Why Does Mr. Xie Favor Me? Chapter 38

Chapter 38 Crisis test

Can sacrificing a sister save the whole family?urgent!

The wind in Danyang carries the heat of early summer and the smell of soil after plowing, blowing on this ancient city that is experiencing subtle pains.

The atmosphere in the backyard of the government office is completely different from the hustle and bustle of the outdoors.A small core discussion was going on, with only a few participants, but it decided the fate of countless people in Danyang and even further afield.

Xie Heng was sitting in the main seat, unconsciously rubbing a newly arrived secret report with his fingertips, his brows slightly furrowed.Xiao Jue sat on the lower left side of him, his posture upright, his calm eyes falling on the spread out simplified terrain map.

Xu Shuhuai leaned on the back of his chair in a rare and upright position, playing with a brush in his hand.Xie Nanqiao sat a little further to the right of her brother, with several volumes of the latest land and land figures spread out in front of her. She looked down at it, as if the discussions around her had nothing to do with her. Only the occasional rapid trembling of her eyelashes and slightly pursed lips revealed a trace of tension.

Xie Heng specially called Bai Ce. He stood not far behind Xie Heng, his expression focused. His initial recklessness had gradually faded away, and he had become more composed.

“There is chaos in Guangling.” Xie Heng pushed the secret report gently to the center of the table. His voice was calm, but it made the air in the room freeze. “Wang Yuzong’s uncle Song Zhi seized the people’s land and forced the people to rebel. The rebels have surrounded the county. The slogan is Langya Wang family, give me back my land and house.”

Xiao Jue spoke first, with a cold voice, “Xiao Qiang will reap the consequences of the disaster, but if the fire spreads, it will surely burn Danyang. The refugees will be the first to bear the brunt of the defeat.”

“It’s not just the refugees who defeated the army?” Xu Shuhuai sneered and put down his brush, “Then Song Zhi is stupid, but the Wang family behind him is not stupid. The Danyang soil cut off is their flesh, and now they can throw the fire in Guangling, saying that my Danyang New Deal has deceived people and forced the neighboring counties to rebel. At least it can make us busy and have no time to dig deeper.”

Xie Nanqiao raised his head and said in a cold voice, “Guangling County’s land tax and population register in the past three years have seven suspicious connections with old records in Danyang. Especially last year’s autumn tax, Guangling has records of three batches of warehouses that lost grain, which coincides with the time when Wang Yan wrote off the warehouse in the Danyang grain case.”

She gently pushed forward several sheets of paper filled with figures, “If chaos breaks out in Guangling, these linked accounts may be destroyed.”

Her supplement accurately stated the crux of the problem, and revealed the chain of interests that might point to Danyang or even the core of the old case from the chaotic incident of the civil uprising in the neighboring county.

Xiao Jue glanced at her, with an imperceptible hint of approval in his eyes.Xu Shuhuai’s eyes lit up and he came closer: “The young master’s words hit the point. It seems that we have to prevent them from leaping over the wall and smoothing out the traces before us.”

Xie Heng’s eyes lingered on his sister’s calm face for a moment, and then he swept across the crowd, “The chaos in Guangling is a crisis, a trial, and maybe an opportunity for me in Danyang. Your Majesty has given me full power in Danyang. I have the power to make arbitrary decisions when the situation arises.”

He paused and pointed his fingertips at the junction of Danyang and Guangling on the map. “The first priority is to stabilize Danyang itself. Xiao Jue.”

“Here.” Xiao Jue responded.

“You immediately deploy reliable soldiers to strengthen Danyang border patrol, especially these passes.”

Xie Heng marked several points on the map, “Strictly check the entry of escaping soldiers and suspicious people, but set up temporary reception points for genuine refugees and screen and register them. Don’t let anyone starve to death, and don’t let spies sneak in. It’s up to you to decide what’s right. I want the Danyang border to be as stable as a rock and to keep people’s hearts intact.”

“Understood.” Xiao Jue accepted the order and spoke concisely.

“Shuhuai.” Xie Heng looked at Xu Shuhuai.

Xu Shuhuai immediately sat up straighter, and the cynical expression on his face subsided.

