Chapter 822
Sad
Chapter 822 Sad
"I thought we were at least friends." This was the opening line of the letter, exactly the same as the note she left on the emperor's desk.
The emperor held the letter in his hand, remaining silent for a long time.
Wang Zhen stood to the side, looking worried, but his gaze darkened as he tried to read the words on the letter through the thin paper.
But the emperor was sensitive at the time, and no matter how much he wanted to get close, he dared not approach and could only look for another opportunity.
"I have never regarded you as an enemy, even though you have always been in my way."
I have never regarded you as an enemy, even though I lost my family, left home at a young age, and wandered in exile because of you;
I understand you, because like me, you lost your parents at a young age and had no parental protection. It is very difficult for you to be an emperor, a hundred times more difficult than it is for me to be a good Taoist priest. So although I do not agree with you, I am loyal to you.
I am a citizen of the Ming Dynasty, so I cannot bear to see my compatriots slaughtered. I participated in the suppression of the bandits and pursued them to Japan to avenge them. I thought that even though you didn't say it, our hearts were the same.
When I see treasures abroad, my first thought is of my king and my country; I always want you to have better things.
As a human being, I am indignant at injustice and saddened by tragedy. My Majesty, if you truly do not wish to see me again, then please govern this country well, so that the people of the Ming Dynasty, even those as poor as beggars or as lowly as criminals, may receive the fairness and justice they deserve in this world, and that all the people may become wealthy through hard work. Then we may never see each other again.
It must be really upsetting to constantly hear news about people who aren't friends and meet people who aren't friends.
Even so, I still consider you a worthy friend, My Majesty.
The emperor sat motionless in his chair for a long while before slowly closing the letter, folding it little by little, and said in a hoarse voice, "Withdraw the people."
The commander of the Imperial Guards was startled and hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Pan Yun has trespassed into the inner palace..."
"I ordered the men to be withdrawn," the emperor said in a deep voice. "I will not pursue this matter further."
Wang Zhen became even more interested in the letter in the emperor's hand.
At this moment, Pan Yun was standing inside the Three Treasures Cauldron, facing the wind. Miao Zhen and the others were also holding onto the edge of the pot, enjoying the breeze released by the formation, and asked, "Junior Uncle, if you write it like that, will the Emperor really not pursue Lord Pan and Master?"
Pan Yun: "I think so, the emperor is a man of deep feelings."
Miao asked curiously, "So, what you wrote in your letter, was it the truth or a lie?"
Pan Yun gazed at the twinkling stars in the void, remaining silent.
Xue Shao knew that although her letter was plain and unremarkable, lacking literary flair, it was her true feeling.
That's why she's upset, right?
Xue Shao and she gazed intently at the ever-approaching starry sky, their hearts heavy with emotion.
A friend who wasn't really a friend, but he was their king.
A ruler's disqualification is tantamount to losing a piece of his heart; the pain is no less than that of losing a close friend.
When Xue Shao learned of the emperor's attitude towards the two cases, he fell silent. Pan Yun, on the other hand, had been happily watching the drama unfold. He thought she was easygoing, but it turned out she could also get hurt.
“Xiao Hong,” Pan Jun said softly, “I may not be able to give you justice openly and fairly. Some enemies have to be dealt with by violence.”
Xiao Hong burst out laughing.
Everyone turned to look at her.
Xiao Hong, who was tied to Hong Yan, shrugged and said, "I couldn't be happier. Being able to kill the enemy with my own hands is much more satisfying than waiting for the court's judgment. I don't know what you're so sad about."
Pan Yun perked up and laughed: "Okay, it was my fault. I overlooked the fact that people are different."
After thinking for a moment, Xiao Hong said, "Are you insulting me?"
"No, absolutely not!"
“I think so. Do you think my thoughts aren’t good enough?” Pan Yun: “I didn’t say that. Besides, you’re a ghost now, what kind of good citizen are you?”
"It's all your fault! Every time you're about to do something bad, you keep telling yourself you're a law-abiding citizen. I felt like what you just said was mocking me!"
Miaozhen quickly defended her junior uncle, but Miaohe said, "I think Xiaohong's feeling is right..."
The noise started, and the small Sanbao Cauldron was bustling again, the somber and solemn atmosphere from before dissipating instantly.
Xue Shao couldn't help but smile, turning his head to continue looking at the starry sky, and the heaviness in his heart dissipated.
Pan Yun and his companions traveled around the world in the Three Treasures Cauldron, while the imperial court swiftly resolved two major cases.
All those involved in the Mitsui Bessou mansion mass grave case were executed immediately, without waiting until autumn.
Therefore, Sun Xin and others were immediately dragged out of the Meridian Gate and beheaded upon sentencing.
The case involving the mass grave incident—the murder of Xiao Hong—which implicated Lu Wang, Quanzhou Commander Jiang Fangzheng, and Yang Ji in colluding with Japanese pirates, was left unresolved. Xue Xuan insisted on recording the details of the case, but after it was submitted, the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review personally approved it, stating that the evidence was insufficient and that the case was closed because Sun Xin had framed him.
Although the case is closed, this detail is indeed recorded in the case file. Hundreds or thousands of years later, future generations may be able to find some of the truth in this case file.
Besides the case file of the Dali Temple, the court historians also recorded it here, although only in one sentence. Xiao Hong was not even given a name in the historian's writing, but later generations can certainly glean some of the truth from it.
This case brought up the case of the interception of the envoy at sea once again. The emperor received more than twenty impeachment memorials every day, nearly half of which were from Prince Lu. The rest were shared equally by the powerful Chen family of Fujian and Wang Ji. Among them were a few memorials impeaching the Earl of Huichang.
The emperor acted decisively, using this incident to severely punish Jiang Fangzheng, the commander of Quanzhou, and to bring Sun Xin, Sun Chao, Wang Tianyi, and the Chen family involved in the case to justice and execute them.
Sun Xin was killed again.
Prince Lu, Wang Ji, and Earl of Huichang were severely punished for their lax household management; all three were fined half a year's salary and demoted.
Pan Yun and his companions traveled through mountains and rivers, waiting for the academy to open and for Prince Lu to return to Yanzhou.
It was only March when Pan Jun and his men received the news and set up an ambush on the road for Prince Lu and his son.
The third day of the third lunar month is the Shangsi Festival, a very beautiful festival. They decided that they could not let King Lu die on this day.
King Lu was feeling depressed. Hearing the cheerful laughter outside the carriage, he irritated himself and opened the window to look out. He saw a group of young men and women carrying kites, happily running past their caravan.
A group of people ran onto the grass, and after a run, the kite gradually took flight.
Seeing him frown, the guard quickly explained, "Your Highness, today is the Shangsi Festival."
King Lu looked down at the kite floating in the air along the string, and became even more depressed.
Because of his father's folly, he spent his whole life trying to build a good reputation, but he never expected to suffer such a misfortune in his old age. Although Sun Xin took full responsibility for all the crimes, the way those court officials looked at him...
I'm afraid very few people will believe it.
I wonder what those people will say about him afterward, and what they will write about him...
Prince Lu snapped the curtains shut and said in a deep voice, "Hurry up and don't stop."
Because he closed the curtains too quickly, he didn't see Pan Yun and the others running wildly on the grass with kites.
He had seen Pan Yun's portrait before, and he would definitely recognize her if he saw her again.
(End of this chapter)