Chapter 15 Whatever you choose, I support you
Even though Xie Ci was filled with hatred at the moment, he couldn't help but be shocked.
——You must know that the testimony of the twelve great generals at that time definitely could not force all the garrison generals to abandon their troops and go to the capital to testify.
They handed over the "evidence" and wrote personal letters, stamped with official and private seals. The court then sent special envoys to question them in person, and then brought the evidence and letters back to present to the three provinces and the emperor for his review.
But now, Xie Ci and Gu Wan discovered that more than two months before the Xie family incident, Xie Ci's eldest cousin and Xun Rongbi himself had encountered accidents, and the two seals were taken over by someone else!
If this is true, then could it be that the handwritten letter was forged by Xun Xun?
The three-story restaurant was filled with people, and the whistling west wind blew past their ears. Gu Wan and Xie Ci looked at each other, and his face suddenly darkened.
Escort leader Cao Yong picked up two large wine jars and dropped them onto the square table in the middle. He slapped the mud seal open with his palm and asked curiously, "What's wrong, Brother Gu?"
Everyone looked over and laughed when they heard this, talking at once.
The escort team has paid their bill and is having a meal at a restaurant, sharing a table.
The escort leader Cao Yong is also the young master of the escort agency. It was he who recruited Xie Ci and Gu Wan into the escort agency. Cao Yong admired these two young brothers very much, especially Xie Ci. They encountered bandits several times on the road, and although Xie Ci resisted them, Cao Yong still looked at him with admiration.
Gu Wan immediately laughed and said, "Isn't this great news? It's my first time in Suzhou, so everything is new to me. Governor Xun's family hasn't had it easy."
She did not hide it, but answered loudly, using her body to cover Xie Ci, who lowered his eyelids to hide the expression in his eyes. Everyone talked at once, and those who had been here last year said yes, that's right.
Gu Wan laughed it off and didn't continue to ask for further evidence. The two of them moved the table over and sat down. The topic was over. Gu Wan then asked for a month's leave: "We will go to visit my relatives tomorrow."
This time they went north, the two men said they were a pair of brothers who had grown up in old age. Their parents had died of old age and they had no relatives, so they came to Suzhou to seek refuge with their relatives.
Cao Yong asked hurriedly, "Do you need my help?"
"What's your relative's last name?"
Gu Guan laughed and lied with his eyes wide open: "My last name is Ma. I won't need you for now, Young Master. If I can't find you later, it won't be too late to look for you."
"Okay, if you don't have enough money, just ask! Come on, let's drink!"
The topic passed like this. After considering it, the two of them decided to keep their names for the time being. Gu Wan smiled and picked up the bowl that was half the size of her head: "Drink, drink."
…
After drinking, the two of them separated from the escort team.
Walking along the street, Suzhou City is very large and noisy.
Xie Ci led the way. The two of them walked eastward through the west side of the city until they reached the intersection of the East City and West City military control areas. They walked along Fuqian Street, which runs through the north and south, to the end, which was the Suzhou Governor's Mansion.
This is a very busy long street, which is the center of Suzhou City. Except for the middle section which is a no-traffic zone, the streets and alleys of the East City Market connected at both ends are all prosperous areas.
At the beginning of last year, the imperial court issued an order to recruit soldiers on the spot. Now it is the autumn season for recruiting soldiers. Not only are there endless people and vehicles selling things at both ends of the long street, but even the Governor's Office is bustling with people coming and going, and it is much busier than usual.
Xie Ci and Gu Guan waited for about half an hour and finally saw what they wanted to see.
Two rows of armored soldiers rushed out of the front gate of the mansion, and more than a dozen battalion commanders walked out briskly, jumped on their horses and waited in front of the gate. The guards at the gate also began to drive away the vendors and their vehicles at both ends of the street, quickly expanding the restricted area, and the entire street was soon cleared.
After a while, a young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, wearing ochre armor, a helmet with three red tassels on his head, and a silver sword with a gold handle on his waist came out from the Governor's Mansion. He took the reins and, surrounded by guards, mounted an exceptionally majestic chestnut horse.
