Chapter 56 Answer 8 "I wish my Highness a good night's sleep."...
"sit."
Zhu Song looked at Xue Caining with great sorrow, and his tone softened.
Xue Caining had been in a trance since Zhu Song met her. Only when she heard Zhu Song's words did her eyes slowly come back to her senses. She looked at Zhu Song's dry and empty eyes and tears fell unconsciously.
"Kill me, please, stop torturing me."
Zhu Song's tone became more gentle, "Please sit down and have some tea first."
Xue Caining's eyes showed some disbelief, but when she saw that Zhu Song had no intention of teasing her, she sat down. Zhu Song asked the yamen runners to bring tea and cakes.
Xue Caining had been tortured for so long and had never had a good meal, but now she didn't even dare to touch the delicious pastries when she saw them. She was scared of being beaten.
Zhusong said: "Eat it, it's not poisonous."
"I'm not afraid of poison." Xue Caining replied, picked up the pastry and took a big bite. She choked again while eating and kept coughing as if she was going to cough out her lungs. Zhu Song was a little helpless and stepped forward to hand her the cup of water. Xue Caining raised her eyes and looked at him with tears in her eyes, then took it and drank it.
Xue Caining coughed for a long time, crying while coughing, with a half-eaten snack tightly clenched in her hand. Zhu Song looked at her and didn't know what to say for a moment.
About half an hour later, Xue Caining's emotions finally stabilized, and Zhu Song got to the point.
"Xue Caining, do you know your own life experience?"
Xue Caining was stunned when she heard this. "Background?"
Previously in Jizhou, Zhu Lingye also checked Xue Caining's background, but at that time she was protected by Duan Zhenghong, so they did not find any useful information. Later, Duan Zhenghong was arrested, and there was no need to check her.
Xue Caining was also a smart person. She knew that Zhu Song must have a reason for asking this. She was already a death row prisoner and couldn't be any worse, so she told the truth.
"I was raised by a farming family in Xiaolinzi Village. I knew from a young age that I was not their biological child."
Zhu Song asked, "Why?"
Xue Caining replied, "Because they told me since I was little that I was a child bride they raised for their son, a child bride for a fool."
Zhu Song nodded and motioned for her to continue.
Xue Caining continued, "I didn't want to marry that idiot, so I ran away secretly when I was fourteen. I found a job sweeping the streets in a restaurant in Jizhou City. Because of my appearance, I was molested every day, but I didn't even dare to struggle. Until two months later, a man spilled soup on me. Duan Zhenghong happened to see it, and he helped me and beat the man.
Not only did the man not fight back, he also knelt down and begged for forgiveness. That was a scene I couldn't even imagine in my dreams, so when Duan Zhenghong asked me if I was willing to go with him, I agreed without hesitation.
From then on, I became Duan Zhenghong's 38th concubine."
Zhu Song interrupted her, "Did anything strange happen to you when you were a child? Or do you have any keepsakes from your biological parents?"
Xue Caining shook her head, her voice slow as she pondered, "There's no token."
Zhu Song lowered his eyes, it would be a bit difficult if there was nothing.
"Ah. I remembered something." Xue Caining suddenly raised her voice. Zhu Song looked over and Xue Caining said, "When I was about three years old, one night I had a nightmare and dreamed of going to find my mother. When I went out, I found that the light in the living room was still on. I subconsciously thought that I forgot to turn off the lights. I was very scared, so I hurried over to turn off the lights.
But when I walked over, I realized that it was my parents talking to someone. The person was wearing a big black cloak and his face could not be seen.
My father said to that person: "Caining is Xiaobao's wife, don't worry, she will never leave Xiaolinzi Village."
My mother also said: "Yes, don't worry, we will never abandon her."
The man said: "No matter whether she is alive or dead, she can never leave here. Otherwise I will not let you go."
They said something else, but the wind was blowing and the leaves were rustling so I couldn't hear clearly. I saw the man give my parents some silver.
Later, the man suddenly wanted to leave. I was afraid of being scolded, so I hid in the chicken coop. He probably noticed something was wrong and looked at me sideways. I was scared and covered my mouth tightly. It was at this moment that I saw his face clearly.
I didn't know him at that time, and I didn't see him for more than ten years, so I forgot about it.
Now I remember, that person was Yi Kangning."
All matched.
Zhusong didn't show it on his face, but his hands on his knees were clenched tightly.
Twenty years ago, Concubine Song gave birth to a princess, but she was not willing to let the princess be just a princess, so she replaced the princess with a baby boy prepared in advance by Yi Kangning.
