Chapter 42: Little Mermaid Eats Popsicles in Winter

Fang Lin'an thought that he had done nothing wrong to these two people. At first, they were just two hooligans. Because they called him "big brother", he remembered this brotherhood and brought them all the way to their current position.

Be it money or power, what have they not enjoyed over the years?

Even though Fang Lin'an knew that the two of them would secretly put silver into their own pockets when they helped him manage mining and water transport, he never pointed it out. He just thought that everyone has greed, and it's enough to be greedy in moderation.

The two of them had conflicts with the Huo family many times, and he tried his best to mediate, hoping that the brothers could maintain peace and not resort to war.

He knew that the Huo family thought he was biased, but there was nothing he could do.

As for the Huo family, he had no intention of giving up. He just wanted the Huo family to calm down and not to call for revenge for his son as before.

Otherwise, if the Huo family knew so many of his secrets, he would have silenced them long ago.

So he didn't understand how things had come to this point.

Fang Linan asked with the last glimmer of hope: "What about the Huo family? Did his family run away too?"

"General Huo didn't run away, but..." The subordinate didn't dare to say anything.

Fang Lin'an's forehead was bulging with veins: "But what's the matter? Tell me!"

The soldier trembled and put his forehead on the ground, then he mustered up the courage to tell the truth: "The person who went to summon him didn't see General Huo. The Huo family's steward told General Huo that he was no longer a subordinate of the commander-in-chief and didn't need to obey his orders in the future."

"He's a traitor!" Fang Lin'an shouted again, and after taking a few deep breaths, he suppressed his murderous intent and said in a cold voice: "Come here, arrest the guy named Huo. I want to ask him why he is no longer my subordinate!"

At this moment, Fang Lin'an still thought that the Huo family was just being timid because they were angry that he had deliberately ignored the Huo family before.

"Report!" As soon as Fang Lin'an finished speaking, a deputy general ran over hurriedly and knelt down in front of Fang Lin'an with a plop.

Fang Lin'an had a strange feeling in his heart. Wasn't this the person he sent to dispatch the troops?

Although Fang Lin'an was the governor of Beijiang, he knew that the time was not yet ripe and he had not yet completely taken control of the Beijiang Army. Except for a few subordinates who were loyal to him, it was unlikely that the rest of the army would be willing to obey his orders and fight against the court.

If he waits a few years, his power will be more stable than it is now. He can then use the remnants of the previous dynasty in the capital to build up power and cause chaos in the world. It will be more convincing for him to ask others to join him in rebelling against the court.

There is a difference between actively fighting and being forced to fight, and he is not ready yet. Everyone knows that the chances of winning the latter are slim, so there is no way the Beijiang Army would be willing to follow him.

Now, apart from his personal guards, the only people Fang Lin could use were the private soldiers he had trained himself. Those private soldiers were usually managed by the Huo family and were stationed on several small islands near the coast.

He asked his deputy general to mobilize troops in order to deal with this sudden attack from the court, but now the deputy general came back alone.

"What happened?" Fang Lin'an's voice was almost desperate, because he knew that he would definitely receive bad news next.

The deputy general ran until he was sweating profusely, and said with a pale face: "General! General Huo took the princess's token to several islands to persuade them to surrender, saying that the emperor's people had already surrounded the entire Beijiang River, and we could not fight against the court. If we fight the court, we will only die, and our families will be implicated. But as long as we are willing to lay down our weapons and surrender, the princess will ask the emperor to spare our lives."

"General Huo beheaded several people who refused to surrender as an example to others. I was almost detained there, but thanks to the desperate protection of the soldiers, I was able to escape and report to you." The deputy general still looked frightened after he said this, and it was obvious that he was frightened.

"Okay, okay, so that's how it is..." Fang Linan slumped down on the chair, his face quickly turning pale.

It was not until this moment that he suddenly realized that the man surnamed Huo, like Zhao Ling, had long ago betrayed him and defected to the court.

When I sent someone to the Huo family to call him, he must have already gone to the military camp.

Huo was in charge of his private soldiers and had great prestige in the barracks. In addition, these private soldiers had never been on the battlefield, were extremely afraid of their lives, and had a natural fear of the imperial court. This was why he was able to persuade them to surrender without bloodshed.

