But the bright moon shines on the ditch

Regarding Xu Zhiliu’s death, if there are any unanswered questions, they may go back to earlier times——

On the night of Liang Peiqiu's birthday in the 11th year of Wanqing's reign, Wenshi drowned in the moat.

Zhang Wensi became suspicious after being reminded by the paper balls that appeared inexplicably for many days. Even his confidant Wang Jin came under his suspicion.

At this time, the body of Wenshi, who should have committed suicide more than ten years ago, appeared in the Yamen. Zhang Wensi was frightened and fainted on the spot.

This move aroused many suspicions. An Jiu stood aside and followed Xia Ying's investigation, and found the 10 taels of snowflake silver that had disappeared from the Wending kiln.

The huge amount of fraud has brought all kinds of monsters together, and they are eager to unveil the mysterious veil behind it.

At the same time, Zhang Wensi knocked on the door of Yunshuijian.

That was the day Xu Zhiliu had been waiting for a long time.

After that day, the situation in Jingdezhen took a turn for the worse. Xu Zhiliu and Xia Ying died one after another. Zhang Wensi began to ask, An Jiu was the dominant one.

But this night, when Zhang Wensi slowly woke up from the practice of "quiet and inaction", Qizhen Palace had fallen into darkness where he couldn't see his fingers.

It's getting dark, it should be evening.Zhang Wensi calculated the time and expected that it might be the third quarter of Youshi.

He started meditating this time in the afternoon, and now he has successfully completed a Taoist practice. It is rare that he has a sense of separation and forgetfulness. The fatigue accumulated for many days has been swept away, and his whole body is like falling into the clouds, floating in heaven.

However, he soon realized something was wrong.Normally at this time, although the guards would not dare to enter easily and disturb, they would at least light candles outside the door for lighting.

Today, not only was there no light around, Guanyu also seemed to be too quiet.

Just when he stood up and was about to call someone, a bunch of flames suddenly burst out in the hall.Zhang Wensi looked through the light and saw a figure appearing behind the hanging curtains in the Nuang Pavilion where the statue of the ancestor of the Three Qing Dynasties was enshrined.

"Zhang Wensi, do you still remember me?"

This man's voice was deep and reserved, somewhat familiar.

Zhang Wensi first asked: "Who are you? Why are you here?" Then he looked around and once again confirmed his previous intuition.

In this house built for the Qing Dynasty with only a narrow door left, thick bright yellow curtains are hung everywhere, solemnly and cautiously cooperating with every move of the Taoist ancestors. However, at this moment, under the weak candle, there is only one carving The rough and bloodless face of Dao Ancestor flickered on and off, leaving only an extraordinary and excessive silence quietly flowing.

The silence made Zhang Wensi feel a sense of crisis that was infinitely close to death.

He yelled without giving up, "Come here! Come here quickly! Where did each of you go to live in the wild? Go back to the Yamen and see how I deal with you!"

The other party let out a very light laugh.

The smile was extremely contemptuous, made strange by the circumstances.

"Stop screaming, it's useless... No one will come to save you, no one can save you."

Zhang Wensi's heart sank.

"Who are you? Who are you?" He thought of a person, whose figure, voice, and feeling all resembled the same person for no reason.But the man is already dead. Could it be that ghosts are causing trouble?

Otherwise, how dare you do otherwise?How is that possible... His hair stood on end instantly, and he shouted sternly: "Don't pretend to be a ghost for me, speak up if you have the guts!"

After saying that, he didn't have time to put on his shoes, so he immediately rushed towards the curtain, but when he hugged it with both hands, there was nothing.

The voice sounded from behind.

"Do you remember Aragonite?"

Zhang Wensi turned around and pounced towards the source of the sound, but failed again.

"When you instigated Aragonese to give false testimony and framed Zhongliang, didn't you think there would be retribution?"

retribution?Where is the retribution coming from!Zhang Wensi roared angrily and ran towards the figure again.He wanted to see whether the incident behind the haunting of Qizhen Palace tonight was a real ghost or someone who was pretending to be a ghost!

"If you weren't guilty, why did you hide in the Taoist temple?"

"Does An Jiu know you are hiding here?"

"Speaking of which, if you hadn't hidden far away, you would have been attacked by evil hands and followed in the footsteps of Xia Ying, right?"

Thin and dense smiles lingered in every corner of Qizhen Palace, accompanied by the huge black shadow that the man cast on the wall, like a ghost, sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right, sometimes in front, sometimes behind.

Zhang Wensi kept looking for the sound, roaring incompetently and running around the hall.Slowly, his body felt exhausted again, and his spirit returned to the lowest point of depression.

This is not energy that can be replenished by one day's practice. As Tao Fa said, he is already empty inside. Months of fear and insomnia have repeatedly pushed him to the edge of mental collapse.

The reason why it hasn't collapsed yet is probably because of this fear.

"What happened that night between the clouds and the water in the winter of Wanqing's 11 year? Do you still remember?"