The dozen or so battalions will immediately follow and meet them.
The group rode their war horses towards the Suzhou camp.
It was a fleeting glimpse, then quickly disappeared, and Central Avenue quickly returned to normal.
Xie Ci stood there, the afternoon sun blazing brightly. He stood in the shadow of the eaves, half of his face illuminated by the sun and half in darkness. He looked up and said, "Xun Xun is wearing the sword and helmet ribbon of the Suzhou Governor."
Moreover, these generals who were waiting to welcome him were all treated like the governor who was in charge of the military and political affairs of Suzhou.
Moreover, the reactions of the Guanfu vanguard and the street vendors were already commonplace.
Xie Ci lowered his eyes and thought for a moment: "Let's go to the post station!"
…
Xie Ci and Gu Guan rushed straight out of the city and soon found a post station called Guanzhen under the jurisdiction of Suzhou.
It was late at night and everyone was asleep, with only the howling west wind. Xie Ci and Gu Guan jumped in through the window and began rummaging through boxes and drawers looking for rubbings of the Governor-General's recent reports.
The post stations under its jurisdiction were responsible for informing the people to post notices. The so-called notices were the announcements and new regulations issued by the Governor-General's Office.
Suzhou is located on the border and often fights with foreign invaders. Various new information changes sometimes very quickly. After the war, there is a need to reassure the people, order them to move quickly to cooperate with the war, search for spies, and so on.
Sometimes extremely fast speed is needed, and it is not enough to just rely on the county government as in the interior of the country, so additional post stations are set up to ensure that the delivery is as quick as an arm.
These proclamations issued by the Governor-General's Office were usually drafted by clerks and stamped by the Governor-General's Office, but if they were extremely important proclamations, they would be drafted by the Governor-General himself, and copies would be distributed to various post stations for posting.
Gu Guan lit a lamp, and the two of them quickly found the historical reports in a large camphorwood box.
The top stack is from recent years.
Gu Guan held the lamp while Xie Ci quickly flipped through the rubbings. Those from the year before last, the year before last, and even the first half of last year were all written in Xun Rongbi's vigorous and powerful handwriting.
It was only after June, starting from the third day of June, that the handwriting changed and became clearly that of another person.
The handwriting is obviously much thinner, a bit like the Slender Gold style.
Gu Guan was amazed. This man's calligraphy was really amazing. It turned out that there was more than one genius, Emperor Huizong of Song.
However, their focus is obviously not on calligraphy.
A dim light shone in the air, and Xie Ci's eyes were as deep as the abyss. "Starting from this one, this isn't my uncle's handwriting."
Before him, it had always been Xun Rongbi.
But after he said this, he pursed his lips and his expression became darker.
It reveals his complicated emotions.
Gu Wan also leaned in, it seemed to be true.
When they flipped to the end, they found the latest rubbing, which was written by Xun Xun in a heavy tone, saying that Xun Rongbi was seriously ill and would not live long.
In the small post station, the only sound that could be heard was the whistling wind.
Finally, Gu Wan rubbed his face and said, "Let's find a place to settle down first."
…
Now it's a bit annoying.
When he returned to Suzhou City, it was already dawn. Gu Wan directly found a middleman and rented a small courtyard.
The courtyard was not big, with one main room and two side rooms, and simple beds, tables and chairs. The bright sun shone on the steps in front of the courtyard, and Gu Wan closed the door.
"What now?"
Hiss, she also found it quite tricky.
Now it can be confirmed that this matter is true.
From June last year till now, it has been this Xun Xun who has been holding the seal and power.
The timing of Xun Rongbi and Xun Xiao's incidents was so coincidental that it is hard not to connect it to the killing/imprisonment of brother and father in order to seize power and throne!
This raises a very important possibility.
The accident involving Xun Rongbi and his son occurred in June, while the "Lantian Collaboration Case" occurred in August.
In other words, it is very likely that Xun Xun had been planning this for a long time in collusion with others to take down his father and brother in one fell swoop, kill his brother and imprison his father to take power, and then frame the Xie family.
