Seven days ago.
That night with the lonely moon hanging high in the sky, Zhang Zhicun, who came from all the travel and dust, just stood silently in the tent with his hands behind his hands. Xie Queshan already understood what he wanted to say.
As long as rumors of his death dispel the rumors, the opposing ministers will have no excuses, and the officials will be able to order the dispatch of troops.
If he were still the same Xie Queshan who was imprisoned on the ship, who despised himself and just wanted to die to atone for his sins, he would agree without any trouble at this moment, and would even take the initiative to propose this method before Zhang Zhicun came.
But now he is different from before. He met the reincarnation of Hua Tuo, who cured the disease in his soul and made him spring back to life. He gained some unprecedented light. He wanted to live and even cherished his life more than before, for his family, lover, friends, and himself.
Zhang Zhicun was silent, and so was he.
Finally, Zhang Zhicun gritted his teeth and said, "Let me be the villain! Thank you, Sir, to untie the bell, you must tie the bell. Now that the trouble is all on you, I can only break the situation from you. If you are willing to do justice, Sacrifice, I can guarantee that the reinforcements will enter the city as quickly as possible. If you don't want to, I will never make it difficult. Survival is human nature, and you have done enough for Dayu. No matter what you decide, Zhang I would like to thank you on behalf of the entire city of Lidu Prefecture, on behalf of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, and on behalf of the officials!"
After saying that, Zhang Zhicun lifted up his robe and knelt down in front of Xie Queshan, tapping his forehead heavily on the ground. This scene was actually somewhat tragic and heroic.
"Zhang Zhicun! What are you trying to do for the sake of family and country here! You are clearly forcing him!" After a moment of silence, it was Song Muchuan, a gentle man, who was the first to burst out with fierce opposition.
Ying Huai was also stunned, and for a moment he didn't know what to do about this cruel proposal and the chaos in front of him.
"Get up!" Song Muchuan stepped forward and pulled Zhang Zhicun up and pushed him away fiercely, "Why do you say that! There must be other ways!"
Zhang Zhicun stood slumped, his official robe was torn to the side. He was not aware of his embarrassment. His words had exhausted all his face and strength. He couldn't answer Song Muchuan's question.
Song Muchuan shouted loudly, but he felt increasingly powerless. In fact, he knew that Zhang Zhicun was qualified to say this. Zhang Zhicun is also an undercover agent. His impassioned speech is not just a castle in the air. He has personally experienced the hardships and knows that this plan is a desperate one.
But Song Muchuan was full of selfishness. He didn't want Xie Queshan to think about the possibility of such a proposal. He was afraid because he knew his best friend too well. He looked at Xie Queshan tremblingly, as if he was the one awaiting trial.
Xie Queshan just raised his face calmly and stared into Zhang Zhicun's eyes. He knew that they understood each other, and if faced with the same fate, he would choose to die.
There was a long silence in the camp, and Ying Huai stood helpless. Seeing Xie Queshan looking at Zhang Zhicun like this, he didn't know what he was thinking - how could he agree to such an unreasonable request. Ying Huai wanted to open his mouth to smooth things over, but heard Xie Queshan speak.
"What's the fastest speed?"
Ying Huai was stunned. He didn't expect that Xie Queshan would ask this question at this time.
"It takes three days to report to the court and grant the death penalty... After that, at most two days, reinforcements can enter the city."
Xie Queshan didn't answer, got up and left the camp.
Everyone wanted to stop him and say something to him, but everyone seemed to be frozen in place, unable to do anything.
The final decision can only be made by Xie Queshan himself. He probably needs some time.
But the strange thing is that after coming out of the camp, Xie Queshan's mind seemed to have stagnated. He knew that he needed to make a decision, but he couldn't think and his whole body was numb. He saw his small life and the grandness of a city. There is no suspense between them. There are completely unequal chips on both sides of the scale. Is his decision still important?
He has only one choice.
He was wandering under the absurd moonlight. At this moment, he could only think of Nan Yi who insisted on covering his ears in front of everyone amid Lu Jinxiu's sharp curses.
He really wanted to see her at this moment, but by chance, she happened to be waiting for him too.
He was so selfish. The moment he saw her, he unexpectedly felt very happy. People have the ability to deceive themselves. He briefly forgot about what he would face after dawn, he just enjoyed being with her to his heart's content.
On a ridiculous night for a dying man, he finally had time to think about "what does Xie Queshan want?"
He wanted to hold her hand and watch some sunrises and sunsets, to reincarnate for a Western season, and to have the real feeling of holding her tightly. He wanted to look into her eyes, look at her face.
Will she regret it?
He will not.
Even if it ended like this, even if it left her with scars for life, he would not regret falling in love with her.
But he didn't think about how to say goodbye. Several times he wanted to speak, but he remained shamefully silent. Do you want to cry with her and meet her again in the next life? Or should she forget about him and live the rest of her life? People who care about him in this world may be sad for a while without him, but they will eventually find their own place, but he knows that she only depends on him for life, and she has no place to go.