“You work with Nan Qiao, and based on the linked accounts she just mentioned and the hidden clues that Li Yuanwai Lang has sorted out before, immediately start to get all the evidence of money, food, land, and personnel exchanges between Danyang and Guangling, especially those involving Wang Yan’s old case and Song Zhi’s family, as soon as possible.

Extraordinary measures can be used where necessary, and key links in the chain must be preserved to prevent the other party from cutting off the tail or backlash.Xie Heng’s tone increased, “This matter needs to be done secretly and quickly.””

“Yes!” Xu Shuhuai perked up. This kind of gray challenge suited his taste. He couldn’t help but blink at Xie Nanqiao, “Young Master, I have to trouble your wise eyes again.”

Xie Nanqiao just nodded slightly, his eyes returned to the account book, and he began to quickly plan the extraction and comparison path in his mind.

“Baice.” Xie Heng turned behind him.

“Pushe.” Bai Ce took a step forward.

“Your mind is gradually calming down. This Guangling rebellion is a mirror. You follow General Xiao’s command. You don’t have to participate in the military. You only have to do one thing, watch.

Look at how the soldiers and civilians at the border responded, look at the tragic situation and demands of the refugees, and look at how we dealt with the broken troops and appeased the refugees.Pay special attention to how the people reacted after General Xiao issued a notice to appease the people and divide their fields.Come back and report to me in detail.”

Xie Heng’s move was intended to make Bai Ce jump out of books and thoughts and see with his own eyes the hardships of people’s livelihood and the reality of politics.

Bai Ce clasped his fists solemnly: “Lord Pu She has a lot of people and is willing to give me a chance. I will definitely not let Pu She down.”

“As for the chaos in Guangling itself…” Thoughts flashed in Xie Heng’s eyes, “We should not directly intervene in the military of other counties. But we can help quell the chaos. Xiao Jue, you can select a team of capable scouts with my warrant to sneak into Guangling on the pretext of detecting the chaos and preventing its spread. Focus on collecting illegal evidence of Song Zhi and his party members, especially direct evidence of crimes that radically change people’s hearts. At the same time, pay attention to those who can be won over among the chaos. We may not necessarily use them now, but the more chips the better.”

Xiao Jue nodded: “I have several candidates.”

The instructions are clear and unambiguous, covering both defense and covert attack, taking into account both reality and the long-term.Everyone took the order and got busy.

In the days that followed, Danyang was like a precision instrument, running at high speed under Xie Heng’s control.

On the border of Danyang, Xiao Jue personally took charge, and his soldiers patrolled day and night.As expected, they intercepted several groups of broken troops who tried to flee into Danyang to plunder, and they also took in hundreds of Guangling refugees who supported the elderly and young.

Xiao Jue ordered people to give porridge and medicine at the shelter, register them, and select those who knew the basics and had skills to try to be incorporated into the ditches or wasteland reclamation teams being built in Danyang to provide relief through work.

Bai Ce followed him. At first, when he saw the miserable situation of the refugees and the ferocity of the defeated troops, he was still filled with righteous indignation. He wished he could immediately pick up his sword and go to Guangling to settle the score with Song Zhi.

But when he saw Xiao Jue calmly dispatching and restraining his subordinates, seeing the hot porridge and simple shacks rekindling hope in the eyes of the refugees, and hearing the subordinate official who handed out the land deed promises explain the new policy in plain language, the crowd went from dead silence to slight commotion to faint expectation.

The restless blood in his chest gradually settled into a more complex emotion.He silently helped maintain order, listened to the whispers of the refugees, and quickly recorded what he saw and heard on his bamboo slips.

Xu Shuhuai and Xie Nanqiao were almost buried in piles of old papers and secret accounting rooms.Xu Shuhuai used his talent of being good at dancing to chat with some old officials who were still waiting to see or who had been controlled, and knocked out many verbal clues.

Xie Nanqiao was responsible for checking these clues with the land deeds one by one, and weaving them into an irrefutable chain of evidence.The two often stayed in the same room until late at night, with the lights illuminating their focused profiles.

On this day, in order to verify the flow of an important underground bank, Xu Shuhuai had to visit a black market on a pier outside the city at night.He originally wanted to go alone, but Xie Nanqiao insisted on going with him because she was sensitive to numbers and could compare the authenticity of bills on the spot.Xu Shuhuai couldn’t help but agreed and secretly arranged for more guards.

