Chapter 47: Crisis looms, Zhao Quesheng is so frightened that he sells out Su Guanqing on the spot...
The next day, Jiang Tong did not go out.
She really didn't know who else to visit. She had already gone everywhere she could. She even tried the Imperial Guards, but it was of no use.
She stared at the bed curtains in a daze for a long while before she forced herself to wake up, got up from the bed, and washed and dressed herself according to the routine.
She ate breakfast alone.
During this period, she was not at home, so Su Guanqing and Zhao Quesheng did not come to her place and ate in the west wing. Today, they did not know that she did not go out, so of course they would not come over.
Jiang Tong finished his breakfast in silence and went to the study.
This time was actually a little later than the time she usually started to revise her paintings.
Normally, Zhao Quesheng should have started practicing a long time ago, but when Jiang Tong walked to the study door, he found that it was still locked.
Jiang Tong's face darkened, but he didn't ask anyone to look for Zhao Quesheng. He just took out the key from his sleeve, opened the door and walked in.
Zhao Quesheng's exercises from the recent period were placed on her desk.
Xiao Quesheng was now capable of restoring calligraphy and paintings independently, so Jiang Tong bought a bunch of old calligraphy and paintings from a junk stall for her to practice.
At this moment, the scroll she had just repaired was spread out on the red table. Jiang Tong walked over and took a closer look, and the expression on her face eased a little.
After checking his apprentice's homework, Jiang Tong took out the "Fisherman Picture" and told the servants to boil water, preparing to start taking apart and washing the painting.
It was at this time that Zhao Quesheng walked into the study.
When she saw Jiang Tong, she was surprised at first, with a hint of joy in her eyes. Then she seemed to realize that she was caught by the teacher for being late, and felt a little ashamed. Then, she didn't know what she was thinking, but she looked like she wanted to say something but hesitated.
Jiang Tong ignored her and just started to work on "Fisherman" in an orderly manner.
Zhao Quesheng didn't say anything, nor did he continue to work on his painting. He just stood in front of Jiang Tong, digging into the ground with his toes, obviously struggling with something.
After the servants brought in the water, Jiang Tong raised his head and glanced at Zhao Quesheng: "If you have something to say, just say it."
Zhao Quesheng pinched the corner of his clothes, hung his head, and said hesitantly: "...But Master won't let me tell the teacher."
Jiang Tong raised his eyebrows slightly: "You've become so capable now that you dare to team up with your master to deceive me?"
Zhao Quesheng was so frightened that he trembled and waved his hands repeatedly, betraying Su Guanqing on the spot: "No, no, I dare not. It was Master who refused to drink the medicine. Master and I persuaded him for a long time, but he still refused to drink... and he didn't let us tell Master."
Jiang Tong had just soaked the brush in hot water, but before she could even pick it up, she started yelling, "Why doesn't he take his medicine?"
Zhao Quesheng shook his head in confusion.
When the young apprentice was around, the adults had to be more reserved, holding back on certain things if possible, always maintaining the demeanor of an elder. But as soon as the child left, some people stopped pretending.
Feng Fuliu was so angry that his eyes almost popped out. He pinched his orchid finger and pointed at Su Guanqing and said, "I've made this medicine for you. You have to drink it today, whether you want to or not!"
"I've told you before that once you finish the medicine, don't get any more. You're the one who got me. I won't drink it." Su Guanqing's attitude was also unyielding.
"This is what we didn't finish drinking before!"
"Fu Liu, don't take advantage of my blindness. I know what's going on. I should have finished the medicine yesterday. Did you go to Tongtong to get the money for the medicine?"
"So what!" Feng Fuliu pinched her waist, looking particularly righteous.
"Fu Liu," Su Guanqing sighed, "Listen to me, Tongtong is in the money-spending period right now. Everyone in the government office needs to spend money to manage things. I'll save as much as I can here."
"I've already bought the medicine. It would be a waste if you don't drink it." Feng Fuliu said shamelessly.
Su Guanqing shook his head, his expression firm. "I can't drink it. If I drink it all, you'll have to ask Tongtong for money again next time. For the remaining unboiled medicine, you can return it to the pharmacy. They are all very expensive herbs."
Feng Fuliu's tone suddenly softened strangely: "...Aren't you afraid that the young lady will be angry if you make this decision?"
Su Guanqing didn't notice anything unusual. He said sternly, "She's in a state of panic right now. Don't bother her with this matter!"
"Su Guanqing! You are addicted to hiding things from me now, right?!" Jiang Tong's angry shout suddenly came to his ears, like a bolt of thunder out of the blue, which almost scared Su Guanqing to death.
"Tongtong?" Su Guanqing was immediately at a loss. "You, why are you still at home? Didn't you go visit old friends?"
Jiang Tong said angrily, "Who else can I visit? No one wants to see me. I can't even give money away now."
She walked up, picked up the bowl of medicine, and put it to Su Guanqing's mouth: "Open your mouth!"
Su Guanqing was as obedient as a quail. He raised his hand to take the medicine bowl, but Jiang Tong held the edge of the bowl tightly. Su Guanqing did not dare to use force, so he had to support the bowl with his hand and drank the medicine in three or two gulps.
After drinking the medicine, Su Guanqing waited for a few breaths. When he didn't hear Jiang Tong's voice, he called out nervously, "Tongtong?"
Jiang Tong didn't respond to him, but just stomped the empty bowl heavily on the table.
Su Guanqing was frightened for a moment and said timidly, "Tongtong, I..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a loud bang. Jiang Tong slapped the round table and scolded, "Su Guanqing, you don't take your eyes seriously. It's been almost a year since you started treatment, and you can almost see again! If you stop taking the medicine now, all your efforts will be wasted! Do you want to be blind forever?"
