"Ding Xu is dead?!"
Wanyan Puruo received the news that night.
She paced back and forth anxiously in the room, always feeling that the situation behind her was a bit confusing.
At tonight's banquet, when she went out to change clothes, it was Ding Xu who sent her the news and told her Shen Zhizhong's conditions, so she dared to boldly report that number.
But not only did she not achieve the result she expected, Ding Xu also died...
These two things happened before and after, and they are definitely related. Wanyan Puruo carefully reviewed every move of everyone at the banquet, and suddenly realized - maybe the intention of the negotiation was true, but the content of the negotiation was just a game.
Among the ministers brought by Shen Zhizhong, there were those he was highly suspicious of. He knew that the most critical part of the negotiation was to lure Wanyan Puruo to report the amount of annual tribute, and Wanyan Puruo did not know that Jinling was now How much financial resources she has, she needs a traitor to find out. Shen Zhizhong reported different numbers to everyone. Wanyan Puruo left the table and came back. The number she reported was to verify who was the traitor!
This cunning man!
After thinking about the twists and turns, Wanyan Puruo understood that she had been severely defeated, but she was not angry, but found it interesting. She is not a person who acts on impulse, and she is not afraid of losing a few small chips... The mantis stalks the cicada, and the oriole is behind. What she wants to win is the bigger situation.
And every fight with an opponent is a hearty learning experience.
——
Shen Zhizhong was in Bingzhusi's stronghold. He listened to the secret guard's report on the situation at the scene. When he heard Ding Xu's last words before his death, he broke into a cold sweat.
This was a secret that he kept secret, and even Song Muchuan never told it. It could be said that he was the only person in Jinling who knew about it. He and Xie Queshan never corresponded and did not leave any written evidence. How did Ding Xu know about this? But then he thought about it, as long as something existed, there must be traces. He was not sure for a while, what went wrong...
While he was thinking about it, Xie Zhuji came angrily. He was sad and angry. Before he even stepped through the threshold, the words came flying at him.
"Master Shen, my nephew is actually the undercover agent who has been hiding the most in Bingzhusi. Why did you never tell me! I have wrongly blamed him for so many years, how do you want me to face him in the future!"
Xie Zhu rarely lost his composure like this. He ran so hard that his official hat was tilted. Only now did he help him anxiously, but he didn't even bother to be polite.
Being asked this question, even a man as eloquent as Shen Zhizhong was a little dumbfounded and didn't know how to answer.
Seeing that he was sitting like this without saying a word, Xie Zhu was so anxious that he clapped his hands on the table: "Oh my God, Shen Zhizhong, how can you still sit still! Tell me, what should I do now? Ding Xu knows , Wanyan Puruo may have already known it, you must find a way to rescue my family Chaoen - otherwise, you, a teacher, will be the first to let him go!"
"Master Xie, please calm down," Shen Zhizhong was anxious. Xie Zhu's words made him feel ashamed and regretful. He was like a mess at the moment, but he couldn't help himself. He could only persuade Xie Zhu first. Zhu said, "Rescuing him hastily will cause a bigger disturbance in Lidu Mansion, and may also scare the enemy and make the situation a mess. This matter needs to be considered in the long term."
These words were tantamount to acknowledging Xie Queshan's identity.
Shen Zhizhong frowned and thought deeply. Xie Zhu could only sit down and take a long breath, but he still couldn't suppress the overwhelming emotion in his heart. He picked up the tea on the side and drank it. It was so hot that he almost spat it out. He looked really embarrassed. .
At this moment, Xie Zhu realized that he had lost his composure since entering the door. After a moment of silence, he sighed: "I have scolded him angrily... I don't know if Chao En will hold a grudge against me."
Shen Zhizhong had just thought about it for a long time, but his mind was empty and he couldn't think of any countermeasures. After hearing these words, a trace of regret appeared on his face: "The person he deserves to hate the most is me. I pushed him into the fire pit." …”
Two people, whose combined age was almost a hundred years old, sat here and sighed at each other.
"Ding Xu has died, and there is no way to know how he knew the news. The top priority is to keep an eye on Wanyan Puruo and cut off her communication with the Lidu Mansion. As long as King Ling'an enters Jinling safely, Chaoen's mission will be Once completed, you can return to the DPRK smoothly."
"Didn't you send someone else to Lidu Mansion? Send a message to them and ask them to find a way to find out Chao En's situation first and make sure to keep him safe."
Song Muchuan has temporarily cut off contact with Jinling. Both ends are actually isolated islands. This can ensure the safety of Lidu Mansion's operations to the greatest extent.
It is true that Ding Xu is a traitor, but he has not personally admitted that he is Daman, and he may not be. Since Qi Ren can place one person in Jinling, he can place a second person. Shen Zhizhong is still wary of this, and will not let down his guard easily because of Ding Xu's death, thinking that everything will be fine.
He actually couldn't deliver this letter.