Zhang Wensi's sanity was shattered by the constant questioning. Under an influence that was almost bewitching, his mind slipped to that night - that was when he accepted the reality of Wenshi's "resurrection from the dead, and then from death again." Soon, he associated the note that appeared beside him earlier and realized that there were invisible hands behind it, re-opening the Wending Kiln case.

He had doubted many people around him, and finally settled on Xu Zhiliu.

His suspicion was not unfounded. At that time, he was investigating the relationship between Wang Jin and the bank. He dug up the old case of Wending Kiln and re-examined it, and then made the connection - Wenshi was not only the owner of Wending Kiln, but also another case. Witnesses in the case, and the defendant involved in the case was named Xu Yourong.

The case file clearly records Xu Yourong's lifetime. He was originally a famous talent in Jiangxi Province. He was recognized by several old Hanlin officials as the best choice for the new Hanlin Academy. He dropped out of school due to his family's financial difficulties.

That's not his focus.

The point is, he has a son named Xu Zhiliu.

Is it possible for such a word-for-word name to be the same?The answer is trivial.In an instant, all the past events flashed through his mind, and he finally realized why after returning to Jingdezhen and having several encounters with Xu Zhiliu, the young man always harbored a restrained hostility towards him.

It turns out that this is the crux of the matter.

At that time, he was the magistrate of Fuliang County. The magistrate was an idle man who had no business doing anything, and all matters big and small were left to him.

On weekdays, there are countless people who find various connections to give him money. He usually refuses anyone who comes and helps when he can. He gets involved in the crime together, and the county magistrate turns a blind eye. Therefore, his status in the county cannot be underestimated.

One day, someone asked him to give him money through connections and asked him to do justice.After the court hearing, it was revealed that the case was a case of Zong raping a woman, and the defendant was a scholar who was highly valued by the local squires.

He did not dare to make any judgments and tried the case carefully. However, the witnesses and material evidence were all available and the other party gave a lot. He made it clear that he wanted to close the case as soon as possible so that the plaintiff woman could rest in peace.

This demand was reasonable and reasonable, so he took care of it after thinking that it wasn't a big problem.

Not long after the case file was sent, Qiu Zhan was reviewed and he acted in accordance with the law. Although the identity of the witness Wen Shi was too shady, and the Wending kiln incident occurred and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver disappeared, he also had doubts, but Because the circumstances involved in the case were serious, and the county magistrate, who always ignored him, reminded him to stay out of his own business, he ignored the Xu family's repeated appeals.

Later, he was transferred to the state capital and returned to Jingde. He kept wandering around Jiangxi. He originally thought that his immediate superiors would not do anything, but now that he thinks about it, maybe some people don't want him to leave Jiangxi?

This is also a truth that he has only recently realized.

The night he went to find Xu Zhiliu, he didn't think deeply about it this far. He was simply afraid that the incident would damage his political performance and prevent him from leaving Jiangxi for the rest of his life, so he hurried to test how far Xu Zhiliu had gone in his investigation.

He still remembered what happened that night. Xu Zhiliu seemed to have been waiting for a long time, and he didn't need to go through any detours. He bluntly said that he suspected that Wenshi was instigated by others to give false testimony in Xu Yourong's case.I asked him, as the chief judge, if he had any doubts that were not pointed out at the time.

What could he say? He said flatly: "The two cases are not related in any way. I advise you not to continue the investigation. If people find out that your father was a sinner who raped a woman, it will be very detrimental to Hutian Kiln and to yourself." It’s no good either.”

Xu Zhiliu was not afraid of the title of "Son of a Sinner". He was like a sharp arrow that had been stretched tight on the string for a long time and it was time to shoot it.

He didn't know that Xu Zhiliu had missed an excellent opportunity to punish him, nor did he know that Xu Zhiliu was already collecting evidence of An Jiu's crimes and was eager to join forces with Xia Ying to write the final piece.

It would be great if we could obtain evidence that our father died unjustly at once!

This is also the last piece of blue sky for Xu Zhiliu.

He had lost too many times to lose again.He waited for that moment with determination to die.

"Perhaps only when things get serious can I use the opportunity to clear my father's grievances? Otherwise, how can I fight against this overwhelming power on my own?"

"You... since you know it, you should stop. Xu Zhiliu, the mortal body only has one life. If it is gone, there will be no hope."

"Really? Your Majesty, what you mean is that there are indeed powerful people behind this who are making all the changes?"

"I didn't say anything! I don't know anything either!"

He answered carefully, said all his kind words, and then tried to comfort him with sincerity, "Young man, you still have a long way to go. Don't destroy your future for the sake of the deceased! Think about your family members who are still alive."

Perhaps it was this threatening statement that made Xu Zhiliu angry, and he immediately turned against him.

"You sell your official position for the sake of profit, you try unfairly in the case, and you write down the blame in a careless way. Many good people died in your case in vain. If you are not sorry for the black hat on your head, how can you judge me? A few pieces of paper can lure the snake out of the hole. It is obviously you. You are guilty and sneaky, and now you are still making excuses and intending to threaten, Zhang Wensi, you deserve death."