Xue Caining saw Zhu Song was silent and looked at him cautiously, "Master Zhu, is there something wrong?"
Zhu Song said: "This matter is of great importance. Please rest in the Dali Temple for the time being."
Seeing Zhu Song being so polite, Xue Caining felt relieved, even though she was unsure. She didn't ask any more questions, but just nodded and said, "Thank you, Master Zhu."
After Zhu Song settled Xue Caining, he began to prepare for the next step. This matter involved royal secrets, and Emperor Liang was very concerned about his reputation, so it was hard to say how he would deal with it, but he had to prepare for the worst.
If he were to do this, the Zhu family would definitely not be able to escape, so Zhu Song called a meeting of all family members that night.
Zhu Song revealed everything, leaving everyone bewildered. Meng Xiaohe looked at him in disbelief, "So you left the capital to investigate a case?"
Zhu Song nodded.
Meng Xiaohe pretended to hit him, "How dare you be so bold? This might cost you your head."
Zhu Jingchen remained calm and said, "I think it's better for Huaiyu to speak about this matter than for you to speak about it."
Gu Huaiyu is the only son of Marquis Ping'an, who was once the companion of Emperor Liang. His wife is a close friend of Princess Anyang and has a strong background.
Zhu Jingchen said: "Although the emperor is suspicious, he values feelings. Even if the emperor is angry, he will not do anything to him."
Zhu Lingye glanced at Zhu Song's expression and knew that he disagreed, so he started to smooth things over, "Don't we have that kind of background?"
Speaking of this, Zhu Jingchen had something to say, "Then we should go find your second uncle. If he hadn't burned our house down, we wouldn't be so happy being the richest man in Jizhou. Why would we have to be so desperate like we are now?"
This is nothing new.
Whenever Zhu Jingchen encountered something unhappy in officialdom, he would talk about it.
The story is very simple. The ancestors of the Zhu family were businessmen. By the time of Zhu Song's grandfather, the business had become very big. In his later years, Zhu Song's grandfather became more ambitious and wanted to expand more business. So when the two brothers Zhu Jingchen and Zhu Jingshen were fourteen years old, he divided the family business and let them do their own things.
When the family was divided at that time, in order to ensure fairness, all valuables were taken out and divided at once.
After ten days of division, it was finally done. The things belonging to Zhu Jingchen were placed in the east wing, and the things belonging to Zhu Jingshen were placed in the west wing.
On the night before their separation, Zhu Jingchen celebrated by buying lots of firecrackers and setting them off in the yard. Zhu Jingchen described the scene as "fireworks scattered from heaven"—the house immediately burst into flames, with countless sparks raining down, making it impossible to save the house.
Everything that could be burned was burned, and everything that couldn't be burned was given to others as compensation.
The fire burned down an entire street, and the owner lost most of his fortune in compensation.
Mr. Zhu was so angry that he died at that time.
After this incident, the two brothers were unable to make their own business and were forced to take the imperial examination. They had no business acumen, but were very talented in the imperial examination. After only three years of study, they both passed the imperial examination and became Jinshi.
One is the top scholar and the other is the third place.
Because of this incident, Zhu Jingshen has always felt guilty towards Zhu Jingchen and always agreed to his requests.
At this point, Zhu Jingchen defended himself, "After I passed the imperial examination and became a deputy minister of the Ministry of Revenue, I was in charge of rare treasures submitted by various countries. The warehouse was full of them, and I couldn't sweep up all the dust even if I did it every day. Your grandfather taught me countless times that it is a taboo to let pearls gather dust.
I really couldn't bear it, so I took a little bit back and took care of it every day."
Zhu Song rolled his eyes when he heard this. "This is a serious matter to discuss, not a meeting for redress."
Zhu Jingchen was very reasonable, "I'm just worried that I won't have the chance to explain it clearly in the future."
Meng Xiaohe could no longer bear it, "Come on, stop causing trouble for Ah Shen. Every time you got into trouble before, Ah Shen went to great lengths to plead for you."
Zhu Jingchen disagreed with this point, "It's just a trivial matter. If he hadn't set the fire..."
"Stop it." Zhu Song didn't want to talk any more and made the decision directly, "The day after tomorrow I will bring Xue Caining to the palace and explain this matter to the emperor."
"What if the emperor gets angry and wants to chop off your head?" Meng Xiaohe couldn't help but worry.
