Under the sky

Chapter 296 Different roads lead to different paths

"The envoy Shi Que told Chen that the country of Wei is too small and that I am old and unable to do anything. These two people are actually trying to kill the emperor. I dare to do it immediately." Shen Yongci held the book and walked around reading, "The people of Chen took it and came to the Wei. In the ninth month, the people of the Wei sent the right chief Chou to kill Zhou Yu in Pu. Shi Que sent his chief minister Chou to kill Zhou Yu in Pu. Shi Que sent his chief minister Chou to kill Zhou Yu in Pu. The gentleman said, Shi Que is a pure minister. , the evil state appeals and then fights with Yan, the righteousness destroys the relatives, this is what it means."

Shen Yu listened. This was the story of "Zuo Zhuan". He had read it many times. He didn't know why his father wanted to read it again.

"Yu'er, you are the eldest son of Qingcheng, and your relatives are also nobles of Qingcheng. You must remember that the law is not noble, the rope is not bent, and the common people are equally guilty."

"Are there any exceptions?" Shen Yuqing asked.He hadn't asked his father a question for many years. It was rare that he couldn't read a book, so he asked: "Shi Que killed his son. What if he was the father, and he also wanted to kill his relatives out of justice?"

Shen Yongci immediately put on a serious face and rebuked angrily: "What nonsense! The father is the guide for the son, and the son is the father's shelter. I have raised you up, how can you bear to kill me?"

Shen Yuqing remembered that Aunt Qing had said the same thing a few days ago, but she didn't pay attention at the time. As a result, Aunt Qing let her father go, causing a catastrophe.

Dad ran away!
Shen Yuqing suddenly remembered, raised his head, and saw that Shen Yongci had already disappeared. He hurriedly picked up his sword and chased after him. As soon as he stepped out of the door, he saw Shen Yongci running away in a hurry. He turned around in horror and shouted: "Yu'er! Do you really want to kill your father? "

Shen Yuqing raised the sword and was having trouble making a decision, then he woke up.

That was several days ago, and he had returned to Qingcheng long ago.

■

The mountain fire was still going on. Shen Yuqing helped Mrs. Chu go down the mountain. The air was filled with the smell of burnt smoke.He met the mountain search team on the way, the two sides met and ran towards the mountain road.

The hundreds of disciples led by Shen Yongci resisted stubbornly. Shen Yuqing shouted loudly: "The Supreme Leader has escaped, everyone surrender quickly!" This shout was of no effect. These hundred people were all elite disciples of Banzhou, and they lost their leader. Each squad leader was still able to cooperate with each other and lead the team to resist. However, the team led by Shen Yuqing was disorganized and unorganized. If people hadn't come to help one after another, they would have been defeated.

Shen Yuqing bypassed the battlefield, ordered the troops to withdraw, gathered the troops who were coming one after another, and stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. He specially made a way for the troops from Bozhou to go down the mountain to avoid the mountain fire.

The mountain fire never went out, and the monks in the temple went down the mountain to take refuge.At dawn, Shen Yongci's troops were demoralized and surrendered.

There were casualties on both sides in this battle. When the troops were counted, the 300 casualties brought by Shen Yuqing were twice as many as those of the other side.Shen Yuqing summoned the Jiang soldiers to ask about the whole story. The Jiang soldiers all said they were just following orders. Shen Yuqing blamed them for not blindly following the Supreme Leader, which caused the Supreme Leader to disappear and took the Jiang soldiers into custody.

It wasn't until the next day that the mountain fire was finally extinguished. Shen Yuqing led his people up the mountain to look for his father, and relied on the dirty Longteng Sword to find Shen Yongci's body, which had been burnt black and beyond recognition.Shen Yuqing caressed the corpse and cried bitterly. Only he knew that he actually did not shed tears.

Mrs. Chu too.

There's still a lot to deal with.The hundreds of disciples who fought with Shen Yongci were not considered dead, and the rest were imprisoned to await their fate. Zhuo Shiqun did not defend the city tightly, causing the death of the Taishou. There was no excuse for his crime. He wanted to know when he was lost and dismissed him for investigation. Shen Yuqing sent another He was appointed to supervise Bozhou, and all the Xingtang disciples and local warriors who assisted along the way were rewarded, with double rewards for the injured and five times for the dead.After everything was settled, Shen Yuqing and Mrs. Chu escorted Shen Yongci's coffin back to Qingcheng.

