Ye Chuyan sat on the grass ball in the cell every day and closed his eyes to meditate.
This is a separate cell where felons are held. She is the only cell. The cell is ten feet away from the door. There are no windows and the air is turbid.
The only door that can be accessed is always closed, and the side door next to it will be opened when the jailer changes shifts and delivers meals. There are sixteen jailers on duty here, one in each shift, for fear of any accident happening to her.
Someone delivers a meal on time every day. The so-called meal is nothing more than a dry steamed bun and half a bowl of water-like gruel to ensure that the prisoners do not starve to death.
No one interrogated her, no one tortured her, and no one came to see her. She seemed to have been forgotten here.
While Ye Chuyan was chewing on the dry steamed bun, she silently counted the time. Today should be the fifth day she was sent to death row. She didn't know if Kyoto was already in a storm.
She tried to inquire about the situation from the jailer a few days ago. She wanted to know whether Pei Ye had found the poem and what he was going to do with her and Pei Xiuyan. Was it to be decapitated, beheaded, or quartered?
The jailers just looked at her with complicated expressions and remained silent.
She immediately understood that this matter must have been so big that the jailers did not dare to discuss it privately. This made her very happy. The bigger the incident got, the more tragic Pei Xiuyan's death would be.
She worked hard to maintain a regular schedule every day, and tried to finish eating the steamed buns that were as hard as rocks. Before she saw Pei Xiuyan die, she had to live well. She had to watch Pei Xiuyan go to hell in person before she could die with peace of mind.
The dark and dirty environment in the cell and the hard steamed buns were better than fine clothes and food to her, making her particularly comfortable.
Today, Ye Chuyan was still sitting with her eyes closed and concentrating. The door of the cell made a muffled creaking sound. She knew without opening her eyes that it was time and the food delivery person had arrived.
"Master Shi!" The west jailer said at the same time.
Ye Chuyan was a little surprised when she heard the sound. She opened her eyes slightly and saw that the prison door was fully open. The sunlight outside was particularly dazzling. She couldn't help but raise her hand to block it.
After a moment, I put down my hand and saw clearly that the person coming was Shilu.
Shi Lu was standing at the door against the light, wearing a blue official robe, his face as serious as ever, holding a food box in his left hand.
After he came in, he said to the west jailer: "Get out, I want to interrogate the prisoner alone."
This death row is under the jurisdiction of Dali Temple. Shi Lu is the minister of Dali Temple and the person with the highest authority here.
The jailers sensibly handed the cell key to his hand and resigned obediently.
Shi Lu put the food box on the table, opened the cell door with the key, and said to Ye Chuyan, "Come out."
Ye Chuyan smiled slightly, "Master Shi, we meet again."
Things in the world are unpredictable. The two people who met at the city gate a few days ago now have completely different identities.
Ye Chuyan slowly stood up and walked out. The heavy shackles made it difficult for her. Every step she took was extremely difficult, and the shackles made a loud clattering sound.
Shi Lu's eyes were silent, staring at Ye Chuyan.
She is much thinner, wearing a blue coarse cloth uniform used only by death row prisoners, without any accessories, her hair is a little messy, and her face is dirty, but this does not affect her appearance and demeanor, but it makes her feel like she is out of mud. The shocking beauty of dyeing.
She walked towards him step by step, with a quiet and indifferent smile between her eyebrows. She was not like a prisoner on death row, but like a young lady who was about to go out for a spring outing.
She had lost all her internal strength. The shackles specially made for death row prisoners were too heavy for her. There were faint blood marks on her ankles, which must have been worn in the past few days.
Ye Chuyan finally walked to the table outside the cell. She was about to kneel down and salute when Shi Lu supported her.
"No need to salute. Today is not a formal interrogation. I have something to ask you. Please sit down."
After saying that, he turned around and opened the food box on the table, taking out the various side dishes and a snack inside.
"We can talk after you finish eating."
Ye Chuyan could probably guess what Shi Lu was going to ask, so he was not polite, nodded and sat on the bench, picked up a piece of snack and took a bite. It was sweet.
She smiled.
In this life, because of my love for Pei Xiuyan, I felt so bitter that I couldn't eat sweets. Now I'm about to be relieved, and I finally feel the joy of eating sweets.
Shi Lu felt depressed when he saw Ye Chuyan laughing happily after taking a bite of pastry.
"I've been busy investigating Pei Xiuyan's rebellion these days. I won't have time to tell the people here that starting from tomorrow, I will ask them to deliver meals to you according to this standard."
Ye Chuyan shook his head, "No need. I am a death row prisoner and am not qualified to enjoy the feast. Thank you Master Shi for your kindness."
She spoke humbly and sincerely, making Shi Lu feel a little sad.
He would always remember Ye Chuyan's graceful appearance when she put on silver armor and fought against bandits with him. At that time, she was so dashing and radiant.
Within two or three months, she had become so humble that she knew she was on death row and could not even ask for a decent meal.
Ye Chuyan was in a happy mood after eating the snacks. "Master Shi, I have something to ask."
When it came to business, Shi Lu sat up straight and cleared his throat.
"I went to check on the Japanese Mr. Shui you mentioned. He is a genuine Dafeng native, but he has stayed in Japan for a few years. What you said about Pei Xiuyan colluding with Japanese people does not exist."
"Mrs. Mo from the Qing Palace was an orphan. She received the favor of Pei Xiuyan and learned how to make clothes. Later she went to the Qing Palace as a housekeeper. She was not the daughter of the Mo family back then."
