prosperity

Early the next morning, Ju Jingyi dragged Si Nian'an to the place he had found.

Seeing the flaming Xu Mou all over the floor, she was silent for a long time before letting Ada and the few subordinates who were summoned urgently take action together.

"It is said that this is a flower that grows on the road leading to the underworld, because only in that kind of place will there be corpses everywhere." Ju Jingyi said, "This flower is beautiful, but it is also very dangerous."

After that, she took a deep breath, picked up the shovel and followed everyone to dig. Zhao Jiamin saw her movement and stepped forward to help.

This piece of land is different from the sandy land in Jiawan Kingdom, and the same thing is desolate and out of shape, except for a large area of ​​sand, there are only a few unknown weeds growing crookedly.

Sinian, the only idler present, hid behind a big rock with his arms folded to avoid the wind, and taunted him, "I don't know if I found the right place or not. I saw a lot of corpses here. Why dig them out? Give them away for free." When the grandson collects the corpse? Do you want to set up a monument for the ancestors?" He has given up on persuading, and simply followed through with cynicism. No matter what Ju Jingyi does, right or wrong, he will laugh at it.

"Look for clues." Ju Jingyi didn't think he was noisy, so she stopped what she was doing.In fact, she didn't dig very deep. After all, the soil here is relatively hard, so with internal strength, at their speed, she couldn't finish digging in a whole day. "Well, I don't need to answer you why."

"Then you still don't want to give up after finding out here? So what if you have some clues? If you hand in such poor clues, Pei Xiaotang will still be his General Zhenyuan." Si Nian'an said, "Besides, the truth will come to those who survive. That said, it’s not necessarily a good thing.”

Ju Jingyi shook her head, "I know that part of the truth may hurt innocent people, but some harm has already been done. As for whether they can forgive, or have the power and qualification to forgive, only the victims. Whether they die or No matter whether they can appeal for their own injustice or not, since I already know the existence of this truth, I can't just sit and watch it drowned in the dust of time. Those who hurt them must be punished as they should be, and who are these people? The price that must be paid."

"If you don't apologize for doing something wrong, you don't pay the price for it. Instead, the victim hides in a corner and licks his wound, and even suffers discrimination and slander from outsiders. Why? How can there be such a reason? They don't have the ability Cry for injustice, and I will come and cry for injustice for them."

"Ju Jingyi." This was the first time since Si Nian'an called her name so seriously, "Do you still remember, who are you?"

"Ju Jingyi." She paused, "Dali Siqing."

Si Nian'an glanced at Zhao Jiamin, "The Princess is no longer the Princess, let's not worry about it for now." He then looked at Ju Jingyi, "What about you? As the Minister of Dali Temple, you also think that Pei Xiaotang did something wrong?"

"From the overall situation, he drove away the Turks and maintained the peace of the Anxi Protectorate for 20 years, isn't it right?" Sinian said indifferently, "The deaths of the people in the border town with less than 20 people, in exchange for Is it [-] years of peace at the border, the territory of the Jin Dynasty will not be trampled, and more people will not be harmed, is it not worth it? Is it possible to let him watch the Turks come here and there from time to time, consuming unnecessary military supplies for nothing? Guard the northern border The army led by Old General Wen, and the army of Princess Anping need these even more."

Zhao Jiamin shook his head, "But you can't say that, he is using those innocent people as bait."

"Being a bait, this is just Ning He's one-sided claims. There is no evidence. Who knows if it was caused by the negligence of Pei Xiaotang's generals? Besides, from the perspective of your regent princess, isn't it right?" Si Nian'an whispered, " Taking the lesser of two evils is not the consistent choice of those in positions of power. If you give up, you will get something."

Zhao Jiamin said intently, "Yes, if you give up, you will get something, but even if I stood in his position, I would not make such a decision. Maybe you think I am a little naive, because I don't want to sacrifice anything for no reason. One person, but I think the root cause of having to make trade-offs is lack of ability, not adversity is the reason.”

Si Nian'an's eyes were red on the ground, and the corners of his mouth turned down, as if he wanted to let out a sigh, and his peach blossom eyes, which were always smiling, also suppressed the smile, revealing a breath of pity, "It's really going to be that time Woolen cloth?"

