Why Does Mr. Xie Favor Me? Chapter 35

Chapter 35 Charming and Accumulating Salary

My sister cheated on me again

It was night, and a flickering dim light shone through the window of a low hut in the far corner of the Wang family courtyard.The furnishings in the house are simple, with just a bed, a table and a stool, and the air is filled with the smell of old wood and low-quality lamp oil.

Shen Youjin has changed out of the clothes that were soaked by tea and stirred up dust by sticks during the day. He only wears a thin middle coat and lies on the creaking wooden table.

Several sheets of rough jute paper were spread out on the table, and he was writing quickly in small regular script with a sharp pen the conflict in front of the Taixue gate and the reactions of all parties. Even the full text of “Han Shi Bian” was engraved in his mind like a brand.

At this moment, he was using his amazing memory to record the entire text word for word.

The tip of the pen rustled on the paper, and the handwriting was neat and clear, completely different from his low-brow attitude in front of others.He wrote quickly, as if afraid that the vivid anger and accusation would dissipate at any time.

After writing the last word, he put down the pen and moved his fingers, which were slightly sore from tension.

He did not stop immediately, but changed to a brush with a slightly bald edge and a lighter ink. After the copied text of “Han Shi Bian”, he left a blank line and added a sentence in a slightly scrawled handwriting imitating a common scholar: “In the past, Yuan Wuyou also wrote “Qiaojun Lun” to criticize the current shortcomings. Today, a poor student writes “Han Shi Bian” to express his feelings directly. However, the Yuan family is dead, and the blood stains are not dry.How can this article survive?It’s a shame.”

After writing, he picked up two pieces of paper and looked at them carefully in the light.The main text and the sentences he added are deliberately distinguished in terms of handwriting, ink color and even writing habits, as if they were written by two different people at different times.

The corner of his mouth raised a slight arc, he carefully rolled the paper into a tight roll, and took out a seemingly ordinary bamboo hairpin from the interlayer of an old wooden box beside the bed.

The bamboo hairpin is hollow and has an extremely fine spiral interface at one end.He unscrewed the joint, stuffed the paper roll into the hollow part, and screwed it tightly.The whole process was skillful and quiet, without making any unnecessary noise.

After doing all this, he blew out the oil lamp and plunged the room into darkness.He silently walked to the window, placed the bamboo hairpin in an inconspicuous dent on the window sill, then returned to the bed and lay down undressed.

In the darkness, he stared at the low roof with his eyes open, and all the events that happened during the day flashed before his eyes.He smiled silently, and there was no warmth in that smile, only a desert-like coldness and calculation.

“Wang Xinlu, my good young lady,” he muttered silently in his heart, his words were like ice, “the more you suppress and humiliate so unscrupulously, the deeper the resentment accumulated in the poor family will be, and the wider the rift will be. When the resentment reaches the extreme, it becomes the situation that needs to be vigilant and exploited most in His Majesty’s eyes, and sooner or later, this situation will need a knife that is sharp enough and has enough reason to fall to balance or cut off.”

He gently licked his chapped lips, “The seventy-fourth public humiliation, I have recorded it. There are more shady things about your Wang family, we will take care of it.”

After a while, there was a very slight “click” sound outside the window, like a night bird pecking at the window lattice.Shen Youjin knew that the bamboo hairpin had been taken away.He turned over and his breathing gradually became calmer, as if he had fallen asleep.

The lights in the royal study were brightly lit, and the ambergris was burning quietly in the heater, dispelling the slight chill brought in by the palace guests.

The emperor, dressed in regular clothes, sat behind a large red sandalwood imperial desk and reviewed the urgent side reports that had been sent overnight. He commented very quickly with imperial pen and ink.

The confidant eunuch approached quietly, his face was white and beardless, his eyebrows were downcast, and there was hardly a trace of wind in his movements.He held up a seemingly ordinary bamboo hairpin with both hands and said in a very low voice: “Your Majesty, Shen Youjin sent it.”

