Chapter 20 It's like this
At this moment, Xie Ci felt a mixture of sadness and joy. Even the early winter sun shadow seemed particularly dazzling. He had licked his wounds in sorrow for so long, and finally felt that this pain might not be as bitter as before.
Xun Rongbi carried the rattan chair to the side of Xun Xun's body. He stood up tremblingly with the help of his crutch and beat Xun Xun's body with it like crazy, "You unfilial son! You are such an unfilial dog! I told you to imprison your father, and I told you to ambush your brother to seize power! You unfilial son, you unfilial son! I will beat you to death, I will beat you to death——"
Xie Ci was not the only one whose family was destroyed. Xun Rongbi burst into tears and fell heavily to the ground. Xie Ci quickly took a step forward to support him.
Xun Rongbi burst into tears. He held Xie Ci's hand tightly and said, "Uncle, I'm sorry. Uncle, I'm sorry!"
Shivering and mumbling, he burst into tears, his hands clutching his heart, his body hunched over in pain.
Xie Ci's eyes turned red for a moment, he choked and his chest felt like it was about to explode. He tilted his head back and tried to hold back his tears, which burst out in big bursts.
The winter wind was blowing, dust was billowing in the chaotic training ground, and the sounds of hooves and swords clashing gradually became sporadic and stopped completely.
As sad as it is, closure here is still urgently needed.
Xun Rongbi fainted once due to his extreme emotional fluctuations. He was urgently awakened by pressing the Ren Zhong pressure. He struggled to get the soft armor and put it on with difficulty. He combed his gray hair and was carried to the flagpole by the guards in a rattan chair.
The new recruits trembled with fear. Xun Rongbi spoke, and Long Shouren shouted, "What are you afraid of? How can you be the same as these rebellious rebels? As long as you strictly observe military discipline and train diligently, you will be an excellent Suzhou soldier and will be safe. Why worry?"
The new recruits gradually calmed down the commotion. The old soldiers were still holding weapons and their armor was stained with blood. Everyone gasped and looked up.
At the end of his speech, Xun Rongbi took Xie Ci's hand and stood up. He spoke in a weak voice, "This is my life friend's son, Li Tongzhen."
He raised his voice, "Li Tongzhen deserves the greatest credit for quelling the rebellion. I personally appoint him as a lieutenant inspector. You must take up the position immediately!"
"The rest of the meritorious personnel will be promoted and rewarded one by one according to their merits."
Xun Rongbi took a strong breath and managed to finish his words, then he collapsed due to exhaustion.
Fortunately, Xie Ci was right beside him, and with his strong arms, Xun Rongbi did not fall on the spot. He managed to maintain his dignity and got off the flagpole.
…
As for the final steps, Xun Rongbi gave a few weak instructions and handed it over to Long Shouren to handle.
He got into the sedan chair and returned to the Governor's Mansion that morning.
The wind of early winter was already cold. In the dim sedan, Xun Rongbi held Xie Ci's hand tightly. He looked up at Xie Ci's features, which were somewhat similar to his father's. Without saying a word, tears began to flow.
"...Xiao Si is looking more and more like your father."
In fact, they are not very similar. Xie Ci is much more handsome and stunning, while Xie Xinzhong has a square face and a tough and resolute expression. It is Xie Ci's elder brother who looks most like his father.
But at this moment, the five points of similarity between Xie Ci's eyebrows became the only hope left for each other.
Xun Rongbi's skinny hands trembled as he touched Xie Ci's cheek. He cried bitterly.
"...It's my fault! It's my fault! I was so wrong! Why wasn't I the one who died?!"
"That damned traitor! That damned traitor!!"
"I hate it. Why did I give birth to him? I should have strangled him to death the day he was born—"
He beat his feet and stamped his chest, crying heartbreakingly.
After returning to the Governor's Mansion, Xun Rongbi held Xie Ci's hand and stood in the Red Pine Courtyard for a long time. This small courtyard was not only the courtyard where Xun Xun imprisoned him, but also the courtyard where Xie Xinzhong lived when he was the Governor of Suzhou, when Xie Ci was young, and when the Xie family came to visit relatives.
