Chapter 85 Chapter 85 "I just think you're ridiculous."...

On the day Zhou Jingzhi left the capital, he only brought two guards with him. When he rode his horse ten miles outside the capital, he found that someone had already been waiting there.

Just like him, three people and three horses.

Zhou Jingzhi stopped his horse and looked towards the leader on the opposite side.

Su Shang sat upright on his horse. Even though the horse's feet moved due to the ground shaking just now, as a rider, he was able to remain motionless and keep his body steady.

After reining in his horse, Zhou Jingzhi asked without further ado: "Are you waiting for me?"

Su Shang curled his lip and walked forward a little while saying, "I heard you had a long journey ahead. As a colleague, I naturally didn't want you to go alone, so I came to see you off."

"It's just a trip to Jiangnan, not very far."

"It's a long journey out of Beijing."

The wind whistled, the leaves swayed gently, and the mottled sunlight shone on the ground, on the horses, and on half of the people's faces.

After the wind passed, a moment of silence lingered among the crowd.

"Then it's a long journey, isn't it?" Zhou Jingzhi smiled, not arguing with him any further. "Why? Lord Su, you haven't traveled far in a while, and now that you heard I was going south, you wanted me to take a letter to your friends there?"

Su Shang's expression finally changed at this moment. He frowned and said, "What friends do I have in Jiangnan?"

Zhou Jingzhi tilted his head and said innocently, "Shouldn't Lord Su ask himself this? How could I possibly know who your friends are in Jiangnan? Or who your Su family's friends are in Jiangnan?"

He laughed again as he spoke, "Although I don't know who Lord Su is close to, thankfully the Jiangnan families all live close together, and they've all been brought together. If Lord Su wants to send a message to multiple people, this would be the most convenient time."

The Jiangnan families changed, and the old forces that were originally affiliated with Su Wang were all found to have faults because of the new forces that Shangguan Xu recruited. Many of them broke the law and were taken under control by the government.

Su Shang naturally knew what the person in front of him was talking about.

And he said as always: "Those things have nothing to do with me, I never get involved."

Zhou Jingzhi nodded, looking half-believing and half-doubting: "Then I will convey these words to those people."

Su Shang gripped the reins tightly, but after a moment, he smiled again: "Okay, Master Xu, please convey this message for me."

After a moment of silence, Zhou Jingzhi nodded, "Of course." He took another breath and said, "Lord Su said today that he wanted to see me off. Now that we've talked, it can be considered as a farewell, right? Could you please make way?"

Su Shang and the other two stopped in the middle of the road, with a wide enough distance between them to completely block the road ahead.

Su Shang chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Master Xu. I'm not here to see you off today just to chat with you about those idle chatter. I really have something to tell you."

"oh?"

"I feel bad for you."

Zhou Jingzhi restrained his expression, but Su Shang continued to smile and said, "Do you know that everything you are doing now is meaningless? Even if you help her achieve her goal, she will not be grateful to you. You will not get anything from her."

Zhou Jingzhi tilted his head and tilted his face to the side. Su Shang thought he didn't know what he meant: "She did all this just for one person."

Su Shang extended his index finger and gestured vigorously: "There is only that one person. From the beginning to the end, it was that person who ran through everything, and you were not even a shadow in it."

"You might not believe it, but I've spent so much time watching her over the past few years, so much so that I've watched her gradually imbue herself with that person's influence. So, she can't give you what you want, and she never will." He spoke with conviction. "Maybe you think you can still fight for it, but the word 'fight' only applies to those you're fighting with. You don't even have the qualifications to fight with that person who's already dead, someone whose love has been etched into your bones and blood."

"At best, you're just... a soldier on the battlefield, lured by the credit of being the first to reach the battlefield. You fought bravely for her, risking your life, yet in the end, she might not even remember your name."

Su Shang said this with a carefree air, as if he was releasing all the resentment that had been pent up for a long time. So he leaned back, sat relaxed on the horse, and said more happily: "So, tell me, are you worth it?"

Zhou Jingzhi lowered his eyes, trying his best to suppress his laughter but still couldn't help laughing. He held it back for a moment before looking up and saying, "It seems that Lord Su wants to kill me."

"But why is it not worth it? Didn't Lord Su also say that everything I do now is just for myself?" He spread his hands. "Look at me. I've only been in the court for a year, and I've already been promoted from an eighth-rank censor to a fourth-rank minister. How many people in this world can achieve such a fast promotion? Isn't this what I gained from it?"

"As expected, it's all for your own selfish gain." Su Shang murmured, but his smile grew even wider. "Then you really deserve to die."

