Chapter 123: new year

Chapter 123: new year

Chapter 123 New Year

 The lights are dim.

The wooden windows were slightly closed, and the gentle sound of the night breeze could be heard outside the door.

The young man walked towards her step by step under the lamplight of ignorance.

 Lu Zhen’s heart was beating very fast.

She had already guessed that her identity would be exposed sooner or later, there was no doubt about it, but she didn't expect it would come so quickly.

Afraid of being discovered by the Taishi Mansion, and afraid that her identity would be exposed on the way to revenge, she kept hidden from the whole incident. She went to Ke Chengxing's house to ask for a dowry, visited Wu Xiucai's mother, and performed acupuncture for Mrs. Xiangguan. He didn't directly confront the people from Taishi's Mansion.

Qi Yutai, whom I met only once, didn't even see her face clearly that night.

In all events, she removed herself without leaving a trace, like an insignificant passerby in a farce, a mediocre and insignificant ant in front of the grand drama, unable to withstand anyone's attention.

Pi Yunying happened to notice it.

He even knew her earlier. Before she took action against Ke Chengxing, before she started her first revenge plan, the moment he came to help Baoxiang downstairs, the two of them were destined to have a bad relationship.

 He crashed into this game from the beginning.

Pei Yunying stood still in front of her.

Lu Zong's whole body was enveloped by his figure. The young man even smiled, flicked the name scroll between his fingers, and asked: "Why do you write my name?"

 Why write his name?

Lu Zhen's eyes fell on the roster.

 There are many names written on the roster, including the Ke family, the Liu family, the Fan family... these are crossed out.

There are also many new additions, such as Taishifu, Qiyutai, Hanlin Medical Hospital... these have not been crossed out.

The daily habits, anecdotes and trivial matters of the people involved were carefully written down in a whole list, and in this densely written list, the name Pei Yunying was clearly listed.

 “Just curious.” She heard her own voice.

 “What are you curious about?”

“I’m curious as to which side Mr. Pei would be on if faced with this situation today.”

Pei Yunying was slightly startled.

Lu Zong raised his head and stared at him calmly.

Pei Yunying and his party were suspicious of her at Wan'en Temple, and then they tried her many times. Before Wangchunshan framed him, Lu Zhuo thought of killing him altogether.

It's just that the other party is the commander of the palace, not to mention whether he can approach smoothly, it is also very troublesome how to deal with official duties after taking action.

 Later, she rescued Pei Yunshu and her daughter, and the relationship between the two eased. In the eyes of outsiders, such as Du Changqing, she and Pei Yunying had a good relationship and could be called friends.

 But Lu Zhen never really trusted him.

　　She has a natural repulsion and hatred for the powerful. Whether it is prejudice or stubbornness, deep down in her heart, Lu Zhen never believes that the aloof Prince Zhaoning can understand her determination to take revenge.

 So she wrote down the name of this person. She didn’t know whether she was a friend or an enemy. Even though they can drink together under the moon, as long as he blocks her, he will be her next enemy.

This piece of paper was supposed to be burned today, but Du Changqing and his party arrived too suddenly, and she didn't have time, so she had to hurriedly put it among the poem pages on the table, but he didn't expect to find it.

 He has always been very sharp.

The wick burned for too long and the candle flame flickered. In the dim light, Pei Yunying looked at her with a half-smile but not a smile: "You don't want to kill me too, do you?"

His eyes were beautiful, and when he lowered his eyes, her shadow was clearly reflected in the dark eyes.

Lu Zhen smiled slightly, walked past Pei Yunying to the window, and used scissors to shorten the wick on the table.

 The light froze.

 She picked up the lamp again, lit the half-burned incense in the incense burner in the room, and then turned to look at the other party.

  She said: "It depends on which side you want to be on."

 He raised his eyebrows slightly: "What if I stand on the other side?"

The room suddenly fell silent.

The warm candlelight spread inch by inch, and the woman stood in the shadow of the lamp without speaking. Her frail shoulders seemed to be made of ice and snow, about to dissipate into the sky and earth under the torment of winter.

 After a long time, she said: "It's expected."

 Lu Zhen sneered in his heart.

　　should not be expected.

 You should not expect anything from any powerful person or so-called superior person.

He is the commander of the front department of the palace, the eldest son of Zhaoning Gong, and a family like the Taishi Mansion. Fan Zhenglian tries to please him in every possible way, and the Ke family treats him like a god. He and Qi Qing were officials in the same dynasty. On that day when they met in the Immortal Tower, Qi Yutai broke in to talk to Pei Yunying, and his words were all about wooing him.

