Sealing Sword

Ruan Shen has made the cruelest choice in his life, which is to do it knowingly and unwillingly.

The second prince does have the heart to fight for the heir, but in terms of literary and martial arts, character and virtue, he is outstanding among the princes of the former emperor. It is very normal for Qin Hebai to befriend him, but now Let the first emperor regard them as the same party.

Ruan Qingxing went to the palace overnight to meet the saint, and when he came back, his clothes were wet with dew, and he said to Ruan Shen: "Tomorrow, you will go to the court, and you will go to Qin Hebai to beat the second prince, and to plot against him."

Ruan Shen smiled angrily: "What's the matter with him? What's the matter with me?"

He has too much resentment in his heart, he can't understand the emperor, he can't understand his master, he can't understand the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, and he can't understand himself.

Ruan Qingxing was silent for a while, and asked, "Do you think Qin Hebai was wronged?"

"Isn't it?"

"I think he deserved what he deserved." Ruan Qingxing sat on the chair, motionless, "Do you think that I disagree with him because we are equal in power and status, and secondly, he disagrees with me politically and obstructs him in many places? Me? In order to protect my power and interests, I must remove obstacles?"

Ruan Shen looked up at him: "Is there something wrong?"

"You're right, but it's not enough." Ruan Qingxing sneered, "There have been differences between generals and prime ministers since ancient times. If I can't tolerate these things, I won't be able to climb to where I am today... I said that Qin Hebai was very wrong. Wrong, deserved, because his existence has become a knife that threatens the stability of the court!"

Ruan Shen frowned, and his thoughts changed sharply: "Master, what do you mean... he has a high level of skill?"

"Great meritorious deeds have won the hearts of the people. The people at the border only know that Duke Qin doesn't know the emperor, and that he is the only leader of a hundred thousand army. And he doesn't know how to hide his clumsiness. Although he doesn't take credit for himself, he shows his sharpness. Do you think this is wrong?"

Of course it is.Ruan Shen could see clearly that Qin Hebai was more than upright, but not indirect. For example, he also disliked the late Emperor and some princes and nobles. Ruan Shen knew how to do one thing to the face and another to the other, but he did not hide his dissatisfaction.Three years ago, he returned to Beijing on horseback without being summoned, and came and went in a hurry without entering the palace to plead guilty. It can be seen that he has a family, a country and a world in his heart, but he does not have an emperor.

"Qin Hebai is a good man, but he is not suitable for the imperial court. He behaves heroically and righteously, and brings the habits of the world to the temple. Although he has no intention of selfishness, he has the reality of forming a party... Heh, do you think any emperor would not be afraid of him? ?

"Back then, I single-handedly supported him because of the danger of the war and the national calamity, and he is a rare general. For this reason, I paved the way for him all these years, and I also worked hard to teach him to survive in the court. Unfortunately, He despised these conspiracies and tricks, and even made friends with the second prince, wholeheartedly wanting to help him ascend to the Great Treasure and become a wise king... It is indeed a misfortune for the country that the emperor loses his virtue and talent, but most of the princes have both talents. Seniors, if a battle for the throne is set off at this time, and the civil strife will bring disaster to the country, how can we remedy it?" President Ruan Qing sighed, "I have been against him all these years because I want him to retreat bravely. Going back to the rivers and lakes, what a pity..."

Ruan Shen had nothing to say.

He knelt on the ground for a long time, until his knees became numb, and the pot of hot tea in Ruan Qingxing's hand was completely cold, before he said: "Therefore... Qin Hebai must be killed first, so that His Majesty will not have to be afraid of it, so that the second prince can be saved? Only Only if the second prince is preserved can we continue to wrestle with other princes’ factions to ensure the balance of the court?”

After a pause, Ruan Shen asked in a trembling voice, "Is there any other way?"

Ruan Qingxing said: "You have one night to make a choice."

Do it when you know you can't do it, or do it when you know you don't want to.

Ruan Shen thought for a whole night, thinking through all the details, big and small things, and finally wandered between these two roads, inexplicably recalling the scene when he was at the border.

The No. 36 Dragon Locking Spear is as imposing as a dragon sailing out to sea. He is soaked in blood all by himself, and he is already an undefeated god on the battlefield.

Why did Qin Hebai fight all his life?For the country and family, die without regret.

Ruan Shen finally chose the path he least wanted to take.

When the court impeached, everyone was shocked. All the domineering and domineering he had done in the first half of his life could not compare to this day's aggression, which made the Qin Party speechless, and also pushed himself into a corner where he could not turn back.