Zhao Jiamin didn't notice the change in Sinian'an's expression, and thought, "Then, let's talk about it later. Fortunately, in the four years I have been the princess regent, I have never encountered such a situation. "

"Perhaps in the overall situation, it is true, and the result also proves that Pei Xiaotang did not seem to do anything wrong." Ju Jingyi said suddenly, her eyes were clear and bright, her voice was not loud, but it was very clear in this chaotic wind, " Yes, who wouldn’t want to exchange a trivial price for prosperity and stability? But who would be willing to pay such a trivial price in this prosperous world? Whose life is not life? The life of others is not life? No one will stop you from dedicating yourself, and you will even praise them warmly, but those innocent people, they are not willing, they don't even know anything, and they become a nameless place crushed under the wheels of prosperity, Not even a name left."

"It's not very normal." Si Nian'an chuckled, "Who can live forever, among those emperors, which one doesn't want to leave a name in history? But how many people really leave their names?"

"It's normal, so it must be right?" Ju Jingyi retorted, "Those innocent lives have created the reputation of Pei Xiaotang. People will only remember the achievements of General Pei, but they will not remember that under the fame of General Pei , What a pile of bones. Since you have done this kind of thing, you should be prepared to overthrow your reputation at any time, and everything you have won from others must be returned at a different price. Otherwise, what is the reason for it?"

"well said!"

A strange male voice sounded, and several people looked for it, and couldn't help but be taken aback.

A group of people with all kinds of tools appeared nearby at some time, all of them looked dignified, while Ning He was caught in the middle, with red eye circles, as if he was moved by Ju Jingyi's words.

"I can tell you clearly that this is the burial place of people who died 20 years ago. Pei Xiaotang didn't dare to expose his crimes, so he ordered his men to dig a hole here and bury people in it. Seven years The previous drought exposed many people, but it also exposed this burial site.” The uncle who just spoke up said, “Ninghe took you back to the town and persuaded us to share some details of the year. We didn’t want to believe you , but since you have said so, if we don't help, we can't justify it!"

"indeed!"

Another big brother who took the lead said, "Girl, based on just a few words, I believe you will avenge them. Let us help together. If you want to testify, we can do it too!"

"Yes!" The crowd echoed one after another, "That's right!" "We are not afraid of death!"

Zhao Jiamin looked at Ju Jingyi excitedly, she didn't expect that so many people would come to help her with her words.Ju Jingyi also looked at her with a smile, her tense expression for several days was finally satisfied.

But Si Nian'an snorted coldly and turned his head away.

With more people to help, the efficiency will naturally be much faster.Looking at the two little girls, Ju Jingyi and Zhao Jiamin, the townspeople didn't want to make them tired, so they drove them aside to rest after digging for a long time.

Seeing Ju Jingyi approaching, Si Nian'an said angrily, "You know they're hiding on the sidelines, that's why you said that on purpose. Let that Pei Xiaotang pay what he deserves, and you won't be afraid of boasting."

"If no one is willing to be someone who stands up for them, then everything will dissipate." Compared with before, Ju Jingyi's voice is extremely low at this moment. If you don't listen carefully, you may not be able to hear what she is saying. "As an official, I just don't want to be as helpless as I was back then. I watched the evidence dissipate, but... I couldn't do anything, so I deeply realized my incompetence."

Zhao Jiamin stopped drinking water in mid-air. Although Ju Jingyi's tone was calm, she could feel the heavy grief. Compared with the sadness when thinking of Taishi Lingshi, she felt more guilt.

helpless.Ju Jingyi, will there be times when you can't do anything?

It seems that since the first time she met Ju Jingyi, she has never seen a failure of Ju Jingyi.

"Sometimes I wish you were more like the old man, and sometimes I wish you weren't like him." Amidst the raging sound of shovels, Si Nian'an's sarcasm seemed no longer so clear, "It's a pity, it's really good, isn't it?" The optics are bad."

At the end of the day, people dug up the first layer of corpses.

Si Nian'an's premonition was correct. This is a large burial site, even scarier than mass graves. The corpses are placed randomly and close together.The townspeople carefully arranged the corpses that had been dug up first, and took turns guarding them.

Both Zhao Jiamin and Ju Jingyi were driven back to Ninghe's house to rest, as for Sinian, this one followed Ju Jingyi back to town brazenly.

Taking advantage of Ju Jingyi's inattention, Zhao Jiamin dragged Si Nian'an into the yard to talk.

