In order to apologize, Xu Zhi penetrated his chest without the handle of the long sword that Ling Yun had just thrown on the ground! …
His body swayed for a few times, and finally he couldn't hold on anymore and collapsed to the ground; blood gushed out like a fountain, almost soaking the entire floor in front of him.
Everything happened so suddenly and unexpectedly that Ling Yun, who had always been calm and composed, was stunned. His face turned gray in an instant, and his body froze as if an acupuncture point had been tapped.
It took a while for Ling Yun to come back to his senses and yelled: "Mr. Xu!..." He stumbled forward, leaned down and hugged Xu Zhi's blood-soaked and trembling body tightly.
The long sword almost penetrated his chest, and the blood gurgled, dyeing the white skirt of Ling Yun's chest scarlet.
The blood was a large pool of gloomy, red, alluring, melancholy, like a flower in full bloom. The flower only bloomed for a moment, then quickly withered and fell, just like the life that was about to disappear, rippled in the fragmented cold light.
At that moment, Lu Wen's body almost collapsed on the ground; his face was as gloomy as if a layer of ashes had been sprinkled in the wine, and his pale, bloodless lips couldn't help trembling.
He didn't know how long it took before he regained his breath and almost crawled to get in front of Xu Zhi step by step.
He lowered his head in despair, looked at Xu Zhi's eyes that were so dim that they had almost lost all their sparkle, and said with tears in his eyes: "Mr. Xu, you... why are you doing this? Commander Ling has already let you go..."
Xu Zhi's chest was rising and falling, and he was breathing intermittently; his pale face was distorted by the tremendous pain, and streams of bright red blood flowed uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth, dripping down his chin and onto his chest.
"But, I can't forgive...myself. I can't help but give an account of Jiang Chun's...unjust death, and I can't ruin...my lord's reputation in life just because of my mere measly life..."
Lu Wenzheng cried: "Mr. Xu, you are too stubborn...Mr. Xu! Mr. Xu!..."
Called several times, no response. Lu Wenzheng put his trembling hand on Xu Zhi's nose. He was no longer breathing.
Lu Wen just hugged Xu Zhi's body and remained speechless for a long time, as if he was in a daze.
The feeling of grief is indescribable and cannot be vented. I just feel that every bone and every inch of skin in my body is like being crushed by a huge stone wheel. It is dripping with blood and painful to the bone marrow.
After a long time, he said to himself: "Mr. Xu, how could you just leave so irresponsibly? How could you just leave my house like this?
"You have been with me for many years and have a close relationship with me. Whenever we encounter any difficult problems, you are the one who makes suggestions and solves problems for me.
"These days, too many things have happened. Everyone around me has left me one by one. Now I only have you as my confidant. If you leave again, who will I count on and rely on?" Who is going?..."
Listening to Lu Wenzheng's shocking words, every drop of blood and every cell in Ling Yun's body felt cold to the core.
He felt as if his heart was being strangled tightly by a pair of big hands, slowly squeezing and rubbing it, and gradually turned into a ball of broken and bitter blood.
Especially Lu Wenzheng's last words echoed in his ears for a long time. He felt hopelessness spreading and the silence almost burst. He clenched his teeth extremely tightly, but the courage and strength to speak out were gone.
He stood up numbly and staggered toward the door.
Lu Wenzheng also realized his gaffe at this time. He shouted several times from behind, but he didn't look back...
The sky is grey, and the clouds are pulled low by the trapped moisture, which presses down on the top of the head as if it is suffocating and makes people breathless.
There was not a breath of wind outside. The world seemed to be tightly closed upside down by a huge pot lid, and all living beings were shackled inside. All struggles seemed to have lost their meaning.
Junma Mansion, inside Huanyun Pavilion.
Ling Yun sat alone in front of the case and learned from the painful experience. He only felt heartbroken. The tragic scene before Xu Zhi's death has been lingering in front of his eyes, and he can't get rid of it.
Xu Zhi had known him for many years and had a deep relationship; now he died suddenly, and it was because of him. Unspeakable pain devoured his heart inch by inch. He raised his pale face and stared out the window blankly.
The past events are vivid in my mind, as if they were yesterday.
He remembered that a few years ago, Mr. Lu handled the case of a spiritual Taoist priest (now said to be Du Zhenghai) who kidnapped Miss Ding. He needed Miss Ding Mengxuan to come forward as a witness, but he was afraid that Miss Ding would give false testimony due to various pressures, so He discussed with Xu Zhi privately how to solve the problem.
However, Xu Zhi asked him to meet Miss Ding privately late at night to do some ideological work on her.
At that time, Ling Yun said disapprovingly: "I said you are fanciful, aren't you? Who is Miss Ding? She is a boudoir girl, a lady among all the ladies. Can I see her?"
"I didn't tell you to go see her in broad daylight, with gongs and drums beating!"
"Then I should go see her in the middle of the night, furtively, secretly?"
"correct!"
"You -" Ling Yun suddenly understood what he meant and said decisively: "If I don't go, what does it matter? You can go alone!"