The family members, their voices and smiles, seemed to be just like yesterday. There were tea, snacks, fruit wine and two white candles. Xun Rongbi slowly placed pieces of paper money in the brazier. Behind the offering table, the uncle and nephew cried bitterly.
…
After forcing himself to pay tribute to the father and son of the Xie family and crying bitterly, Xun Rongbi began to treat his illness.
His condition was horrifying, but fortunately, there was no shortage of good doctors in Suzhou City. Many famous doctors gathered together and worked very hard to finally stabilize Xun Rongbi's condition.
The most skilled doctor was the former owner of Huichuntang, an old imperial physician who had resigned from his official position and returned home. He twirled the silver needles one by one, pulled them out of the needle bag, and put them back into his medical box. "If you take good care of yourself, my lord, you'll be able to get through this. But I'm afraid you won't live more than five years."
Xun Rongbi asked him how long he could live, and the old doctor was used to seeing important people, so he spoke frankly.
Xun Rongbi was silent for a while, "Five years is enough."
He murmured.
He pulled himself together and asked Xie Ci, "Xiao Si, is your mother okay? Where are they?"
The question was asked in a weak and delicate voice. The winter sun shone through the snow-white window screens, half of the room was bright and half was dark. Xun Rongbi's pale face showed a sickly color, and his eyes looked cloudy and dull due to long-term illness.
In fact, everything is normal. It is normal for Xun Rongbi to worry about his sister who has suffered a huge change. It is even reasonable for him to want to bring the Xie family to his side to take care of them.
But Gu Guan felt a tightness in his heart for no reason.
She quickly turned her head to look at Xie Ci in front of her.
…
The sun was dim, and spots of light were reflected on the three people in front of the bed.
But fortunately, Xie Ci paused and said, "My eldest sister-in-law said she wanted to return to Tongan, but my second sister-in-law said Tongan is not suitable. Before I left, they were still living in Suizhen area, and I don't know where they are now. They said they would send me news after they decided."
"So that's how it is."
Xun Rongbi didn't know whether he had received the letter or not. He nodded and sighed softly. A hint of sadness flashed in his eyes, but he quickly hid it. He forced himself to speak up and said, "Then I'll write a letter and you can mail it for me. Let's see if they're still where they were."
Xie Ci nodded immediately: "Okay, uncle."
Xie Ci took the bowl and helped Xun Rongbi drink the medicine. After Xun Rongbi cheered up, wrote a letter and handed it to Xie Ci, he fell into a deep sleep.
The lights were already on at this time. Xie Ci and Gu Wan returned to their room. They did not talk about the divorce. Xie Ci only introduced Gu Wan as the Gu family. They had been married in July last year, so it was natural for them to live in the same room.
Back in the room, Gu Guan smiled and dismissed the servant who was delivering the meal. He checked the doors, windows, and roof seemingly casually. When he returned to the table, Xie Ci was looking down at the letter.
Gu Wan took the envelope, peeled off the wax seal and opened it to read. Her sincerity was evident with a few tear stains, but she stuffed the letter back into the cover and lied with open eyes: "Mother and the others must be no longer in the original place. Let's wait for news from my second sister-in-law, and then we can send it."
She stuffed the letter directly into the pillow.
Xie Ci nodded without hesitation, "Okay."
His family can be said to be his last bottom line. No matter what, he can't let the things here involve them even a little bit.
They washed their hands and ate.
Gu Guan lowered his voice and said, "Let's quickly look at the files."
The Lantian Collaboration Case originated in Suzhou, and the Suzhou Governor's Office had a complete and detailed case file, which Xie Ci and Gu Wan needed to understand. At the time of the incident, Xie Ci had not yet entered the army and was far away in Zhongdu, so many details were unknown to him.
No matter what they want to do, they have to understand the details clearly first.
Xie Ci nodded immediately: "I know."
The two looked at each other, lowered their heads and ate their food quickly.
After dinner, Xie Ci went to keep watch for Xun Rongbi, and Gu Guan thought about it and followed him.
