The Shangyuan Festival was a day of celebration. The people of Tongzhou also stayed up all night, enjoying the first carnival festival of the new year to their heart's content.
Compared to the Shangyuan Festival in Jinling, the most different thing here was the variety of ice lanterns to enjoy. The ice lanterns were carefully carved by skilled craftsmen and had built-in lights. They were sparkling and translucent like crystal palaces. They lingered among them, creating a unique charm.
In a remote and quiet independent courtyard of the Tongzhou Relay Station, it was completely different from the joyous and festive atmosphere of the entire Tongzhou City. In the entire courtyard, there was only a single lantern lit at the entrance of the courtyard. It trembled gently in the cold wind and shone a dim light.
The courtyard was not small. The buildings in the north were not as exquisite as those in the south, but they were generally much larger. There seemed to be many people living in this courtyard. Many windows emitted a faint light. There seemed to be two soldiers standing under the lantern at the entrance. They stood there like spears, motionless. If one did not pay attention, they would not even notice their existence.
But the atmosphere in the courtyard was very oppressive. Occasionally, someone would walk through the courtyard. It was quiet, like a ghost floating by under the pale and dim light. Everyone moved quietly, as if the slightest noise would break the rare tranquility of the courtyard.
In the northernmost corner of the west wing, there was a small room next door. The walls were very thin, and the door was pieced together from thin wooden planks. There were many gaps that were difficult to see with the naked eye. In this cold weather, the entire room was as cold as ice.
This was a firewood hut. At least, it could not be lived in during the winter. But right now, it was winter, and there was someone living in the firewood hut. There was a small stove in the room. The fire was not strong, and a small bundle of firewood was piled in the corner. There was no charcoal. If one did not use it sparingly, the firewood would burn out before dawn.
A girl was huddled close to the stove, greedily absorbing the feeble warmth from it. The cold air was everywhere, and from time to time a whirlwind would bring the cold air in through the cracks in the door and the wall. Her body was frozen cold.
Her hands and feet were warmer near the stove, but it also caused her frostbitten hands and feet to itch. She had to stamp her feet and rub her hands to temporarily dispel the itch. But when she moved, the frostbite began to ache again. Her delicate brows furrowed, causing others to feel pity for her.
This girl was Xue Shuiwu. On this grand festival, she was alone, curled up in this small firewood hut, snuggling up against a small stove to keep out the cold. Up until this moment, she still felt as if she'd had an absurd dream towards her bizarre encounter, and she was completely unable to understand exactly what had happened.
Once, she had her Young Miss to rely on, her parents to rely on, her fiancé to look forward to, and the responsibility of raising her Young Miss to make her strong. But now, all of this was gone. She was like a piece of duckweed, drifting with the waves. A gust of wind blew, a piece of water flowed, she could only be manipulated without any resistance.
Since she was young, she had always been living under someone else's roof, a little servant girl who meekly accepted adversity. Not to mention that Zhang Jiangling was such an important person. So, she accepted her fate. She submitted to the arrangement of fate and was sent to the capital by Qi Shuai.
She remembered that day, she had taken a bath, changed into bright clothes, and sat quietly by the bed, like a weak little flower, waiting to be picked by a strong person and raised in her boudoir. However, an old housekeeper suddenly rushed in from the outside and was at a loss of what to do.
She did not know what made the old housekeeper's face turn as white as paper. The old housekeeper did not explain anything to her and immediately ordered people to take her away. She was sent to a carriage surrounded by hanging curtains. The carriage moved quickly. When she came out of the carriage, she was already in a courtyard that looked like it had not been lived in for a long time.
From that moment on, she was imprisoned in this courtyard. Shuiwu could see that the people watching over her all had a feeling that they could not live the rest of their lives, but she did not understand what they were afraid of at all. Later on, her treatment became worse and worse. The attitude of the people watching over her became worse and worse. Sometimes, they would even curse her as a jinx.
She did not know what had happened. She had originally thought that when she came to the capital, she would live in a quiet little world isolated from the rest of the world. She would forever only see that corner of the sky above her head. Now, it seemed to be no different from what she had imagined, but also completely different.
Until one day, she saw several mysterious people appear in front of her. Those people were Qi Shuai's personal guards who had sent her from Ji Town to the capital. Shuiwu still did not know what had happened. She was sent into a sealed carriage, leaving the corner of the sky where she was imprisoned. When she came out of the carriage, she was already here.
Only then did she vaguely hear that the Grand Secretary had died of illness. Shuiwu could basically imagine that it was very likely that Grand Secretary Zhang had suddenly died when she was sent to the manor. Even though she did not understand what this had to do with a weak and innocent little woman like her, everyone treated her like a plague.
It was getting colder and colder. The cold wind was everywhere. Her body was almost frozen stiff. She also ate very little. The food she received now was very little. Those personal guards who had once treated her very courteously and warmly now looked at her with very cold gazes, even colder than that bone-piercing cold wind. Right now, her body was cold, her stomach was cold, and her heart was even colder.
"Perhaps, I really am a jinx."
