First acquaintance
The Bailutai Prison is located in a basement without sunlight. A long stone staircase winds its way to the center of the earth. The lights on both sides of the stone path flicker, and the sharp whistling of the cold wind blowing through the hall gives people a great sense of oppression.
Qin Yousi walked down the stairs under the guidance of Gu Wu, and couldn't help but tighten his cloak to relieve the discomfort of goose bumps.
After walking for a long time and passing through several heavy stone doors, Qin Yousi finally arrived outside Duan Zheng's cell.
Gu Wu lit several oil lamps on the iron gate, and the warm light illuminated the small space. A thin black shadow appeared beside the stone wall of the cell.
After not seeing him for a while, Duan Zheng had become very thin, but he had no external injuries and did not look like he had been tortured.
Seeing him with his head lowered and motionless, Qin Yousi called out, "Duan Zheng, are you okay?"
The black shadow trembled, slowly raised its head, and followed the sound.
His bright black eyes were hidden behind his messy long hair. He stared at Qin Yousi closely without saying a word.
Qin Yousi approached the iron railings, looked at him for a while, and said, "I heard that you refused to eat or drink, and you couldn't even drink water these days. Do you want to die?"
Duan Zheng did not respond.
Gu Wu brought a small stool for Qin Yousi. She sat down and rambled on, "You and your mother have been sentenced to exile, and you'll be leaving on the first day of the twelfth lunar month. You may feel like life is worse than death, but your mother still wants to live. Every day in prison, she counts the Duan family's military exploits and cries for revenge, but she doesn't even know who her enemy is. Do you know who your family's enemy is?"
Duan Zheng showed some reaction, and clenched his hands slightly on his knees.
Qin Yousi continued, "Your father had evil intentions, but if Emperor Sheng hadn't forced him to take action against the Qin family, he wouldn't have reached this point. You may not know this, but he didn't commit suicide. Instead, he bled to death after Emperor Sheng pulled out his tongue. The Qin family, the Sang family, the Duan family, none of them escaped Emperor Sheng's hands. I know you didn't want to aid and abet the evil, so you chose to watch and do nothing, but do you really intend to die in silence like this? Don't you have any thoughts of revenge for your father and your fiancée?"
Duan Zheng finally spoke, his voice hoarse, "I know what you want to do, but you are overestimating your own abilities. You will die!"
Qin Yousi smiled and said, "You are so determined to die, yet you still care about my life or death?"
Duan Zheng said, "What difference does it make whether I live or die?"
Qin Yousi said briskly, "There are some. Your father has been Emperor Sheng's lackey for so many years. He must have many secrets of the Emperor Sheng and information about people he can use. Otherwise, Emperor Sheng wouldn't be so eager to remove his tongue. You may not know the details, but you should know a few of your father's confidants, right? Give these people to me, and I will ensure the safety of you and your mother in the land of exile. How about that?"
Duan Zheng thought silently for a long time, knowing that no matter he helped or not, Qin Yousi would not stop seeking revenge.
Unable to bear the thought of her hitting a wall like this, Duan Zheng said, "I can hand her over to you, but can you answer a question for me?"
"You ask."
Duan Zheng stood up with the help of the wall, walked exhaustedly to the iron gate, approached Qin Yousi, held the fence and asked: "If I didn't beat you in the competition when we first met, would you still agree to our marriage later?"
Qin Yousi was stunned. What Duan Zheng said was like something from her past life, and she could hardly remember it.
That year, Qin Yousi was twelve and Duan Zheng was thirteen. He had just passed the imperial examination and was sent to Beijing by his father to prepare for the imperial examination. Because Duan Weiming had not yet been granted a title of nobility and had no residence in Beijing, he wrote a letter asking his good friend Qin Wenyu to look after him.
In that year, Baili Hongyuan was seventeen years old and was the martial arts champion appointed by the late emperor. His classmates at Jiman Academy held a celebration banquet for Baili Hongyuan at the Qin family. It happened that Duan Zheng came to visit the Qin family with a letter.
Qin Wenyu was Qin Yousi's father. When he saw that Duan Zheng was about the same age as his sons, he took Duan Zheng to the school celebration banquet and asked his eldest son Qin Youan to take care of this younger brother who was from a family with a long-standing friend.
When Qin Youan heard that Duan Zheng had passed the military imperial examination at the age of thirteen, he praised him, saying, "Young brother Duan has a promising future. If he passes the imperial examination like your elder brother Baili in three years, he will be the youngest military imperial scholar in our Great Sheng Kingdom."
Upon hearing this, everyone agreed, and some even encouraged Baili Hongyuan, the newly crowned martial arts champion, to give the young tribute student some pointers.
Baili Hongyuan naturally didn't want to fight with the child, so he just drank and laughed.
Qin Yousi, who was sitting next to him, couldn't sit still anymore. She jumped out and said, "If you want to become the youngest military scholar in Dasheng Kingdom, you have to pass me first!"
This year, she has secretly learned Kung Fu from Taoist Master Xiwei for six years and has become quite skilled in it.
Today, she saw Baili Hongyuan pass the martial arts exam, ride a horse and parade, and be admired by thousands of people. Her eyes were red with envy.
Before the banquet, he secretly asked his elder brother if he could dress up as a man to take the military examination. He was just scolded by his elder brother, and when he turned around, he saw his elder brother praising a strange boy, and the jealousy in his heart could not be suppressed.
Duan Zheng was stunned for a moment. He had never seen a girl as pretty as Qin Yousi. He quickly shook his hand and said, "I don't fight with girls."
Qin Yousi's face flushed with anger: "Who are you looking down on?"
