Placid Chang'an

In the cool night, Su Cen breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Qi Lin and Jia Wangchun leave the city along the river in a small boat, and went back home with Qu Linger.

After a hard day's work, Su Cen packed up and was about to close the window and go to sleep. She was taken aback when she saw a figure in the corridor. After hesitating for a moment, she put on her clothes and went out, heading towards that figure.

"Still asleep?" Su Cen asked.

The person in the corridor turned around, and it was Jia Zhen who smiled weakly at Su Cen, "I, I can't sleep."

"Still thinking about what happened during the day?" Su Cen sighed. He was used to being a young master since he was a child, and he had never done anything like comforting others. Let's take a step."

"Yeah." Jia Zhen nodded.

There was a moment of silence, Su Cen hesitated between turning back to the room and trying harder, and finally asked without words: "Why don't you go with them?"

Jia Zhen smiled wryly, "I can't help much if I follow along, I have to worry about that big brother guard watching me, and besides—" the voice gradually weakened, "I want to watch He Xiao being brought to justice here Fa, to avenge my elder brother. I'm not saying I can't trust you...I, I just...want to watch."

"Yes." This time it was Su Cen's turn to nod.

The hatchback was speechless, and Su Cen began to struggle again whether to leave or not.

"You are amazing." Jia Zhen whispered suddenly.

"Huh?" Su Cen tilted his head.

Jia Zhendao: "I thought you were very powerful when I was on the boat, but I didn't expect that you would become an imperial court official, let alone that you would be trusted by the imperial court at such a young age, and I would send you down to investigate such a big case."

Su Cen thought that it was not the court's trust, but that person's trust, and he was just trying to live up to that person's trust.

Su Cen smiled, "You don't even know who I am, but you have revealed so many things about He Xiao to me intentionally or unintentionally, and last time I was at your house, I overheard the door, you still help me ?”

"You can see it?" Jia Zhen scratched his head embarrassingly, "I just think that you are not afraid of He Xiao. Everyone in Yangzhou City is afraid of him, but you are not afraid. You should have some skills."

He Xiao is not afraid, but he has the ability?Su Cen only felt that Jia Zhen's way of defining people was really novel, and said helplessly, "You never thought about what if I belong to He Xiao?"

Jia Zhen scratched his head again, he really didn't think about it.

Su Cen smiled and didn't say anything else, thinking that this is a fool's blessing, if Jia Zhenruo is really deep in his thoughts, He Xiao might not be able to tolerate him.

In the next few days, Su Cen should eat and sleep like a normal person, staying at home without leaving the house, watching He Xiao tossing about outside with a broad heart.

After all, he is not the one who should be anxious now.

He Xiao didn't find Jia Wangchun's body until the second day after he walked in Jia's house. He immediately contacted Xue Zhi and blocked all the exits in Yangzhou City. However, Qi Lin and the others walked one night ahead of time.

The external troubles have not been resolved, but internal troubles have arisen.I don't know where it started, a song began to be sung in the mouths of children in the streets and alleys: Dihua Township, Dihualang, the wind has no shelter, the rain has no shelter, the lonely and helpless, the concubine spends all his money to help him, I hope you will try to be on the gold list next autumn .Winter is gone, spring is coming again, the husband has gone without an explanation, and the concubine travels thousands of miles to find him. Unexpectedly, the mandarin ducks are in pairs and the birds are in pairs. The husband has long forgotten the concubine.Parting in life, reunion in death, repaying you with a song of Butterfly Sorrow, may your love in this world end soon, and meet on the road to Huangquan as soon as possible.

The ballad is so detailed that anyone who cares will know what's going on as soon as they hear it. Immediately there was an uproar in Yangzhou City. Sell ​​it up.

The Wang family became even more chaotic. The young lady of the Wang family yelled for reconciliation every day, and she cried, made trouble, and hanged herself in front of He Xiao. He Xiao was forced to do nothing, dared not enter the house, and spent every day in the salt shop's counting room. rest.

It happened that the house was leaking and it was raining continuously, and before it was safe for a few days, He Xiao found out that Xue Zhi and others were secretly collecting evidence of his crimes, presumably seeing that his situation was over, he began to disentangle himself.

He Xiao sneered noncommittally, a group of idiots with eyes like beans, but they didn't know that if he was finished, no one in the city's public office would be left behind.

After waiting for another two days, seeing that He Xiao was overwhelmed, Su Cen started to return to Beijing.

Although Su Lan was reluctant, she knew that Su Cen had not been dismissed from office, so she made up her mind and made a fuss about food and drink every day and fed him for two days before letting him go.

To be on the safe side, Su Lan had already arranged for a merchant ship to go to the capital with Yutai Tea Company. The Su family's tea was tribute tea, so even Xue Zhi and others had no right to stop the investigation.The departure time was set at noon, Qu Linger went to the flower boat early in the morning to say goodbye to Xiaohong, Su Lan rushed over because of an accident in the next semicolon, only Yue Wanqing was left at home to help Su Cen take care of it luggage.

