Zhuo Lengping was finally released by Ye Yongjia. Despite this, Magistrate Ye did not allow her mother and son to live in Nanjing for a moment. So they bid farewell to this ancient city, left their hometown, and went to an unknown foreign land. No one asked them what their future would be.
Ye Yongjia had no intention of pursuing where he moved, he just regarded it as a passing cloud that would disappear as soon as it drifted away.
He lost everything he should have, except for the power of life and death that he shouldn't have. But although he was nominally in control of the fate of every living person in Nanjing, in reality there were others who were holding him back. Even this unique
If he can't firmly grasp all the power, then what's the point of living in the world? He fell into the bottom of pessimism.
Ye Yongjia walked into the library of his residence. The outside of the library was covered with a layer of green cloth curtains. The light inside was dim and not much light could seep in. Ye Yongjia rolled up the curtains and saw the red sandalwood tree in front of him.
Behind the desk is a wide and long scroll; next to it are rows of bookcases, each containing books divided into classics and history.
Ye Yongjia didn't come here to read. He went straight to the desk and took down the scroll - a square grid was recessed in the wall behind. Inside the grid was a beautiful gilded wooden box.
, still locked.
Ye Yongjia took the key and opened the box. He saw that there were large and small official documents with approval marks inside. They were all old and worn, and the handwriting on the paper was yellowed.
He carefully took it and looked at it, and found that this was the official document that transferred Chen Shuli to the preparation room. He thought to himself, if he hadn't used those clever tricks at that time, how free he would be now!
He had no choice but to sigh and put the official document aside. After a long time, he reached out and took out another notice, and stared at it for a long time - it was the document that Lu Deguang appointed him as a colleague.
He was still frightened when he saw the word "Tongzhi" and would never dare to read it a second time. If he hadn't been appointed to this position, I'm afraid he wouldn't have suffered so much verbal and written criticism, becoming the target of public criticism, and ending up like this.
.
He took out a secret letter from it. The corners of the secret letter had traces of being burned by fire. The content on it was that Lu Deguang had asked him to burn down the household. Ye Yongjia admitted that this was the biggest crime he had committed.
Afterwards, he fell silent and didn't know who he was mourning for.
Feeling that he had all the evidence, he put the three documents into his arms, sealed the box, and hid the key.
It was already dusk when he came out of the study. As he walked away from the study, he happened to bump into a servant and told him: "I want to go out and prepare my horse."
"Where to go?"
"Go to the palace, I have something to give to the prince."
"Do you want an entourage to follow you?"
"No need, I'll go alone." Ye Yongjia turned around, smiled and patted the servant's face: "Work hard! Don't forget that you still have to take care of your family!"
After that, he laughed a few times, then lowered his head and walked along the corridor. The servant touched his face and secretly wondered that his master had never been so considerate to his servants.
Ye Yongjia left the house and took the main road towards the palace. He did not stop his horse along the way and ran straight with the wind in his hooves. Once he stopped his horse, he could from time to time spy on the people on the roadside hiding the fearful and fearful man.
A look of resentment.
When everyone saw the magistrate arriving, they all ducked and got out of the way. Some people were still holding their children. Occasionally, they heard him whisper to the child: "This is that sanctimonious bad guy who is worse than a beast..."
He just ignored these words and did not feel angry. He also felt that leaving this empty street would be clean and undisturbed. Everyone stood aside obediently, except for one person who was leaning on a cane and stood facing the sunset.
On the road going west, don't move even half a step.
That is Wei Huai.
Ye Yongjia pulled the bridle, stopped the horse, bowed, and said with a smile: "Mr. Wei, you are fine."
"You're fine." Wei Huai said with a smile.
"Where are you going, Prefect Ye?"
"I have something to discuss with Prince Wanjun," Ye Yongjia replied.
Wei Huai saw that his face was tense, as if his nerves were tense, and he suspected that he had other thoughts, so he said: "Why rush to leave? There is no harm in going to my house to talk about it first."
"...Then let's go." Ye Yongjia no longer had any worries at this moment, and everything seemed a bit casual.
"That's good! The two of us haven't spoken for a long time! I'll lead the way, let's go now!" Wei Huai grabbed the horse's bridle and led Ye Yongjia to disappear into the endless long street.
"This is a good wine that I have kept for many years," Wei Huai held the wine pot in his hand and walked over slowly, "I bought this wine when I was in Shandong. There were originally two pots. In the past, my brother Yang died, and I felt...
I was depressed, I just opened a pot, and now this is the only one left. Drink it carefully, there is no such fine wine in the world!"
He poured a glass for Ye Yongjia and put the wine on the table with a thud.
"How does it taste when you drink it?" Wei Huai looked at him and drank the wine in one gulp as if he were appreciating a treasure.
"Okay! Not bad, not bad..." Ye Yongjia sighed softly and fell down on the table, looking lonely.
"It's true that 'we are both fallen people at the end of the world, why should we know each other before'!" Ye Yongjia thought to himself.
Wei Huai said nothing and drank a glass of wine.
"How is your reform cause? I heard it is still so bleak." Ye Yongjia took a sip of his wine, which seemed bitter.
"It can't be said to be bleak. The government still does not prohibit academies. Although some people disobey the official law, their attitude of turning a blind eye has not changed. It's just that I can't think of how to implement another strategy to revitalize the academy, so I don't
We have made progress." Wei Huai, under the influence of alcohol, began to talk non-stop, "The academy is increasingly falling into a state of inactivity. As far as Zhejiang, where the situation is most serious, they actually use my name to sell things, and even say
A set of lies about 'to raise funds for reform'. In anger, I directly fired the president of the college from his post, but this kind of thing behind the scenes has been repeated many times..."
"Deputy Leader Xia is a very organized person. He has calmly analyzed the mentality of these people. It is simply because the academy system has not been put into practice and there is no strategy for them to follow. They have no goals to pursue, so they
Gradually, I lost patience and became less devoted to reform. Therefore, I should enact long-term policies to gather people's hearts. Many people have quietly left the academy because they have become pessimistic, and I have to use my words to win them back.
..." Wei Huai took another sip of wine and said, "To be honest, I'm really a little tired."
"Mr. Wei is so tired..."
"I am not a staunch reformer like Xia Fumeng. He is a person who can sacrifice everything for justice, but I can't. But sometimes I just think he is too stubborn... As long as the word reform is mentioned, Renying will be like
It’s like he’s possessed, there’s nothing else in his eyes.”