Book of the People
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi paused, a look of confusion appearing in his eyes. He seemed not to have grasped the meaning and asked blankly, "What do you mean?"
Jie Xiangsi lowered her long eyelashes, avoiding his probing gaze, and whispered, "The wind was strong and the snow was heavy at the time. When I saw that person use a hidden weapon, I was so anxious that I forgot my manners..."
Zhou Yanzhi's Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice was a few decibels deeper than usual: "So... you were calling for me?"
“That’s right.” Xie Xiangsi nodded quickly, her apology tinged with a forced frankness: “My cousin treats me extremely well, and I regard him as my own brother, so…”
Zhou Yanzhi: "..."
He gazed at Xie Xiangsi's low-hanging hair, and a chilling, heart-wrenching feeling washed over him, as if his heart had been soaked in snow. It wasn't that she had forgotten manners; she was clearly making things up. Ultimately, she was hiding something from him.
The only genuine feeling she had was in the latter half of her statement: she truly only saw him as a brother, without a trace of romantic affection. It was yet another clear and unequivocal rejection from her.
A sudden pang of sadness welled up in his heart. Zhou Yanzhi avoided her gaze and said in a low voice, "It's alright, you get some rest. I'll go out now."
Having said that, he pressed down on Wu Gou Lang, who was about to fly to Jie Xiang Si's side, and turned to leave.
The green bamboo outside the door was still swaying in the wind, just like his heart, which was being stirred by her.
Unable to resist glancing back, Zhou Yanzhi looked at his silhouette reflected on the bed and whispered to himself, "Cousin, what are you hiding from me...?"
How can I truly reach your heart?
...
A cold wind howled as Xiao Jiangsheng carried Yang Hui to a cave, grabbed a thick vine, and quickly tied Yang Hui up tightly. Finally, he pulled the vine by the end and wrapped it around the stalagmite on the cave ceiling twice.
Seeing his expressionless actions, Yang Hui's fear intensified. Just as he was about to cry for help, Xiao Jiangsheng released his grip.
"ah--!"
A piercing scream instantly ripped through the valley. Yang Hui was hanging in mid-air, with bottomless darkness beneath his feet. Only the vines binding him offered him a sense of security.
"Stop yelling, no one will come to save you even if you yell your lungs out."
Xiao Jiangsheng strolled leisurely to the edge of the cliff, squatted down, looked down at Yang Hui who was dangling back and forth in mid-air, and said indifferently, "Who told you to transport that one million taels of silver to Danzhou?"
Yang Hui looked up and said in a trembling voice, "You...you pull me up first!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao clicked his tongue impatiently, picked up a sharp-edged stone from the side, and began rubbing it against the vine. The sound sent chills down one's spine.
Sure enough, after only a few moves, Yang Hui's voice came again. This time, he gave in and begged for mercy, "Stop stalling! Stop stalling! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"
Xiao Jiangsheng softened his movements, but didn't stop. He didn't even glance down the cliff. He simply said, "From now on, you answer whatever I ask. Understand?"
Feeling the vines above his head growing thinner and thinner, Yang Hui no longer dared to say "no." He cried and gasped, "I understand! I understand! I understand everything!"
This is no longer the handsome young general of legend! He's clearly an unreasonable and ruthless tyrant!
When he fell into Zhou Yanzhi's hands before, at least he could bargain, but this person in front of him does whatever he wants!
He had just caught his breath when Xiao Jiangsheng's calm voice came from the cliff, no different from before: "Alright, then answer my question."
"Yes, it is my master!" Yang Hui gasped for breath, his voice trembling with tears.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiang scoffed, increased the force of the stone slab grinding the vines, and coldly said, "Tell me your name."
Yang replied, "I don't know."
Feeling the vines being rubbed a couple more times, Yang Hui was so anxious he was about to cry. He screamed, "I really don't know! He always wears a mask when he sees us and never shows his true face. I only know that he is of high status, and we underlings all call him... call him 'Sixth Master'!"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiang's heart tightened, the stone shard between his fingers hovering in mid-air, and he asked, "Which six?"
"The 'six' of the sixth!" Yang Hui practically shouted, afraid he would rub the vines again. "Really! That's all I know!"
"Oh--"
Xiao Jiangsheng sneered, not surprised by the answer. He casually tossed the stone shard aside and continued to ask, "Then do you know what the purpose of that one million taels of silver transported to Danzhou is?"
"I don't know, I really don't know!" Yang Hui's voice trembled in the wind. "My master only told me to transport the silver to Danzhou on time, saying that someone would come to pick it up. As for the rest... I know nothing else!"
Hearing Yang Hui's trembling voice filled with fear, Xiao Jiang chuckled, "Don't know?"
Hearing his demonic laughter, Yang Hui trembled violently, swaying slightly as he hung from the vine, and said in a trembling voice, "I really don't know..."
"Not honest at all." Xiao met his eyes, a wicked smile curving his lips, and whispered, "Didn't you already know my identity?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Hui trembled and shook his head violently, "I don't know, I don't know! Let me go, I promise I don't know!"
Xiao Jiangsheng stood up, the tip of his boot lightly grinding against the vine, and said jokingly, "No, I hate liars the most."
"You...you cut off my tongue! I won't talk!" Feeling the vines grinding against him, Yang Hui stammered in desperation, "I really won't talk, General Xiao, please let me go!"
