Jiang Qing

It was the first time that Bai Bingchen invited his son, Guo Huan, Minister of Dali Temple, to his house for a talk since Guo Zhengyang, Minister of the Household Department, was exiled. Along with him, Wen Cheng, the doctor of imperial history, was invited.

Jiang Yan didn't know what Bai Bingchen chatted with them in the house, and after half a day, he sent the two of them out from the study, and even gave a big gift that didn't fit their status.

He kept guarding the door, afraid that Bai Bingchen would be overwhelmed and shut himself in the room to restrain himself, but Bai Bingchen remained the same except for his pale face.

Bai Bingchen tidied up the study silently, had dinner, put away the clean official uniforms in advance, and went to bed early as usual.

Everything seemed to return to the way it was before getting Mei Shao's bad news, as if Bai Bingchen had coughed up blood before, and the hoarse voice was Jiang Yan's illusion.

"Patriarch." Jiang Yan was still worried, brought a bowl of ginger soup, and looked at Bai Bingchen's expression carefully, "It's getting colder at night, go to the cold."

Bai Bingchen's eyes are as calm as water, like the color that settles to the bottom when the deep sea is calm, so deep that it seems to attract people's eyes.

He took the ginger soup, drank it calmly, handed the empty bowl to Jiang Yan, and said, "Go to sleep, you have to go to court tomorrow."

Jiang Yan turned off the lights for him and was about to go out when Bai Bingchen's voice sounded from behind.

"Has his body been found?" The voice was calm, as cold as the night.

Jiang Yan's eyes were slightly hot, and before he could speak, a self-deprecating sigh fell lightly, and the ground turned into moonlight like water.

The faint whiteness fell on the court gown hanging beside the bed, and Bai Bingchen quietly stroked the magnolia pattern on it, the pattern embroidered with silver thread was slightly raised, stabbing his fingertips.

A crystal tear flashed by and fell in the silent darkness.

The river had swallowed his lover, and there were thousands of broken bones buried in the thick, foul-smelling silt, one of which had been lying beside his pillow, alive and warm at that time, and now the pillow was empty. The bed is cold.

"Go out, I'm tired." Bai Bingchen closed his eyes, turned over and faced inward, curled up together, as if hugged by a illusory shadow, and fell asleep all night without moving.

The next day, Bai Bingchen got up to wash up as usual, changed into court clothes, finished grooming, and went into the study.

The desk has been in a mess, four or five wooden carvings are all piled up in one corner, the outermost one is already on the verge of falling, but fortunately its chassis has not been chiseled, and it is barely stable - it is prepared for Mei Shao's [-]th year For the birthday ceremony, a small wooden boat full of lotus flowers. The two people on the wooden boat have not carved their faces in detail, and they are hidden among the lotus leaves and lotus bushes as tall as people.

After winter, it should be Mei Shao's 30th birthday.

Bai Bingchen lowered his eyes, and silently tidied up the messy desk, hung up the scattered brushes, folded up the spread of paper, and Li Shi, who was half-turned, was bent for a long time, and it was still warped after closing it. Bai Bingchen Then he pressed the wooden box where the wedding invitation was placed.

But after a cup of tea, the tabletop reveals its original wood color.

Jiang Yan harnessed the carriage and came to remind him that it was getting late. He saw Bai Bingchen standing in front of the desk in a daze, and he had tidied up the usual messy desk.

Jiang Yan's heart skipped a beat, Bai Bingchen never cared about the things in the study, and never let people touch them, saying that he couldn't find what he was looking for after sorting it out, but today he put it away inside and out.

Bai Bingchen raised his eyes and glanced at Jiang Yan who was standing outside the door, and said lightly: "The car cover is ready?"

"En." Jiang Yan looked at Bai Bingchen's face, and replied vaguely.

Bai Bingchen's gaze paused for a moment on the unfinished wood carving, then stroked it gently, and landed on a yellowed grasshopper next to it, and tucked it into his sleeve.

Bai Bingchen smoothed his official uniform, looked calm, and walked out.

"Let's go to the court."

I promised to accompany you to spend the birthday of the [-]th year, even though you broke your promise, I will live up to you.

