"After I left Naning, I returned to my previous lifeless state. I lost my temper for no reason, threw things, pulled out my own hair, and delayed doing household affairs. I was punished several times for this."
"That's when I realized that without Naning, everything about me would be different."
"Qi Yuanhan saw something was wrong with me, so he called me and went to Wanhua House to drink with Zhang Ying and others. He treated me."
"Originally, I swore never to go there again. But Naning's voice and smile always appeared in my mind. During the days I spent with her, I watched her grow from an emotionless wooden person to someone else.
She has normal human emotions. He will be happy because I ask her questions, and he will also be angry because I don’t listen carefully. I can say without being arrogant that it was me who turned Naning into a normal person.
Man, I shouldn't give up on her just like that, at least... take another look at her."
"That night, Qi Yuanhan had a little too much fun. He called a dozen girls in a row, but none of them were satisfied. He was very drunk. I saw Zhang Yingfu said something in his ear. Qi Yuanhan
Han walked out of the house crookedly."
"My heart skipped a beat. Zhang Ying's mysterious smile made me panic. This scene seemed familiar and I had a very bad feeling."
"Then, I saw Qi Yuanhan staggering into the house dragging a woman. Behind him was Naning, who was holding a pipa!"
Zhao Shougang's body trembled violently, he clenched his fists tightly, and tears welled up in his eyes.
"I...I just watched Qi Yuanhan pull Naning into the house. She saw me before entering the house. She smiled at me, as if she was happy that I came to see her again.
"
"The colleagues next to me whistled angrily, but I huddled at the back of the crowd and buried my head in my clothes. I was afraid that others would find me crying, or... I was afraid that I would find out that I was crying.
The coward."
"I really wanted to rush into the house, pull Qi Yuanhan out, and take Naning away from here. But when this idea came to my mind, I found that my hands were trembling. The relationship between Qi Yuanhan and Gao Zhengming is about to
It is much better than my relationship with Gao Zhengming. I am afraid that my career will be cut off. After fifteen years of hard study, I don’t want to lose all my achievements like this."
"After Qi Yuanhan came out, he boasted about himself with a smile, and the people around him booed him. Then Wang Qinglang said that it was getting late, and if he didn't go back, he was afraid that someone at home would cause trouble."
"Zhang Ying helped the drunk Qi Yuanhan out. I stayed at the back, looking at the half-open door. I wanted to go in, but I didn't dare."
"I admitted that I was a coward, and when I wanted to turn around and leave, Naning suddenly stopped me."
"She ran out of the back room wrapped in clothes that she hadn't yet put on, and handed me a small black token."
"She smiled and said that if I want to continue learning pipa from her, I can take this token and go to the room written above without spending any money. She hopes that I will come again because of the song I played when I said goodbye to her last time.
"Six Yao" also inspired her to learn the tunes of the Tang Dynasty."
"A long time later, after Naning was killed by that beast Gao Zhengming, I realized how difficult it was for Naning to get this black token. The room corresponding to the token is the most popular girl in Wanhua Building.
To get this kind of treatment, Naning begged countless people and suffered a lot."
"I suddenly remembered what Naning said back then. Why did she want to learn the Tang Dynasty pipa from me? She was specially trained as a slave to be sold to the Tang Dynasty. How could she not know the pipa music of the Tang Dynasty!
This silly girl said she wanted to learn pipa from me, she just wanted to see me..."
"I took the black token that Naning gave me. She lowered her head and said coyly that if I didn't like her and wanted to go to other sisters, she wouldn't mind. She...she actually thought I didn't come here.
Hualou met her because he fell in love with another woman! This silly girl wants to use clumsy means to win back the heart of a coward like me..."
"I finally know what the strange feeling I have been feeling towards Naning is. I don't know when, I have fallen deeply in love with her, and she stood by me like a child who made a mistake.
When she tried to win me back, I knew that I would never be able to leave her again in this life." Zhao Shougang burst into tears, covering his eyes, and it took a long time to calm down.
"Sorry for making Mr. Li laugh."
Li Xin'an's nose felt sore, he rubbed it with a smile and said:
"It doesn't matter, I'm about to cry too."
"Master Zhao, please continue talking."
Zhao Shougang took a deep breath, let out a "woo", and said slowly:
"After that, we fell in love naturally. I learned everything about her from her, her past as a slave, her life after coming to Wanhua Tower, and the guests she had received. After she said this, she
He looked confused and held my hand, as if he was afraid that I would run away."
Zhao Shougang burst out laughing, "How could I run away? I can meet her in this life.
