Chapter 22 Chapter 22 An almost bizarre and contradictory feeling...
Su Ran originally wanted to get ahead and check the situation at the place where he had rested when he came down the mountain, but Qing He suddenly shouted. He hesitated for a moment, then said that he was worried about the safety of the Queen Mother, and ran up the mountain in two steps.
Qinghe followed closely behind.
However, after rushing all the way back to the previous location, they searched everywhere but found no strange traces.
Seeing this, Qing He stepped forward and asked, "Did Master Su drop something?"
Su Ran turned around and smiled awkwardly, "No, I was worried that the Queen might get lost on the trail, so I thought I'd go to the woods to take a look."
"Oh." Qinghe responded softly, and then he looked at the forest behind him and said, "But this forest doesn't look like anyone has been here before. The paths are very dangerous. Lord Su should be careful and not go too far in."
Su Ran smiled and nodded: "Thank you, Master Qinghe, for the reminder."
"Qinghe."
As soon as the two of them finished speaking, a soft shout came from a slightly higher position behind them.
Qinghe and Su Ran followed the sound and saw Shangguan Xu standing on the mountain path. He seemed to have just come down from the mountain and was looking at them with a puzzled look on his face.
Everyone present bowed to Shangguan Xu when they saw her.
Shangguan Xu walked down and asked, "Why is Qinghe here? Fifth Brother Su is here too. Are you... together?"
Qing He answered truthfully, "While I was waiting for the Empress at the foot of the mountain, I met Lord Su coming down the mountain. We exchanged a few pleasantries and asked Lord Su if he had seen the Empress. However, Lord Su said he had not. There was only one way up and down the mountain, so I became worried and brought people up to look for the Empress."
"Lord Su was also worried about the safety of the Empress, so he went up the mountain with this servant to look for her."
"Oh, so that's how it is." Shangguan Xu sighed after hearing this, and then asked in surprise, "Brother Su Wu just came down from the mountain?"
Su Ran nodded.
Shangguan Xu smiled and said, "That's really strange, we didn't run into each other. Oh, I remember..." As she spoke, she suddenly came to her senses, "I just found a clump of peony flowers and leaves halfway along the way. I was curious about how many there were around, so I walked into the woods and strayed from the main path. Maybe that's when we missed it."
There are many flowers planted along the way on the back mountain of Jingming Temple, with various varieties. The flowering season is from mid-to-late February to May or June every year.
Su Ran had also heard that Shangguan Xu loved peonies, so she said, "I'm glad your Majesty is alright. But you should be careful in the future. There are hidden dangers on those unmaintained mountain paths. If you encounter any on your own, it would be difficult to deal with them."
Shangguan Xu smiled and nodded softly, "I've taken note of Su Wu's reminder, but the spot is quite flat. I observed it before going in. It's in the woods next to the resting platform below. When the flowers bloom, Su Wu can go and see them."
Su Ran responded with a smile.
Shangguan Xu took Qinghe down the mountain. Before leaving, she asked Su Ran if she wanted to go with them. Su Ran made an excuse to refuse. Shangguan Xu knew what he was going to do, so she didn't care about him. She smiled and left with everyone.
——
As the sky gradually darkened, a long line of people came out of the carriage that drove out of Jingming Temple. In just a short while, eight or nine out of ten pilgrims in Jingming Temple had left.
On the back mountain, an attendant came out from the wild path and said to Su Ran, "Sir, there is indeed a large peony bush behind us."
Su Ran glanced back again and said coldly, "Let's go. She's back to the palace, and we can go down the mountain now."
Under the shade of the woods, on a higher ground, Xu Qing'an hid behind the corner of the mountain path and watched the two people coming down the mountain clearly.
Earlier, when Qinghe called out "Empress", Shangguan Xu realized something was wrong.
"Oh no! There's only one path in the back mountain. Even though I deliberately avoided Su Xingzheng just now, he must have run into Qinghe. Qinghe doesn't know the situation, so after asking a few questions, Su Xingzheng will know that I went up the mountain."
Xu Qing'an asked, "Does your Majesty think that Su Zhongcheng has returned again?"
Shangguan Xu said vigilantly, "Qinghe must have come looking for me because Su Xingzheng said something, and she must have noticed something along the way, otherwise she wouldn't have shouted like that."
Shangguan Xu turned around immediately: "I can't let Su Xing see you and me here together."
