Chapter 52
The room was pitch black with the lights off. Fan Changyu was lying on the bed almost against the wall. She glanced at the person lying beside her with empty eyes.
Well, Xie Zheng was almost sleeping on the bed.
She closed her eyes, too lazy to care whether he slept comfortably or not. She had repeatedly stated that she would not have any improper thoughts about him and had left enough space for him. However, he got on the bed without saying a word and still chose to sleep on the edge of her bed.
The look of avoiding me like this, isn't it because he is afraid that I am tempted by his beauty?
Fan Changyu turned sideways and slept facing the wall, thinking that with his bad temper, she wouldn't care even if he grew up to be an immortal!
The "immortal man" Xie Zheng was dozing with his eyes closed when the person lying inside suddenly turned sideways, and the corner of the quilt that he had only tucked over was instantly swept away.
The chill of the night penetrated through the thin clothes and went straight into the skin. Xie Zheng opened his eyelids and looked inside. Fan Changyu's figure had a small bulge under the thick quilt, and most of the quilt was spread in the middle of the bed.
If he wanted to cover himself with the quilt, he would have to move a little bit inside, but that would definitely alarm Fan Changyu.
Her breathing was shallow, obviously she was not asleep yet.
Xie Zheng returned his gaze and closed his eyes again.
One year, he led his troops across the border and encountered an avalanche. He was buried under the snow for three days but managed to survive. He didn't take the coldness seriously.
There was at least three feet between the two of them, but perhaps because the thing they were lying on was a bed, they always felt uncomfortable.
Even siblings cannot live together after knowing each other, let alone men and women who are not related by blood.
The only people in the world who can sleep in the same bed like this are husband and wife.
And the person sleeping soundly beside his bed at this moment was this woman.
Xie Zheng was so disturbed by these chaotic thoughts that he lost all desire to sleep. When he heard Fan Changyu's long breathing beside him, he suddenly felt suffocated for no reason. He simply half sat up and leaned against the head of the bed to think about the current situation.
Fan Changyu slept for a long time and changed to a lying position.
Xie Zheng heard the noise and glanced over indifferently.
She really was born with a very deceptive face, which looked so gentle and harmless when she was asleep.
But even when she was doing bad things, she had an honest look on her face.
Sui Yuanqing...was deceived by her appearance, right?
Thinking of this person, Xie Zheng's eyes turned a little colder.
It's hard to describe how he felt. He thought that he was the only one who liked a flower in the wild, but someone else was also coveting it.
The area around my heart felt as if it had been burned by a candle; it didn't hurt, but it felt like it was burning.
He stared at Fan Changyu who was sleeping without blinking, his eyes hidden in the darkness, making it increasingly difficult to see.
Fan Changyu may have noticed his gaze in her sleep, and muttered in dissatisfaction: "I don't care..."
Xie Zheng didn't hear clearly, frowned, and asked, "What?"
Fan Changyu replied vaguely, and not even a word could be heard clearly. Xie Zheng had no choice but to lean over and listen carefully.
The chill from his body made Fan Changyu hide in his sleep. When he turned over, his lips lightly brushed his ear, and Xie Zheng froze for a moment.
Someone got too close, and a strange breath enveloped her. After going through so much, Fan Changyu was still a little alert. Her eyelashes trembled and she was about to wake up. Xie Zheng's slightly cool fingers touched the acupuncture point on the side of her neck, and she fell asleep again before she could open her eyelids.
Xie Zheng stood up, without even lighting a candle, and went to the table to pour two cups of cold tea and drank it, using the dim light from the snow outside that shone into the room.
After drinking his tea, he did not go to bed but sat at the table, frowning. His dark eyes stared at the bulge on the bed, as if he was thinking about something.
There seemed to be a faint sound of an eagle coming from the night sky.
He opened his eyelids and walked out of the room almost without making any noise, climbed out of the Wang family's yard, walked to a farther street, then put his knuckles to his lips and blew a sharp whistle.
If a Saker Falcon cannot find someone while delivering a message, it will circle in the air and cry. When it hears a whistle, it will swoop down following the sound.