Su Guanqing followed the direction of the voice and cautiously reached out: "Tongtong, don't be angry..."
As soon as he touched the corner of Jiang Tong's clothes, there was a "pa" sound, and Su Guanqing felt a pain on the back of his hand. It was Jiang Tong who slapped him.
"Did you move around? Sit still!"
"Yes." Su Guanqing really didn't dare to move.
Feng Fuliu had seen enough of the show, so he held back his laughter, made a gesture of turning up his sleeves, and floated out in small steps.
Behind him was Jiang Tong's fierce voice: "Will you dare not take your medicine properly in the future?"
"Tongtong," Su Guanqing said tentatively, "Actually, this medicine doesn't have to be taken every day. It's okay to stop for ten days or half a month. It won't be too late to resume after Uncle Jiang returns safely."
Jiang Tong didn't give him any room for negotiation: "No, don't even think about it! Don't worry about the money. Your family doesn't need this little money for medicine."
Su Guanqing frowned deeply. "How can I not be worried? Queshen has told me that no customers have dared to come to our shop recently. If this continues, won't we just run out of money?"
Jiang Tong's customers were rarely poor; they were mostly high-ranking officials or wealthy families. These people were well-informed, and knowing that the Jiang family was involved in a major case, they dared not come to their door.
"It's not that bad. Even if we were truly destitute, we still have several masterpieces at home. Selling any one of them would be enough to provide for our family for the rest of their lives."
Su Guanqing was somewhat helpless: "Tongtong..."
"I know what you're thinking," Jiang Tong softened her tone. "You saw my father was in trouble and wanted to help me, but you couldn't, so you were anxious."
Su Guanqing was hit on the heart, and he tried to force a smile to cover it up, but he managed to curl the corners of his lips but failed to smile.
Jiang Tong stood in front of him, lifted his chin, and gently stroked his eyelids with his thumb: "Guan Qing, you have to be able to see before you can help me, right?"
Su Guanqing tilted his head back, his Adam's apple moved slightly, and after a while he murmured "yes".
As he was speaking, Zhao Quesheng rushed in like a whirlwind and shouted, "Teacher!"
Su Guanqing was startled and lowered his head in embarrassment, still with his back to the door, without turning around.
"What's the matter?" Jiang Tong slid her hand down from his face and pressed it on his shoulder.
"There are guests." The child was tactless and didn't notice that there was anything wrong with the atmosphere in the house.
Their house had been deserted for half a month. When Jiang Tong heard someone was coming, he couldn't help but be surprised: "Who is it?"
"It was last time..." Zhao Quesheng was halfway through his words when he glanced at Su Guanqing with his two small eyes. The rest of his words became vague, "...the person who gave us that painting."
...The teacher said that the matter of "Double Immortals Picture" must be kept confidential for the time being.
"Ye Sheng?" Jiang Tong remembered.
Zhao Quesheng nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
"Is it him?" Su Guanqing also raised his head.
Jiang Tong raised an eyebrow: "Do you know him?"
Su Guanqing nodded:
He was a Jinshi (Jinshi) during the Zhengtong reign. During his time in the court, he took it upon himself to speak out, admonishing the emperor and debating issues with court officials. During the reign of Emperor Jingtai, he was the one who fostered the culture of honest and outspoken speech in the court.
Later, he was sent to Shanxi and served as the right councilor of the provincial government, assisting in the migration of border towns, managing war equipment, settling the people, and repairing forts... Because of his outstanding political achievements, he was rewarded by the court.
But I haven't heard from him in a long time. The last time we met was when he came to my house to say goodbye before resigning from his official position and returning to his hometown to observe mourning. I didn't expect that he had already returned to the capital."
"Since he is an old acquaintance of your father, do you want to go with me to meet him?" Jiang Tong asked.
Su Guanqing shook his head. He didn't want to see any old acquaintances now.
"Okay, then I'll go and receive them. You two go to the study and wait for me." Jiang Tong gave the order and went to the flower hall.
Ye Sheng was standing there with his hands behind his back, waiting.
Jiang Tong went in, exchanged greetings, and then they sat down. She said, "I'm sorry, Uncle Ye, you came at an inopportune time today. My father is not at home."
"I know Huaishan's situation. I came here today to talk to my niece about it."
Jiang Tong was stunned for a moment. Ever since her father went to jail, she had encountered countless cold faces. This was the first time someone took the initiative to come to her and talk to her about her father's case.
"Uncle, please speak."
Ye Sheng didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "I heard that Wu An is in charge of your father's case."
"Wu An?"
"This person is the late emperor's uncle." Seeing that Jiang Tong didn't understand, Ye Sheng explained it to her.
Simply put, Wu An was the uncle of Emperor Jingtai. Because of this relationship, he was once granted the title of Anping Earl. After the Coup of 1894-1895, he was stripped of his title and demoted. Now he is just a small commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
As the uncle of Emperor Jingtai, he should have been on the side of Emperor Jingtai, but he took action to arrest the people who were protecting the orphans of Emperor Jingtai.
This seems somewhat unreasonable, but Jiang Tong puts himself in their shoes and thinks about it——
Wu An was a relative by marriage, but Emperor Jingtai had already died, and his sister had been demoted from empress dowager to virtuous concubine, so he lost his support.
Seeing that in recent years, Emperor Zhengtong has been constantly purging those who were once loyal to Emperor Jingtai, even the chief minister of the cabinet like Su Baichuan and the national hero like Yu Qian were not spared.
Other court officials could still choose to change sides, but Wu An could not. One can imagine how anxious Wu An's days were.
Jiang Tong immediately understood what Wu An was trying to do. She raised her eyes and said solemnly, "He wants to sacrifice my father to prove his loyalty to the Zhengtong Emperor."
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