The emperor didn’t even raise his head and just hummed.Cao Zhi understood, skillfully unscrewed the bamboo hairpin, took out the tightly rolled paper inside, carefully unfolded it on the corner of the imperial case, then stepped back three steps and stood with his hands down.

After the emperor finished approving the last side newspaper, he put down his ink pen. He rubbed his brows and his eyes fell on the two jute papers.He first quickly browsed the full text of “Han Shi Bian”, and his expression did not change.

But when his eyes glanced at the last emotion written in different handwriting, his eyes paused for a few breaths.

“In the past, Yuan Wuyou also wrote “Lun on Qiaojun” to criticize the current ills. Nowadays, a scholar from a poor family writes “Han Shibian” to express his feelings directly. However, Yuan’s family is dead and the blood is not dry. How much can this article survive? It’s a pity, a pity.”

There was silence in the imperial study room. After a long time, the emperor slowly spoke, his voice not revealing any emotion or anger: “What do you think?”

Cao Zhi bowed and lowered his head, “This slave is stupid and only knows how to serve His Majesty and does not dare to discuss government affairs. But not long after Yuan Wuyou’s case has passed, people in the humble family are shaking, and the resentment does not seem to have subsided. The Wang family’s relentless suppression in public may not only fail to calm the matter, but it is like pouring another ladle of hot oil on the fire that has not been extinguished.”

The emperor didn’t answer. He picked up the two pieces of paper with two fingers and moved them closer to the burning candlestick next to him.The jumping flames instantly licked the corners of the paper, and the flames quickly spread and swallowed up all the ink marks, turning them into curled black ashes, and finally scattered in the gilt spittoon.

Seeing the last spark extinguished, the emperor said calmly: “Wang Yuzong does have a powerful sister. He has no way to teach her and only causes trouble.”

He changed the subject and spoke in an unpredictable tone, “But the fire of the poor family burned too fast and too fast. If it started a prairie fire, it would burn down more than just the gardens of a few high-ranking families.”

He cast his eyes on the pile of memorials on the imperial case, as if he wanted to find something from them: “Where is Xie Heng? What has he been doing recently? Yuan Wuyou is dead, and half of his Qingliu sign has been smashed, but there is no movement?”

Cao Zhi replied cautiously: “Your Majesty, thank you Pushe. Since that day, he has been closing the door due to illness and refusing visitors. However, according to the observation of the people below, the lights in his study room are always on until late at night, and he seems to be concentrating on writing books and writing. There are vague rumors, which may be related to re-determining the strategy of soil destruction.”

The emperor raised his eyebrows slightly, tapping his fingers on the smooth surface unconsciously, a complicated light flashed in his eyes, “That’s fine, let him write in peace first. After writing, submit it, I want to take a closer look.”

He paused, as if speaking to Cao Zhi, or to himself, “Let’s see how this fire should be manipulated so that it can warm the place that needs to be warmed without burning down my palace.”

As the words fell, in another corner of the simple wooden room, Bai Ce had a bloody cloth wrapped around his head. His face was pale, but he struggled to lean on the bedside, writing quickly on rough paper with the dim oil lamp.

The title of the new article is clearly “The Second Debate of Han Scholars”, and the words are sharper than the first article. It directly accuses the Wang family of allowing slaves to commit crimes, disregarding the laws of the country, and trampling on scholars. Unyielding anger burns between the lines.

But as he wrote, his writing speed slowed down, the wound on his forehead ached faintly, and the sounds of his companions moaning in bed reached his ears.He recalled the scene of Yuan Wuyou’s blood splattered on the execution ground and the passionate articles of his group being easily torn to pieces and trampled on, and a deep sense of powerlessness tightened his heart.

“Write it down like this, post it, and then what?” He stared at his hands that were shaking from exertion. “Be beaten again? More blood will be shed? Apart from making the Wang family more proud and causing more students to suffer, what else can be exchanged for it? Does His Majesty’s desk really lack this piece of blood?”

