Chapter 20 Cannon Fodder White Moonlight 19 Condolences
He's father suddenly fell ill and died in prison. Because he was a criminal, even his body was not returned to the He family.
The He family hung white hangings all over the yard, and the neighbors in Yuyang Lane came to help spontaneously. The mourning hall was set up in one morning.
The He family had helped them a lot in their daily lives. Whenever anyone in the family had a headache or fever, they would go to the He family for treatment, and then go to the He family's shop to get medicine, which was much cheaper than other pharmacies and was more effective.
Now that he saw that something had happened to the He family, he came to their house with anything that might be useful without anyone calling him.
Shi Changan squatted in the corner to help wash the tea set, but his eyes couldn't help but drift to the weak figure in the middle of the mourning hall.
Aunt Cui retrieved a stack of used tea sets from the inner room and placed them gently into the clean wooden basin: "Stop looking at it, kid."
"Miss He...you are so pitiful." Shi Chang'an's face was full of worry, and his hands kept moving.
"Who says it's not true?" Aunt Cui sighed deeply and wrung out the handkerchief in her hand. "Miss He's family is such good people, how could God be so blind!"
As she spoke, she also looked towards Ali in the mourning hall. Suddenly, she looked around as if she remembered something and said, "Where's the He family kid? I haven't seen him all day."
"I don't know. Such a big thing happened at home, but he was away the whole time, leaving Miss He alone and sad here." Shi Changan couldn't help but complain.
As the two were talking, a stranger came in through the courtyard gate. The man had white hair and a long beard, and was dressed in indigo clothes. He had an extraordinary demeanor. Although no one knew what material the clothes were made of, it was obvious at a glance that it was of good material.
Aunt Cui was very puzzled. The He family had no old friends or acquaintances in the capital. In addition, the He family was now accused of attempting to murder the empress dowager, so very few people dared to come to pay their respects today, except for their neighbors.
This person doesn't look like an ordinary citizen, how dare he come to my house?
Seeing the visitor standing at the gate for a long time, Aunt Cui wiped her hands on her apron and greeted him: "Is this gentleman here to pay homage and burn incense?"
The visitor nodded, and Aunt Cui led him into the mourning hall and continued with her work.
Ali knelt there unconsciously, his eyes red and swollen, and he could no longer cry.
After the visitor offered three incense sticks to He's father, he did not leave immediately, but walked up to Ali.
"The dead cannot be brought back to life. Please accept my condolences."
Ali blinked slowly and saluted him.
Tan Songjie quickly supported her and said gently, "Hurry up and get up. If your father saw you like this, he would be so heartbroken."
Ali nodded numbly. Seeing her like this, Tan Songjie couldn't help but say a few more words: "Your father didn't suffer much."
Ali's dry eyes finally moved. She raised her eyes and recognized that the old man in front of her was Dean Tan from the Medical Officers' Institute.
She seemed to have seen a glimmer of hope, her eyes suddenly lit up, and she rushed over to grab his hand: "Master Tan! Is it possible that my father is not dead, and the news was misinformed?!"
Tan Songjie seemed frightened by her behavior. His face froze for a moment, and he shook his head in denial: "Miss He, your father is indeed gone. I personally went to check that day."
"Impossible! Impossible!"
Tan Songjie frowned: "Miss He, why are you doing this?"
The last light in Ali's eyes finally went out and turned into ashes. She stood there in a daze with a face full of grief.
Tan Songjie took a few steps back, his eyes filled with compassion: "Miss He, please accept my condolences."
My condolences. My condolences.
She had heard that word enough for today.
The person who died was her father who depended on her for everything. How could she possibly grieve?
*
Outside Yuyang Lane.
Tan Songjie got on the carriage back home, and his face didn't look good when he thought about what happened in the court today.
The Duke of Fuguo, who had never participated in court affairs, suddenly attacked Prime Minister Pei, listing several serious crimes of his, such as framing loyal officials and harming the people. The wording was clear, and he requested an imperial decree to imprison and severely interrogate all members of the Pei family.
Prime Minister Pei was obviously caught off guard. He insisted that it was a deliberate frame-up and requested the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice to jointly investigate.
As a meritorious regent and a veteran of two dynasties, he has many supporters in the court. Except for Lord Pei, most of the officials in the court are willing to plead for him and act as a guarantor.
But the Duke of Fuguo was also a founding hero, holding a large number of troops, and had always been loyal and low-key. He never got involved in court disputes, and everyone could weigh the weight of what he said.
The court officials had their own thoughts in their minds. Several old officials who had always been loyal and upright took the lead in standing on the side of the Duke of Fuguo. Then, more and more court officials came forward and asked to handle the matter according to the Duke of Fuguo's words.
Upon seeing this, Prime Minister Pei lamented the hardships he had endured over the years. The court was now facing internal and external troubles, and the people behind the scenes were framing the prime minister, obviously intending to cause turmoil in the court. Who knew what kind of disaster would happen then.
However, the Duke of Fuguo remained calm and summoned witnesses and evidence one by one to the court. Each case had a basis, and he even mentioned the rebellion of the Sui family army last year.
While the two sides were arguing, news came from the harem that the queen mother, who had been in a coma for several days, finally woke up.
Tan Songjie frowned. The situation in the court was unstable and even the Medical Officers' Institute could not escape the impact.
But at least, now that the Queen Mother has woken up, the knife hanging over the heads of everyone in the Medical Officers' Court has finally been moved away a little.
