It’s no wonder that Chai Zhu was confused.
In this era of complicated clan and blood relations, in order to gain control of the situation as quickly as possible, Zhao Jing did choose the most straightforward approach - collective punishment.
All family members and relatives of the officials involved were exiled.
There may be innocent people among them, but Zhao Jing is an "emperor" rather than a "saint", and he cannot save everyone.
...He couldn't even save the people he wanted to save.
Chu Lu was actually not sure whether Zhao Jing had discovered those hidden things back then. After all, that child was a child of destiny favored by the world consciousness. If he really wanted to explore the so-called "truth", it would be difficult to hide it from him.
But Chu Lu was more inclined to believe "no", after all, the two had already broken up. At that time, Zhao Jing was also in a difficult situation, and it was already very difficult to protect himself, so it was difficult for him to spare the attention to investigate him.
But later, the imperial edict that he personally delivered to the prison, which was obviously fishy, and the question that had no beginning or end, made Chu Lu not so sure again.
He was indeed a child who was willing to cherish old friendships, but he also possessed the qualities that an emperor should possess.
Would a child like this really go to such lengths for the sake of a little kindness and old friendship from his teacher?
Chu Lu was not sure.
But things have progressed to that point, and it doesn’t matter whether you know it or not.
As a treacherous minister, Huo Lu's fate was already doomed.
There is no way out for anyone.
Selfishly speaking, Chu Lu would rather Zhao Jing knew nothing.
The child who has not been treated kindly by fate in the first half of his life should not carry such a heavy burden to start his new life.
But if it is the latter, maybe it is not a bad thing.
...This could be considered the last lesson taught to him by this incompetent teacher.
And Zhao Jing did learn it.
That was the first thing the young emperor was forced to learn after ascending the throne.
——“Trade-offs”.
This lesson was so painful and deep that it made him bleed and unable to sleep all night.
The loneliness was hanging at the highest point, and finally revealed its cold and cruel corner. Zhao Jing, who had touched this reality, had no way to retreat.
Chai Zhu was skeptical about Chu Lu's explanation, but he also felt that there was no reason for the other party to joke about this, so he reluctantly increased his trust. However, he still tossed and turned all night, fearing that soldiers would come to his door in the middle of the night to block him.
Fortunately, what he worried about did not happen. The whole night was quiet and there were no strange noises.
However, Chai Zhu, who had forced himself to stay awake for most of the night, inevitably had a haggard face the next day, as if he had been sucked of his energy by some demon last night. This caused Pavilion Master Lin and Madam Ru, who came over, to glance at him sideways. If one had to interpret their eyes, it was probably because they were worried about their child's social life.
——Huo Yan is the “child” and I am the “friend”.
Chai Zhu: “…”
He was the one who made the wrong choice of friends, right?!
Of course, these were just minor episodes. As usual, the lady was very interested in Huo Yan's mother, but no matter whether she asked in a roundabout way or directly, she got no results and was naturally led off the topic.
This ability to deal with people, let alone Madam Ru, even Chai Zhu, who was a "bystander who sees more clearly", did not realize that something was wrong. It was only after Lin Long, who saw more clearly, looked at Huo Yan thoughtfully that Chai Zhu, who was already worried, was reminded and suddenly realized.
Chai Zhu: “…”
He looked at Huo Yan with inexpressible satisfaction. He put so much thought into every word he said. Could this guy be very cunning?
Chai Zhu had actually discovered a long time ago that as long as Huo Yan was willing, he could make most people feel comfortable talking to him.
This time was no exception. With just a few words, Mrs. Ru was so happy that she smiled broadly, as if she treated him like her own son, and had long forgotten her original intention.
Chai Zhu thought so at first, but he later found that he really underestimated the extraordinary woman who could run a unique brothel in Changyu City, a well-connected traffic artery, and could protect the girls in the brothel and deal with all kinds of dignitaries and people from all walks of life. She did not ask more about Huo Yan's mother. I'm afraid she was not led off the topic at all, but simply didn't care. Her real purpose was elsewhere.