Returning to Qingcheng, Shen Yuqing felt empty in her heart. It was only a few days ago, but when she returned to Juntian Palace, she felt that things had changed.A few days ago, he celebrated the Lantern Festival with Li Jingfeng and others, and a few days later, he supported his father's coffin and went home.

The news of the death of the Supreme Leader had already reached Qingcheng. Seeing that Shen Yuqing's expression was as usual, Shen Weichen felt worried and stepped forward to comfort him. Shen Yuqing just said it was okay.Shen Yong died in front of Beichen Pavilion, and all the guards were demoted and severely punished.Shen Yuqing entrusted Xie Gubai to handle the political affairs, and she stayed in front of the coffin to pay filial piety. When her family came to ask, they only said that her father was mad and set fire to the mountain to burn Mrs. Chu to death. Then she ignored the advice and fled into the mountain. She was killed. The body was trapped in the mountain fire and was charred and unrecognizable. Mrs. Chu said the same thing.

A fire was lit in front of Shen Yongci's coffin. The burned Longteng Sword was still rebuilt in shape, the blade was polished to a bright shine, and it was placed in the coffin for burial.The Shen family wore linen and mourned, burning paper money. Seeing the fierce fire, Mrs. Chu turned her head away. Shen Yuqing patted her mother's shoulder and said, "Mom, you go and have a rest first. Just leave the child here." Mrs. Chu shook her head. , throwing the gold paper into the fire.

Shen Weichen and Zhu Menshang came to comfort one after another. Shen Weichen's eyes were red. Seeing his brother's haggard expression, he was as calm as ever. He hugged Shen Yuqing and whispered: "Brother, cry, it will feel better if you cry."

She didn't dare to ask how Shen Yongci died. She just wanted to know that her brother was a good person and that he was helpless.She knew that Shen Yuqing must be heartbroken, but she refused to show it.

Shen Yuqing touched her sister's head and said, "Don't worry about your brother." Shen Weichen couldn't help crying, feeling sorry for his lost relatives and even more for his self-repressed brother.

Zhu Menshang didn't say anything, he just patted Shen Yuqing on the shoulder, put on three sticks of incense and left.

Xie Gubai didn't come to visit until after nightfall. Mrs. Chu had gone back to her room to rest, and only Shen Yuqing was burning gold paper.

"You want to ask me, did anyone else discover the cause of dad's death?" Shen Yuqing looked at the coffin, "I personally threw dad's body into the fire. No one saw it, and no one saw the wounds on dad's body. As long as After the body was buried, a year and a half later, even if the coffin was opened and an autopsy was performed, no one could find out how dad died."

"Mrs. Qing and her family are still in prison." Xie Gubai asked, "Has the master thought about what to say?"

"Second uncle and cousin are still leading the army on the front line, don't let them panic." Shen Yuqing said, "I will explain to Aunt Qing. I don't know whether she believes it or not."

Xie Gubai was silent for a long time, and Shen Yuqing looked up at him. Their eyes met and they were silent for a long time.

"Brother, are you still thinking about what's wrong?" Shen Yuqing asked.

"Everything should be ready." Xie Gubai hesitated for a while before saying, "Master, please forgive me."

Condolences?Shen Yuqing was full of ridicule, but didn't say it out loud.Xie Gubai couldn't understand his feelings, because Xie Gubai had a golden wife who loved him. He couldn't understand the pain and struggle of killing his own father. At this moment, he might still be thinking that he had finally solved his father's trouble.

However, only this time, Xie Gubai could really understand Shen Yuqing's mood, because he had personally killed someone who loved him as much as his father.He understood the heartache, but the beautiful lies covered up the comfort that he could not express, so he could only reply with a simple condolence.

Just as Xie Gubai was about to leave, Shen Yuqing suddenly called him: "Brother!"

Xie Gubai stopped, turned around and asked, "Does the master have any other instructions?"

