Chapter 30 Chapter 30 New and Old
In the bamboo forest, the young man suddenly fell forward.
"Mukuro!"
Du Lingjing took two quick steps forward and quickly raised her hand to support him.
He was wrapped in a strong smell of blood, and there were spots of blood seeping out of his bamboo green robe. The bamboo leaves under his feet made a rustling sound. Du Lingjing was frightened and called him repeatedly.
He murmured, "Sister-in-law..."
But the young man no longer looked like his youth. He was much taller than her and Du Lingjing was unable to hold on to him. She staggered back two steps.
As she was shaking, he grabbed her shoulders and stopped her from staggering.
Just as he stood still, someone quickly walked into the forest.
Chongping signaled to the guards beside him to hold up the person who was about to fall, and Du Lingjing was also grabbed by the waist from behind and taken two steps back.
The wind blew between the two people who had just touched.
Du Lingjing was embraced by someone, and she couldn't help but turn her head to look at him.
The man's eyes fell on her shoulder which had just been gently touched by someone, and for a moment, he turned around and spoke to her.
"Don't be impatient. Let Chongping see what's going on first."
As he spoke, Chongping took Jiang Fengchuan's pulse, looked at his complexion carefully, and asked him where he was injured.
Liu Lang said a few words briefly, and Chongping lightly touched his wound, and blood began to seep out faster.
Du Lingjing took a breath and heard Chongping say, "The injury is indeed serious, but it doesn't seem to have hit any vital parts. It's just that the injury seems to have been there for two days, but no medicine has been applied, so it keeps pulling and can't heal."
Du Lingjing frowned. She looked at the seriously injured man and heard him casually explain.
"How can we catch up if we are being chased all the way?"
Lu Shenru looked at the wound that had not yet been treated with medicine and raised his eyebrows slightly.
The young man's breathing was rapid and intermittent with low pressure. Du Lingjing couldn't help but step forward to ask again, but the man behind him said.
"My lady, don't touch him. He has such external injuries, and he may have other internal injuries. Let Chongping take him out."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Fengchuan looked up.
The tall and straight man stood still, allowing him to look at him.
There was silence in the bamboo forest, and Du Lingjing just watched Chongping check his injuries without paying much attention.
Jiang Fengchuan, on the other hand, was being supported by someone. His gaze slowly slid down to her. He lowered his eyes and smiled weakly at her.
"Sister-in-law, should I call you... Madam Hou?"
The wind made the bamboo leaves in the forest rustle, and Du Lingjing was stunned for a moment.
Lu Shenru also lowered his head to look at her and heard her frown.
"It's not important. How did you get chased here? Are they from the Shaw Brothers? Did they try to kill you? What about Brother Hu and Tingjun?"
She asked one after another. Jiang Fengchuan risked his life to come out and report the news, so where he was now was the most important thing.
Unexpectedly, when she asked, she saw Liu Lang spit out blood as soon as he opened his mouth.
Lian Chongping frowned, "We have to go treat our injuries first."
The injury was indeed serious. Du Lingjing was so surprised that her face turned pale. She didn't dare to ask any more questions. She saw a guard carrying him on his back and pulling him slightly. The young man's handsome face wrinkled in pain.
She couldn't help but soften her voice, "Liu Lang, don't talk about anything else, just heal your wound first."
When she said this, the young man smiled at her with all his strength, "Okay."
He responded with a somewhat weak and pitiful "well-behaved". Lu Shenru watched silently, and when he saw his wife's eyes fixed on Jiang Liulang, he pursed his lips slightly.
But the man didn't rush to say anything. He just took off his cloak and wrapped her up. But when he saw that her eyebrows were still tightly knitted, he couldn't help but hold her in his arms, "Now that we have picked up the person, the rest will be easy. Don't worry."
That's the truth, Du Lingjing nodded slowly.
She stood there, letting the man beside her put his arm around her and hold her arm.
Jiang Fengchuan looked over from the corner of his eye. She and that man were in such a posture. Did they already have intimacy in bed?
The young man remained silent, but the guard who was carrying him walked very quickly and first sent him to the backyard of the Fire God Temple. Chongping personally applied some simple medicine to him, and then reported to the Marquis that there was limited medicine here, so he still had to be treated carefully all over his body.
Coincidentally, this place was not far from Guilin Tower, so the man directly ordered everyone to withdraw from the Fire God Temple and go to Guilin Tower.
The sky darkened and the night fell over the whole area.