Zhu Lingye was not so pessimistic. "That's not the case. It's Prince Su who is fake, not the Emperor."
Meng Xiaohe punched Zhu Jingchen and said, "Speak up."
Zhu Jingchen's mind raced as he came up with another idea. "Why don't you ask your second uncle to speak to us? I feel like he's become increasingly remorseful towards us over the years. Give him a chance to make amends."
Zhu Song said, "Come on, Second Uncle has had a miserable life these past few years. Let's just leave it at that. I'll take responsibility for my actions and you guys should just pretend you don't know anything about this."
Zhu Jingchen knew that he couldn't persuade him, so he didn't say anything else. He just said, "Okay, go ahead and do it. At worst, you can ask your second uncle to collect our bodies."
Meng Xiaohe hit him again, "What are you talking about? You think the pressure on the child isn't big enough?"
Zhu Jingchen defended himself, "Am I not trying to comfort him?"
Meng Xiaohe said to him angrily, "Is there anyone as tolerant as you?"
"It's better than saying nothing."
It was a familiar scene, so Zhu Song didn't stay long. He said something and left. He had something important to do.
Send Wen Fengxuan away.
Wen Fengxuan was reading in the study as usual. Zhu Song knocked on the door and came in. "Your Highness."
Wen Fengxuan looked up at him and smiled, "Sir, are you still so reserved when entering your own room?"
Seeing him smile, Zhu Song felt relieved and walked quickly into the house, "I'm afraid I might disturb His Highness."
Wen Fengxuan said: "No, I recognized the master's footsteps the moment I heard them."
Zhu Song couldn't help but laugh. He didn't know why he was happy, but he was just very happy. However, this mood was shattered when he thought about what he was about to say.
"Your Highness, I have something to tell you."
Wen Fengxuan nodded, "You go ahead."
Zhu Song said, "The matter of the fake prince has been confirmed. I plan to explain this to the emperor the day after tomorrow."
Wen Fengxuan asked, "Have you found the person to be replaced?"
Zhu Song replied, "Xue Caining."
Wen Fengxuan frowned. It was her?
Zhu Song didn't elaborate on the matter, simply saying, "This matter has been exposed. If the emperor punishes us, the Zhu family will inevitably be implicated. Your Highness should not stay here any longer. Please follow me to Hibiscus Pavilion tonight."
"Hibiscus Pavilion?"
Zhu Song replied, "It's a property owned by Gu Er in Beijing. No one lives there normally. I've already told him about it."
Wen Fengxuan nodded. If people really knew that he was in Zhu Mansion, it would only add fuel to the fire for Zhu Song. So he immediately took his men and followed Zhu Song out of the mansion.
Furong Pavilion is not far from Zhu Mansion, only a few hundred meters away.
When Gu Huaiyu was a child, he often played at the Zhu Mansion and never returned home at night. The Marquis' wife felt that this was too much trouble for him, so she bought a house nearby. The original intention was to let Gu Huaiyu stay here when he didn't go home at night, but all in all, Gu Huaiyu stayed here for no more than ten nights, and every time he stayed there was with Zhu Song.
There is a huge lotus pond in the courtyard, with a nine-winding corridor on the pond and a towering attic in the center of the pond, which overlooks Kyoto, hence the name Hibiscus Pavilion.
It is the season when lotus flowers are in full bloom. The green lotus leaves are scattered in an orderly manner, covering the entire lotus pond. Pink lotus flowers are dotted among them, and dark green fireflies are flying among them, which is magnificent under the moonlight.
Zhu Song and Wen Fengxuan went up to the attic and looked out into the distance side by side.
Wen Fengxuan spotted the Zhu Mansion immediately and asked knowingly, "Is that Fengya Courtyard?"
Zhu Song followed his gaze and was able to take in the entire scenery of Fengyayuan. "Yes, but no one has ever lived here, so it's not a problem."
Wen Fengxuan frowned, his expression unclear in the moonlight. "Did you know this before?"
Zhu Song replied, "I know. I came here to see it fifteen years ago when I bought it."
Wen Fengxuan nodded without saying anything.
The night breeze was very cool. The two stood there for a while, and Zhu Song sighed, "I wonder when I will be able to enjoy such a beautiful view with His Highness again."
Wen Fengxuan followed up on his words and asked, "Is this trip dangerous?"
Zhu Song originally wanted to say that the worst that could happen was a demotion, but when he saw Wen Fengxuan's slightly furrowed brows and pursed lips, he suddenly changed his mind and said, "Perhaps, I will never have the chance to enjoy this beautiful scenery with Your Highness in this lifetime."
