Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 91: Wuxi Goes Out of Xijing (1)

On the night of August [-]th, there was a full moon in the sky. From a distance, like a mass of silver, there were faint phantoms of fairy mountains and Qionglou.Li's family feasted on freshly fat autumn crabs.This crab was not bought at the market, but was raised in several water tanks in the mansion for many years. In autumn, the thick and fat crabs were picked up for cooking. The cook specially wrapped the crab claws in flour and fried a dish called "" Zhao Xingde can't laugh or cry about the dish that is "the best" dish, so he can only eat more and get more.The small cakes served with the meal are engraved with exquisite patterns of various colors, shaped like a full moon, and filled with halva, implying a family reunion and sweetness, which is a method handed down from the palace. prototype.

Li Gefei and Mrs. Wang both smiled and watched a couple of children eating moon cakes, which made Zhao Xingde and Li Ruoxue quite embarrassed, and they couldn't even say a word.At this time, the servant came to report, and Song An, Zhao Xingde's brother from the same school, came to visit.Li Ruoxu likes to be lively, but just felt that eating was deserted and boring. As soon as he saw Song An, he smiled and said: "Brother Song came just in time, try my home-brewed green plum wine." It was sold out at noon, and the big stores continued to sing and sing until night.

Song An's face was a little weird, he took the wine glass offered by Li Ruoxu and put it on his lips. After greeting Li Gefei and Mrs. Wang, he said apologetically, "Your younger generation is taking the liberty to visit. I am ordered by my master. I have something to say. Yuan Zhi, can you allow the younger generation to talk with Yuan Zhizhi in the study room?"

Li Gefei was slightly taken aback, he and Chao Buzhi had a close relationship, Zhao Xingde is a disciple, and he is also the son-in-law of the Li family, so there is nothing to say in person. "Brother Wu Jiu has never been this tempered?" Li Gefei murmured secretly, but still smiled warmly: "Alright, your senior brother can go to the study to talk, and then come back to have a feast."

On the way to the study room, there were no other people around, Song An said in a low voice: "Yuan Zhi should leave the capital to take refuge immediately, and you must not go to the autumn chamber, you will be in danger of your life!" According to the law, leaking secrets should be punished by hanging, and Song An also came here at the risk of his life.

It turned out that the clerks of the Kaifeng Mansion secretly notified the Ministry of Punishments to prepare for receiving the imperial edict, so as not to lock up more than 2000 scholars on the day of the provincial examination in Qiuwei. Colleagues from Shi Tai and Dali Temple complained that Kaifeng Mansion would not do things.And Song An also learned the news from the subordinate staff, and secretly checked the files and documents handed over to the Ministry of Punishment by the Kaifeng Mansion, and then hurriedly came to inform Zhao Xingde to avoid disaster quickly.

According to Kaifeng Mansion's plan, the leaders of the Neo Confucianism Society, including Zhao Xingde, would be interrogated on the basis of treason and cronyism, and most of the rest of the scholars would only be interrogated for crony crimes.After all, the crime of treason, regardless of the master or slave, is a capital crime.

After listening to Song An's ins and outs, Zhao Xingde felt as if he was in an ice cellar and struck by lightning, and his whole body was numb.He stayed there and said to himself: "How could the court be so absurd to put me in prison just because of the 'rebellious' thief's memorandum? Don’t you want to be executed at the Meridian Gate?” He thought that exposing the post might lead to revenge from the “treacherous” party, and even thought that he might be framed as a crony, but he didn’t expect it to be related to “rebellion”.This court has always severely punished those who committed the crime of treason. In addition to my own death, I will also implicate my relatives. The father of the conspirator and his son over 16 years old will be executed. , brother, younger brother, sister, younger sister, family property, fields and houses are all without officials.However, the crime of treason by imperial edict is very easy to be framed, and the words "unnecessary" are the best explanation.

At this moment, the bright moon in the sky, in Zhao Xingde's eyes, looked like a pale smiling face, reflecting the swaying shadows of the trees on the ground, like a demon dancing wildly.And his slender shadow, all alone, dragged on the ground, looking extremely lonely.A bloody smell rushed straight into his throat, Zhao Xingde swallowed it back forcefully, a bitter and desolate feeling filled his heart.

Song An coughed, and reminded in a deep voice: "People are swordsmen, make a decision quickly, don't hesitate and delay, and cast a grudge." He paused, and said in a low voice: "Before I came, I have reported the inside story to my mentor, The meaning of the mentor is not to sit still and wait for death, but to take refuge for a while. If there is no better plan, the mentor is willing to find Xia Guo envoy Xiao Bing for you, and ask him to try to arrange for you to go to the Su family in the middle of Shu to avoid disaster."

