“Sister Shishi, long time no see. Search: \(Complete Book God Station) to read quality literature for free”

In the dim long street, not far away was the outer wall of the imperial city, and the lights seeping from the courtyards on the other side carried a hazy, warm yellow glow. As Ning Yi walked over, his guards followed beside him, but even with so many people, the street remained quiet.

Shishi, dressed in a light pink lady's dress, stood by the roadside, smiling but with a hint of caution: "That's...the Guangyang Prince's other residence, isn't it? They just saw you out..."

"Yes." Ning Yi glanced back at the courtyard gate. "The Prince's chief steward, and Tan Zhen, Lord Tan."

"They...didn't make things difficult for you, did they?"

Being invited into such a residence and then escorted out by a high-ranking official like Tan Zhen and the Prince's chief steward would be a matter of pride for others. But Shishi was not such a shallow woman. Having witnessed the whole scene in front of the Qin residence, she could roughly guess why the Guangyang Prince and the others had intercepted Ning Yi.

Ning Yi had already walked closer and smiled: "They scolded me, it's nothing serious."

He said it lightly, and Shishi didn't know how to respond for a moment. She turned and walked with Ning Yi, and after passing the street corner ahead, the Prince's other residence disappeared behind them. The long street ahead was still not brightly lit, and it was some distance from the bustling residential and commercial areas. The nearby area was mostly the residences of wealthy families. A carriage slowly drove from ahead, and a group of guards and coachmen quietly followed behind Ning Yi and Shishi.

"I remember the last time we met, we were still talking about the Taiyuan situation. It feels like a long time ago. How have you been lately, Shishi?"

"It's the same, attending a few poetry gatherings, meeting this person and that person. Speaking of the Taiyuan situation..."

"It's become bragging," Ning Yi said softly.

Shishi walked slowly with him, and after a moment of silence, she said: "Others may not know, but I know how much the Right Chancellor's residence has done. Just now...just now in front of the Chancellor's residence, the Second Young Master was wrongly accused, and I saw it...Luckily, Li Heng, you found Minister Li..."

Ning Yi shook his head: "It's just the beginning. Minister Li is...a bit overwhelmed himself. A few more times, and it will be difficult to count on him."

"Tan Zhen and the others are the masterminds? Is that why they called you over?"

"Only a part of them." Ning Yi smiled. "The people in the crowd shouting and smearing Shaoqian were sent by them. I spoiled their plans, and they were a little angry. Wang Fu issued the order for this case, and Tie Tianying just understood it. They didn't make it too big. A few people below wanted to do it first and then seek credit from Wang Fu, so I could stop it."

He spoke calmly, then smiled again: "It's been so long since we've seen each other. Does Shishi have to ask about these unhappy things when she sees me?"

"In Li Heng's eyes, I'm probably just an information gatherer," Shishi also smiled, and then said, "Happy things...there aren't many happy things. In Fan Lou, I have to smile every day, and I've seen many impressive people. Seeing so many, I don't know if it's genuine happiness or fake happiness. Seeing Brother Yu and Brother Chen, and seeing Li Heng, I'm quite happy."

"Yes," Ning Yi nodded.

Shishi thought for a moment, hesitated, but finally said, "Li Heng is...preparing to leave, right?"

Ning Yi pursed his lips, then shrugged: "Actually, if you look closely, you can see it very clearly. Mama Li probably saw it a long time ago, right?"

"Others only thought you wanted to clear up your relationship with the Chancellor's residence, and Mama wasn't sure...but I saw it." The two walked slowly, and she lowered her head, recalling, "When did I see Li Heng again in Jiangning? Was it a few years ago?"

"Uh, Jinghan..." Ning Yi frowned.

"It was Jinghan Year Nine." Shishi nodded, looking at the road ahead with a smile on her face. "In the blink of an eye, it's been five years. Actually, from the time I saw Li Heng again, until Li Heng came to the capital later, I sometimes felt that we lived closer, but sometimes I always felt that there was no real closeness between Li Heng and me. Now it seems that I finally have a place where I can understand Li Heng. I'm very happy, but Li Heng is leaving, so I don't know if this counts as a happy thing."