But Shen Zhizhong couldn't tell Xie Zhu the situation in such detail, so he could only accept it first.
——
The news of Wanyan Puruo was not sent back to Lidu Mansion, so Xie Queshan was imprisoned on the ship, waiting for trial.
However, since Nan Yi came, the three meals delivered every day have become visibly richer.
Zhang Yuehui obviously knew that Nan Yi was on the ship, but what else could he do? I can only break my teeth and swallow it in my stomach to serve my aunt.
Xie Queshan said nothing about this. He was becoming taciturn. He was afraid of being pried away by her, so he got addicted to it out of control.
Nan Yi was used to it. As soon as she woke up every day, she would start talking nonchalantly. She talked about everything from when she was a child to when she grew up, talking about all kinds of things. When she talked about dry mouth, she didn't care whether he responded or not.
He heard everything she said, but he pretended to be deaf and dumb.
She wants to save him, but he wants to drive her away. They used the gentlest way and secretly competed to try to reverse each other's decision.
The waves of the river undulated clearly under their feet. They seemed to have gone a long way with the waves, but they were clearly still in the same place.
The bow of the boat faces the west, and you can clearly see the sunset on the river every day.
After the huge splendor, there is darkness that swallows everything.
Xie Queshan didn't talk to her much. After sunset, even the tired birds returned to their nests, and everything became extremely quiet and lonely.
Nan Yi began to hate the coming of night. She hated this feeling of being swallowed up but unable to do anything. She watched the sun sink into the western mountains every day, and she would always have the illusion that the sun would not rise again the next day. She stubbornly fought against this feeling every day.
But Xie Queshan likes the dark night.
Only when sleeping in a quilt, he could take advantage of the dark night and hug her tightly without saying a word after she stubbornly got into his arms.
In this kind of silence, he didn't have to think about anything or pretend to do anything.
"Xie Queshan, I don't want to watch the sunset anymore. How about we get up tomorrow and watch the sunrise?" She suddenly whispered in his arms.
She tried to change this life where she could only see Higurashi every day.
He pretended to be asleep and didn't answer.
The next day, Xie Queshan was shaken awake.
He glanced sleepily. Nan Yi was lying on the bedside of his bed, with bright eyes, as if he had seen something extraordinary.
"Xie Queshan, the sun is coming out!"
Xie Queshan closed his eyes again and replied as if sleepwalking: "So?"
"Get up quickly, didn't you say it's nice to watch the sunrise!"
Xie Queshan turned over sleepily, when did it happen? He suddenly thought vaguely, what time of day it was, he couldn't open his eyes at all, and there was no sundial or hourglass here. How could she get up and catch the sunrise accurately?
Could it be that she waited all night?
Thinking of this, he became somewhat sober.
A little bit of morning light has penetrated the window lattice, like a piece of crystal floating gold powder. But the ship's back is facing the east, and the sunrise cannot be seen from the room.
Xie Queshan no longer resisted and was pulled up by Nan Yi's strength.
"Come on!"
Seeing him getting up, she ran out happily, fearing that she would miss the sunrise for a moment, her footsteps squeaking on the floor.
Xie Queshan was brought up unpreparedly, and he couldn't help but have a faint smile on his lips.
"Did you see it? The sun is about to jump out of the river!"
Nan Yi stood on the side of the ship and pointed at the river view behind.
Xie Queshan's footsteps stopped. He was still one step away from stepping out of the room, but the chains on his hands were already stretched as tight as possible.
Taking another step outside, he could see the sunrise behind him. But it happened that he couldn't take this step.
Like an ominous hint, the dawn that had just broken instantly retreated back into the night. The hope in his heart was extinguished again. He knew that everything in the world was preventing him from taking this step. This damn chain, this damn cage, this damn sun.
He raised his eyes to look at Nan Yi, his eyes were dark and lifeless.
The smile on Nan Yi's face also froze. She spent the whole night waiting for the sunrise without sleeping, but she forgot about this thing.
It seems like she did something wrong.
She wanted to pull him out of the darkness, but she forgot that he needed to cross an abyss. What if...he can't cross it?
They looked at each other through a door, one standing in the light and the other in the shadow, like a prophecy, like a fate.
Nan Yi suddenly thought of something, and his eyes suddenly lit up again: "Wait for me!"
She quickly ran to the room, took down the bronze mirror for dressing from the table, and ran back to the side of the ship.
She was like a gust of wind, whizzing past Xie Queshan and whizzing back again. By the time Xie Queshan came to his senses, the girl had quickly climbed onto the side of the ship and leaned half of her body out. She raised the bronze mirror high and adjusted the angle bit by bit.
A dazzling morning light was refracted through the bronze mirror into Xie Queshan's eyes. He squinted subconsciously, and then saw half of the rising sun in the mirror.
The other half of the rising sun is on her face.
Xie Queshan felt inexplicably shocked.
The ships are cracking, the river is flowing backwards, and against everything, there is a person in this world who is trying his best to get the light into his eyes.
