Zhu Lan is dead

"I have released him from exile, what else do you want to do?"

He was lazily reclining on the dragon chair with a lazy expression. Compared with the previous sitting upright, this time he seemed very careless.

The minister on the side said: "Your Majesty, collaborating with the enemy and treason is a capital crime, and should be punished by beheading..."

After finishing speaking, many people nodded in agreement.

His eyes were full of smiles, and he looked unexpectedly gentle. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the Prime Minister and the General Protector at the head of the two ranks, but his eyes fell on Lin Fu.

"Guo Xiang, you might as well tell me, who should I listen to?"

"I think..."

Lin Fu hadn't finished speaking, but Zhou Lixiao said again, "How about this, I called him back, beheading is too light, how about Ling Chi's suspended sentence for three days?"

He changed his posture, continued to smile and said, "By the way, add the punishment of dripping water, and cut off your hands and feet after the incident, how about it?"

His Highness was completely silent, and everyone's faces began to look bad.

"Tell me, what am I asking you? Is this okay?"

The minister who just came out of the line carefully raised the wat board, inexplicably excited, "The minister seconded the proposal..."

Zhou Lixiao's gaze fell on him, and he was silent for a moment, then suddenly got up and walked towards him, leaning over to look at him with his hands behind his back, "Do you think it's okay?"

The minister lowered his head even lower, and was about to hesitate to make a sound, but he might as well have been kicked hard in the stomach, and his whole body flew backward in an instant, and the ministers behind him scattered back in panic.

"I don't think so." He stood up straight, with contemptuous eyes, "Come on, continue, who wants to second?"

He smiled and walked forward with his hands behind his back, stepped on the minister's chest, but his eyes fell on the ministers in front of him, "I like to hear you tell the truth, go on, why don't you say anything?"

Everyone immediately showed a mournful look, and naturally no one dared to be the second to stand out.

There was a glint of prey in his eyes, Zhou Lixiao leaned over and lifted the minister's body with one hand, "Fang Shanyuan, Mr. Fang, right?"

Master Fang looked at him and nodded in horror.

"Do you know why I kicked you?"

"Chen, minister..." Lord Fang almost cried out.

Zhou Lixiao patted his face, "Don't be afraid, I won't be a tyrant, and naturally I won't do things like killing innocent people indiscriminately."

The whole body fell silent, but this time no one was willing to echo.

Zhou Lixiao couldn't help but chuckled, "I heard that you got into the top three in the imperial examination, right? What rank did you come from as a Jinshi?"

The minister didn't expect Zhou Lixiao to remember him so clearly, and he said with a guilty conscience: "No. 20, the third..."

"23?" He suddenly raised his eyebrows, showing a thoughtful look, "I remember that the 23 fellow Jinshi is called Chen Danian?"

"..."

After finishing speaking, he looked at Mr. Fang with a low smile, "Are you Chen Danian?"

Master Fang wanted to cry but had no tears, "Minister, minister..."

"That Chen Danian is now working as a porter in a store on West Street. He lives in poverty and can afford food and clothing, but why didn't he become an official in the court back then? I remember that he was very talented, and he was a talent for governing the world, but he didn't make it to the top two. A, I became a good man afterwards..." He lowered his head and smiled, "Is that you? Master Fang? When did you change your name? Have you asked your ancestors?"

"Your Majesty." Lin Fu came out suddenly, and said to him, "This is the imperial court, please be careful, so as not to be remonstrated by the historian in the future..."

"You let him remonstrate!" Zhou Lixiao suddenly roared, "I want to see what tricks they can come up with!"

He laughed again suddenly, with a moody expression, "President Fang, is this Mr. Fang a student of yours?"

Lin Fu's face was sullen and he didn't make a sound.

"I know it even if you don't tell me, what do you think the things you have done are compared to the little things I said?"

The spearhead suddenly turned around, and everyone was in danger for a while.

