Snow Breaker (3)
The heavy rain is about to stop, but there is still a veil of rain.
Li Dequan came out of the Qinzheng Hall holding an umbrella, covering Fang Ji who was kneeling on the ground.
The silver-haired old minister had a bony frame, a resolute gaze, and raindrops dripped from his white brow. He lowered his head and presented a black-lacquered wooden box with both hands. His voice was as loud as a bell: "Old minister Fang Ji has important evidence that proves Mo Wenqing did not commit treason!"
Fang Ji had said this many times outside the palace tonight, but Emperor Gan Ping was chanting scriptures on longevity in the palace and ignored him.
Pei Xian was just emerging from the hall, leaning over to meet the kneeling Fang Ji's gaze. "You tried the same method six or seven years ago and it failed. Why are you still using it now?"
Fang Ji glanced at Pei Xianzheng with anger in his eyes and said, "Go away! Since you like wearing black gauze and red silk, you are not the same kind of person as me."
Li Dequan came out and helped Pei Xianzheng stand up with his crutches. Pei Xianzheng snorted coldly and turned to Li Dequan and said, "Don't hold an umbrella with him, sir. He is a stubborn man. He thinks his life is too long and likes to kneel on the bluestone."
"This." Li Dequan looked at Pei Xianzheng, and then at Emperor Ganping who was fiddling with the sandalwood beads inside. Both of them had been teachers of His Majesty, and Li Dequan was in a dilemma.
The water rushed through the rainy night, like a tidal wave crashing down on the sea. The vermilion palace walls towered majestically. Two hours later, Emperor Gan Ping sent someone to present the evidence.
Fang Ji raised his eyes, his old eyes filled with hope.
Another hour passed. Fang Ji remained kneeling, as if he would not get up until Emperor Gan Ping gave him an explanation.
"Master Fang, please go back. His Majesty already knows."
Fang Ji and Li Dequan were both selected by the previous emperor and left to the current emperor, so Li Dequan always felt a sense of mutual appreciation for Fang Ji. Before Emperor Gan Ping could speak, he came out to reply to Fang Ji.
"Thank you, Eunuch Li." Fang Ji had no intention of getting up.
——
The sky is bright with sunshine and the autumn sky is clear.
A major event happened in the court last night. A minister died outside the Qinzheng Hall. The explanation given by the palace was that Hanlin Fang had a sudden heart attack and the imperial physician was helpless. However, the ministers all knew the real situation.
No one knew what had happened, let alone why Fang Ji had died by banging his head against a pillar outside the palace. Nearly half of the court disliked Fang Ji. He was self-righteous, stubborn, and his words were so blunt that they were unpleasant to the ear. Many people hoped for his death, and now that he was dead, it finally resolved a major issue in their hearts.
Mo Wenqing was Fang Ji's student, so Tang Xixu naturally had to go to pay his respects. Fang's mansion was small and deserted, and there were few people paying their respects. Mrs. Fang was in tears.
Tang Xixu asked, "Madam Fang, I'm so sorry. Do you know why this happened to Lord Fang?"
Fang Ji values the country of Da Xin the most. Now that the position of Empress has not been decided, it is impossible for him to be so reckless with his life.
Madam Fang paused and looked at Tang Xixu. The young man had beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and was extremely exquisite. She wiped her tears and asked, "Is this young master Tang Xixu?"
"That's right." Tang Xixu said sternly.
"Come with me." Mrs. Fang looked around to make sure there was no one around, then she took Tang Xixu into the inner room.
Mrs. Fang pulled out a wooden box from the hidden box under the dressing table. "My master left a message before he left last night. If he doesn't come back today, I will give you this key when I have the chance."
Xu Ning and Tang Xixu looked at each other and said, "It seems that Lord Fang was ready to die last night."
There was also a note in the wooden box: Suburbs of the city - the entrance to Wuli Village.
There was a mysterious pull, and Tang Xixu went there immediately.
Wuli Village was a deserted village. Within a ten-mile radius, there was not a single living creature, let alone a single person. Surrounding it were only a patch of trees and an empty mountain.
"Did Lord Fang give the wrong information? There is no cave entrance here." Xu Ning looked around but couldn't find it.
Tang Xixu walked a few more steps into the mountain and saw some clean soil that had been renovated. Following the traces of the renovation, he came to a big tree five miles away that was as thick as two or three people. The trunk of the tree was hollowed out, just like a cave entrance.
The two jumped down together. It was pitch black at the bottom of the cave. There was a fishy smell of mud and grass after the rain, a bit of rust, and an indescribable herbal smell mixed in.
"Swish" and "Swish" are the sounds of the iron chain sliding.
Xu Ning tried to light the fire stick, but Tang Xixu held it down. Tang Xixu became alert and led Xu Ning forward cautiously.
Tang Xixu's vision was better in the dark night, and now it was daytime, so there was still some light coming through the gaps, making it easier to see things.
"Swish!" There was another sound of the chain sliding.
Xu Ning was a little scared and couldn't help but pull Tang Xixu's sleeves tighter.
The further you go in, the stronger the smell becomes and the drier the soil under your feet becomes.