"I want to know." Shen Yuqing asked, "My eldest brother also lost a relative like his father. How do you deal with the pain?"

Xie Gubai was silent for a long time and said: "Master Jin is old and it is dangerous outside the customs. I have been...prepared for the day of farewell."

"You won't be sad if you are prepared?"

"No one can be fully prepared for this kind of thing." Xie Gubai said, "After that, I learned to make more preparations."

The two of them were silent. Xie Gubai bowed and said, "The leader will have many nightmares in the future. It may be three years, five years, or a lifetime."

Shen Yuqing didn't ask what happened next, because they all knew what would happen next.

Then, you'll get used to it.

■

Shen Yuqing went to the secret prison, and her cousins ​​were terrified and uneasy in the prison. They shouted innocent when they saw her cousin. Shen Yuqing comforted them with a few words and asked them to calm down and meet Shen Qingge.

"Dad is dead." Shen Yuqing got straight to the point.

"You killed your father?!" Shen Qingge's eyes widened, horrified, angry and in disbelief, "How did you become like this?! Yu'er, you..."

"Shut up!" Shen Yuqing yelled like crazy, shouting out the suppressed screams, shouting the reasons that she almost believed, "It was you who killed my father! It was you! Auntie! Who taught you to be so willful! Why are you Want to help dad escape?!"

Shen Qingge had never seen her nephew so rude. She had been pampering her for many years. Although she was panicked, she was not to be outdone and yelled: "You imprisoned your father, are you right?!"

"Dad is really crazy! Master Ya knows it, mother knows it, even Xiaoxiao knows it, why don't you believe it!" "I didn't see your dad being crazy, I only saw you being crazy!" Shen Qingge shouted, " You will be the leader sooner or later, are you so impatient?"

"Do you know that the first thing he did when he arrived in Bozhou was to seize military power and set fire to the mountain to burn his mother to death?" Shen Yuqing said loudly, "You know that he was burned by the mountain fire when I chased him up the mountain and he ran into the fire. Die?"

"That's what you said!" Shen Qingge also said loudly, "I don't believe it!"

Shen Yuqing took a deep breath, took out the file Fu Langyan was ordered to investigate the case of Shen Yayan's forced murder of Qin Manyao from her arms, and handed it to Shen Qingge: "Does Aunt Qing remember this case?"

Shen Qingge flipped through a few pages and said, "I know, what does this have to do with your father?"

"Master Ya was framed by father!" Shen Yuqing said, "Father was in an unfair position. This is why Master Ya rebelled!"

Shen Qingge was surprised: "You lied!"

Shen Yuqing said: "Dad was suffering from madness. When he became ill, he wanted to be the emperor and annex the world. He told mother, me, and Master Ya about this, and wanted to work together with us. Master Ya felt it was inappropriate. I want to persuade him, but dad doesn’t like Mr. Ya and used the case of the Dian Cang Messenger to reduce Mr. Ya’s power more than two years ago.”

"Before he went to Kunlun Palace, my father said he was going to start a fight. He also stocked up military supplies in Bozhou and said he would attack Hengshan and Diancang. He said that this time Kunlun would discuss which side he would not support, which led to a fight between Diancang and Hengshan, and Qingcheng We can profit from it and strive for world hegemony. I discussed with my mother and Master Ya, and I felt that my father was seriously ill, and they would conspire to seize power in order to stop him. Master Ya wanted to explain this matter to several brothers in advance, so he made a special trip to Hecheng When I met Aunt Feng, I found out that he lost his position as the heir apparent because he was framed by his father. You can ask Uncle Six for the details. It was he who helped my father investigate the case, and Master Ya only rebelled when he was angry."

Of course Shen Qingge knew the result of Kunlun's consensus, which was also the reason for Dian Cang to declare war on Hengshan. He asked in surprise: "Is it the third brother who voted blank?"

Shen Yuqing said: "He personally admitted this to me and my mother."

A good lie must contain nine truths and one falsehood. When one lie is exposed, another more dense and bigger lie will be devised until it can no longer be rounded off.Shen Yuqing hates lying, but he lies more and more often. When he was a child, he asked Shen Weichen to help him practice lying. Now he can make up lies without practicing.