Chong'an hurriedly asked a doctor to come over. He was a man, so it was inconvenient for Du Lingjing to go while he treated her injuries. Lu Shenru asked her to go for dinner, but she shook her head and stayed outside Jiang Fengchuan's yard.
Since that year, when Sanlang picked him up from the countryside and brought him back to his home in the city, he had never suffered such an injury or endured such hardship.
After Liu Lang started to grow taller, he grew taller and taller. At the age of fifteen or sixteen, he was half a head taller than his peers. Liu Lang was always happy to see him, but was also afraid that he would grow too fast, so he often asked Uncle Hui to nourish him.
Later, he finally grew taller than Sanlang and was stronger and more robust than Sanlang. On the contrary, Sanlang could only sit quietly in the study most of the time. However, he never envied his younger brother and even asked a military master to teach him some boxing so that he could go out more easily.
But at this moment, there were continuous suppressed groans coming from the yard. Thinking of his bruises all over his body, Du Lingjing couldn't help but clench her hands.
Seeing that the Marquis was also there to accompany her, she could only say, "Marquis, please go and have dinner. I'm not hungry."
The man lifted his robe and simply sat in the pavilion outside the yard. He said he was not hungry either and waved to her.
"Don't just stand there in the wind, come and sit for a while."
He insisted on accompanying her, so Du Lingjing had no choice but to sit down.
Seeing that she was still silently clenching her hands, the man changed the conversation and talked about the Hu brothers and sisters and the Fu party.
"... ...It seems that Shao Boju is very impatient. We brought people back from the Fire Temple, and they probably know about it."
He said, "When Jiang Jia Liulang gets better, it would be best to ask him to tell us where everyone is hiding, so as to avoid any more trouble."
Du Lingjing knew this, but she also thought about how he had rushed over to accompany her since he got off court today and had been with her the entire day.
He was usually quite busy. Military generals and officials came to visit him, and various aides came to deliver messages to see his opinion. There were also guards and stewards working outside who were waiting for his instructions.
Du Lingjing didn't know what he was doing specifically, so naturally it was inconvenient for her to ask too much. But considering that he was in such a high position, and wanted to support his nephew Prince Hui to take over the Eastern Palace, there were many things he had to do.
Even with so many things to do, he still managed to spare some free time. Du Lingjing is not a person without vision, nor is she a person who does not know how to be grateful.
She was just about to thank the marquis when Chong'an came quickly.
"My Lord, Madam, the doctor has bandaged Mr. Jiang Liu. Mr. Jiang Liu said he has something important to attend to, so Madam, please come over."
Du Lingjing stood up upon hearing this and turned back to wait for the Marquis. Unexpectedly, Chong'an's face became awkward for a moment and he lowered his voice.
"Mr. Jiang Liu wants to talk to Madam alone."
After he finished speaking, he looked at his lord's expression. Du Lingjing was also slightly surprised and couldn't help but look back.
The man was not surprised at all. He just responded. Seeing her stunned expression, he comforted her instead.
"Go ahead. Call me if you need anything."
Outside the pavilion, there were only one or two tiny stars twinkling in the vast night sky, but they were faintly reflected in his pair of dark eyes as dark as the night.
He didn't seem to care at all, and she couldn't help but look at him a little more. But at a critical moment, since Liu Lang had made this request, he must have his reasons.
She followed Chong'an and walked quickly into the courtyard.
The strong smell of medicine filled every corner of the room. Du Lingjing walked in and the guards saluted her and left.
The person on the bed changed into clean clothes and sat up when he saw her come in.
Du Lingjing walked quickly forward, but did not sit at the head of his bed. She just pulled the embroidered cushion and sat in front of the bed.
"How is it? Does it hurt a lot?" she asked him.
He did not answer the question, but looked at her and said softly after a while.
"Sister-in-law, you're married..."
This sentence reminded Du Lingjing of the year when he was driven out by the Jiang family to study abroad because of rumors that the younger brother would succeed the elder brother. He came to Mianlou in the morning mist and asked her, "Sister-in-law, I will go to the capital to take the imperial examination for my third brother and come back. Will you wait for him to pass the imperial examination?"
At that time, she thought she would definitely wait for him to bring good news from the capital, but she never imagined that before the spring examination of the next year, she arrived in the capital earlier than him and even married into the marquis's mansion.
Du Lingjing was speechless and remained silent for a while.
"Liu Lang, let's talk business first."
