Chapter 306 Bookmark

Situ Yu was executed at Caishikou at noon three days later.

That day, the scorching sun overhead was like an egg broken on a rock. It was burnt and fuzzy at the edges. When one tried to see clearly, it hurt one's eyes.

Chen Shiyi squeezed in the crowd, quietly watching Situ Yu and his family, chained and escorted by soldiers, walking forward step by step.

Ping'er asked, holding up the chain in her hand.

"Father, why are mine lighter than yours?"

"Because you are small."

"Father, I can now see the midday sun."

"Well, you're getting better and better."

"The sun at noon is not as beautiful as the one in the morning. When Yuncang took me to Fengming Mountain, the sun was always particularly red, like my mother's lip balm."

"The morning sun is the rising hope, and is naturally the most beautiful..."

Chen Shiyi's face was filled with tears as he listened. He pursed his lips, tilted his head back, and felt a pain in his heart.

I don't know how long it was before it started to rain heavily.

The rain was heavy, and the bustling crowd looked like birds and beasts, running away in all directions.

Chen Shiyi just stood alone on the street, letting the rain soak her whole body and cover up her whole body of sadness.

A cerulean umbrella was draped over her head.

"Yue Zhi, help me bury them properly."

"good."

"My lady, please go back."

Chen Shiyi looked at the blood that had been washed into streams by the heavy rain in the distance and nodded slowly.

"Go back."

The day after Situ Yu was beheaded, students from all major prefectures launched an overwhelming counterattack. They wrote petitions and sat in on all major prefectures, demanding that the court thoroughly investigate Situ Yu's tragic case and clear Situ Yu's name.

As persuasion was ineffective, the situation escalated and a large number of prefects mobilized local soldiers to start a bloody suppression of the students.

Taking this as an excuse, Pei Luoshu began to reorganize the military officials on a large scale. He placed the confidants that Cui Yongan had cultivated for him in various important positions, and took the military and political affairs controlled by the aristocratic families back into his own hands.

Because of the anti-book incident, Pei Luo ordered a thorough investigation, and immediately all the families that had books became uneasy.

Relying on this trend alone, Pei Luoshu took drastic measures to rectify the administration of officials, and was finally able to compete with the aristocratic families in the court.

Chen Shiyi has been back in Kyoto for a long time.

There were a few unfamiliar faces in the house, and Yue Zhi told her that these were the people Pei Luoshu had found to serve her.

There was a little maidservant with round eyes that were as bright as black jade and looked very clear and bright.

Her name is Xiaosi. After work, she always likes to eat snacks from the boxes.

Chen Shiyi doesn't like to talk, but Xiaosi is always chattering.

She could talk about anything from the tonic stewed in the kitchen to the ants moving under the sycamore tree with great interest.

Chen Shiyi murmured in a low voice.

"All the leaves of the sycamore tree have fallen off."

"There are still a few pieces hanging on the tree, reluctant to fly down. They will fall anyway, and they can become fertilizer to nourish the sycamore tree. Maybe they can hang on the branches again next year."

Chen Shiyi smiled.

"Xiao Si, are you not troubled?"

Xiao Si blinked her round eyes.

"Yes, Madam, can I have another bowl of the autumn pear and white fungus soup you made last time? I haven't had enough."

"Are you the master or am I the master?"

"Of course it's you, but I really like the dish you made, it's sweet."

"Well, Qiuli is out of stock. I'll make it for you next time I have more."

"OK."

"I have ordered someone to find a basket, and it will be there tomorrow."

Chen Shiyi picked up a few sycamore leaves, cut them into several patterns with scissors, and glued them on the pages of the book to make an exquisite bookmark.

Hearing Pei Luoshu's voice, she turned around and smiled at him.

"How come you have time to come here today?"

"I came here as soon as I had almost arranged everything."

Pei Luoshu took the sycamore leaf from her hand and took a look at it.

"I cut out the word 'wish'."

"Um."

"Any ideas?"

"No, I cut it when I thought of this word."

Pei Luoshu took Chen Shiyi's hand and walked into the house.

"The weather is getting colder and you are afraid of the cold. Go inside and warm up for a while."

"good."

Chen Shiyi took some paper, glued the cut sycamore leaves onto the paper, cut them into willow leaf shapes, dyed them dark green, and after drying them over a charcoal stove, he drilled a hole in the bottom and added green tassels. It looked very nice.

Pei Luoshu was cutting another one. He was particularly skillful and his work was even more detailed than Chen Shiyi's. It had apricot-yellow tassels, which was even more dazzling and luxurious.

He looked at Chen Shiyi quietly as she was carefully arranging the tassel of a bookmark.

She has been talking less lately and is mostly silent. x

"eleven."

He called her softly.

Chen Shiyi raised his eyes and glanced at him.

"What's wrong?"

He asked hesitantly.

"Are you still brooding over Situ Yu's death?"

Chen Shiyi was silent for a long time.

"Well, sometimes I can't sleep well at night."

Pei Luoshu sighed heavily, hugged Chen Shiyi to himself, and held her waist and back.

"Eleven, this is something Situ Yu and I discussed a long time ago."

Chen Shiyi blinked.

"How early?"

"After you revealed your true identity to him, he wrote me a private letter, and no one knew about it, not even his wife. That year, I was afraid that you would be lonely, so I asked his family to spend the New Year with you, and I also told you that he agreed to become the headmaster."

Chen Shiyi looked at Pei Luoshu seriously.

"Did you guys also negotiate Situ Yu's death?"

Pei Luoshu lowered his chin and stared at the hair on Chen Shiyi's head.

"It happened suddenly. No one knew that the man who had been with him for several years was a spy. The night after he was put in jail, I asked him what he would do. He chose death. He believed that after his death, he could gain more benefits for the children of poor families and more people would wake up and rise up."

Chen Shiyi suddenly spoke loudly.

"Then why did you say that again? You watched someone die without helping him. Do you know how heartbroken I am?"

Pei Luoshu was silent for a while, then he bent Chen Shiyi's fingers one by one.

"I have no choice but to watch him die without helping him. This is much better than you thinking that I am cruel and ruthless. I don't want you to see me being cruel and bloodthirsty. I stepped on the blood of Situ Yu and many other students to gain half of the real power."

"Then you didn't tell me anything. Oh, yes, things should be done in secrecy. And, you are always like this. You are willing to tell others only after you have accomplished something."

Pei Luoshu spoke softly.

"Sorry, Eleven..."

"You haven't done anything wrong to me, so you don't need to tell me..."

Pei Luoshu hugged Chen Shiyi tightly, his voice a little choked.

"I always want to go faster and faster. I can't bear to see you running around outside all the time. I can't bear to see you staying in the other courtyard all the time."

He rubbed his face against her shoulder.

"Eleven, I'm so tired, can I borrow your shoulder to lean on?"

Chen Shiyi's heart softened after hearing this.

"Go to your room and take a nap. It's warmer there, so you don't catch a cold again."