Perhaps they have been colluding for a long time, and in the future he will be the son-in-law of the Taishi Mansion. They are a family.

The woman sighed, but a slight smile appeared on her face. She slowly walked up to Pei Yunying and said softly: "Now you know my secret."

She raised her head and said softly and ambiguously: "Are you going to send me to see an official? Like Liu Kun sent my brother?"

Pei Yunying paused.

The woman stood under the light of the lamp. She was light-bodied and frail, with a slender figure, fragile and cold as a winding stream after melting snow in spring. Her beautiful eyes looked at him like a pleading, and her brows were lightly frowned, which made people pity.

The scene of beauty's spring melancholy made Pei Yunying feel a strange feeling in his heart. It was like something was passing by quickly. As his thoughts flashed, Pei Yunying took action suddenly.

"boom-"

The sharp dagger drew a streak of silver light in the air. The woman's hand holding the knife was tightly clamped by Pei Yunying and was pushed away violently.

 “I won’t change my destiny.” Pei Yunying retracted her hand and looked at Lu Zhuo coldly.

She was pushed back a few steps and almost hit the table behind her. The slender, white hand that seemed to only know how to play the piano and embroidery took out the dagger from her sleeve at some point.

 While she was speaking softly to him, serious murderous intentions emerged.

　　There was no pleading, no resignation. The look in her eyes was gloomy and cold, with a bit of madness that would destroy both the stone and the stone.

That is not a fragile and calm stream at all, it is a whirlpool, a crazy and terrifying whirlpool that can tear people apart.

 “My lord, you are so quick to respond.” She mocked.

Pei Yunying was about to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, he suddenly felt his body stagnant for a moment and his heart tightened. The next moment, the incense burner on the table was swept by the strong wind and rolled to the ground. The half-burned incense stick was broken into several pieces. There is a faint fragrance of lilies floating out from it. It is very clear, but it makes people feel dizzy for a moment.

 “Despicable.” His face turned cold.

 She never thought about having a good conversation from the beginning. From the moment Lu Huo lit the incense, she had already started murdering him.

 His footsteps were unsteady for a moment, but the woman had gripped the dagger again and stabbed him!

 There was no expression in her eyes, as cold as if she were looking at a corpse.

Pei Yunying's face sank, and Yin Mo's long sword was unsheathed. The numb and stiff feeling was forcibly broken by the internal force, and the long sword brought strong wind and rushed towards the opponent.

"I have warned you before, sir," she said without any fear in front of the sword, and even said sarcastically, "The medical center is full of poisons. If you accidentally break in and die, you can't blame others."

He smiled instead of getting angry: "Do you think I'm as useless as them?"

With a slight swipe of the silver sword, the dagger in Lu Zhuo's hand was broken into two pieces.

 Her heart sank.

It's too short.

 The time for burning incense is too short.

This person is keen and alert too quickly, and the incense stick has not had time to exert its full power. Otherwise, after half a stick of incense, no matter how skilled Pei Yunying is, he will only be able to be slaughtered here.

 If it had been anyone else, they would have fallen long ago.

"My lord is naturally different from those trash. Don't worry, after you die, I will bury you under that plum tree. After all, your body is much more beautiful than that piece of dead pork. If you use it as flower fertilizer, it will definitely make the plum tree bloom." It’s more touching.”

He was pushed and hit just now, and the dagger was cut by the wind brought by the silver knife, and his fingers were covered with blood. However, Lu Zhu didn't care at all, and only held the broken dagger and rushed towards him, his eyes bright. Horrifying.

 She doesn’t avoid it at all.

Like a desperate fire, burning like crazy.

 “If you block the road, die—” she said.

The dagger was sharp, and the silver light rushed straight towards her fragile heart. Just at the last moment, he stopped suddenly, turned the tip of the knife suddenly, faced the oncoming person, grabbed her arm hard, and pushed her with his backhand.

Lu Zong was pushed back and knocked down on the altar table. The kind-hearted Guanyin in white couldn't withstand such a strong impact, staggered, and fell down from the Buddhist cabinet.

"Snapped-"

 “No—” the woman was suddenly startled.

The crisp sound of broken porcelain could be heard in the cold night. In the house next door, there seemed to be the faint sound of Yin Zheng's drunken sleep, and the silence soon returned.

a mess.

The incense ashes on the altar were scattered all over the floor. It was probably early in the morning when the incense was offered. The orange persimmons had red letters on them and rolled to Pei Yunying's feet.

The young man’s eyes were shocked.

The white-clothed Guanyin that had been enshrined in the small Buddha cabinet was broken into several pieces on the ground. There were actually several palm-sized porcelain jars hidden in them. There were four in total. They were also broken. Mud was poured out from them, and one jar was filled with water. , scattered all over the ground.