I will not make you wait.

-

Ever since the news of Mei Shao's death came back to Pingdu from the North, Zhao Zhen has been avoiding private meetings with Bai Bingchen.

Later, seeing that Bai Bingchen did not offer to meet him in private, Zhao Zhen felt even more uneasy, and even stopped his morning visit for a few days.After Mei Shao's death, although Zhao Yuansheng tried his best to support the north, the morale of the Shenyang army was low, and the Shenyang army was defeated in a row.

Zhao Zhen was already prepared to be bombarded by the Lord and the people in the morning, so when the previous officials were still talking endlessly about the Shenyang Army's return to the court, he was frowned thinking that there was something wrong with him. What is the best way to have both.

The Shenyang Army was brought out by Mei Shao, and only Mei Shao is clear about the deployment of troops, its advantages and disadvantages.Because Li Guo separated the soldiers too seriously before, when the Shenyang Army was established, Zhao Zhen also deliberately let Mei Shao handle all the affairs of the army alone. Even Tong Shen, who provided the general, only provided armaments and never really participated in the Shenyang Army. All business.

To put it simply, Wu Du is just Zhao Zhen's military reserve. If Tong Shen is allowed to lead the Shenyang Army at this time, he may not be able to understand the temperament of the Shenyang Army better than Min Qiuping who followed Mei Shao.

It's just that at this critical juncture, Min Qiuping and Zhao Yuansheng are reluctant to take care of Liang Guo and Jiang Guo, especially now that Jiang Guo borrowed a way from Qin Chengze, Han Queguan and Yanshouguan became two sieves in the North, making up for this Leaving that one out is really a headache.

Zhao Zhen watched the argument of the speaker below, his eyes were fixed on Bai Bingchen in a daze, and he didn't send a word to his ears.

He just felt that Bai Bingchen was a little abnormal today. Usually, when these officials talked about calling the Shenyang Army back to the capital, Bai Bingchen would have to argue a few words to stabilize the situation in the court, but today he didn't say a word, just stood with his hands down, slightly Drooping eyes, staring at the land in front of his feet.

Could it be that after hearing the news of Mei Shao's death, Bai Bingchen was so depressed?

Zhao Zhen's heart twitched, thinking of Bai Bingchen's various obstructions when he forcibly called Mei Shao into the capital, he really had no idea what unexpected things Bai Bingchen would do after Mei Shao's death.

"What do Bai Qing think?" Zhao Zhen finally couldn't help asking.

Bai Bingchen raised his head when he heard the words, the dead silence in his eyes was so deep that it would overwhelm Zhao Zhen, Zhao Zhen immediately regretted asking this sentence.

Before he could reply, the imperial censor Wen Cheng stepped forward and said, "I think it's not appropriate for Your Majesty to ask Prime Minister Bai for his opinion."

These days, the speaker who has been exercising the right to participate in the performance is a person from Yushitai, but Wen Cheng, the doctor of Yushi, has never said a word to express his attitude.Wen Cheng is an upright and prudent man, but he comes from a poor family, and he doesn't have much foundation in the court. It is because of a corruption case a few years ago that this position was vacated, and Bai Bingchen was asked to choose an old-fashioned Zhongzheng. Wen Cheng pushes in.

Although he has a higher official position than those officials, he does not have much real power. Over the years, he has never drifted with the tide, nor clinging to Bai Bingchen who gave him a chance to be in the top position, so he just acts as a royal official with integrity.

On weekdays, he was only friendly with a dissolute son like Guo Huan, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, and he had no other in-laws. Now that he suddenly speaks, there may be a big change.

Zhao Zhen straightened up slightly, and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Earlier, there was an officer who presented letters between Prime Minister Mei and Prime Minister Bai. After the minister went back, I checked carefully. It was indeed written by Prime Minister Mei and Prime Minister Bai." Wen Cheng's ability to recognize handwriting is unmatched by anyone in the court In the previous ghost marriage case, he also relied on him to say that the handwriting on the roster was not written by Bai Bingchen, so he put aside Bai Bingchen's suspicion.Now that he said this, the contents of those letters were completely based on Mei Shao and Bai Bingchen.

