Sealing Sword

Some things are understandable intellectually but unacceptable emotionally.

Zhou Shenbi is more qualified than anyone else to hate Qin Hebai, and he also knows that he cannot hate Qin Hebai.

For the country and the people, he has great righteousness; for his brother and himself, he has great kindness.No matter what the original intention of these favors is, as Zhou Xi said, he understands that Qin Hebai's intentions are not fake better than anyone else.

Zhou Shen felt that his life these years was like a joke. He took a jug of wine and drank from dusk to dawn by the moat. His clothes and hair were wet with dew, and then he staggered into the house, and found out the relatives of his parents. Kneeling for a long time, then went out.

Three days later, Zhou Shen worshiped Ruan Qingxing and became his closed disciple. Nan Ru personally erased his past, and changed his surname to Ruan ever since.

On the day of the apprentice ceremony, Ruan Shen met many people beside Ruan Qingxing, including scholars, farmers, businessmen, but they were all from one party.But most of these people are full of flattery, open their mouths and tongues, but the words they say are not as good as bullshit.

He was tired of watching, Ruan Qingxing quietly said while drinking tea: "Do you feel bored?"

Before he could return, Ruan Qingxing put down the cup: "I find it annoying too, but you have to get used to it."

"why?"

Ruan Qingxing said: "Because I am old, one day you will be me and help me look after these people and things."

This sentence reveals too much, Ruan Qingxing has many disciples, and he has the lowest qualifications, but listening to Ruan Qingxing's words, it seems that he not only wants to teach him martial arts knowledge, but also pass on more things.

Ruan Shen asked to understand, but was shocked by the horse that suddenly broke into the yard.

Sitting on a tall maroon horse with a navy blue robe and a red-tasseled spear was Qin Hebai who was supposed to be stationed in the northern border.He was covered in dust, and his eyes were also black and tired. When he saw the people in the courtyard, he just swept away them, and finally fell on him and Ruan Qingxing, and said with cupped hands: "Mr. Ruan, Yunfei has something to say to your disciple , I don’t know if it’s possible..."

Ruan Qingxing didn't wait for him to finish, he pushed Ruan Shen forward, and said with a smile: "Looking at General Qin's appearance, there should be something urgent, and this old man has no reason to obstruct... However, the general returned to the capital without being summoned. How should His Majesty explain it?"

In the second half of the sentence, he lowered his voice, Ruan Shen's expression changed, but Qin Hebai acted as if he hadn't heard anything, grabbed his hand and walked out.

Ruan Shen didn't have time to say a whole sentence before he was dragged onto the horse's back, whipped hard, and galloped to the edge of the moat.

The vegetation by the river has all withered and fallen, showing the coolness of the autumn wind.Crossing the river is the way out of Beijing. Ruan Shen saw that Qin Hebai had no intention of stopping at all. He slammed his elbow into his chest and was blocked as expected. However, he slapped the horse's back with all his strength. Going crazy from the pain and almost throwing them both flying, Ruan Shen took advantage of this opportunity to turn over and get off the horse, and looked at Qin Hebai coldly; "What are you going to do?"

Qin Hebai calmed down and looked at Ruan Shen carefully.

In less than a month, the person in front of him changed his appearance. He always wore unruly clothes, and now he was neatly dressed. He also changed into his least favorite scribe gown, and his hair was tied up high, a little different from the previous one. Pi Xiaozi, who was just fried, has a very different appearance, with the demeanor of a scholar.

In particular, the laughter and cursing faded from one face. Although he hadn't been able to show his emotions and anger, it still made him unpredictable.

For some reason, Qin Hebai couldn't speak out what he was full of. Qin Hebai held back for a long time before he could say: "Your brother asked me to pick you up and return to Beijiang."

"My elder brother?" Ruan Shen said calmly, "Did General Qin find the wrong person? Ruan Shen was born in Dongzhou, his parents died young, and he is the only son in the family. Where did he come from?"

"Ah Shen!" Qin Hebai did not expect him to speak like this, and his expression became agitated, but he has never been good at coaxing people, and he has always used actions to obey Zhou Shen over the years, and now he can't tell why. "You... don't do this."

"What about me?" Ruan Shen looked at him, "General Qin, as the commander of Northern Xinjiang, you left your post and went back to Beijing privately, and somehow wanted to take me across the river. Now you are asking me what?"

Qin Hebai listened to his words, the exhaustion from driving all the way suddenly pressed up, his hands and feet were cold, he was silent for a moment, and said: "I'm sorry for you, you...don't blame Zhou Xi for my fault, and it's hard for yourself .”

Ruan Shen had complicated and unspeakable emotions in his heart, stewed into a pot of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy and salty, it was extremely unpalatable, he tasted all these flavors in his heart, raised his head and said: "Who am I, what am I going to do, with you What are you doing?"