 “This is...” He stared.

Lu Zhen was fishing out the soil from the porcelain jars.

She fished in a panic and anxious manner, as if she was afraid that she wouldn't be able to fish it out if it was too late. She even tried to retrieve the spilled jar of water. The water ran away between her fingers and dripped into the dirt, making it impossible to tell which jar was which.

Blood flowed out from the wound on his finger. Lu Zhu didn't even notice it, and he also forgot about Pei Yunying beside him. It seemed that in this world, the only thing in front of him was the most important.

Pei Yunying saw her panic for the first time. Even when he was asking questions aggressively at Wan'en Temple, and after the tribute case, he was forced to break into the hospital at night, and even earlier, when Baoxiang was held hostage by robbers downstairs, and she was on the line between life and death, he never showed signs of panic.

But now, she was fishing for the broken soil, and she was lost and panicked.

Pei Yunying narrowed his eyes.

 A ridiculous idea arose in his mind.

Looking at the woman who was carefully picking up the soil, the young man hesitated and said, "Is this... grave soil?"

The secret letter sent by Qing Feng mentioned that all four members of the Lu family were dead. Except for Lu Rou, who was laid to rest in the grave, the remaining three people had no bones left.

Mrs. Lu was destroyed in a fire, Master Lu was buried under the water, Lu Qian was executed and his body was dumped in a grave and eaten by wild beasts. Even though Lu Rou was buried in peace, as the daughter of the Lu family hiding in the dark, Lu Yan could not Go to pay homage blatantly.

Pei Yunying glanced at the four porcelain jars on the ground.

 Four porcelain jars with spiritual tablets on four sides.

 No wonder she wanted to enshrine such a Guanyin in the small Buddha cabinet in the house.

Even though her hands are stained with blood and she does not believe in gods or Buddhas, she still pretends to worship Guanyin, because what she worships is not Guanyin at all, but a tablet of the Lu family.

 Lu Zhen did not answer.

She tried her best to reach out and scoop up the grave soil mixed together.

Those graves that she searched from everywhere, perhaps with the atmosphere of family members.

She brought back the embers of the fire from her old house in Changwu County, scooped up the rolling river water from the waterway boat to Beijing, dug up the wet black mud soaked by the rain in the graveyard surrounded by wild dogs, and secretly went to visit her sister who had no one. To pay homage to the cemetery, take away a small piece of loess.

 She could not find any other relics left by them, so she could only put the muddy water into porcelain jars and put them in the house, as if this way she could be together with her family.

Now, the mud and river water are mixed together, turbid and chaotic, slipping from her fingers like stained tears.

 Nothing can be retained.

The movement to retain the mud gradually slowed down until it finally froze. She sat on her knees and stared blankly at the mess on the ground.

Suddenly a blurry picture flashed before my eyes.

That was probably a scene from a long, long time ago.

 Have father, mother, older brothers and sisters. In the small courtyard on a summer evening, she was sitting with her sister and brother, talking about a recent lawsuit in a neighboring county.

A wealthy gentleman took possession of the young and beautiful daughter of a long-term worker. The magistrate of the Yamen County interrogated the case, and the lawsuit spread throughout the county.

As a young girl, she bit into wild grapes that had been dried in the well water and sighed: "It's so hateful. What if one day someone like a wealthy gentleman wants to harm our family?"

 “It won’t happen.” My sister replied.

 “What if it is there?”

"Then just report it to the official!" Lu Qian disagreed, "The law will make the decision."

The mother smiled and said: "Yes, we don't make enemies with others for no reason. Who will harm us?"

She was not very satisfied with this answer. After thinking about it, she clenched her fist and said, "If someone really wants to harm our family, then I will take revenge!"

“Pfft—” Lu Qian pinched her chubby cheeks, “Kid, you’re not as tall as the table, and you still want to take revenge? How can you take revenge with the slingshot I bought for you?”

 Everyone laughed together.

The laughter gradually faded away, became blurry, and finally turned into yellow mud on the ground in front of her eyes, and a drop of crystal like broken jade on the back of her hand.

Pei Yunying was startled.

 She sat silently on the ground, sitting in the mud, like a flower that was about to wither.

He finally spoke: "Do you want to enter the Imperial Medical College to deal with the Taishi Mansion?"

 “Didn’t you find out clearly?”

"Qi Yutai is Qi Qing's son. Killing him is a fool's dream."

Fan Hong is just a judge of the court, while Qi Yutai is the son of a grand master. Anyone who comes close to him will be investigated repeatedly. Using the same method, Lu Chen could get close to Fan Hong, but he may not be able to get close to Qi Yutai. Even if she entered Hanlin Medical Academy, revenge would be difficult.