Will she know? In fact, every second he faced her, he wanted to survive. How could he still do the same thing again? He leaves her with feathers all over the place every time. He is a cowardly bastard. He has failed her too many times.
Unable to speak, he held her until dawn, and then sent her away. Please let her hate him, he should owe something so that he can find her in the next life.
I hope that the day she returns will be a great victory. This is his last gift to her.
After watching Nan Yi leave, Xie Queshan received an unexpected letter.
Zhang Yue Huihuan did not hesitate to write in the letter - "I heard that my son is facing many dangers in the war, so you might as well come to Shu and join me, father, to take care of who is in charge in the world. From now on, you can enjoy life and drink without any worries."
Xie Queshan understood what Zhang Yuehui meant by saying the truth. He had done enough, he had done everything he could, and he obeyed destiny. Why should he force himself so much? He might as well leave everything and go back to Shu. For a moment, Xie Queshan actually had a slight yearning for the life he described. The haze in his heart seemed to be dispelled by this unfair letter, and he wrote him a reply with a smile.
——Boss Zhang is suspected of seizing his wife, so I will not comply.
Just as he was about to send the letter, Song Muchuan broke into his tent and pressed the letter.
"I think it's good for you and Nan Yi to go to Shu." Song Muchuan's attitude was rarely tough.
"Why do you have the same virtue as Zhang Yue?" Xie Queshan smiled, put a new booklet on the table, and handed over a pen, "You write my confession."
Even though he had been prepared, Song Muchuan still couldn't accept it when he heard what he said so firmly. His expression at this moment was probably extremely ferocious: "Impossible! The worst is possible, Lidu Mansion No more guarding.”
"Really?" Xie Queshan asked back, but Song Muchuan could no longer say it confidently for a second time.
His tears fell.
This is simply not an option.
Xie Queshan forced the pen into his hand: "I don't worry if you didn't write it."
Song Muchuan clenched his fists and stubbornly refused to take over the writing.
"If you don't write it, I will knock you out and write it myself," Xie Queshan smiled at Song Muchuan, as if he was making a harmless joke, "But don't think that you can escape your guilt for me."
The more relaxed he was, the more it made his heart ache.
Xie Queshan knew how to keep him alive. For the rest of his life, every time he wanted to break a jar, he had to take care of it. This was what Xie Chaoen had earned. Therefore, he must personally write all the documents that convict Xie Queshan. He, the person who writes the book, is the real sinner. He must live with the sin forever to guard the victory brought by the sacrifice of his best friend.
Song Muchuan held the pen and cried loudly, his tears ruining several pieces of paper. He simply didn't care about the neatness of the words, even though this was the most important thing for him in his half-life of reading.
This was his last bit of stubbornness. He wanted the memorial to Shang Datian to be filled with untimely blurred ink stains. These ink stains will remain in his cold words forever, revealing the huge secrets and lies hidden behind them.
Xie Queshan sat at the door of the camp with his back to him in a daze, waiting for the memorial to be sealed.
When Song Muchuan finished the last word, he looked back at him and smiled calmly: "Yusu, you have to move forward."
Before that, he had never been willing to say his name. Even after confirming their identities and fighting side by side, they had never experienced the pain caused by the Spring Break for the first time. Those six years were deliberately ignored by them. But at this moment, it has truly passed.
Everything will be quick, and he will be executed without even waiting for official approval. The sooner he is punished, the sooner the anger and uneasiness of the soldiers and civilians in the city can be calmed down. Only by uniting as one can we resist foreign enemies.
He said lightly: Only by imposing capital punishment can the people relieve their anger. I am going to die anyway, so let me die well.
He also said: Don't let them come to collect my body.
He didn't want his family to see his body.
Cars cracking on the market rarely occur in current legal cases.
How could such a heinous person die like this?
On the day of execution, Xie Queshan was taken to the execution ground in a prison car. The long street was crowded with people watching, and there was constant abuse.
He listened quietly and accepted the order.
He just accepted it, and he is still worthy of heaven and earth. Knowing that I have sinned against myself, it is only the Spring and Autumn Period.
The vast things that happened before are all thrown into the turbid current.
Show it to the public, check your body, and the guilty card will fall to the ground.
The people cheered and applauded, and they used their self-righteous words to kill their leader in the darkness. But who can say that they are crossing the river and burning the bridge?
They just don't know.
A speck of fluttering dust fell to the ground in a deserted place.
And the landslides it triggered are still continuing.
The tip of Nan Yi's sword pressed against Song Muchuan's chest, but he couldn't push it forward even an inch.
"I'll kill you...I'll kill you!"
She finally broke down and shouted hysterically, but her trembling voice and tears had exposed her bluff.
Soldiers who heard the noise and came to guard the camp rushed in.
"Back off!" Song Muchuan shouted to stop their movements.
He would rather Nan Yi kill him, one life for one life.
But Nan Yi's impulse only went so far, and her movements were pulled back. What's the difference between her like this and Lu Jinxiu and others? They were all just in extreme sadness and anger, trying to find someone to blame.