As soon as the black market transaction was completed and the key bills were successfully obtained, several burly men with obviously malicious intentions surrounded him. They were obviously sent by someone to rob or silence him.

Xu Shuhuai protected Xie Nanqiao behind him. His peach blossom eyes, which were usually smiling, were now gloomy, “Nan Qiao, put your things away and follow me later.”

Before he finished speaking, he took action first, with quick, accurate and ruthless movements, completely different from his usual image of a romantic celebrity.Xie Nanqiao was protected tightly by him. The familiar light fragrance of his body mixed with the smell of sweat and dust was on the tip of his nose. His steady breathing and the muffled sound of fists and feet touching his flesh were in his ears.

Her heart was beating fast, but she strangely didn’t feel scared. Instead, she quickly calmed down, hid the note close to her body, picked up an abandoned wooden stick next to her, and watched the flanks warily.

Xu Shuhuaige made a frontal strike, revealing the empty door in his side, and a gangster stabbed him with a cruel smile. Xie Nanqiao didn’t have time to think about it, and swept the wooden stick in his hand hard, hitting the man’s wrist, and the knife fell to the ground with a clang.

Xu Shuhuai took the opportunity to kick him over and looked back at Xie Nanqiao, his eyes full of surprise.

The guard who was secretly following arrived and quickly controlled the situation. On the way back, Xu Shuhuai rubbed his bruised arms and grinned, but looked at Xie Nanqiao with a smile: “I didn’t expect that the young master is not only good at abacus, but also swings the stick very accurately. Thank you for today.”

Xie Nanqiao’s face was slightly hot. He turned away and looked at the flowing night outside the car window. He whispered: “Xu Da Sinong’s skills are also unexpectedly good.” After a pause, he added softly, “…Thank you very much.”

Xu Shuhuai looked at the red tips of her ears, his heart felt as if a feather had lightly tickled him, his smile deepened, and all the fatigue and tension before seemed to have dissipated.

A few days later, the square in front of the Danyang government office was crowded with people. Xie Heng was sitting in the hall, and Xiao Jue stood on one side with his sword pressed, looking solemn.

Kneeling in front of the hall was a housekeeper from a wealthy family in Danyang who had the deepest collusion with Guangling, occupying people’s fields and even killing people, and several of his accomplices.

Xu Shuhuai is in charge, and the evidence is conclusive and well organized.The comparison of the accounts submitted by Xie Nanqiao is even more conclusive.

Xie Heng pronounced the verdict in court, and the culprit was executed. The followers were exiled, and their illegal gains were confiscated. Some were returned to the owner on the spot, and some were used for water conservancy projects.

After the verdict, the people cheered thunderously. Although Xie Heng’s arrangement and guidance may not have been included, the excitement among the people was real.

Bai Ce stood in the crowd, listening to the deafening cries, watching the trembling hands and tears streaming down his face when the owner took the returned land deed, and then recalling the similar tears in the eyes of the border refugees, he was shocked beyond words.

For the first time, he truly felt that when legal provisions and policies were put into practice, they could produce such direct and majestic power.

Almost at the same time, the scouts sent by Xiao Jue brought back news. During the chaos in Guangling, conclusive evidence was discovered that Song Zhi’s concubine personally commanded his family soldiers to massacre the rebellious tenants, and some of the coerced rebel leaders were willing to defect and accuse Song Zhi.

Xie Heng did not throw out these evidences immediately. He just mentioned it lightly in a routine exchange of documents with Wang Yuzong: “The culprit of the Guangling civil uprising is obvious. The Danyang border has been stabilized and the refugees have been resettled. However, the hidden dangers have not been eliminated, which may damage the reputation of the palace. I heard that Song Dynasty acted arrogantly and unknown to the palace. Does the palace know the details?”

This document was like a warning bell, hitting the hearts of the Wang family hard.They knew that Xie Heng must have something more deadly in his hands.Danyang’s cleanup is both a warning and an example.

The pressure spread again, and soon came the news that the concubine of Song Dynasty who had committed a serious murderous crime died of a sudden illness. The governor of Guangling County was replaced, and the handling of the civil uprising quietly turned to punishing the culprits, appeasing the good, and following Danyang’s example, they began to clumsily clear away some of the illegally occupied land.