After he finished speaking, he turned around to leave, but Qin Hebai grabbed his sleeves, and the two tugged at each other, which finally annoyed Ruan Shen, so he slapped him with his backhand, fought against Qin Hebai, and then The old man stood still, he staggered three steps, but opened the distance between the two of them.

Ruan Shen wiped off the blood at the corner of his mouth calmly, without turning his head, he just said, "General Qin, instead of making unnecessary entanglements, it is better to go back to your border as soon as possible, after all, you saved it with so many people's bones and blood back then. , if you lose it again, no one will be sorry.”

Qin Hebai only had the torn half piece of cloth in his hand, watching his back gradually drifting away until he was about to disappear, he suddenly called out: "Ah Shen!"

Ruan Shen's footsteps paused, and he heard Qin Hebai's voice from behind: "What will make you forgive me?"

He thought about this question for a long time, and Qin Hebai also kept waiting, as if a prisoner was waiting for the final judgment.

He finally waited for Ruan Shen's answer, which was light and light, but overwhelmed everything Qin Hebai had bet on, no matter his wealth or life, success or failure, honor or disgrace.

Ruan Shen's back disappeared behind rows of dead tree trunks, leaving only one sentence: "I don't hate you."

Qin Hebai, I don't hate you, so I won't forgive you.

The days with Ruan Qingxing were more difficult than Ruan Shen imagined, not only because Ruan Qingxing was a strict teacher, but more importantly, besides being a Southern Confucian, he was also a powerful minister.

His knowledge and martial arts were finally recognized to enter the country, so he was taken by Ruan Qingxing to deal with some troublesome disputes. One set, another set behind someone's back.

Ruan Qingxing saw his disgust, but pretended not to see it. Ruan Shen couldn't resist, so he could only accept it. Gradually, he learned how to put on airs from these people, saw a lot of failures, and experienced countless intrigues .

In two years, he went from being disgusted at the beginning, to being excited, and then getting used to it later.

After he passed the imperial examination and served in the Imperial Academy, he got the answer to his original question from Ruan Qingxing's appreciation.

Ruan Qingxing not only regarded him as a disciple, but also trained him as a successor, inheriting his own civil and martial arts, inheriting his own calculations, and even taking his place to do what he hadn't finished.

"You deliberately told me the truth at that time," he said.

"If you have been mediocre all your life, you don't need to know the truth." Ruan Qingxing said, "Useless people are not worth wasting your time. You should also remember this."

"But the me at that time was not enough for Master to put so much thought into it." Ruan Shen closed the book, "Is it because of Brother Yunfei?"

Ruan Qingxing said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to call him that. General Qin will be very happy if he hears it."

"Whatever I call him, I'm happy." Ruan Shen looked up at Ruan Qingxing, "From Master's tone, he seems to be having a hard time recently."

Ruan Qingxing praised him for his sharpness, and handed over a letter, which said that there was an incident of dereliction of duty by the guarding military officer in the northwest, but that fool Qin Hebai cared about his old feelings, punished him with a small punishment, and saved this person from the death penalty that would cause his entire family to suffer. , but failed to clean up the tricks, and was stabbed to Ruan Qingxing by a dark thread.

Ruan Shen's brows can kill a fly, such a big matter can't be concealed, Ruan Qingxing can't impeach Qin Hebai himself, so naturally he has to ask his disciples to do it for him, and now the letter is handed to him, the meaning is clear Ruojie.

Without further hesitation, he put the letter into his pocket and said, "My disciple understands."

Ruan Qingxing asked with a smile: "If you do this, maybe you really have to break up with him, are you willing?"

Ruan Shen didn't answer, he slammed the door of Nanru's room and walked away, returning to his own room to write a letter.

The person who received the letter wrote "Brother Yunfei", but he had no intention of sending the letter at all. The "Brother Yunfei" in his memory had completely disappeared the moment he learned the truth, and the two of them could never get back together. to the very beginning.

However, when he was still "Zhou Shen", he was used to telling "Brother Yunfei" everything, both confiding and venting, and he still can't change this habit until now. From two years ago to now, he has written every year one.

Ruan Shen sometimes finds it ridiculous. When Qin Hebai was close at hand, it was annoying to listen to Qin Hebai say a few words. Now that everyone is on one side and everything is different, he has a lot to say, but he can only give it his all. Pen and paper, hidden in a wooden box.

I wrote six pieces of paper eloquently, and half of them were cursing Qin Hebai, an idiot who made a big mistake because of a petty loss. I waited until I was satisfied with the scolding before writing my next plan. First reveal the matter by myself, and then find a way to blur the inside. In the end, the thunder is loud and the rain is little, even if it makes that idiot have a longer memory.

He finished writing, put away the letter, and it was a good night's sleep.