She didn't answer. The young man looked at her quietly for a few breaths and said, "Okay."
A few days after Jiang Fengchuan found Fu Chen and his men in Baoding, he went north to the capital to report the news. Although he did not know all the details, he had a general idea of what was going on.
"... ...The Shao brothers were so audacious that they had the audacity to hire someone to impersonate an official appointed by the imperial court to make profits for them in the local area. They not only secretly amassed wealth but also won over the gentry. Not only that, they even killed those officials to hide their actions. This matter was unknown until they killed an old member of the Fu party. The daughter of that man ran out to report the news at the risk of her life, and then the matter was exposed to Brother Hu."
Although Hu Tinglan was good friends with Shao Boju, how could he cover up for him in the face of such a serious crime? Instead, he asked the scattered members of the Fu Party for help and carefully investigated the information given by the escaped people.
Jiang Fengchuan took a deep breath, "I just discovered that the Shao family has replaced eight officials. Except for the first two who accidentally fell into the water and drowned, the other five were killed by them, and three of them were members of the anti-party group."
As soon as he finished speaking, Du Lingjing felt the blood drain from his face.
No wonder the brothers Shao Boju and Shao Wuxing were so ruthless in their search and tried their best to suppress the incident. Finding someone to replace an official appointed by the imperial court was already a serious crime, not to mention the murder of them. This incident would implicate the entire Shao family, and it was possible that the entire family would be overthrown.
As for Shao Boju himself, he is likely to face the death penalty.
He originally wanted to marry her through Madam Wan in order to threaten Hu Tinglan and other members of the Fu Party to make a deal, but he failed.
At this time, Du Lingjing asked Jiang Fengchuan directly.
"Liu Lang must know where they are right now. We must send someone there as soon as possible to rescue them before Shao does."
She said this, but heard Jiang Fengchuan asking her in return.
"Who will sister-in-law send?" She certainly didn't have the manpower and power to rescue everyone. Jiang Fengchuan asked, "Lord Lu's people?"
Du Lingjing did not deny it, but Jiang Fengchuan dropped his eyelids.
"I saw Lu's men everywhere on the way here. He also accompanied my sister-in-law when we met at the Fire God Temple. So, do you trust him completely?"
This made Du Lingjing silent for a moment, "Liu Lang, just tell me what you are thinking."
Jiang Fengchuan looked at her. She was wearing a willow-yellow double-breasted jacket with flower and bird patterns and a pearl in her hair. She was no longer like the plain clothes she wore in Mianlou before. Although her expression was still cold, it hinted that she did not approve of him.
Jiang Fengchuan cleared his throat, which made her eyes relax slightly. Then he spoke.
"It's not that I don't want to see my sister-in-law remarry, and marry a powerful official like Marquis Yongding. It's just that the attitude of Marquis Lu makes us scholars unconvinced."
If they really believed him, Hu Tinglan and other Fu ministers might have already found out that he was at odds with the Shao family and came to find him to escape, and then made the Shao family's crimes public.
They delayed asking him for help until she got married and opened Guilin Tower to look for someone, then they cautiously sent Liu Lang over.
Du Lingjing was angry, "What do you say, gentlemen?"
"Gentlemen, what you mean is that the current predicament is difficult to resolve on your own. It all depends on whether you believe in Lord Lu."
Liu Lang told Du Lingjing exactly what Mr. Liao had said, but after he finished speaking, he looked at her again and spoke again in a slow voice.
"In the sixth year of Yinyou, the second year after the death of the former Crown Prince, the court officials repeatedly proposed that the emperor make Prince Yong the crown prince. In April, nearly a hundred people jointly submitted a petition to the emperor for approval, but the emperor did not agree. However, half a month later, the Shaanxi Dusi reported that it was discovered that a Tatar general had privately communicated with court officials in the capital with ill intentions. The Jinyiwei Beizhenfu Division used this as an excuse to arrest seven court officials in a row, put them all in prison, and tortured them for several days before releasing them. These seven people were the ones who led the petition half a month ago to ask the emperor to make Prince Yong the crown prince."
Almost all the Shaanxi Dusi were from the Yongding Army, and the commander of the Jinyiwei was a cousin of Lu Shenru.
Du Lingjing said, "It is normal for the Lu family and the Shao family to fight for King Hui and King Yong."