A breeze blew, and Shishi brushed her hair, turning her gaze to the side. Ning Yi felt a little difficult to answer. He took two steps forward, only to see Shishi stop behind him. Turning back, in the not-so-bright night, there was obvious sadness on the woman's face: "Li Heng, is it really...beyond hope?"

Her voice trembled slightly towards the end. This emotion was not only sadness at Ning Yi's departure, but also more complex things. Such as pity, which everyone has. The woman in front of him seemed clear-headed about many things, but in reality, she had a great compassion. She had previously spoken out for the unjustly accused sisters and campaigned for disaster relief. When the Jurchens came, she personally took care of the wounded on the city wall. Regardless of how much power a woman could exert, her good intentions were genuine. She knew Ning Yi's character, that he wouldn't give up until the very end. These words, when she spoke them, were perhaps because of Ning Yi, but after they came out, she couldn't help but think of these things and become afraid.

Ning Yi stood there, opening his mouth: "It's hard to say if there will be a turning point." He paused. "But we are powerless...You should also prepare to go south."

"I don't have a home in the south," Shishi said. "Actually...Bianliang doesn't count as home either, but there are so many people here...Uh, Li Heng, are you planning to return to Jiangning?"

"That's the plan for now." Ning Yi looked at her. "Leave Bianliang. Next time the Jurchens come, the area north of the Yangtze River won't be safe."

Shishi nodded, and the two started walking forward again. After a moment of silence, another carriage swayed past them with lanterns. Shishi whispered, "I can't understand why they still do this when they've already fought like that...I could understand every time before, but why can't they be smart for once at this time..."

"Because of the current peace and prosperity." Ning Yi was silent for a moment before speaking. At this time, the street they were walking on was slightly higher than the others. Looking out into the night on one side, they could vaguely see the prosperous and peaceful night scene of the city through the gaps in the trees—and this was still a city that had just experienced war: "And...the Right Chancellor's residence made a few mistakes, one of which is the most troublesome, and can't be stopped."

"What is it?" Shishi turned to look at him.

"On the day the Jurchens attacked the city, His Majesty chased after the Empress to leave the city. The Right Chancellor's residence used some means at the time to keep His Majesty there. His Majesty lost face, and he will never mention this matter again, but...heh..." Ning Yi lowered his head and smiled, then raised his head. "I later did a debriefing, and when I looked at it again, this may be why His Majesty was willing to give up Taiyuan to take down the Qin family. There are many other reasons, but none of them hold water. Only in this matter did His Majesty behave disgracefully, and he himself knew it. Who would believe that he was chasing the Empress? But Cai Jing and Tong Guan, these people all have flaws, only the Right Chancellor kept him there. Perhaps every time His Majesty sees Chancellor Qin later, he subconsciously avoids this matter, but when he doesn't even dare to think about it, the Right Chancellor is bound to fall."

Shishi's lips parted slightly, and her eyes gradually widened.

"At that time, the war was dangerous, and I didn't know it for a while outside the city. The Right Chancellor should have been aware of this, but there were too many things going on at the time, and there was no good way to remedy it. Later, as time passed, he could only hope for luck." Ning Yi shook his head, his expression and tone calm: "Heh...It may not be true, maybe I'm judging a gentleman with a petty mind. It's meaningless to say this now. I'm not going to pursue it."

Listening to that calm voice, Shishi was stunned for a long time. No one can say for sure about matters of the heart, but Shishi understood that this possibility was not small. When she looked at Ning Yi's face again, she remembered the punch he had taken in front of the Qin residence, and later being called away by Tan Zhen and Prince Tong and being "scolded." These days, these matters and these faces had probably been surrounding him.

Shishi had gone to the city wall to help defend the city. The scene of hundreds of thousands of people inside and outside the city struggling on the line of life and death was still vivid in her mind. If, after such great sacrifice and such arduous effort, the glimmer of hope bought with the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people was ruined by a wounded ego after a failed escape—even if a little bit of the reason was because of this—she could understand the kind of chilling feeling in between.

She could also feel how tired and angry the man in front of her was after maneuvering among those high-ranking officials and petty clerks these days with such calmness.