In the crisis caused by the war in neighboring counties, Danyang not only stood firm, but also used this to further cleanse the interior, consolidate the results of the New Deal, and demonstrate to its opponents its combined ability to use both thunderous means and to calm the people’s hearts.

Xie Heng’s name of “Xie Tu” is still controversial in the court, but in the hearts of the panicked people in Danyang and even the surrounding areas, he has quietly gained a different color of “Xie Qingtian”.

When Xiao Jue was inspecting the border reception point, he looked at the team that was gradually restoring order and the flags fluttering at the top of Danyang City in the distance. He said to Bai Ce who was returning from recording beside him: “Did you see it? The gains and losses of politics are like a mirror.”

Bai Ce closed the densely packed bamboo slips in his hand and bowed solemnly: “General, Pu She… The student’s knowledge was shallow in the past, but now he realizes that to secure the world is not only a sharp sword, but also a clear understanding of world affairs and a compassionate heart for the people. The student… has been taught.”

While cheers rang out in Danyang Square, the palace outside Baili was falling into unprecedented panic.

Although the Guangling civil uprising was suppressed, its embers are still burning.The emperor’s dissatisfaction with the Wang family finally found an outlet. A harshly worded edict was delivered to the palace, accusing him of lax governance of the family and indulging his relatives in causing disaster. He ordered Wang Yuzong to shut himself up and reflect on his mistakes, and to strictly investigate those involved in the case in Guangling.

The Wang family was in turmoil for a while, and all their forces were mobilized to extinguish the Guangling fire, trying their best to control the damage to the Song Dynasty and avoid affecting the core.

Just when the Wang family was struggling to defend themselves from the direction of Guangling, a sharper dagger quietly penetrated their lower back, which they had almost no time to care about.

A copy of the detailed account books recording the Wang family’s sale of official positions and receipt of huge bribes through secret channels, as well as the confessions and identifications of several key figures, were directly submitted to the emperor’s desk through the Yushitai.

The evidence is so detailed that the time, person, amount, and official position are clearly listed, and it even includes the subsequent filial piety records of some officials who have taken up their posts. The links are intertwined and shocking.

The timing was frighteningly precise. It was the moment when the Wang family was most passive due to the Guangling incident, and there was a brief vacuum in the defense.

The emperor threw down the tea cup in court and ordered a thorough investigation. This matter was completely different from the Guangling civil uprising in nature. It directly shook the foundation of officialdom and challenged the imperial power. The evidence was conclusive and could not be excused by conniving relatives.

The atmosphere in the palace dropped to freezing point. Wang Yuzong’s face was ashen and he hurriedly walked back and forth in the study. His staff were silent.

All the clues and suspicions finally pointed to one person – Shen Youjin.

It is difficult for non-core managers to know the details of those accounts, and those who can seize this opportunity to attack must be well aware of the internal dynamics of the palace.

Wang Xinlu was summoned urgently. When she stepped into the study, she could smell the smell of disaster from her brother’s cold and piercing eyes and the stagnant air in the room.

When the excerpt of the anonymous evidence was thrown in front of her, she only glanced at it for a few times before falling into an ice cave.Some numbers and code names were too familiar to her. She had handled them and asked Shen Youjin to help organize and archive them.

“It’s Shen Youjin who is that cheap slave!” Wang Xinlu suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with unbelievable horror and raging anger. His delicate face was distorted by extreme hatred, “How dare he betray me, I’ll kill him!”

“What’s the use of talking about this now.” Wang Yuzong interrupted sharply, with veins pulsing on his forehead. “The plan for now is how to preserve the foundation of the palace! Your Majesty is furious. Someone must bear all the blame for this matter before the power of Heaven can be relieved.”

Wang Xinlu trembled and looked at his brother in disbelief: “Brother, what do you mean by this?”

Wang Yuzong avoided her gaze and his voice deepened, “You have handled or provided advice on many aspects of this matter, and you brought Shen Youjin into the house and entrusted him with important tasks. Now that the evidence is conclusive, in order to protect the Wang family, the only way to survive is to cut off the tail.”

Every word he said seemed to be quenched with poison, “You are the tail that must be cut off.”

“No! Impossible!” Wang Xinlu screamed and staggered back. “I have worked hard for the palace, made suggestions, and even suffered infamy. Now that something has happened, you want to blame me? Which of those things did not have your acquiescence? Which one was not for the Wang family?”