Under Yang Hui's pleading gaze, Xiao Jiangsheng slightly curled his lips and silently uttered two words. Then, in Yang Hui's eyes, which turned to horror in an instant, the vine that was already half-broken was completely severed.
Yang Hui fell into the abyss in terror.
It's ironic, really. People who are charming and sophisticated in life end up neglecting their image and dying without even a sound.
Xiao Jiangsheng stood on the edge of the cliff for a while, letting the cold wind blow against his face. After a long while, he turned around, grabbed a vine, and started climbing up.
...
Inside the Yang residence, Zhou Yanzhi and Xie Xiangsi were invited to the main hall, completely bewildered, when they saw Xiao Ping'an and Qin Wang being led in. Xie Xiangsi quickly had someone serve the two children a bowl of ginger tea.
Before their fingertips even touched the teacup, the two children knelt down straight down.
"Thank you so much for saving my Yangqu!"
Jie Xiangsi and Zhou Yanzhi exchanged a glance. She stepped forward and helped them up, smiling gently as she said, "Why are you talking about these things?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Ping'an took out a neatly folded red cloth from his pocket and slowly unfolded it.
Zhou and Jie were both taken aback when they saw the densely packed characters in ink.
Amidst the stunned gazes of the two, Xiao Ping'an spoke up: "Although we do not know the identities of the two esteemed guests, we all know that it was you who removed the corrupt officials of Yangqu from our lives, allowing us to return home."
After saying that, she knelt down again, holding the red cloth.
"This is a petition written by the people of Yangqu, and we hope that you will accept it."
Qin Wang knelt down as well, looked up at Zhou Yanzhi, his eyes reddening: "Thank you for informing me of my mother's whereabouts. I used to resent her for abandoning me and going to the capital, but now I understand why she went to the capital. I am proud to have such a mother."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanzhi smiled, stepped forward to help the two up, squatted down to be at eye level with Qin Wang, and said gently, "You will also be your mother's pride in the future."
He gently wiped away Qin Wang's tears with his sleeve, then patted his head. A thousand words were conveyed in this silent gesture.
Suddenly, a commotion arose outside the mansion gate. Zhou Yanzhi gave Xie Xiangsi a look and said with a smile, "Cousin, let's go."
Jie Xiangsi smiled in return, and the two walked outside side by side.
A large crowd had already knelt outside the Yang residence, mostly women and children, with only a few men, all of whom were elderly with graying hair.
Upon seeing the two men emerge, they kowtowed in unison, their voices echoing back and forth before the door.
"Thank you so much for saving my Yangqu!"
"Thank you so much for saving my Yangqu!"
"..."
Looking at the people of Yangqu before him, Zhou Yanzhi said loudly, "Eliminating corrupt officials is my duty, you need not do this."
But the people below didn't move, as if they felt they couldn't repay their benefactor and could only express their gratitude in this way.
Seeing this, the two had no choice but to signal for someone to go down and help them up. They themselves quickly helped up the nearest person and gently advised, "The ground is cold, please get up."
After a while.
Looking at the people in front of her, Jie Xiangsi smiled and said, "Now that the pests in Yangqu have been eliminated, I hope that everyone can live and work in peace and contentment, and enjoy happiness and good health in the future."
"Girl, are you leaving?" Xiao Ping'an suddenly stepped forward and gently grabbed the hem of her clothes.
Leaning down to look at Xiao Ping'an, Jie Xiangsi said gently, "Yes, you can't bear to part with me, can you?"
Xiao Ping'an nodded. She truly couldn't bear to part with Jie Xiangsi. When they were kicked out of the pharmacy, Jie Xiangsi had given her hope. But she knew they had their own things to do, so she simply looked up and whispered, "Then, will we ever see each other again?"
Jie Xiangsi smiled, took a pearl hairpin from her hair and pinned it to Xiao Ping'an's head, comforting him, "If I have the chance, I will come back to see you."
Touching the pearl flower on her head, the young Ping An looked at the gentle face of the woman in front of her and nodded heavily. But she did not know that when they met again, she was still little Ping An, but she was no longer herself.
...
As the crowd gradually dispersed, watching their departing figures, Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but turn her head to look at the person beside her, only to bump into a pair of eyes that had already been fixed on her.
She couldn't help but laugh and asked, "Why are you looking at me, cousin?"
"How would I know you're looking at me if I didn't look at you?" Zhou Yanzhi's voice carried a hint of amusement.
Hearing this, Jie Xiangsi didn't argue with him, but simply looked up at the sky. The evening glow was exceptionally beautiful, as if the paint palette of the celestial beings had been overturned, with various colors spreading across the horizon.
Such beautiful sunsets are rarely seen in winter.
Looking at the distant horizon, Jie Xiangsi suddenly asked, "Cousin, have you ever seen the sunset in the northern frontier?"
Hearing this, although somewhat puzzled, Zhou Yanzhi replied earnestly, "I saw it when I was on a mission to the northern frontier. The setting sun was like melting gold, reflecting on the vast grasslands. It was a magnificent sight."
Hearing this, Xie Xiangsi smiled and said, "It sounds really beautiful. If I have the chance, I would also like to see it, to see this vast land, and to personally experience the hardships of the people."
Looking at her profile, Zhou Yanzhi said, "I'll accompany you after this matter is settled."
Jie Xiangsi turned her head and smiled at him, then said nothing more.
The tenderness I feel now seems to last forever.
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