Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

The next morning.

"Hahahaha, I finally waited until today, and I can die soon!"

The prison was buzzing with people, and the prisoners who were not in Qiu Zhan's turn were knocking on the cell door with bowls and waiting to eat, turning a blind eye to Jiang Xinghuo's joy.

The prisoners on death row who were about to be interrogated and executed today all looked gray and silent.

The joys and sorrows of people are obviously not the same.

As we all know, something big happened in the imperial prison last night. It seems that many Jin Yiwei colluded and failed in their rebellion. There were also some bandits who should have been imprisoned in the civilian prison on the west side but were temporarily imprisoned in the official prison on the east side. They were also confused. Beheaded.

But strangely, no prisoner discussed this incident, as if it had never happened.

The person who came to serve the meal was Lao Wang, the jailer whom Jiang Xinghuo had met last night.

Lao Wang scooped up the porridge in the wooden bucket. He wanted to tip the spoon habitually, but when he saw it was Jiang Xinghuo, he poured the gruel with a flick of his wrist and gave Jiang a few more spoons of the thick porridge at the bottom of the wooden bucket. spark.

Looking at the red dates in Jiang Xinghuo's bowl, the old Confucian in the prison on the right shook his head and chanted: "Yao Fangmen dates are about two inches long. Their skin is as red as blood, or green and yellow mixed with red. They are cute and tender. It is whiter than snow, tastes sweeter than honey, is crisp and loose, and will easily break when dropped to the ground."

Jiang Xinghuo buried his head in his porridge and rolled his eyes when he heard this.

"speak English."

"The dates are good."

The prisoners in the prison next to him obviously did not receive the same treatment as Jiang Xinghuo. The jailer Lao Wang snorted coldly and shook his wrist again and again. A spoonful of gruel fell into the bowl, leaving only a few mouthfuls of yellow soup and clear water, which was extremely pitiful.

The prisoners who only had their turn to drink gruel dared not speak out. In the imperial prison, offending the jailer was obviously not a wise decision.

Jiang Xinghuo finished his porridge and lay down on the straw with his legs crossed.

This feels so good!

Jiang Xinghuo couldn't help but sigh. He hadn't had such a sweet sleep in more than a year since he traveled through time.

Even in the gentle hometown of good girls on the Qinhuai River, my sleep was not as sound as the straw pile last night.

You can die soon!

When I think of this, the death I have been dreaming about will end with a sense of ceremony like a curtain call.

Jiang Xinghuo's heart was filled with intense excitement.

And a trace of long-lost desire to perform.

This desire for performance is certainly not that he wishes he could go and dance by the Qinhuai River right now.

Rather, one puts oneself into the role of a "martyr" who devotes himself to a certain spirit.

To put it simply - I'm into it.

Well, this is similar to an actor entering a play, thinking that he is the loyal minister and filial son of Emperor Jianwen who was really punished by Zhu Di.

Of course, actors will always wake up at the last second of the scene and realize what they have just done, and are surprised to find that they are actually acting.

However, Jiang Xinghuo did not open his eyes immediately. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the quiet and peaceful moment.

At this time, Jiang Xinghuo's mind had already sketched out how he was so impassioned on the Qiu Zhan execution ground, how he recited the "Prison Essay", and how he made Jiang Xinghuo's name in Jingting Mountain spread throughout history.

Jiang Xinghuo suddenly became very interested as he recalled a certain video he had watched in modern times.

He stood up, still with his eyes closed, and extended his hand in invitation as if he were dancing with someone who didn't exist.

"Are you death?"

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and stretched out his hand to push away the air in front of his eyes.

"A quiet death without drama."

Jiang Xinghuo's desire to perform gradually exploded, and he suddenly spread his arms.

"At this moment, the curtain is rising."

"My performance has begun!"

Jiang Xinghuo was in a certain yoga posture, with his hands clasped above his head, one foot leaning on the knee of the other leg, and the golden rooster standing alone.

"I emerge from the filth and mud. I am the burning green lotus. I am the only beauty."

Jiang Xinghuo's hands were strangled around his neck.

"Art should shock people's hearts!"

Tighter and tighter.

"Art is worth the pain!"

Jiang Xinghuo felt a critical point and tried to let go.

The breath in his throat continued to come out.

"Art must have its fair share."

"Bang!"

The cell door was suddenly kicked open.

Zhu Gaoxu burst in excitedly.

"Mr. Jiang!"

But as soon as he reached a position two feet away from Jiang Xinghuo, he suddenly stopped and stared blankly at the red mark as thick as a finger on Jiang Xinghuo's neck after he put down his arm.

"Girl?!"

Zhu Gaoxu's eyes widened.

That is

Zhu Gaoxu threw Jiang Xinghuo to the ground in an instant, then clasped Jiang Xinghuo's hands behind his back, speaking in a thick nasal voice while busy.

"Mr. Jiang, don't think too hard!"

"I cough cough cough!"

"I know what you mean. Your neck is already red. Stop talking now."

Zhu Gaoxu's face was full of excitement.

[You know a hammer, you are going to crush me to death soon]

"I have good news for you!"

"Varied?!!"

