Cloud of the Qing Dynasty

Mu Liuyun rinsed his mouth several times before he felt the bitterness in his mouth dissipated. Zhang Chi gave him another candied fruit, but he was not in the mood to eat it, so he shook his head and refused.

Yesterday's victory did not bring him the slightest joy, but the pain in his shoulder made him feel even worse. He frowned and asked, "Is there any news from Jinghong Villa?"

"I was just about to tell you this." Zhang Chi sat down beside him and said, "I heard that after Qin Wuqi was sent back to Jinghong Villa yesterday, he saw his wife for the last time, left some last words, and passed away .”

"Really..." Mu Liuyun exhaled softly, not knowing whether he felt regret or relief.

Zhang Chi continued: "This morning, when the gate of Jinghong Villa opened again, Mrs. Qin came out in sackcloth and filial piety to ask General Lu to surrender. I went in with the general to see that Qin Wuqi was indeed out of breath. Mrs. Qin Said that Qin Wuqi has made many enemies in the rivers and lakes these years. He was afraid that Xiaoxiao would exhume his corpse after Jinghong Villa lost power, so he left a will before his death to cremate his body and scatter his ashes into Dongting Lake. After General Lu agreed , Even if it is set on fire."

"Mrs. Qin... is she okay?" Thinking of that ill-fated woman, Mu Liuyun's mood became somewhat complicated.

"At least on the surface, she looks very calm, neither humble nor overbearing, and responds appropriately." Zhang Chi said, "You don't have to worry about her, even if you marry Qin Wuqi, she is still the daughter of Lord Cheng and a good friend of Concubine Li Gui. It will make things difficult for her. Ninth brother also said that he will take care of her, but you may not know that he has always admired Mrs. Qin in his heart, and he must be more attentive than us."

Mu Liuyun frowned: "But how could the imperial court just let it go?"

"This time it's really time to let it go." Zhang Chi sat next to Mu Liuyun, and said carefully, "General Lu also has his own considerations. After all, today's Jinghong Villa is not what it was yesterday. Just last night, Qin Wuqi was dying. Before, I summoned my subordinates and announced that I would hand over the power of Jinghong Villa to my wife. I was afraid that my subordinates would not obey a woman, so I also handed over the iron guard led by Fu Jinglei to her."

After musing for a moment, Mu Liuyun said lightly: "It is indeed a brilliant decision."

"Isn't it? With the current situation, no one in charge of Jinghong Villa can escape the fate of being wiped out by the court. Only Mrs. Qin is the one person General Lu can't offend. Now Jinghong The villa became her villa, and the original subordinates of Jinghong Villa became her subordinates, and the situation suddenly became embarrassing." Zhang Chi said, "Plus, the iron guards have been guarding Jinghong Villa before, and they were completely untouched in the last battle. No loss, there are still many masters in the village, and Jinghong Villa still has the power to fight. If it is too aggressive, no one knows what will happen. Mrs. Qin's position is completely different from Qin Wuqi's, and she is very righteous. She is willing to take the initiative to surrender. All the properties other than Jinghong Villa, I just want to keep the villa for her to live in, and don't continue to pursue the old department of Jinghong Villa. The imperial court originally wanted properties such as the salt road mine under the name of Jinghong Villa, and kept Qin It is better for Madam to appease the subordinates of Jinghong Villa than to force them to die. So after confirming Qin Wuqi's body with his own eyes, General Lu led his troops and retreated, not even checking the warehouse of the villa."

"...It would be a good thing if it could end like this." Mu Liuyun sighed lightly. He knew that the matter would not end like this, but the future fate of Jinghong Villa was no longer his business to intervene.

***

At this moment in Jinghong Villa, there were snow-white mourning banners hanging everywhere, and the people in the villa were also wearing filial piety clothes or white scarves.After all the troops brought by Lu Zhiqian were withdrawn, Cheng Xiayue ordered the pontoon bridge to be closed, and ordered the iron guards to step up patrols around the villa to prevent accidents.