"Master Dazai works so hard, so don't always talk sarcasticly around her. I don't know if you've noticed, she cares about you very much, even if you retort, try to control yourself not to be serious."

Sinian snorted noblely and coldly, "What do you know?"

"I don't know much, but I know that you care about her." Zhao Jiamin put her hands on her chin and said with a smile, "You keep making sarcastic remarks because you want her to give up, and you don't want her to get involved."

"What's getting involved?" Si Nian'an rolled his eyes, "You all like to turn people's words upside down and break them up to understand word by word. Little people like me don't think so much, but I just can't understand it."

"Then, can you tell me about what happened to Ju Jingyi before?"

Si Nian'an's eyes instantly became as unpredictable as moonlight, "Why do you ask this?"

Zhao Jiamin thought she had provoked him, so she said cautiously, "She said today that she doesn't want to be as helpless as before."

"Oh, it's your Dazai-sama. At that time, when I was young, I was so happy to meet a friend that I couldn't find it. In the end, that little girl." Si Nian'an sold Ju Jingyi without hesitation, and glanced at her. Zhao Jiamin sighed heavily on purpose, "Do you know Han Cong'an?"

Zhao Jiamin gave him face very much, and asked quickly, "The former servant of the Ministry of Punishment?"

It should be said that it is the predecessor, after all, Mu Linsen who succeeded him has also died.

Zhao Jiamin frowned and thought about it. It seems that the case of Han Cong'an's embezzlement, acceptance of bribes and connivance of family members' murder was the first major case that made Ju Jingyi famous and promoted to Dali Temple Shaoqing?

"The little girl's parents died tragically for no reason because they competed with Han Cong'an's relatives for business. The little girl lost hope and committed suicide. She watched everything happen, but she couldn't do anything because she didn't even have any evidence. But let To my surprise, she didn't ask my father to go to the regent for help, but asked my father to teach her to read. You know the rest."

"Ah."

"To be precise, she is no longer from my Qingyang Mountain."

Zhao Jiamin asked in surprise, "What?"

"Although she and Wei Zheng learn martial arts in the same discipline, they have different ways." Si Nian'an explained with rare patience, "My purpose of Qingyang Mountain martial arts comes from Taoist thought. Although there are countless ways, in order to achieve the great way, only There is continuous comprehension and research, and the main thing is to concentrate. Like Wei Zheng, she will eventually become an official in the court and only learn external skills. After all, she doesn't have the time and energy to do something. And she was brought by my master from nowhere. With no father, no mother, and talent, she worshiped under my senior brother, and the master is also planning to let her succeed the master, it can be said that the entire Qingyang Mountain has great expectations for her."

"But she still does." She chose to enter the court as an official.

Zhao Jiamin's heart became heavy, she didn't expect Ju Jingyi to be so decisive.The past is easy to break, and now the little emperor still trusts her, but he has his own example here, just in case in the future.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help worrying.

"I failed so many people's expectations." Sinian's gaze fell on Zhao Jiamin, his moonlit eyes lightly swept across Zhao Jiamin's face, bringing a chill, "Of course I don't have the face to stay in Qingyang Mountain any longer. There is no Qingyang Mountain, only the imperial court. She is herself, and she has driven herself to a dead end."

His words had deep meaning, Zhao Jiamin seemed to understand, but also didn't seem to understand, her head was in a mess, she was wrapped in the middle, and she couldn't find the root thread.

"Okay, it's late at night, don't disturb me."

Not wanting to say any more, Si Nian'an directly pushed the confused Zhao Jiamin out, and closed the courtyard door with his backhand.

Looking at the closed courtyard door, like Sinian's stinky face of rejection, Zhao Jiamin had no choice but to walk towards his room.

Hearing Zhao Jiamin's footsteps walking away, Si Nian'an slowly walked back to the deck chair under the tree, lifted up his robe and lay down comfortably, and said, "That little princess of yours has gone far away, why are you hiding?" hide."

Ju Jingyi pushed open the courtyard door on the other side, walked to Si Nian'an and sat on the ground, looking up at the starry sky half covered by tree branches, "Little uncle, why did you tell her so much?"

Si Nian'an said in a disdainful tone, "It's not because I'm afraid that you will suffer. Telling something about your childhood will make her feel sorry for you, and she will remember your kindness."

