The stars were sparse in the night sky. Man Dudaru rode through the streets of Yunzhong Prefecture in the early hours of the morning. On the way, he even met with the patrolling soldiers, and his two companions behind him took his token for inspection.
After running for a long time, he arrived at the west side of the city where his cousin and sister-in-law lived. He knocked on the door, and then his cousin rushed out of the room and opened the door.
"If I get there late, I don't know if he still has eyes …"
The captive's crazy laughter rang in his mind. He thought that the child was kidnapped by the Black Flag, but it was not the case. His cousin dragged him and ran to the clinic at the other end of the street. As he ran, he mournfully recounted what happened in the afternoon.
Yesterday afternoon, a carriage that came out of nowhere rushed through this long street at high speed. The legs of the eleven-year-old child in the family were crushed on the spot. The driver did not stop as if he had gone mad. An iron hook hanging from the back of the carriage caught the child's right hand and dragged the child across half of the long street. Then, he cut the rope on the iron hook and escaped.
The child was dragged by the carriage until he was covered in blood and rushed to the clinic. At this time, he was still alive, but it was not known if he could make it.
This child was indeed Man Dudaru's.
When he returned to Yunzhong to be a constable in the early years, he did not have a backer and did not have many ways to get promoted, so he had to work hard. The people of the Northern Region were brave. The bandits who had always been active in the underworld were all experts from the army, and even the remnants of Liao. He wanted to make a career, so he secretly gave the child to his cousin and sister-in-law to raise. After that, he did not come to visit much.
In recent years, his status had gradually risen, and the possibility of harming his family was not big. However, who could have expected that there would be such a crazy desperado in the Black Flag?
On the way to the clinic, his cousin's sister-in-law, who was guarding here, had already cried until her eyes were red and swollen. They had raised the child for many years and had real feelings for him. Seeing that Man Dudaru had arrived, his cousin's sister-in-law dragged him and told him how evil the murderer was. She wanted him to catch the murderer and cut him into pieces. Man Dudaru was speechless. He followed the doctor into the clinic. When he approached the wooden door, he even hesitated slightly and was in a daze for a moment before he stepped in.
The doctor whispered in his ear.
Mandur Dalu looked at the child on the bed who smelled of medicine. For a moment, he felt that the doctor was a little noisy. He stretched out his hand to push the doctor to the side, but he did not push the person. The people around him looked at him in confusion. Then, he pulled out his knife.
The eleven year old child on the bed had lost both his legs and an arm. His face had been dragged across half the street and had long since become a bloody mess. The doctor couldn't guarantee that he would live through the night, but even if he did, he would only have one hand and half of his face for the rest of his life. Anyone would feel suffocated at the thought of such a life.
Man Dudaru pointed his blade at the child, but he involuntarily took a step back. His cousin-in-law screamed and rushed over, trying to snatch the knife from his hand. The cries resounded through the night sky.
The expression on his face was sometimes fierce and sometimes absent-minded. In the end, he was unable to stab her. His cousin-in-law cried out loudly, "Go and kill the murderer! Aren't you the chief of detectives? Go and catch the murderer — that bastard — "
Man Dudaru was pushed out of the room shakily. The people around him were still gritting their teeth and persuading him to catch the murderer. The crazy face flashed across Man Dudaru's mind. There was a calm gaze on that crazy face.
"You killed Lu Mingfang, right?"
"… We're even about Lu Mingfang."
Last year, when they caught the member of the Huaxia Army called Lu Mingfang, he refused to surrender even when he was dead. The Huaxia Army didn't figure out his identity for a while. After the fight, they vented their anger and almost chopped him into many pieces. Later, they found out that the person was the person in charge of the Huaxia Army in the north.
Now, the corpse that was chopped into several pieces and the appearance of the child who was still alive in the room faintly overlapped with each other.
"Ah —"
He opened his mouth and roared in the night. Then, he raised his knife and slashed again. Then, he put away the knife and staggered out of the room.
He got on the horse and galloped all the way to the small prison near the north gate. He pulled out his knife and tried to rush in. He wanted the bastard inside to suffer the greatest pain before he died. However, the constables outside stopped him. Man Dudaru's eyes were bloodshot and he looked terrifying. One or two people couldn't stop him, so the constables inside came out one by one. Then, Gao Puhu came too. Seeing him like this, he could roughly guess what had happened.
