The spirit remains
Mu Huaying suddenly raised her hand to refuse, saying, "No. Your child is still wandering the streets of Luoyang, his fate unknown. Our agreement is still not fulfilled."
She suddenly covered her face and said, "Or, I could plead with His Majesty. After handing over these things, you are now a useless person and can no longer harm anything. Perhaps, His Majesty, considering our relationship and what you have handed over, will show leniency and give you a way out."
Mu Huaying had no idea what exactly was collapsing within her.
It was once a renowned family of criminal experts, a family that was not afraid of wealth and power, and that used eloquent arguments and logical reasoning to forge ideals and fairness in people's hearts. However, in this chaotic world, after being repeatedly struck by lightning and battered by storms, it collapsed like a century-old tree.
Why did the most cherished daughter of a once prominent family in the Central Plains, a family of criminal experts, embark on a path of manipulating power, stirring up trouble, and fearing nothing more than peace and chaos?
Is it that Senior Sister's ultimate pursuit is merely power and status? Is it just a smug and arrogant feeling of coldly manipulating people's hearts and looking down on everyone else as ants?
Before me, Mo Yi Bi Shuang, looking haggard and hunched over, had completely shed the glamorous and arrogant demeanor she had displayed when she was first arrested.
Only the sharpness and clarity in her eyes, like those of a young girl, vaguely resembled that of the senior sister from back then, dressed in a green robe and exuding boundless charm.
And what is it that she herself is trying to hold onto, that she is clinging to in her hands and refusing to let go of?
After enduring countless brutal power struggles and purges, and personally orchestrating endless schemes and slaughter, there is still one person in the world who understands her. She is the brightest ray of light in the most radiant years of her life.
During her most innocent years of schooling, when she was confused by the various tricks of reasoning and right and wrong in criminal law, and bewildered by the malicious assessment of human nature by the study of information and torture, it was Senior Sister Bishuang who told her that criminal law is a technique, and that techniques will eventually be used for the purpose of the Way.
She asked what the Dao was, and Senior Sister Bishuang replied confidently, "The righteous path of heaven and earth, right and wrong, black and white, is the lineage of law and justice!"
Is Senior Sister Bishuang from back then still around today?
Through her teary eyes, she could only see Mo Yi Bi Shuang gently smoothing the white hair on her forehead and resolutely repeating, "It's ready."
Mo Yi Bi Shuang's voice was still as gentle and pleasant as it had been back then: "Since the fall of Luoyang, I have lived for so many years and even had a child named Yue'er. I never expected to see an old friend again in the south, and that you would inherit my family's legal expertise. With a mother like me who committed such a terrible sin, Yue'er was able to survive the disaster, and I have lived for another month. Knowing that he is still alive and well, I am already content."
She looked up at Mu Huaying and said quietly, "Life and death are determined by fate, and wealth and honor are determined by heaven. People in the criminal profession still have this kind of optimism. I can't watch over him for the rest of his life. If he doesn't have the ability to survive in this chaotic world, my son and I can be reunited in the afterlife."
Mu Huaying finally couldn't hold back any longer and said sternly, "If you're so worried about him, why won't you hand him over to me! Do you think I would make things difficult for him?"
She smiled bitterly, almost pleadingly, "Wealth, honor, and status—there's nothing I can't give him! Senior Sister, I don't need you to repay me in any way. Our lineage of criminal investigation already has very few successors!"
Mo Yi Bi Shuang laughed, but the laugh was not sarcastic; instead, it was filled with boundless desolation.
"Hua Ying, do you think I'm someone who's never seen power and wealth before?"
Mu Huaying suddenly choked.
Yes, how could she forget? Lady Huachi of the former Huan Dynasty was a powerful and influential figure who was adept at navigating both the Northern and Southern Dynasties. If she wanted to secure power and wealth for her son, wouldn't she know how to do it?