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Song felt a weight on his hand. Wen Fengxuan held his hand tightly, with a worried look on his face. "No."
Zhu Song smiled with relief, "Being with the king is like being with a tiger, life and death are not in our control."
"Definitely not." Although Wen Fengxuan said this, his tone was uncertain.
Zhu Song felt his hand being held tighter. He lowered his head and glanced at his tightly clenched hand. Wen Fengxuan followed his gaze and seemed to realize that he had held him, so he quickly let go.
The strength in his hands loosened, and Zhu Song felt disappointed, but he didn't show it on his face.
There was silence for a while, about a cup of tea, and then Zhu Song said goodbye, "Take care, Your Highness. I'll go back first." After that, he bowed and turned to leave.
Zhu Song counted his steps and was stopped when he took the third step.
"grown ups."
Zhu Song turned around to look at him. Wen Fengxuan was still standing in the same place as before. Under the moonlight, his hair was glowing.
"Your Highness, is there anything else?"
Wen Fengxuan looked at him and pursed his lips, "Sir, please return safely."
His voice wasn't loud, but his tone was serious, and in the quiet attic, the worry in it was clearly evident.
Zhu Song should have just said "OK" and left it at that, but now he insisted on asking, "What if I can't come back?"
"No." Wen Fengxuan's tone became lighter, and his murmurs sounded almost comforting. He looked at Zhu Song without blinking, and even though Zhu Song was facing away from the light, he could see that his eyes had suddenly turned red.
Zhu Song turned around and stood still. The two of them were three steps apart, their eyes meeting. The atmosphere was quiet and ambiguous.
After an unknown amount of time, Wen Fengxuan took two steps forward as if he had made up his mind. He walked in front of Zhu Song and said, "Zhu Song, don't die."
This was the first time Zhu Song had heard these words. These five simple words were enough to make the corners of his mouth curl up. He said, "If I can come back alive, can I ask for a favor from His Highness?"
Wen Fengxuan nodded without hesitation, "Okay."
He praised: "Your Highness, don't you ask what this grace is?"
Wen Fengxuan said: "I don't care."
Zhu Song asked again: "Don't care about what?"
Wen Fengxuan's expression was sincere, "I just want you to come back alive."
Although Wen Fengxuan looks aloof on weekdays, he is actually just a man of few words. If you really get along with him, you will find that he is actually a gentle person, and his expression is rarely serious.
Zhu Song's heart softened into a paste. He wanted to reach out and touch him but restrained himself. "What if it's really too much?"
Wen Fengxuan asked in return: "Will you do anything extreme to me?"
Zhu Song opened his mouth but couldn't say a word.
He has done even the most outrageous things.
After a long pause, Zhu Song continued, "What if you do it?"
Wen Fengxuan lowered his eyes, then raised them again to look at him, "If it's you, I'd be happy with it."
Zhu Song secretly gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to reach out and hug him. As talkative as he was, he didn't know what to say at this moment. He just wanted to hug him and kiss him deeply, telling him with his actions how much grace he wanted.
But Zhu Song finally held back. The outcome of this trip was still unknown, and now was not a good time to confess his feelings.
Zhu Song lowered his eyes and said, "It's getting late. I'm going back. Good night, Your Highness."
Zhu Song turned and left. When he was about to lose sight of others as he walked down the stairs, he heard Wen Fengxuan calling him again.
"Blessings."
Zhu Song looked up and met Wen Fengxuan's gaze.
"You must come back."
Zhu Song responded to him, "I will."
Wen Fengxuan repeated with certainty, "Definitely."
Zhu Song replied solemnly, "Definitely."
After a pause, Zhu Song said goodbye again, "I'm leaving."
"Um."
Zhu Song walked down the stairs. The floor blocked their view. Zhu Song breathed a sigh of relief and walked away quickly.
The nine-turn corridor was filled with the faint fragrance of flowers and fireflies were dancing in front of his eyes. Zhu Song's pace slowed down. He turned back to look at the attic, but did not see the person he wanted to see. Zhu Song reluctantly withdrew his gaze and just turned around when he heard a hurried voice.
"Blessings."
Zhu Song turned around and saw Wen Fengxuan running out of the attic. He was a little out of breath, perhaps because he ran too fast or was too nervous.
He stood at the door of the attic and did not move forward. The two were ten meters apart. Fireflies flew from Zhu Song's shoulders and landed on Wen Fengxuan's trembling fingertips.
