Jiang Qing

It has been ten days since Mei Shao was taken away by Xuanjia soldiers.

How Bai Bingchen spent these ten days was not very clear to him.It's just that every day when he opened his eyes, there was only one thing that lingered in his heart, waiting for his father to bring some news from the palace.

Only when Bai Jianye returned home, his eyes would light up briefly, but when he touched Bai Jianye's shaking of his head, the light went out with a "swoosh".

In just a few days, Bai Bingchen visibly lost weight, and his clothes were a little loose, but he didn't care, like a puppet without vitality, only relying on a little thought in his heart to hold on.

It was already past the time when the key of the palace gate was released, and Bai Jianye hadn't returned home yet.Looking at the time, Bai Bingchen's heart, which had been silent for a long time, was a little uneasy. He could vaguely feel that His Majesty had made a decision on the Cangshan matter.

Sure enough, in the middle of the night, Bai Jianye came back with a cold face, turned his screen away, looked at Bai Bingchen who was looking at him with tight lips, and couldn't bear to tell him the news for a while.

These days, he was rarely in the mansion, and spent his days in the Ministry of Punishment and the palace, so he didn't devote much energy to Bai Bingchen.Looking at it under the light now, I realized that Bai Bingchen was not only thinner, but also shrouded in a decadent atmosphere, with a hint of world-weariness.

"Your Majesty has already drawn up the verdict of the Cangshan case." Bai Jianye finally rolled his eyes when he heard his words, and then said: "The three involved in the Mei, Liu, and Qian families are sentenced to be hanged, and the rest of the adult men are sentenced to death." beheaded, female family members will be dismissed from office, and men under the age of 13 will be exiled."

Bai Bingchen looked at him fixedly, as if he wanted to verify the truth of this matter in Bai Jianye's eyes.

In the end, he said in a hoarse voice: "It's just a plan, is there no way out at all?"

Bai Bingchen knew that treason was a serious crime of ransacking one's family and destroying one's family, but he still couldn't help asking, hoping to win a chance.

"Your Majesty is the most taboo of leaving power behind. You see, among those princes, which one has real power in their hands? Even King Jing, whom he loves so much, has not been able to get the position of the East Palace for so many years. This incident just hit His Majesty's pain point. And Wei Tao provoked him, so naturally he will not forgive him lightly." Bai Jianye held his forehead, closed his eyes slightly, and let the fatigue of the past few days completely submerge him.

Bai Bingchen was still not reconciled, and subconsciously retorted: "But His Majesty allows Princess Jinghe to participate in politics..."

Before he finished speaking, Bai Bingchen himself realized something was wrong. If His Majesty is really willing to decentralize power, why is it that a princess can discuss political affairs, but King Jing, who is a prince, cannot have real power in his hands.

Bai Jianye saw that he had figured out the key by himself, and he smiled gratifiedly: "Your Majesty allows the princess who will not have the chance to ascend the throne to participate in state affairs, but he cannot tolerate the future crown prince taking power while he is still alive, just as he can give Concubine Mei is loved by thousands of people, giving the Mei family great honor, but she will not allow Concubine Mei to give birth to an heir. The emperor's mind, the concubine of the harem, our Majesty has always handled it safely."

"Is it because of Your Majesty that Concubine Mei has no heirs?" Bai Bingchen was a little surprised. Most of his knowledge about the affairs of the palace came from Mei Shao. He only knew that although Concubine Mei was favored by His Majesty, she had never had any heirs. , did not find any famous doctors in this area, and did not make any efforts.

Hearing his questioning about this matter, Bai Jianye lost his firm look just now, thought for a while, and hesitated, and said: "The middle palace died of illness early, and your majesty only has such a noble concubine, and she is loved by her, except that your majesty is not willing to let her go. There is no other reason for her birth."

After talking for a while, seeing that Bai Bingchen was not as popular as before, and had gained some popularity, Bai Jianye said slowly: "Actually, Mei Shao's disposal has not yet come down."

Hearing this, Bai Bingchen was unusually quiet and didn't say a word.

Just now when his father said the result of Cangshan's disposal, he had already suppressed the pain in his heart and didn't ask Mei Shao specifically.Bai Bingchen recounted the worst outcome of Mei Shao being beheaded several times in his mind, but he didn't have the courage to inquire further, as if as long as he didn't mention the name, he could avoid thinking about it.

Now that he heard his father tell Mei Shao's situation alone, Bai Bingchen was not relieved. He seemed to be listening to something about a stranger, his eyes didn't move a bit, he just subconsciously glanced his head in another direction, and said silently. Follow his dodge and escape.

Bai Jianye looked at him and sighed in his heart.Although Bai Bingchen looked older than his peers, he was still in his weak years after all, and he hadn't experienced any major blows.This time when I first heard about the accident, I was able to hold back my emotions and not show my feet in front of Eunuch Zhang, which is already very good.

It's just that he didn't have time to digest them, so he used the most stupid method, imagining himself as a spectator who never knew them, and built a high heart wall for himself, thinking that he could be a calm person without listening or watching. Stranger.

But Bai Jianye knew that such self-deception could not be hidden from his own heart, otherwise, why would Bai Bingchen wait for the news every day?

It's just that the person in the game thinks that he has disguised himself very well, but he doesn't know that this evasive situation has exposed what he cares most in his heart.

Bai Jianye knew that it was too cruel for him to poke his sore spot now, but he still had to say: "Father knows that you and Mei Shao have always been on good terms, it's just..."

He glanced at Bai Bingchen's face, and said slowly: "It's just that His Majesty ordered you to preside over Mei Shao."