“Shut up!” Wang Yuzong slammed the table with a cold look in his eyes, “If you don’t succeed enough, you will fail! If you weren’t eager for quick success and good at using treacherous people, why would you be like this? Tomorrow, you will be seriously ill and confess your crime, admitting that everything was done by you who were greedy for power and colluded with outsiders, and had nothing to do with the palace. The palace will kill the relatives justly.”

He paused, and his tone was slightly slower, but even more chilling, “Xinlu, for the sake of the Wang family’s century-old legacy, you can go with peace of mind.”

Wang Xinlu felt as if she had been struck by lightning. She stood there blankly, looking at the brother she had looked up to since she was a child. Looking at his indifferent face that he could sacrifice everything for the interests of the family, a bone-chilling chill and despair instantly overwhelmed her.

It turns out that in the face of real family interests, she is just a chess piece that can be discarded at any time, not even much nobler than Shen Youjin, that cheap slave.

After the extreme fear and despair, there was a kind of madness. Wang Xinlu suddenly laughed, the laughter was shrill and sharp: “Okay, what a way to survive by cutting off the tail! What a way to kill one’s relatives for justice, hahaha!”

She suddenly stopped laughing, and the last bit of madness ignited in her eyes, “Brother, do you think that sacrificing me alone can calm this matter? Xie Heng and those poor families, will they stop here? Today they used Shen Youjin’s knife to destroy my Wang family.We can use the same method tomorrow to dig up the roots of other aristocratic families.They are pressing forward step by step. What they want is not the life of our king Xinlu. They want to take away the privileges that we have relied on for our survival.They are digging up the roots of all aristocratic families!”

She turned to several representatives of other aristocratic families in the room who had come to discuss the news. Her voice trembled with excitement, but it carried a kind of incitement to risk everything, “Uncles and brothers, don’t you understand? Today is my Wang family, and tomorrow it will be yours.”We.Xie Heng is ruthless and has no bottom line.If we don’t join forces to counterattack at this time, how can we wait for him to defeat us and uproot our centuries-old legacy?”

These words really hit some people’s hearts like a heavy hammer.They have seen Xie Heng’s methods, they have seen Danyang’s Tujuan, and now the core members of the Wang family are forced to commit suicide to apologize, and the feeling of sadness over the death of a rabbit and a fox arises spontaneously.

Several representatives of the aristocratic families exchanged glances with surprise and uncertainty. Their original plan to separate the relationship was faintly wavering.Wang Xinlu used his last desperate situation to successfully sow the seeds of fear and unity.

Afterwards, she was placed under house arrest in her compound and announced that she was seriously ill.In the dead of night, a figure quietly appeared in her room. That person was Shen Youjin, who no longer needed to pretend.

The Wang family acquiesced to this final reckoning before disposing of her.Perhaps it is also a cruel explanation.

Shen Youjin was still dressed in the same submissive manner, but his face no longer looked humble, only as calm as a deep pool.In his hand he held a wooden tray with a glass of poisoned wine on it.

Wang Xinlu, with disheveled hair, sat in front of the dressing table, her pale and distorted face reflected in the bronze mirror.Seeing Shen Youjin, deep-seated hatred burst out in her eyes, and she stood up suddenly, her nails almost digging into her palms: “It’s you, it’s really you!”

“Female Young Master, the time has come.” Shen Youjin placed the wooden plate on the table.

“The time has come?” Wang Xinlu suddenly laughed maniacally, tears welling up in his eyes as he laughed, “Shen You, today, you, the dog I have raised for more than ten years, are finally going to bite your master to death? Do you think you have won?”

She rushed over suddenly and strangled Shen Youjin’s neck with both hands. The force was so strong that Shen Youjin had difficulty breathing instantly.Her eyes were red, with tears and hatred mixed together, “Go to hell with me! You bitch slave, die with me!”

This was the first time in more than ten years that Shen Youjin resisted her.

He suddenly raised his hand, held her wrist firmly, and pushed her away fiercely.

Wang Xinlu staggered back, fell to the ground, and looked up at him in disbelief.This slave, who always bowed his head and obeyed, stood in front of her now, with an upright figure and cold eyes.