A group of people rushed up and restrained Man Dudaru …
During the long night, there was no peace outside the small prison. Man Dudaru's subordinates from the yamen came one after another. Sometimes, there would be a fight and a ruckus. Gao Puhu also called for more people to guard the safety of the prison.
At this time, a terrible storm had already swept through the upper echelons of power in the Yun Zhong Mansion. The people below were still unaware of it. Gao Puhu knew that the Goddess of Grains was most likely going to go down, and so was Man Dudaru. In the past, he clashed with Man Dudaru head-on because he couldn't give in in the official circles. Now that he had achieved his goal, and looking at Man Dudaru's crazy look, he didn't want to turn this into a personal vendetta. He only sent someone to secretly find out what had happened to Man Dudaru's son.
On the morning of the 16th of April, the first rays of dawn appeared in the east. Then, it was a sunny day with a pleasant breeze. The seemingly peaceful streets and alleys, the passersby still lived as usual. At this time, some strange atmosphere and rumors began to seep into the upper echelons.
On the 17th of April, news about Madam Han betraying the intelligence of the West Military Force also began to appear. And in the yamen of Yunzhong Manor, almost everyone had heard about the contest between Mandudalu and Gao Puhu. It seemed that Gao Puhu had suffered a setback. Many people even knew that Mandudalu's own son had been tortured to a state worse than death. Coupled with the rumors about "Madam Han", some things became unusual among these arresters with keen senses.
This afternoon, Gao Puhu brought a few subordinates and a few yamen constables who came to find him for information. They were eating at the street market opposite the North Gate prison. He then revealed some things in private.
"… Motherf * cker, that person is a lunatic. I only found out the night before yesterday … Motherf * cker, I was fooled. This lunatic even set up a trap before coming to his death. He f * cked Man Dudaru's biological son. Now that kid is eleven years old, he only has one hand left. If I were him, I would also go crazy …"
He recalled the time when he first caught the man. Everything seemed normal. After two rounds of torture, the man opened his mouth and revealed a lot of evidence. Later, when he faced the six kings of the Jurchen Country, he also behaved like a normal and dutiful prisoner. It was not until Man Dudaru barged in that Gao Puhu realized that this prisoner named Tang Minjie was completely abnormal.
"Motherf * cker … Lunatic … He's most likely a reputable figure in the Huaxia military … He's here to deliver a knife to the East … He doesn't want to live at all …"
He gritted his teeth as he spoke and drank his wine.
A constable at the side said, "If that's the case, this person must know a lot of secrets. We can still dig more."
"You think I didn't dig?" Gao Puhu glared at him. "That night, I dragged him out and tortured him for another two hours. His eyes … were crazy. That goddamn lunatic. I couldn't pry anything out of him. His previous confession under torture was f * cking faked."
"It's only two hours, isn't that enough …"
"The news he revealed has even affected the Goddess of Grains. I'm going to be promoted when the East Prefecture takes over. Man Dudaru, your son is like that. You want your son to be like that too. This person still needs to go through court. Why don't you go in and continue beating him? Let everyone see your skills? "Gao Puhu said and took a sip of wine," Wait and see … Something big is going to happen. "
Something big was happening.
That night, there was a nervous ringing sound from the direction of the Yun Zhong city wall, followed by the ringing of the city's gongs. The troops stationed in the east of the Yun Zhong Prefecture were moving in this direction.
In the Zong Han Prefecture, a tense confrontation was underway. Wanyan Chang and several Jurchen princes with real power were present. Zong Bi waved the confession and evidence in his hands and roared.
"… Come on, Bi Han! It's in the Yun Zhong Prefecture! It's right here! Close the gate! Kill all of us one by one! You can protect Xi Yin! Otherwise, he'll be exposed! The evidence is conclusive — you can't justify yourself no matter where you go — "
"Sanctimonious! Fishing for fame! You're in Shangjing, saying that you're doing this for the Jurchen! I'll take a step back! When you come to the Yun Zhong Prefecture and play by your rules, I'll play by the rules! Now, it's you who are not clean! Come on! Bi Han, you've been domineering your whole life, you're the boss of the Western Imperial Court! I came to the Yun Zhong Prefecture, I didn't bring any troops into the city. I came to your mansion, I didn't even wear thick clothes today. If you have the guts to protect Xi Yin, kill me now — "
Zong Bi shouted in front of Zong Han for a while. The veins on Zong Han's forehead bulged. He suddenly rushed over and grabbed Zong Han's clothes, lifting him up. Wanyan Chang and the others also rushed over. For a moment, the hall was in chaos.