"Bai Xiang has already admitted this matter before, so why mention it?" Zhao Zhen sensed something was wrong and wanted to divert it with words.

"Because there are far more than that except for the correspondence between Prime Minister Bai." Wen Cheng stepped forward and handed out a dozen letters, "Since His Majesty ascended the throne, Prime Minister Bai has controlled the government, controlled the imperial examinations, and collected bribes, all of which are evidenced by correspondence. And Prime Minister Bai When he was in Yanzhou, he had secretly met Li Xunshu of the Jiang Kingdom to discuss the matter of the mine, and now the Prince of Liang, Qin Chengze, had a lot of contact with Prime Minister Bai when he was lurking in Yanzhou. The piles of piles are all evidenced by letters and seals. I hope that His Majesty will clearly investigate the treacherous evil, and lower the guilt, so as to reassure the people and the Qing Dynasty."

After Wen Cheng finished speaking, the hall was filled with whispers from all the ministers, even the two officials who spoke at first were stunned, their faces blank.

Zhao Zhen took the letter from Fushun's hand, and looked at the familiar handwriting on it, but the more he looked at it, the more frightened he became.

It's really Bai Bingchen's handwriting, every word and every word is the words of a wolf's ambition.

Zhao Zhen was still in shock, and heard Guo Huan, the Shaoqing of Dali Temple, come forward and say: "I have evidence that Prime Minister Bai interfered with official duties and prevented flood control in Cangzhou. Fang Min, the governor of Cangzhou, is a student of Prime Minister Bai, and they have been in private for a long time. In this way, the flood control silver taels were embezzled privately, which caused frequent floods in the Shunjiang River. Later, because His Majesty ordered my father and the former minister of the Ministry of Industry to collect tax money in Pingdong, in order to cover up some of the silver taels that he had embezzled privately, the misfortune was diverted to the east, and he instructed my father to make a balance book. Put the blame on Zhang Jiudai. Minister Bai coerced Fang Min to cooperate with Bai Xiang to cover up the accounts, and the seals and tokens are all available, which is enough to convict Bai Xiang."

"Zhang Jiudai has been convicted, and your father has been exiled. How did you suddenly remember to find out this old case? How did you get the secret of Cangzhou when you are in Pingdu?" Zhao Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly and asked in a deep voice .

"I miss my father, and when I sorted out the things left by my father, I found some secrets, so I asked Dr. Yu Shi to send someone to investigate the matter." Guo Huan replied.

"Without my will, officials in the DPRK do not have the right to investigate privately!" Zhao Zhen shouted: "You are also guilty of investigating privately."

"As the censor, I have the right to supervise all officials, and I also have the right to delegate officials to investigate." Wen Cheng said neither humble nor overbearing: "But your Majesty said that the minister is guilty, and the minister is guilty. It's just that Bai Xiangyu's public and private virtues are detrimental. There is an act of treason, this is the disaster of the Li country, Your Majesty should eradicate this cancer first, and then convict the minister!"

"Wen Cheng!" As soon as Zhao Zhen's anger fell, Bai Bingchen's faint voice sounded, without any emotion, but hit Zhao Zhen's heart word by word.

"The subject owes His Majesty the great trust, and fame and fortune are entangled in his heart. He failed to keep the promise of the monarch and subject with His Majesty at the beginning. It is the crime of the subject. The subject pleaded guilty and punished."

Confession and punishment——As soon as these four words came out, Zhao Zhen subconsciously clenched the letter in his hand. He looked at Wen Cheng, Guo Huan, and Bai Bingchen, and he understood everything at once.

Cangzhou’s account book, Yanzhou’s Li Xun’s book, these hidden things did not leave a written conversation at all, and only a few people knew about these things, and Zhao Zhen also knew about them. Being so clear about Bai Bingchen's every move made him blame Bai Bingchen for his ambiguous attitude in various matters over the years.

The letter in his hand was probably written by Bai Bingchen himself. He ruined his reputation with his own hands, and he wanted to give up his life.

When Bai Bingchen wanted to destroy the gods by himself, he once told Zhao Zhen that if one day he said "plead guilty and punish him", Zhao Zhen would make an order himself and take his life.