For the first time, she saw undisguised hatred in his eyes, and also saw a magnanimity that she had never seen before.

At that moment, Wang Xinlu felt an extremely complicated feeling in his heart.Hatred still burned her, but underneath this hatred, there was still a strange feeling.

This wretched slave whom she had tortured for more than ten years and had never seen directly, turned out to have such a side.It turns out that he would also resist and look at her like this.

She suddenly laughed, her laughter hoarse: “Okay… okay, Shen Youjin, you finally dare to resist me.” She stood up slowly while supporting the ground, her eyes became trance-like, “Come here… come here.”

Shen Youjin didn’t move.

“I asked you to come over!” Wang Xinlu’s voice suddenly became louder and softer, with a broken cry, “Come here… let me see you again.”

There was a kind of fragility on the verge of death in her eyes, and that fragility actually gave her a delicate beauty.Shen Youjin was silent for a moment and then took a step forward.

The moment he approached, Wang Xinlu suddenly took out a gold hairpin from his sleeve. It was a peony jade hairpin. The gold part was as sharp as a needle.Her movements were astonishingly fast, and before Shen Youjin had time to react, she had already pierced the hairpin into her neck.

Blood spurted out instantly, splashing all over Shen Youjin’s face.Warm, rusty liquid flowed down his cheeks.

Wang Xinlu’s body fell softly, and Shen Youjin subconsciously supported her.She leaned in his arms, her breath starting to fade, but she used her last strength to lean into his ear and said, “Shen Youjin, do you think your end will be better than mine?”

After she said this, her eyes were still open, staring at him, and the corners of her mouth even curled up in a mocking arc.

Then, the last bit of light went out from her eyes.

Shen Youjin hugged her gradually cold body and stood motionless.Blood was still gurgling from the wound on her neck, soaking his clothes.Her blood was all over his face and hands, and the warm blood was quickly turning cold.

The fingers in his sleeves trembled ever so slightly, as if they had used all their strength to carve the last mark on the invisible account book.

Counting from the time when his family was ruined and he was sent to the palace as a slave, to when he was sent to the palace as a gift, to when he endured all kinds of humiliation and use, whether light or heavy, from Wang Xinlu and the people around him day after day.

Every humiliation, every pain, every heart-burning hatred when dreaming back at midnight, were clearly engraved in his memory, accumulating into this bloody number.This is the count he exchanged for his entire youth and dignity, and it is the only motivation for him to live.

Now the count ends.

He slowly laid Wang Xinlu’s body flat on the ground, and his movements were a little stiff when he stood up.The warm blood on his face has become thick and cold, and the old scar is looming in the blood.He walked to the copper basin, scooped up water and slowly washed away the blood on his face.

The water gradually turned red and the blood on his face was washed away, but the feeling of splashing on his face and her last words whispered in his ear seemed to have been engraved in his heart.

“You think your end will be better than mine?”

Shen Youjin looked at his blurry reflection in the copper basin and suddenly twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing an almost nihilistic arc.

He doesn’t know and doesn’t care. Hatred has supported him for more than ten years. Now the pillars have collapsed and the road ahead is unclear.But at least he did what he wanted to do.Let the person who ruined his life die in front of him.

Under the same bright moon, the lights in the backyard of Danyang Government Office were still on.Xie Heng and Xiao Jue sat opposite each other, and the case contained the latest information from all parties.

“Guangling is temporarily peaceful, and the Wang family has taken another half step back.” Xiao Jue said, pushing a cup of warm tea over.

Xie Heng picked up the tea cup, and the warmth came through the porcelain wall.”If they don’t retreat, the fire will burn back on themselves.” He rubbed the center of his brows, looking a little tired, “Danyang’s foundation has become a little thicker. Bai Ce came back today, and what he said and felt is quite beneficial.”

“He is a man who can be made, and his character is getting better.” Xiao Jue nodded, his eyes falling on Xie Heng’s slightly slimmer profile, “The next step is the real hard nut to crack. To institutionalize and implement the pilot method, we need to block all overt and covert arrows.”

Xie Heng looked at Xiao Jue, and their eyes met. Needless to say, a kind of determination and warmth that endured the wind and rain side by side flowed silently in the quiet night.