In a short while, a pure white Saker Falcon flew over from the night. Xie Zheng stretched out his right arm, and the Saker Falcon's hook-like claws firmly grasped his arm. It flapped its wings to steady its body, then folded its wings.
Xie Zheng took out the letter from Hai Dongqing's feet, and after reading it in the moonlight, the letter turned into pieces under his fingertips.
-
The lights in the Jizhou government office were still on that night.
When Zheng Wenchang came out of the prison and presented the confession he had obtained during the interrogation to He Jingyuan, he bowed his head and said, "It is indeed as you said, it was the people of Prince Changxin who killed our people. They pretended to be grain-collecting officers and went to Qingping County to collect grain. The dozens of people in Majia Village were also the work of the rebels. I guess that the grain-collecting incident in Taizhou, in which people were beaten to death, is probably related to the Chongzhou rebels."
He Jingyuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the row of warm yellow lanterns and the drifting snow under the eaves, and answered the question irrelevantly: "Wen Chang, where do you think the 200,000 dan of grain will be sent to after passing through the hands of the merchant named Zhao?"
Zheng Wenchang didn't know why his boss and teacher suddenly asked about the grain, so he answered truthfully, "At first, I guessed that the merchants were after profits, but when the Tai and Ji states collected grain, I didn't see the merchants selling the 200,000 shi of grain at a high price. Judging from the current situation, it seems that the rebels are interfering. I think that as long as we search the Zhao merchant, we will be able to find a few of the rebels' bases."
He Jingyuan shook his head: "You underestimated the enemy. Let's see tomorrow how many of the Zhao family's properties we can find in the entire Jizhou Prefecture."
Zheng Wenchang lowered his head in shame and said, "If I had noticed it earlier and raided the house of the merchant surnamed Zhao, there wouldn't have been such a big incident in Qingping County."
He Jingyuan said, "It's not your fault. The rebels were able to take advantage of this opportunity. It's my fault. If I hadn't been fooled by the rebels and wanted to force out the grain buyer, I would have allowed Wei Xuan to forcibly collect grain. No matter how many spies the rebels had in Jizhou, they wouldn't have been able to cause any big trouble."
Zheng Wenchang did not understand what he meant and said, "How can you take all the blame on yourself? From what I have seen, the purchase of grain was a trap set by the rebels. Wei Xuan was ambitious and took advantage of his position as the governor of the northwest to seize your seal. It is not something you can do."
He Jingyuan sighed and said nothing.
This disciple of his was good in every way except that he was too upright and rigid. He believed whatever he saw.
There are many things that he cannot explain too clearly.
If the merchant surnamed Zhao had not deliberately left a tail to let him guess that the 200,000 shi of grain was bought by Marquis Wu'an, how could he have mistakenly believed that Marquis Wu'an bought the grain just to set a trap for Wei Zheng.
When those in power struggle, the people at the bottom always suffer.
He allowed Wei Xuan to collect grain so that he could let Wu'an Hou see what the lower-class people had paid for his personal revenge, and he also wanted to know whether Wu'an Hou was the kind of person who would do anything to achieve his goals.
It was his delegation of power that gave the thieves an opportunity to take advantage.
The people were forced into this situation, and Marquis Wu'an had no choice but to "show up" and ask his old subordinates in Yanzhou to send an order to mobilize troops, transfer Wei Xuan away, and stop collecting grain.
He was behind the scenes, and no matter what his purpose was, he was ultimately the driving force behind the anti-thief plan.
When He Jingyuan went to Qingzhou today and saw the man with the green ghost mask who saved the crowd, he suddenly thought of a question.
If he guessed wrong at the beginning, and Marquis Wu'an did not intend to use the people of Tai and Ji states as bargaining chips to overthrow Wei Xuan, then why did he collect 200,000 shi of grain?
He suddenly opened his eyes, which had been closed for a long time, and said, "Jinzhou!"
Zheng Wenchang was confused: "Sir, what happened to Jinzhou?"