"Bold! You are talking nonsense and slandering the imperial officials. Do you believe I will take you down?"

"If you are not afraid that your bad intentions will be exposed and everyone will know, you can just take advantage of me."

"You...you...what do you want?"

"I just want the truth. I want to know who the person who killed my father is!"

Later that night, he was forced to have no way out and wanted to divert the firepower to buy himself more time, so he had no choice but to reveal his "feelings" to Xu Zhiliu.

In fact, he had also suspected that Wenshi was being manipulated because of the Wending Kiln case, and had to give false testimony to unjustly accuse Xu Yourong.If this is the case, it is very likely that there is a certain connection between the two cases, and perhaps the same person is behind it.

Xu Yourong was a scholar who lived in seclusion in Yaoli. He was out of reach of Wenshi and had no sign of knowing each other in his life. In addition, he was a friendly person and rarely had quarrels with others. He would never offend anyone to the point of demanding his death.

The only possibility is that he might have seen or come into contact with the missing 10 taels of silver by chance, and was silenced for this.

However, if Xu Yourong wanted to die, he could kill anyone he wanted, so why go through a big detour and destroy his reputation?
Judging from his many years of experience in solving cases, this "black hand" should be an acquaintance of Xu Yourong and related to Wending Kiln.A person who can swallow hundreds of thousands of taels of silver is either a powerful person or a pawn deeply trusted by the powerful.

Nothing else is possible.

/
A moment later, Qizhen Palace returned to a brief silence.

Zhang Wensi, who had been hiding in the darkness for several months and eking out a living, recalled what happened that night, as if he had suddenly opened up the two channels of Ren and Du, and his thoughts were clear and orderly.

He talked about the confrontation with Xu Zhiliu that day, and reminded him again and again before leaving to let him take care of himself.But not long after, he actually jumped into the fire and died in the kiln.

How could such a self-proclaimed upright, arrogant guy commit suicide?He was once again frightened out of his wits, and with Xia Ying's death, he completely lost his life.

He had to hide in a corner, shedding tears that seemed to be cowardice and seemed to be the result of years of inaction in his career, and he felt sorry for himself because of the predicament he was unable to get out of.

These days he is like a mouse, meditating in a Taoist temple filled with sandalwood and painted with Ganoderma lucidum and the Eight Immortals all day long, seeking a Taoist method that can calm and stabilize his mind. He does it knowing that it is impossible, and he is going crazy.

If it is really Xu Zhiliu's ghost who has come back to claim his life, just take him away!
He's had enough of being in constant fear all day long!
Enough is enough.

He hugged the curtains that were moving in the wind and slid to the ground little by little. His hair was messy and his eyes were blurred.Looking at his back, like many stone statues in Qingyun Temple, he was covered in ashes.

Before Xu Zhiliu was about to go out, he seemed to remember something and stopped to look back.

The palace was still dark and empty, with wind blowing in all directions.His voice was cold and astringent, as if coming from a distant land.

Perhaps he got what he wanted, and at this moment he forgot about pretense and pretense.

"You started investigating underground banks because of Wang Jin. Did you gain anything?"

Zhang Wensi shook his head.

"All the banks in the town are in the hands of the Hui Gang. In order to fight against the Duchang Gang, they have strict management and do not easily allow outsiders to investigate. What's more, after I suspected that it was you, I gave up my suspicion on Wang Jin. He … He has been with me for many years and has always been loyal and upright.”

The corner of Xu Zhiliu's mouth twitched slightly: "Zhang Wensi, do you know? Sometimes your kindness makes me feel ridiculous."

After leaving the mountain gate, Xu Zhiliu strode forward. When he reached the foot of the mountain, scattered stars shone in the sky, and two horses yawned alone.

He stopped suddenly and looked at the person behind him.

Since entering the palace, she has not said a word.

"You have nothing to say?"

His question seemed to be filled with inexplicable anger, but this time Liang Peiqiu responded without politeness but forcefully, and just looked at him quietly.

For a long time, Xu Zhiliu's heart began to tremble, and she had to turn her head away to hide a trace of embarrassment under her burning eyes.

Then she spoke.

"You brought me here just to let me see this scene... What do you want to tell me? Xu Zhiliu is very pitiful and pathetic. Is he just forced by the situation to become An Jiu's lackey? Or..."

"enough."

He suddenly didn't want to listen anymore and was eager to interrupt her, but she didn't comply with his wish and took a step forward.With that familiar, deadly scent of bitter orange and the chill of the autumn night rushing toward him, he subconsciously took a step back.

Not far away was a cliff. As he retreated step by step, she suddenly stopped and grabbed his sleeve.

"Still...still say..."

She couldn't say these last words.

Xu Zhiliu lowered his eyes and his eyes fell on her thin wrists. Then he raised his eyes and saw a line of clear tears falling from the corners of her eyes, and her throat fell into a whirlpool of choking like hers.

These photos look a bit like young lovers having an argument and fistfighting through the veil.

Liu: Woof woof woof.

Autumn: Annoying.