She was different from Xie Ci. She had no blood relationship with Xun Rongbi, and her emotions did not fluctuate. However, she did not make her presence felt and just watched coldly from the sidelines.
Don't worry, it's impossible in a short period of time.
Apparently, so are the thank yous.
…
But they seemed to be overthinking it.
The next day, Xun Rongbi was able to sit up slightly, and without even asking them to ask, he took the initiative to have the files brought to him.
The three of them read the file carefully over and over again.
This was obviously the first time Xun Rongbi had read this file. Every line and every word was shocking. He clutched his heart several times, gasping for breath, and exclaimed in hatred: "This damn beast!"
He held Xie Ci's hand tightly and said, "Don't worry, even if your uncle dies, he will definitely overturn this case first! He will not die until he has properly taken care of you."
Xun Rongbi had been rigorously interrogating those close to Xun Xun, devoting his full attention to the investigation. Xie Ci personally participated, but unfortunately, those close to Xun Xun were extremely stubborn, and so far, little progress had been made. The three men returned their attention to the files, analyzing them word by word. After sending several waves of people out, Xun Rongbi explained to Xie Ci the complex interdependence and factions of the Northwest Army, as well as the various connections involved at each node.
He coughed and once even coughed up blood. Finally, under Xie Ci's coercion, he stayed in bed to recuperate.
During this period, Xie Ci and Gu Guan traveled to and from the Governor's Mansion in Daying, and entered and exited the mansion gate inside and outside the city smoothly without any hindrance.
Until the sixth day of November.
Xun Rongbi's illness gradually improved. After all, he had been a strong man all his life. He was not yet sixty years old, and was not at the age where he would be completely unable to recover if faced with any disturbance.
With a little bit of energy left, he took good care of himself and finally began to feel better.
Allowed to see the wind.
The north was in a bleak winter. A west wind howled all night long, and the sky and earth were vast. Xun Rongbi, wrapped in a thick cloak, stood on the porch, looking up at the sky. After a long moment, he said to Xie Ci, "Tomorrow, let's go to the western suburbs to pay tribute to your eldest cousin."
Xun Xiao's tomb is in the western suburbs.
Tomorrow is the seventh day of November, Xun Xiao’s birthday.
From the time Xun Xun received the tragic news until his funeral and burial, Xun Rongbi was never present once.
…
When he came back in the evening, Gu Guan, who was sorting out files, heard this and his heart tightened immediately, knowing that the final test had finally come.
Gu Wan had privately told Xie Ci not to be alone and not to go to places with few people.
Whether you go to the main camp or the Governor's Mansion, you must be in a crowded place.
Xun Rongbi had just killed his own son who had usurped the throne. He absolutely could not kill another nephew in the Suzhou camp who had been announced in front of all the soldiers in the camp as the son of his old friend and the one who had made the greatest contribution to suppressing the rebellion.
Otherwise, the entire army will be in uproar and prestige will be destroyed.
As a military governor, no matter who he is, he cannot show such a naked face in front of his soldiers.
As for the Governor's Mansion, you have to stay in the front yard, which is the closest to the outer wall, the widest and easiest place to evacuate in case of emergency.
Even Xie Ci never left his dagger and sword. He always wore them in a tight-fitting manner just for the former.
Even when the two of them were leaving the mansion and heading to the Suzhou camp, they always walked on the crowded streets.
But there are always times when it is unavoidable.
It's finally here.
Gu Guan immediately dropped his pen upon hearing this.
But the two of them discussed in a low voice for half the night, until the dawn of the next day, when they could hear the sounds of guards and servants moving around outside.
After a while, a servant came to report that the carriage was ready and the master had also set off.
Finally, he said, "Yuan Niang, I want to go."
"I have to go, too."
After the servant left and closed the door, Xie Ci leaned over and whispered in his ear.
During this period, Xie Ci was in the most torment, as if his reason and emotions were splitting him in two.
On the one hand, he was just like Gu Guan, who was afraid of ropes after being bitten once. As long as he was not completely sure of safety, the string in his heart was always taut, with deep vigilance and suspicion.