He Jingyuan walked back to the desk quickly, took out the Northwest Map, spread it out, pointed at Jinzhou, and looked unusually solemn: "Prince Changxin rebelled in Chongzhou, the northwest is in turmoil, and Marquis Wu'an died in battle. What does this mean to the northern people outside the Great Wall?"
Zheng Wenchang thought about the interests involved and felt his scalp was about to explode. He said, "This is the best time to attack Dayin."
He Jingyuan paced back and forth in front of the desk with his hands behind his back. "Jinzhou is the main vassal of Dayin, followed by Huizhou and Yanzhou. They form a triangle and stabilize Dayin's main vassal, but the grain and fodder supply must be allocated by the court. Chongzhou rebelled and blocked the grain route. Huizhou has no grain yet, so where will Jinzhou get the grain? I am confused! The 200,000 shi of grain that was bought was not for the purpose of scheming against Wei Xuan, but for preparing for a rainy day for Jinzhou!"
Zheng Wenchang was also shocked when he heard He Jingyuan say this. Combining it with what he said before, he finally figured out the key point. "You mean, the 200,000 shi of grain was bought by the Marquis? When the Marquis was defeated in the Chongzhou battlefield, he thought about the danger that Jinzhou would face in the future?"
He Jingyuan nodded slowly.
Zheng Wenchang said: "Your Excellency has a far-sighted vision, which is beyond the reach of us. Now that the rebels' evil plot has been defeated, Huizhou is firmly defended, and Jinzhou has grain, it should be a happy event. Why are you so worried, Your Excellency?"
He Jingyuan sighed: "If external and internal troubles are added together, how can we break this situation?"
This put Zheng Wenchang in a dilemma.
There are still some things He Jingyuan didn't say.
Wei Yan would definitely not let Marquis Wu'an stay. Last time he was able to do something on the battlefield in Chongzhou. This time if the Northern Jue people and the Chongzhou rebels attack Marquis Wu'an from both sides and the court deliberately blocks military supplies, he is really worried that the tragedy of Jinzhou 17 years ago will happen again.
He Jingyuan stood with his hands behind his back for a long time before he said to Zheng Wenchang, "Continue to blockade Qingping County and try to eliminate the spies of the rebels. The river channel for grain transport is dry in winter, which is also a good time to clear the silt. Wenchang, once the matter of Qingping County is resolved, you can take people to dredge the river channel from Jizhou to Chongzhou."
If we go by water, we can transport a lot of things.
Zheng Wenchang's heart skipped a beat, and he took the order and withdrew.
He Jingyuan was the only one left in the study. The door of the side room was pushed open, and an old man with horny hair came out and said, "Tell me, if that Wei knew that you were so hypocritical, how many days would you have left to live?"
He Jingyuan only said: "When in office, I should do my job; when in charge of my duties, I should fulfill my responsibilities. It is enough for He to live up to the people of the world."
The old man shook his head and laughed, saying, "Next time I come to drink and play chess with you, I hope you are still alive."
He Jingyuan said, "I am waiting for you at any time. Where are you going next?"
The old man was in ragged clothes, with his white hair tied up in a sloppy way with a wooden hairpin. He had a wine gourd hanging around his waist. He stretched his waist and said, "The son of Prince Changxin has been sending people to the thatched cottage every now and then to disturb my peace. It's really annoying. I'm going to take a look around first."
He Jingyuan lowered his eyelids and said, "I thought that the Grand Tutor came out of retirement because he heard that the Marquis had died on the battlefield."
The old man sneered: "I am not very capable, but I have only taught this one disciple in my life. The person who can kill him has not been born yet, otherwise he would have had another disciple."
He Jingyuan listened to the old man's words but smiled without saying anything.
Tutor Tao resigned from office and lived in seclusion for many years. After Prince Changxin rebelled, he sent people to look for him many times, saying that they wanted to invite him to be their aide, but in fact they wanted him to teach his two sons.
The old man's last words were that if he were to accept another disciple, he would only accept one with better qualifications than Marquis Wu'an.
I guess it was because the two sons of Prince Changxin were not in his eyes.
He Jingyuan asked knowingly, "After the battle of Chongzhou, the Prince of Changxin has been known as the Little Marquis of Wu'an. Doesn't the Grand Tutor think highly of him?"