…
At this moment, Lin Ru and the other man were taking them boating on the lake. Although everyone had a paddle in their hands, they didn't have to exert much effort as they were following the direction of the water flow. Madam Ru even put down the paddle in her hand, leaned forward with her hands on her chin, and looked directly at the young man in green clothes who was as tall as a bamboo with a slightly oppressive attitude.
Her posture was somewhat coercive, but the smile on her face was extremely soft and sweet. "How about staying in Changyu City?"
"Shuang Jie and I are getting old, and we will probably have to retire in a few years... We are worried about the children in the building who have no one to rely on... We will feel more at ease if we leave them to you to take care of them..."
"How about you stay? You are his child, and naturally our child as well. This is your family property."
“…”
"...Fu Liu, Xia Zhi, Qiu Lu, Hua Xue, which one you like, you can tell Aunt Ru, and they will not be unwilling to..."
As she said this, she smiled again, "But if it were you, even without Aunt Ru's decision, they would definitely be very willing."
“…”
“…………”
Chai Zhu was listening nearby and couldn't help but let out a sigh of shock. He looked at Ruqixiu with a strange look in his eyes.
This statement is reasonable ("It's originally your family business"), and it is also full of affection and righteousness (help to look after the girls in the building). It is both reasonable and motivated by interests - money (Chi Chunge is not kidding about making a fortune every day), power (to be able to open such a unique brothel in the important location of Changyu City, he must have enough background), sex (Chi Chunge's next generation of four seasons can be chosen by him)...
For almost a moment, Chai Zhusheng felt his scalp tingling when facing his aunt.
As if she could see the boy's reluctance, the woman, who had only become more beautiful as time went by, raised her lips and smiled, "Aunt Ru knows that you have great ambitions, and I won't keep you trapped in this small place forever. Five years... no, three years will be enough..."
"If you want to take the imperial examination, there are many schools in Changyu. The Zijin School is headed by Mr. Yan Xiaobo, which is not much worse than the Hongyan School in Gusu... Aunt Ru still has some face, so she can ask someone to recommend you for admission..."
“…”
"Take advantage of these years to prepare well here..."
Ru Qixiu said this and smiled meaningfully at the young man.
Although it was not said explicitly, it also showed that he was willing to facilitate a story of "red sleeves adding fragrance".
Chai Zhu: “…”
Listen, listen to what kind of heavenly conditions these are!
Chai Zhu was a little tempted. If someone else was here, it wouldn't be strange if he agreed to him on the spot.
——Well, change someone.
If the object was Huo Yan, he didn't think that this kid would change his original mindset at all.
Even though he now knew the boy's identity and background, Chai Zhu still found it difficult to figure out the circumstances in which he grew up. It seemed as if there was nothing in this world that could move his heart.
Chai Zhu was a little puzzled when he thought of this: this kid was obviously very picky, even in the bandits' lair he could find a way to get an animal skin first, and all the way he had been traveling, his food, clothing, housing and transportation were all exquisite.
Then how did he come up with the illusion that "this person has no desires or requests"?
really……
It’s still a matter of appearance.
This kid has a handsome appearance, as bright as the moon and looks like a god in heaven when he looks back. Unconsciously, people subconsciously think that he is an immortal who can survive by drinking dew.
In fact, this is not the case at all.
Don’t eat meat if it’s not tender, don’t drink tea if it’s stale, and even know whether the rice is stale or fresh by eating it…
Even Young Master Chai, who owns the Chai family's immense wealth, is not that picky. Chai Zhu suspected that Huo Yan's tongue had become a spirit. This was much harder to serve than an immortal who only needed annual offerings.
Chai Zhu was complaining about Huo Yan's numerous bad behaviors along the way, but suddenly he met Ruqixiu's sidelong glance.
Although Mrs. Ru always calls herself "old" and "aged", no matter from which angle you look at her, she is like a peony in full bloom, maintaining her most passionate posture and showing no signs of decline.
At this moment, she gave him a look with moving eyes, and the inexperienced Chai Zhu was almost stunned immediately.