First, they took advantage of the mine case to catch him off guard, then spread the news that his plot had been discovered by the court, scaring away Zhou Quan and Wang Si, who were already unsteady in their stance. Finally, the man surnamed Huo persuaded all his private soldiers to surrender, thus cutting off his source of support and completely cutting off his retreat.

Back then, he used similar means to seize Beijiang from the Lu family, and used the heads of the Lu family to exchange for the right to control Beijiang.

It's really karma that today, Fang Lin'an has become a gift from others in order to surrender to the Zong Zheng family.

"Haha, hahahahahahaha..." Fang Lin'an seemed to be crazy. He raised his head and laughed a few times, and said in an ambiguous tone: "As expected of the only princess of Dasheng, she is quite capable. She didn't leave in the chaos, but stayed in the city waiting for me. If I don't go to meet her, it would be wrong for me as a minister."

He had found out long before that the princess had been living in Zhao's mansion.

Hearing this, the two men kneeling on the ground guessed what Fang Lin'an was going to do, and soon they showed an expression of being ready to die.

The princess sneaked into the city to plan a countermeasure against Fang Lin'an. Now her plan succeeded. Fang Lin'an would die if he did not resist, and would also die if he resisted, so he might as well give it one last try.

Even if they could not capture the princess as a hostage to negotiate with the court and buy themselves a chance of survival, they could not surrender.

Even if I die, I have to take a few people with me to support me!

Fang Lin'an gathered all his personal guards and rushed to the Zhao Mansion with weapons in hand. They knew that the princess was inside.

It was broad daylight, but the streets in the city were empty, the doors of every house were closed, and the people hid in their houses, silently praying to God, hoping that no matter what the officials wanted to do, they would not be harmed.

The sound of horse hooves seemed to shake the sky, snowflakes flew everywhere, and a large number of troops were charging towards the Zhao Mansion.

On the way, the leader Fang Lin'an heard another bad news - the mining area and the canal transport terminal were controlled by the court.

Fang Lin'an had anticipated these things long ago, so after hearing them, he felt nothing in his heart, and his eyes were filled with only deep hatred and jealousy towards the Zong Zheng family.

Thinking back to the past, when the previous dynasty was overthrown and heroes were vying for power, Fang Lin'an had also fantasized that he could sit on the supreme position. Unfortunately, God did not help him. Without the conditions for an uprising, he could only become a running dog of the Lu family.

After enduring for ten years, until he was fifty years old and his hair turned white, he finally captured Beijiang, but there was still the Zong Zheng family above him.

Fang Lin'an was unwilling to give in. The ideals of his youth were clamoring in his body. He did not want to be a subject instead of a king all his life, so he chose the road of rebellion without any hesitation.

Zhao Mansion.

Outside the gate, weapons clashed and wailing could be heard from time to time. Zong Zhengxi closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, her face remained calm, and the same was true for the prince consort beside her.

After all, the war had only been over for a few years, and the two men, who had long since been tempered, would not be frightened by such a small commotion.

Zhao Ling, on the other hand, felt a little uneasy and would look outside from time to time.

After a while, a guard suddenly ran in from outside the door, bowed to Zong Zhengxi and reported: "Your Highness, the matter has been settled."

Hearing this, Zong Zhengxi slowly opened his eyes, and Zhao Ling also showed a relaxed expression.

"Let's go and meet our General Fang." Zong Zhengxi said as he stood up, a smile on his lips, and strode out.

Outside the Zhao residence, the cold light of a sharp blade flashed and blood splattered. The thousands of troops in charge of the case had been entangled with the Beijiang Army dispatched by the princess for a long time. Countless casualties were suffered, and they still could not get close to the gate.

Suddenly, the tightly closed door was opened from the inside. Before Fang Lin'an had time to think about what happened, several familiar voices came from behind him.

"Father!"

"Husband!"

Fang Lin'an turned around and saw the soldiers holding his family and walking towards him.

"How could this happen?" Fang Lin'an was confused. Didn't he send someone to escort his family away before leaving?

That’s right!

Fang Lin'an suddenly turned his head and looked towards the entrance of the Zhao Mansion. A tall and beautiful woman was standing on the steps across the crowd of people fighting. She nodded to him with a smile.