The emperor was furious, and he issued imperial edicts without turning back, which proved his disobedience.Ruan Shen was so anxious that as long as he came back, his body would be smashed to pieces to protect him from retreating. It's a pity that he didn't know which muscle Qin Hebai made a mistake with.

In the end, the late emperor sent Lve Ying Guards to capture him back to the capital. Ruan Shen looked at him the day he entered the court. , his eyes swept across everyone like a torch, and finally fell on Ruan Shen's face.

They finally meet again, but under such circumstances, this time, they don't care about success or failure, they only talk about right and wrong, life and death.

Ruan Shen was like a leech smelling blood, chasing Qin Hebai like crazy and biting him, wishing to bite off all his meritorious status, strip him of his glory, beat him back to a mortal, go back to the rivers and lakes and never see him again.

But from the beginning to the end, no matter how others argued back and forth, Qin Hebai never answered Ruan Shen's words directly. He still didn't feel that he was wrong, and he slowly stood up with his lips pursed, despite the scolding I never admitted my mistake, even if the stick reaches my knees, I will never kneel again.

He finally tore away the hypocrisy he had borne for a long time, revealing a blatant accusation.

Ruan Shen felt that this idiot was looking for death.

In the end, Ruan Qingxing's going to court became the last straw that crushed Qin Hebai. He lost, and he was completely defeated in this political struggle.

Ruan Shen was ordered to have someone drag him out of the hall and beat him eighty sticks, his hands clenched into fists, his nails stuck into his palms without feeling any pain.

He just looked at Qin Hebai and thought: "Idiot, why didn't you call me when it hurts?"

All 130 and six members of the Qin family were imprisoned. That night Ruan Shen wandered outside the prison for most of the night, but never went in. Instead, he met Gu Zheng, the leader of Lve Ying.

From this population, he learned the truth about why Qin Hebai resisted the order and refused to return—a plague broke out in Jinghan Pass, Qin Hebai blocked the news in order not to disturb the morale of the army, and isolated the sick soldiers and civilians for treatment.

However, he could not tell the court that because of the outbreak of such an epidemic, the court would rather kill the wrong one than let it go in order to avoid future troubles.

You idiot, you deserve to be stupid!Ruan Shen's eyes were red with anger, seeing Gu Zheng enter the palace to beg for mercy, he turned around and entered the prison, drove all the guards out, got into the cell and yelled at Qin Hebai.

In the past three years, he has always wanted to scold this idiot bloody, and now he got what he wanted, but he is not happy, instead he can't speak after cursing, and tears suddenly come out of his eyes.

Qin Hebai, who had always listened to scolding as music, finally panicked, but he was beaten so badly that he couldn't get up and wipe Ruan Shen's tears, nor could he hold him in his arms and pat his back as before, holding back. After a long time, I could only choke out one sentence: "Don't cry!"

Ruan Shen sat down with a hoarse voice: "Brother Yunfei...you will die."

"I know." He tilted his head to look at Ruan Shen, "Ms. Ruan and Brother Gu have told me the ins and outs, Shen...I am very glad that you still want to protect me, and I am very grateful that you chose this path."

"The general was never defeated on the battlefield, but died in the temple. No one in your Qin family can survive...Brother Yunfei, don't you hate it?"

"What I hate is that the faint king is still there, the poison is still there, and I don't blame anyone else." Qin He said with a smile: "A family cannot be compared with a country, and a person cannot be compared with the people."

"One day, I will assist a wise king to govern the country, uproot these moths and rats, amend all the unfair laws, and restore the world to a clear sky." Ruan Shen held his bruised dog. "I will do what I say, brother Yunfei...you have to watch me."

Qin Hebai smiled: "I believe you."

"Gu Zheng is going to intercede for you. It's useless for me to say it, but he still wants to go." Ruan Shen stood up, "I can't count on him, so I have to come..."

He seemed to have turned back to that impulsive and willful Zhou Shen that night. Qin Hebai missed him very much, but he had to hold him back and said, "Don't get yourself burned, I won't leave."

That hand grabbed his ankle, with little force, but Ruan Shen couldn't take a step, he raised his sleeve and wiped his eyes vigorously, but Qin Hebai asked him: "Ah Shen, did you forgive me? "

Ruan Shen said, "I don't forgive you."

The light in Qin Hebai's eyes went out.

"I didn't forgive you before because I couldn't hate you, and I didn't know how to treat you." Ruan Shen squatted down and shook his hand: "But Brother Yunfei, if you die this time, I will hate you , and will never forgive you."

Qin Hebai sighed: "Ah Shen, you are not young anymore, don't be willful."

