Inference (Revision)
Once, that thought in his heart was like an inextinguishable flame, spurring him to practice diligently and travel thousands of miles. Even when he was on the battlefield fighting against thousands of arrows, he never hesitated for a moment...
All he did was to make a name for himself as soon as possible and return home quickly.
It's getting closer to that unknown thought deep inside my heart...
But now, that flame is weak and about to go out.
When he saw his closest friend again, he was already imprisoned, destitute, and broken. Such is fate. If everything is destiny, can we blame Heaven for being cold-blooded, heartless, and blind?
Seeing the sorrow in his eyes, Lin Xu stepped forward, parted her lips slightly, and whispered in his ear with utmost gentleness, "Cousin, I've come to see you."
The two were separated by a mottled, rusty iron railing, yet it seemed exactly the same as in the past.
She was only seven years old that year, a newcomer to He City. She was all smiles and her beautiful eyebrows and eyes were curved like a crescent moon. She softly called him "cousin".
At that time, he was hiding behind his older brothers, casually teasing the little maid who was always crying, when he turned around and saw a pair of eyes.
His dark pupils, gleaming with dazzling light, exuded a feeling he had never experienced before and could not describe, amidst the swirling dust.
So it lingered in my heart, and I could no longer let it go easily.
Later, he went to school with his second and third brothers. When he was lazy, he was slapped a few times by the teacher before he finally looked down at his books. It was during that moment of looking down that he learned a new word or phrase.
Bright as a faint moon and sparse stars. (1)
He suddenly realized that those beautiful words were actually used to describe her eyes.
Now, looking into those full, almond-shaped eyes, he saw none of their former naivety; instead, they held a sharper, more decisive quality.
Although it had been several months since we last met, she had changed completely, as if she had suffered a lot in the past six months.
Without him by her side, who bullied her? Could it be that the Dou family mistreated her after she married into the family?
But being able to see my loved ones again in this lifetime makes everything seem less terrifying.
He had been locked up for two whole days, remaining unconscious. He was starving and still recovering from his illnesses, so he no longer refused the hot food.
Lin Xu handed him the food box, and Liang Zhengyuan tilted his head back and drank a bowl of white porridge with two eggs. After her repeated instructions, he also finished the bowl of steaming chicken soup.
The minor official who had been waiting outside the prison cell received Duan Jinru's instructions. He only knew that it was a relative who had come to visit the prison and brought some food. Seeing that the food box contained nothing but food, he did not make things difficult for the prisoner. He quickly walked over and stood in a shady spot not far away.
This was done to give the two of them a chance to catch up and chat, showing them some leniency.
After eating and drinking his fill, and with a bowl of hot soup, Liang Zhengyuan gradually felt more energetic.
He gripped the bars tightly, intending to recount the scene from that day that kept replaying in his mind to Lin Xu, but then, glancing around, he snapped out of his reverie. He paced a few steps in the cell, then, with his hands behind his back, said loudly:
"Thank you for your kindness, Miss. The food was delicious. Once I leave, I will repay this kindness with all my heart."
Lin Xu nodded and spoke softly:
"Young master, please don't be so polite. My lady said that you are a lucky person and will surely overcome this difficulty. When the spring scenery is warm in the future, my lady would like to drink wine and compose poems with you and reminisce about our friendship from back then."
After speaking loudly, Lin Xu gave Liang Zhengyuan a wink.
Liang Zhengyuan looked in the direction she indicated and saw the bowl of chicken soup he had just finished drinking, along with its lid, standing to the side.
He picked up the bowl lid without making a sound, only to find that the edge of the lid was protruding while the inside was concave, and there was a note hidden inside.
Its color is very similar to that of the white porcelain bowl; it is extremely difficult to discern its difference without close inspection.
Presumably, when Lin Xu was let in, Duan Jinru and the jailer only checked the food in the bowl and food box, but they did not expect that there was a secret hidden in the bowl lid.
But when the note was opened, three large characters were clearly written on it.
