Chapter 5: Pine and Cypress
Wei Fengyang was a close associate of the Crown Prince, and he had always known that His Highness treated Lingling County Lady differently. Therefore, when Qian Deng and Cui Fufeng came to inquire, he put aside his own affairs, found a few soldiers of the day, and personally led them out of Chang'an City to the place where Su Yunzhong had the accident.
At the most dangerous part of the Eighteen Bends and the Heartbreak, there is an open area with a small stream next to it, which is suitable for travelers to take a rest when they are frightened.
Wei Fengyang reined in his horse at the highest canyon, pointed at the precipitous ravine below, and explained in detail: "That day, I was ordered to explore the way and escort the prisoner - his name is Su Yunzhong, right? When we reached this place, we were all tired, so we stopped to rest. Because Su Yunzhong was quite quiet along the way, we tied him to the tree over there, and we all took a rest nearby to get some water. Who knew that he took advantage of our unpreparedness, secretly broke free from the ropes on his feet, and hid in the bushes to escape. When we saw him, we ran to stop him, but he passed through the bushes in front of us..."
As he spoke, Wei Fengyang raised his hand and pushed aside the bushes in front of him.
Next to the cliff is a mountain wall. This patch of shrubs connects to the mountain wall. It looks like it should be a gentle slope covered with trees. But when the bushes are pushed aside, it is discovered that the mountain wall is very thin and does not extend at all. Behind the bushes is a steep cliff.
"I chased him here and almost stepped on empty air. If the soldiers beside me hadn't grabbed me in time, I would have fallen with him. I don't know what would have happened to me now." Wei Fengyang said, looking at the steep cliff below, still feeling a lingering fear. "And Su Yunzhong was so frantic in his escape that he had no way to stop and had already rolled down the mountain. His screams became increasingly distant and then suddenly stopped. We all thought he had broken his neck and was definitely dead."
The soldiers who had accompanied the escort that day all nodded, indicating that Wei Fengyang's memory was correct: "If you fall into a place like this, there's no chance of survival. We have other missions to perform, so why would we risk going down to check?"
"Yes, ordinary people should be careful when passing by here. Su Yunzhong had his hands tied and fell off the cliff in a panic. I think he must have died!"
Wei Fengyang didn't really care: "I had other responsibilities at the time and couldn't go down to search. I wonder if the court found the body and closed the case?"
Cui Fufeng said, "After the Dali Temple took over the case, they sent people to search for him, but it's been too long and they found no trace."
Ling Tianshui was looking at the cliff behind the bushes. He looked up and saw Qiandeng standing at the windward side of the cliff. The wind was blowing fiercely, her clothes fluttering, and her slender figure seemed to be blown away by the wind.
Having experienced countless hardships, he felt a slight tremor in his heart. He walked over to her and took her hand: "Be careful."
"It's okay, I just saw..." Qian Deng didn't move, pointing to the mountains below, "Look, this is the tomb of my father and grandfather."
The view is clear in spring and summer, and the Changhua Royal Tomb is faintly visible, hidden among the pines and cypresses in the distant mountains.
Now that they had arrived here, after investigating the place where Su Yunzhong fell off the cliff, they went down the mountain along the winding mountain road and went to the mountain tomb to pay their respects.
After burning incense in the Xian Hall, Qiandeng walked to the back to check the cemetery.
The pines and cypresses are green, the wind is blowing, and the pine flowers are in full bloom. Pollen fills the air like light yellow smoke.
Qiandeng only felt that his heart was filled with fog that could not be cleared.
The initial trial by the Ministry of Justice and the review by the Dali Temple both concluded that Su Yunzhong avenged his sister by taking advantage of the chaos in the middle of the night and accidentally killing the wife of Qi State. He then killed Fu Bo, the steward of the farm, to cover up his crime. After his crime was exposed, he was captured. When he was escorted back to Beijing, he attempted to escape, but fell off a cliff and his body was never found.
In fact, she discovered the truth through her own exploration.
However, the case that was once a done deal began to reveal other secrets due to the marks on his mother's body. Now, with the reappearance of Su Yunzhong's Phoenix Sign and the corpse with the blood letter, the truth behind his death is no longer simple.
A noisy sound came from the side, interrupting Qiandeng's chaotic thoughts.
