"Ayu, don't be afraid, come here, come to your uncle."
Uncle Cen didn't care about the children's quarrel. He waved with a smile, showing a kind and caring demeanor towards his younger generation.
The night wind rustled, but Cen E didn't move. His lips moved, but he didn't utter a single word for a long time.
I want to apologize, but I can't change the facts.
Uncle Cen's smile deepened: "What's wrong, A-Tiao? Thanks to the mark you left, I was able to find this place so quickly. Come on, don't forget your mother is still waiting for you at home. It's getting late, we should go back."
These words are easy to say, but the uncles' concern for their niece has cruelly shattered the girl's only remaining stubbornness.
Cen Yi finally took a step.
Liang Heng stopped her.
Cen Yi showed no mercy, shoving the boy aside and stepping on the water-soaked book to stand next to Cen's eldest uncle.
Liang Heng looked at her in disbelief.
How absurd! The two who were drinking and chatting happily yesterday, envisioning the future, are now worlds apart.
The boy couldn't help but take a half step forward, his eyes bloodshot. "You said you liked me, and I believed you."
Cen Yi replied indifferently, "Why take a joke seriously?"
After saying that, he turned and left.
"Cen Yi!"
The boy behind him shouted desperately, trying to catch up, but was firmly blocked by the guards.
Cen Yi paused in his steps.
Everyone assumed that this aloof young man would definitely launch into a tirade of criticism and insults.
Unexpectedly, when Liang Heng spoke, his usually reserved and indifferent voice carried a hint of inexplicable pleading.
"The mountain road is difficult to walk, shall I help you back?"
Everyone was taken aback.
Birds chirped in the mountains, and Cen Yi's fingers, hanging from his sleeves, tightened.
Keep walking forward.
He did not turn back.
The girl seemed not to hear these words, but she walked steadily and quickly, step by step, as if responding to someone in silence.
Dark clouds drifted by, and the crescent moon hanging high in the sky, along with the boy's eyes, vanished into the night in an instant, leaving not a trace of light.
...
"When I returned to the capital, the Liang family's property had already been seized by government troops."
After Liang Heng finished the last cup of peach blossom wine, his eyes were clear and bright. He wanted to drink more, but there were only empty jars around him.
He had no choice but to give up.
"The reason is that Old Master Liang colluded with the remnants of the previous dynasty in an attempt to overthrow the government, and the evidence is conclusive."
Shen Jiao: "...Is the evidence conclusive?"
"Do you want to ask if it was Cen Yi who released it?"
"Yes." Shen Jiao didn't try to hide it.
Liang Heng spoke frankly: "It wasn't her, but it was also her. The Cen family had planned for a long time, fabricating evidence and hiding it in the Liang family. She tricked me into leaving the capital city overnight, which indirectly confirmed the evidence of her own guilt."
"If the late emperor had been a wise ruler, perhaps he would have investigated the matter, but alas." He spoke calmly, recounting the rise and fall of his family in the most serene tone.
"Everyone knows that among the many children and grandchildren of the Liang family, the old man values me the most. If I really had something to hide, I would be the first one to run away when the truth comes out. The funniest thing is that, no matter what the reason, I really did run away overnight."
When talking about Grandpa Liang, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly, as if he was reminiscing, but it was hard to see clearly.
It turns out that the second branch of the Liang family had been wary of the first branch for many years. Seeing Liang Heng gradually becoming more powerful, the second branch could no longer sit still and did not hesitate to collude with the Cen family to bring down Old Master Liang.
Liang Heng, despite his exceptional talent, was merely a sapling just beginning to show his potential. How could he withstand the tyrannical emperor's unprincipled rage?
The late emperor was overjoyed that the Cen family had made a meritorious report, and the eldest uncle of the Cen family was released without charge.
As a capable assistant, the second branch of the Liang family also got a share of the spoils and easily seized control of the Liang family.
Liang Heng, the genius doctor who had always amazed the world, became a prisoner overnight, the subject of everyone's pointing fingers.
How tragic.
"And then?" Shen Jiao listened attentively.
She felt that this was a topic she absolutely shouldn't pry into.
But Xiao Liang seemed ready to talk to her heart's content tonight, and with slightly red eyes, he urged her to ask quickly.
Shen Jiao could only ask, "What happened next?"
"Later, the second branch of the Liang family became ambitious and turned against the Cen family. The Cen family fell. The late emperor was seriously ill at the time, and the imperial physicians were helpless. I was released from the imperial prison again."
Liang Heng smiled when this was mentioned.
When he smiles, his peach blossom eyes are always full of affection and charm, and he rarely shows such a mocking emotion.
Shen Jiao thought to herself that only a three-year-old princess would mock the heavens and the earth.
However, it is truly ironic that imprisonment and release are based solely on personal whims without considering factual basis, which is like a three-year-old playing house.
Shen Jiao asked curiously, "Did you cure that scourge?"
Liang Heng retorted, "How could that be? That scoundrel brought it on himself. He was nearly killed by that swindling old charlatan. He was in a terrible state. I used the method of fighting poison with poison to keep him alive. His life or death was just a matter of a moment."
"However, it was during that time that I got to know His Majesty."
Shen Jiao was somewhat surprised.
Liang Heng said, "His Majesty was imprisoned by the old charlatan to test medicine, and his health deteriorated significantly in the later stages. If I hadn't saved his life while I was out for a stroll, you would have been widowed at such a young age."
Shen Jiao: "..."
"Later, the late emperor passed away and His Majesty ascended the throne. He asked me if there was anything I wanted."
Liang Heng lowered his eyes: "I have rarely pursued anything in my life. The only thing I wanted was lost on that cold, bone-chilling night. There is nothing I want anymore. However, the second wife caused my family to be destroyed. I still humbly request Your Majesty to send their entire family to hell."
Shen Jiao knew about this.
When she was still a dancer in the State of Wei, she had always heard stories of the massacre of the Liang family. Everyone cursed the tyrant for his cruelty, but no one could guess the complicated grudges behind it.
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