Once this thought arises, it wraps around me like a cold vine.He began to think painfully whether there was any other way besides fierce confrontation like pebbles hitting rocks.

Almost at the same moment, Uncle Cheng reported the whole story of the conflict in front of the Taixue gate to Xie Heng in the study in a low voice.

Xie Heng was revising the clauses in the “Ten Discussions” regarding the appeasement of overseas Chinese. After hearing this, the hand he wrote hovered in the air for a long time.

“Is anyone seriously injured?”

“Bai Ce was injured on the head, and Li Yun was injured on the back. They are not serious, but they are not life-threatening. The others also have flesh injuries.” Uncle Cheng replied.

Xie Heng nodded silently: “Take the bottle of golden sore medicine from my warehouse, and prepare some supplements to send quietly. Don’t mention me, just say it was a gift from an old friend.”

He paused, “Find a way to send a message to Bai Ce, protect yourself, and you can see changes while you are alive.”

Uncle Cheng left in response, and silence returned to the study. Xie Heng closed his eyes and pinched his eyebrows.

Suddenly, a pair of hands gently pressed on his shoulders, and warm body temperature spread through the fabric of his clothes.

Xiao Jue didn’t know when he had quietly walked in and stood beside him. He looked at Xie Heng’s gloomy profile and whispered, “I heard what Uncle Cheng said.”

Xie Heng did not open his eyes, but tilted his head and leaned against him, letting the warmth support him, “Do you think they are reckless?” His voice was low, as if he was asking Xiao Jue, but also himself.

Xiao Jue’s hand slid to his arm and held it gently, “It’s a good thing to stand up. It’s better than those who just hide behind others and talk empty talk.”

He paused and his tone became serious, “But on the battlefield, those who are bloody will die the fastest. A real battle requires calculation and even patience. Blindly charging and beating will not change the situation of the battle except leaving a few more corpses.”

Xie Heng finally opened his eyes and raised his eyes to meet his, “Are you afraid that I will become like that?”

“Not afraid.”

Xie Heng grabbed his hand and held it firmly in his palm, “I understand.”

The two of them stayed together for a moment in the dim light. The night outside the window was like ink, as if it could swallow up all the sounds and pain.

Xiao Jue’s eyes softened and he patted his back gently, “Well, I’m not leaving tonight. I want to stay with you.”

It was peaceful and beautiful here, but the atmosphere in the palace on the other side was solemn.

Wang Yuzong’s face was livid, and he threw a secret report in front of his sister Wang Xinlu, “Look at the good things you did. You allowed slaves to beat the imperial students in public. Do you think our Wang family doesn’t have enough enemies and our reputation is not bad enough?”

Wang Xinlu knelt on the ground, biting his lip, feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied: “They were the first to slander me and slander our Wang family. I just gave some punishment to maintain the reputation of the family.”

Wang Yuzong was so angry that he blew his beard and glared, “Hit Qingyu with a stick? You are giving someone a handle! Yuan Wuyou has just died, so many people are staring at our Wang family, and Xie Heng’s side has stopped and Zhengchou has no chance. You’d better just hand over the knife.”

He took a deep breath and suppressed his anger: “I’m warning you, you have to use your brain and system to suppress the poor, and do it in a way that they can’t fault. Your blatant nonsense like this will intensify conflicts and make His Majesty think that our Wang family is domineering. What’s the use? Next time you dare to act so willfully, you can go back to your hometown ancestral hall and reflect on it.”

Wang Xinlu lowered his head and stopped arguing, but the hands in his sleeves were tightly clenched into fists.She heard what her brother said, but she didn’t really take it seriously. Instead, she felt that he was too cautious now that he was in a high position.

“A humble family is a humble person. If you are afraid of being beaten, you will naturally behave, and you will know your dignity and inferiority.”

A trace of fierceness and stubbornness that was inconsistent with her age flashed in her eyes, and she thought unconvinced, “Xie Heng shrinks down just in time to establish his authority.”