However, until the end, Zong Han did not really beat Zong Bi up.
Behind closed doors, he could kill anyone in the Yun Zhong Prefecture. But from now on, the Jin Kingdom was finished …
*****
"… A big river with wide waves, the wind blows on both sides of the paddy field …"
In the gloomy prison, starlight shone through a small window. Occasionally, a strange song would ring out at night.
After the interrogation of the six Jurchen Princes, the situation in the Yun Zhong Prefecture brewed and fermented for a few days. During this period, the four prisoners went through two more trials, and one of them even saw Zong Han.
The city experienced a curfew, but it was lifted the next day. The madman in the innermost cell would sometimes ask "Little Gao" about the situation in the outside world. Gao Puhu was used to this kind of offense and would casually talk about it. Of course, the level he could come into contact with was not high. Sometimes, the surface he saw was already the leftover information from the struggle of the upper echelons.
Although the news that "Madame Han" leaked information and caused the failure of the southern expedition had spread among the lower echelons, no official arrest or imprisonment of Wanyan Xiyin and Chen Wenjun had appeared in the past few days. Gao Puhu was sometimes nervous, but the madman comforted him, "Don't worry, Little Gao. You will definitely be promoted. You have to thank me."
Gao Puhu would also say, "Then, thank you."
He would hum that song at night, his eyes always looking at the starlight outside the window. No one knew what he was thinking. Although the other three people in the cell had been implicated by him, they usually did not dare to provoke him. No one would casually provoke an unscrupulous psychopath.
When he was humming that song, he gave off a somewhat relaxed feeling. His thin and weak body leaned against the wall. His body was clearly covered in all kinds of injuries, but amidst the pain, he gave off the feeling that he had removed a heavy mountain of shackles and was waiting for something to happen. Of course, because he was a madman, perhaps this feeling was just an illusion.
The four prisoners had not been transferred because the most crucial part of the process had already been completed. Several of the Jurchen Princes had already confirmed something. Even if all the witnesses were to die, Xi Yin would not be able to escape this accusation. Of course, among the prisoners, the one nicknamed "Mountain Dog" was always anxious about this. He was afraid that one night, the prison would be set on fire and they would all be burned alive.
Because of this, he could not sleep every night.
One night, when those figures walked into the cell, he was startled awake. A few of them had forced the prison guards to retreat. The person in the lead was a woman with half white hair. She picked up the key, opened the innermost cell door, and walked in. The madman in the cell was originally humming a song, but he suddenly stopped and looked up at the people who entered. Then, he supported himself against the wall and stood up with difficulty.
After being in the cell for so many days, Mountain Dog saw that the madman's appearance was very annoying and lazy. No matter who came, he would lie or sit on the pile of straw. If he was not caught, he did not seem to care about anyone. But this time, he stood up of his own accord.
Of course, not long after, Mountain Dog also knew the identity of the person who came.
He saw the two of them looking at each other in the cell for a moment. It was the madman's lips that moved a few times, then he opened his mouth and said, "It's not easy, right …"
The woman with half white hair was dressed in expensive clothes. After he finished speaking, she slapped him hard in the face. The sound echoed throughout the cell, but no one around said anything. The madman tilted his head, then turned around, and the woman slapped him again.
His head still shook, and the madman called Tang Minjie lowered his head slightly. First, he bent one leg, then the other, and slowly and solemnly knelt in front of the woman.
Then, the woman slapped him a third time, then a fourth, a fifth … Tang Minjie knelt straight, and let her slap him again and again. After a while, the woman said in a hoarse voice, "Have I … done anything to hurt you?"
"… No," Tang Minjie said, "… You have done me a favor."
"Have I done anything to hurt the Han people in the world?"
"… You have done a great favor to the Han people in the world."
"Have I done anything wrong to the Huaxia Army!?"
"… No, you are a hero, a hero of the Han people, and also a hero of the Huaxia Army. My … Mr. Ning once specially reminded me that in all my actions, I must protect you as the first priority. "
Chen Wenjun slapped him again. It was heavy, and Tang Minjie's mouth was full of blood.