"Really?" Jiang Fengchuan said, "Sister-in-law, you know that this matter did not end with the release of the seven people. Instead, it spread all the way. The Jinyiwei arrested people in various places on the pretext of searching for collaborators with the enemy. This incident happened to affect Mr. Liao, who had just returned to Beijing from a remote place in the south after his term of office ended."
Mr. Liao from Baoding Academy most remembers the one who made Du Lingjing's favorite Liaohuatang.
Du Lingjing couldn't help but raise her eyes and heard Liu Lang say.
"Mr. Liao had met Prince Yong several times before, and he also believed that Prince Yong was the best candidate for the crown prince. He just said a few words to a few old friends of his party, but he didn't expect that they were arrested and thrown into the imperial prison before they could submit their petitions. Lu forced the court officials to plead for Prince Yong, and severely beat him. Mr. Liao had just returned to the capital from abroad, and he hadn't recovered yet. This beating almost killed him, and he took half a year to recover."
"Mr. Liao has been an official for many years, and the people all remember his kindness. But this incident almost cost him his life. He was so disappointed that he simply resigned and went to Baoding to teach." He finished speaking slowly and looked at Du Lingjing, "Sister-in-law, do you think that Lord Lu is really trustworthy?"
After he finished speaking, Du Ling was silent for a while.
Return to the Lin Tower.
The man walked slowly up to the rooftop. The moon appeared as a dark red halo outside the clouds. He stood in front of the railing of the tall building with his hands behind his back. His eyes lingered on the moon halo for a moment, and finally fell on the eaves of the house downstairs where he was talking alone with the door closed.
Nearly two quarters of an hour had passed, and the two had not yet finished their conversation. It was obvious that Jiang Liu had quite a lot to say to her, but she didn't know what she was thinking.
In the closed room under the moonlight cast by Guilin Tower.
Jiang Fengchuan spoke and asked her.
Du Lingjing really didn't expect that there was such a reason why Mr. Liao resigned from his official position in Guangdong and Guangxi and went to teach at Baoding Academy.
When he followed his father, he worked hard for his father's new policies. His father even said that Mr. Liao might be a talent for government and could join the cabinet in the future. Unexpectedly... ...
But Du Lingjing straightened his expression.
"Employ people with confidence, and don't employ people you doubt. Mr. Liao's matter, as well as the grievances between the other Fu party members and the Marquis, have been going on for many years. If we trace the root of everything, can we still save people?"
She disagrees.
The wind blew and the window frame made a sound.
Jiang Fengchuan nodded, "It seems that my sister-in-law has been married to him for only a month, but she has already fallen in love with him and trusted him."
There was a hint of sourness in his words, even Du Lingjing could hear it.
Her long eyebrows frowned.
"That has nothing to do with it."
She couldn't help but explain.
"What key interests do we have that can be exchanged with the Marquis? It's nothing more than the evidence of Shao's crimes. Now if we want to break the impasse, we can only rely on his power. In this situation, do we still have to be on guard against not telling the truth and want to use him to seek other things?"
"We can not make any plans, but sister-in-law, are you sure that Lord Lu will not make plans for others? It is unknown whether he will use the evidence and the people to secretly deal with the people of King Yong's party, right?"
These words made Du Lingjing stunned.
The Yongding Marquis' Mansion, Dou Ge Lao and the Shao family are deeply entangled with each other. It is not ruled out that they will not make things public, but exchange interests secretly.
“But in exposing Shaw this time, our interests are aligned with his.”
What kind of benefits would make him betray all the ministers and exchange benefits with Shao Zun, Dou Ge Lao and others?
Du Lingjing suddenly remembered that he always cared about her. Was she still doubting him...
She calmed down and looked at Jiang Fengchuan.
"Since the gentlemen have asked me to make the decision, then I will make the decision on this matter. We can't delay it any longer."
In this case, the young man pursed his lips and told her where everyone was hiding.
She stood up after hearing this.
Jiang Fengchuan looked over and saw that she told him not to think too much, "You should take good care of your injuries first."
After she finished speaking, she turned and left. The young man sat quietly beside the bed, his eyes fixed on the hem of her skirt. He followed her all the way to the door and then disappeared at the door.
He looked at the place where she left for a long while.
*
Return to Linlou.
The night wind was blowing. Lu Shenru stood on the roof for a while. Just as he was about to turn around and go downstairs, he saw the door open and she walked out.
She seemed to have given some instructions in the yard and then left.
Hou Fu's needlework skills are quite good. The willow-yellow dress makes her look like a willow leaf floating in the night breeze, light and delicate.