Ruan Shen stiffened his neck and stopped talking, Qin Hebai said: "Actually, you know in your heart that no one can save me now, so why bother with you?"

After a pause, he said almost pleadingly: "Ah Shen, if you really miss me, then... save Liu Rong, she has only reached Ji not long ago, and she is also dumb and doesn't know anything."

Ruan Shen said: "I took the risk to save her, and wait for her to seek revenge from me later? Don't do it! If you want to save her, do it yourself, I will only save you!"

Qin Hebai's voice continued to soften: "Ah Shen... I beg you."

Ruan Shen shook off him and left, angrily, but when she turned around, tears streamed down her face.

He finally rescued Qin Liurong, took another female prisoner and poured dumb medicine to change the situation, and finally rescued the girl from the prison. On the way, he met Gu Zheng. He thought he was about to be captured, but Gu Zheng looked like Didn't see him, turned around and left, dismissing the guards by the way.

Ruan Shen saw the wound on Gu Zheng's forehead from being smashed by the teacup, recalled the loneliness of that person, and knew that Qin Hebai would definitely die.

He personally sent Qin Liurong out of Tianjing overnight. When he parted, he said: "Qin Hebai was killed by me, and your family was dragged into the water by me. If you want to take revenge, I will wait anytime. Don't die before then."

Qin Liurong's once beautiful appearance has been ruined, and the jailer in the sky prison was taken aback. The girl was caught in chains and couldn't escape. When Ruan Shen arrived, she had already scratched her face with sharp stones, blood dripping , no beauty, no vitality.

Ruan Shen brought her out all the way, she didn't say anything, she didn't move until now, with tears in her eyes, she couldn't say a word, raised her hand and slapped him hard, she didn't even think about it. walked back.

Ruan Shen touched his hot face, but felt relieved, turned around and hurried back.

As a result, within a few days, the fact that Qin Liurong was replaced and escaped was exposed, the late emperor was furious, Ruan Shen was ready to go and partner with Qin Hebai, but the unlucky one was Gu Zheng.

Gu Zheng took the blame for him, even if he was labeled as the Qin Party, he would not defend himself, and if Ruan Qingxing deliberately covered up the facts, by the time Ruan Shen knew, he would have been completely picked out of it.

Ruan Qingxing had already told Ruan Shen that the late emperor didn't like Lve Yingwei and was dissatisfied with Gu Zheng. He also seldom interacted with him to avoid suspicion, but he always felt sorry for Gu Zheng.

Ruan Shen questioned Ruan Qingxing, saying that he was the only one who did the work, and that Ruan Qingxing didn't need others to get him off the hook.

Ruan Qingxing said: "Things have priorities, and people have relatives and distances. For Qin Hebai, the comparison between family and country is the same; for me, it is the same between you and Gu Zheng."

He rushed to the execution ground, but it was too late. The calm and reliable leader Lve Ying, who was cold outside and hot inside, had already turned into a bloody skeleton, and all he saw was a pool of blood that hadn't been washed off in time.

He looked at the bloody coat on the ground, and there was only a line of blood on it: "I made a promise and I will not regret it, and I will not change my life and death."

Ruan Shen was seriously ill and missed many things. For example, Qin Hebai finally pleaded guilty after learning of Gu Zhengzhi's death. For example, there were martyrs and generals intending to rob prison...

But when he recovered from his serious illness, no one could save Qin Hebai, and the execution period was imminent, so he became the beheading officer.

Ruan Qingxing allowed him to go to Qin Hebai to say goodbye, but he stood outside the prison door and couldn't say anything, but Qin Hebai spoke first: "Ah Shen, will you supervise the execution tomorrow?"

"……Um."

"Can't change?"

Ruan Shen said: "What do you think the imperial decree is? No!"

"It's troublesome, you love to cry so much..." Qin Hebai sighed, "Promise me one thing."

"what?"

"Close your eyes during the execution tomorrow, don't look, don't cry." Qin Hebai smiled at him, "Once you cry, I won't feel at ease when I leave."

"..."

He finally couldn't hold back, fell to his knees, clutched the iron fence, and burst into tears: "Brother Yunfei..."

Qin Hebai's hand stretched out from the gap and stroked his head, probably wanting to say something, but in the end he didn't.

The next day, it was overcast and rainy.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, the whole family of Qin's family knelt on Jingtai, he threw the command arrow with his own hands, and the executioner sprayed wine on the blade, and raised the knife with his hand to drop it.

Qin Hebai glanced at him when the knife was raised, and Ruan Shen closed his eyes as he wished, and only opened them slowly when there was crying and howling around him.

The head rolled to the ground, the rain water diluted the blood, and the body fell down the steps.

