
…
In the middle of the night, the return of the man outside the Nancheng Gate did not attract the attention of anyone in Beijing. The courtiers thought that the man was still in the southwest at the moment.
Like a drop of water, he fell into the lake and disappeared without a trace.
Three nights later, Li Yuangui came to the secret supervisor of Xiyuan, unlocked the door, and entered. He saw a lamp in the corner like a bean, and the pen and ink spread on the paper did not move at all, and there was no big character on it. Pei You'an closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground, his clothes were neat and tidy, no creases were seen, except for a slightly haggard face, which looked the same as usual.
Hearing Li Yuangui's footsteps, he slowly opened his eyes, his eyes as clear as ever.
He nodded towards Li Yuangui.
Li Yuangui looked at him with a complicated mood, and said in a low voice, "Lord Pei, Long Live has trusted and relied on you for many years, and you should also know it yourself. It's fine for others, this time I'll let him know that you have a second heart for him, too. How can I bear it? In the past few days, Wan Sui has been awake all night and never slept. You committed such a big crime, and Wan Sui is willing to forgive you, why should you fight against him to the end? Speak out, show your loyalty, and it will be over. Besides, sir, do you really care about the life and death of the Zhen family?"
Pei You'an smiled slightly: "My sins, I will bear them. Long live I believe, not to anger innocent people."
Li Yuangui looked at him for a while, shook his head, and turned to leave the secret supervisor.
Xiao Lie hadn't slept well for several nights. At this moment, his face was dark and gloomy, and his eyes were bloodshot. Hearing Li Yuangui's report, he looked angry: "Does he really think that I will not attack the Zhen family?"
Li Yuangui hurriedly said: "Long live, think twice. Let Lord Pei think about it for a few more days. The slaves will also go back and persuade them."
Xiao Lie gritted his teeth and said, "As soon as the words are out of my mouth, there is no child's play! Put the person in jail first, and I will see if he will say anything!"
When Li Yuangui was about to persuade him again, Xiao Lie's face became cold: "You don't need to say more, I will pass on my order and order it to be executed without delay."
At this moment, there was a sound of hurried footsteps of the eunuch walking on the road. It seemed that there was an emergency. Li Yuangui hurriedly turned around and went out. , said: "Godfather, great joy! Heaven descends auspiciousness! Heaven descends auspiciousness!"
Just half a month ago, in order to expand and repair the dock, the Zhen family in Quanzhou dug deep into the dock mouth, which had become shallower and shallower after years of accumulation of sea sand. Under the silt and sand, a square seal was dug out. After washing it clean, it was found that there was an eight-character seal script on the jade seal, "Ordered by the sky, longevity and prosperous", which attracted countless people to watch at that time. The body Xiangrui was escorted to the official mansion, and the Quanzhou prefect recognized that this was the jade seal that had disappeared before. King Shun'an disappeared for a time, but now he is seen again, he immediately wrapped it in red cloth, put it in a brocade box, and brought people from the Zhen family with him. Together with the local gentry and old man elected by Quanzhou, a group of people beat gongs and drums, and presented them to the Fujian Governor's Yamen.
Gao Huaiyuan was overjoyed and escorted the jade seal in person. He traveled day and night before finally arriving in the capital. He did not dare to enter the city without permission.