Zhou Tong looked at the middle-aged man in front of him and laughed, the smile was deep and unfathomable: "Is this Madam Xue's original words?"
The middle-aged man looked a little restless, and said: "Zhuo Jing has a quick temper, but I think he won't lie out of anger."
"Thank you, Mr. Minister, for coming to talk to me."
Zhou Tong's attitude is very sincere, his eyes are very gentle.
But when Mr. Wei, the servant of the Ministry of Rites, left, his eyes quickly became indifferent.
What happened that night is only a few days away from now, and as the person involved, he will naturally not forget it.
His loyal subordinates will naturally not forget.
To be precise, the beginning of that night was the knife light in Haitang's small courtyard, and he almost died in Chen Changsheng's hands.
If there hadn't been that knife, or the subsequent development of the situation would not have changed much, but the role he played in this matter is very likely to be different from the present.
Xue Xingchuan is his only friend in this world.
Xue Xingchuan is the only person in the world who trusts him.
So, he was poisoned to death.
In the palace that day, he received the treatment of the holy light technique, and Shang Xingzhou personally acted, his injuries were almost healed.
He will have a higher status in the new dynasty, greater power, and more unshakable.
In order to announce and prove this to the whole world, Xue Xingchuan's body was thrown outside the official road and not allowed to be buried.
In the end, Chen Changsheng collected Xue Xingchuan's body, Mrs. Xue was not planning to leave the capital, and the child named Brother Jin would be brought back.
Of course Zhou Tong understood what these things meant, it was a slap in the face for him.
The crabapple tree had turned into debris, the courtyard was dilapidated, and the above-ground buildings of the Qing officials' yamen had been destroyed, only the underground prison remained intact.
Zhou Tong stood in the ruins, looked at the light clouds in the sky, remained silent, not knowing what he was thinking.
A subordinate looked at him with a slightly lonely expression, and tentatively asked: "My lord..."
"My face has always been thick, otherwise I wouldn't be alive today."
Zhou Tong said calmly: "Dean Chen has already slapped me on the left cheek. If he is still interested, I can turn around and slap the right cheek to make him happy."
The subordinate said unwillingly: "Why?"
Zhou Tong looked back at the sky, and said expressionlessly: "Just because he is a student of the dean of business, his majesty's junior, and the heir chosen by the pope, he is qualified to slap me in the face."
It was the imperial court's order to expose the corpses of Xue Xingchuan and those generals of the Habayashi Army, who would dare to disobey
If Chen Changsheng dared, who would dare to punish him for violating the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty or resisting the decree
Why? As Zhou Tong said, if the imperial court does not want to split with the state religion just after overthrowing the Holy Empress, it can only endure it.
The imperial court had to endure it, not to mention that Zhou Tong was only a member of the imperial court, even if he was a senior official.
The subordinate said angrily, "How long will I have to endure it?"
Zhou Tong was silent for a while, and said: "My mother will die, so everyone will die."
What he was talking about was not Chen Changsheng, but His Majesty the Pope who confessed in front of the Mausoleum of Heavenly Books that he was old and about to die.
On the day when His Majesty the Pope returns to Xinghai, perhaps Chen Changsheng will really become the next generation of Pope, but neither the imperial court, Shang Xingzhou, nor the collective consciousness of the state religion will allow him to act like a young man again. Although he is still very young, this is the reason why if he wants to wear the crown of God, he must bear its weight.
Zhou Tong just needs to endure this period of time.
"Slap in the face, it's not murder."
There are many people in this world who want Zhou Tong to die.
Now many ministers in the new dynasty, including several princes including King Zhongshan, want to eat their flesh raw, but they can't do anything.
Chen Changsheng could use many methods to show his disrespect towards Zhou Tong. He could slap him in the face in different ways, but it was impossible to kill him.
As he has said many times, he represents Shang Xingzhou's promise to the whole world.
The subordinate was still a little uneasy, and asked, "Then Xue's residence set up a sacrifice?"
"Sacrifice? I think it's more like digging a hole." Zhou Tong smiled, and then said to his subordinates: "It doesn't matter whether the courtyard can be restored as before, but I want a crabapple tree here, and I want it to be the same as before. That crabapple tree is exactly the same, remember to dig the tree hole deeper, it will make life easier."
For this small courtyard in Beibingmasi Hutong, the crabapple tree is very important.
Just like he does to the present world.
are some kind of symbol.
…
…
Rebuilding Zhou Prison was a very troublesome project. The Ministry of Industry and Kyoto Prefecture sent a lot of labor and excellent craftsmen.
The project went very smoothly. In just two days, the prototype had already taken shape, but the time was still very tight. After nightfall, the laborers were still working hard.
A tree pit was dug under the courtyard wall. The pit was dug very deep. No matter what kind of crabapple tree it was, it could grow well in it.
When the night was darkest, the laborers and craftsmen finally went to rest.
No one noticed that a figure came to the courtyard wall and jumped into the pit.
Chi Chi Chi, as if the small sound of the blade cutting into the tofu kept ringing.
Countless cold lights flashed from the fingertips of that figure, but they were obviously not weapons.
The soil on the wall of the pit is like real tofu, rustling down.
Then, that figure disappeared.
…
…
Xue's house set up a sacrifice.
The mourning hall is in the mansion, and you can't see it on the street at all, only Bai Pan can be seen, other than that, there is no change.
There was not even crying or music, it was really deserted to the extreme.
There is no music, because there is no music troupe who dares to take over Xue's work.
There was no crying, because there were no guests who came to worship, so no matter if it was true or not, the people in the mansion could not always mourn by themselves.
This is the scene that many people have already anticipated.
Xue Xingchuan's remains were collected by Chen Changsheng.
The funeral of the Xue family naturally had a different meaning.
Some people even thought that this was a contest between the imperial court and the state religion, between Shang Xingzhou and Chen Changsheng, master and apprentice.
This funeral can clearly see the wind direction of the capital city and even the entire continent.
Those who came to pay homage to Xue Xingchuan, in a sense, they were also paying homage to the Holy Empress.
There must be people who have a heart for the old dynasty of Tianhai, but who dares to show it
In the cold mourning hall, the butler looked at Mrs. Xue and said sadly, "It seems... no one will come again."
Not to mention the ministers in the court, military generals, those old friends, even Li Gong didn't respond.
Only the King of Ling Hai and Taoist Si Yuan came to worship in the early morning.
The personal relationship between these two state religion magnates and Xue Xingchuan is actually ordinary, but everyone knows that they, like Xue Xingchuan, are the most staunch supporters of the Holy Empress Tianhai.
Mrs. Xue looked at the empty door and said calmly: "There are always some people who want to come, even if they are inconvenient to come, we always have to wait."
Yes, there are many people in Kyoto who want to come to pay homage to Xue Xingchuan. Given the friendship they had with Xue Xingchuan back then, it would be unreasonable not to come.
But for various reasons, they dared not come, and it was extremely embarrassing.
Just like what Zhou Tong said, Xue's offering a sacrifice was like digging a hole for those people.
Do you dance or not
Time passed slowly.
The sun moves slowly.
The hour has come.
Xue's residence is still deserted, and no one has come yet.