Chapter 110
When Gu Fuzhou was buried, his coffin was transported on a whale-roller cart and escorted all the way to the imperial mausoleum by Shi Pei, Wu Zhan and others. He was buried at the entrance of the imperial mausoleum, to symbolize that he would remain by the emperor's side after his death. Afterwards, Lin Qingyu personally sent the spirit tablet set up for Gu Fuzhou two years ago to the Taimiao, so that it would be worshipped forever by future generations.
On this day, all officials above the fifth rank in the court entered the palace to see Gu Fuzhou off for the last time. After the viewing ceremony at the Taimiao was over, Shi Pei, Duke Wu, Wu Zhan, and Shen Huaishi left the palace together. Gu Fuzhou was the closest to them when he was alive. Now that they were reunited at Gu Fuzhou's funeral, they naturally talked about the general's last wish.
"The general wants Lord Lin to remarry?" Wu Zhan was shocked, "Brother Shen, are you sure you heard it right?"
Shen Huaishi is not good at lying. In order to tell this lie well, he practiced a lot in private, but when it came to lying, his expression was still a little uncomfortable: "I'm sure."
Fortunately, Shi Pei believed his words without a doubt: "The general has deep feelings for Lord Lin. I am not surprised at all that he would say such a thing."
Shen Huaishi nodded seriously: “Yes.”
Wu Zhan couldn't understand: "If I die, I will definitely still hope that my wife will stay with me forever. When I think that after I die, there will be another man who can hug her, and my son will call that man dad, I will probably be so angry that I will come back to life."
Shi Pei sighed, "The general is not you. Lord Lin has a cold personality and is unwilling to socialize with others. He doesn't even have a good friend to drink with at the same table. The general is afraid that after he leaves, Lord Lin will have no one to accompany him and will die alone."
Shen Huaishi quickly agreed: "The general also said that if Lord Lin really died alone, he would not be able to rest in peace."
Duke Wu said in a gruff voice, "That's easy. My wife likes to be a matchmaker for others. I asked her to ask if there is a family in the capital that is suitable for Lord Lin. So, is Lord Lin going to get married this time?"
Shi Pei smiled bitterly, "It's too early for you to say that now, Duke. The general's body is still warm, and you're already arranging a search for Lord Lin's relatives. If this gets out, how will others view Lord Lin? At least, we have to wait until Lord Lin has finished his one-year mourning period."
After the news of Gu Fuzhou's death reached the capital, rumors about Lin Qingyu being unlucky in marriage spread again. Lin Qingyu married Lu Wancheng for good luck, and although Lu Wancheng lived one more year, the Lu family almost fell apart. Later, he remarried Gu Fuzhou, but within two years, the invincible general was defeated by him and killed in battle.
Lin Qingyu has a cool temperament, but her appearance is bright and almost enchanting. Such a beauty, even if she did nothing, could attract countless rumors just by her face, not to mention that she had actually lost two husbands, yet she was able to hold great power and hold the same position as the Prime Minister. There are even outrageous remarks, saying that he first blamed his family, then the army, and next time he would blame the country. Dayu was afraid that he would die at the hands of this "evil minister". It's just that due to Lin Qingyu's power, no one dares to discuss it openly.
Duke Wu was only thinking about making sure Gu Fuzhou died peacefully, and forgot about all this for a moment. He patted his head and said, "Look at my brain. It's getting old."
Shen Huaishi considered and probed: "This matter cannot be rushed. But the Duke can use this year to find a suitable candidate for Mr. Lin."
Wu Zhan still felt awkward and said unhappily, "Except for the general, I don't think anyone in the court is worthy of Lord Lin."
As they were talking, a voice sounded behind them: "Generals."
Wu Zhan turned around and said, "Oh, Lord Li."
Li Chan bowed to them one by one and said, "I just heard Master Shen say that General Gu hopes that Lord Lin will remarry?"
"Yeah." Wu Zhan scratched his head, "I don't know what he thinks, alas."
Li Chan's heart moved, and a vague hope arose, but then he despised his own shamelessness. "General Wu is absolutely right. No one is worthy of Lord Lin except General Gu."
Shen Huaishi hesitated to speak: "Actually..."
"Duke, General Shi, General Wu, and Master Shen, please stay." Xiao Songzi trotted along and caught up with them. "Lord Lin invites you to go to the Dali Temple."
Shi Pei asked: "Dali Temple? Why did Lord Lin ask us to go there?"
Shen Huaishi shook his head, indicating that he didn't know either.
Wu Zhan said "Oh", "I know, I know, it should be because of that incident."
Li Chan couldn't help but ask, "Don't I have to go?"
Xiao Songzi smiled and said, "No need, Master Lin only invited these four masters."
When the four arrived at the Dali Temple, Lin Qingyu was already waiting for them there.
"I've said before that I will give an explanation to the soldiers in the northwest regarding the looting of grain and grass in Jiangnan," Lin Qingyu said, "On the occasion of General Gu's burial, let's put an end to this matter."
Several people looked at each other. Shi Pei said: "Master Lin, what you mean is that the grain and grass were robbed by the Western Xia that day. Is there another hidden story behind it?"
Wu Zhan said: "At that time, we were afraid of disrupting your military morale, so we didn't tell you. This is what happened..."
The four followed Lin Qingyu to a water dungeon. Water torture is one of Dayu's tortures. There is a water reservoir on the upper level of the water prison. Once it is activated, the prisoners will suffer from drowning. When he reaches his limit, he will be given a glimmer of hope, and this cycle will repeat itself, making his life worse than death.