Shen Qingge said: "In that case, why don't you make it clear?"

Shen Yuqing said: "The son is hiding from his father and has always been in it. This is what you said yourself. Do I want to tell the world that Shen Yongci has the intention to become emperor? Or do I want to tell people that Qingcheng has harmed Dian Cang and A war starts in Hengshan? How dangerous is Qingcheng if word gets out?"

Shen Qingge said: "What evidence do you have?"

Shen Yuqing said: "If I was really so ambitious that I even killed my father, why would I tell my aunt this? If I was ruthless, why would my mother help me, and why would my little one help me? You just think it's because they have a good relationship with me. , what about Master Ya? Why did Master Ya help me? Why don’t you want to know why you helped dad escape?!"

Shen Yuqing grabbed the table with both hands, almost crushing the edge of the table, and shouted: "Why don't you help dad if you don't want to know clearly? Why don't you want to know clearly?!"

At this moment, he felt that some sins and some responsibilities were all due to this aunt. The weight on his shoulders suddenly relaxed, and all the resentment and anger in his heart turned towards Shen Qingge, shouting: "You killed my father! You killed my father!"

He himself did not expect that he would survive the sword that pierced his father's heart, survive the packing of his father's body and bury him, survive Shen Weichen's comfort and this morning's nightmare, but he would collapse at this moment.It turned out that finding an excuse really made her feel more at ease. Shen Yuqing finally burst into tears and sat down on the ground like a child. She kept kicking the legs of the table, causing the table with its legs embedded in the ground to shake.

"Do you know you killed my father? Do you know!" He roared.

Shen Qingge saw him crying so hard that his heart broke. He was filled with panic, fear, pity, distress, self-blame, annoyance, and unwillingness. All kinds of emotions were mixed. Thinking of his brother's death, he couldn't help but sit down on the ground and cry.This brought back many emotions in her, what next?What will happen to me, and what will happen to my husband and children?What price will her loved ones pay for her stupid mistakes?She wanted to plead, but she couldn't.

Shen Yuqing cried for a long time, leaning against the wall and gasping for air. Shen Qingge sat on the other side and couldn't help wiping her tears. After a long time, she said: "Yu'er... I'm sorry..."

Shen Yuqing tried her best to collect her emotions, wiped away her tears, and said: "Dad fled to Bozhou, took over the military power, and wanted to capture my mother. My mother hid in the mountains, and my father set fire to the mountain to force my mother out. I led people to save my mother, and I want to lead my father." When I came back, my father refused and braved the fire to go up the mountain and died on the mountain."

Shen Qingge suddenly understood that maybe Shen Yongci was not really crazy. He was not satisfied after taking over the throne of the crown prince. He also wanted to become emperor and dominate the world. He wanted to put Qingcheng in danger. His eldest brother, Mrs. Chu and Yu'er all He didn't agree, but he insisted on having his own way, so Yu'er took the throne.Or maybe it could be said that he was really sick, suffering from a disease called power-hungry. He was so sick that he didn't even care about his brothers, wives, and children.Or maybe he is really crazy, because he doesn't even listen to his brothers, wives and children. He dreams about being emperor all day long, and once he gains power, he will point the finger at his wife and children.

"What are you going to do with us?" Shen Qingge lowered his head and finally admitted his mistake, "It was my fault, but my children are innocent."

Shen Yuqing took a breath and said: "I will let my aunt see my father for the last time to see him off. I will let my cousins ​​go, and my uncle will wait for him when he comes back. I will explain to him myself. As for my aunt, you will stay here." Let’s reflect on it for a year.”

Shen Yuqing raised his head and couldn't help but shed tears. He wiped them away again and again: "I have lost two relatives, aunt, take care."

Shen Qingge knew that this punishment was extremely lenient and accepted it happily.