He glanced at the gate of the He family's courtyard again, something flashed in his eyes, and then he said: "Go back home."
*
As night fell, the neighbors who came to the He family to help went back one after another. Aunt Cui wiped the last plate and walked quietly behind Ali.
"Ali, your aunt has gone back. You should go to bed early. If you have anything, just call me no matter how late it is." She touched Ali's head lovingly and said softly.
Ali nodded slightly, his voice hoarse from not speaking for a long time: "Okay, thank you, auntie."
Seeing her like this, Aunt Cui sighed in her heart and then left.
In the middle of the mourning hall were placed the clothes that He's father had worn during his lifetime. Ali, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt in the hall, his eyes, which used to be calm and innocent, were now empty.
When she first heard the news of her father's death, she almost fainted, and when she woke up, her brother was no longer by her side.
He had clearly told her a few days ago that her father would be rescued in a few days, but everything happened too fast.
Ali burned the last piece of paper money and murmured, "Father, Mother, you're both gone. How am I going to live on alone?"
The fire in the basin burned silently, and no one could respond to her words.
At this moment, an uninvited guest suddenly broke into the yard.
Xiao Shuangjue walked in through the main door openly and saw the shaky figure in the mourning hall at a glance.
Ali was immersed in the sorrow of losing her loved ones and did not notice the movement behind her for a while until Xiao Shuangjue walked up to her.
"Are you He Li?"
A charming and lazy voice came from above her head. Ali was stunned for a moment before slowly looking up. A beautiful woman in red was leaning over and looking at her.
A Li looked puzzled: "Who are you?"
Xiao Shuangjue looked at her for a few times: "You don't need to know who I am, you just need to know that I am here to take He Zhiyan away."
Ali looked at her calmly: "Why?"
"Because he never belonged here." Xiao Shuangjue's eyes suddenly darkened.
"You don't really think that He Zhiyan is just an ordinary chivalrous warrior who was injured and lost his memory and wandered to the countryside, and was rescued by you, right?"
Xiao Shuangjue looked at A Li calmly, her red lips parted as she said, "To tell you the truth, he's a killer from my Night Walk Pavilion. He has hundreds of lives on his hands and kills without blinking an eye."
Ali was dazed for a moment and fell to the ground.
She only guessed that her brother's identity was unusual, but she didn't expect it to be like this.
But no matter whether it was true or false, she wanted to hear it from her brother himself, not just from other people's words.
After a long moment, Ali stared at the dancing flames before him. "That was his past, and has nothing to do with what's happening now."
Xiao Shuangjue chuckled: "What if He Zhiyan's memory has been restored? He has remembered his identity and wants to return to his past life?"
Her brother had recovered his memory? Why didn't he tell her anything?
Is he going to leave her at this time?
Ali's face grew paler and paler, her nails digging into her palms in panic. She trembled and lowered her head, as if she had suffered a great shock.
Seeing this, Xiao Shuangjue continued, "He has stayed in this small courtyard for the past five years, but he will leave sooner or later. You and your father are nothing more than insignificant strangers to him."
The mourning hall suddenly became quiet, with the flame in the basin occasionally crackling once or twice, and the light and shadows reflected on the wall were like swaying ghostly shadows.
"But since my brother has already decided to leave," Ali suddenly raised his head, his eyes flashing with a flickering fire, "Miss, why are you still trying to persuade me?"
Xiao Shuangjue's expression froze.
Ali became more and more confident, and his pale face was stunningly beautiful under the firelight.
She slowly said, "Young lady, you're wasting so much time on someone as insignificant as me because your brother hasn't made a decision yet."
"Am I right?"
Before he could finish his words, the Frost Sword was already on Ali's neck.
Perhaps it was her father's departure that left her exhausted and unable to resist, or perhaps it was something else, but Ali seemed unaware of the sharp blade on her neck and showed no fear. Her expression was surprisingly similar to that of He Zhiyan who would rather die than surrender that night.
Xiao Shuangjue watched coldly, feeling irritated.
Although He Zhiyan had verbally agreed to her request, she could see that the years of life on the run had planted a deep bond in his heart. If it was not cut off in time, it would probably lay hidden dangers for the future.
Now, one of the ties has been removed, leaving only the one in front of me.
But she did not intend to kill He Li. Such a weak person was not worth her effort. If He Li could retreat when he saw the difficulty, she could save herself a lot of trouble.
"The girl is not someone who kills innocent people."
Ali's calm eyes fell on her, as if he could see through everything.
A flash of panic flashed across Xiao Shuangjue's eyes, and then he sneered, pressing the Frost Sword tightly against the flesh of A Li's neck: "He Li, you are too naive. Do you think I won't kill you?"
"He Zhiyan is a dangerous and deep-seated person. You and your father are not of the same ilk. In the martial arts world, the strong prey on the weak. It's ridiculous that weaklings like you and your father can't even control their own lives."
Every word was like a knife, piercing Ali's heart.
She was silent for a few moments, then looked calmly at the man who could take her life at any time.
The girl, who had always been weak and timid, seemed to have been reborn at this moment.
"All living things have spirits, and even ants have their own way of survival. If you forcibly destroy the lives of others simply because of your own selfish desires, what difference is there between you and animals?"
She already knew the purpose of the woman in front of her.
If it were in the past, she would definitely obey, would back down, would self-righteously make decisions for He Zhiyan, and would always be a good daughter or sister who would hide behind her father and brother.
But her father's sudden death made Ali realize that she couldn't lose the people around her anymore.
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