Fu Jinglei and Xu Changge followed her, both silent with heavy hearts.Although Cheng Xiayue exchanged almost all of the property in the villa for temporary stability and a promise not to pursue it, just because Lu Zhiqian will let them go does not mean that other Jianghu sects will ignore the past. With Qin Wuqi as the backbone, everyone in the villa felt that the road ahead was bleak and uneasy.

Xu Changge finally couldn't help but speak first: "Madam, what should we do from now on?"

Cheng Xiayue was already standing at the gate of Jinghong Villa, she looked up at the four golden lacquered characters flying like dragons and phoenixes, and said resolutely: "Take off this plaque."

Xu Changge was stunned: "Madam! This...why is this?!"

"I know Jinghong Mountain Villa used to be a name you are proud of, but in the future this reputation will only bring endless troubles. Since you have been entrusted to me indefinitely, I can't let you go to Make fearless sacrifices."

Her words are indeed reasonable, but once the plaque is taken off, it means that the century-old "Jinghong Villa" school will be removed from the Jianghu and become history forever.

Even though they all knew that Jinghong Villa was at the end of the road, and the difference was only a few days or a few days after death, but it is still embarrassing to really want to take off the plaque.

Xu Changge's eyelids were red, and he turned to look at Fu Jinglei, hoping he could say something. After a moment of silence, Fu Jinglei said: "I promised the owner that I will follow Madam's instructions. Since Madam has made such a decision, the subordinates should take care of themselves." Follow up."

Cheng Xiayue turned her head to look at him, and nodded: "Let's go on, if brothers Zhuangzhong or the servants want to leave, each person will be given ten taels of silver, and each person above the hall master is 50 taels, and the boatman will send them off the island." .Once you step out of the villa, no matter life or death, honor or disgrace, whether you are sought for revenge or wanted by the government, it has nothing to do with Jinghong Villa. If you are willing to stay with us to tide over the difficulties, I will definitely protect them."

"Protect them well" is easy to say, but difficult to do.Jinghong Villa has made many enemies in the rivers and lakes. Now that it loses power, the fierce counterattack it will face is probably beyond everyone's imagination.

But for some reason, both Xu Changge and Fu Jinglei felt that if the weak woman in front of her could say it, she could do it.

The plaque was removed, and those who should be dismissed were also dismissed. Except for the iron guards led by Fu Jinglei, many people still chose to stay in the villa. They all waited anxiously to see how Cheng Xiayue was going to deal with the current situation. But it's been a while since she made any big moves. Cheng Xiayue just wrote a few letters and sent them out.

After the first seven days of Qin Wuqi, when the pontoon bridge outside the villa was connected again, a shocking news spread in the Jianghu. The government yamen actually sent people to station at the exit of Jinghong Villa to check out the people who entered and exited Jinghong Villa one by one, in other words, they came to guard the gate for them.

These ordinary soldiers and masters of the rivers and lakes do not pay much attention to them, but their existence undoubtedly shows a message to the outside world, whoever is against the current "Mingyue Villa" is against the government.

What's even more amazing is that the new magistrate even came to visit in person, and politely talked about business cooperation with the new owner of the villa, Cheng Xiayue.

There is no doubt that the Mingyue Villa, which has been transformed, can no longer be regarded as a school of martial arts.

Some larger forces disdain to embarrass a widow. After all, the real valuables in Jinghong Villa have already been owned by the imperial court, and bullying them will not gain anything other than ruining their own reputation.As for the smaller forces, they are afraid of the protection of the government and the iron guards who are still in the villa, and dare not act rashly.

Once the century-old faction was overthrown, some Jianghu people who felt the sorrow of the death of the rabbit and the fox blamed Cheng Xiayue one after another. They scolded as badly as possible, but Cheng Xiayue turned a deaf ear to it.There are also many people in the villa, but she is in cahoots with the government, so she walks away, and Cheng Xiayue presents them one by one.Later, some of these people joined other gangs, and some set up their own hilltops, and their rise and fall did not mention it. However, except for loyal old subordinates like Xu Changge, many of those who stayed in Mingyue Villa were old, weak, sick and disabled with nowhere to go. , including Qin Wuqi's biological mother Qingwan.

