These five words were written on a narrow piece of paper.
The handwriting was so ugly that it was impossible to see the handwriting at all. It was shaking from the first stroke, and became more and more sloppy the more I wrote. The last word "escape" was almost shapeless, and the last stroke almost flew up, dragging out a long
Trailing the tail, there is no more behind it, as if the writer can no longer write a single stroke.
Tang Zhao looked left and right, staring at the note, as if he wanted to see these five words forever.
Then, he put down the note and saw a confused Jiang Shenyi.
Jiang Shenyi was angry and confused. He was the one who smashed the cups and plates just now, and now he was the one sitting on the table dumbfounded.
At this moment, it is difficult to describe my mood with one emotion.
The two looked at each other for a long time, and Jiang Shenyi finally said, "What do you mean?"
Tang Zhao opened his mouth, and finally could only repeat: "Elder brother has defected."
Jiang Shenyi's voice became hoarse: "What is defection... How does it count as defection? How can senior brother defect?"
He repeated it several times in a row, and Tang Zhao knew what he meant - for Zhuoyu Villa, what should the senior brother do to defect?
Zhuoyu Villa is not an army, nor is it a secret organization, so why should one defect or not?
Back then, the second senior brother had a big quarrel with his master and went down the mountain on his own, leaving for several years without coming back. Xue Xianyun now curses him whenever he mentions him, but does this count as his defection?
The eldest brother and master are as close as father and son. Even if a conflict breaks out and he runs away in anger, even if he breaks something or even hurts someone, at most the master will scold him or even kick him out, but he will not be able to mention it after all.
Defect?
What exactly did he do?
Jiang Shenyi's eyes moved slightly, and he suddenly pointed at the owl on the table and said, "I remember! That's... a big... stone-green owl!"
Tang Zhao nodded. He didn't recognize it at first, but he remembered it after seeing those words. That was the gift Xue Yeyu gave to his senior brother when they celebrated Shi Chunqing's birthday when they left Zhuoyu Villa.
The situation at that time is still vivid in my mind.
Jiang Shenyi was a little anxious and said: "What is it doing here? Delivering a letter? Delivering a letter to you alone? What is written in the letter?"
Xue Yeyu's letter was addressed to both of them, while Shi Chunqing's letter was addressed to Tang Zhao.
After the owl came in, he went directly to Tang Zhao and made it clear that it was a private message to Tang Zhao.
Moreover, it put down the letter and didn't leave. Tang Zhao thought that the raptor was hungry and wanted to trim it. But after seeing the letter, he suddenly realized -
If it doesn't leave, it should be Shi Chunqing's order. After delivering the letter, don't go back.
Maybe it's to prevent tracking, maybe it's to show that everything with Zhuoyu Villa must be completely cut off.
Tang Zhao held back his mood swings and forced himself to calmly open the thin bamboo tube. He also took out a piece of paper, which suddenly changed color at first glance. He reached out and pinched the paper into a ball, his fingers trembling slightly.
Jiang Shenyi was startled instead. He found that Tang Zhao was already out of anger.
It's not surprising that Tang Zhao is angry, Jiang Shenyi is also angry, but when he just saw the words Shi Chunqing defected, he was obviously not that angry.
What did Shi Chunqing write to him that made him so angry suddenly?
Shi Chunqing defected and didn't write to anyone else, but wrote to Tang Zhao. Could it be that there was some injustice going on and he was specifically here to ridicule him?
Jiang Shenyi was a little curious and stepped forward to take the note that was almost crushed by Tang Zhao. When he unfolded it, he found that there were two lines of words, which were a couplet:
"Ten years of hard work without anyone asking, you become famous all over the world in one fell swoop."
Other than that, it has no beginning or end, and no signature. It should be Shi Chunqing's handwriting - Jiang Shenyi did not recognize Shi Chunqing's handwriting.
This is……
Jiang Shenyi seemed to understand, but he didn't seem to understand, and said: "Is this his confession? He feels that the mountain is too hard, he has paid too much, and no one cares about him, so he did this kind of thing?"