It seems that by blaming all the mistakes on one person, the dead can come back and the living can feel at ease. But that's not it.
She knew that Song Muchuan was in the same pain, and none of them wanted to see that man die.
But death is like a light going out. Even if she wants to do anything now, it is already too late. All in vain.
"Ah——!!!" Nan Yi's pain had nowhere to vent, so he could only turn the blade and slash down, cutting the table in half.
A strong wind blew in, causing documents and papers on the ground to flutter, as if a group of demons were dancing around.
Messy, destroyed, she just wants everything to be disordered. Nan Yi threw away her sword and stared numbly at the mess. She seemed to have calmed down a bit, but nothing seemed to be cured.
"I hate you," she murmured, "why."
Nan Yi took a few steps back numbly, swaying, trying to support his body.
"Take me to the place where he... was executed."
That is the largest downtown intersection, a crisscross intersection. The weaving crowd stepped on the ground, and his bones, blood, and soul were trampled and forgotten. Nan Yi could only imagine how he felt when he saw this land for the last time, even this kind of imagination made her worse than death.
Her lover, he is carrying a mountain on his back. That is the mountain that Yu Gong moved. That is where Jingwei holds the stone. There is no greatness or myth without reason in the world. Where the world cannot see, he If you let him take it, he will be crushed to pieces by the mountain.
She opened her mouth wide and wanted to scream hysterically, but she became a puppet unable to make a sound. All the emotions poured back into her chest. She was defeated. She knelt on the ground like a stranger. Pedestrians passing by gave him strange looks. Her hands trembled as she groped the land, as if she could catch every trace of his soul, as if they were still together.
Finally, she also collapsed.
——
The crime of treason should have implicated the nine clans, but the court remembered that the Xie family had severed ties with the traitor many years ago, so it did not implicate the Xie clan members.
The Xie family should protect themselves at this time, draw clear boundaries, and remain silent.
But Mrs. Gantang insisted on holding a funeral for Xie Queshan and welcoming his memorial tablet into the ancestral hall. Xie Jun finally nodded despite the pressure.
The imperial court had decreed that the corpses of criminals were not allowed to be collected. After Xiequeshan's death, his bones were thrown into the wilderness, so a tomb could only be erected for him.
This father who had been incompetent all his life became extremely silent after experiencing the pain of losing his son one after another. Only now did he realize how little he understood his son. It was probably because he had never taught him well. He didn’t know when he He was so loyal and courageous, which made him sad and ashamed. Ask yourself, how many people can do what he did? Xie Jun realized that he couldn't do it. His son is his pride.
A man with white hair gives a gift of black hair. He personally wrote an epitaph for the youngest son he disliked the most, recounted his merits and demerits, and sealed it in his tomb. The last sentence on the stele says: It will be closed on this day. When will the door be reopened?
All opportunities will be left to future generations. Perhaps one day this door will be opened again, and the truth of history will be revealed.
This is what Xie Jun wants, the best ending that can be left for Xie Chaoen.
But some people don't think so. Thousands of years were too long, she couldn't afford to wait, and she was unwilling to put his innocence above the chance blessings of future generations.
"The siege of Lidu Mansion has been lifted, but he cannot bear the stigma and die in an unknown manner," Nan Yi knelt in front of the ancestral hall and said firmly and firmly, "I want to overturn the verdict of Xie Queshan."
She still had a breath that was still hanging in her chest, which was the only belief that supported her to wake up and stand up.
Xie Jun found it incredible. How could she have such a loud tone?
"Do you think this is just an unjust case? That is the emperor's order. You want to overturn the case. How do you want to overturn it? You are trying to slap the civil and military officials of Jinling in the face! Don't overestimate your capabilities!"
"The officials clearly know his innocence, they just need an opportunity!"
"When Chaoen chose to do this, he had already accepted the final outcome and ignored his own reputation. He wanted to protect the capital and the dignity of the official family! When the official first became a big fortune, people's hearts were floating. He To have a solid foundation, you need to walk on thin ice and make no mistakes at all times. If such a big case is overturned, how can you make the people of the world believe in this new king? No one in the civil and military circles of the dynasty sees such an omission, so how should they deal with it? For the sake of Chao En, I don’t want him to clear his name, but for the sake of the overall situation, this is the only way!”
Nan Yi sneered and asked sharply: "How did you know he accepted it? How could you condescendingly accept it for him? Why should he be more righteous than others, what if he doesn't want to die like this?"
Her voice was so loud that Xie Jun was immediately stopped by the question.
Only Nan Yi knew that he was in a different mood than before when he calmly faced death. He cherishes the hard-earned reconciliation over the past ten years more than anyone else, and he cherishes this love more than anyone else. When she thought back to that last night, she regretted her hindsight. She should have noticed something strange about him, and she should have desperately grabbed him when he was heading towards that helpless ending.
Why should he swallow everything alone!
"Xie Chaoen has earned the overall situation, so what if he sacrifices even half of the overall situation for him today!"