An Qibiao.
That's a person's name.
Among the troops that marched south this time, everyone knew his name.
Huidong is adjacent to Yazhou and near the Huijiang River. Initially, it was just a small county under Yazhou, but over the years, the people of Huidong have worked hard and fished at sea, gradually leading a prosperous and peaceful life. Therefore, they gradually broke away from the control of Yazhou Prefecture and requested to become an independent prefecture.
Initially, the late emperor had not approved it until two years ago when Emperor Su finally made a bold move and changed Huidong to the same level as Tongya Prefecture.
Who would have thought that this would cause the people of the two prefectures to dislike each other, leading to more and more frequent friction. The people of Huidong disliked the arrogant attitude of the people of Yazhou in the past, while the people of Yazhou looked down on the flamboyant style of Huidong... As a result, conflicts have continued in recent years, and the two prefectures can no longer return to the initial peace and harmony.
Unexpectedly, at the beginning of that year, Huidong inexplicably attracted a band of outlaws. It was said that these bandits usually gathered on a mountain in the mountains, ruling the mountain as kings, and when they came down the mountain, they would sweep through the villages, causing all kinds of trouble and making the local people suffer endlessly but helpless.
The Fourteenth Division's mission was to quell the bandits and restore peace to the people along the river in Huidong as soon as possible.
However, this army had only just arrived in Huidong, and Liang Zhengyuan, who was traveling with them, couldn't help but feel that something was amiss.
Those bandits swept through several local villages, but they were not like ordinary mountain bandits. Instead, they were well-trained, with specific timing for reconnaissance and attacks, and their methods were extremely ruthless. They never lingered in battle.
At first, he thought he was just imagining things, but after several months, he finally realized—
It seems that everything here is very different from what everyone had imagined before setting off.
The reason why the local people were living in misery was not entirely due to the bandits.
The bandits' burning, killing, and looting were certainly hateful, but they could only cause temporary disturbance. Once the raid was over, the local villages would return to a brief period of peace.
However, the local officials' inaction and disregard for human life are the root cause of the endless turmoil and disasters in Huidong.
The prefect of Huidong colluded with the bandits, deliberately betraying the local people's personal information to the bandit gang. The bandits then took advantage of the dead of night to raid villages where there were no able-bodied men and the families were mostly elderly, women and children. Wherever they went, they burned, killed, raped and looted, committing all kinds of atrocities, and scattering all the family wealth and land.
With no officials to appeal to, and with collusion between officials and bandits, the area became a living hell where banditry was never quelled and the people suffered terribly.
The man who remained firmly in his position as prefect of Huidong was none other than An Qibiao. The shady dealings and corruption involved are, of course, quite obvious!
Liang Zhengyuan looked up at Lin Xu, only to see that he already had a knowing look on his face.
Those eyes flowed like the gentle moonlight, clear and resolute, as if they could wash away his worries and anxieties.
Does she already know everything?
Lin Xu seemed to know what he was thinking, nodded slightly, and then bent down and began to clear the dishes very naturally.
Seeing her quick and efficient movements, showing no signs of being pampered, Liang Zhengyuan was momentarily stunned.
She had been pampered in the mansion since childhood and was spoiled from a young age. She was a spoiled young lady with an unruly personality. When had she ever done such a thing? He had an idea and squatted down to help.
But then she heard a soft whisper in her ear, her voice exceptionally gentle yet remarkably calm.
"...An Qibiao's son, An Zhuangren, was found dead in the countryside a thousand miles away. You were found unconscious not far behind him. Now, some people in the Ministry of Justice are claiming that you committed the crime with a knife, violated military orders, deserted without permission, and killed someone to cover up the crime."
Liang Zhengyuan's heart skipped a beat. He was about to speak when he saw Lin Xu glance at him, but his hands continued moving. Then he whispered:
"The 14th Division returned to Beijing the day before yesterday. General He has arrested several ringleaders of the bandits. The disaster in the area has been quelled, and His Majesty is very pleased."