"Father!" Bai Bingchen turned his head eagerly, as if he didn't understand what he was saying, the blankness in his eyes flashed past, and then the indifference on his face was gradually removed like dry cracked clay. , revealing the foundation of fear and sadness.

He was stunned for a while, as if he didn't know how to send out the words, he opened his mouth a few times before murmuring.

"How can it be..." Bai Bingchen felt as if his head had been filled with ice and snow, and most of the blood in his body suddenly became cold.

After reacting, he immediately grabbed Bai Jianye's hand firmly, and hurriedly said: "I can pretend to hate them, and I can not show my feet in front of anyone. Father, you believe me, I can do it. I can definitely do it." , I can even go to His Majesty to report them, to say that they have long been disobedient..."

His voice became smaller and smaller, and at the end, he was slightly choked up; "But, father, the only thing I can't do is interrogate him. How do you tell me to face him? Let me say in front of him that his father is a murderer. Rebel thief, go to torture him and ask him why he is the son of a rebellious minister? I can't do it..."

"Father, tell Your Majesty, can you help me beg Your Majesty..."

There was also a glimmer of light in Bai Jianye's eyes, but he held back, held Bai Bingchen's trembling body, and waited for him to calm down bit by bit. His voice was soft but unquestionable: "You must go!"

"Why do you think Mei Shao can be interrogated alone, and why he is not on the execution list? Of course there is Concubine Mei's credit for this, but more importantly, he is still valuable in His Majesty's eyes."

Bai Jianye stared into his eyes and forced him to listen to his own words, "Brother Mei and the others were tortured in the imperial prison, but he didn't say at all who the generals the Mei family made friends with in the army are. In order to give Mei Shao a way to survive. Mei Zhou is the main criminal, so he will definitely die, but Mei Shao is different, at least he has no face to participate in the eyes of His Majesty, and now the only one who can know the list of generals is Mei Shao. Otherwise, you think Based on his love for Concubine Mei, will His Majesty save Mei Shao's life? The emperor's love is the weakest, only those who have value can live!"

"Yanfang, listen, if you don't go and ask someone else to interrogate, once you find out that Mei Shao doesn't know anything about the list of generals in the army, he won't be able to survive Qiu Jue. Only if you cover it up can he survive temporarily. Although I have surrendered, I am inextricably linked to the Cangshan case. His Majesty entrusts me with a heavy responsibility, but when this case is over, he will not use me again. But you are different, you still have a chance, as long as If you can express your position in this incident and make a gesture, you can enter the official position smoothly."

Bai Jianye looked dignified, and continued: "More importantly, you are still young. After a hundred years from Your Majesty, you can assist the next generation of monarchs. We have not accomplished anything, and we have not been able to avenge. Someone must avenge it. Now we are almost Among the juniors in the family, only you and Mei Shao are left, not to mention whether he can get out of the imperial prison alive, if he is alive, do you want this heavy burden to fall on him?"

Bai Jianye's loud questioning didn't make Bai Bingchen raise his head. He kept his head down and remained silent, making it hard to see the emotion in his eyes.

After a long time, Bai Bingchen raised his eyes to look at Bai Jianye. He looked at his father with the eyes of a stranger, staring straight at him with sharp eyes, which made Bai Jianye slightly loosen his hand.

"Let me interrogate Mei Shao, is it father who proposed to His Majesty?"

Bai Jianye's eyes moved slightly, but he didn't refute. He actually acquiesced to Bai Bingchen's words.

"Thinking about the pros and cons of this matter so clearly, actually asking me to interrogate Mei Shao is also part of my father's plan, so that I can enter the court logically and earn glory for the Bai family, right? Then father What is the loyalty you talked about with your child in the ancestral hall that day? Is it just empty talk to appease me?"

Facing Bai Bingchen's scorching gaze, Bai Jianye looked away guiltily.

Seeing himself expressing his thoughts, Bai Bingchen stabilized his mind and asked the question that had been bothering him: "Then father and mother reconciled back then, was it also the result of weighing the pros and cons? One, I thought that if I married my mother, I would get the support of Tong Beigu, but later I realized that Tong Beigu did not participate in court battles at all. Without any use value, my father decided to marry him and abandoned my mother. A child that shouldn't be born, is it?"

Hearing him bring up the past, Bai Jianye didn't answer, but just stared at his son firmly, without any guilt or fluctuation, he let go of the hand on Bai Bingchen's shoulder, and his voice was a little cold: "Do you remember?" Wait, you only have one night to think, if you don't accept the eunuch's eunuch coming to the mansion tomorrow, His Majesty will send someone else to interrogate Mei Shao, so you should think about it carefully!"

Bai Jianye avoided the topic and walked away. No one knew that his palms were already soaked in sweat.

In fact, there was another sentence that he didn't say.

Only when he offered to ask Bai Bingchen to preside over Mei Shao, would he feel bad about him and gradually alienate him, and only in this way, would His Majesty let go of his fear of the Bai family and allow him to enter the court.

When Bai Jianye stepped out of the courtyard, a round of moon was just above the treetops in the sky, and the cicadas were singing very lively, as if he wanted to disturb the moon, but his heart was surprisingly quiet.

He thought of the time when he and his old friends were drinking and facing the moon, a smile could not help but appear on the corner of his mouth, but his eyes paused when the strand of white hair fell on his shoulder.

I may be really old.Bai Jianye thought to himself mockingly, but why is it so hard to cool off this hot blood.

He finally paced and walked towards the place where the moon was high.