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It’s already the greatest luck, how could I let it go?”
"I don't mind her past. That's it. We are together and planning our future happily."
"Wanhua House is very tolerant towards girls, and the price of redemption is very cheap, at least for Naning. With my ability, as long as I save money for two years, I can save her from Wanhua House.
After that, it doesn't matter whether I am an official or not. We can go to the countryside to farm, or we can do a small business, and some of them can be happy in their own way."
"But, after all, this is just a happy idea. I didn't expect that the love between the two of us would be ruthlessly shattered less than a year after it sprouted."
Zhao Shougang's eyes showed a sinister light, and he gritted his teeth and said:
"That's Gao Zhengming!"
"No matter how lowly Nan Ning's status in Wanhua Tower is, she will still receive guests. I was too sensitive to ask about this matter, and Nan Ning would not tell me these things. It's just that I didn't learn about it until a long time later.
, the people who drank with me at the beginning, after Zhang Ying and Qi Yuanhan, all... bullied Naning!"
"Ha... these are things for later. Let me go back to Gao Zhengming."
"One day, Gao Zhengming seemed to be in a bad mood, so he took his circle of people to Wanhua Building, and I was among them. Originally, I wanted to stay at the Ministry of Household Affairs to handle official duties, but when I thought of Naning, I
I can't bear my temper anymore. Most lovers in the world are like this. If they can't see each other for a moment, it's like a thousand arrows piercing the heart, making the heart itchy and unbearable, and making it difficult to sit still."
"I thought I would stop by to see Naning, so I followed Gao Zhengming there by accident."
"The first time I entered Wanhua Building, I saw a figure walking upstairs holding a piano. I couldn't be more familiar with that figure."
"I coughed lightly, and just as I wished, Naning turned around. When she saw it was me, she smiled happily."
"But I don't understand why, why Gao Zhengming saw it!"
Zhao Shougang held his head in fear, his eyes widened, and he said in disbelief:
"I still can't believe that that thing really happened. I don't know how I got upstairs, how I got to the table, how I drank. All I could think of at the time was Naning's empty and helpless eyes.
.”
"A similar scene happened again. Different from the previous two times, I was Naning's lover at that time. We were privately engaged for life. I couldn't just watch my wife being humiliated!"
"But I really didn't do anything. I asked myself over and over again in my heart, Zhao Shougang, what are you afraid of? Is it because he is Gao Zhengming?"
"I came to the answer, yes, just because he is Gao Zhengming."
"I once thought that with Naning, I would no longer be afraid of anything, because I have a lover who is worthy of my life. Even if it is the emperor, so what? I am not afraid of thousands of troops."
"But I was wrong. I was overwhelmed by the momentum of a minister of household affairs. I was annoyed, why was Gao Zhengming the one in the room, why couldn't it be Zhang Ying, Qi Yuanhan, Wang Qinglang, Zhou Ximin! Why was it that it was Gao Zhengming who was in the room?
Gao Zhengming!"
"As long as it's not him, I will pull Naning into my arms at all costs and tell everyone that she is my wife!"
"But...it's him."
"I am a complete coward. I don't know how to face Naning."
"Maybe God knows my fear, and He gave me a chance not to face Naning again."
Zhao Shougang smiled palely, "When Gao Zhengming came out of the house in fear, my heart was broken."
"Seeing Nan Ning being carried down bloodlessly, seeing the people around me changing tables and continuing to drink as if nothing happened, seeing Gao Zhengming continuing to laugh loudly after drinking two glasses of wine, I couldn't wait for that
The knife killed them all! I wanted to put the knife across Gao Zhengming's throat. I wanted to ask him loudly, why don't you feel guilty? Why do you act like nothing happened? You just killed someone! You killed
Killed my wife!"
"...After all, I didn't do anything. I returned home numbly, lying on the bed, Naning's smiling face still appeared in front of my eyes. How I hoped this was just a dream, and nothing happened in reality.
"
"Get some sleep, get some sleep... everything will get better."
"But this was really just self-deception. When I woke up the next day, the wet tears on the pillow told me that what I feared most had really happened."
"Nan Ning... is still dead..."
Zhao Shougang leaned on the wooden sign exhausted, showing a look of despair, "Since Mr. Li can find me, he must have found out the rest. I found the killer, Tushenglou, from the Chang'an Ghost Market.
Let them kill four people from Qi, Yuan and Han and leave the portraits of ghosts and Buddhas from the Western Regions at the scene. I heard this from Naning. She said that before she was sold into slavery, her mother would tell her this.