[I just want to be beheaded now and don’t want to hear any ‘good news’]

Zhu Gaoxu took out a document from his arms and handed it to Jiang Xinghuo, who was lying on the ground with his neck twisted.

The official documents of the Ministry of Justice and the bright red seal on it are clear.

"The imperial convict Jiang Xinghuo, because he saw through the treacherous and illegal activities of Junwei and others, has achieved great honors, and his holy heart is greatly comforted. His beheading was commuted to thirty years' imprisonment."

"This thing is useless. It won't take thirty years at all." Zhu Gaoxu shouted: "It only takes a few more months until next year. The emperor will change the name of the first year of Yongle. Then he will issue a general amnesty to the world and you can be released from prison. La!"

"it means."

"——You don't have to die today!"

I don't know if there is some brain hypoxia or ischemia, but Jiang Xinghuo's ears are constantly ringing and echoing.

【No need to die today! 】

【No need to die! 】

Jiang Xinghuo's heart felt as if it had been hit hard by a heavy hammer.

All the desire to perform disappeared instantly.

Disillusionment.

The heart is as gray as death.

He stared blankly at the bearded man in front of him.

He closed his eyes and fainted.

In the chaos, Jiang Xinghuo vaguely heard the sound ringing in his ears.

"The old man has already checked his pulse. His pulse is stable and full of vitality, as if all things are competing."

This old voice sounded familiar, but Jiang Xinghuo, who was in a semi-conscious state, had no impression of it.

"Let me tell you, Mr. Jiang is just too excited."

It's that Tiehanhan

"Yes, even a gentleman like Jiang Lang, who regards death as his own, originally wanted to die, but now that he heard that he no longer had to die, the contrast was so great that he fainted with joy."

The handsome middle-aged man Mr. Cao.

I don’t know how long it took, but along with the violent beating, something cold was sprayed on my body, followed by a burning sensation as if being roasted by fire.

[I must have died. I have traveled to the next life to be the victim, right? 】

Jiang Xinghuo, who seemed to be trapped in an endless darkness, used all his willpower to open his eyes suddenly.

The dazzling sunlight made him dazed for a moment. When he got used to it and saw his surroundings clearly, Jiang Xinghuo was completely stunned.

I saw him lying on a shabby bed. There were torture instruments with unclear blood stains everywhere in the house, and the decoration style of "both torture and torture" was everywhere.

But more importantly, sitting on his left and right were a gray-haired old man and a handsome middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man was holding a feather fan, his eyebrows were raised, and he had a somewhat elegant temperament, except that the feather fan did not match the prison uniform.

"You see, the old man just said that it would be fine to spit out the wine and then use a cupping cup." Yuan Gong said with a smile.

Jiang Xinghuo looked down with difficulty, and saw that many pieces of paper had been pulled out of his body and the cup was burning in the jar.

Seeing Jiang Xinghuo looking around, Li Jinglong took out something from his sleeve and waved it in front of Jiang Xinghuo's eyes.

"Is Jiang Lang looking for this note?"

"It was this note that made you a meritorious person who saw through the illegal activities of the rebel army and would rather die than obey to keep the secret and establish special merits."

Li Jinglong shook his feather fan and boasted: "However, Jiang Lang, you can survive, thanks to my strategizing and commanding the chaos in the prison last night. I risked my life to notify the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion, mobilized the city defense troops, and under my wise command, they were annihilated in one fell swoop. The rebel army killed all the chickens and dogs without leaving a trace! I heard that the rebel army was approaching Jiang Lang at that time."

[Except for the two clerks, no one disturbed my sleep last night, okay? 】

At this time, Zhu Gaoxu came in with a bowl of water and hummed a tune. Seeing that Jiang Xinghuo had woken up, he immediately put down the water and walked excitedly to him, holding Jiang Xinghuo's shoulders with both hands and rocking back and forth.

"Mr. Jiang, are you okay?"

As if being hit with the highest frequency of a fascia gun, Jiang Xinghuo's face was shaken out of his image.

"I'll get into trouble with you right away."

Zhu Gaoxu hurriedly stopped, and Jiang Xinghuo lay down on the hard bed with a "bang" sound from the cupping cup on his chest, abdomen, and limbs.

[I really want to lie down]

"Mr. Jiang, let me tell you what happened last night."

【I don’t listen】

Jiang Xinghuo closed his eyes.

"Mr. Jiang is so serious that he only listens to me with his hearing. Well, I have to give Mr. Jiang a good talk today!" Zhu Gaoxu cleared his throat.

【.】

Jiang Xinghuo covered his ears.

But despite his loud voice, the voice still leaked in. Jiang Xinghuo never knew that the bearded man had a talent for storytelling in the style of a novel.

"Let's say that the rebel army chased them to the courtyard, only to see a general in the courtyard blocking their way like a mountain."

"Look at this general: he stands on horseback with a horizontal stick, nine feet tall, he looks proudly and calmly, and he looks like a hero of the Han and Tang Dynasties."

"What's even more eye-catching is the black beard that connects to the sideburns and cheeks. It's really like a black evil god."

"Now the leopard's eyes are wide open, and a few purple lightnings seem to flash in the night sky."

