Let us say that Yuan Zhe took Xie Ruoling into the Governor's Mansion and went straight to the wing.
Zhao Dexun stood guard in front of the house with a sword, and even Xue Peilin and Feng Rui were not allowed to approach.
"Tell me why you follow me."
Xie Ruoling stopped squirming and knelt down: "Your Highness, I am not following you. I just want to run away from home and get into your car for convenience."
"oh?"
Yuan Zhe looked down at Xie Ruoling with disdain in his eyes.
Over the years, many official families have tried their best to send their daughters here.
He has long been accustomed to such scenes.
But no one has ever caught his eye.
"Why did you run away from home?"
Xie Ruoling kowtowed, straightened up and said, "When His Highness arrived in Luozhou, my father asked my daughter to dance a song of 'Taiping Le' on the banquet in order to dedicate her to His Highness. But I didn't want to."
Yuan Zhe smiled twice, squatted down and stared at Xie Ruoling: "If you don't want to, why do you come to Tuzhou?"
Xie Ruoling is different from other ordinary ladies. She is more upright in her words and deeds.
Seeing that Yuan Zhe didn't believe it, she stiffened her neck and became impatient: "Your Highness, not all women have to enter the emperor's tomb! This is not my ambition, but I can't defeat my father. I want to join the army and go to Qingzhou. Border, protect the territory of our country, Lan. You said that if my daughter is a man, she will be taken under your command, what is the difference between men and women? With her martial arts skills, she will definitely not lose to the men in front of the battle!"
Looking at Xie Ruoling in front of him, Yuan Zhe was a little surprised.
Surprised by her candor,
Surprised by her generosity,
I am even more surprised by her vision!
"Your Highness?" Xie Ruoling saw that Yuan Zhe was silent and felt a little frustrated: "If Your Highness refuses..."
"If you really have this intention, I can make it happen."
Xie Ruoling's eyes lit up and he looked at Yuanzhe: "Really?"
"Um,"
Just as Xie Ruoling was about to kowtow, he was blocked by a big hand.
Afterwards, I heard Yuan Zhe's voice: "I will make a three-part agreement. If you agree, I will take you to Qingzhou. If you regret it, I will ask Zhao Dexun to send you back to Laozhou."
"Okay! Your Highness, please speak!"
"First, from now on, if you want to disguise yourself as a man, I will not give you any preferential treatment just because you are a woman."
"My daughter understands... No! I understand, little one!"
"Secondly, you must respect me as the king. You must not disobey any orders, even if it means death."
"I understand, little one!"
"Third," Yuan Zhe stood up and put his hands behind his back: "Don't have any other thoughts about me."
"Ah?" Xie Ruoling raised his head, looking confused.
Yuan Zhe lowered his head and saw that Xie Ruoling's collar was slightly spread out, and his white neck went straight down.
He immediately glanced away, closed his eyes and frowned: "Get up, let Zhao Dexun take you to buy two pieces of clothes that fit you later."
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
"Take time to write a letter home and send it to your father to say hello."
"good."
"From now on, you will be called 'Xie Ling'. When things happen in Tuzhou, we will set off back to Qingzhou."
Xie Ruoling nodded: "Xie Ling obeys the order!"
suddenly
I heard a noise outside.
Before I could react, Xue Peilin's voice came in: "Your Highness! Come out and take a look!"
...
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he saw Gu Qi being held in the courtyard by several big men.
Listening to Feng Rui's accusation, Yuan Zhe was a little confused.
This is not something a weak scholar would do.
At this moment, four young men carried the person into the courtyard.
Putting the person on the ground, his face was pale and he had long since lost his breath.
"Your Highness!"
Feng Rui lay on the ground and squeezed out two tears.
Yuan Zhe frowned, stared at the corpse, and said coldly: "Take Pei Qihuan to the government office."
"Your Highness, this-"
Yuan Zhe raised his eyes and glared at Zhao Dexun, who was so frightened that Zhao Dexun swallowed his words.
The strong man gripped the stick tightly and pressed hard. Gu Qi lowered his head in pain.
Zhao Dexun gave the man a hard kick on the butt: "I will personally escort him!"
Later, Li Jinghao ran over with the county magistrate and ordered the government officials to carry the people on the ground to the morgue.
When everyone arrived at the government office, people were already gathering in front of the door.
The deceased's family members knelt in front of the hall and sobbed intermittently.
Zhao Dexun stood beside Gu Qi.
The county magistrate next to him trembled: "Your Highness, please."
"No, you are the local magistrate, and it is up to you to try this case."
After saying that, Yuan Zhe strode into the hall and sat on the armchair next to him.
When Zhao Dexun saw Feng Rui and others slowly entering the hall, he whispered: "Let the opera begin."
Gu Qi glanced at him and said nothing.
"mighty--"
There was a "pop" sound!
The alarm sounded.
"Who is in the hall?"
A woman stopped crying and choked with sobs: "Zhang Wang, a commoner, and her husband Zhang Dazhuang, a citizen of Xuting County, Yingjiang County, are suing Mr. Pei from the capital! He indulges the people of Yong'an County and treats our officials. He was beaten and actually...beat the official to death!"
Gu Qi looked at the woman and frowned slightly.
Just one kick is not fatal.
"Has the examination been completed?"
The master next to the magistrate waved his hand and walked in slowly.
"What were the results of the autopsy?"
The man swayed and looked down at Feng Rui, who was sitting next to him.