If she doesn't do it, there's only one possibility: she doesn't want to.
She would rather her son, like any other ordinary orphan, fend for himself in the chaos of war.
At least that way she would be far removed from the path she had once walked.
This may well lead to new paths and possibilities.
The path to power is like a blazing fire, adorned with flowers and brocade, yet it's a lifelong dance on a knife's edge, a path of constant moral torment and extreme caution. She understood this better than anyone.
Mo Yi Bi Shuang's final decision was to let her son be banished to the rivers and seas, far away from all the places that had caused her so much pain.
Mu Huaying was not giving up. She wanted to say more, but she saw a trickle of black blood flowing from the corner of Mo Yi Bishuang's smiling mouth.
She was struck dumb, stammering, "You took poison? You, you..." For the first time, she regretted trusting her senior sister too much and not conducting a thorough search as usual. At the time, she never imagined this. Those in the criminal profession value promises above all else; since Mo Yi Bi Shuang had surrendered and made an agreement with her, she naturally wouldn't break her promise.
However, it seems that even now, she has not gone against it.
She has already written down the list, and the criminal law inheritance has been completely handed over to Mu Huaying.
She finally rushed forward and embraced Mo Yi Bi Shuang, hearing her weak voice whisper in her ear, "Junior Sister, thank you... for protecting me for so long in the current situation... and for protecting my Yue'er..."
Whether it was imprisonment or protection, no one can say for sure in the current situation. But if Mo Yi Bi Shuang had fallen into the hands of anyone else, she wouldn't have died so easily.
Hurried footsteps approached from outside; it was the Imperial Censor's "Heavenly Eye," relaying the daily report on Mo Yimingyue's situation in Luoyang. He had been waiting anxiously for Mu Huaying to emerge, and the report was urgent, so he couldn't resist barging in.
Upon seeing this, he froze instantly, and heard Mu Huaying shout angrily, "Get out of here!"
He immediately shuddered and knelt down to report, "It is true that an accident has occurred in Luoyang City, Young Master Moyi..."
The dying Mo Yi Bi Shuang and the tear-streaked Mu Hua Ying opened their eyes at the same time and asked urgently, "What happened to him?"
Tianyan didn't dare to look up and hurriedly said, "He probably really had no money left. Yesterday at noon, he took advantage of the crowd to pickpocket on the street and was caught red-handed by the Imperial Preceptor's guards..."
Mo Yi Bi Shuang let out a startled "Ah!" and was too weak to say anything more.
Mu Huaying asked repeatedly, "Which national advisor?" She quickly searched her mind for the limited clues about the Northern Qiang national advisor in the Southern Dynasty, and hurriedly said, "This person is extremely mysterious and rarely shows himself in public. We only know that his name is Tuoba Han. Quickly send a message to the Xiao family in Luoyang to see if they have anyone who can speak with him!"
The city of Luoyang under the rule of the Northern Qiang was cruel and tyrannical, and extremely rude to outsiders. Although Mo Yimingyue's appearance did not look very much like a Han Chinese, she was caught stealing in the street and had offended the imperial guard of the Grand Preceptor's mansion. Given their attitude of treating servants and slaves as ants and dogs, she would be beaten half to death at best, and her corpse would be fed to the dogs at worst.
Mo Yi Bi Shuang had come from there herself, so she naturally understood the dangers involved. Therefore, she was anxious and angry and could not say another word. She could only cough up blood.
In chaotic times, for ordinary people with no power or influence, taking a wrong step could be a fatal mistake from which there is no turning back.
Tianyan kept his head down, not daring to raise it, and said, "It seems... there's no need to find someone to rescue him. He was taken to the Grand Preceptor's sedan chair by the guards. Perhaps it was because Young Master Moyi was so handsome that the Grand Preceptor was also good at recognizing people. He only glanced at him through the curtain and took a liking to him, without making things difficult for him. He asked a few questions through the curtain, and Young Master Moyi actually followed him away."