After all, his father and brother were eventually put to death by the sudden false accusation of their confidants.
But as Xun Rongbi cared for and looked after Xie Ci day after day, and spent his days and nights worrying about the Xie family's affairs despite his sick body, and even coughed up blood once, Xie Ci, on the other hand, found it increasingly difficult to control his emotions.
He knew that Xun Rongbi actually knew that Xie Ci was not unaware of the whereabouts of the Xie family, but Xun Rongbi said nothing and asked nothing, just taking it as true.
From then on, it was never mentioned again, and no questions or arrangements were made regarding his behavior.
Until yesterday, the sixth day of November.
Xun Rongbi hesitated for a long time before finally telling Xie Ci that they would go together.
Xun Xun is dead, so there should be no suspicion.
More importantly, Xun Rongbi had lost his son, and Xie Ci was in Suzhou. He couldn't just refuse to pay his respects even on his cousin's birthday.
That's it.
More importantly, if, and I mean if, even if, let's take a step back, if going to the western suburbs was a problem this time and he avoided it, then what's next?
"We can't keep doing this forever."
The Governor's Mansion is not completely safe, not even the military camp. If you can't use force openly, you can still poison people in secret.
Beware of the light, not the dark.
It’s better to go out.
The sky was dim and the kang was very hot. Xie Ci lifted the bed curtain and jumped out of bed. His collar was a little loose, revealing the mottled scars below his neck and on the back of his hands. New flesh piled on old skin, leaving shocking marks.
Just like the experience he will never forget.
Gu Wan thought about it and decided that what Xie Ci said made sense. She decided, "Then go ahead!"
She pulled Xie Ci to open an inconspicuous box at the corner of the room. Inside were things she had taken out from the warehouse of Suzhou Camp and modified.
She handed over the inner armor as a thank you, and put on the breastplate on the front and back, as well as the chain sleeve darts and other things.
She thought for a moment and said, "You go first, and I'll follow you later."
…
At the beginning of the morning, Xie Ci helped Xun Rongbi get on the carriage and set off.
Gu Guan became more and more uneasy the more he thought about it.
It is obvious that Xun Xun is already dead.
Gu Guan had personally checked the wounds on his body, his pulse, and his breathing. As a professional, she was 100% sure that this man was dead.
There is also Xun Rongbi. The scars from the shackles on his hands could never be faked, and he didn't fake his dying breath either.
Gu Guan asked herself seriously how he had treated Xie Ci during this period. If she were the nephew, she would probably be as moved as Xie Ci.
But for some reason, perhaps because it was going too smoothly, she felt a little uneasy. Perhaps it was because of her past life's profession, but Gu Wan was always particularly suspicious when faced with such things. Xun Rongbi's inquiries about the Xie family's whereabouts that day were perfectly normal, but they certainly pricked her.
Gu Wan held the pen, lost in thought. Somehow, her thoughts drifted away, and she suddenly remembered the stand-in for the male protagonist Li Yi in the original book!
——Li Yi has a substitute, and he started selecting and training the person from the day he got the title of king back.
They chose face shape, body shape, and eliminated them continuously as he grew up. In the end, they got a stand-in that was 60% similar before makeup, and 80% or 90% similar with makeup. From a distance, the similarity was so striking that it was almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
When he left the capital privately, the substitute would stay in the palace on his behalf. The substitute had imitated his manners and words since childhood, ate the same food, lived in a fine courtyard, was called "Young Master" by servants, and even used the same pancreas and incense. It was impossible to tell from his ordinary interactions with others, and he never revealed any flaws.
There was a crisis later in the film, and the stand-in was seriously injured for Li Yi, and then he gradually faded out of the screen.
"Incense!"
Seriously injured? Died in place of someone else?!
Like a flash of lightning, it instantly split Gu Wan's complicated thoughts. She was startled and stood up suddenly.
Gu Wan's heartbeat began to beat like a drum.
Almost immediately, she turned around and ran into the inner room, frantically grabbing the things in the box in the corner and then calming herself down and leaving the Governor's Mansion immediately.