The man's eyes showed some tenderness, but he saw that she didn't know whether she noticed his gaze or not, and she looked up at him.
She said, "My Lord."
They were too far away, and she wouldn't call him loudly, so her voice wouldn't reach him. But he could see the two words coming out of her soft lips.
The moonlight gently flowed on her skirt like water, and he also spoke.
"Come up."
He also followed her example and did not make any sound, but her bright eyes instantly understood what he meant, and she lifted up her skirt and walked quickly up.
The man's eyes became softer and softer. When she had just gone up two floors, he had already gone down four floors and stopped her in the stairwell.
She gasped for breath, her chest rising and falling slightly.
The man's aura did not change at all. Seeing his wife like this, he thought that he should have let her wait for him downstairs. However, his gaze could not help but pause slightly at the ups and downs, and then retracted.
"Are you hungry? I'll have someone get you something to eat. You've had a tiring day."
He thought that Jiang Liulang might not bring anything good to her. If she didn't want to share this with her, he had some ways to deal with Shao's company, but there was no need to do this.
Who would have thought that she just shook her head at him, saying that she was not tired and did not need to eat. Then she opened her mouth and told her the location directly.
She believed him completely...
But the next moment, she suddenly bowed to him solemnly.
"This is a difficult matter, please help me, my Lord."
The man paused, frowning, "Why are you being polite to me?"
His voice was a little deep, and Du Lingjing was stunned for a moment.
Why is he still angry? She was at a loss for a moment.
His eyebrows were even more depressed. "For something like this, I still need you to pay a formal visit to ask for help before I can help you. Who do you think I am?"
This question left Du Lingjing speechless.
Who do you think you are?
She really just thought of him as a noble person who could help her at this critical moment...
The man looked at his wife's paused expression, his heart sank, and he was silent for a moment.
The moonlight was briefly obscured by a light cloud, and the tall building became dim.
She didn't know what to say, and finally the man sighed.
"I will ask Chongping to select some people and go to rescue them personally. You just wait at home."
He said this lightly, but his power was far beyond Du Lingjing's reach. She couldn't help but feel certain in her heart and subconsciously wanted to thank him.
But he had already looked over here.
His dark eyes were as deep as the abyss, and whenever he looked at her, he always felt as if he wanted to pull her completely into them.
She couldn't help but move away a little, but when she slowed down in saying thank you, she forgot to go.
The man's eyes softened again when he thought about how she had told him without hesitation.
"Come back to the capital with me tomorrow. Your husband can't always miss court, right? Those old men will start to say bad things about me."
The light clouds dispersed, and the moonlight spread like soft waves in the wind.
Husband, he used this unfamiliar word again.
But when Du Lingjing heard the second half of his sentence, she couldn't help but smiled.
"good."
Her faint smile was like a fine feather brushing against his heart, and the man couldn't help but tighten his grip on her hand, completely wrapping her in his palm.
Unfortunately, this is Guilin Tower, not the main house in the main courtyard of the Marquis's mansion...
*
In the room filled with the smell of medicine, the injured man endured the pain in his body, got out of bed and walked to his bag.
As soon as he moved, blood seeped out from his white shirt.
But he seemed to have lost consciousness and didn't care at all. He just stood by the window and took out a bamboo puppet from his bag.
When he was first picked up from the countryside, his body was covered with wounds. He fell while climbing a tree to pick fruits to fill his stomach, and was beaten for stealing cakes from a stall. The children in the village also threw stones at him.
He kept gasping when Uncle Hui examined his injuries, but the injuries had to be treated and the pain was so severe that he couldn't help but cry.
The third brother took out a bamboo puppet from beside his bed and placed it in his palm.
"Don't be afraid of the pain, Xiaolulang, your brother's bamboo doll will accompany you."
He was only eight years old at that time, and his third brother was ten years old.
That was the doll that my third brother had always carried with him when he was a child, and I gave it to him just like that.
Many years passed and the bamboo puppet had been in his hand, but he had walked too far carrying the puppet, and this time he finally arrived in the capital.
In accordance with the agreement made that year, he carried him to Beijing to take the imperial examination.
But in the capital...
He stretched out his hand, not caring about the wounds all over his body. With his handsome eyebrows drooped, he gently wiped the face of the bamboo puppet with his fingertips.
"Look, brother, as soon as you left, she got married. She only has eyes for the new one and almost forgot about the old one..."
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