"so what?"

“Our family is an ordinary family, how can we just let a few lives go to waste? Why?”

She smiled miserably and her voice was cold, "Only in the eyes of you noble children, talents are divided into three, six or nine levels. In the eyes of the King of Hell, there are only distinctions between the dead and the living."

 “It is natural and right to kill for life.”

 Pei Yunying frowned slightly and said, "Don't you want to be fair?"

"fair?"

 Lu Zhuo raised his head.

Her black and white eyes showed an amazing transparency under the dim light, making her look determined and stubborn. Just like when she was pushed down and injured just now, she would not rush up again immediately after shouting in pain. Just like she was in the embarrassing predicament of being shackled now, she did not show any weakness.

 Just looked at the person in front of him coldly.

 Lu Yan said: "Your Excellency knows very well that even if this case is handed over to Dali Temple, there will be no difference at all."

She thought of the lawsuit that spread in Changwu County many years ago. The lawsuit was actually very simple, and anyone with a discerning eye could see the truth. But in the end, the county magistrate acquitted the gentry. The defiled girl went to assassinate the gentry with a hatchet in her arms and was beaten to death with sticks. Her old father was hanged on his daughter's grave.

Lu Zhen clenched his fists and dug his fingertips into his palms.

She will never be a lamb to be slaughtered.

"He is the son of a grand master, and there are many scapegoats who have been scapegoats for him. Even if he is really convicted, he will be picked up heavily and put down gently, and the door will be closed behind closed doors."

 “He won’t die.”

“It doesn’t matter what the truth is, nor does it matter if my family’s grievances are cleared. As long as they live, justice will never come.”

"fair?"

She sneered, her tone full of hopeless paranoia, "Let me tell you what fairness is. Qi Yutai killed my sister, and I killed Qi Yutai. One life is worth another life. This is what fairness is."

 “I don’t need help, I can find justice on my own.”

Pei Yunying looked at her.

She knelt down on the ground numbly, her voice was calm, and there was a hint of crying that she was trying to hide. He knew very well that this cry was not because her secret was discovered, nor was it because of the helpless predicament at the moment, but because of the people in the graves on the ground.

 Lu Zhu lowered his head.

The rusty silver ring was still lying in her medical kit. If she took it out, she might gain Pei Yunying's sympathy for a moment.

However, sympathy never lasts. He already knows all the secrets, and his identity as friend or foe is unknown in the future.

Only a dead person would not reveal secrets.

She could take advantage of the opportunity to take out the silver ring to lower his guard, or poison his tea, or pierce his Jianjing point with a poisonous needle... There were poisons hidden everywhere in the house, and her There is a handful of poisonous powder in his sleeve, which can be used to blind his eyes.

 At the far end of the street, there was faint laughter and the sound of firecrackers, drifting into the small courtyard on the wind.

 Lu Zhen looked at the missing mark on the table.

 It’s almost midnight, Acheng said, to celebrate the festival, fireworks will be set off at Dechun Terrace tonight.

The curtains reflect the plum branches outside the window, and the bright moon creeps over the flower tips. On New Year's Eve in Shengjing, ordinary people and nobles will share the splendor of the prosperous age at this moment, regardless of high or low.

 “Tick-tick-tick-”

 It is the sound of dripping water.

 Very soon, it’s almost midnight.

 Her fingers had already touched the poisonous powder in her sleeve. She peeled off the medicine paper little by little, and she was about to touch the fine, gray powder between her fingers...

Suddenly, a handkerchief embroidered with a goshawk was handed to him.

 Lu Zhen's hand hidden in his sleeve froze.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　‖

At this moment, on the distant Dechun Terrace, smoke and flames exploded brilliantly from the night sky of Shengjing City. Like thousands of candles lighting up from the sky, the splendid scene was ablaze with five colors.

 The small courtyard was also illuminated by this moment of splendor.

Lu Zong was shaken so much that he narrowed his eyes slightly.

 Zi Shi, New Year's Eve, Spring Terrace smoke.

 It’s a new year.

 She looked up blankly.

Pei Yunying stood in front of him. The light from the fireworks outside the courtyard illuminated his beautiful eyebrows, making the sharpness and coldness around him disappear, making him look bright and soft.

The young man bent down, handed the handkerchief closer, and motioned for Lu Zhuo to bandage the bleeding finger.

 “Just wipe it,” he turned his face away, his voice flat.

 “I’m convinced by you.”

   Liutong: Kill every stumbling block on the road to revenge equally (including the male protagonist)

　　

　　

 (End of this chapter)