Pick all the cold branches

The winter of the four years of the Holy Dynasty and Zhengde was a cold winter that had never happened in a hundred years. The land of Lingnan, which has always been like spring all year round, also had snowflakes as thick as velvet.

The seldom-inhabited Meiguan Ancient Road is already pale, only the Aohan Wintersweet, dotted with vivid colors between the sky and the earth.

In the depths of Yuling Meihai, surrounded by jagged rocks, there is a cool wooden house.

Xie Wanzhi stood in front of the door wearing a thick moonlight cloak, looking at the person sitting quietly under the plum tree not far away, he couldn't help exhaling.

She had just rushed up the mountain from the academy in Meiguan Town, and it was Luer, the maidservant, who hurried to the academy to find her, saying that the husband seemed to be in better spirits today, but no matter what, she wanted to go out to enjoy the snow and plum blossoms, no matter how much she persuaded her, she refused listen.She had no choice but to give the children a holiday in a hurry, and came back with Lu'er to have a look.

Mr. Zhen's complexion looks much better today.But this is what makes it even more frightening.

When the news of Zhen Xian's escape from prison came out, she knew that this person would never ask her for help, so she took the initiative to find him with the help of her father's family, and when she finally found him, it was half a year ago.

Until now, Zhen Xian had never stayed in the same place for more than five days.

The only thing I keep doing besides traveling is writing letters.

The letter was for Lu Lan.

He no longer asks Suge Bala to deliver letters for him, and he doesn't want to implicate her and King Zhao.He left the sealed letters to the Portuguese caravans that had business dealings with Lu Lan.That was the only place where Dongchang would not break in and search.

But he only received a reply once.

Lu Lan asked him to come to Lingnan and talk face to face.

So Zhen Xian came to Lingnan and returned to the place where he was exiled when he was young, but he couldn't move forward after reaching Meiguan.

When Xie's family servant brought Xie Wanzhi to find Zhen Xian, he had already collapsed beside the simple haystack in the mountain, dripping water for three days, with nothing besides an old book and a jade pendant.

By then his body had completely broken down.The endless fleeing overdrawn his life, and he couldn't continue to take medicine stably. Old injuries and new diseases made him fall ill.

So Xie Wanzhi set up this hut deep in the plum grove, and let Zhen Xian live and recuperate here, while he set up a small academy in Meiguan Town, and stayed in the town, teaching the nearby children to read and write. While taking care of Zhen Xian nearby.

For half a year, she visited a famous doctor and continued to search for Lu Lan for him, but it was a pity that nothing happened.

She didn't have to do this.Although she was once forced to get involved in trouble, it was Zhen Xian's firmness that finally set her free.But she didn't think she owed Zhen Xian anything.

Now that you have already left, you should leave completely and cleanly. It is really not "wise" to go back and make trouble for someone who is not very close to you.

Of course Xie Wanzhi knew.

But she also knew that Zhen Xian still did not give up.

In fact, she did not dare to claim to know Zhen Xian.

But in her life, from the aristocratic family to the royal family, she has seen too many people chasing fame and fortune, too many people greedy for power, and too many plotting and killing each other, but she has only seen this one person who is so persistent.

This person named Zhen Xian would rather risk his life than let go. Perhaps most people in the world don't understand it at all, even the closest relatives and loved ones may not understand it.

But Xie Wanzhi felt that she could more or less understand the feeling of walking against the crowd with strange eyes and being alone in the hustle and bustle.

When Zhen Xian refused to go away with her, she had already clearly perceived today.

What should come will come sooner or later.

This person, stubborn from beginning to end, refused to compromise, doomed to have no way out.

But such a person, even if he died, he should not have been framed by a traitor, nor should he have died silently in the wind and snow in the Hakka village.

There should always be a pair of seeing eyes, or at least such a pair of eyes, to witness that his existence is complete at the end of life.Either way is fine.

When a person is about to die, there will be a very short flashback, just like the sudden bright sky before sunset, but it is an irreversible sign of death.

Xie Wanzhi took the thick blanket from Lu'er, hesitated for a long time, finally sighed and couldn't take a step forward.

It is no longer needed.

Especially at times like this.

She saw plum blossom petals falling softly on Zhen Xian's face.

The expression on that face was always gentle, and the eyes were extraordinarily clear, without any haziness or turbidity.

He seemed to be looking at the mountains and snow in front of him, and he seemed to have leaped thousands of miles, pierced through time, and looked at someone who was out of reach.

He suddenly showed a youthful and beautiful smile like a young man, his eyes shone with incredible magnificence, and whispered softly:

"Your Highness...Xiaoxian still has a lot to say to His Highness, but unfortunately..."

Then his hands dropped to the snow.

The petals and snow swayed by the cold wind gradually covered him, even the old book that was held in his arms by Death, and the emerald that was still warm in his palm, mottled like blood.