■

When the heads of nine families pass away, the other eight families must be notified as usual.The three major sects in the south were fighting fiercely, and the war in Hengshan was tense. They only sent letters to express condolences. Only Zhuge Ran wrote a private letter to Chu Jingtan in Diancang, with sincere words and attempts to comfort him. The deep hatred between Huashan and Qingcheng remained unresolved. , the Beggar Clan also showed no expression. Shaolin sent Juewen, Tangmen sent Tang Fei, Wudang sent Yu Yudiantong to express condolences, Kongtong Qi Zigai had an old relationship with Mrs. Chu and came to pay his respects in person, Shen Yuqing received them one by one. There was no disrespect in the slightest, except for the matter of paying homage to the remains, on the grounds that it would not disturb the ancestors.

On the day Shen Yongci was buried, before the nail was sealed, Mrs. Chu ignored the dissuasion of others and opened the coffin to take a look at Shen Yongci's body.Although he had put on neat clothes and the charred corpse was no longer identifiable, Mrs. Chu could still recognize the vague outline of the person who had been beside her for more than twenty years.

"Every night, your father sleeps on the outside of the bed. This habit has not changed for more than [-] years." After burying Shen Yongci, Mrs. Chu called Shen Yuqing to Beichen Pavilion, sat on the edge of the bed and stroked the pillow and said, "This way Whenever something happens in the middle of the night, he gets out of bed without disturbing me."

"In the first few days when I returned to Qingcheng, I was confused. Although I knew your father was dead, I didn't have any idea. I just felt that my heart fell into a big hole. I don't know what day it was. When I got up, I touched it and found that the bedside was empty. Just like that, I suddenly remembered that your father is really gone, and I couldn't help but cry."

Shen Yuqing remembered that it was the second day after the first seven days. When he entered the room, he saw Mrs. Chu crying sadly, so he left silently.

"I have never cried like this in my life." Mrs. Chu said, "Yu'er, I know you are sad. Too many things have happened in Qingcheng over the past year, but you must know that your father died because he was restless and self-restrained. ,it's not your fault."

Shen Yuqing's heart tugged, he didn't want to discuss this topic in depth.

Mrs. Chu pressed her hands on Shen Yuqing's shoulders: "Yu'er, this is our home, you have to carry Qingcheng."

After Shen Yongci was buried, Juewen, Tongjizi and Tang Fei said goodbye one after another.Qi Zigai comforted Mrs. Chu. He didn't know the root cause, but he felt that Sister Jing was a little weird. She seemed sad and relieved at the same time. When he asked about the whole story, Chu Jingtan said that Shen Yongci had been crazy and moody in the past few years. After escaping, he wanted to set fire to death. He was trapped in a cocoon. This matter is not explained to outsiders. He only said that he died in a wildfire.

Qi Zigai didn't want to disturb Sister Jing, so he asked Xie Gubai about Li Jingfeng. Xie Gubai told him that Li Jingfeng went to Gu Cemetery and that Li Jingfeng already knew about Li Muhai.Qi Zigai was very emotional and took Qi Xiaofang away a few days later.

■

Juewen returned to Shaolin Temple and reported what he saw in Qingcheng to Juejian and then to Juekong.At this time, he had been promoted to the head of Guanyin Temple.Juejian was noncommittal, while Juekong asked a few more questions.

"Qingcheng said that the former headmaster escaped from Qingcheng and died in a mountain fire." Jue Wen said, "But the rumor is that headmaster Shen was suffering from madness. After escaping from Qingcheng, he wanted to set fire to his wife, but accidentally He died by self-immolation. Qingcheng was not allowed to pay homage to his remains on the grounds of not disturbing the ancestors. The poor monk guessed that this statement was somewhat credible."

Juekong asked Juewen to step back and fell into deep thought.Juewen guessed that Juekong would not pay too much attention to Qingcheng, because Shaolin had enough things to do, especially rebuilding Luoyang City.

Jue Wen didn't know why Jue Jian proposed to rebuild the city of Luoyang. Luoyang originally had a city that was extremely stable, so why did he want to buy houses and build a palace?How much money, manpower and material resources will this cost?However, the leader of Juekong did not object, and even ordered the Ksitigarbha Yuan to strictly supervise the work.

He heard that the newly built palace looked like an inner city rather than a temple.Why build an inner city in Luoyang?Is this related to what Jue Kuan said when he left that he was not in harmony with him?

He hasn't figured it out yet.

The news of Shen Yongci's death also reached Hengshan.

(End of this chapter)