"My lord, the deceased, Zhang Dazhuang, was 30 years old. After examination, it was found that he had multiple bruises on his body and was beaten to death."
Zhao Dexun stood nearby and sneered: "Nonsense!"
Then he walked to the center and pointed at Wu Zuo: "I went to Yingjiang County with Mr. Pei. The deceased provoked him many times, so Mr. Pei kicked him. This kick,"
Zhao Dexun raised his right leg and patted his knee: "It was just a kick on the knee. Why beat him to death?"
When the woman saw this, she pressed her body to the ground and cried loudly: "Master Qingtian, you have to make the decision for me! They, their officials are protecting each other, they must be, they must be harming my officials..."
"Yes, sir! The officials from this county must be protecting each other!"
"You must be careful, sir! Please make the decision for us people!"
The people outside were talking a lot.
Li Jinghao looked solemn and wanted to step forward to testify for Gu Qi.
Just as he was about to go over, he was stopped by Yuan Zhe.
Yuan Zhe looked at it coldly, felt relieved, and stood up straight away.
When everyone saw the prince standing up, they all followed suit.
"There are still some doubts about this matter. We will wait for detailed inquiries."
The county magistrate bowed slightly to Yuan Zhe and asked, "Your Highness, Mr. Pei..."
Yuan Zhe and Gu Qi looked at each other and said slowly: "Detain him first."
"Your Highness!"
Li Jinghao shouted and sighed when he saw Yuan Zhe coming out with a puff of sleeves.
The prison smelled musty.
The left and right sides were empty, except for the feeble sounds coming from a few cells in the distance.
Gu Qihuan sat on the straw mat with his knees up and looked at the small window on the wall.
Outside the wall is a willow tree, which has sprouted tender green leaves and is swaying gently in the breeze.
The sky gradually darkened, and from the red clouds at the foot of the clouds to the faint moon and stars, it took less than half an hour to the left.
The jailer lit the lanterns in front of each cell.
Gu Qi stretched out his hand forward.
Touch the place where light and darkness meet.
Further forward, it was pitch black.
He turned his wrist over and looked at his palm.
There is no clear line from bright palms to dark fingertips.
Gu Qi withdrew her hand and curled up into a ball.
Look forward again.
Laughed.
"Why are you so stunned?"
Gu Qi did not look back, but maintained the posture of hugging her knees, and moved her chin forward: "Look, there is a place where the open flame cannot shine."
"What catches your eyes."
"What can you see?"
"It's so dark, you can't see anything."
"No," Gu Qi smiled and pointed forward, "There is a grass over there."
The man squatted down and narrowed his eyes in the direction of Gu Qi's finger.
There is a small grass vaguely visible at the base of the wall, with two narrow leaves holding small spikes, standing tall and lonely.
"To be able to grow proudly even in such a difficult situation can be called life."
Gu Qi smiled and shook his head: "As expected of Dr. Yan."
Yan Churong withdrew his gaze and fell on Gu Qi: "Did I guess wrong again?"
Gu Qi turned around and looked at Yan Churong: "No. The conclusions must be different if you look at it from different angles."
Yan Churong simply followed Gu Qi's example and sat with his knees crossed: "So, what did you see?"
Gu Qi raised her hand and pointed to the lantern hanging on the door: "When this lantern was lit, my cell was cut in half."
Yan Churong nodded.
"Just like when you first saw it, it was pitch black inside. But if you look closely, the other half is vaguely distinguishable."
"So, what do you want to say?" Yan Churong looked at Gu Qi, full of curiosity.
Gu Qi stopped talking and looked at Yan Churong.
"Um?"
Gu Qi lowered her head and smiled, but did not answer.
Yan Churong stopped asking questions and just stared at her silently.
She put away her smile and leaned against the door, thinking about something.
The dim light shone on her body, and her bun was slightly loose and messy.
A few stray strands of black hair lay casually on his forehead, swiping at his eyes.
Yan Churong's heart palpitated, and he unconsciously imitated Gu Qi and leaned against the door.
Just like this, one person is inside and the other person is outside, sitting opposite each other.
"Chu Rong."
"Um?"
"Am I a good person or a bad person?"
Yan Churong looked at her with a look of loneliness in his eyes.
"But do you regret it?"
Gu Qi sighed: "No."
"If you regret it, I will arrange for you to withdraw. Let's change our identities, find a remote and secluded place, and live a life without fighting against the world."
"Ha," Gu Qi raised her head and smiled. For some reason, tears slipped out of her eyes.
She raised her hand and swiped it, but she couldn't help but feel a sore nose: "It's not that easy."
"Easy." Yan Churong's eyes were firm: "You are not a slave. If I take you away, Han Zizheng will not stop me."
Gu Qi smiled and looked at Yan Churong: "I really don't understand why you always say this. I just think you are comforting me. How could I not know that signing a contract of sale means you are a slave?"
"What?"
Yan Churong's face was full of shock, and his eyes instantly enlarged!
Gu Qi was startled by his reaction.
"When did you sign the deed of betrayal?"
"Enter the house and sign it."
Yan Churong opened his mouth and was speechless.
Then he held his chest tightly and calmed down for a moment.
"What’s wrong with you?"
Gu Qi stretched out her hand and waved it in front of Yan Churong's eyes.
He turned his head, his eyes red.
"You wait."
Leave out a sentence without any reason.
Yan Churong got up angrily and walked away.
Gu Qi was left with a confused look on his face, staring blankly in the direction where Yan Churong disappeared.
Suddenly, a figure stood there.
Follow the jailer and stride forward...