Fang Lin'an figured it out. No wonder Zong Zhengxi didn't leave the city even though he knew it was dangerous. It turned out that she planned to lure the enemy with her own body, deliberately luring him to kill her, and then send people to capture his family from behind, in order to force him to give up resistance.

He wasn't even given a chance to fight to the death.

Fang Lin'an smiled bitterly. No wonder his rebellion plan failed. The people of Zong Zheng's family were all monsters. Who could defeat them?

Zhao Ling shouted, "The criminal is on trial! Your family has fallen into our hands. Stop resisting! Hurry up and put down your weapons and kneel down to admit your mistakes to Her Royal Highness the Princess!"

The Fang family members had swords at their necks and could not help crying.

"Father, surrender, there is no hope!"

"Husband, please..."

"Grandpa, wuwuwu, I don't want to die, I'm so scared..."

Hearing his family members crying, Fang Lin's hand that was swinging the knife at the table gradually slowed down.

At this time, the general beside him shouted: "General! If you really surrender, you will definitely die!"

"As long as you give the order, even if we die, we will drag a few more lackeys of the imperial court with us to be buried with us!"

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief! We cannot surrender!"

The bloodstained faces of the soldiers and the terrified expressions of their families kept switching in Fang Lin's mind. His hesitant attitude instantly turned his previous ambitions into a joke. How could a person who was not decisive and resolute enough accomplish anything great?

At this point, Zong Zhengxi no longer had the patience to watch Fang Lin get entangled in the case. She signaled with her eyes, and the soldiers grabbed a member of the Fang family and hacked him to death without saying a word.

The blood was still steaming as it spurted onto the snow, and the rest of the Fang family screamed in fear.

Fang Lin'an saw that the person lying on the ground was his most beloved grandson.

Zhao Ling shouted: "You still don't surrender? Kill them again!"

“啊啊啊啊！”方家人全都驚恐地向後退去，但還是又有人被抓了出來，這回是方臨案的老母。

方母還算有骨氣，剛才沒勸方臨案投降，這會兒死到臨頭了也沒吭聲，只是默默看了方臨案一眼，像是在讓他不用管自己。

正是這一眼，将方臨案搖擺不定的心掰向了家人。

“別動我母親！我降！”

他喊着，把染血的長刀扔到了地上。

方臨案此話一出口，他親衛們的士氣一下就散了，沒了必死的決心，這群人幾下就被朝廷的官兵打敗，死的死傷的傷，剩下的全數跪地投降。

副将們恨鐵不成鋼和失望的眼神讓方臨案如芒在背，他下意識再次看向宗政惜。

寒風拂過，帶起些許雪沫，大晟唯一的公主立于人群最前面，神情是勝券在握的自信和對失敗者的輕蔑不屑，端的好一副皇家風範。

方臨案本就半白的發絲沾染了雪花，仿若一夕白頭，歲月真正第一次壓垮了這個滿心抱負的男人。

“噗——”