"Have you ever been satisfied with the ups and downs in the court all these years? Have you ever been satisfied with forming cliques in private for more than a week? Have you ever been satisfied with selling officials and nobles? Have you ever been satisfied with framing Zhongliang and falsely passing on orders?"

"Your Majesty, empty words can mean slander and slander, not to mention that the prime minister is a relative of the late emperor..."

"What?" Zhou Lixiao turned to look at the minister who came out to help, "How do you know that I'm talking empty words? Or do you have a guilty conscience and only use the late emperor to suppress me?"

He suddenly frowned and clapped his hands, "Aiqing, come out, let them see you!"

Just when everyone was at a loss, a figure stepped out from among the courtiers. That figure was slender and straight, like the young and famous military general back then.

He raised his hand and took off the crown, revealing a shocked face.

"General Wu?"

"Isn't Ciqingfang dead..."

"Is this a human or a ghost?"

"..."

Looking at Lin Fu's uncomfortable expression with satisfied lips, Zhou Lixiao put his hand on the shoulder of the person beside him, pointed at Lin Fu and said, "Come on, Aiqing, why don't you tell me how you survived back then?"

"..."

An hour passed, and what was said made those who heard it sad and the listener shed tears, and the rest of them were stunned, wishing to grab their heads to the ground and shout for mercy immediately.

Zhou Lixiao couldn't help laughing out loud, but tears filled his eyes. He pointed at the minister lying on the ground in front of him and said, "Don't beg for mercy, don't beg for mercy. I'll say something good today, everyone has a share, and I won't do it today. Let go!"

As he spoke, he stepped forward and patted Lin Fu on the shoulder, and chuckled softly, "President Guo, are you convinced?"

Knowing that his death was imminent, Lin Fu did not kneel down and beg for mercy, but said to himself: "The old minister has been waiting for this day for a long time..."

The laughter stopped suddenly, and Zhou Lixiao suddenly raised his hand and drew his sword and stabbed him in the stomach, blood spattered three feet in the hall, his eyes were cold, "The superior is not loyal to the king, and he is a usurper who uses the ring master to seek his own interests. "①

The sword edge was three inches further, and he said again: "The way to be a minister is to be loyal to the emperor, trustworthy, and respectful. It is not a clever and sycophantic sycophant who deceives the superior and the inferior, and tries to deceive him with a word."

The sword penetrated another three inches, piercing the flesh and guts, bleeding profusely from the mouth, Zhou Lixiao looked at him with a sneer, suddenly drew out the edge of the sword, kicked him to the ground, swung his sleeve, blood dripping.

"If you take beauty but don't claim it, you will end up in evil!"②

After saying this, Lin Fu fell to the ground long ago. He threw out the blood-splattered Tianzi sword and shouted loudly, "Come on, carry it out and chop it up to feed the dogs. Seal the gate of the mansion and deprive all rights. All people related to family status, regardless of gender, will be exiled!"

He turned around and walked towards the high position, raised his eyes and looked down at the ministers, his eyes were terrified.

"This trip today is to wake up the kings. If you commit crimes again in the future, it will be worse than this time. Do you understand?"

All the ministers bowed their heads and followed their ears, and bowed their heads to answer.

When everyone dispersed, His Majesty knelt down and bowed in silence, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness in redressing your grievances."

Zhou Lixiao reluctantly opened his eyes to look at him, cold sweat trickled down the bridge of his nose, his face was extremely pale for a moment, he collapsed on the dragon chair, and chuckled softly, "Is this the truth that I have finally heard from you after so many years?" gone?"

Ciqing's head drooped even lower, the corners of her mouth raised slightly, "Yes."

"Heh..." He laughed softly, his chest felt as if it was being scorched by fire, like a pile of rocks, he raised his hand to his forehead, the corners of his mouth were dry, "You are still unwilling to change your rebellious temperament after all these years..."

