"My surname is Wei, and my name is Jingshan. I am originally from Jiangning. I care about the people and strive for a great cause. Look at how big-hearted I am!" Cai Xianqing paused and then sang:
"A loyal heart..."
"You listen to a lot of operas, do you know who Wei Jingshan is?" Wan Heshun asked his wife.
She thought for a while, shook her head and said, "Master, there is no such person in the play. Maybe it was the actor Cai who made it up."
Cai Xianqing was silent for a long time and only said, "Your Majesty, just listen." He then opened his throat, his voice full of misery and sorrow. Even though the listener did not know the allusion, he was deeply moved.
After Cai Xianqing finished singing, he continued: "It is a pity that the law has declined and discipline has been broken. Jingshan was trapped by the prefect and trapped in prison! Look at my injustice..."
Wan Heshun pinched his fingers and looked solemn. He saw that after Cai Xianqing finished singing this part, the prefect came up again.
After singing a few more verses, Cai Xianqing secretly glanced at the prince again. No one else noticed, but Wan Heshun could see clearly. He leaned on the back of the chair, closed his eyes, and seemed to be frowning in thought.
I don’t know when the singing ended, but another person pretending to be an old student came on stage and said: "I am in Jiangning. I heard that the prefect fell into Zhongliang by mistake. Come and see..."
Wan Heshun raised his head again and stared into Cai Xianqing's eyes.
"Your Majesty! I, Wei Jingshan, have countless grievances, but I don't know where to complain! Jingshan implemented the New Deal to protect the country and the people, but the governor insisted on going his own way..."
"alright."
When Cai Xianqing was about to sing, he was suddenly stopped by Wan Heshun in the audience. He looked at the prince blankly.
"Xian Qing, please tell me what you have to say." Wan Heshun's tone was calm, but it made him feel a cold aura, which made him shudder.
"That……"
"Get off the stage and come down to talk." Wan Heshun was a little dissatisfied.
"Yes, yes..." Cai Xianqing was extremely nervous and began to regret in her heart.
He held his breath and walked down slowly. Everyone was silent, except for the child who was still screaming.
Cai Xianqing knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the prince without changing his expression.
"I'm afraid Wei Jingshan has something else to say... I wonder who the prince in the play is named?" Wan Heshun lowered his head and touched his palms, and said in a tone like interrogating a prisoner.
"Due to my hasty compilation, I don't know the prince's name." Although Cai Xianqing spoke calmly, the corners of his mouth were trembling.
"I can understand," Wan Heshun smiled and held the hand of the child next to him, "But Wei Jingshan is a good name. It sounds familiar to me."
"this……"
Cai Xianqing hesitated. He didn't know whether he should use this to reveal the truth to him. The prince's face didn't look good. He suddenly felt afraid. he thought. If a few words had passed without mentioning Wei Huai, he would have been able to survive; but he had come to this point, should he give in and appear cowardly and incompetent at this moment? He doesn't care about faith and morality, but the word "submissive" makes him ashamed. Subdued at this time? What a disgrace!
He took a deep breath and said resolutely: "Wei Jingshan is Wei Huai of Sihe Academy."
Wan Heshun raised the corners of his mouth slightly. He didn't expect Cai Xianqing to say it openly. Since Cai Xianqing has no heart to accept weakness, it will be difficult to brush this matter off in one go. If anger served him well, he would fly into a rage, but after weighing the pros and cons, he slowly began to smile.
"Wei Huai? I know he founded Sihe Academy and taught well! I wonder how he is doing now?"
"You don't know?"
Wan Heshun looked around in shock, and then asked in surprise: "What happened to Wei Jijiu?"
When Cai Xianqing saw that Wan Heshun didn't know anything about it, he, who was always meticulous, was at a loss: "Don't you know?"
"Say something quickly!" Wan Heshun shouted anxiously.
"Yes... that's the case. Wei Huai led the people in front of the Yamen to vigorously implement the New Deal. The magistrate falsely accused Wei Huai of inciting good people and imprisoned him in the cell. He was sentenced to a serious crime. The villain originally thought that the prince must agree to this matter, but Who wants to..."
"Is what you said true?"
"This villain has relied on you to achieve success in his life. How dare he tell half a lie?"
"The prefect is so bold!" Wan Heshun got angry and smashed the table, scaring the children so much that they started crying.
"Don't cry!" Wan Heshun stood up irritably, "Send someone! Tell the prefect that with my order, Wei Huai will be released from prison immediately without delay!"
He turned back to look at Cai Xianqing and patted him hard: "Xianqing, you have really made a great contribution! Without you to remonstrate with him, a loyal and righteous man would have to suffer unjust injustice."
"Where...where..." When Cai Xianqing heard what he said, he really felt as if he had accomplished a miraculous feat. He looked at everyone with pride, and his face glowed red.
"Xian Qing, you are not young anymore. I'm afraid this righteous act has consumed a lot of your energy. You should go back and rest..." Wan Heshun comforted.
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding..."
"Come here!" Wan He said succinctly, "Please help Xian Qing to have a rest."
Cai Xianqing then kowtowed to Prince Wan and was helped down by several servants.
"Actress Cai clearly meant to disobey the master! Why didn't you get angry with him? You still obeyed him! This is not a disgrace to our Wan family..."
"Okay!" Wan Heshun's vulture-like eyes stared straight at his wife, frightening her so much that she didn't dare to say another word. "It's true that a woman's opinion doesn't care about the general situation!" He sat back on the armchair, took a sip of tea and said:
"You haven't seen that not only the people are protecting him, the literati are protecting him, but even the Cai actor is talking to Wei Huai. What does this mean? Wei Huai can gather people's hearts, and we really have no ability to touch him now! If I insist on having my own way, Cai Huai will be killed. If the actor is caught or even beheaded, it will cause such a sensation in Nanjing! It is better to follow the people's wishes and simply pass the responsibility to the prefect, and I can still make a clear name!"
"Then...will Wei Huai stop being unscrupulous here from now on?"
"It doesn't matter. This Wei Huai is not a thug, he is just dreaming about the New Deal. In that case, let's let him have a dream, and it won't be too late to kill his great dream in the end... "After that, he hid his fangs as usual and showed that gentle smile.
"The prefect comes out and obeys the order!"
The people sent by the prince had entered the yamen, stopped in front of the two stone lions at the door, and called the magistrate loudly.
The prefect hurriedly walked outside the door and knelt on the ground.
"Kneel down and listen to the prince's orders!"
The visitor glanced at him and then shouted: "The magistrate did not obey the king's wishes and arbitrarily ordered people to arrest a good citizen Wei Huai. This is treason and violates the laws of the country. Now I have sent a slave to help Wei Huai out of prison. The magistrate needs to Ask about the crime!" After that, he ignored the prefect who was kneeling on the ground in a daze, called a few government officials, and went straight to the prison.
"Which one is Wei Huai?"
Wei Huai was leaning against the wall, his body was thin, his face was gray, his hair was half messed up, his hands were resting on the shackles, and he was taking a nap with his eyes closed. He didn't hear anyone calling him.
"Which one is Wei Huai?" The servant asked loudly again.
Wei Huai suddenly woke up when he heard the second sound. He just opened his eyes slightly, stared at the iron railings of the cell, and said softly:
"I am."