Shuiwu thought in self-mockery, "I was a maid, and my master was dismissed from his position. I followed the young miss to marry, and my son-in-law was arrested. After experiencing untold hardships, when I finally returned to my hometown, my father died for no reason. I followed my mother to Guiyang, and not long after, my mother was crushed to death by a mountain rock …
It was with great difficulty that I met Philanthropist Hong and received his help. I was sent to Marshal Qi's place, but I was then treated coldly and guarded against by Madam Qi. When I arrived at the capital, I originally thought that there would be an insurmountable mountain for me to rest my exhausted body and mind, but that mountain also collapsed with a rumble. "
"Little Tian Ge …" Shuiwu thought of that name she hadn't heard for a long time. "Little Tian Ge's luck is as great as the heavens, so the heavens let him leave me, this inauspicious woman …"
Shuiwu laughed in self-mockery, but her face was already frozen stiff. She almost couldn't smile. She raised her hands that were frozen red and gently rubbed her frozen face. "Right now, I have clearly been brought back by Marshal Qi's people. Marshal Qi is a veteran of hundreds of battlefields, a hero of a generation. Who knows how many strong people have died at his hands. He shouldn't be implicated by me, right?"
A gust of cold wind swirled into the woodshed. Shuiwu shivered and her body curled up a bit tighter. On the Shangyuan Festival, on this cold winter night, when the common people of the world were celebrating the festival and jumping for joy, the only thing that could warm her was the weak fire in the stove …
…
In the main room of the courtyard, the lamp was as small as a bean. Two people sat facing each other under the lamp, their expressions gloomy. The lamp was pressed so low that it could only shine on their mouths. One of them had a fair and beardless face, while the other had a grizzled beard.
The fair and beardless man said in a low voice, "Qi Shaobao, the current situation is very bad. Many people who used to be respectful and fawning over Mister Taiyue are now using every means possible to attack Mister Taiyue!"
It turned out that the person opposite him was Qi Jiguang. Qi Shaobao was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "I have been the chief of Ji Town for more than ten years, but now I was suddenly transferred to Guangzhou. Is this also the reason?"
The person opposite him sneered and said, "Nowadays, there are many people who want to kick you when you are down. Some people want to impeach you, saying that as long as your letter arrives in the middle of the night, Mister Taiyue will definitely open the door to receive you. It is not the fortune of the imperial court for the Grand Secretary to have such a close relationship with an important minister of the capital who controls a large number of troops.
But Shaobao, your meritorious service is known by the whole world, how can the imperial court act rashly? Therefore, some people speculated that you should be transferred to the south because of your meritorious service in Min and Zhe. That is why His Majesty issued an edict to transfer you to Guangzhou. "
Even though Qi Jiguang had a strong will, when he heard this, his grizzled beard trembled slightly. Although this accusation is groundless, it is enough to put him to death for the Emperor. Can the meritorious service guarantee his safety? Yue Fei, Yu Qian, which one of them didn't have meritorious service, and which one of them had a good ending? "
His crisis came from the imperial court's investigation of Zhang Juzheng, so the biggest key was what the Emperor thought. Thinking of this, Qi Jiguang said slowly, "There is nothing to fear from the accusations of hundreds of officials, but I wonder what His Majesty thinks of Mister Taiyue?"
The pale beardless man said angrily, "What else can he think? Three people make a tiger! Now, there are people accusing Mister Taiyue every day. Someone told His Majesty that when Mister Taiyue returned to his hometown to visit his relatives, he rode in a large sedan chair with 32 people carrying it. He had a front porch and a back porch, and there were two sides on the side. He said that such a large sedan chair was no different from an Emperor's carriage.
Others said that along the way, officials from various places fawned on him, and each meal had more than a hundred delicacies, but Mister Taiyue still felt that there was nothing to his liking. There were also beauties from various places, and there were no less than a hundred beauties in the First Minister's residence. What do you think His Majesty said? "
Qi Jiguang pursed his lips into a resolute arc, and after a long silence, he said slowly, "What did he say?"
The pale beardless man said, "His Majesty flew into a rage and scolded, 'In the first year of Wanli, I had just ascended the throne and it was the Spring Festival. Even the common people held a big banquet to celebrate the new year, but you, Zhang Jiangling, only asked me to add a few types of fruits, saying that it was saving for the people!
When I returned to the palace after the court, I only called for two palace maids to entertain me, and you, Zhang Jiangling, asked me to issue an 'edict of guilt' to the world, but you … You! You! What a duplicitous Master Zhang, who is stricter than me and more lenient to himself! "
This person imitated the way the Emperor spoke, and even his tone was imitated perfectly. The Emperor's angry words could not be announced to the public, so those who knew about it, and even heard it with their own ears, could only be people from the palace. In this way, the identity of the pale beardless man was obvious. He came from the palace.
Qi Jiguang's lips trembled, and said, "His Majesty is too harsh to Mister Taiyue. No one is perfect, and Mister Taiyue cares about the world, worries about the country, and worries about the people, purifies the turbid, removes the filth, and serves the country and the people. Since ancient times, how many people can achieve as much meritorious service as him?
As for his personal life being better, there is nothing wrong with that. As His Majesty's teacher, Mister Taiyue is stricter to His Majesty, and it is not that he is deliberately pretentious or pretentious, but as a teacher, he always has higher requirements for his students. Just like parents, even if they can't do it, they still hope that their children can do better than them. "