Xi Rong's lower body was soaked in water, his whole body was wet, and his long hair was stuck to his pale and swollen face. Hearing footsteps, he squinted his eyes and looked at the person coming with difficulty. For a moment, he thought he was hallucinating: "Lin Qingyu...?"
Shi Pei was a half-Confucian general with a gentle temperament, but at this moment his eyes were bloodshot and he wished he could cut Xi Rong into pieces: "It's you, a eunuch... that caused us to run out of food and grass and had to attack the city by force. It's you who caused General Gu..."
Lin Qingyu said: "General Shi."
Lin Qingyu stopped him too late. Xi Rong had already guessed something and asked with great interest: "Is Gu Fuzhou dead or disabled?"
Wu Zhan roared: "You eunuchs, how dare you mention General Gu's name!"
Xi Rong smiled, and a trace of her former feminine beauty could still be seen on her face: "I mentioned it, Lord Lin, how do you want to deal with me? In addition to castration and water torture, is there anything else I haven't suffered?"
Lin Qingyu said: "I heard from the Dali Temple that you still refuse to plead guilty."
"The winner is the king, the loser is the enemy, I have nothing to say." Xi Rong said calmly, "But I never felt that I did anything wrong."
Duke Wu was so angry that his beard began to tremble: "You are still stubborn even when death is imminent!"
"Lin Qingyu despises the emperor. She relies on the military power in her husband's hands to cover the sky with one hand in the court, calling the wind and rain, and treating the emperor as nothing. What's wrong with me eliminating the treacherous villains for the emperor?"
Shi Pei trembled and said, "Just because you colluded with Xixia, tens of thousands of soldiers died under Yongliang City. Do you still think you are not wrong?"
Xi Rong seemed to have heard a joke: "Lin Qingyu was right in seeking power. I just did the same thing as him. Why was it wrong? Even if it was wrong, it was because I miscalculated that day and lost everything."
Wu Zhan denounced: "Tit for tat, you eunuch gang, this is your retribution!"
"Retribution? Ha." Xi Rong looked at Lin Qingyu and sneered, "If there is such a thing as retribution in the world, why can Lord Lin stand here safely? The blood on Lord Lin's hands may not be less than mine."
Shen Huaishi frowned: “Nonsense.”
"Whether it's nonsense or not, Lord Lin knows it better than anyone else." Xi Rong showed a cruel smile, "Liang who went crazy in Nan'an Marquis's mansion, Lu Qiaosong who died tragically, Lu Niantao in the cold palace, as well as Concubine Chen, former Crown Prince Xiao Cheng... Which one of them didn't fall into your hands? Even the people standing beside you, how much sincerity do you have towards them? You are only willing to look at them twice because you think they are useful, right?"
Lin Qingyu looked at him expressionlessly.
"Lin Qingyu, you are cold-hearted, selfish, and you want the ones you love to live and the ones you hate to die. How do you think you are better than me? We are just the same kind of people. If I am going to suffer retribution, I am sure you will suffer as well. Look, Gu Fuzhou is dead. The retribution you deserved has all been inflicted on the person you loved. Lu Wancheng, Gu Fuzhou... who will be the next one?"
Shen Huaishi looked at Lin Qingyu, only to see that the other party's eyes were calm, and it seemed that he did not take Xi Rong's words seriously.
Wu Zhan spat: "It's too good for him that the dog eunuch party is dead. He should be kept in a water dungeon for the rest of his life, unable to live or die!"
Lin Qingyu said calmly: "I'll leave this man to you to deal with. I have something else to do in the palace, so I'm sorry I can't accompany you."
Shen Huaishi said, “Master Lin?”
Lin Qingyu strode out of the dungeon as if he hadn't heard it, leaving several people looking at each other in bewilderment.
Xi Rong slowly closed his eyes and laughed softly: "This is indeed what you fear the most. You also have a weakness. It's a pity..."
Unfortunately, Lin Qingyu's weak spot is also the hardest thing in the world. The weak spot will protect Lin Qingyu and become the armor that protects Lin Qingyu. The weaknesses of others are merely the weaknesses that hold them back.
Lin Qingyu returned to the palace and had dinner with Jiang Xing. He then reviewed the memorials as usual and nothing seemed unusual. Jiang Xing vaguely sensed that he was in a bad mood, so when he asked him about it, he said that he was fine. He also told Jiang Xing to go to bed early and not to disturb him while he was reading the memorial.
In the middle of the night, Jiang woke up to drink some water. He suddenly saw a beautiful woman sitting beside the bed. He asked in a daze, "Qingyu?"
"It's me." Lin Qingyu lifted the quilt, got on the bed, and snuggled into Jiang Xing's arms.
Jiang Xing was flattered, but he did not forget to tease her: "Pretty little widow, why are you not sleeping in the middle of the night and climbing into my bed?"
Lin Qingyu didn't laugh, and said softly: "Jiang Xing."
"Ah, I knew there was something wrong with you, but you still said it was okay." Jiang Xing pulled up the quilt to cover Lin Qingyu's shoulders, and said while trying to resist the sleepiness, "Tell me, baby, who provoked you?"
Lin Qingyu opened his eyes and asked, "Do you believe in tit for tat?"
Jiang Xing simply said, "If you don't believe it, then don't believe it either."
"But, what if it's true? Because of all the evil I did, you were poisoned and pierced by thousands of arrows?" Lin Qingyu's eyes were filled with confusion, and he said helplessly, "Although I hate the world, I like you - is that not okay?"
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