The story says that if you don’t sleep well, ghosts and Buddhas will come and take you away.
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She, haha..."
Zhao Shougang laughed wildly and burst into tears, "I didn't ask them to kill the last person, and the two killers didn't know. They said it was someone who imitated the murder. Mr. Li, if you want to investigate that case, don't do it."
I'm looking for clues here."
Li Xin'an turned away and said coldly: "You are really a good person. At this time, you still have the thought to remind me of this!"
He didn't let Zhao Shougang see the tears pouring out of him, but Zhao Shougang still smiled and said softly:
"Master Li, I can see that you are a good person. I don't have long to live, and I will see her in the afternoon soon."
Li Xin'an looked at him in surprise, and glanced behind Miss Naning's grave, where something like a wine jar was faintly revealed.
There are so many corpses here. I remember the teacher who taught me toxicology at Xueyitang once said that corpse gas is poisonous. If you burn it, the live fire will spread and be difficult to extinguish. This is why the fire that burns corpses gets stronger and stronger.
He suddenly understood what Zhao Shougang meant and exclaimed: "Do you want-"
"Today is her birthday."
Zhao Shougang smiled and said: "This silly girl doesn't remember many things, but she remembers birthdays well."
"I have nothing to worry about in this world anymore. After killing Gao Zhengming, I should go down and accompany her."
Zhao Shougang looked deeply into Li Xin'an's eyes, "Master Li, you came to me because Gao Zhengming was killed, right?"
Li Xin'an was about to say that he was in the palace, but looking at Zhao Shougang's clear eyes, he felt inexplicable pain in his heart.
"That's right." Li Xin'an said softly, "After he died, everyone in Chang'an knew that you were the initiator of this series of murders. You will be infamy in the history books for thousands of years."
"So what!" Zhao Shougang laughed loudly, "If a man cannot be famous for a thousand years, he will be infamy for a thousand years."
He gently touched the word "Naning" on the wooden sign and murmured: "Originally, I planned to kill all the bastards who had insulted Naning, but His Highness Li Chu's intervention forced me to end it early.
Action. Kill Gao Zhengming, once and for all."
"Today is her birthday. I don't want her to spend her twenty-second birthday next to those women in Wanhua Tower. I want to be with her. We will live in the same bed and die in the same cave."
"I'm going... to go down and apologize to her."
Zhao Shougang looked deeply at Li Xin'an and said seriously:
"Master Li, if you want to take credit from me, you can take a look at my legs, but don't chop off my head, I still have to let Naning recognize me. Don't chop off my hands, I still have to give them to her.
She's playing the pipa. This girl lied about not knowing how to play the pipa of the Tang Dynasty, but I never exposed her. When she got down there, I had to teach her..."
"I understand." Li Xin'an nodded solemnly.
Zhao Shougang sat up and patted his butt, "Okay, it's almost time, I have to get ready."
He smiled brightly and said, "Mr. Li, the smell may be unpleasant after a while. Please stand further away."
Li Xin'an retreated indifferently, until Zhao Shougang was just a black dot in his eyes.
He saw the little black dot take out something and pour it on him. Then, a wisp of flames jumped out, and a wave of heat hit his face.
Li Xin'an couldn't help but cover his face. After the burning smell passed, he suddenly heard the sound of a pipa.
Zhao Shougang sat cross-legged and played "Six Yao" passionately and selflessly. The tongues of fire were raging on his body. Zhao Shougang was completely unaware. He waited until his flesh and skin turned to ashes, until the pipa string broke, and until his body could no longer move.
, until the white bones shimmered in the flames, and the sound of the pipa stopped.
But the sound lingered in Li Xin'an's mind. He forgot when he left there. Maybe it was when Zhao Shougang set himself on fire, maybe it was when he played the pipa, or maybe the sound of the pipa disappeared.
time, perhaps when the flames dissipate.
Or maybe he has never been here before, and he has never handled this case. Perhaps there have never been two people in the world, Zhao Shougang and Naning.
When Li Xin'an woke up, she had already ridden "Fanxue" back to Chang'an. A hint of fish belly white appeared on the horizon. This majestic city was about to wake up.
He suddenly reined in the reins and galloped towards a certain place.
Li Xin'an rode past the mass graves and came to a cliff. There was white mist below, and she couldn't see the edge at a glance.
He opened his mouth and roared with all his strength.
For his own grievances, or for Zhao Shougang Naning's tragic love song.
Or, for all the mismatched lovers in the world.
His roar and pipa sound echoed in the valley, sad and sad...