"Woo-wah!" "Wow--" Accompanied by the sound of violent sliding chains, the thing seemed to be trying to break free from the chains and escape from the cage.
The smell of blood rushed into Xu Ning's nose, and a mouth with sharp teeth and a big mouth approached her face. Xu Ning was startled and quickly retreated behind Tang Xixu.
Tang Xixu aimed at the target and stabbed the "monster" with a flying dagger.
"Are you okay?" After confirming that the monster was locked up, Tang Xixu lit the fire.
Xu Ning shook his head.
This is a dungeon, or more precisely, a cage made of a hole in the ground.
The dim candlelight was lit, and a huge black shadow was reflected on the wall at the end of the dirt road, which was enough to cover the shadows of Xu Ning and the other person.
This is a person.
He was wearing a red and white, tattered, blood-stained shirt, his messy hair covered his entire face, and his limbs were locked in a "big" shape with iron chains as thick as his wrists.
The man lowered his head and was covered in wounds. There were many bottles and jars placed on the wooden shelves around him, leaning here and there. There was also an old, cracked wooden table with two wine jars on it, one of which was empty and fell to the side.
Tang Xixu didn't dare to let the man go easily. If one of the man's hands had not been nailed to the wall, Xu Ning would not have dared to get close.
The man seemed to be asleep and didn't notice anyone was around.
Tang Xixu lifted up the man's messy hair, and even though his face was covered with scars, he recognized him at a glance.
"elder brother!"
It was like an axe hitting the young man's heart, and then this scarred heart suddenly lost its weight.
Tang Xixu's nose turned red, tears welled up in his eyes. He hugged the dying Mo Tingzhou.
"Brother!" "Brother! Why are you like this? Who did this? Who did this?!"
Xu Ning, who was observing the bottles and jars on the wooden shelf, turned around in disbelief and looked at the man with a stubbled face and scars.
She simply could not associate herself with the high-spirited young general who was promoted to general at the age of eighteen.
What had he been through over the years? Why did he become like this?
"Brother Mo!" Xu Ning hurried over. In her second life, she had already considered Mo Tingzhou her own brother. Now that he had suffered such a thing, Xu Ning felt as heartbroken as Tang Xixu.
Tang Xixu hurriedly used the key to open the lock on the iron chain. Xu Ning took down the dagger nailed to the wall and tore a piece of clothes to bandage Mo Tingzhou.
"Cough! Cough!" Mo Tingzhou coughed up blood and saw the two people in front of him clearly.
He recognized Tang Xixu at a glance.
"Yin Zhao, is that you?" Mo Tingzhou sat on the ground and forced himself to open his eyelids.
Tang Xixu helped Mo Tingzhou lean against the wall and cried, "Brother, it's me, Yin Zhao. Ah Zhao will take you back right now."
Mo Tingzhou sneered: "Our Ah Zhao has grown up and can carry his brother on his back."
Xu Ning looked at Mo Tingzhou's hands, which looked like dry bones, and his fangs on both sides were sharper than those of ordinary people.
"Brother Mo, what are you doing..." Before Xu Ning could finish his words, Mo Tingzhou suddenly had a fierce look in his eyes, his limbs stiffened, his eyes were bloodshot, his fangs were exposed, and he pounced on Xu Ning like a wolf.
Mo Tingzhou held one hand against the other, crawling on the ground. Veins popped out of his neck, and he struggled to point at a small jade bottle on the wooden table and said, "Quick, quick, give me that bottle of medicine!"
Xu Ning shuddered, took a step back, and hurriedly reached for the medicine bottle.
Tang Xixu took it, poured out a few pills and stuffed them into Mo Tingzhou's mouth, then patted his back. Soon the blue veins disappeared, and his bony hands returned to normal. Mo Tingzhou had already fallen asleep.
Tang Xixu carried the man away: "Brother!" He ran very fast, he wanted to run faster and faster, this time, brother cannot die, brother must survive.
…
The Pei Mansion had been quite deserted these past few days, especially today. Pei Xian, the head of the household, wore a serious, melancholy expression on his wrinkled face. He stood by the black-lacquered wooden window, his hands clasped behind his back, gazing at the moss growing on the edge of the bluestone. "Brother Fang, why are you doing this? Why are you being so hard on yourself?"
Pei Yuanchi was waiting outside the mansion early, and two hours later he saw Xu Ning hurriedly driving the carriage back.
"Third Brother, hurry up! Call some servants to help!"
Pei Yuanchi turned to the gatekeeper and said, "Come here, go call for help!"
Tang Xixu carried Mo Tingzhou out of the carriage and rushed into the courtyard: "House doctor! Hurry, house doctor!"
"Who was that just now?" Pei Yuanchi's dark pupils widened as he looked at Xu Ning, "Brother Mo?"
"Yes." Xu Ning jumped onto a horse and grabbed the reins. "I'm going to Buhuo City to pick up Qu Xiang. Brother Mo might have been poisoned."
"Go!" Xu Ning then left in a cloud of dust.
On this side, Qu Xiang was discussing with Xue Bushuo how to treat the poison, when Xu Ning barged in without even knocking.
"What's going on?" Qu Xiang asked puzzledly.
