Chapter 91 The flatterer glanced sideways, and it was indeed her.

Zhu Hao stayed awake all night and walked out of the Song Mansion with a pair of dark clouds under his eyes.

She and Xiangyu had nothing to talk about. He drove silently in front, while Zhu Hao slumped in the car, recalling the few words Song Xieqing had exchanged with her last night.

Although Song Xieqing did not mention the conversation between him and Mei Lianjun yesterday, he briefly talked about supporting flowers.

The flower is dying.

It was not until last night that Zhu Hao was forced to turn to the pages of the brief, overwhelming battle in the Golden Palace.

The flashes of swords and sabers covered the sky and slashed down at the two men.

The reason she is alive is only because "Yu Shu" is dead. In other words, she has died once in the Golden Palace. Now she is just returning to the Ying Dynasty a hundred years ago in her own body to survive.

Zhu Hao and Cheng Hua were not familiar with each other, let alone had any friendship, but that day, it was indeed Cheng Hua who dragged her half to death to escape from repeated pursuits, and it was also Cheng Hua who dragged her into a deadly situation and put her to death.

She felt a mixture of emotions, but she couldn't tell what they were.

The wheels of the car and the incense balls on the wall swayed along the way.

The curtain of the car was lifted from the outside, and the dazzling sunlight pierced into his eyes like golden needles. Zhu Hao raised his hand to block his eyes, and slowly got out of the car holding on to the wall.

A burning gaze stopped on her. Zhu Hao looked in the direction he was looking, but Xiangyu had already quickly turned away.

Both of them were speechless. Xiangyu handed the token to the jailer at the gate and walked all the way to the deepest cell without any hindrance.

Seeing that the visitor was Zhu Hao, Li Mizhang tore the plea he had just prepared into pieces. He stared at the woman outside the cell, who looked gorgeous but actually had a rotten heart, and let out a cold laugh. "What are you doing here? You used some dirty tricks to get help from a noble man, and now you come to humiliate me, right?"

No wonder she had to speak up for that guy! It turned out to be such a dirty business! What a pair of bastards!

"I didn't come here to humiliate Li Xueshi," Zhu Hao said in a flat voice. "I came here to ask Li Xueshi to be released from prison. After all, I was the one who started it, so there's no reason for me to be the only one who can escape unscathed."

Li Mizhang had an expression of "you know that" on his face, but he was even more surprised by her respectful title of "Bachelor". In Daying, the title of Bachelor can only be given to elders with high moral character and prestige, or students with outstanding literary talent.

What is he now?

"However, before that, I have one more question for Scholar Li." Zhu Hao raised his weary eyes and looked at Li Mizhang in the dim light of the prison. "Why are you tarnishing Song Langqing's reputation? Do you sincerely dislike this man, or... is it just for publicity?"

Song Lang?

Li Mizhang smiled silently. He and Song Lang were both Jinshi in the same imperial examination. If they wanted to rise quickly in the official career, there were undoubtedly two reasons. First, they had to rely on the protection of their family. Second, their extraordinary talent was enough to make people ignore the flaws of their humble background. Even if they came from a poor family, they could still earn a place for themselves with their real talent and knowledge.

He could neither hope for nor reach the former, and he could reach the latter, but it was obviously not enough to compete with the protection of those precious and arrogant clans.

And what about Song Lang? He certainly came from an extraordinary background, but this very fact became a thorn in his side as he sought to establish himself in the Ying Dynasty. After all, he was the future lord of a city, so how could the Ying Dynasty be fearless? Yet, this man, with his unparalleled talent, rose through the ranks of the court and even became the current imperial tutor.

But he, Li Mizhang, got nothing.

He originally thought that after ten years of studying hard and arduously, what awaited him was great fame, supreme honor, and a place in history.

However, he gained nothing and could do nothing.

He only managed to get the honorary title of Doctor in the Hanlin Academy. He did nothing all day long and was not valued. He watched people in official circles flattering him, watched those people describe black as white and white as black in historical records, and watched mediocre people who were uneducated surpass him one by one and hold high positions.

Li Mizhang only hoped to receive some small change every month, which was barely enough to supplement the family income.

Day after day, year after year.

His ambition gradually faded away, and finally, in a fit of anger, he resigned from his post.

Now, he didn't even have the small change to get by.