The bewildered maid covered her mouth, turned her face and let out a mournful cry.

Xie Wanzhi stood quietly in the snow for a long time, then turned around and saw a neatly folded piece of letter paper on the table inside the house.

After reading the letter, she burned it together with the volume of "Chaifei Xiaozha" and Zhen Xian's body. The ashes were scattered under a plum tree, and no monument was erected.

Her hands didn't shake as she lit the fire.

Then, she put the already cold piece of jade into a box, and took Lu'er down the mountain.

In the spring of the fifth year of Zhengde, Fusi of Jinyiwei Beizhen received a box with dark squares.Jin Yiwei didn't dare to dismantle it for inspection without authorization, so he sent it to the forbidden room overnight and presented it to the imperial court.

Sealed in the box are several volumes containing in detail the accounts of Chen Shiqin, the eunuch of the former chief inspector of ceremonies and imperial envoy, the eunuch in charge of the Dongchang official school, and a confession.

The confession was written by Lu Lan himself, with fingerprints on the seal.

There is also a small box sealed together.

There is a crystal clear jade hidden in the box.

It was rumored that the Son of Heaven was startled to see that Jade vomited blood and fainted, and when he woke up, he ordered Jin Yiwei to go to the imperial mausoleum to arrest Chen Shiqin immediately.

Chen Shiqin was corrupt and treasonous, with all the witnesses and material evidence, he was sentenced to beheaded according to the law, and executed in Xishi for public display.

The Dongji Incident Factory was finally cleaned up, with hundreds of dead and thousands of criminals.At the end of the matter, Zhang Siyuan was transferred to Nanjing's garrison and returned to Beijing. He was appointed as the eunuch of Bingbi and supervised the East Factory.

The Chen family was condemned, the Dongchang was completely overthrown, the government and the public were shaken, and the officials were furious. They went to the table one after another, listing all the major crimes of the Chen family who deceived the upper and lower, murdered and committed evil, and praised the emperor's brilliance.Unexpectedly, the emperor angrily reprimanded "boneless wild wormwood, flattering and flattering, it is extremely shameful", and ordered Jin Yiwei to choose among them who had contacts with the Chen family to conduct a thorough investigation. relative.

The chief assistant of the cabinet, Cao Min, was also expelled from the cabinet by the emperor on the grounds that he was "old and sick, so he should take more rest".

If so, no one dared to say more.

This gigantic case, which lasted for decades, was uncovered in Suzhou and finally settled during the Zhengde period. There were countless people involved in the case. Executions were carried out in Xishi every day, and the smell lingered for several months. It was known as the "Major Zhengde Case" in history.

The emperor ordered the arrest of the fugitive Lu Lan.

However, the Lu family is cunning and has already fled overseas.Rong Wang Jiayu personally supervised, Jin Yiwei chased thousands of miles to the South China Sea, and finally returned without success.

The emperor was depressed when he heard the news, and finally got seriously ill. He was away from court for several days, and ordered to convert the old house of Zhenfu in the west of the city into a national library, and set up Chinese studies.Scholars all over the world flock to him, and they are all honored.

In the winter of the fifth year of Zhengde, the body of the dragon gradually stabilized, and he went to the south to avoid the cold. He went to Meiguan in Yuling, summoned the officials, and gave compensation to the townspeople.The Son of Heaven saw that a plum tree was particularly bright and in full bloom, which was different from others. He stood under the tree for a long time and cried bitterly.The next day, an edict was issued to search for people who are good at growing flowers and trees all over the world, and move the plum back to Beijing, build a cold plum hall in Xiyuan, and plant it in the vestibule of the inner hall.

In the blink of an eye, in the autumn of the sixth year of Zhengde, the emperor Beishou.

Batu Mengke, Khan of the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty, suddenly launched an attack, plundered and killed the caravans of the Holy Dynasty, blocked the trade, and sent troops south to attack Yulin Town.

The emperor personally conquered and persisted for more than a month.

Wala also waited for the opportunity to advance eastward, intending to unite with the emperor and destroy the Tatars to dominate the northern grasslands.

The emperor lured Wala to Wolf Slaughter Fort first, and fought against Batu Mengke to destroy him.

Wala also died first, and those who refused to surrender were executed.

The Tatars did not pass the boundary markers, and retreated with drums and trumpets.

The emperor pacified northern Xinjiang and returned to the capital. He did not want to live in Qianqing Palace anymore, but moved to Hanmei Palace in Xiyuan for a long-term residence.

The following year, the Portuguese trafficked children into slavery in Guangdong. The emperor was furious when the incident happened. He ordered Zhaowang Jiashou to supervise the South China Sea to expel the foreign evils.

Another year or two, the state affairs went smoothly, but the emperor's temperament was not as restrained as before, and became more gloomy and elusive.