After a while, a faint sigh resounded in the hall, and a stream of blood suddenly slipped from the corner of his mouth unconsciously. He wiped it with his fingers, and continued to smile without any response: "Do you have anything else to say to me?"

The fingertips were icy cold, suppressing the discomfort in her heart, Ci Qingfang said in a low voice: "No."

"Okay..." He couldn't help coughing, he covered his lips with his fists and sat up straight, only a quick glance of the vicissitudes of his eyes and the decades of experience.

"Let's go!" He looked at the figure and said in a daze: "Farewell to the monarch and his ministers, the sky is high and the sea is wide, you can go..."

Ciqingfang laughed in a muffled voice. The decades of freedom are too late, Your Majesty...

But in the end he didn't say anything, he just bowed in a proper manner, got up and walked out of the hall with a flick of his sleeves.

"Wait..." His brows and eyes were vacant, and he watched the figure stop in front of him, his fingers slightly curled up, and he held on to the armrest beside him, "What do you think... what kind of evaluation do you think I have in your heart?"

Ci Qingfang turned to look at him, tall and handsome, with the same flair in his eyes as before, he couldn't help laughing in surprise, "Your Majesty is the son of heaven, he will do his own way and make a mighty decision, when will he care about other people's evaluation?"

His brows and eyes were astounded, and suddenly he was surprised again as if he had seen a peerless treasure. He said three wonderful sentences in succession, but in the end he just clapped his hands and smiled, "Over the years, you still haven't let me down..."

"Is there any place the general wants to go back to in the future?"

All the way out of the palace gate, he unexpectedly saw Tian Ruwan who had been waiting outside the gate for a long time, and said with a light smile: "Master Tian, ​​please don't call me general anymore, now the name is not worthy of the name, it is really ridiculous to say."

Tian Ruwan smiled, "It's really not used to the general being so modest."

Ciqingfang still looked ahead, "Actually Mr. Tian just wanted to ask my Fuyan where he is now, right?"

Sighing helplessly, Tian Ruwan said: "Actually, I have been promoted by my husband all these years, otherwise I would not have achieved what I am today, but..."

"He probably won't come back." The light in his eyes gradually faded, and a fishy and sweet taste began to fill his throat. He just frowned and suppressed his discomfort, "He is like me. He didn't like these disputes and entanglements at first, but now Just thinking about the life of idle clouds and wild cranes, the four words of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism are too heavy for us."

Maybe he should continue to be a dandy who achieved nothing back then and should not listen to his father's advice, otherwise he would not be so ignorant and bring disasters in the future.

It's just that now that everything is wrong, how can it be worth a regret?The only pity is that many people have been involved, and there are too many debts. Even if he is asked to pay with his life, it may only be difficult to repay in eternity.

Maybe the topic was too heavy, Tian Ruwan couldn't ask any more questions, but he thought of someone in his heart, and couldn't help but said: "The general just left this time, what should the child do?"

There was a hint of a smile in his eyes, and all the mistakes he made when he was young have now turned into a little bit of elation, but he just bent his eyebrows and said without regret: "He has a belonging now, and I'm afraid it won't be his turn." I'm here to teach..."

After saying goodbye outside the palace gate, the two parted ways and walked far away, one south and one north.

He walked lightly between the heaven and the earth with his sleeves on his hands and his robe, and the places he looked at were as prosperous as they were back then.

The emotions in his heart turned into joy when he touched the figure under the green willow not far away, he bent his lips and walked towards that person.

For some reason, when he really saw those gentle eyebrows and eyes, his eyes were reddened, and he sobbed like a half-grown child for a while.

Guifuyan looked at him helplessly, and reached out to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, "Now that the boss is not young, why do you still like to cry like a child?"

He stretched out his hand to hold his hand, his fingertips were cold, he felt as guilty as when he got into trouble when he was young and was brought home by his second brother to apologize all the way, "I owe you so much, how should I pay it back?"