"Bah!"

"This general shouted sternly: Listen to the rebel army on the other side. If you take one step forward, there will be no place to die. You must retreat as quickly as possible. Don't belittle your own life!"

"As soon as the words came out, they were like muffled thunder. Hearing such power, the rebels were so frightened that the two groups fought, and each one almost wanted to leave first."

Hearing this, even the boastful Li Jinglong was stunned. It was not you who was suppressed behind the tree by the arrows last night, was it?

Your artistic processing is too outrageous. I don't know if I heard it from "Pinghua of Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" or "The Biography of Yue Fei and Pinglu".

Why don't you be more outrageous and just copy Yang Zaixing's template of breaking through a fortress of 800,000 gold soldiers by himself?

[The book says it very well, don’t say it next time]

Jiang Xinghuo endured it for a moment, and finally listened to the bearded bragging.

It probably means that he beat dozens of them one by one and took down the Jin Yiwei who were causing trouble in the prison last night.

Then Cao Jiujiang went to notify the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army. The emperor was furious and the city defense troops were dispatched. They directly crushed the rest of the rebel troops hiding in Prince Gu's Mansion into powder, and basically killed everyone in the Mansion.

"So last night, those two petty officials released other prisoners who were temporarily detained in the official prison on the east side?"

"That's right." Li Jinglong nodded.

"What about these prisoners?"

"Those who tried to escape from prison were all beheaded half a day in advance and hung on the gate tower of Jinchuan Gate together with the Gu King's rebel army."

Hearing this, Jiang Xinghuo was already speechless.

[If I had known better, I would have gone out with you]

"Then what is this note?" Jiang Xinghuo asked feebly.

Li Jinglong said conclusively: "This is evidence that the rebels plotted rebellion and killed Zhongliang. It was entrusted to Jiang Lang by Lu Zhaochen, deputy Qianhu. Jiang Lang risked his life to preserve it despite the rebels' blades. Lu Qianhu's family and colleagues , comrades-in-arms expressed gratitude to Bo Yuntian for Jiang Lang's righteousness, and jointly wrote a blood letter to His Majesty. His Majesty personally praised Jiang Lang as "valuing one's promise and despising life and death", so he issued an order to the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple to exempt Jiang Lang from the death penalty, and so on. When the Yuan changes next year, the world will be amnesty and you will be released from prison!"

"Actually, this note was given to you by a minor official, but it doesn't matter. I used gold to seal it for him. You can't escape this credit."

Zhu Gaoxu was beside him crazily asking for credit.

A line of clear tears dripped from the corners of Jiang Xinghuo's eyes.

[What sin have I committed?]

"Jiang Lang was so moved that he cried."

Li Jinglong covered his face with a feather fan and said, "I was also a little touched and wanted to cry."

Zhu Gaoxu said sincerely: "Mr. Jiang, you work too hard to teach us on weekdays. This is what we should do as disciples. You don't have to be moved like this."

"This is how it should be between people of good temperament." Old Yuan Gong took a sip of wine and said: "This is how a teacher treats his disciples with sincerity, and the disciples repay the teacher's kindness with righteousness! For the rest of their lives, we will look at each other with tears, this master-disciple friendship It’s so touching to me.”

In this situation, Jiang Xinghuo said he was not moved by the other party trying every possible means to save him, but that was actually a lie.

But.

[I fucking don’t want you to save me! 】

Of course this cannot be said.

After all, this is the second time Bearded Man has tried to rescue himself, and this time he was extremely successful!

Both of them were trying their best to "help" themselves. Who could really believe that he just wanted to die?

Regardless of the deeds or the heart, to achieve this level can be said to be true love.

So do you want to scold him?

Jiang Xinghuo really couldn't do this kind of thing of "repaying a favor with a grudge." Although the other party refused to let him die, to him it was really a repayment of a grudge with a grudge.

Jiang Xinghuo was also touched in his heart, and his emotions were extremely complicated.

Finally, Jiang Xinghuo tightened his cheeks and gritted his teeth to utter five words.

"——I thank you!"

Zhu Gaoxu: "What Mr. Jiang said is beyond the pale."

Li Jinglong: "Yes, this is what we should do."

Jiang Xinghuo's hope of reincarnation and time travel was completely disillusioned. He stood up and sat on the couch. He thought about it and became more and more angry. Then he stood up and said: "Everyone, if this is the case, then Jiang will thank you for your generous help. Let's We’ll talk about it later. Jiang’s health is not serious. It’s getting late today, so Jiang went back first.”

"Mr. Jiang"

"Um?"

"You've only been unconscious all morning. It's noon now and it's time to give lectures."

[I can’t die, but I’m still teaching you meow’s lesson! 】

"Yeah, don't worry, keep talking." Li Jinglong quickly persuaded him to stay.

"No need."

"Farewell!"

Jiang Xinghuo walked away.

Then, he stopped stiffly.

"What's wrong with Mr. Jiang?" Zhu Gaoxu asked in confusion.

Yuan Gong twitched his nose, smelled the smell in the air, and said uncertainly: "Maybe it was too violent, and the paper in the cupping pot burned the flesh."