On the other hand, Song Lang, with his purple ribbon and golden medal, and his status as the emperor's teacher, was so different from him. It was human nature to have seven emotions and six desires, so how could he not be jealous?

But if you want to tarnish his good reputation just for such selfish reasons, it wouldn't be so despicable. However... then again, who dares to assert that Song Lang is truly innocent?

Li Mizhang leaned against the darkness and laughed out loud, "I still have my grandma to take care of at home, what do you know?"

This statement was no different from answering Zhu Hao's previous question. Song Lang was the emperor's teacher and the young prince of Huaicheng. When the people of the capital heard it was him, they naturally gathered around him, eating melon seeds. As a street debater, he had to gather popularity before he could get gold and silver.

"But Song Lang not only has a mother to take care of, but he also has to take care of the people of the city."

"The Li family, your elderly grandmother can't come up with the compensation, right? In your absence, she's in her eighties and struggling to make ends meet... and you have no friends to help you out, let alone anyone else to lean on."

"Master Li, I offer you two options." Zhu Hao gently twisted the handle of the lamp in her hand, the candlelight flickering. She completely ignored the expression on Xiang Yu's face and said, "One, continue to stay here and waste your time. Two, come back with me to the Song Mansion and find a job."

…

The emperor had not attended court for half a month. Although the young monarch was not keen on government affairs and usually attended court for three days and slacked off for two days, it was the first time that he had not appeared for half a month.

While the court officials were still secretly speculating that the emperor was ill, on the other hand, a major event broke out that shocked the court and the country.

The imperial teacher wrote a letter to offer Huaicheng to Daying, and from then on Huai became part of Daying's territory. The people of Daying had not yet expressed their opinion, but the people of Huai rose up in anger, scolding Emperor Ying and their own young master.

The people of Huaicheng had already been quite dissatisfied with the young prince's decision to serve as an official in Ying. Now they heard that Song Lang planned to hand over Huaicheng to them, and he called it "welcoming the people of Huaidi back home."

They don't want it! It was the Ying country that abandoned them like a worn-out shoe back then, so how could they return home now?

In the quiet room, Xiangyu reported to Song Xieqing the extreme reactions of the people in Huaicheng one by one.

To protest, the people of Huaicheng surrounded the residence of his uncle, the current acting city lord, for a long time and even went to his Songhe Residence to smash vegetable leaves and smelly eggs.

Song Xieqing didn't know whether to be happy or sad for a moment. He was happy that the people of Huaicheng were strong-willed and determined to defend their homeland to the death. However, he was sad about the deep-rooted stubbornness of the people of Huaicheng.

Huaicheng's strategic location exposed it to attack from both front and back, whether from covetous neighboring nations or restless tribes. Huaicheng was a tiny place, unable to support a crack division. Even if it could form an army, supplying it with food and fodder would be a daunting challenge. How could it possibly contend with the various nations and tribes? If this continued, Huaicheng would be swallowed up by the enemy.

Moreover, if Daying were to go to war with another country in the future, if it were to pass through Huaicheng, it would inevitably cause great suffering to the people.

The best outcome would be for Huaicheng to return to the protection of Daying.

But for the Huai people, who have been isolated and self-contained for many years, returning to Ying is tantamount to humiliation. Moreover, Daying is now on the verge of collapse, and its monarch is also confused.

This letter was intended to test the waters, but it was enough to reveal many of the key issues.

Xiang Yu no longer had the youthful spirit of the past. He sighed sadly, "Your Majesty has probably long been thinking about retaking the Huai River. This will also cut off the young master's arm. It's a sure-win business anyway. Who knows..."

He stole a glance at Song Xieqing's expression and said, "If the Huai people resist to the death, Your Majesty will have no choice but to pretend to be a good person and reject the young master's request."

"Do you think it's a good thing for the people of Huai to die as a warning?" Song Xieqing's tone was flat, and it was difficult to tell whether he was happy or angry.

Xiangyu was speechless for a moment, and after hesitating for a long time, he had to change the subject and casually told her the details of Zhu Hao's imprisonment this morning.

In the first half, Song Xieqing's expression was normal. But when he heard that Zhu Hao not only brought back a man, but also the man she asked him to get out of prison, Xiangyu clearly saw a hint of displeasure in his young master's eyes. He didn't even notice the ink from the tip of his pen dripping onto the paper.

There is not much time left for Song Xieqing to be stunned.

