Chapter 75 Chapter 75 Let it go.
When Xu Qing'an returned to the ancestral hall, Su Shang was squatting next to Shangguan Li and talking to him.
Su Shang glanced and saw Xu Qing'an outside the door.
He lowered his gaze and continued to say to Shangguan Li, "Don't worry, I'm here with my father."
Shangguan Li raised his head, his eyelids drooping as he looked at the person in front of him with a dull, lifeless expression: "Please explain."
Su Shang responded again, and after a moment of silence, he stood up and walked out.
Xu Qing'an also stepped into the room at this time.
The two stopped at the same time as they passed each other.
Su Shang tilted his head and said, "You really are haunting me."
Xu Qing'an also looked at him: "Were you involved in this matter?"
The word "also" was enough to make Su Shang's heart boil over.
Su Shang knew why Xu Qing'an emphasized the word "also" - he was talking about the night of Shangsi that year.
But no, there is no!
Su Shang clenched his fist and suppressed it: "I said, I didn't participate."
Xu Qing'an sneered, stopped looking at him, and walked straight past him.
Su Shang closed his eyes, his heart aching for a moment, but he felt that he had other things to do at the moment, so he endured it for the time being and did not bother with that person any more.
Xu Qing'an walked in front of Shangguan Li and half-crouched as he spoke, "Sir Shangguan."
Shangguan Li raised his eyelids to look at him, his voice weak but still elegant: "Master Xu."
Xu Qing'an said, "Master Shangguan has been kneeling here for so long. Get up and sit aside."
"No." Shangguan Li laughed at himself. "Compared to all the wrong things I've done, kneeling here is nothing."
"So what's the point of you kneeling here?"
Shangguan Li looked at him in surprise, and Xu Qing'an knew that he was determined to kneel down and apologize here, so he didn't look at him much. He just stood up and walked to the front of the ancestral hall, took three incense sticks, and bowed to the spirit tablets.
Shangguan Li looked at him in silence and astonishment throughout the whole process, until Xu Qing'an half-knelt in front of him again.
Xu Qing'an said, "When Shangguan Gong was alive, he was renowned and highly respected. Although I was young at the time, I admired him for his deeds. Now, lighting a stick of incense in front of his memorial tablet can be considered as fulfilling a wish of mine."
Shangguan Li lowered his eyes. "When my father was alive, he never did anything mediocre, and he always treated people with sincerity. In my eyes, he was like a pine or cypress, clear and strong..."
"So I don't believe what you said today." Xu Qing'an interrupted him directly.
Shangguan Xu immediately looked up.
Xu Qing'an met his gaze and looked at him intently, then said, "Or maybe I don't believe it completely."
"Actually, when I first heard what you and the Queen said, I also thought that was what you said, until I met that person."
"What is Su Jia Qilang doing here at this time and in this incident?" Xu Qing'an asked, but answered himself, "Because he didn't come here for the Empress, he came for Lord Shangguan. You two have an agreement that no one else knows about."
"What agreement?" Shangguan Li asked him back.
"Of course I don't know, but this is what I want to ask, Master Shangguan," Xu Qing'an said. "And I also want to ask, Master, why are you still unwilling to tell the truth at this time? Is it that you just want the Empress to hate you? Is it that you just want the Empress to feel the pain of being betrayed by someone close to her?"
"Of course not..." Shangguan Li replied simply, and then said, "But this is the way it is. I can't argue with it."
"Lord Shangguan also said that Lord Shangguan was your role model when he was alive. Not only did you receive Lord Shangguan's guidance from a young age, but Lord Yuhua was also still alive at that time. These two virtuous individuals continuously influenced you from childhood to your youth. How could you do anything to harm the monarch? Remember that Lord Shangguan was a well-known virtuous gentleman in the capital before he even entered the officialdom."
"The world is full of twists and turns, and people are always changing. What outsiders say may not be true. Besides, my original intention was not to kill him, I just wanted to..."
"I just want to teach him a lesson." Xu Qingan said in a low voice.
"But Lord Shangguan, even though people's hearts are multifaceted, their wisdom, methods, and styles are often consistent. Even though you've been away from officialdom for three years, based on your past experience, you would never make such a decision based on a few words from others or a few things you witnessed. This is inconsistent with your previous style."
It's truly bizarre that if a gentleman, usually so refined and easygoing, truly feels that someone is going astray, his first thought is not how to admonish him, but how to make him suffer so that he can learn a lesson.
Seeing Shangguan Li remained silent, Xu Qing'an continued, "As I said just now, I don't completely disbelieve what you say, but there is a touch of affectation in your words."
"You were indeed the only one who could have embezzled the imperial seal and persuaded the aristocratic families that were once friendly with the Shangguan family to ally themselves with Prime Minister Su. As you said, you did this to tie yourself to them, giving them a way to control you. I suspect this is also why you were falsely imprisoned shortly after the Jiangnan shipowner incident. Did he contact you then? Did he ask you to cooperate with him on the Jiangnan situation?"
Shangguan Li admitted, "Yes. Although he didn't find any evidence that Your Highness was responsible, the successive incidents involving several major shipping companies had a significant impact on his Jiangnan strategy. So, he approached me, asking me to leverage my father's reputation in Jiangnan to help him win over the people. I also wanted to contact those aristocratic families and ask them to help stabilize the shipping business and prevent others from taking advantage."