She looked back and saw that in the inky air of pine pollen, many people were coming with baskets and bags to pick pine flowers and take them home to make cakes and dumplings.
The old people picked flowers and the children laughed, adding a lively atmosphere to the hillside.
"Stop making noise, stop it! It's a clean place on the mountain, how can you make such a noise!" Jin Tang's voice came from the pollen smoke.
A gust of wind blew by, and the pollen faded away. Qiandeng saw Jintang and a group of men who looked like workers, driving away the people who came to collect pollen.
"Jin Langjun, there's no need to stop us." Qian Deng quickly walked to the pine tree and stopped him. "This is also a good thing. My grandfather loved commotion when he was alive. If he knew about this in the afterlife, he would surely be happy too. Just let them do what they want."
"County Lady, you're here too?" Jin Tang saw her and quickly brushed off the pollen on his body, telling his men to stop. "But when they were picking pine flowers, they destroyed a lot of branches!"
"No, no, I just used too much force. Be careful!" The old man who was driven away quickly assured.
"Then you are not allowed to use scissors, you can only break them with your hands, otherwise the pine branches will easily wither when they come into contact with iron!" Jin Tang scolded seriously.
The veterans guarding the mausoleum nearby helped carry the pine saplings brought by the Jin family workers and said to Qian Deng, "Young Master Jin is so thoughtful. He's been here several times recently."
Qiandeng looked in the direction they pointed and then remembered what had happened.
Princess Gaoguo had framed her and was punished to plant a hundred pine and cypress trees for the Changhua King's Mausoleum. However, the winter was cold and the trees had difficulty surviving. Princess Gaoguo's mansion was destroyed soon after it was fenced off and pits were dug.
Now it is April and May, the best time to transplant pine trees. Jintang led the workers in his family and volunteered to take over this unfinished project, so they have been planting trees here these days.
No wonder this fair and tender son of the richest man looks a little darker and thinner these days. I guess it’s because he often comes here to check on the tree planting matters and is exposed to wind and sun.
Qian Deng was touched. Seeing that his round-necked robe with a stone-blue background and a silver-threaded beaded pattern was stained with large patches of pollen, making it particularly eye-catching, she raised her hand to help brush his sleeves. "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Jin. You have finished my affairs at the mansion and now you have to take care of the mountain tombs."
"It is my blessing to be able to do my best to help the old prince and the prince!" Jin Tang patted his chest, his face radiant, and invited the county lady to see the results of his busy work during this period.
The newly transplanted pines and cypresses were uniform in size, each about the size of a bowl, and growing well. Clusters of new, tender needles bloomed, vibrant in the sunlight.
Jin Tang puffed out his chest proudly, accepted everyone's praise, and then led them through the pine forest with a beaming face to the open plain ahead.
At the turn of spring and summer, the flat meadow is covered with green grass, and flower paths form winding paths that meander on the lawn, contrasting with the clear springs flowing through here, making them bright and eye-catching.
"This is the edge of the royal mausoleum. I thought it wouldn't look nice if it were abandoned, so I had flower seeds planted and created a path that formed a sea of flowers." Jin Tang smiled mysteriously and invited Qian Deng to stroll along the path. "When the county lady comes here in the future, you can relax here. I think the prince, princess, the crown prince, and his wife would all like to see the county lady happy."
Qian Deng naturally would not refuse his kindness, so he invited everyone to walk along the path of blooming flowers in the sea of flowers for a while.
The paths along the stream are lined with multi-seasonal flowers, including carnations, irises, and impatiens. The brightly colored flowers are particularly brilliant among the green grass, dispelling the deep feeling of the pine forest.
Jintang was getting carried away with pride, but a group of people milling around inside couldn't help but frown.
The path is full of flowers and has many twists and turns. There are also many intersections and dead ends. The twists and turns are connected together and it is almost impossible to get lost.
"Jin Langjun, your idea for the flower path is indeed a good one, but the road design is not very good." The others were embarrassed to criticize, but Wei Fengyang, with his different status and being a rough soldier, said carelessly, "It's so winding, and there are so many repetitive and monotonous views. I think a straight road would be better."
"Even so, this is a flower path I designed myself, one of a kind in the world." Jin Tang was full of confidence, not caring about other people's opinions. "Even if others don't say it, the county lady will definitely know my intentions!"
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