"No time for further discussion. Sister Qu, just come with me." Xu Ning glanced at Xue Bushuo, "Mr. Xue will also come."
Qu Yi happened to be back from sword practice. Xu Ning said, "Go get a horse right away, take Xue Buzhu and follow me."
The three of them were confused, but they all followed Xu Ning.
On the return journey, we galloped along at a speed as fast as a rocket launch.
"Slow down, slow down!" Xue Bushu was sitting in the front holding a medicine box, and his whole body was shaking. If Qu Yi hadn't kept steady, he would have fallen off the horse.
“Gee!” “Gee!”
After hurrying hard, they finally caught up. Pei Xian was just coming out of the inner courtyard and followed them.
Tang Xixu had already changed Mo Tingzhou's clothes and washed him. Qu Xiang took his pulse first, his brows suddenly furrowed as he looked at Xue Bushuo.
Xue Bushu understood.
Even Qu Xiang was helpless and had to ask Xue Bushuo for help. You can imagine how dangerous this poison is.
"How could he be so seriously poisoned?" Xue Bushu carefully felt his pulse, and he couldn't even believe it after taking it many times.
"What kind of poison is this? Is there an antidote?" Tang Xixu looked at Xue Bushu anxiously.
Xu Ning took Tang Xixu's hand and held it tightly.
"He was poisoned by a Gu poison. This poison is known to eat away at the heart, but it's even more toxic than that." Xue Bushuo's eyebrows twitched. "It's really strange. Logically, someone poisoned by this poison shouldn't live more than three months, but based on the time he was poisoned, this person lived two extra months."
Xu Ning took out the medicine that Mo Tingzhou had taken earlier from his sleeve and gave it to Xue Bushu.
Xue Buzhu poured out a pill and smelled it: "This is a life-saving pill. It can't detoxify, but it can suppress the toxicity. However."
"But what?" Tang Xixu grabbed Xue Bushu's wrist.
"But the more you use this medicine, the faster the poison will take over."
Tang Xixu froze.
"Don't worry, the poison hasn't penetrated into your internal organs yet, so you can still give it a try."
Tang Xixu quickly grabbed Xue Buzhuo and said, "I don't want you to try. I want you to save my brother."
"Please."
Xue Bushu saw the appearance of the young man on the couch and understood everything.
"Since you are General Mo, I, an old man, will definitely use all my life's knowledge to help you." Xue Bushu, who is usually careless, became serious.
General Mo, in this whole world, who else could be in the Mo family besides Mo Wenqing and Mo Tingzhou?
Pei Xian was hobbling over on crutches, ignoring the housekeeper's support. Qu Yi also came over.
"This is actually Huan Yu?" Perhaps it was because Mo Tingzhou and Mo Wenqing were too similar in temperament and character. Compared with the children of the Pei family, Pei Xianzheng always liked the eldest son of the Mo family more.
Qu Yi was stunned. He never thought that in his lifetime, he would be able to see the hero he admired in his youth again: "General of the Cavalry, Mo Tingzhou?!"
Mo Tingzhou needed medical treatment, so everyone had to stay away.
The sun was shining brightly on the day after the sudden rain, and a faint rainbow could even be seen in the suburbs not far away.
"Now that things have come to this, I no longer intend to hide it from you." Pei Xian was looking at Tang Xixu.
"I would like to hear Pei Gong's detailed words."
Pei Xian was signaling to the servant beside him, and the man presented Tang Xixu with a lacquered bamboo tube.
"This was given to me by Hanlin Fang in the rain when I left the palace last night."
Tang Xixu looked through the letters and notes one by one. Many of them had turned yellow, and some of the letterheads were the Songjiang paper that Su Wujin had used before.
"There are many more, and this is only a portion. These are also what Fang Ji swore to present to His Majesty last night, even at the cost of his life, but he only gave one or two of them."
Pei Yuanchi was shocked to realize that his grandfather had aged a lot overnight.
Xu Ning also carefully looked through it. "As expected, he is from Xizhou. The patterns on this letterhead are unique to the royal family of Xizhou, and the other one..."
"The other kind is unique to the Daxin royal family." Tang Xixu rubbed the paper with a grim expression.
This kind of white deer paper was used by the imperial court. The paper is white and very tough.
"And there are three types of handwriting in the reply letter. It must be done intentionally to avoid being exposed." Pei Yuanchi believed that he had seen the handwriting of most of the nobles in the palace, but he could not recognize any of these three types.
Judging from the contents of the letters, they all involve royal secrets. The rebellion of King Qi was also supported by the people of Xizhou. It is not difficult to see that the spies of Xin State and the people of Xizhou conspired to attack Daxin, or to overthrow the royal family of Daxin and re-establish a new emperor.
Tang Xixu was shocked and couldn't believe it. It turned out that the reason his father died was because he accidentally knew about this matter and was silenced.
Who on earth was this person? How could he have such immense power and ambition to orchestrate all this, even going so far as to use Qujiazhuang ten years later to disrupt everyone's view and confuse the public?
The more Xu Ning thought about it, the more confused he became, and he looked at Tang Xixu anxiously.
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