In the end, Cheng Xiayue fulfilled her promise, allowing these people to live in peace and stability in the renovated Mingyue Villa and enjoy their old age.

***

More than a month later, Mu Liuyun had returned to Shangqing Palace to continue recuperating from his injuries, and Zhang Chi had stayed in the capital for a few days, so he came to Shangqing Palace to visit him.

After a little farewell to the newlyweds, Zhang Chi talked to Mu Liuyun about what happened in the world recently, which naturally included the current Mingyue Villa.

"Ms. Qin is really good at solving the crisis without bloodshed, but since then, there has been no Jinghong Villa in Jianghu." Zhang Chi said with emotion, "The grand occasion when we participated in the martial arts conference back then is still vivid in my memory. Who knew that in just a few short years, Jinghong Villa, which was once aloof, would become like this."

Qin Wuqi's words before the duel still affected many people. Even though General Lu didn't do everything right this time, many sects still felt sad and united secretly to do something.

Originally, the duel between Mu Liuyun and Qin Wuqi was only due to personal grievances, but under Zhang Chi's continuous activities, he has become a key figure in helping the government break Jinghong Villa, whether it is the position of the Shangqing Palace itself or outsiders' attitude towards the Shangqing Palace. They all feel that they have undoubtedly stood on the side of the imperial court.

Zhang Chi doesn't need to worry that Mu Liuyun will take a hostile position with him for the time being, but the increasingly tense atmosphere between the imperial court and the Jianghu forces still makes him feel a little uneasy: "Liuyun, how do you feel about the imperial court and the current situation?" Do you have any opinions on the relationship between Jianghu and Jianghu?"

Mu Liuyun knew what he was worried about, and said lightly: "The rise and fall of power has its own destiny, the Red Lotus Sect is like this, the Jinghong Villa is like this, the Shangqing Palace is like this, even the current prosperous Dachen Dynasty is like this. The death of the world still lasts for hundreds of years, and after all, there is no escape from the way of heaven. If it involves people close to me, it is natural to take care of it. Otherwise, I am just a spectator in this cycle. Whoever wins and who loses, who Who will prosper and perish has nothing to do with me."

His detached attitude undoubtedly reassured Zhang Chi a lot, and made him determined, so he asked a doubt in his heart: "Liu Yun, I know you have always regarded Qin Wuqi as a close friend, but in fact, I have no doubts about Qin Wuqi. He doesn't have such a big grudge, I promise that everything I heard today will rot in my stomach, I will never tell anyone, and I won't make more troubles, I just want to know the truth of the matter-can you tell me, Qin Wuqi... is he not dead?"

Mu Liuyun frowned in confusion: "Why do you ask that?"

"Recently, I've heard some speculation circulating in the Jianghu. After Qin Wuqi was injured, you asked his subordinates to take him away, so some people think that this is a trick you and Qin Wuqi colluded to get out of by feigning death. I know you I definitely wouldn’t have discussed it with him beforehand, but I can’t help but think about it when I always hear other people say it so convincingly.” Zhang Chi said sincerely, “Liu Yun, I know you’re not such a heartless person, Although Qin Wuqi framed me, he has always been very kind to you. Even if you want to let him go, I completely understand. So in order to stop me from thinking about other things, you can just give me a correct answer, you Did you show mercy to him?"

Mu Liuyun shook his head: "The gap between me and him has not yet reached the point where I can be merciful in such a battle. It's just that after he was injured, he would think of the past and feel some compassion. But I didn't intend to let him go, I let his subordinates take him away because I knew that he was seriously injured and it was impossible to survive."

Zhang Chi guessed: "But if senior Qin Wushang just happened to be concerned about the safety of his adopted son, so he secretly came to Jinghong Villa, and rescued Qin Wuqi immediately after returning to the villa, it should be able to save his life, right?"