Master Tao said with a sullen look, "When that brat was ten years old, the chess manual I taught him ended up in the hands of Prince Changxin's youngest son. What do you think Prince Changxin was planning?"
He Jingyuan's face darkened a little. Little Marquis Wu'an, is Prince Changxin raising his youngest son like Marquis Wu'an?
-
Qingping County.
Fan Changyu woke up when the rooster crowed for the first time.
It was just dawn when she turned over in a daze. When she rolled to the other side, she was surprised to find that the bed was incredibly cold and she was suddenly awakened by the cold.
Fan Changyu sat up with his hair messy from sleep, remembering that he and Yan Zheng had slept in the same bed last night. He raised his eyes and looked towards the table. As expected, he saw Yan Zheng sleeping with his head propped up at the table.
Judging from the temperature on this side of the bed, he was afraid that he had not slept in it all night.
Fan Changyu couldn't explain how he felt deep down. Perhaps he was angry that his good intentions had gone against his will?
Then she was confused as to why she was angry. He was so polite, she should be happy and think that he was a gentleman.
While she was still struggling, the man who was taking a nap with his hand on his forehead woke up when he heard the rooster crow. He met Fan Changyu's eyes and was startled for a moment before he asked calmly, "Awake?"
Fan Changyu nodded, scratched his hair and said, "If I had known, I would have gone straight back to town last night. You hadn't slept all night again."
Xie Zheng said: "I got up once during the night, and when I saw that it was almost dawn, I did not go back to sleep."
Fan Changyu responded vaguely and didn't argue with him too much about the matter.
It was just a matter of catching up on some sleep, he could do whatever he wanted, it wasn't like she had to stay awake all night in the cold anyway.
After having breakfast at Captain Wang's house, Fan Changyu took Yu Baoer and Xie Zheng back to the town.
Changning slept with Aunt Zhao last night. She almost cried when she saw Fan Changyu coming back. But after seeing Yu Baoer, she was afraid of being embarrassed and forced herself to hold back her tears.
The two children were so busy being together that they almost went crazy. The only thing that made Fan Changyu feel relieved was probably that Yu Baoer never mentioned looking for his mother again, and Changning seemed to have forgotten about Gyrfalcon.
In order to catch the remaining accomplices of the thieves, Qingping County still imposed a city-wide martial law. However, Captain Wang sent someone to her home and found out that the county magistrate had secretly rewarded her with fifty taels of silver.
That day at the county magistrate's residence, she said that she was Captain Wang's subordinate. It seemed that the county magistrate, who had gained great merit, had given her such benefits in order to win people's hearts.
Fan Changyu is well aware of the principle of making money in silence. Fame and fortune are of no use to her and may even attract trouble. Real money is better.
After sending the official away, Fan Changyu smiled and went into the house to hide the silver. When she ran into Xie Zheng, she generously said, "I'll give you half?"
It was one thing for this guy to want to draw a line between themselves and her, but it was his idea to lift the siege of Qingping County that day, and he had also saved her on the city wall, so the accounts still had to be settled.
Xie Zheng felt that Fan Changyu seemed to have sorted out a lot of things for him in the past two days since he came back.
When she saw him, she would still greet him with a smile as before, but she could clearly feel that she was different from before.
He suppressed the inexplicable unhappiness in his heart and asked, "Does the government know my identity?"
Fan Changyu shook his head: "I didn't tell anyone who you were. The county magistrate wanted to take credit for his achievements, so he didn't even mention Captain Wang's name. I don't think he would mention you on his own initiative either."
She herself was unwilling to reveal herself, fearing that those people would hold a grudge against her. When Yan Zheng appeared on the city wall, he was even wearing a mask. Fan Changyu guessed that he definitely didn't want to reveal his identity.
After all, they had offended those officials, and only endless troubles were waiting for them.
Xie Zheng then said, "You earned all the bonuses, why are you sharing them with me?"
Fan Changyu said, "Wasn't it you who came up with the idea?"