"Then why do you still do this!"
"Only by getting rid of Xi Yin can we prevent the Eastern and Western Prefectures from forming a joint force …"
Another slap landed on his face.
"So I deserve it?"
"… Only then can we prevent the Jin Kingdom from treating the Huaxia Army as the first priority …"
Another slap.
"How many people have I saved over the years? Do I not deserve a good death? "
"… Only then can we prevent the Female Zhenren from forming a strong resistance when the Huaxia Army invades the north in the future …"
Another heavy slap.
"How can the Huaxia Army explain to the world in the future if you do this! You bastard … "
"… If we can end this war a few years earlier, we can save tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of people. I have no other way …"
"I don't ask for a good death, but my family, my children, they are my children …"
"… What I have done is unforgivable …"
Another slap, another slap. As Chen Wenjun spoke, Tang Minjie also murmured. At the mention of the child, Chen Wenjun suddenly reached behind her and pulled out the hairpin on her head. She swung the sharp edge of the hairpin at Tang Minjie's body. A look of relief flashed in Tang Minjie's eyes as he moved forward.
The moment he made up his mind to do this, all the shackles on his body had been removed. Now, all that was left was the ultimate debt that could not be repaid.
"Ah —"
Chen Wenjun roared mournfully, but the hairpin still stopped in the air.
Tang Minjie waited for a moment. Then, he stretched out his ten bloody hands and gently held her hand.
"Everything has been done. Xi Yin can't get away with it. You can kill me. "
He said softly, and pulled the hairpin towards his throat.
"… I know that what I have done is unforgivable. I will never be able to pay for it in this life. We live in the Northern Lands, and if there's anyone I want to die at the hands of, it'd be you, Madam Chen. You're a true hero, and you've saved countless lives. If there's any other way, even if I have to die a thousand times, I'd rather not do anything to hurt you … "
In the cell, Chen Wenjun's face was filled with anger, desolation, and tears. In her life, she had protected countless lives in the snowstorm of the Northern Lands. But at this moment, the cruel snowstorm was finally going to claim her life. On the other side, Tang Minjie was riddled with wounds. His ten fingers were bloody, and his hair was messy. Both his cheeks were swollen, and his mouth was full of blood. A few of his front teeth had already been lost during the torture.
In their past interactions, Chen Wenjun had seen all kinds of exaggerated expressions on his face. But she had never seen him like this. She had never seen him cry. But at this moment, as he spoke calmly and shamefully, Chen Wenjun could see tears flowing from his eyes. He did not cry, but he continued to cry.
He turned his neck towards the hairpin.
"Ah —" Chen Wenjun waved her hand and shook him off. Then, she kicked him to the ground.
The cell was silent for a moment. Then Tang Minjie slowly climbed up.
"Kill me. I know this cannot atone for my crimes … please kill me. "
Then he knelt and kowtowed. Chen Wenjun looked at all of this in a daze. After a while, she stepped back. Tang Minjie raised his head, his eyes filled with tears. Seeing her step back, he seemed to be a little afraid and disappointed. He stopped and kowtowed again.
Bang —
The forehead hit the ground. There seemed to be a choking sound coming out of his throat.
Chen Wenjun left the cell. She had seen countless storms in her life and seen countless people, but she had never seen someone like this. Another bang came from the cell. She threw away the key and began to stride out of the cell.
Bang —
Bang —
Bang —
It was the sound of the forehead hitting the ground again and again. Chen Wenjun and the others finally left the cell. The jailer picked up the key and someone went to call a doctor. When the doctor came, Tang Minjie was curled up on the ground. His forehead was already covered in blood …
*****
Stop the bleeding, bandage … there was no longer the humming song in the cell. Tang Minjie was dizzy and sometimes he could see the scene in the south. He could see his sister, who had died long ago. It was when she was very young. She was humming a childish nursery rhyme. He could not remember what she was humming.
Later, he learned from Mister Ning in Little Canghe. Mister Ning taught them to sing that song. The melody always reminded him of the nursery rhyme his sister hummed.
"… This is the great motherland, the place where I was raised, on that warm land …"
On that warm land, there was his sister, his family, but he could never go back.
Or perhaps, they would meet again …
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