He failed to find that the head was Qin Hebai at first glance, because the rain and tears blurred his eyes.

Seven days later, Ruan Shen received a secret letter from Zhou Xi, stating that he had identified all the sick patients in Jinghanguan and the sergeants who might be infected with the disease, a total of 3000 people, and they were about to return to Beijing.

Naturally, Zhou Xi would not really bring the plague back along the way. He sent this letter to make a cruel and satisfactory end to the plague.

The first one on the list is Zhou Xi's name.

The plan was successful, and 3000 people were drowned together with the disease they contracted, and finally they were burned by a big fire.

When the news came, he looked at a note that Zhou Xi replied before he entered the mountain, which said: "I have understood the matter of the general, you are not wrong, please be good."

He clutched the note tightly and sat alone until dawn.

The brothers who hadn't seen each other for three years ended up with blood thicker than water with this simple note.

Ruan Shen's status in the court is getting more and more important. He methodically took over the forces entrusted by Ruan Qingxing, and slowly turned himself into the person he hated the most, and finally he was invulnerable.

After another three months, Ruan Qingxing finally couldn't hold it anymore, and when he was dying, he called Ruan Shen to the bed, angrily said, "I know you hate me."

This old man changed his life and let him destroy everything he cherished with his own hands, but just like Qin Hebai back then, he hated him as much as he respected him.

Ruan Shen didn't open his mouth, but just tucked the quilt for him.

"One day, you will understand... There are things in the world, who else can I do?" Ruan Qingxing laughed softly and coughed violently, "Ah Shen... when you crowned me, I didn't give you a word, now Let’s make it up... How about just taking ‘Fei Yu’?”

The whole world praises it without persuasion, the whole world does not want it without discouragement, it is determined by the distinction between internal and external, and the debate between honor and disgrace is over (Note).

After Ruan Shen nodded, he let go of his hands, and a generation of Nanru passed away with a smile. Looking at the old man's pale hair and weathered face on the bed, he had already seen his end.

This is indeed the case.

He became Ruan Feiyu, assisting the new emperor, implementing new laws, giving power to the government, and plotting.

He also became a Southern Confucianist, in charge of the academy, commanding scribes, writing books and setting up talks, turning clouds and rains.

Ruan Shen fulfilled his promise in such a cruel and decisive way, and also cut off his retreat, neither pleased with things nor sad for himself.

Year after year of this kind of days, his head full of blue hair was covered with frost and snow, his high spirits were tempered by the world, and finally came the day when he would become a yellow flower of tomorrow.

When he left Tianjing, he made a special trip to the mass graves.

At that time, the Qin family was beheaded and no one collected the bones, and was abandoned in a mass grave with overgrown grass. At that time, Ruan Shen came here at night, braved the wind and rain, pieced together corpses with different heads, and dug up the soil. put it in.

Because of this, he saw Qin Hebai for the last time, the flesh on the man's face began to rot, but Ruan Shen still recognized him, and carefully buried him under a big tree.

It was snowing heavily that day, and Ruan Feiyu walked under the tree with his crane cloak in his arms. After the death of a generation of Bei Xia, there was no tombstone, only a small grave.

He incinerated the paper money, poured another pot of wine, and said, "Brother Yunfei, I have to go."

Frost and snow fell all over his head, Ruan Shen felt that he was really old, he felt tired after standing in this cold weather for a while, but he didn't want to leave yet.

Once you leave, you may never come back.

There are 31 letters in his hand, even after Qin Hebai's death, he didn't get rid of his habit of writing letters to him. This time, he planned to take them to the grave and burn them for Qin Hebai, but he still didn't.Ruan Shen hesitated for a while, then opened the letter and read it to the grave bag, until his mouth was dry before he stopped, and it was already dusk.

The sun was setting, but there was no warmth, and the snow on the ground did not melt.

"Over the years, I've been quite tired. Many people asked me why I refused to show mercy. I think...everyone has selfishness. You and Master were like that back then, and I was like that back then. They all lost in the end.

"Since then, I have understood...people, only if they are ruthless, selfless, and careless, can they live up to the world without hindrances."

Rubbing the letter with his fingers, Ruan Shen said, "Brother Yunfei, if you haven't gone to reincarnate yet, just...wait for me."

He stood here until it was dark, then put the last jug of residual wine on the ground, turned around and left without looking back.

You bury your bones in the mud of the Yellow Springs, and I send your head covered with snow in the world (Note 2).

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Note 1: From Zhuangzi's "Xiaoyaoyou"

Note 2: From Bai Juyi's "Meng Wei Zhi"