Ling Yiqu was very calm, and his career was smooth. No one understood why a scholar would stay in such a sinister place like Dali Temple, and no one understood why Ling Yiqu insisted on staying in the position of Minister of Dali Temple for so many years.
Everyone knows the only minister of Dali Temple who is always smiling. They only know that there have been almost no unjust cases in Dali Temple for so many years, and they only see that the cooperation between Dali Temple and the Ministry of Punishment is flourishing. So everyone said that Mr. Ling is really a good official.
But Guan Qu knew that when he was very young, Ling Yiqu always used a very low voice to tell him about loyalty to the emperor and serving the country, and about the rise and fall of the country, and the responsibility of every man.
But when he was alone, he would drink and sigh. He would ask in a low voice if what I have done is not good enough, has it met your expectations? He worked hard for the Ming Dynasty, but when he heard the long speeches of the literati, he was noncommittal.
Smile.
Guan Qu knew that his master had never given up on redressing the injustice of General Yuan and clearing the name of the Yuan family for so many years.
The reason why he attached so much importance to this case may have something to do with time. They knew very little about what happened in the three years of Chongzhen, and the master was just an unknown person at that time. Although he was interested in investigating the Yuan family's affairs, he did not have a suitable opportunity.
Now the opportunity has come. Wuzhou is the ancestral home of Yuan Chonghuan and the place where Yuan Chonghuan and Ling Yiqu met. Wuzhou is destined to be a place with stories.
Guan Qu stayed in Wuzhou. On the one hand, he collected the ulterior secrets between the four dead people to find out the clues of the mastermind behind the scenes. On the other hand, he also intentionally or unintentionally inquired about the people who were related to the Yuan family.
People and things. He wanted to see if he could bring anything to his master.
In the end, he struggled to follow different clues and came to a pivot point. The inns where these people stayed were still there, but some had changed owners, but after all, they were all old shops for many years. Guan Quhe often came here.
After the old man drinking tea got acquainted, he began to mention the events of that year, intentionally or unintentionally. "Old man, I heard that there was a very big family here many years ago. What's their last name? It seems like Lian?"
"There is no family named Lian, you should be talking about the Yuan family!"
"Yes, that's the Yuan family. It's the Yuan family. I heard that he seemed to have committed something? The emperor had his whole family killed."
The old man stroked his gray beard: "This is a long story. It happened more than 20 years ago. I heard that the Yuan family offended the high officials in the court at that time. It was really miserable."
Guan Qu quickly poured a cup of tea for the old man: "What exactly is going on? Please tell me in detail."
The old man paused for a moment: "Why do you ask this? This happened a long time ago."
"When I was studying in the past, I heard Mr. Chang tell the story of General Yuan, saying that he was a great man. This time I passed by Wuzhou, so I wanted to pay my respects."
The old man shook his head: "It's all in the past. There is nothing to talk about. There are no great people in this world. Only people with great power are great people. They are people who we ordinary people cannot afford to offend."
The old man refused to say anything more, so it was inconvenient for Guan Qu to continue asking, but he had an intuition that the old man must know something.
When we came out of the inn, it was already drizzling outside. After all, this is Jiangnan, and there is no biting cold wind even in winter.
Guan Qu asked all the way and finally found Yuan Chonghuan's former residence. More than 20 years later, the once glorious and prosperous place has long lost sight of its former glory and prosperity, only decay and dead grass remain. No one has taken care of it all year round, and Nuo Da's house looks...
It's empty and a little crowded.
Guan Qu remembered the glorious deeds of the Yuan family that his teacher once told him. At that time, Yuan Chonghuan recommended himself and showed his talents. Everyone knew the name of Governor Ji Liao. The Yuan family also held a grand banquet.
Invite guests to a banquet. The house is bustling with people, and people are constantly coming and going. People who want to establish friendship with the Yuan family can line up a long street.
Yuan Chonghuan is not a person who is used to giving big banquets. He often just holds a bottle of wine and has a good drink with his master. He never brags about winning a battle, but he immediately rewards the three armies and comforts those who died in the war.
family members of the soldiers.
Looking at the desolate appearance of the family now, he seemed to be able to imagine the scene when the Yuan family was very prosperous and had a very popular position. As the saying goes, accompanying the emperor is like accompanying a tiger. The position of the master today cannot be said to be disrespectful, but it is the crown jewel of the emperor.
Heart, who can touch it accurately?
I wonder if the master has been here again since the accident? With his temperament, he probably has never been here before.
He opened the already tattered seal, pushed open the door and walked in. Everything that could be moved had been moved away when this place was sealed off, and there would be nothing valuable left.
He walked around the garden a few times and suddenly saw a small wooden sign on the ground. General Yuan must have made it for his children. It was worthless, and no one noticed that it was just thrown into the ground.
, silently witnessed the decline of the Yuan family. Guan Qu dug out the wooden sign from the soil and gently wiped off the dust with his fingers.
The words "Those who are pure will self-purify" are still exposed. This stubborn old man has never thought about anything else in his life. He has always thought of being loyal to the emperor and serving the country, but in the end he ended up like this.
Guan Qu carefully put away the wooden sign, closed the door and left here quietly.
The progress in the next few days was very slow. Although I traveled to many places, there was no definite evidence to prove that these people had any agreement. After all, so many years have passed, and many things have changed.
Just when Guan Qu was about to give up and return to Beijing, things took a turn for the better.
As usual, he accompanied the old man who always came to the inn to drink tea. After a while, he discovered that a little girl had been secretly looking over here.
He was curious, but didn't show it. He didn't show it until he said goodbye to the old man. The old man walked out of the inn, and the little girl hurriedly chased after him. He followed at a distance. He saw that the little girl seemed anxious.
She was talking to the old man, and the old man kept patting her gently as if to tell her to speak slowly and not to be in a hurry. Then after saying a few words, the old man followed the little girl and left somewhere together.
Guan Qu followed without thinking too much, but saw that the two of them were going further and further away, and soon they came to a row of simple houses. There were no beautiful scenery or lively markets here. There were just shrews.
There was general scolding and dirty water all over the floor. The old man followed the little girl into one of the huts. Maybe he was too anxious and they didn't close the door tightly.