It was near noon and the two hadn't returned yet, so Yue Wanqing urged Su Cen not to miss the departure time, and let Su Cen get on the boat first, because Qu Linger really couldn't catch the next boat.

Su Cen frowned slightly, and only wanted the fried Qinglongjing before tomorrow, so he dragged Yue Wanqing to the warehouse to get it.

When someone entered the warehouse, Su Cen closed the door and asked, "Did something happen, brother?"

Yue Wanqing's eyes dodged, but in the end she couldn't stand Su Cen's burning gaze, she covered her face and cried, "He Xiao, He Xiao sent someone to pick up Zian early this morning."

"How did this happen?" Su Cen paused, "Brother, doesn't he know what He Xiao is? Why do you want to go with him?"

One must know that in Yangzhou City, unless Su Lan is willing, who can force him to do something he doesn't want to do?

Yue Wanqing sobbed softly, but did not answer.

Su Cen immediately understood, "It's because of me? He Xiao threatened to announce my identity if he doesn't go with him, right?"

Once his name is made public, no matter whether it is a salt merchant or an official who accepts bribes from the salt merchant, they will surely attack him.

"It's so stupid," Su Cen gritted his teeth, "What he wants is me, I'll go back to replace the elder brother."

He just took a step but was pulled back, Yue Wanqing wiped away tears, and held Su Cen with her slender hand, but there was no doubt about it: "Go quickly, Zian is kind to He Xiao, He Xiao won't do anything to him Yes, Zian can rest assured only when you leave, you don’t care about anything, go back to the capital, continue to plead for the people, and be a good official.”

"I can't even save my elder brother, so I'm still an official!" Su Cen lowered his head to stabilize his emotions, then raised his head and said to Yue Wanqing seriously: "He Xiao has several lives in his hands, I can't leave elder brother behind He bets on his kindness, if something happens to my elder brother, I will not be safe in this life."

Seeing that Yue Wanqing was a little loose, Su Cen said again, "Don't worry, since I dared to come to Yangzhou alone, I naturally thought of a way out for myself. There are important people in the court to protect me, so He Xiao can't do anything to me."

Yue Wanqing was at her wit's end, so she asked tentatively, "Really?"

"Of course it's true," Su Cen smiled, "You wait, I'll bring my eldest brother back."

It was much easier for Su Cen to find He Xiao than it was for He Xiao to meet him. He only needed to say hello to the two tails following outside, and someone would naturally send him to He Xiao.

The meeting place was in a courtyard outside Yangzhou City. Su Cen noticed that although the garden was not small, it was not very popular. There were packed packages everywhere in the courtyard. It seemed that this was just a place to stay. He Xiao I also know that I can't afford to toss about any troubles in Yangzhou City, and I am ready to withdraw at any time.

Su Cen saw He Xiao sitting opposite the door as soon as he entered the door. Compared with the last time they met at the Wang family's birthday banquet, he still had the same happy face, but now his complexion was haggard, and there were even a few strands of gray and white in his forehead and temples. Smiling at him, "Su Cen and Su Zixu are in charge of the Dali Temple, Mr. Su really has a lot of airs, you have to be like this to invite him over."

Su Cen frowned, and asked straight to the point, "Where's my elder brother?"

"Zian..." He Xiao squinted his eyes, and there was pain in his eyes, "Zian is fine, in a safe place, what I want is you, as long as you are obedient, he will be fine."

"How my elder brother has treated you these past three years, you have treated him like this," Su Cen looked coldly at the person in front of him, "You really are a wolf-hearted and ungrateful person."

"Do you think that if it wasn't for Zian's face, you would be able to stand here and talk to me now?!" He Xiao slapped the table, "If it wasn't for you...if it wasn't for you, why would we be here with Zian!"

"Do you really think that without me, elder brother wouldn't know what you did?" Su Cen sneered, "Over the years, elder brother has regarded you as a confidant, so he deceived himself into believing that what you did was out of control, he Treat you sincerely, but you deceive him to be soft-hearted, and lie to him again and again. You should be glad that I told him this. If he finds out the truth by himself, he will hate you to the bone, wishing that he Yang Dao fell into the hands of bandits, and I don't want you to save me."

There was silence in the room for a while, and a sigh came out after a long time. He Xiao leaned back on the back of the chair and said softly, "Whether you believe it or not, I was sincere in saving Zi'an back then."

"I didn't know who he was at the time, and I didn't ask for anything in return, but the fault was that Zi'an was too pure and kind, and he wanted to repay me wholeheartedly. He brought me back to Yangzhou and let me see that world. Beautiful wife As long as you have silver in your hands, you can’t buy anything, but these are not counted. Do you know what else money can buy?” He Xiao laughed self-deprecatingly, shook his head and said with a smile: “You can buy money. Fame."