方臨案口吐鮮血，仰頭倒在了地上，眼裏只剩下灰白的天空，還有仿佛永遠落不盡的雪花。

方家人又失聲大哭起來，方老夫人眼含熱淚看着兒子，終究是無奈長嘆一聲——命該如此。

“關進牢裏，叫大夫去看看，可別讓人死了，還得押他進京去見陛下呢。”宗政惜随意瞅了地上的方臨案一眼，吩咐趙令一聲後就轉頭回府。

一個失敗者，不值得她再過多關注。

“是，臣定會處理妥當。”趙令躬身行禮送公主離去。

等到看不見宗政惜的背影了，趙令緊繃的身體才稍稍放松了些，他扭頭看着狼狽的方家人和滿地的鮮血，萬分慶幸自己早早回了頭，不然今日家破人亡锒铛入獄的也有他趙令一個了。

方家人和親衛們都被關進了牢房，短短不到半天就從朝廷命官淪為階下囚，方家人哪受得了，特別是年輕一輩，個個哭成了淚人。

晚間，宗政惜接見了霍家主，命他暫時接管那批私兵，至于之後要怎麽處置他們，她會上書給皇上，讓皇上來決定，不過她可以保證，即便是有懲罰，也絕對不會傷及性命。

霍家嫁到方家的女兒也早被接了出來，有宗政惜在背後為他們撐腰，很簡單就與跟方家合離了，往後霍家女兒與方家再沒有任何關系。

霍家主走後，趙令來了，告訴宗政惜，逃跑的周全和王司已經抓回來了，這兩人實在蠢得可以，帶着一家老小逃命還想享福，馬車排成長隊，拉了一大堆東西，根本走不快。

朝廷的人本就蹲守着準備抓他們，這下都不用費吹灰之力，輕松就将兩家人拿下了。

宗政惜：“這兩人管着礦産和漕運，是方臨案造反的鐵證，同樣得送進京城定罪，千萬看好了，別出什麽意外。”

趙令應是。

随着入冬的時間越來越長，大地被冰雪覆蓋，難得見到一次太陽，氣溫低得吓人。

還好今年雪量不算大，不然要是鬧起雪災，百姓就要吃苦了。

京城，賀家。

半夜，寝房內，賀家主忽然驚醒，騰一下坐了起來，大冬天的，他硬是被吓出了一身冷汗，表情因為驚恐而變得有些扭曲。

賀夫人被吵醒，起身看見賀家主眼神呆滞，手腳也在發着顫，便擔心地輕撫他的後背，“老爺，又夢魇了，不是喝過藥了嗎？為什麽沒用。”

自從上次病倒，賀家主的身體就再沒完全真正地好過，入秋以後時不時就會染上風寒，晚上也睡得不安穩，經常受夢魇侵擾，府醫開了幾次藥也不管用。

賀家主像是沒聽見夫人的話，呆愣了半天都沒動，腦子裏還在回想着剛才的夢境。

他夢到賀府被抄家，全族被砍頭，鮮血淌滿了斷頭臺，賀家人的頭顱滾了一地，眼睛瞪得像是要爆出來，嘴裏大喊着好痛好痛。

從賀家被迫負責接觸前朝餘黨開始，賀家主這顆心就沒安定下來過，他總覺得這步棋他們下錯了，可問他具體是哪裏下錯了，他又說不出個所以然來。

因為從表面上看，他們的計劃雖然遇到了些波折，但整體還算順利。

到底是哪裏出了問題，賀家主百思不得其解。

“睡吧，我沒事。”賀家主回神，拍拍夫人的手，拉着她重新躺下，為了不讓家人擔心，他只能把心事都藏起來。

第二天，賀家主找來大兒子，問他：“我們安插在北江的人送消息回來了嗎？”

一個月前，賀家查出那群前朝餘黨在外面的同夥就是北江都統方臨案，沒想到這位曾經被先帝大肆稱贊過的武将，心裏居然存着造反的心思。

或許是因為心裏惶惶不安的情緒，賀家主沒有讓兒子派人第一時間聯系方臨案請求合作，而是準備把探子安插到方臨案身邊，待看過方臨案的為人之後再做打算。

賀衍回道：“父親，探子每半個月來一回消息，離下次消息傳來還有三天。”