But just as she was about to go up, her hand was suddenly pulled back.
She raised her eyes to look at the rude person behind her.
Xu Qing'an looked at her dimly and said seriously, "Behind the first resting platform down from this place is a large patch of unopened peony flowers and leaves. Although it's on a wild path, people often go there."
The two looked at each other. Shangguan Xu pondered for a moment, then nodded and whispered, "Okay, I understand."
"Just now……"
"I'll take care of the traces there just now. Your Majesty, go ahead."
"Um."
…
Su Ran went down the mountain very quickly. After she disappeared from view, Xu Qing'an came out from behind the corner of the mountain path. He glanced at the peony leaf he was playing with in his hand, and thought of the tacit cooperation he had just had with Shangguan Xu.
There is some tacit understanding...
But he suddenly thought of her almost inappropriate smile in front of him just now, and his eyes gradually became cold again. He turned to look at the carriage team leaving the mountain.
He stared at her mercilessly, but a strange and contradictory emotion arose in his heart. He asked, "Isn't it that you like it when I treat others the same way you used to treat me?"
——
It was February and the cold wave had not yet subsided. An imperial decree was issued from the palace that Your Majesty had caught a cold and needed to recuperate in hot springs. As March was also the spring hunt season, preparations were made to move the entire palace to the Lishan Palace. All court affairs, big and small, would be held in the palace, and the emperor would return after the spring hunt was over.
At the same time, Xu Qing'an recovered from his injury and returned to work at the Ministry of Justice.
The matter of the Censorate has not been resolved recently. Previously, Shangguan Xu and Su Wang discussed and asked the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple to assist in investigating the matter. Now that Xu Qing'an has resumed his post, as someone who has experienced it firsthand, he has naturally taken over the Ministry of Justice's affairs regarding the Censorate.
Before this, people from the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple had questioned all the prison guards on duty at the prison that night - no suspicious people entered or left the prison that night, and the prison guards only changed shifts a few times during that time.
Others didn't know, but Xu Qing'an naturally knew that since Su Ran had done this, he must have arranged it long ago. Maybe those jailers were his confidants, so naturally he couldn't get anything out of them.
Xu Qing'an was not in a hurry. He just found some animal skins and fiddled with them with a knife when he had nothing to do during the day.
The little emperor caught a cold, was in a bad mood, and couldn't eat. The imperial physician was helpless. After all, taking medicine could only nourish the body, but he couldn't adjust his bad mood.
Just when everyone around the young emperor was at a loss, Xu Qing'an, the deputy director of the Ministry of Justice, suddenly presented the emperor with something - a pair of shadow puppets.
The young emperor was immediately interested, and since the shape of the shadow puppet was connected to the story behind it, he summoned Xu Qing'an to the palace and asked him to narrate the play for him for several days.
Being able to make the emperor eat is naturally something that can be allowed.
It was at this time that the people from the Ministry of Justice found a porter.
On that day, the Ministry of Justice received a piece of news. On the night when Liu Chang committed suicide, the porter saw a man walking out of the prison while handling the filth in the prison. It should have been 5:15 in the morning, which was not the time for the prison guards to change shifts.
The entire Ministry of Justice was in an uproar, and they immediately found a painter and asked him to draw the man according to the description of the messenger.
When the results came out, everyone was shocked - the man was actually the censor Chen Feng who had previously investigated a case with Xu Qingan.
What is even more shocking is that when the people from the Ministry of Justice arrived at the house to arrest someone, Chen Feng had a calm expression on his face and showed no fear at all.
He even loudly admitted in front of everyone what he had done to Liu Chang, saying that he had known this day would come and had been unable to sleep nights, but now he felt relieved.
But he suddenly cursed the empress dowager of the time for her nepotism, short-sightedness, and mean-spirited behavior. The people in the Ministry of Justice wanted to control him, but he suddenly threw out the suicide note in his hand, took out a dagger from his sleeve, and committed suicide in front of everyone.
Blood splattered on the door lintel, and everyone present was shocked and sighed.
There is a passage in Chen Feng's suicide letter:
The ruler of the Great Jin Dynasty was young, and the Empress Dowager ruled the country without any imperial decree, known as "behind the curtain." However, she did not prioritize merit and ability in employing people, but only sought to please herself. As a result, talented people in the court were trapped below, while favored ministers rose to power. Isn't this a chaos of social order? Isn't this a sign of the overthrow of the country?
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