"If I live past the age of twenty-five, will you promise me one thing?"
Twenty-five years old was like a sword hanging over Zhu Song's heart, piercing him with blood every time he mentioned it. He quickly walked up to Wen Fengxuan and said, "Wen Fengxuan, you will definitely live past twenty-five. I can promise you anything, no preconditions required."
The moonlight filled his eyes, clear and bright.
The corners of Wen Fengxuan's eyes turned red. He reached out and hugged Zhu Song, using a heavy hand but they separated in an instant.
Zhu Song was completely frozen. Although they had done everything, it was all done when Wen Fengxuan was unconscious. This was their first intimate contact when he was sober.
He had clearly thought of everything, but when it came to actual action, he was still confused and blurted out, "Your Highness."
Wen Fengxuan raised the corner of his mouth slightly, "I'll wait for you to come back."
Because of this sentence, Zhu Song's self-control, which he was proud of, was completely destroyed. He reached out and hugged Wen Fengxuan, "I wish my Highness a good night's sleep." After saying that, he let go of his hand and turned away.
A sleepless night.
The next day, Zhu Song went to the Dali Temple early and reviewed the whole incident carefully again to make sure there were no omissions.
It was already evening when he finished this task. Zhu Song did not go home because he had something very important to do.
Zhu Song came to the prison.
There are many more people in the Dali Temple prison recently, but the most conspicuous one is Song Shunran.
In the unique and clean cell, he sat on the armchair, crossed his legs, and read a novel or picture book. Under the bright candlelight, the gems on his clothes reflected brilliantly, and he laughed out loud when he saw something interesting.
"That's stupid, that's stupid."
Song Shunran was commenting on the contents of the book. When he looked up and saw Zhu Song standing at the door, the corners of his mouth raised even higher, "Oh, isn't this the stern and impartial Lord Zhu? What brings you here?"
Zhu Song turned the key ring on his finger and opened the cell door expressionlessly.
Song Shunran asked, "Master Zhu, are you going to let me out?"
Zhu Song moved very slowly. He stared at Song Shunran's smiling face without saying a word, and walked towards him slowly step by step.
Song Shunran felt something was wrong, "Zhu Song, what do you want to do?"
Zhu Song walked up to him and suddenly punched Song Shunran in the face. Song Shunran was knocked off the armchair and fell to the ground. He covered his face and glared at Zhu Song, "Are you crazy?"
Zhu Song rode on him without saying a word and beat him hard with both hands.
At first, Song Shunran could still curse, but later he couldn't even utter the words to beg for mercy. His face was so swollen that he couldn't open his mouth. He could only stare at Zhu Song with pitiful eyes, begging him to stop.
However, Zhu Song was completely unmoved. He beat Song Shunran so hard that he took off his jeweled robe himself. Only then did Zhu Song stop. He stood up and turned his sore wrist.
"Song Shunran, it's either you or me, so beating you up is a bargain for you."
Song Shunran looked at him, the corners of his mouth moved, his voice was very low, but because the cell was too quiet, Zhu Song heard what he said.
"It's a life-and-death struggle."
Zhu Song stared down at him with a fierce look in his eyes. Song Shunran was frightened and quickly changed his words, ignoring the pain on his face, "You live, you live."
Zhu Song didn't bother to talk to him, just flicked his sleeves and turned away.
Song Shunran's miserable voice came from behind, "Hey, find me a doctor, hey!"
Since Zhu Song didn't say anything, the bailiffs pretended not to hear and let Song Shunran howl in the cell.
After getting out of prison, Zhu Song went to see Xue Caining.
After only one day, Xue Caining's spirits improved a lot. She changed out of her prison uniform and put on a simple long skirt. Her hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin. The scars on her face were very obvious because she had not received proper treatment.
"grown ups."
Xue Caining bowed as usual when she saw Zhu Song. Zhu Song gave her a fake hand and then explained his purpose. "I will take you to the palace to see the emperor tomorrow morning. Be prepared."
Xue Caining was shocked when she heard about the emperor's visit. Her face turned pale. "Meet the emperor?"
Zhu Song said: "Just tell the truth, don't be afraid."
Xue Caining asked tentatively, "Master Zhu, who am I?"
Zhu Song didn't say it directly, but said: "You'll know tomorrow."
Xue Caining tactfully didn't ask any more questions, but simply asked, "Then what do I need to prepare?"
Zhu Song looked at her and said, "Just be mentally prepared."
"good."
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