The other person smiled at him again, making him forget everything and just do what the beauty wanted.
Chai Zhu almost spoke up to help persuade Huo Yan.
The reason why it was "almost" was because when he turned his head, Huo Yan seemed to sense something and turned around and smiled at him.
It is beautiful, like the breeze blowing through the bamboo forest and the bright moon shining on the gurgling stream.
But in the eyes of Chai Zhu, who had experienced last night, he felt like he was hit on the head with a bamboo stick and then kicked into the cold stream.
Blown by the cold wind containing water vapor from the lake, Chai Zhu shivered and woke up from the beauty trap just now.
Shibazu:!!!
To be honest, if he wasn't on the boat, he would definitely turn around and run!
...This level of conversation was not something he could get involved in at all.
Wuuuu, aunt, help me!
Your nephew knows that he still needs experience, but shouldn't this kind of thing be done step by step? Don't start with something so difficult! !
He quietly, stealthily, trying his best not to attract attention, moved towards Pavilion Master Lin.
The woman, as white as a thin layer of snow and mist, glanced at him and said nothing, which was considered as her consent to his act of seeking refuge.
Chai Zhu: QAQ…
#The child was so moved.jpg#
On the other side, Chu Lu understood the temperament of this great beauty. Some topics could be avoided, but there were some things that she would not give up until she got an answer.
He shook his head and rejected Ruqixiu's invitation directly, "Thank you, Aunt Ru, but it's not necessary... I have something else to ask in the capital."
The young man restrained his smile, and when his warm light brown eyes looked seriously, Ruqixiu seemed to see the person in her dream, and she was stunned for a moment.
Her eyes seemed to be a little sore. Under Chai Zhu's astonished gaze and Lin Long's concerned look, Ruqi touched her cheek with her sleeve and indeed felt a wet mark.
Ruqixiu is actually very good at crying and knows how to cry.
When she was in the building in the early years, she knew how to cry to appear most weak and how to cry to attract the most sympathy.
But after she met that man, she didn't cry for a long time.
That person made her understand that in life, she doesn't have to sell her dignity or her body, and she doesn't have to cling to anyone like a vine. She can survive on her own.
It was clearly the same world, but the scenery that man made her see was something she had never seen in the first ten years of her life.
Ru Qixiu actually understood that her feelings were not so much "love" as they were redemption, a distant "longing" mixed with respect and admiration.
That is an immortal, a god...
It is the unapproachable distance and untouchable holiness.
But on the day when the master finally left the mansion, she did cry.
She cried so miserably and had no image at all.
——Not worth it, not worth it!!
In this filthy and dirty world, is there anything worth dying for? !
The man seemed stunned as well, and finally smiled helplessly and tolerantly.
He hesitated for a moment, and his warm hand gently landed on the top of the piled-up bun, and then left, and then handed over a square handkerchief with a green bamboo pattern.
…
At the very end, she tightly twisted the handkerchief and stared at the straight and slender back like a green bamboo.
He walked calmly and steadily, as if he was just attending an ordinary banquet, rather than heading to a deathly end.
Ru Qixiu suddenly understood——
Just like that year, just like that year in Fuyun Tower...
Just like how he pulled her out of the muddy pool where she was struggling back then, this time he pulled all the living beings in the world.
…it’s just that the other end is too heavy.
He could only choose to let himself fall into the darkest depths, so that the other end could be pulled up from the filth.
Can……
Not worth it! How could it be worth it?!
She resented and hated...
Along with herself reaching out for help.
But in the end, that person was smiling.
So, Ruqixiu thought:
The master must have gone back to heaven...
In this filthy world, there was really nothing worth his staying.
Only by thinking this way can the malice that arises in the middle of the night be slightly calmed.
But she didn't dare to reveal any resentment or evil thoughts in the slightest.
...If that person saw her from heaven, he would definitely hate her, right? He might even regret saving her.
The former was the most terrifying nightmare of her life; but if it was the latter, then it would really be... the best.
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