After Mei Shao came back, Bai Bingchen gradually let go of this idea and never mentioned it in front of Zhao Zhen again. Discussing with himself, he has already done it himself, forcing himself to order to kill.

Fortunately, they had discussed that if one day the situation forced him to do so, and Bai Bingchen proposed such a way of breaking the boat, Zhao Zhen would order someone to serve "poisoned wine" to make Bai Bingchen pretend to die, and this plan was completed.

But inexplicably, Zhao Zhen panicked so much that he always felt empty.

"Your Majesty, there is evidence for the crime of Prime Minister Bai, every word and every sentence is convincing. Your Majesty should make a decision as soon as possible to stabilize the hearts of the courtiers."

"Your Majesty, Prime Minister Bai has already betrayed the country and cannot stay any longer. Your Majesty should make a judgment!"

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."

"His Majesty!"

Everyone's mouths are calling him to deal with it, Zhao Zhen's ears are full of their clamorous words, but Mei Shao's eyes suddenly pop up in his mind when he begged him to protect Bai Bingchen when he left. Through time and space, look at yourself again.

"Bai Qing..." Zhao Zhen spoke with difficulty, his eyes were all kneeling courtiers, only Bai Bingchen was still standing there.

Zhao Zhen suddenly felt deeply bored. He was tired of being a virtuous king. He didn't know how much infamy Bai Bingchen had borne behind his back for his reputation and his virtue.

Now he really wants to be willful for once, as long as Bai Bingchen doesn't say anything, even if tens of thousands of people write a letter to force him to order Bai Bingchen to be killed, he still dares to tear off his benevolent face for so many years and become a domineering and faint king who doesn't listen to advice .

As long as Bai Bingchen...

Under Zhao Zhen's deep gaze, Bai Bingchen smiled lightly, lifted his robe and knelt down, mingling among the courtiers who wanted him to die.

Zhao Zhen couldn't find him all at once, and there was no one standing around.

"I would like to punish you, but I just ask His Majesty not to implicate other people."

The pinched palm was so painful that he didn't let go of his fist, because Bai Bingchen let go with a light word.

Bai Bingchen raised his head again, with relief and pleading in his eyes.

He is begging to die.

Zhao Zhen took a deep breath, remained silent for a long time, finally closed his eyes, and said with difficulty: "Prince Bai is disloyal and dishonest, and he has failed my expectations. As the head of all officials, it is chilling to do such a behavior. It is chilling to think that he has assisted me for many years. , I will give you a glass of poisoned wine, Your Majesty...you can end it yourself."

"Your Majesty is holy!" As soon as the words fell, all the kneeling officials praised him for his holiness, but in the long live of Shan Hu, Zhao Zhen clearly heard Bai Bingchen's deep kowtow, as if he was relieved.

"Thank you, Your Majesty Ron."

He didn't dare to look into Bai Bingchen's eyes anymore, he had killed Bai Bingchen's reputation with his own mouth.

Not long after, Fushun brought a jug of wine to Bai Bingchen and filled a glass for him.

There was a moment of silence in the hall, only the sound of wine glasses being filled echoed.

Bai Bingchen's eyes fixed on the jug for a moment, then he smiled suddenly, the tiredness between his brows was swept away, and he became light and peaceful.

Touching the decoration on the wine pot, Zhao Zhen was startled, and then hurriedly got off his seat, shouting: "Fushun!"

When the emperor stepped down, all the officials knelt down and did not dare to raise their heads.

"You—" Before Zhao Zhen finished speaking, Bai Bingchen interrupted his words and said loudly, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

The outstretched hand was still halfway, and there was no time to stop it. Bai Bingchen had already taken the first step to hold the wine glass and drank it down.

Zhao Zhen stared fixedly at Bai Bingchen's swallowed throat, narrowed his gaze, and kicked Fushun suddenly.

Fushun fell to the ground, got up quickly, knelt on the ground and kowtowed again and again, blood overflowed from his forehead along with his vigorous bumps, and stuck to the ground.

The wine in the jug spilled all over the floor and flowed to Fushun's eyes.