Gu Wan first went to the street and pretended to buy some women's products. She looked around but did not notice anyone following her.
But Gu Guan still has a way.
She thought about it and finally went to Zhang County where she and Xie Ersao had agreed to send a letter.
The Wei Dynasty had a well-developed postal system, and there were many shops and stores in major cities that received letters for customers. Before Xie Ci left home, he made an appointment with his family to report his safety, and also wrote down a message for his second sister-in-law.
This was also the address that Xie Ersao used in her reply.
But the subsequent situation developed too quickly. After entering the city, Xie Ci and Gu Wan were afraid and pretended nothing happened. They never came to pick up the letter again.
After leaving the city, Gu Guan rode her horse all the way to Zhang County. She jumped off the horse, rushed into the inn, threw down a small ingot of silver, and inserted a letter into one of the compartments of the oilcloth to be sent.
She pressed the hat on her head and turned away.
Gu Wan walked for a while, suddenly went into an alley, turned around and ran. She rushed into the inn and saw that the letter she had just inserted was gone!
"damn it!"
Gu Wan cursed loudly and ran all the way to the inn where she and Xie Ersao had agreed to send the letter.
The clerk said, "The letter was taken away. The county government started investigating a few days ago and took away several letters, including yours. It's none of our business. Think about what crime you've committed?"
“Oh my god!”
Xie Ci and Gu Guan were extremely cautious and vigilant. They sent their safety letters to Zhang County outside Suzhou, and they didn't use their real names at all.
This shows how much effort they put in!
Oh shit!
Gu Wan finally confirmed that Xun Xun, who had died without any accident, was a substitute!
Xie Ci has found Suzhou. His sense of smell is extremely sensitive, and all the Xun family members know it. If they are prepared, they may be able to deceive the situation in a short moment!
Except for the few years when Xie Ci was in Suzhou, Xun Xun only saw him once every two or three years!
Gu Guan was so anxious that he jumped onto the horse and whipped the horse's hindquarters hard.
The fat horse neighed loudly and rushed out wildly!
The author has something to say:
The Xie family's military power is too strong and well-known, and the soldiers' hearts are loyal to them. Once a man from the Xie family re-enters the army, he will quickly gain a foothold and control the military power. This is the fundamental reason why the instigators from all parties do not want Xie Ci and Xie Mingming to survive.
(As for why the Xie family was framed, we will explain the reason later in the main text.)
Tomorrow is Wednesday, so I might post something in the early morning, haha. A huge update of 10,000 words will be released! Love you guys~ See you tomorrow, babies!! (/≧▽≦)/
Finally, I strongly recommend the pre-collection that was newly opened yesterday! "I Eat and Drink Spicy Food Next to the Cold Factory Supervisor↓", A Xiu has wanted to write about this profession for a long time, hahaha
When Shen Xing first entered the book, he never dreamed that he would be entangled with a eunuch party for half his life.
When the enemy was at the gates that day, she asked Pei Xuansu: If you could do it again, what would you wish for?
She said: If it happened again, she didn't want to be the queen mother. She was just the daughter of the knife maker in Yongxiang, so she would just be a palace maid and leave the palace when she was 25 years old.
And you?
After a long time, this man who had been gloomy for half his life laughed miserably: If there is another next life, just ask your father, the knife maker, to show mercy.
Oh, so it’s about saving his lower body!
…
Who knew that his words would come true.
Shen Xing returned to her lively sixteen years old. In that dim and damp little house, Pei Xuansu was tied to a bench, covered in blood and beaten to a point where not a single piece of flesh remained.
Blood flowed down his forehead, and outside she could hear her father sharpening a knife.
Shen Xing touched her chin. She suddenly got a new idea. Maybe she could try to hug someone's thigh?
…
① Knife maker: a profession that specializes in purifying eunuchs
② The male protagonist's previous occupation, judging by the title, was a cold and gloomy factory supervisor.
③ The main plot and emotional line also depend on the title~ Light and refreshing article~
④The male protagonist was a real eunuch in his previous life, but a fake eunuch in this life
(Poke the author's column to see ~ (*^▽^*))
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