The corners of the brows and eyes were full of smiles, and Gui Fuyan chuckled, "The big mistake has been made, and the child has grown up. If you want to pay it back, you can listen to me carefully from now on, okay?"

"Yeah." He responded softly, and stepped forward to hug him, but the smile on his brows and eyes hadn't cracked open yet, but the fishy sweetness in his throat couldn't be restrained anymore.

His shoulders were getting wet gradually, and the smile at the corner of his mouth froze. He stretched out his hand and tried hard to hug the body that couldn't stop sliding, and the panic between the tears finally burst.

I don't know how long I've been in a coma, but when I woke up in a daze, I saw the man's pale and powerless expression, reached out to hold his finger, Gui Fuyan smiled and held it back, and said softly: "Are you awake?"

He frowned in discomfort, only to realize that the matter could not be concealed, he said cautiously, "I'm sorry..."

Guifuyan lowered his eyebrows, the old doctor's sigh was still in his ears.

With depression in his chest, the serious illness is hard to heal, and once he lets it go, he should finally rest in peace. He has held this breath for so long, until the day when his injustice is avenged, and in the end he can only end the rest of his life.

He stretched out his hand to caress his eyebrows, "You don't have to tell me these things, and I won't blame you." He bent down and approached him with a smile: "Well, what wishes do you have unfulfilled when you are about to die?"

His eyes were slightly red and his face was extremely pale. He forced the corners of his lips to curl up and said, "I've always wanted to accompany you on a tour, but..."

"Is it that simple?" Guifuyan looked at him thoughtfully.

Ciqingfang sat up slowly, and said to him honestly: "It's that simple..."

The few words that were suppressed in his heart finally did not dare to speak out, he just smiled, "Then I will fulfill you."

"Even if this road goes south to north, I won't turn back again. Have you thought about it?" He raised the sedan chair curtain and looked at the people in the sedan chair.

"Don't look back." Ci Qingfang tried his best to sit up straight, trying to look more energetic, "Come up and accompany me?"

"..."

After hesitating a little in his heart, he still handed over the whip in his hand to the driver beside him, lifted his clothes and bent over and walked in.

The latter took advantage of the situation and leaned all over him, Guifuyan smiled helplessly, "You let me in just to be a human cushion for you?"

Suppressing the fishy sweetness in his throat, he stretched out his hand to hug his arm, and changed into a more comfortable position, "You are the one who knows me so well."

The light in his eyes gradually dimmed, he reached out his hand to caress his temples, but he didn't say anything, the driver outside the sedan chair let down his whip, and the carriage began to sway out of the city gate and move forward.

This road is Huangquan,

The sun sets without a shadow.

Destiny never ends,

Only three thousand dreams remain.

The sigh kept ringing in his ears, his fingertips were slightly cold, and after a while the person leaning on his shoulders unconsciously tilted his body, but he still smiled, and stretched out his hands to hug the gradually cooling body tightly .

But the heartless smiling face at the lantern banquet that year seemed to appear in front of my eyes. The boy's brows and eyes were as frivolous as ever, sitting under the red bean shirt, flirting and playing with the women who came and went, turning a blind eye to his persuasion, and looking at him But his eyes were as bright as a star, "Life has always been short, but it has been more than ten years in a hurry. If one day I die, my good second brother, would you be willing to cry for me?"

He tilted his head against him, and the tears from his eyes slid down drop by drop, splashing on the hypothermic skin, he couldn't help but smile and bent his eyebrows, and gently said the answer that had been pressed in his heart for decades.

"I have fulfilled your wish, my useless brother, can you still see it?"

The author has something to say:

①Quoted from "Xunzi·Chen Dao": "Cliques compare with Zhou, and take the ring as their own business, and they are usurpers."

②From "Zuo Zhuan. The 27th Year of Duke Xiang": Uncle Sun said: "Leopard heard it: 'If you don't claim to be beautiful, you will end up in evil.'