She kept this feeling in her heart: "Then...can some people from the Right Chancellor's residence be saved? If there's anything I can do..."

"Don't get involved in this matter." Ning Yi immediately shook his head beside her. "It won't help, and it will cause trouble."

"There's always something I can do. I'm not afraid of trouble, just like you used to have those storytellers speak for the Right Chancellor. As long as someone speaks..."

"So they didn't speak, did they? They're determined to move against the Right Chancellor's residence. If they keep spreading propaganda, the storytellers under my command will also be thrown into prison. The Right Chancellor made contributions to defending the city this time. To move against him, smearing him is necessary. They've made preparations, and there's no way to counter them."

The night wind blew over, carrying a quiet chill. After a moment, Ning Yi said again, "Don't think too much. Go to Jiangning. As a friend, if you have no place to live, I can be responsible for settling you down—I was originally planning to remind you, and this is just right. Actually, when the Jurchens come south again, if you refuse to leave, I'll have to send someone to kidnap you. We're so familiar, you don't have to thank me, it's what I should do."

Shishi chuckled: "Then I'd like to wait for you to come and get me..."

The light on the street was dim and uncertain. Although she was smiling at this time, when she walked into the darkness, tears couldn't help but fall, and she couldn't stop them.

When the Jurchens attacked the city, she was in that Asura battleground, watching hundreds of thousands of people die, and she could still hold onto a glimmer of hope. When the Jurchens were finally repelled, she could jump for joy and celebrate loudly. But only at this time, in this peaceful atmosphere, in the calm words of the man beside her, could she feel a despairing sadness rising from her bones, a chill that even made it impossible to see the slightest hope.

Anger and fatigue were meaningless here, and effort was also meaningless. Even if she was prepared to be hurt, what she could do would be meaningless...

Seeing her suddenly cry, Ning Yi stopped. He took out a handkerchief and gave it to her, wanting to comfort her, but in reality, he didn't even know why she suddenly cried. Shishi stood there, pulling on his sleeve, quietly shedding many tears...

**************

Details may vary, but as Ning Yi and others had predicted, once things started on a grand scale, they were like a flood, impossible to stop.

As if not feeling the warmth of spring, as March passed, Qin Siyuan's case further expanded. This expansion was half truth and half framing. When Qin Siyuan was reinstated, the situation between the Jin and Liao dynasties had begun to clear up. The Right Chancellor's residence had done many expedient things in order to ensure the logistics of the campaign against Liao, wasting the previous few years. To say that they formed cliques for personal gain, perhaps they were small fry compared to Cai Jing and Tong Guan, but if it were really pulled out, it would be a shocking amount.

Tang Ke, who was in charge of the trial as the chief judge, couldn't stop such progress even when acting impartially—his tendency to help Qin Siyuan to some extent made the case more complicated and clearer, and also extended the time of the trial, and time was a necessary condition for rumors to ferment in society. In April, as the signs of summer began to appear, the denunciation of the "Seven Tigers" in the capital became more and more intense. And since only Qin Siyuan was on trial among these "Seven Tigers" for the time being, he gradually became the focus of attention.

As these things gradually deepened, many things happened in April. After the beginning of April, Qin Shaoqian was finally imprisoned. This time he was dragged into his father's case and could no longer avoid it. On Ning Yi's side, the Secret Intelligence Division began to be handed over. People sent by the court gradually took over the matters originally under the Chancellor's residence. Ning Yi had tried his best to smooth things over, but naturally there were still many frictions. On the other hand, Tie Tianying and others, who had previously formed a grudge, also found an opportunity at this time and often came to provoke and cause trouble. This was also what they had originally anticipated.

When soldiers came, they would be blocked, and when water came, they would be dammed. Ning Yi had long been mentally prepared and anticipated these things. Occasionally, when he woke up in the middle of the night or thought about it in the gaps between doing things, the anger in his heart would naturally increase, but the day of departure was getting closer and closer. And so it went, until the sudden appearance of certain things.

At this time, it was already the end of April of this year.

Time had passed here slowly but quickly.

Summer, the season of rainstorms...

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