Although Jiang Shenyi had not thought much about it before, these two sentences were very straightforward and not difficult to understand.
Did you defect because you felt it was unfair?
It's possible, but...why is it so?!
"It's a confession, and it's also an answer to me."
Tang Zhao replied, but he was still very angry. He wanted to take something from the table and throw it, but unfortunately Jiang Shenyi was able to throw it all, leaving him full of depression.
"On his birthday that day, I wrote him a couplet——"
"The edge of a sword comes from sharpening, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold."
"When he left, he gave me another answer specifically. Those were these two sentences - damn it!" Tang Zhao finally hammered the table hard, making a thumping sound.
Jiang Shenyi asked doubtfully: "Isn't this a good word of blessing? He said that his efforts will be rewarded, and he will be rewarded with hardships and joys. Why should he answer you specifically? Could it be that he feels that you are hurting when you stand and talk, and you are not worthy of encouraging him, so he wrote a letter to refute
伱?Wait-"
He turned around in half a circle and said, "No, it's too weird. There seems to be a tacit understanding between you when you ask and answer questions that others don't understand. Are you on such a good relationship? Or... you already noticed it when you were on the mountain.
Is there something wrong with him? Is there even any speculation?"
The more he thought about it, the more he was right. He reached out and grabbed Tang Zhao and said, "Is my guess right? Tang Zhao?!"
Tang Zhao made eye contact with him, and after a while, he nodded slightly.
Jiang Shenyi was furious and pushed him hard, saying: "You bastard! You had guessed it... Why didn't you tell your teacher? Why didn't you tell us? Are you with him?"
Tang Zhao asked back: "Who said I didn't tell Master? Since I noticed it, why didn't I tell Master?"
Jiang Shenyi was stunned and said: "Have you told your mentor? Then how can you still..."
Is it still like this?
Tang Zhao did not answer and said: "As for you...how should I tell you? How should I tell other disciples? I just noticed something was wrong at the time. The senior brother left for a year and brought back the precious materials used by the master to make swords."
Master also gave me a little bit of "bitter cold air". When I went to analyze it, I found that the "bitter cold air" was not pure. It was mixed with a part of "aversion to cold air" that was similar in nature but completely different. If Master did not screen it,
If you use this energy to forge a sword, it will definitely fail at the last moment."
That night he put the bitter cold air into the pool, and the fairy came up twice. The first time was for the bitter cold air, and the second time was for the aversion to cold. From then on, he guessed that Shi Chunqing had something wrong.
In fact, had it been earlier, wouldn't he have noticed the signs?
A year later, when Shi Chunqing came back from Liangzhou in the north, he was chased by the Baixiong mountain bandits in Lingzhou in the south. Isn't it strange? There are completely different roads in the south and north, and it is difficult to get around them. How can his enemies do it?
Could it be Baixiong Mountain? And at that time, he only had the bitter cold breath material on his body. Although it was precious, it was a standard swordsmith's material. A group of bandits in Baixiong Mountain were looking for wealth, so why did they need these materials?
Furthermore, when it came to dealing with the captured Baixiong Mountain thieves, Shi Chunqing wanted to kill them all without asking any questions, and hurriedly seemed to silence them. Shopkeeper Liu did not kill them all directly, but wanted to torture them, but the group of thieves ended up being
They actually committed suicide one after another. How do they look like bandits? They clearly look like dead soldiers.
The implications of this are hard to explain.
This is still a well-founded suspicion. If it is unfounded... Tang Zhao felt uneasy with every word and action he heard when Shi Chunqing came back.
However, can this be used to prove that the senior brother who has worked hard at Zhuoyu Villa for 20 to 30 years?
Don't talk about these baseless things, even if it's the aversion to cold, there is plenty of room for sophistry. Just say that it was an accident, the collected materials were impure, or there was accidental contamination. The most I can do is apologize. What can I do?
