Chapter 192 My Heart is as Sharp as a Knife
“Cough… cough cough…”
The Jinjiang River embankment was shrouded in darkness, and the riverbank was covered with weeds.
Xu Mingyuan coughed violently, feeling that every time the foot stepped on his chest, water was spitting out of his eyes, ears, mouth and nose.
Feeling dizzy, the Hanlin scholar, who had been to the underworld, absorbed oxygen frantically and almost greedily.
As the fresh air gradually filled his alveoli, he finally regained some clarity of mind.
My first thought: Am I dead? Or am I not?
Then I vaguely remembered that I was in the dark water and seemed to see a black shadow diving underwater before I completely lost consciousness.
"Awake?" A leisurely voice slowly reached his ear.
Then a grinning voice came:
"Sir, I think this guy is stupid, why don't you throw him down again."
No--
Xu Mingyuan shuddered, and his strong desire to survive made him stumble to his feet. The confusing scene in front of him gradually became clear.
It is still that bright red lantern, like the rising sun over the sea.
All around, in the darkness, stood officials.
Hou Renmeng was soaking wet, with his sword stuck in the mud, and was taking off his coat and twisting it with his hands.
Next to the lantern, Zhao Duan, wearing a conical hat, sat leisurely in a chair, with the fishing rod in front of him still in its previous position.
It was as if everything that happened just now was an illusion.
But Xu Mingyuan's soaked clothes, the hemp rope still tied around his waist with the end cut by a dagger, and the torn sack beside him all silently told him that he almost died.
"I……"
Xu Mingyuan hesitated over the word, then like a stray dog, he frantically crawled to Zhao Duan's side, stammering:
"Sir, I'm obedient, I'm obedient! Don't kill me, don't kill me..."
He was terrified.
Just now, he was extremely sure that he was just a little bit away from death.
Only after experiencing the great fear between life and death can we know how precious life is.
"Oh? Don't you think about it? Maybe, I don't dare to kill you? For example, when I threw you down just now, I would save you even if you didn't beg for mercy." Zhao Duan said lightly, his tone was very gentle.
"No, I know I was wrong. I was just bewildered by the devil. I beg you to show mercy." Xu Mingyuan did not hesitate and kept begging for mercy.
frighten?
Oh, are you gambling with your life?
Would you gamble your precious life to see if the other party would really kill you?
Xu Mingyuan didn't dare to gamble, and he didn't want to experience that kind of despair in the darkness again.
At this moment, he suddenly realized that he had been wrong about some things.
He thought Zhao Duan was a man of rules, and that when Zhao Duan dealt with those people in the past, he always followed the rules of the game in the temple.
But the question is, who were the people Zhao Duan dealt with in the past?
Dali Temple Minister, Ministry of Justice Vice Minister, Marquis, Princess...
And who is this Xu Hanlin?
Zhao Duan will not use violence to deal with those people directly because the cost is too high and he will suffer backlash.
But even if I really drown myself in the river, what then?
Who knows how he died?
Even if someone knows, is there any evidence?
Without evidence, who would go to so much trouble to cause trouble for Zhao Duan just for a small Hanlin who was not valued by the Li Party and disliked by His Majesty?
The wisdom of a scholar lies in his flexible bottom line.
"Sir, I am willing to join you. That's right, all the slanders against you before were done by the young minister... Bah, that bastard Li Yinglong made me do it!
As a result, I took the blame for the Li family, but they didn't show any concern at all. I went to their house, but was turned away... People like Li Yinglong deserve to die!"
Xu Mingyuan cursed the young minister to show his loyalty, and then said:
"My Lord, what do you want me to do? Testify? Sue him?"
Zhao Duan sat in a chair, gently holding the fishing rod, and said, "Hush!"
"Keep your voice down, don't scare my fish."
Xu Mingyuan immediately stopped talking, covered his mouth, and cooperated very well.
If there were outsiders present at this moment, they would definitely be shocked.
I never thought that Xu Hanlin, who always claimed to be "proud", would be so unbearable.
Zhao Duan nodded, waited for a while, and then slowly said:
"Very good. There's an old saying in the Dayu Dynasty: He who knows the current situation is a hero... Although I have a bad reputation outside, I treat my own people with the best of heart. I'm very pleased that you can turn back from your mistakes."
Xu Mingyuan smiled flatteringly: "Yes, yes, yes."
Zhao Duan continued:
"As for what I want you to do, haha... don't worry, I don't want you to be a witness or accuse anyone, I won't make it too difficult for you.
For the time being, you just need to go back and keep things the same. Keep doing what you did before. When I need you to do something, I will tell you."
How could anyone become a Hanlin be a fool?
Xu Mingyuan was used before, but he was willing to do so because he just wanted to gain a better life.
At this moment, he understood the meaning of the string music and his eyes flashed:
"Your Excellency wants me to hide in the Li Party and become a mole?"
"Oh, don't say it so harshly," Zhao Duan smiled.
"I work for the Saint. Since you've joined me, you're also his disciple. The Imperial Court is responsible for monitoring misconduct among officials. How can you be considered a traitor?"
Xu Mingyuan nodded repeatedly, saying that he couldn't speak, but a glimmer of hope emerged in his heart.
He knew that Feng Ju had worked for Zhao Duan in the past and was later appreciated by the empress.
If I try my best, can I also find a way to advance?
"Your Excellency's teaching is very true. If there is nothing else, I will go back... first?" Xu Mingyuan probed.
Zhao Duan said nothing.
Beside him, Zheng Laojiu, an old official from Lihua Hall, smiled softly:
"You, Hanlin, are ignorant. If you don't leave some collateral, what will happen if you turn against us when you return?"
As he said that, he smiled and brought over a box and opened it.