After all, envoys can be bribed, handwritten letters can be forged, and there is no one whose handwriting is more easily forged than one's own son.
"But," Xie Ci tilted his head and said in a hoarse voice, "This could also be a trap."
Of course Gu Wan understood what he meant.
The Xie family has extremely high prestige and reputation in the army, and the soldiers are loyal to them. In the Wei army, they are no less important than Yuan Longping in the hearts of modern people. It is not impossible that Xun Rongbi wanted to avoid the important issues and let his son take the blame without damaging his prestige.
Coincidentally, the first rubbing indicating that Xun Rongbi's condition had improved appeared in early July this year.
The Xie family was successfully rescued by Xie Ci and Gu Wan at the end of June this year.
This could also be a trap.
Take advantage of the enemy's tactics, wait for the enemy to tire out, and then open the tiger's mouth.
Of course, it is also possible that Xun Xun learned that Xie Ci had escaped from prison and rescued the Xie family, set up a trap with his father, or wanted to quickly eliminate the head and tail.
After all, our dynasty governs the world with filial piety.
If this matter were to be exposed, it would be difficult for him to continue to survive no matter how powerful his methods were.
Gu Wan was thinking the same thing. "So what do you think? Should we go into the Governor's Mansion?"
If it is true, then Xie Ci still has an uncle waiting for his rescue, and once Xun Rongbi is successfully rescued, it is very likely that the trip to Suzhou will become a simple one.
Their ultimate goal is to clear the name of the Xie family and seek revenge for their father and son. Now they have a real foothold to stand on.
This opportunity may never come again.
For a moment, even Gu Wan found it difficult to judge and choose.
…
The wind in late autumn was cold, carrying a smell of dry yellow dust, blowing against the eaves and treetops, and the pine trees on the eaves kept shaking.
But they are just like this little japonica, not knowing where the hurricane comes from or where to take root.
Xie Ci's face was gloomy. No one knew Suzhou City better than he did. "Xun Rongbi served as Governor-General of Suzhou and Jiedushi of Pinglu for eight years, in charge of the military, politics, and people of the area. Suzhou was one of the important border towns defending against the northern barbarians, with a total of 40,000 troops."
The huge Suzhou City in front of us is the territory that the Xun family has operated for many years.
He is not alone.
Just as Xie Ci was thinking this, he heard the sound of a scabbard turning. He turned his head and looked over. A girl with willow-shaped eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes stood up in the sunlight. She patted his shoulder and said, "Don't think too much."
"Just think about whether it's worth it for us to go in."
Gu Guan tossed the silver sword and pondered for a long time, but the conditions were all there, and she couldn't tell the pros and cons any further.
Let's leave it to Xie Ci. After all, he understands these people and things better. As for her, she'd better sacrifice her life to accompany the gentleman.
Although they were willing to sacrifice their lives, Gu Wan was not actually very worried, and he was not afraid at all. He would fight against the enemy with his soldiers and block the water with earth. Even if there was a trap ahead, they would not step into it immediately. Even if they did, it did not mean that they would never be able to get out.
After all, when people want something, they will take action. We can just take a step back and deal with it as it comes.
It’s a bit regrettable that there is no plot reference, but Gu Wan didn’t rely on the plot to get through.
Under the half-worn eaves, a half-worn cyan-collared girl stood in front of the mottled eaves pillars. She patted his shoulder decisively: "No matter what you choose, I support you."
We've been together for so long, and there's still some affection. Now that we're here, there's nothing much to say.
"Light some incense for your father, then go to sleep."
The light and shadows were mottled, and her voice was clear, a little softer, and full of relief.
Xie Ci closed his eyes and took a deep breath: "Okay."
The author has something to say:
One step leads to heaven, the wrong step leads to hell. It is so difficult to choose!
I'm here! It's the first day back at work after the holidays, and it's so chaotic. I guess I'll need to put a draft box next time. A huge kiss to you all! See you tomorrow~ (づ￣3￣)づ╭
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