Xie Zheng lowered his eyes and said, "The reward the county magistrate gave you was not because you guarded the city gate, but because you rescued him from trouble and tied up the thief. It has nothing to do with me."
Fan Changyu couldn't win the argument, so he took the silver back to the house, and came out a moment later with a bunch of things in his arms: "You said before that you were leaving, but unfortunately the county was blocked, so you stayed for a few more days. I have prepared some things for you over and over again. Take these two sets of clothes with you to change on the road. These shoes are double-stitched and durable. By the way, I also exchanged fifty taels of silver notes for you, so it's more convenient for you to carry them with you..."
She kept on rambling, like an old mother sending her son off on a long journey: "I have written the divorce agreement, all I need is your fingerprints."
Only one party needs to write a divorce letter. After all, divorce is different from abandonment. It is a peaceful end to the marriage. Both parties need to sign and put their fingerprints on it.
Xie Zheng had been feeling pent up in his heart for the past few days, and he felt even more upset when he heard her talk about these things.
He leaned against the door frame with his arms folded and looked at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said sarcastically, "Thank you for thinking so carefully for me."
Fan Changyu didn't quarrel with him, he just said: "It's better to be at home than at home. If you can be prepared, be as prepared as possible. If you encounter any difficulties outside, no one will be able to help you..."
Inexplicable emotions surged in his heart, and the sly smile on Xie Zheng's face could no longer be maintained. He turned his eyes away and looked at the snow on the courtyard wall, and suddenly asked, "What about you? What are your plans for the future?"
Fan Changyu said with a smile: "Didn't you ask me before? As long as Qingping County can continue to be peaceful, I am going to build a pig shed..."
Xie Zheng raised his eyes and said, "I mean, are you planning to get married, or continue to recruit money?"
This question stumped Fan Changyu. She put the pile of things on the table, walked to the steps at the door and sat down. She looked at the leafless pear tree in the yard and thought for a while before saying, "I will definitely get married. As for whether to marry or not, we'll talk about it when the time comes."
Xie Zheng twisted pebbles in his hand and threw them carelessly at the pear tree, scaring away a few birds that were parked on it. "What kind of girl do you like? If no one marries you or gives you a wife in the future, I will look for one for you."
Hearing him mocking him, Fan Changyu couldn't help but said angrily, "Anyway, I won't be as bad-tempered as you! With your bad mouth, you must be worried that you won't be able to marry a wife!"
Xie Zheng sat down with one leg half bent, and said with a smile that seemed to be mocking: "I will not marry someone like you. I want to marry someone who is gentle, virtuous and capable of managing the household."
The only stone left in his hand was thrown extremely far, and it flew over the courtyard wall and landed somewhere unknown.
Fan Changyu glanced at his delicate profile, and when he lowered his eyes, he pulled the corners of his mouth and said frankly: "I like gentle and elegant men, preferably those who have read a lot of books, are talented, humble, have a good temper, and love to laugh. When my mother was alive, she said that I was too noisy, and I needed a gentle man to take care of me so that I could live long-term."
There was an inexplicable sadness in his heart, and Fan Changyu thought it was probably because he was thinking about his mother.
She said, "We have been through thick and thin together for so long. Now that you are leaving, please don't curse me for being unwanted. I hope you will marry a gentle and virtuous woman, and you should also hope that I can find a gentle and handsome man!"
Xie Zheng said, "Okay."
He has a really nice smile.
When he stood up, he even kindly extended a hand to Fan Changyu. Fan Changyu had been sitting for a long time and his legs were a little numb, so when he saw the hand he extended to him, he took it without thinking much.
The accident happened at that moment. Fan Changyu was pulled into his arms by a huge force. The force that gripped her uninjured wrist was so strong that it almost broke her wrist.
He grasped her chin, lowered his head and blocked her lips almost brutally.
The author has something to say:
Note: "One should plan the affairs of a position that suits him, and fulfill his responsibilities according to his duties" is an evolution of the sentence in "The Analects of Confucius·Tai Bo": "The Master said: One should not plan the affairs of a position that suits him."
If nothing unexpected happens, in the next chapter, Mr. Xie will be captured by Dang Zhuangding~
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