A servant stumbled into the inner courtyard, barely catching his breath when he shouted urgently, "Young Master! There's a woman outside, kneeling at the gate with a tiny child in her arms. She says...she's General Yu's widow. I heard she kowtowed all the way from the west of the city to get to the Song Mansion! She's determined to get an explanation from you! The news is spreading like wildfire throughout the capital!"

Outside the Song Mansion, people have been surging like a tide for a long time, and there is no end in sight.

When Song Xieqing walked to the gate of the mansion, he caught a glimpse of Zhu Hao standing in front of the steps, and a scholar in a blue shirt was standing not far away. It was Li Mizhang.

He withdrew his gaze, stepped over the threshold, and set his eyes on the open space that everyone had spontaneously made room for.

I saw a woman about thirty years old kneeling in the open field, with a young child tied to her back with a coarse cloth. Although it was late spring, the sun in the capital was already very scorching, and the lips of the mother and child were chapped and bleeding from the sun.

"The loyal general was wronged, and the treacherous ministers deceived God!" The woman shouted to the sky, her voice hoarse.

There was a mixture of new and old blood on the woman's forehead, and half-dried black and red bloodstains flowed down the bridge of her nose. Her hands were broken and exposed due to long-term friction on the ground. The scene was very horrifying.

As soon as she saw a man walking out of the mansion, she knew the identity of the man with extraordinary bearing.

The woman suddenly rushed forward and grabbed Song Xieqing's hem tightly. "The Yu family has been loyal to the emperor for generations. How dare you kill my husband? How dare you! If a country has traitors like you, won't it be the end of the country!"

Whispers began to rise around, like the buzzing of mosquitoes and flies, and everyone stretched their necks, fearing that they would miss this wonderful show.

Suddenly, a muffled thunder was heard in the sky. The sky, which was sunny just a moment ago, was suddenly covered with dark clouds. The black clouds turned into ink-black. The day became as dark as night, and there was not a trace of sunlight.

"I want to see the emperor! I want to see His Majesty! I want to sue you, the traitor who brought disaster to the country, in front of the emperor!"

"I know exactly what Madam wants." Song Xieqing said coldly, "I might as well tell Madam that what Madam wants cannot be granted."

The two men's words were like a riddle, making everyone unable to understand the meaning. Suddenly, there were flashes of lightning and thunder, and heavy rain as big as beans poured down. The onlookers either dispersed or hid, and the people who had taken shelter under the tea stalls on the street still did not forget to look out.

The woman did not move, letting the heavy rain soak her linen clothes and the child on her back. She seemed to be oblivious to the child's cries, and only kept cursing Song Xieqing and praising the emperor.

Everyone looked at each other, confused.

Song Xieqing stood outside the eaves, his whole body soaked. The rain slid down his brow and fell on his eyelashes. He just blinked, and a flower umbrella that was large enough for two people opened above his head, blocking out the wind and rain and the dark clouds.

I glanced sideways and it was indeed her.

Zhu Hao stood holding an umbrella, her clothes as white as snow, in this chaotic world, like a magnolia swaying in the wind and rain.

She was actually holding an umbrella in her hand. When she was about to walk towards the woman, Song Xieqing grabbed her wrist and brought her behind him.

He took the umbrella from her hand, opened it, and walked closer to where the woman was kneeling, tilting the umbrella slightly.

The child on her back was now covered and gradually stopped sobbing. The woman pointed her bony, bloodied hand at Song Xieqing and shouted hoarsely, "What a hypocritical traitor! And now you're pretending to be merciful?!"

After saying that, the woman crawled out from under the umbrella, rain mixed with blood sliding down her forehead. She kowtowed with every step and moved with difficulty towards the direction of the imperial city.

Song Xieqing raised his hand to support his forehead, his fist touching his brow, and said calmly, "This woman insulted an official in the street. She will be temporarily detained in the palace, awaiting trial and sentencing."

Immediately, Xiangyu led several palace guards forward and dragged the woman and the child on her back into the Song Mansion.

Li Mizhang looked at Song Xieqing thoughtfully. He was appointed as the emperor's teacher, although it was just an empty title, but he should not be confused about the meaning of taking this woman into his house, right?

The rain was like a curtain of weaving, blurring everyone's figures. Only this umbrella opened up a clear space in the gray sky and earth.

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