The moonlight outside the window was bright and clear, Xie Heng stretched out his hand and gently covered the back of Xiao Jue’s hand on the case, and the warm and steady power was quietly transmitted.

In another wing, Xu Shuhuai grinned and allowed Xie Nanqiao to apply medicine to the bruise on his arm.Xie Nanqiao’s movements were very gentle, his fingertips were slightly cold, and his expression was focused.

“Hiss, please be gentle.” Xu Shuhuai breathed in deliberately exaggeratedly.

Xie Nanqiao raised his eyes and glanced at him, “If you find it too heavy, you can do it yourself.” Even so, his hand movements became more gentle.

Xu Shuhuai looked at her lowered eyelashes and her serious look under the light, his heart softened, and his voice became more serious: “Thank you very much for today. If it weren’t for your stick, I’m afraid I would have suffered even more.”

“Both each other.” After bandaging the wound, he didn’t take his hand back immediately, but asked softly, “Does it still hurt?”

Xu Shuhuai was startled, then a real smile appeared in his eyes, and he held her hand that had not been taken back: “It doesn’t hurt anymore. As long as you are here, it will still hurt.”

The tips of Xie Nanqiao’s ears were slightly red, but he didn’t pull away.

That night, when Shen Youjin walked out of the side door of the palace, the drizzle started to fall again.He stood in the rain, letting the cold raindrops hit his body and wash away the remaining blood on his clothes.

He looked up at the dark, starless night sky with no expression on his face.The great revenge was avenged, and the pillars that had supported him in living like a zombie for more than ten years collapsed, leaving only boundless exhaustion and nothingness.

The Wang family sacrificed Wang Xinlu and had a temporary respite, but the cracks were deep and the seeds of fear had sprouted elsewhere.And where will he, this poisonous snake, go after completing the most fatal blow?

He slowly raised his hand, looking at his hand that had held pens, carried dishes, and delivered countless secret messages, and finally slowly clenched it into a fist, and then loosened it weakly.

The rainy night is getting deeper, and dark clouds are billowing over Guzang City, as if the next more unpredictable storm is brewing.And a little light in the direction of Danyang is always on stubbornly, facing each other far away in the night that separates the north and the south, intertwining light and darkness.

Wang Xinlu’s words before his death were like a cold spell, entangled in Shen Youjin’s heart, and penetrated into the bone marrow together with the endless rainy night.

[The author has something to say]

Thoughts:

This morning, your memorial tablet was added to the ancestral hall, with the words engraved by my own hands.

You probably hate me.I hate that I chose you to be the tail that must be cut off.

But as you have known since childhood, our surname is Wang.The daughter of the Langya Wang family has enjoyed the glory of a century-old family name, so she should shed her blood for this family name when necessary.Just like my grandfather sent my aunt to the palace, just like my father let his third uncle take the salt case.

The family is like a tree, and there are always some branches that need to be pruned before the wind and snow.

You are so much like me when I was a kid, your mentality.Smart, perceptive, and unwilling to be just a decoration in the boudoir.But you have forgotten that women are the easiest pieces to be discarded in this chess game.I’ve taught you how to hide your edge, and I’ve taught you how to judge the situation, but you have to learn from Xie Heng’s method of breaking the cauldron and sinking the boat.

Even now.Xie Heng has captured Danyang, and the Wang family has given up their carriage to protect their commander. Your Majesty can give an explanation for the time being.You gave up your life in exchange for Wang’s breathing space.

There is still the peony hosta you picked out in the accounting room. I asked someone to put it into your makeup box.I will put it on you when you are buried.

Don’t blame your brother.If you want to complain, just blame us for being born into the Wang family.

If I can still choose in the next life, I hope you and I can be brothers and sisters of ordinary people.If you act like a spoiled brat, I will at most smile and sigh, but I will never pour that poisonous wine for you with my own hands.

The incense in the ancestral hall will always be continued for you. Even if the daughter of Langya Wang family dies, she will live upright in the family tree.

Rest in peace, little sister.

——Brother Yuzong, for your first seven nights

————————————————

I have been watching the documentary “Back to the Wolves” for the past two days. It was so tearful that I burst into tears.

I used to watch Hachiko, the loyal dog, and I would cry when I was speechless [crying] Don’t use a puppy knife to kill me [crying] [crying] [crying]