The ministers were afraid of the Son of Heaven, afraid of the unpredictable, and dared not speak out before the imperial court, so they first went to worship the King Rong, and were taught by the King Rong before they dared to speak.

King Rong only favors the imperial court, and his power is overwhelming, far surpassing the old Chen family.

Occasionally, the censor impeached, blamed the emperor for being violent and perverted, cloudy and sunny, and King Rong favored power and disturbed the audience.

The emperor turned a deaf ear to it, and instead intensified his efforts. He built a leopard house in Xiyuan, raised yellow dragon hounds and rare birds and beasts, and selected handsome young men and women from the people to serve in the leopard house. He drank and had fun every day. .

Rong Wang Jiayu has a heart disease in his words, taboos the old people, and ordered the Hanlin Academy to delete the historical records, burn the old files, and erase the name of Zhen Xian whenever he met.However, the young man in the leopard house who is favored by the emperor, or his gestures, or his silhouette, without exception, is not like Zhen Xian.

The emperor was moody, and every time he sobered up, he hated the people who served him, so he immediately gave him death.Over time, the folks who heard that Leopard's house chooses people are sitting on gold and crying at night.

The wise monarch who carried out the new policy when he succeeded to the throne at the beginning of the year has long since disappeared, and the emperor who retreated to Xiyuan has become more and more like the old emperor.All the close ministers in the cabinet who made euphemistic advice failed, so they had no choice but to go to see King Rong and ask His Royal Highness King Rong to try to persuade him.King Rong was silent for a long time when he heard the words, only sighed.

The rabbit flies away, and the white horse passes by, and so on until the tenth year of Zhengde, there is a young student in the new department, who was born in an unnamed academy in the south of the capital, and later studied in the National Library. His surname is Song and his name is Jia. , and moreover, the palace directly demoted the disadvantages of the times, vaguely blaming the emperor for being stupid and tyrannical.

Everyone thought that this young man was reckless and daring to speak out because of his talent, and he was bound to die.Unexpectedly, the emperor did not get angry, but appointed him as a first-class Jinshi and the youngest Tanhualang in the dynasty. He entered the Hanlin Academy as an editor, served the emperor, and recorded daily life.

The emperor gradually resumed the cabinet discussion, and every time he ordered Song Jia to sit by his side to listen to the government, and when the cabinet ministers were in dispute, he would ask Song Jia what he thought.

The Imperial Academy edited only seven ranks, and was only a historian who recorded the words and deeds of the emperor, but he was able to discuss state affairs with all the important officials in the pavilion.The cabinet ministers were dissatisfied, but they had no choice but to bear it because the emperor needed Song Jia to listen in before he would reopen the cabinet meeting.

People at the time said that the emperor doted on Song Jia and kept him with him all day long, but it was just that he saw a phantom of the old man in Song Jia.But no one dared to mention the old man's name.

four years thereafter.

The prince went to Xiyuan to pay homage to his father, and saw a young man who had just entered the Leopard Room trespassed into the Hanmei Hall, playing the piano under the plum tree in the courtyard.

The emperor was furious and killed the young man with a stick on his spine.

The crown prince couldn't bear it, he made a petition for the young man, and asked his father to dismiss all the servants in the leopard room, so that he would not kill innocent people again, but was reprimanded by the emperor.

The prince raised his head stubbornly, and said bluntly: "Father insists on humiliating himself. Why bother to humiliate him by doing such a dirty thing in the name of Mr.! You are my father, and Mr. is my teacher. You can punish me. But if I ignore my father and continue to make mistakes because I am afraid of punishment, I have neither fulfilled my responsibility as a son of man, nor obeyed the teachings of my predecessor."

The emperor thought that the prince was disobedient, and wanted to punish the prince in anger, so Song Jia dissuaded him.

Song Jia invited the emperor to the plum tree, lowered his hands and said quietly:

"I know Your Majesty doesn't really care what Shibi will say a hundred years later. But Your Majesty, this plum hasn't bloomed for a long time."

Hearing this, the Son of Heaven was in a trance, staring blankly at the dead solitary plum for a long time, hid his face under the tree, sat quietly for a night, and issued an edict the next day to bury the dead generously and dismiss the rest of the leopard house.

The emperor reopened the court meeting, accepting advice widely, occasionally offending his subordinates, and no longer being so violent and bloodthirsty.The haze in central Beijing gradually dissipated, and an enlightened atmosphere returned.

In the deep winter of the 15th year of Zhengde, the emperor collapsed in Hanmei Hall in Xiyuan.

That night, the plum blossom that hadn't bloomed for many years in Hanmei Palace bloomed overnight.

However, everyone in the hall mourned and couldn't see it. Finally, the emperor, who had finally unburdened himself, stepped out of the hall with a radiant face, and rushed to the cold plum blossom in the courtyard full of eagerness.

Meixia was waiting quietly, with a warm smile and black hair.