“三天……”賀家主蹙眉，但也沒多說什麽，因為他明白再着急也不能把三天後變成今天。

等待是漫長且折磨人的，賀家主心慌意亂，一個不小心又生了病，每天要喝的藥又多了一碗。

很快就到了三天後，賀家主早早就起床等着，可直到日落西山夜幕降臨，他也沒等到自己期待的消息。

賀家主安慰自己，或許是路上出了什麽意外，明天消息就能到了。

可一天後，兩天後，三天後……他們足足等了五日，北江那邊還是沒有任何消息傳來。

這下容不得賀家再自欺欺人了，到底是探子被北江的人發現了，還是北江出了什麽事，導致消息送不出來？

如果是前者還好，大不了跟方臨案坦白身份，反正以後都要合作的，但若是後者，賀家主的預感恐怕要成真了。

“快！快叫人去北江查探，看看到底發生了什麽事！”賀家主臉色慘白地吩咐。

但還不等他的人前往北江，一個重磅消息就在京城裏傳開了——北江都統方臨案意圖謀反，證據确鑿，已被公主宗政惜捉拿歸案，正送往京城受審！

聽見消息的瞬間，賀家主直接軟了身體，心道一聲天要亡我賀家，便絕望地閉上了眼睛。

宗政逍比京裏任何人都要早收到這個消息，看見暗衛快馬加鞭送來的密信，他唇角上揚，眼裏是隐藏不住的欣喜。

“不愧是小妹，果然沒有令朕失望。”宗政逍已經在考慮要怎麽獎賞他這位好妹妹了。

不過宮外再怎麽鬧翻天，戎音也是不知道的，他正在跟綠娥她們研究凍冰棍呢。

入冬後，夏日稀少昂貴的冰雪反倒成了人們避之不及的存在，室外的荷塘和水池都被凍上了，這幾天溫度太低，戎音只能乖乖縮在房間裏當一條宅魚。

室內的水池每日有熱水流進來，但戎音的體質和人類不同，他更喜歡偏涼一點的水，所以綠娥他們每日都會幫他調好水溫才讓他進去泡澡。

窩在室內無聊了，戎音就想起自己從前在現代做過的一件事，冬天開着暖爐吃冰棍。

他有點饞了。

在吃這方面，戎音向來行動力強，他去到廚房，在廚師們驚恐的目光中找到蜂蜜、糖塊、果幹等東西，将它們和水按一定比例混合在一起，端到屋外凍着，第二天就成了簡易版的冰棍。

宮人們倒沒疑惑他為什麽要做這個東西，覺得他就是在玩而已，宗政逍知道後也只說了句随他去，其他人便不管了。

低配版的味道肯定是比不上現代成熟工業生産出來的冰棍，但也聊勝于無，單純嘗個新鮮。

後來在戎音的指點下，綠娥還學會了用各種器具凍冰棍，長的圓的方的心形的都有，這麽冷的天，也就銀鲛園的宮人們天天拿着冰在吃。

宗政逍從書房處理完公務過去時，戎音正泡在溫水裏吃杏子蜜餞做的冰棍，冰棍形狀是用竹筒凍的圓柱形，中間插了根小棍子，方便握着還不凍手。

“啊！”看見宗政逍，戎音開心地沖他揮手，在他靠近後還想和他分享冰棍。

宗政逍搖頭，“我不愛吃，你吃吧。”

宗政逍沒有冬天吃冰的愛好，之前為了哄戎音高興嘗過幾口，味道說不上好壞，他不喜歡也不讨厭，後面就沒再吃過了。

戎音也不勉強他：好吧，那我自己吃。

水池邊放着軟墊，旁邊還燒着幾盆上好的無煙銀絲木碳，宗政逍坐在矮幾後喝熱茶，視線時不時會掃到戎音臉上。

戎音吃冰吃得認真，時而咬下一塊冰含進嘴裏，被凍得蹙眉也不吐出來，時而慢慢地品，從圓柱冰棍的頂部一點點往下舔着，嘴唇包住冰棍，濕紅的舌頭若隐若現，嘗到甜味就笑得眯起眼睛。

As he watched, some non-existent images popped up in Zong Zheng Xiao's mind. He quickly retracted his gaze and changed his sitting position when no one was paying attention.

The heat in his body had not yet subsided, and Rong Yin, who had just finished eating the popsicle, climbed into his arms. With a wicked smile, she shoved her cool hands into his collar. At the same time, the fresh fragrance of Rong Yin's body took the opportunity to rush towards him, making it impossible for him to hide.

This fragrance made Zong Zhengxiao even more angry.

"Stop making trouble." Zong Zhengxiao's voice became hoarse. He clamped Rong Yin's hands, tore him away from his arms, and pushed him aside.

Rong Yin looked at him angrily: Zong Zheng Xiao, you stingy guy!

Zong Zhengxiao sighed helplessly in his heart, and held Rong Yin's hand in his warm hand again, rubbed it for him, and then looked at him, "Are you satisfied this time?"

Rong Yin grinned foolishly, and his thoughts changed again: Zong Zheng Xiao is a good person.

Looking at Rong Yin's soft smile and her two bright red lips, Zong Zheng Xiao gritted his teeth silently and thought to himself: You just keep being naughty, I will teach you a lesson sooner or later.