?
On the other hand, Tang Zhao, although he is favored by his brothers and sisters, if he confronts his senior brother, even if he has some evidence, as long as it is not irrefutable, he will never win.
A villa is like a family. In a family, whoever is right wins? Isn't it true that whoever is friendly to everyone wins?
Originally, Tang Zhao planned to make some insinuations, and even sent a letter to his master to call the police to remind him before leaving. However, after careful consideration, he secretly met with his master at night and told everything he knew. He did not get a reply until he left.
The result is still like this.
Despite Jiang Shenyi's anger at this moment, if Tang Zhao had used those clues to tell him his guesses, it would be uncertain whose side Jiang Shenyi would be on.
Only at this moment could he review the situation with his senior brother.
"Actually, senior brother has been very strange since he came back. He sighs and sighs. He often says that he is not talented enough and is wasting his time. He is full of envy for his younger brothers and sisters who are more talented. His frustration is palpable. This may be his true feeling.
, but when I mention it again and again, it’s like I’ve made up my mind.”
"Really..." Jiang Shenyi frowned and recalled deeply that Shi Chunqing actually had a lot of contact with him after returning to the mountain. He was the one who brought the injured Shi Chunqing back to the villa, but... was there something wrong at that time?
Tang Zhao said seriously: "Yes. When I didn't find out that he really had evil intentions, I thought he was just depressed and had troubles in his heart, so I had a stupid idea. Is it because we don't care too much about the world?
Senior brother? He takes care of us year after year, teaches us knowledge, gives us gifts, and cares about our lives. However, although we respect him, we rarely really get close to him. For example... I chatted with him that day.
When it was Junior Sister's birthday, I found out that he and Junior Sister Hua had birthdays in the same month. But I never knew. I celebrate Junior Sister Hua's birthday every year, but never for him."
Jiang Shenyi was stunned and said softly: "This idea... is not stupid. I don't know his birthday either. I came to the mountain before you for several years, but I never thought of asking. I don't know him at all. Senior brother...
... He is like a father and brother to me. I just think he is a good senior brother who takes care of us, tolerates us, and helps us..."
"But -" Jiang Shenyi suddenly said angrily: "If he really feels disappointed and unfair, he will naturally be disgusted with us, hate us, and alienate us. Why would he betray his mentor?"
Tang Zhao shook his head. How did he know about the entanglement between Shi Chunqing and Xue Xianyun? He just followed the stupid thoughts in his heart and tried his best to remedy the situation in stupid ways, such as calling everyone together to celebrate his senior brother's birthday with everyone surrounding him.
Bless him, give him a gift, and let Shi Chunqing know that we younger brothers and sisters are not really heartless and that everyone loves you.
Another example is giving him the couplet. It is not chicken soup of encouragement, but a reminder to Shi Chunqing that no matter how we young people ignore you, Master always values you the most. You are the most important in his heart, and no one can compare with him.
.He treats you so well, is there going to be a lifelong regret between you two?
However, in the end, a stupid solution is a stupid solution. It may cover some flaws, but it cannot make the broken mirror whole again.
It’s hard to collect water!
Fortunately, Tang Zhao was not stupid. He finally chose to remind Xue Xianyun head-on. On the night before he went down the mountain, he entered the Jade Pavilion alone.
As a result, even if he put it mildly, Xue Xianyun flew into a rage and chased him all the way. Tang Zhao had no choice but to run away down the mountain overnight and let the old man figure it out on his own.
Maybe he is still too conservative.
Regardless of whether it was thunderous means or emotion, Xue Xianyun did not handle the matter properly, but the matter still came to this day. He was not a man of skill in the first place, otherwise how could the master and apprentice, who were like father and son, have come to this day?
Who knows whether his actions resolved or provoked conflicts?
Or it may be unsolvable from the beginning.
"I wonder what's going on on the mountain..." Tang Zhao thought of this, only worried, "Put everything else down first, let's go back to the mountain!"