They had quarreled since they were young. It was rare for them to see each other so peacefully.
They were in the prison!
The candlelight flickered and shone on their faces.
After Gong Shilin finished the wine in his cup, he picked up the wine pot in front of him and poured himself another cup.
Li Cheng's cup was still full.
After a long time —
Li Cheng stared at him and asked, "Was it worth it?"
His deep voice echoed in the narrow cell, as if penetrating the skin and straight into the heart.
However, Gong Shilin smiled bitterly at his question and asked, "You know everything?"
"Yes, I know everything! A few hours ago, Du Xing 'er from the Drunken Moon Pavilion came to beg me to save you. She told me everything. "
Gong Shilin was very calm. He took another sip of wine and replied seriously, "Shouldn't I kill a person who deserves to die?"
Shouldn't I kill a person who deserves to die?
Li Cheng was stunned!
His palm tightened!
He clenched his fists and took a deep breath, "But you still haven't answered my question. I just want to know, was it worth it?"
"Li Cheng, do you think my answer is important to you now that you've come to ask me this question?"
"Fine, then I'll tell you, it's worth it! I have never regretted killing Du Mubai. I only hate myself for hiding it for six years. It turns out that when a person commits a crime, no matter how long he hides it? For how long? Sooner or later, he has to pay back. If I had admitted it back then, I wouldn't have waited until now.
Today I understand this truth! "Gong Shilin's tone was calm.
Li Cheng looked at the familiar yet strange person in front of him. His eyes couldn't help but become a little wet.
Then, he picked up the wine in front of him.
He drank it in one gulp!
His voice trembled, "Gong Shilin, from today onwards, all your previous grievances will be written off!"
Every word and sentence was spoken in a heavy tone.
Then, he poured another cup of wine and continued, "I always thought I was a very great person, but in fact, I can't compare to you at all. You are a man, a man with integrity and righteousness. No one in the world can compare to you, Gong Shilin! This cup of wine should be my toast to you. "
After saying that, he raised his head and drank the wine.
But his whole body was trembling.
Even his heart was trembling!
At this moment, no one was more upset than him. When Gong Shilin finished listening to him, his originally calm expression revealed sadness. A trace of helplessness appeared at the corner of his mouth as he said, "Li Cheng, did you know? Actually, I've been envious of you since I was young. You can do what you want, go where you want, live more freely than anyone else, but I can't! If we can.
Therefore, I really wish that I could become you, that I could love the person I want to love and live the life I want to live. Unfortunately … it's all too late. "
Too late!
He smiled bitterly with tears in his eyes.
Li Cheng frowned and suppressed the feelings in his heart.
She held back her tears!
Then, he picked up the wine pot and poured the wine into his mouth.
Perhaps only when he was drunk would he be able to overcome that indescribable pain.
But drowning one's sorrows with wine would only make one more sorrowful! After drinking a pot of wine, he could no longer restrain his emotions. He pushed Gong Shilin who was sitting opposite him, got up and shouted, "I said that even if you were to die, you would die in my hands. Good! I've done it now! I was the one who personally led people to capture you. I was the one who sent people to send you to the Ministry of Justice. I was the one who personally pushed you to this step. Your father was right. My Li family is heartless, and I, Li Cheng, am cold-blooded! I knew that you must have had your reasons for killing people, but I still sent you to the guillotine. I am a person without conscience, a person without flesh and blood, Gong Shilin.
Take a good look. I was the one who personally sent you here. It was me! "
Guilt, self-blame, discomfort …
These feelings were like sharp knives, stabbing into his chest until it was a bloody mess.
Gong Shilin sat, his gaze on the ground.
Facing the emotional and self-blaming Li Cheng, he appeared very calm.
Then, he slowly stood up.
He looked directly at Li Cheng's tear-filled, red eyes.
He said, "I don't blame you."
"You should hate me to death."
"Li Cheng, I said, I don't blame you! Even if you didn't send people to capture me, I was actually planning to personally go to the City Department that day. " He took a deep breath, his eyes unmistakably clean. "So, you don't need to blame yourself. All of this has nothing to do with you."
"Shilin …"
"Everything that happened today is the result of my own karma. Being able to know you in this life is my greatest blessing. "
Li Cheng gradually calmed down.
But he didn't know what to say.
"Right, I have something to give you." Gong Shilin took out a yellow scroll from his sleeve and handed it to him. "This is the handwritten order you wanted."
Huh?
Wasn't it already burned?
"Do you know? When you came to question me that day, I originally planned to give you the handwritten order, but I hesitated at that time and almost had the servants burn it. Fortunately, I saved it in time. "
Li Cheng took the handwritten order. His lips trembled for a while, and then he said two words, "Thank you!"
"Can you promise me one thing?"
"Speak!"
"Regarding the reason I killed people, can you not tell your sister?"
"Why?" "The reason why I don't want to say the reason is that I don't want Xing 'er to become the target of public criticism, and I don't want your sister to feel sad after knowing it. You know Du Mubai's position in my sister's heart. If she knows that Du Mubai did such an inhuman thing, how can your sister bear it? So …
Only the three of us know this secret. "
Li Cheng pondered.
He nodded.
"Li Cheng, I hope I can be your brother in my next life!"
…
Finally, Li Cheng took the handwritten order out of the cell. But he stopped outside the cell and turned to look at Gong Shilin, who was standing inside.
It was as if they had returned to the first time they met.
That day, the weather was just like today.
It was snowing heavily.
Li Cheng, who was naughty when he was young, was thrown into the study by Marquis Pingyang.
As soon as he entered, he saw Gong Shilin, who was wearing a scholar's robe and had his hair tied up in a high bun, standing beside the Headmaster.
He would never forget that scene!
Gong Shilin's body was very straight, but he was not tall. At such a young age, he was very mature and reserved.
He closed his eyes, put his hands behind his back, and gently shook his head.
He was reciting the Long Poem with great emotion.
"Returning home without learning, having etiquette and precepts, being happy to entertain guests, having three cups of tea, not being strict, and doing wrong, teaching and thinking, not making mistakes, tilting one's head, virtuous learning, Dao in speech, must first be correct …"
That rhythmic, sonorous, and powerful voice echoed in the entire study room …
To this day, Li Cheng still remembered that scene.
It was deeply imprinted in his mind.
He had never mentioned it before!
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