The next day, Ruan Shen made an exception and went to the court to impeach Qin Hebai in public for abolishing the government and sheltering criminal officials, which shocked the court and the public for a while.Qin Hebai, who was far away in the frontier, was summoned back. This was the first time they met after more than two years of absence. Qin Hebai looked at him with shock and understanding, but Ruan Shen's cold face could not be restrained.

The bad premonition came true, this idiot didn't know if he had taken the wrong medicine, but he pleaded guilty in court and asked him to investigate carefully.Although Ruan Shen originally planned to intervene in the investigation, but assisting from the sidelines is different from being mainly in charge. He will change from a spy in the dark to a target stared at by others, and it is difficult for this idiot to cover up.

Ruan Shen's more than two years of self-cultivation failed on this day, and he almost couldn't help beating the general on the spot. After he retreated from the court, his face was gloomy, and Qin Hebai still chased him.

Qin Hebai said: "Ah Shen, I was wrong."

Ruan Shenxin was so tired that he didn't bother to talk to him, so he walked faster. This rare reunion was cut off abruptly, and he didn't even have time to see if Qin Hebai had aged or lost weight.

He was busy investigating the case, but in the end he really found out something important - the military officer was not dereliction of duty, but a spy who colluded with foreign countries.

There were many people around when he found out about this incident. Ruan Shen's first thought was to destroy the evidence, and then threaten everyone who saw it one by one. As soon as the thought came up, a hand pressed his shoulder .

Ruan Qingxing came here at some point, and looked down at him, as if he had seen through all his thoughts.

Ruan Shen finally understood that Ruan Qingxing knew about this from the very beginning, and he just calculated his mind, concealed the truth and let him stand out, thus pushing him to the forefront.

His self-righteous cleverness has long since become a knife in the hands of others.

In fact, he can't remember clearly what happened afterwards. He only knows that Nan Ru, who is "sick in bed" in the eyes of outsiders, took over the case in his hands and sent people to follow the vines. In the end, he involved a lot of big and small troubles. Usually it is innocuous, but now it is a catastrophe.

Qin Hebai was punished with a cane for [-] years in court, and was confined for a month when he returned home.After thinking about it, Ruan Shen finally didn't hold his breath, and climbed over the wall into the General's Mansion at night.

As soon as he landed, he was almost stabbed by a gun. In the yard, a girl with willow eyebrows and hibiscus face was practicing with a gun. She regarded him as a thief, but this girl couldn't speak, so she didn't call anyone. Above, the 36 strokes of the marksmanship are very powerful, which is exactly the way of the lock dragon gun.

He had heard that Qin Hebai had a mute sister named Qin Liurong, but he had never had the chance to meet her. After hiding for more than a dozen meetings, Ruan Shen heard a coughing sound coming from the room, as if Qin Hebai was about to come out.

At that moment, he suddenly lost his courage, he didn't dare to look at this person, turned over and went out of the courtyard wall, and ran all the way back.

Since then, he has never been to Qin's house again. Qin Hebai sent people to deliver letters again and again, but he didn't answer them, and they all blocked them.

Until the day when Qin Hebai left the capital, more than half of the military officials in the imperial court went to see him off. Ruan Shen stomped his feet when he heard the news. deserve it.

After dropping two teapots in a row, Ruan Shen couldn't help but go. He used lightness kung fu to chase after him, and saw Qin Hebai a dozen miles away from the city.He was dressed lightly and did not bring many people with him, so he rushed to Jinghan pass through the wind and dust, with the majestic capital behind him, but his gaze was always forward.

Ruan Shen hid on a big tree and watched him go away, and cursed: "Get lost."

Get lost, you idiot, the imperial court is not the place for you to stay, get out of your borders and rivers and lakes, and it is best not to come back for the rest of your life.

After Ruan Shen went back, he prayed day and night not to see Qin Hebai again, because every time he met this idiot, he must be in trouble, and now he was alone, and Zhou Xi shed tears when something went wrong, Qin Hebai Although he didn't marry a wife and have children, there are hundreds of relatives in the side branch, so he can't afford to take care of something wrong.

It's a pity that he usually doesn't respect gods and Buddhas, so it's useless to hold Buddha's feet temporarily.

Nine months later, the late emperor vomited blood because of the "elixir". The government and the public were involved countless times, even the second prince was involved, and everyone was in danger for a while.

But Ruan Shen knew clearly that any serious illness and vomiting of blood was fake, the late emperor had nothing to do with it, he just used this method to suppress his increasingly powerful second son, and get rid of Qin Hebai, who he regarded as a thorn in his side.

The late emperor was getting old, he was a person with more thoughts than tricks, the older he was, the more he was afraid of death, and the older he was, the more he felt that everyone cared about his position, for this reason, even his own son was afraid, just because he had a mistake in his mind back then. Gaining the military power of the second prince, seeing his close relationship with Qin Hebai, and his increasing weight in the court, finally even he himself regretted it.