"In the case of Tianlang Village, you said that he killed the young master of the Wu family because of this. There is no such thing. The young master of the Wu family just returned to Beijing yesterday and is safe and sound."
"You said that Pei Xiuyan made a lot of nonsense during the requisition of the warships. Apart from you, I found no other witness to this matter."
"I did find the poem you mentioned in the palace of the Qing Dynasty. This poem was written by the poet of the previous dynasty on the river when he was traveling far away. When it was originally written, it was not with the intention of treason. I can't make a decision on this matter. "
Shi Lu has been familiar with the books of sages since he was a child, and his comings and goings are innocent. He is not willing to spare a bad person, nor is he willing to slander a good person.
Having been an official in the same court as Pei Xiuyan for so long, I know that Pei Xiuyan has always been dedicated to the court. If there was really no rebellion, I would be willing to fight for Pei Xiuyan in front of the emperor.
He came here today to really find out about this matter. Some things were only Ye Chuyan's one-sided opinions, and he really had no way to verify them.
Ye Chuyan smiled and looked at Shi Lu silently.
These were within her expectations.
Pei Xiuyan is such a cautious person. Since he can get Madam Mo to be the housekeeper in the house, he must have taken care of her identity.
Pei Xiuyan was not the only member of the royal family who went to Mr. Dong Yingshui's place to eat. It was understandable that someone had taken care of Mr. Shui's identity in advance so as not to implicate himself.
Others are also ambiguous.
But so what? It was enough for Pei Ye to find that poem. Those two poems were her weapon to crucify Pei Xiuyan.
The other charges were just to add fuel to the fire, in order to make the anger in Pei Ye's heart burn even more intensely, until Pei Xiuyan was reduced to ashes and could never stand up again.
Seeing that Ye Chuyan was absent-minded, Shi Lu said with a straight face: "Ye Chuyan, tell me, does Pei Xiuyan really want to rebel?"
Ye Chuyan came back to his senses and half-smiled.
"Master Shi, you are really interesting. You should ask the Emperor about this. It is not important whether Pei Xiuyan is treason. What is important is whether the Emperor thinks he is treason."
Shilu was stunned.
Ye Chuyan is right, no matter whether the evidence is ambiguous or fabricated, as long as Pei Ye confirms that Pei Xiuyan is treasonous, it is treason.
The sentence written by Pei Xiuyan: One day the dragon will get the water, I will ask the Yangtze River to flow backward. The font is wild and domineering, and the arrogance is soaring. When Pei Ye saw it, his face turned dark.
After reading that poem, Pei Ye asked himself to investigate everything strictly, and said that if there was no evidence, what Ye Chuyan said would be considered evidence.
When Shi Lu thought of this, he felt a little disappointed.
For a minister, loyalty to the emperor is far greater than all facts. Sometimes, the emperor's golden words are greater than all laws.
Since Ye Chuyan made Pei Ye believe that Pei Xiuyan was treasonous, now, no matter whether Pei Xiuyan is innocent or not, he will inevitably die.
He couldn't help but sigh and said with emotion:
"Back on the Tianlangzhai Mountain, Pei Xiuyan lost all ten of his fingers in order to poach you. I thought he treated you so sincerely, and you two should be deeply in love... I didn't expect that... it was you who reported him personally."
Ye Chuyan knew that Shi Lu was old-fashioned and serious, but he didn't expect him to be so simple in emotional matters.
Ever since she had a miscarriage and the Ye family was exterminated, there had been a blood feud between her and Pei Xiuyan. How could they have such deep affection?
Ye Chuyan really wanted to look up to the sky and laugh wildly, but in the end she controlled herself. She didn't want to appear too presumptuous in this death row.
She calmed down her emotions and asked: "Master Shi, has the emperor mentioned anything about the Ye family in the past few days?"
Shilu paused.
Pei Ye summoned him privately this morning and asked him to include the Ye family's affairs when drafting Pei Xiuyan's charges.
If Pei Xiuyan is executed, it will be a matter of time before the Ye family is rehabilitated.
He suddenly realized and said in shock: "Is this your purpose? In order to rehabilitate the Ye family, you did not hesitate to drag Pei Xiuyan to hell with you. Did you know that you are the Qing Princess and you will be infamy with him for thousands of years?"
Ye Chuyan did not answer Shi Lu's words, but stood up and walked slowly back to the cell. As he walked, he said calmly and calmly: "Thank you, Mr. Shi, for the snacks you brought today. I won't send you away if you go slowly."
Shi Lu saw Ye Chuyan back in the cell, sitting on a ball of grass with his back to him, as if he didn't want to talk to him anymore.
He stood for a moment, and his whole person suddenly became a little decadent.
"The emperor was furious because of this matter, Long Yan, and asked me to deal with it as soon as possible. If nothing happens, he will be executed in three days at most. At that time, you... you and Pei Xiuyan will be punished together."
Ye Chuyan remained silent.
When the cell became silent again, she murmured softly, "Okay, I will hold on until the last moment. I want to watch Pei Xiuyan die in front of me."
She has never felt so comfortable in all these years.
Shilu's trip brought him three pieces of good news.
One is that Pei Xiuyan will die with him soon; the other is that Wu Mu returns to Beijing safely; the third is that the Ye family will soon be rehabilitated.
The Ye family was finally cleared of the crime of collaborating with the enemy and treason, and the Ye family finally no longer had to be stabbed in the back after their death.
After his death, Wu Mu could marry a wife and have children with peace of mind, and would no longer be implicated.
In this life, it is too painful to love someone who is not a good person. Now, it's finally come to an end.
That night, Ye Chuyan slept particularly soundly.