"But you refused, so he took his anger out on you. And because you rejected him, he thought the Jiangnan ship merchants' affairs were connected to the Empress. So he attacked you as punishment for not keeping the Empress in check and keeping her 'behaved,' and also as a warning to her."
"No, that's not right." Xu Qing'an amended his tone. "Given his methods, there shouldn't have been any warning. His original intention was to attack the Empress directly, but you wanted to protect her and blocked it for her. No wonder when I went to see you in the prison, you asked me to tell the Empress not to waste any more time trying to save you. It turns out it wasn't just because you didn't want her to anger Prime Minister Su because of you, but because you knew the reason behind everything that happened, so you were determined to die, hoping to atone for your sins and find freedom."
After hearing this, Shangguan Li closed his eyes and took a long breath, unable to speak for a long time.
Xu Qing'an knew he was right after seeing his reaction, and after calming down for a while, he slowly spoke again: "Shangguan Sir, it's very torturous, isn't it? Very painful, isn't it? But you know, someone who could do such a cruel thing would never suffer the way you are now."
"You absolutely did not participate in the planning of the shipwreck back then." His tone suddenly became heavier and more urgent. "Why? Why are you taking the blame now? If you could say before that you wanted to tie yourself to them so that the Queen could avoid their reckoning, then what about now? That excuse is totally untenable. Now, whether it is Prime Minister Su or the Queen, they all know the other's plan. Neither side will stop. What's the point of what you said to the Queen today, other than adding to her pain!"
Shangguan Li ignored Xu Qing'an's questioning. He slowly raised his eyes and whispered, "You're right. Neither side is willing to stop now. So, Master Xu, I have a favor to ask of you."
Xu Qing'an looked at him.
Shangguan Li spoke slowly, "Tell the Empress... to let it go."
Xu Qing'an's eyes froze for a moment.
Shangguan Li continued, "I know the Empress is close to you now, and perhaps she will be more receptive to your words. So, you should try to persuade her. That person is gone, and no matter what you do, he will not come back. Why dwell on the past and be trapped in prison? If there is a spirit in heaven, I believe that person would also wish the best for her. As long as she stops now, Prime Minister Su will also stop, and there will be peace from now on."
"Shangguan Mingyue!" Xu Qing'an couldn't help but grab his collar with both hands. "Are you determined to hold on to those embellished 'truths' and refuse to let go? Are you determined to make her neither hate nor hate you for the rest of her life? Are you going to let her let go, or are you going to inflict even more torture on her?"
"Are you too naive, or too foolish? How could you have thought the Su family would stop at this point?" At this point, Xu Qing'an suddenly recalled the conversation between Shangguan Li and Su Shang before he came in. He pondered for a moment as he asked, "Su Qilang, Su Xubai... What agreement did you have just now? What did you ask him to do?"
"Speak!" After shouting, Xu Qing'an softened his voice and said kindly, "You know what? Even though you were forced to tie yourself to the group behind the scenes to avoid reckoning, as long as you hadn't participated in the original plot, it would have been different. Even if you still did something wrong, her hatred for you would have been different."
"You are his brother, her only blood relative in this world. You cannot be so cruel to her. She is already exhausted and has been through too much. She will not be able to bear it. And you should not bear the blame that does not belong to you. You have been taught by Lord Shangguan and Lord Yuhua. Think about what choice they would have asked you to make if they were still alive. Think about what your principles and ambitions were when you first entered the officialdom. Would you compromise with this evil man and let him act with impunity?"
Seeing Shangguan Li's expression seemed to relax, Xu Qing'an gently asked, "Tell me, why have you been so tightly bound to them until now? Is there anything else we don't know? Tell me, and we can solve it together."
Shangguan Li said softly, "Lord Xu has been in the imperial court for a while now. Did you know that I come to the palace to talk with His Highness on the same day every month?"
"What's wrong?" Xu Qing'an's eyelashes flickered, and he suddenly had a bad premonition.
Shangguan Li raised his eyes. "Do you think that simply handing over power will reassure him? What do you think I relied on to say that as long as His Highness stops and doesn't pursue the past, Prime Minister Su will be able to live in peace with her? I admit that I insisted on the truth and tied myself to them because I wanted to use my brotherly relationship with His Highness to force her to stop. I also know how emotionally cruel this is to her, but you know, nothing is more important than her life."
"What do you mean?" Xu Qing'an became increasingly uneasy.
Shangguan Li finally relented and told the truth: "I visit Her Highness every month not just to talk to her, but more importantly to bring her the antidote for the poison in her body. The poison normally doesn't show any symptoms, not even the victim knows it, but if the poison is stopped, the victim won't survive more than a month. That's why Prime Minister Su initially agreed to let her go and allow her to rule the city."
"Because her life has always been under the control of Prime Minister Su, and just now, Su Xubai came here for this matter."
Xu Qing'an's eyes gradually widened, and then he suddenly stood up and moved forward. Even though he almost stumbled and fell, he grabbed the ground with his hand and ran out without stopping.
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