The three-tiered food box she brought was already quite large, and it contained many bowls, chopsticks, cups, and saucers. As she tidied it up, it made a clattering sound from time to time, almost completely drowning out their whispers.
Seeing Liang Zhengyuan's anxious expression upon hearing this, Lin Xu lowered his gaze and said in a low voice:
“I know my cousin has been wronged. An Zhuangren suffered several fatal sword wounds, and my cousin is most skilled with a sword. You can also try to recall the details of that day, how you lost consciousness, and how you were framed by the villains?”
Liang Zhengyuan's brow twitched slightly, and the image of the campfire military song from that day, the shadowy figures, the whistling evening wind, and the fleeting yet elusive black shadow in the military tent resurfaced in his mind.
He couldn't help but take a deep breath.
"I didn't kill him..."
The remaining half sentence, for some reason, got stuck in his throat, and he couldn't say it anymore.
—I didn't kill him.
—Xuer, can you trust me?
.
The moon had set and the stars were scattered, and all around was shrouded in darkness. It was the eighth day of the third month, a time when the weather was still chilly despite the warming trend.
Liang Zhengyuan, feeling listless, leaned against a haystack, holding a sheepskin wine jug, ignoring his companions' invitations several times, wanting only to sit quietly in the night breeze and admire the moon.
The singing girl's melodious voice lingered in the air, and bursts of laughter filled the camp. This was against military orders, but recently, they had killed several captured bandits and followed their confessed strongholds all the way to Xishan. They even destroyed two dens, one large and two small, on the mountaintop in one fell swoop.
This is already a considerable achievement.
The purpose of this expedition was to quell the bandits, and such a success was naturally enough for them to report back to the capital. That night, He Qijiang was in high spirits and, accompanied by two deputies, accepted an invitation to go to the north of Xishan to have a small gathering with the governor of Yazhou. The leader chatted and drank heartily, and the men under his command naturally began to become restless, so the two adjutants in charge of the troops turned a blind eye.
After days of hard work and being stationed there, everyone was finally able to return home as soon as possible, and they were naturally overjoyed, with the intoxicating aroma of wine filling the air.
Liang Zhengyuan coldly looked at his colleagues who were already drunk and staggering as they walked. In a moment of distraction, he smelled an unusually sweet fragrance wafting from nearby.
The air was thick with mist, and the night was chilly. Even a casual breath could instantly condense into a mist, shrouding everything in a hazy glow.
A graceful figure slowly approached from ahead, her breath as sweet as orchids, her cheeks as rosy as spring apricots.
"This humble servant...begs, Your Excellency...to have mercy..."
Her breasts were half-exposed, her eyes alluring, and her snow-white arms, mostly exposed, were soft and boneless, making her seem about to gently fall into his arms in an instant.
This was a kind of joy that other soldiers longed for.
Liang Zhengyuan frowned, stood up, and moved aside.
The woman, who had been disappointed, showed no embarrassment whatsoever. Instead, she lowered her head and smiled faintly, taking a few dozen more steps forward. She had barely gotten a little closer to the campfire when a soldier, whose face was already flushed from drinking, shoved her into the tent.
Liang Zhengyuan looked away.
A few stars were faintly visible in the night sky, but they were not bright. He put down the wine jug in his hand, rubbed his hands together quickly, and then placed them on his face, which was almost frozen. After a moment, he felt a little warmth.
It was at that moment that he noticed some noise coming from the haystack in the distance.
The warhorses were tied to a makeshift stable next to a haystack to rest, and were usually unusually quiet, making a sound only on very rare occasions.
He was thinking about his horse, but after taking only two steps forward, he saw a thick plume of smoke growing ever brighter in the distance. Amidst the scorching black wind, he seemed to see an indistinct figure flashing by.
Liang Zhengyuan was stunned for a long time, but almost without hesitation, he picked up his sword and chased after the dark figure.
There's a mole!
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