Su Cen frowned, only to hear He Xiao continue: "One time when a big family celebrates a birthday, Zian takes me there to have a banquet. That's when I realized that merchants and court officials can sit on an equal footing, and a trivial curtain can block the eyes of the world. It just so happened that there was our Xuezheng examiner sitting on that table, reeking of alcohol as he was toasted by others, thanking him for replacing a poor boy with his own son!"

"Afterwards, I asked him if he still remembered who was replaced? Haha, guess what he said?" He Xiao laughed more and more maniacally, tears came from the corners of his eyes, "He said, he didn't remember, haha Haha, he doesn't remember! An insignificant little person, he is changed when he changes, and he doesn't even remember who the person was changed!"

Su Cen frowned, "He doesn't even remember, how do you know that the person who was replaced was you?"

He Xiao wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and his eyes instantly became ruthless, "He doesn't remember, but I remember, I remember every word I wrote! I found someone to get the copy of the rural examination. Zhu Juan, my article is written next to someone else's name!"

He Xiao gritted his teeth: "Why have I been studying hard for ten years in the poor window, but the title of the gold list is a rich young man who can't read a few big characters! At that time, I suddenly understood that there is no gold house in the book, but gold can be bought as you want. Everything you want!"

"Including human life?" Su Cen asked.

He Xiao was slightly taken aback, then turned his head and smiled, "Human life is not worth a few dollars."

Su Cen said, "What about Qiuniang? How much is her life worth?"

"Qiu Niang..." He Xiao propped his forehead and laughed, "That stupid woman, haha, I'd have forgotten if you didn't tell me, that stupid woman is the most worthless."

"That's right," Su Cen said coldly, "You don't have to pretend to be someone else to kill her with your own hands."

"That stupid woman wants to die!" He Xiaoyin sneered, "I've said it all, I'll find a house to house her and keep her safe for the rest of her life. But she doesn't want it, she insists on staying in that smoky flower boat , I also want to make a song about the two of us and sing it to those whore|clients. She just wants to threaten me and doesn't want me to marry Miss Wang's family! Tell me, this kind of stupid woman, I keep her for a long time What's the use?"

"You are so pitiful." Su Cen said softly.

He Xiao was slightly surprised.

Su Cen looked down at He Xiao, and with a bit of pity, said word by word: "She doesn't want your house, because she doesn't want you to be insulted, and the song she composed, have you heard it?"

A hint of doubt appeared on He Xiao's face, it was obvious that he had never heard the song before.

Or dare not listen at all.

Su Cen said: "That piece of music tells the story of a firework woman and a scholar named Die Chai. Because she is a person in the world, she doesn't want to drag the scholar down. Is this a story with what you think?"

"You are talking nonsense!" He Xiao pretended to be calm, but his fingertips were already trembling, "If she is really afraid of dragging me down, why doesn't she leave!"

Su Cen ruthlessly refuted his last thought: "She wanted to leave, you just didn't give her a chance.

"A master of poison said that there are two kinds of poison mixed together, which can emit a strange fragrance when it sticks to clothes. Back then, Qiuniang's body floated on the river for a few days, and the fragrance wafted all over the city. Do I need to say more?"

He Xiao's face was frighteningly pale, and it took a long time before he said with difficulty: "You mean...she, she committed suicide?"

Su Cen lowered her eyes and said, "She was already poisoned, but you poisoned her again. She wanted to fulfill you even when she was dying, but you snuffed out the last bit of redemption with your own hands."

"I don't believe it!" He Xiao almost roared, but he couldn't lie to himself after all, his voice became softer, and he said to himself: "How could this happen?"

He still remembered that the little girl gave him the only pancake in the house and told him with a smile that she was not hungry.

Her lying skills have always been poor, and her stomach growled as soon as she finished speaking, but she still blushed and asked him to finish the pancake.

Why didn't he realize that that night by the river, she smiled and said that she wanted to be with him forever, her expression was exactly the same as when she said she was not hungry, her acting skills were so clumsy, but he took it seriously.Watching her drink that glass of wine, he actually felt relieved.

What Su Cen said was right, Qiuniang was his only salvation, if he hadn't given that glass of wine back then, wouldn't he have sent himself to such an unrecoverable situation like now.

In a trance, he only heard a burst of noise outside the courtyard, and He Xiao suddenly came back to his senses, only then realized that he had been fooled: "Are you delaying time?!"

The door of the room was wide open during the conversation, Feng Yiming pushed the door open, and smiled at the two of them, "How are you talking? I didn't bother you, did I?"

Su Cen breathed a sigh of relief, nunu chin and said to Feng Yiming: "Catch it."

"Catching is naturally necessary."

Suddenly a cold light flashed in Feng Yiming's eyes, before Su Cen could react, a dagger was already attached to his neck.

Feng Yiming laughed and said, "Master Su, our sect master invites you to go over and talk about it."