"You can't handle such a small job, you dog slave, lick it clean!" Zhao Zhen cursed as if furious to the extreme.

Fushun is an old man who followed Zhao Zhen, but now he was humiliated in the hall, and the kneeling courtiers boldly peeked at the movement.

However, Zhao Zhen's heart rolled over like oil, scorched to the bottom.

Since he and Bai Bingchen had discussed the fake poisoned wine early in the morning, the eunuch who served the wine must be a very trusted confidant of Zhao Zhen, and it was not until today that Fushun brought the real poisoned wine to Bai Bingchen that Zhao Zhen realized that he was surrounded by him. The trusted person is actually an undercover agent for others to ambush.

With such a hole card buried around Zhao Zhen, Bai Bingchen's feigned death failed, and under Zhao Zhen's rhetorical words, he could only drink poisoned wine in the middle, and he would not even have a chance for the golden cicada to escape its shell.

How could Zhao Zhen not be angry or resentful? It was he who personally ordered the poisoned wine to be served, and it was also he who failed to discern the evil intentions of the people around him, so he personally ruined Bai Bingchen's life.

Endless remorse welled up in his heart. If he knew this, Zhao Zhen would rather send an order to put Bai Bingchen into the sky prison first, so that at least there is room for change, so that he would not be so passive in front of the ministers, with no way out.

Since he took the throne, he can't say what he wants to say, he can't promote the person he wants to promote, he pays attention to everything, and every step is difficult, and now he can't even protect the person he wants to protect the most. He is really useless as an emperor extreme.

Once Bai Bingchen drank poisonous wine in King Jing's account for him, and Zhao Zhen won the throne after that; now Bai Bingchen drank poisonous wine for him, only to show his feet for the people behind him. , To seek a complete Qingming landscape for Zhao Zhen.

"Your Majesty—why be angry." A hand gently grabbed his sleeve, and quickly sent the grasshopper in the cuff into Zhao Zhen's palm.

The corner of Bai Bingchen's mouth was slowly overflowing with blood, his speech was already slurred, but there was still a smile in the corner of his eyes.

"There is always a banquet in the world. Your majesty should know that there will always be a day when you and my monarch and ministers will be separated. The minister is incompetent, and the original intention of the middle way has been lost. I can no longer serve your majesty... All the crimes are caused by the minister alone. Your majesty don't want it." Do harm to others..."

The burning in Bai Bingchen's throat and the pain in his lungs forced him to stand unsteadily, and he knelt down on the ground slowly. He was already a little unconscious, but he still held on to the bottom of Zhao Zhen's robe, and said stubbornly: "Please, Your Majesty!" Promise me..."

Zhao Zhen stood there without daring to move. He couldn't cry, couldn't lean over, and could only hold the grasshopper weakly in his hands, as if absorbing strength invisible, so that he wouldn't fall down.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty..." Bai Bingchen's body slowly softened, and the blood gushing from his mouth had already splashed onto Zhao Zhen's boots. Your Majesty must never disappoint the general again..."

His voice became weaker and weaker, but it became louder and louder in Zhao Zhen's mind.

"Okay." Zhao Zhen lowered his voice, not daring to say another word, for fear that the choking sound would overflow from it.

He stared blankly at the gray sky outside the hall, feeling the strength of the hand holding his clothes was getting weaker and weaker, and finally slipped down, his body loosened, and everything returned to silence.

Bai Bingchen wanted Zhao Zhen to protect Mei Shao's reputation and protect his Shenyang Army until his death. For this reason, he did not hesitate to trample himself into the infamy of history books, and died embarrassingly and uglyly In full view.

Covered in mud, with a bruised complexion, he died in an extremely ugly manner in the magnificent palace, at the hands of the emperor he was loyal to.

Zhao Zhen shuddered suddenly.

It's really cold today, I can't warm my body in court clothes, the palace road is so long, when Bai Bingchen will be dragged away, he can only walk coldly.

And Zhao Zhen vaguely remembered that he was most afraid of the cold.

The author says:

Please eat your knife~

Let me roar again, it’s traditional, they’re all alive, they’re free from disease or disaster, they live a long life, there’s no problem, they hold hands until they grow old! ! ! (Hoarse