Zhou Jingzhi said calmly, "Isn't that what Lord Su said? Since all other extravagant desires are hopeless, why don't I ask for something tangible and tangible? That fourth-rank official seal is so exquisitely carved, it's hard to put it down. If a fourth-rank official seal is so exquisite, then the seal of the prime minister must be even more rare. No wonder some people are still not satisfied after reaching high positions, and they still want to reach further and wider, and want to grab more things."

Su Shang chuckled at his mockery and said, "On this journey, Master Xu, please think carefully about the quality of the seal of the lord. After all, only a few people can possess it in their lifetime."

As he spoke, he pulled the reins and actually stepped aside: "It's getting late, I won't delay Master Xu from his journey." He smiled and said again, "Master Xu, have a safe journey."

Zhou Jingzhi rode past him and said, "I've heard too much about Ji Yan, so I won't lend it to Master Su this time. Master Su, please keep it for yourself."

After he finished speaking, Zhou Jingzhi pulled the reins hard, then shouted "Gee", and rode his horse out.

But the moment Su Shang pulled the rope, his whole body froze.

That red rope...!

"My dear!"

In just a few breaths, Su Shang turned his horse around, ignoring the guards' shouts, and with the same loud shout, he rushed into the dust raised in front and chased after him.

The sound of horse hooves behind was extremely chaotic. Zhou Jingzhi felt a murderous aura approaching and immediately drew the sword on the horse's back and slashed backwards.

The sword collided in the air, creating sparks.

Su Shang's sword pressed towards him. He used the force of turning around, exerted a little force, lifted it up and deflected Su Shang's sword.

But Su Shang was like a madman. After adjusting himself, he chopped at him again. This time, he raised his sword to block, but he had to absorb the force of the chop and jumped off his horse.

The two men fell to the ground one after another, and the sound of swords colliding continued.

Su Shang's men also caught up at this time, drew their swords and held back the guards who were originally beside Zhou Jingzhi.

Zhou Jingzhi didn't care why Su Shang was so impatient and wanted to kill him. He could only face the attacks that kept coming towards him.

As expected, during the confrontation between the two swords, he looked at Su Shang's furious eyes and heard Su Shang say, "Why did you drag her to hell? Why did you sink with her? During those three most difficult years, I was the one who stayed by her side!"

At this moment, Zhou Jingzhi could no longer hold back: "But how did those three years come about? Don't you know?!"

Su Shang paused, then used more force in his hands and repeated: "That's me too!"

Zhou Jingzhi emphasized: "You stole these three years!"

After saying this, he used his hands and feet to push the person in front of him back, then kicked the person with his foot.

Although Su Shang raised his sword to block, he still couldn't help but take a few steps back. His guards broke free and supported him.

He once again set his eyes on the eye-catching red rope.

He tightened his grip on the sword, his feet scraping against the sand and stones on the ground, and Su Shang was about to move forward again, but the guards behind him quickly held him back.

"My dear! Calm down! This is still the capital!"

The guard whispered to him, "Didn't you just arrange the Prime Minister's plan?"

Su Shang then remembered the real purpose of his leaving the city today, and his anger subsided a little.

He turned his gaze away from the bright red and looked at Zhou Jingzhi: "Killing you will do me no good. On this trip to Jiangnan, you can take a detour to Yangzhou. That's your hometown and the best place for you to stay. Think carefully. This is also the most practical advice I can give you."

"Do you like to leave some room for maneuver when you do evil, so that those who survive in that room can appreciate your great kindness?"

Su Shang, who had just turned around to leave, stopped and turned around to see the man's indifferent expression.

Seeing him looking at him, Zhou Jingzhi sneered and said calmly, "What a pity! Not only do I not appreciate your kindness, I won't even remember your kindness. I just think you're ridiculous."

Su Shang's face turned pale. When he heard those words, his eyelids blinked, but the corners of his mouth twitched into a smile.

——

Ten days later, heavy rain fell in the capital. Outside the palace, the sound of rain and the voices of dissuasion mixed together. Shangguan Xu stuffed the paper in his hand under the cushion.

Su Shang was soaking wet, with water dripping from his clothes as he walked towards her.

She took a few steps and he stopped in front of her.

His forehead and eyelashes were covered with water droplets, which kept dripping down.

He walked in like this, completely ignoring the attempts of the palace servants outside the hall to stop him.

This was the first time he lost his composure in front of her.

Shangguan Xu, enveloped in the mist of his body, stared into his eyes and asked, "Why are you here?"

"I'm here to deliver something to His Highness."

Su Shang looked at the person in front of him intently, slowly raised his hand, and showed her the dark red rope hanging on his finger.

Shangguan Xu's eyes widened instantly.