Zhao Xingde was woken up from his trance, heard the suggestion to avoid disaster, and said in a low voice: "If you run away, won't you implicate the Li family and your mentor?" During the time in Bianjing, he was the most at ease in this world During the comfortable days, gradually, I have an inseparable relationship with Li Gefei's family, Chao Buzhi's master and apprentice, and I don't want to implicate them because of myself.

Song An said in a deep voice: "You and Miss Li's family are only engaged, and have never been married, so she is not your wife. At most, the Li family will return the dowry gift to the teacher as a sign of breaking up, and Kaifeng Mansion will not be implicated. According to the rule of "tolerating the hermit", the Kaifeng mansion cannot force Miss Li's family to be a witness. Since she is fine, it is even less likely that other people in the Li mansion will be implicated. Mr. Li is a gentleman in the world, a "traitor" thief They also dare not incriminate him at will. As for the mentor, even if the nine clans are imprisoned, it only affects relatives, and there is no precedent for implicating the sect. Therefore, the most urgent thing is to save your own life for the future."

The two of them couldn't wait to go to the study to have a leisurely discussion, so they stood in the dark tree shadow beside the garden path and talked, Zhao Xingde only saw Song An's anxious eyes, but he was really thinking about himself, and remembering the risk he had risked his life, inside I was really moved, but it dispelled a lot of the sadness at the beginning, and my mind became clearer.

Zhao Xingde asked himself that if he sat and watched Chen Dong and others die, even if he escaped, he would regret it for the rest of his life, and said slowly: "This case of revealing the posts involves a lot of people, I should inform some people who may be interrogated on the charge of treason Classmates, persuade these few not to cast themselves to death."

Song An nodded and said: "Since you have such a heart, it is inconvenient for me to dissuade you. There is still something strange this time. The Kaifeng Mansion seems to deliberately let the news go. Others may not know about it. Chen Shaoyang and the others may also know the news. Although Qiu Wei In the past, it was very common for students to gather to discuss their studies, but you have to be more careful, lest the Kaifeng Mansion take action in advance." He paused, and asked again: "Do you have a place to avoid disaster? Do you need a mentor to arrange for you? ?”

Zhao Xingde nodded, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, brother, for reminding me." Both he and Song An knew that the relationship between Chao Buzhi and people from the Xia Kingdom was delicate, and Xiao Bing, the envoy of the Xia Kingdom, sent people to send gifts at four o'clock and five seasons. None of them will be accepted, nor will they return gifts.The Xiaguo Scholars' Mansion also sends a bachelor's stipend every year, but Chao Buzhi also refuses to accept it.The imperial court was concerned about Chao Buzhi's close relationship with Xia Guo, if he invited Xiao Bing to do something for his disciple's affairs, it might cause trouble for the upper body.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xingde said: "Don't bother me, my teacher. I have a good friend who will go to Xia Kingdom the day after tomorrow. I will go with him." Come here and start thinking about how to deal with the crisis at hand.

Song An nodded, and said in a low voice, "What about Sichuan funding? If it's not enough, I can help."

Zhao Xingde thanked him: "To tell you the truth, brother, Wang Tongzhi rewarded him with a lot of money for his service in the Hebei Army, which is enough."

Song An was relieved now, and told Zhao Xingde some things to pay attention to when fleeing, such as paying attention to the notices offering rewards everywhere at the city gate, and also checking whether there are other official documents in the hands of the officials to compare the graphics, and told Zhao Xingde that he would help him prepare A fake customs clearance document will be handed over to him at Huixianlou at noon tomorrow, so as not to be detained by the officials during customs clearance.

After the discussion between the two, Zhao Xingde stood quietly for a moment, calmed down, and there was no change in his face, and then he slowly returned to the autumn crab feast in the garden, smiling to apologize to Li Gefei on behalf of Song An, Said that the family had returned in advance.Li Gefei was examining Xiao Ruoxu's poetic talent, and ordered him to compose a poem with the theme of the full moon, but he just nodded slightly when he heard the words.Li Ruoxue sensitively noticed the slight change in Zhao Xingde's expression, and cast a worried and concerned look at him with her beautiful eyes.Zhao Xingde could only smile at her, raised his glass to drink the new green plum wine made by Fuchu, he felt extremely sour, his heart agitated, he almost couldn't help but shed tears.

A black cloud in the sky quietly half-covered the full moon, with one big eye, looking coldly at Bianjing, which was constantly singing and dancing.