"Then thank you little uncle." Smiling, Ju Jingyi turned to look at him, "What about you? I haven't seen you for a few years and you can tell what I'm thinking, senior sister."

"It's impossible for me and her." Sinian interrupted indifferently, "Don't think about it any more."

"Are you still thinking about that person?" Ju Jingyi stared at his earrings in a daze.

"No." Si Nian'an shook his head, "Little Ju, would you like a woman who treats you brutally and unreasonably? I'm not a masochist, I make a bad face at her every day, and it's okay to come here to find trouble. If Zhao Jiamin has always treated you like Wei Zheng treated me, so there is no way you will like Zhao Jiamin."

Ju Jingyi was stunned for a while, "I originally thought that Senior Sister treats you differently."

Si Nianan glanced at her, realizing that this guy who had just opened his mind would not understand without talking, so he said helplessly, "Maybe she treats me better than you, but you don't know the person I like. , is to resemble."

"Gentle, good-looking, and talented like that person." Ju Jingyi picked up his words, "It's a pity, there is only one of her in this world."

"Yes." Sinian repeated in a low voice, "There is only one her."

Even if she is not the best in the world, in my heart, she is so invincible.

"Don't just talk about me." Si Nian'an stretched out two fingers, holding a small flagon that he didn't know where to get, and handed it to Ju Jingyi, leaving one in his arms, "Tell me about your plan."

Ju Jingyi took a sip and looked up at the night sky, wondering if it was because of the alcohol, her eyes were shining brightly, "In a few days, help me take Zhao Jiamin away."

Si Nian'an glanced at her, not surprised, "As expected, you have already planned."

"I've been here for so long, and today I made such a big commotion, if Pei Xiaotang doesn't know about it, then stop messing around in the northwest."

"Why don't you just return to Beijing with the evidence in hand, and leave the rest to Ji's family?" Si Nian'an asked, "You should have countless ways to get out and let Ji Yuandao and Pei Huaiyuan, two old foxes, fight by themselves."

"Seven years ago, Ji Yuandao knew about this matter, and he has been plotting to this day. I have long been a pawn on his chessboard, and it is not so easy to get out." Ju Jingyi shook the flagon in her hand and said softly Say, "And most of all, I'm curious."

"curious?"

Si Nian'an and Ju Jingyi spoke to each other, and the flagon in their hands was mostly empty.

"Yeah." Ju Jingyi threw away the empty flagon in her hand, and simply leaned against the big tree behind her to relax, "Ji Yuandao should know better than me, if there is no Zhen Guogong in the court to check and balance him, it is easy for the family to dominate. Master Ouyang was quite afraid of the Prince Regent, who was so powerful back then."

Hearing this, Si Nian'an's hand holding the jug tightened slightly, and his heart beat wildly.

Ju Jingyi hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Actually, I have no doubt that Master Ouyang will do something to the regent sooner or later, but I don't know if I should say that fortunately, the regent died young due to fatigue, so there is no need for him at all." Do it. Master Ouyang couldn't wait to change the year name in the second year, and Ji Yuandao resigned because he was afraid of being feared by Master Ouyang like he was the regent. Then, why is he not afraid now?"

Si Nian'an turned his head away, pursed his lips and remained silent, but Ju Jingyi didn't notice it.

"So, I also want to try it out."

Si Nian'an subconsciously asked, "Trying what?"

"Ji Yuandao hopes that I will continue to investigate and overthrow the Zhen Guogong's mansion, or."

"Don't forget." Sinian said suddenly, "You are also a powerful minister."

"But I'm alone, and alone."

Si Nian'an said coldly, "So what? The majesty of a king is unpredictable."

Ju Jingyi was taken aback.

"Taiping was originally ordered by the general. The general is not allowed to see Taiping." Sinian stood up staggeringly. Although he was smiling, he seemed to be crying. It was more like a faint scream in the night.

"Little uncle?" Ju Jingyi couldn't see his expression, but just hearing his words made her heart palpitate inexplicably. She hurriedly stood up to help him, but was thrown away by Sinian An, so she had to stand behind him and ask inexplicably. ,"Are you OK?"

"Ha." Si Nian'an laughed, and when he turned around tremblingly, the pain in his eyes had subsided, and he changed the subject, "Why, you must never forget Zhao Jiamin."

The topic suddenly turned to Zhao Jiamin, Ju Jingyi was taken aback, "Me."