Inside was a complete set of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone:
"Xu Hanlin, please, write down what I read."
"..." Xu Mingyuan sighed, without resistance, and knelt on the ground obediently, using the lantern light to pick up the pen:
"Please go ahead."
Zheng Laojiu groaned, took out a few pieces of paper, and gave some instructions:
"Don't try to play tricks, like using a handwriting you don't usually use. We've already got some of your official documents from the Imperial Academy, and we have handwriting for reference. If it doesn't match, you know the consequences."
Xu Mingyuan completely gave up the last bit of luck and carefully copied it in his own handwriting.
He was stunned after listening only halfway.
The words that Zheng Laojiu read were actually sentences used to communicate with the rebel party.
In other words, as long as he wrote this thing, if he had any second thoughts, Zhao Duan could accuse him of treason based on the handwriting.
"Write." Hou Renmen sneered, "Why don't you write?"
Xu Mingyuan no longer dared to hesitate and lowered his head to copy.
He wrote several letters in a row, and finally even wrote a "letter of surrender" to the rebel party, and pressed his fingerprints with ink.
After Zheng Laojiu put away the things, Zhao Duan said slowly:
"That's enough. It's getting late. Xu Hanlin, go back and rest. Oh, you're all wet..."
Xu Mingyuan said in despair:
"I was drunk and accidentally fell into the river while walking at night. I haven't been to Jinjiang Embankment tonight."
"sensible."
Zhao Duan waved his hand and told him to leave. At the same time, the fishing line was tightened.
Fish caught!
Zhao Duan flicked his wrist, and an exhausted green carp broke through the water and fell into his hands:
"What a nice green carp."
Several people in brocade clothes around laughed and said:
"Your Excellency has great skills. Even in such a dark day, you still managed to catch fish."
Zhao Duan casually threw the fish into the bamboo basket:
"Take it back to the government office and keep it in a water tank first. Then roast it and eat it in a couple of days."
Qian Kerou held the fish basket and said regretfully:
"This fish hasn't grown yet, why don't you keep it?"
Zhao Duan dropped his fishing rod, stood up, clapped his hands listlessly, and said:
"You can't tame a fish in the wild."
After saying this, without waiting for his men to react, he turned around and said:
"It's getting late, let's all go home."
He had wanted to go to White Horse Prison tonight to try to advance the next step of the plan.
But then he remembered that the old supervisor had repeatedly told him not to disturb his sleep at night.
Then...
Let’s go see the old man tomorrow.
To catch fish, you need to be patient.
…
…
Li Mansion.
Li Yinglong returned home tonight feeling quite tired.
These days, the tug-of-war over the new policy has been in full swing in the court.
Li Yinglong had to run around, forming alliances, discussing and appeasing his own officials, and uniting many powerful families, so he had no energy to pay attention to other things.
"Master, there is a good thing today." The old nanny came over with a smile on her face.
"What good news?" Li Yinglong lazily let the maid wash his feet.
"Today, the Sixth Madam went to the Shenlong Temple to worship Buddha and burn incense. After returning, she was obviously much more talkative. I'm afraid she has figured it out."
The old lady kept taking credit for herself:
"I've been trying so hard to persuade Madam Six to change her mind. This time, I'm going to burn incense to help her overcome the hurdle in her heart. A woman always needs to rely on a man. Now that she's all alone in the capital, how can she not rely on you, Master?"
Li Yinglong was invigorated after hearing this and said in surprise:
"Is this true?"
"I dare not deceive the master." said the old nanny.
Li Yinglong was so happy that he didn't even wash his feet. He kicked the maid away, hurriedly stepped on his shoes, and said excitedly:
"I'll go see the lady."
…
After a while.
Li Yinglong came to the side room and knocked on the door. Sure enough, he found that Mrs. Lin was not so resistant today.
Although he was still a little cold, it was completely different from his appearance a few days ago.
Li Yinglong was overjoyed, thinking it was all due to the old nanny's persuasion. He walked in happily, talked to Madam Lin for a while, and coaxed her again.
Finally, he got on the bed reluctantly.
Compared to the previous situation where he used violence to force the Sixth Lady, this time is very different.
afterwards.
Li Yinglong felt refreshed and lay on his back on the bed, feeling that the stress of being busy in recent days had been relieved.
Mrs. Lin lay beside him, her arms around her body, her expression sorrowful.
"Madam, are you worried about something?" Li Yinglong asked with concern.
Mrs. Lin frowned, looking very pitiful:
"Do you only regard me as your old lover?"
Li Yinglong cried out and tried to explain that what happened was in the past. Madam Lin took the opportunity to throw a tantrum and asked him to explain himself.
Li Yinglong didn't think much about it, just thinking that women's hearts are like needles in the sea, so he picked out some things that would not reveal Yuan Ru's identity and told them.
Mrs. Lin was worried again:
"I am of humble origin. You have not been at home these days, so your wives and concubines have naturally disliked me. Even the servants do not take me seriously..."
Li Yinglong was furious: "Which servant? I'll beat you to death with a stick to vent your anger."
Then came another round of assurances and sweet words.
Madam Lin only said that she had no one to rely on and would be bullied in the mansion. Finally, she coaxed Li Yinglong to give her the jade pendant as a proof of his love, and then she smiled.
After thinking for a while, he said, "One more thing..."
"Madam, please finish speaking in one breath."
"I went to Shenlong Temple today and made a vow to the gods and Buddhas to live with you from now on. In two days, I should go and fulfill my vow."
"I will do whatever you say, whatever you say."
Li Yinglong had no suspicion and approached him.
But he didn't see that in the darkness, Mrs. Lin's eyes were as cold as a knife, with no joy or sadness.
(End of this chapter)
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