Xu Zhi frowned slightly and said: "I would like to go, but it's a pity that I don't have the ability to fly over eaves and walls, and I don't have the love. Commander Ling, people say that if you are upright, you are not afraid of the shadow. As long as you are upright and have a clear heart, you What are you worried about? Besides, for Mr. Lu, for the Minister of Justice, for the grace of the current emperor, for the prosperity of our dynasty, for..."
"Okay, Mr. Xu, stop talking!" Ling Yun became impatient.
Xu Zhi smiled: "Will you agree or not?"
Ling Yun said helplessly: "Do I dare not agree? - But we have something to say beforehand. If this matter backfires and causes trouble, the responsibility will be borne by you. If Mr. Lu is investigated, I will confess that it was you who instigated it!"
Xu Zhi raised his eyebrows and said with a smile: "Okay, Commander Ling is very shrewd and won't suffer any losses! Okay, if something goes wrong, I will bear the responsibility and you will lose the face!"
Ling Yun glanced at him and said, "What did you say?"
"Ah, I didn't say anything!"...
Thinking of the humorous fun in the past, he could no longer hold back his tears.
He then thought about what happened later: The late-night private meeting between himself and Ding Mengxuan came to light, but he and Xu Zhi were both vying to plead guilty in front of Mr. Lu and take the responsibility on themselves...
He didn't understand, could a person like Xu Zhi, who was very measured in his advances and retreats, do such outrageous things? Will it end up in such an undesirable ending?
At this time, he suddenly smiled bitterly. Not only Xu Zhi, isn't he also like this? I used to pride myself on being shrewd and capable, but wasn't it true that I was often caught up in all kinds of complicated situations, involuntarily doing many things that I didn't want to do?
The world is complicated and unpredictable. Just imagine how pale and powerless the small manpower looks in the face of the ever-changing situation!
If you want to go against the will of heaven and change your fate, you probably have to commit suicide. Only by obeying fate and following fate is the right thing to do.
Thinking of this, Ling Yun's heart suddenly became enlightened; a persistent and determined look appeared in his originally dazed eyes; the obscure emotions on his face became clear and clear...
He finally made up his mind. Without any further hesitation, he quickly stood up and walked straight out the door.
In the study of Shangshu Mansion of the Ministry of Justice.
Lu Wenzheng was sitting alone in front of the desk, his face was pale, his eyebrows were knitted together, his eyes were staring blankly ahead, his expression was solemn and sad.
At this time, Yang Zhen walked in with heavy steps and said in a low voice: "Sir, Mr. Xu's career has been taken care of, and tomorrow is the funeral. May I ask if you have any other instructions?"
The look in Lu Wenzheng's eyes was almost numb, and he just shook his head feebly.
Looking at Mr. Lu's decadent and depressed look, Yang Zhen felt sad and said dumbly: "Sir, people cannot be resurrected after death, so you don't have to be too sad. You must cherish your body!"
Lu Wenzheng said in a thick voice: "I understand. If there is nothing else, you can go out first."
Yang Zhen responded feebly and was about to walk out. At this time, Tong'er Rong'er came in and reported: "Sir, Commander Ling is outside asking to see you."
Lu Wenzheng and Yang Zhen looked at each other unconsciously, a little stunned.
After a while, Ling Yun walked in from outside with a lonely look.
He silently greeted Lu Wenzheng, then took out a brocade letter from his arms, handed it to him with both hands and said: "This is Ling Yun's resignation, please approve it."
Lu Wenzheng and Yang Zhen were both shocked.
Lu Wenzheng felt as if he had been stung by something. His body couldn't help but twitch, and he said in a trembling voice: "What, you want to resign?..."
Ling Yun nodded slightly.
Lu Wenzheng said excitedly: "Why?"
Ling Yun stood there expressionless, his long eyelashes drooping, hiding the complicated and unclear emotions in his eyes; the veins on his forehead bulged slightly, and the line of his jaw tightened for a moment, and he did not speak.
Lu Wenzheng's twitching expression showed the anger he tried to control, "Is it just because of the few words I said that day?...I admit that what I said that day was a bit unscrupulous and went too far. Yes, but I was really too sad that day!"
Ling Yun said indifferently: "I think you have misunderstood. In fact, even if those things didn't happen that day, I still have to leave. So many things have happened in these days, and I have become discouraged. I can only stay here. The corpse is just in its place. Not only can it not help you, but it will only add to each other's troubles."
Yang Zhen couldn't help but said: "Brother Ling, how can you say that? Now that Mr. Xu is gone, if you leave again, who else do you think can help me?"
Ling Yun ignored Yang Zhen's words and only said to Lu Wenzheng: "It's hard to leave a sad person behind. Now that Ling Yun has decided to leave, please give me your permission."
Lu Wenzheng's eyes were trembling with emotion, and he said angrily: "Since you have made up your mind, what else can I say? Well, I have approved your resignation. You can leave at any time. I I will never stop you again!"...