Mu Huaying, supporting Mo Yi Bishuang with one hand, said with a mixture of anger and anxiety, "Who knows if he'll be beaten or killed, or offered to someone? How could you not stop him!"
Tianyan said anxiously, "That Mo Yi young master isn't stupid. If he didn't want to, or felt something was wrong, he would definitely make a scene in the street. But he obediently let the Grand Preceptor take him back, so the two of them must have reached an agreement!"
In fact, Young Master Mo Yi was not only not stupid, but he himself had suffered quite a bit at the hands of this young master along the way, and had personally experienced how difficult this young master was.
Mu Huaying angrily said, "Such a big matter, and you just let a child talk to the Northern Qiang National Preceptor?"
Tianyan thought to himself, "Didn't you give the order that we should just observe and not interfere?" But now he could only cautiously say, "We went to the Grand Preceptor's residence to spy on things and found that the young master's accommodations were very good, and he was not treated poorly. Early the next morning, we saw the young master practicing swordsmanship in the back garden, with the Grand Preceptor personally instructing him. Judging from the way the two addressed each other, the young master must have already taken the Grand Preceptor as his master."
Before Mu Huaying could ask any more questions, she felt her hand slip. It turned out that Mo Yi Bishuang could no longer hold on and slid down her arm.
She said softly, "At least my son is safe now." Her expression finally returned to peace.
Although Mu Huaying hadn't expected Mo Yimingyue to have such a miraculous encounter, unexpectedly becoming the disciple of the Northern Qiang National Preceptor, she finally felt relieved. Because in the National Preceptor's residence, no one in the entire city of Luoyang could bully him. If the National Preceptor wasn't too wicked, with their master-disciple relationship established, Mo Yimingyue should be able to grow up safely.
Mu Huaying heard her still speaking haltingly: "Although... the Grand Preceptor holds a high position and wields great power, this is not the fate I want for Yue'er... but it's still better than being beaten to death in the street," tears streamed down her face.
Her voice grew weaker and weaker: "Hua Ying... I've spent half my life pursuing power... but I know very well that power is not home. My home was gone the moment Luoyang fell..."
Mu Huaying leaned closer to listen, and heard her whisper, barely a whisper: "When the Northern Qiang besieged the city, more than half of the court advocated surrender, but my father alone insisted on fighting, even personally leading soldiers to the city walls to fight to the death... buying time for many to evacuate Luoyang. After the city fell... those who advocated surrender received rewards from the enemy, while my father... was torn apart by chariots, and his entire family was enslaved... countless family members were tortured to death... and I, I..."
Aqiu already knew what happened afterward. After much torment, she somehow managed to submit to Yelü Huaiyuan, a member of the Khitan royal family, and gave birth to Moyi Mingyue. Afterward, she moved around freely, gradually gaining a certain reputation and status among the upper echelons of the Northern Qiang, and even entered the palace to become Hulü Guang's teacher.
In the fierce and treacherous land of the Northern Qiang, what she sacrificed to achieve her later status is unimaginable, filled with blood and tears.
So this was the final fate of the once-prominent and illustrious Mo Yi family, the most prestigious of aristocratic families, on the day the Central Plains fell.
The Mo Yi family never lost its integrity as a family of legal scholars and its ideal of serving the public good; in fact, it was precisely because of this ideal that the entire family was destroyed.
Two streams of tears flowed down Mu Huaying's face, her heart aching. She held her sister's head and said, "Don't say anymore. Senior Sister, you'll be able to go home soon. Master, your fellow disciples... they're all waiting for you at Shuanghua Hall!"
Shuanghua Hall was where Mu Huaying and Mo Yi Bishuang used to study together, and it was also another name for the Mo Yi family's backyard.
Once, the hall was filled with students who would discuss and debate all day long, creating a grand and magnificent atmosphere of classical texts and philosophical debates.
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