"If it wasn't for me." Si Nian'an pointed to himself, "We found out about your problem when we wrote the letter, and I would like to mention it to you, you don't even know about it yourself." As he spoke, he still showed disgust.

Si Nian'an felt slightly sour in his heart, at this moment, he only hoped that Zhao Jiamin could become her bondage and make her stop.

Ju Jingyi blinked and had nothing to say.

After such a long time, I can still say that the little uncle must be drunk.

She didn't think too much, it wasn't because she was afraid of anything, but because the little uncle didn't let her think too much, so she didn't think too much.

Back in the room, Zhao Jiamin touched the jade pendant on his waist, but it was empty, with an anxious expression on his face.

Why did it fall again?

Thinking about it, it's very likely that it fell while talking to Sinian.

So she pushed the door out again and walked towards the yard.

"What's so special about her?" It was Sinian'an's voice, "Just one face, so you can remember it until now?"

Zhao Jiamin didn't know who he was talking to, so he stopped quickly, not daring to go any further.A few more steps forward, Si Nian'an will find her.

With a chuckle, "Maybe."

Is it Ju Jingyi?

Who are they talking about?

Zhao Jiamin stood there in a daze, not even daring to move.She was so nervous that she clenched the corners of her skirt, just like being recited by her father when she was a child, she was flustered and waiting for the ultimatum.

"That's why I really don't understand you." Sinian said, "I miss that person because there is no other person in this world who will treat me so well."

how about you?

Zhao Jiamin can't wait to ask for Si Nian'an, how about you?And why did you read it until now?

"About a year after the little emperor changed his name, I was just promoted to Dali Temple Minister and was invited to a palace banquet." Ju Jingyi said, "In order to avoid drinking, I found a reason to go out to breathe, but I didn't know the way. I got lost. That day, I really searched for the way for a long time, huh~ I was very tired, I thought I found Weiyang Palace, but who knew that I went the wrong way again. I still remember the temperature that night, it was very cold, and the air was very cold. There was a chill, but I was sweating a lot. After all, the palace gate would be locked any later. But I kept walking, and there was only a big lake in front of me. I accidentally looked around and found a person sitting by the lake. She looked up at the night sky, her face was expressionless, but she looked beautiful and lonely."

"It's very strange. I have seen her countless times before, but I didn't seem to really remember her appearance until that day. I didn't care when people talked about her before. After that day, even when I heard her on the street name, I would subconsciously listen to what the other party said about her."

"Later, I heard that Princess Zhaoyang killed the teacher, and she was connected to foreign countries. All kinds of crimes were added together. The feeling of incompetence came again. I even thought that as long as she did not plead guilty, then I would This case will not be judged, Shi Zhong has never successfully taken over my case, I will not be afraid when Ji Yuandao comes. It's just that I didn't expect that Master Ouyang didn't give me a chance at all, and directly issued an edict."

Zhao Jiamin's chest was full of sorrow and joy.

That day was my father's death day.She hid by the lake and didn't want to pretend to smile in Weiyang Palace. At first she thought she was alone, and she was so sad that she was dying. It turned out that at that time, there was Ju Jingyi watching her not far away.

"Master Ouyang knows you very well." Sinian said, "Have you ever gotten to know him?"

"No, the funny thing is, I only figured this out a year ago."

A bitter smile appeared on Zhao Jiamin's lips, and so did she, she only figured it out before she died.

"So, do you think, do you know Zhao Jiamin?"

For a long time, there was no response.

Si Nian'an asked again, "Master Ouyang is just using you, what about Zhao Jiamin? Are you sure she's not using you?"

"She is using me."

Zhao Jiamin's breathing was stagnant.

It turned out that she knew.

"So you know." Sinian said, "It doesn't look like you're stupid."

"This was originally my fault." Ju Jingyi said, "The most important thing for her now is to clear the stigma of Jin'an Palace, and it is normal to use me."

"I do not mind."

"You." Si Nian'an didn't speak for a long while.

Zhao Jiamin stood under the shade of the tree, holding the jade pendant he had just recovered, and just looked at Ju Jingyi in the distance.

A small roadside wild flower whose name I don't know is quietly blooming, exuding a light fragrance, which is not pungent and very comfortable.

Just like that night, except that this time, the person who looked at each other silently became Zhao Jiamin.