After saying that, he took two swords from the shelf, threw one to Duan Zheng, and without saying anything, he attacked and forced him to draw his sword.
Duan Zheng had no choice but to deal with it.
But as the fight went on, he found it very difficult. This girl was not only pretty, but also had great martial arts skills!
Duan Zheng knew that everyone present were the people he would deal with in the capital in the future. He didn't want to lose to a woman in his first appearance, so he gradually became more and more ruthless. Not only did his moves become more and more dangerous, he also secretly crushed a small bottle of trauma oil in his sleeve and smeared it on the palm of his hand. While rolling, he smeared the oil on the place where Qin Yousi landed.
As expected, Qin Yousi slipped and fell quickly. Duan Zheng took advantage of her unpreparedness and attacked her lower body, knocking her to the ground.
Qin Yousi felt something slippery under her feet, but she was a stubborn person and refused to make excuses for losing the game. She also did not expect that her friends from home would do such a trick. She just thought that her lower body was unstable and angrily admitted defeat.
Duan Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. After putting away his sword and standing up, he met a pair of sharp eyes.
All his little movements were seen by Baili Hongyuan.
It was from this incident that Baili Hongyuan concluded that Duan Zheng had bad behavior and was unwilling to make friends with him.
But he did not expose this matter to Qin Yousi, because he also saw that Qin Yousi was too strong-willed. She wanted to study medicine like her brother, and take the imperial examinations like men. She even believed that women could succeed and accomplish great things that were no less than men.
Baili Hongyuan admired the girl's ambition and ability, but she would definitely be hit by secular rules. It would be better to let her suffer a little setback first, so that she would not feel more resentful.
But there was one thing that Baili Hongyuan had not expected.
Qin Yousi has always admired the strong and has a natural affinity for those who are better than her. Later, when Duan Zheng went to the Qin family again, Qin Yousi treated him with a different eye.
Qin Yousi thought about the past, but shook her head and said to Duan Zheng, "You are confused. I am not your second sister. How can I answer your question?"
Duan Zheng lowered his head and smiled bitterly. Her tone of voice, facial expressions and gestures were exactly the same as Qin Yousi's, but she still refused to recognize him.
"When I was thirteen, I won by unfair means and used tricks to plot against Si Niang. That's why I didn't marry her. It was probably fate. Consider it compensation to Si Niang. If you insist on revenge, go find my close follower Tian Ying and my steward Wu Bo and tell them that I am willing to join forces with you to avenge the Duan family. What they know should be enough for you."
The Duan family's servants are being confiscated and sold. Most of the strong and healthy ones will be sent to military service, while the old, weak and sick ones will be sold at a low price to do the dirtiest and roughest work.
It was not difficult for Qin Yousi to get Tianying and Wu Bo.
After noting down their names, Qin Yousi prepared to leave. Before leaving, he thought for a moment and said to Duan Zheng, "You've been trapped in the capital for these years, feeling frustrated and frustrated. Going to Lingnan might not be a bad idea. After all, you're a Jinshi (civil and military scholar), with both martial arts skills and profound knowledge. Whether it's educating the border residents, improving farming, or apprehending bandits, there's always something you can do. You've come to this world with great difficulty, so you should do something useful and leave something meaningful behind. Don't you agree?"
Duan Zheng's lips trembled slightly, and he wanted to say something but couldn't.
Qin Yousi didn't wait for his answer. He put on his hood and left without looking back.
Duan Zheng looked at her back, not knowing what he was thinking about, and smiled for the first time.
Qin Yousi did not send Gu Wu away when talking to Duan Zheng, because he intended to let Baili Hongyuan know.
After Baili Hongyuan heard Gu Wu's report, he felt extremely regretful.
If Qin Yousi knew that Duan Zheng won unfairly, given her clear likes and dislikes, she would definitely not agree to the marriage with the Duan family.
He regretted not exposing Duan Zheng's tricks in public. He regretted even more that he had been so pedantic and like everyone else, trying to restrain her, suppress her, and prevent her from doing what she wanted to do.
But the most useless thing in the world is regret. He is now willing to indulge her in everything, but Qin Yousi has lost her healthy body, extraordinary kung fu, and everything she cares about.
It’s too late to regret.
Qin Yousi didn't think too much about the past affairs of his children, so he naturally didn't know that Baili Hongyuan hadn't slept all night blaming himself.
When she was released from prison in the afternoon, she asked Xin Chen to go to the Ministry of Justice to inquire about the whereabouts of Tianying and Wu Bo.
Ever since the previous Minister of Justice Ye Zhenglun went into mourning, and the previous Minister of Justice was dismissed due to the Xichang Marquis case, no one dares to touch this high position, for fear that they would be the next unlucky one.
Emperor Sheng had no one available for the time being, so he asked Baili Hongyuan to temporarily take over the duties of the Ministry of Justice. Therefore, Xin Chen found the prisoners very quickly and brought the two to Qin Yousi in the evening.
Qin Yousi saw that although the two men were covered in wounds, they still looked wary of him. He didn't intend to say much, but simply said, "Duan Zheng has handed you two over to me, and you will work for me from now on. I will take you to see Duan Zheng off on the first day of the twelfth lunar month. You should take care of your health first, so that your master won't be worried."
Tianying asked excitedly, "Will you really take us to see the prince? Why would the prince hand Wu Bo and me over to you? Take us to see the prince now. We will only believe what he says!"
Qin Yousi didn't want to give him any slack, and said coldly, "It won't be long now, just wait patiently. If you don't believe me, you can walk out of my house. Then you'll see who will let you go, the Supervisory Office or the Ministry of Justice. Who else can save you except me?"
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