Dingjiangshan

The cries in the Yazheng courtyard of Shunchang Prefecture were loud.

Ning Zheng waved away the servants around him, walked through half of the courtyard alone, and stood at the main entrance of the mansion, like a statue cast in copper and iron, silently looking at the end of the main road in front of the mansion.

The mansion behind him is plain inside and out, and white silk flowers are hung on the plaque of the mansion. Looking from a distance, it looks quite ominous.

The servant girl behind Ning Zheng came back and forth, and the crying in the mansion continued intermittently.

After noon, at the end of the road, a group of chariots and horses with white flags were finally turned. Several thin horses were pulling a heavy cart, with a thin wooden coffin placed upright on it.

Ning Zheng's gaze finally loosened a bit. He looked at the coffin in silence, and he still didn't say a word until the carriages and horses reached the gate of the government office.

It was Ning Chengyi's accompanying reader who pushed the carriage. He met Ning Zheng's gaze and walked up to the steps in fear, knelt on the ground without saying a word, and kowtowed to him a few times.

"My lord—" the young man choked for a moment, and said, "My condolences will change."

Ning Zheng still didn't speak, he took some stiff steps, walked to the side of the cart step by step, stared at the thin wooden coffin, which can be called simple, for a while, and then said in a hoarse voice: "Open."

Because of the need to stop the coffin, Ning Chengyi's coffin was not nailed and sealed, it was just buried in the coffin and covered with a coffin lid.

The lieutenant guarding the spirit by the side of the chariot and horse trembled when he heard the words, but he didn't dare to say anything more, he could only grit his teeth and stand up, staring at Ning Zheng and pushing the lid of the coffin halfway.

Ning Zheng's eyes moved slightly, and he took two steps forward. He held down the side of the coffin lid, and with a little force, he pushed the entire coffin lid away.

The heavy coffin lid slid down the side of the coffin onto the cart, making a muffled bang.

The eyes of the young man in the coffin were tightly closed, and his pale, ashen face wiped out three points of his original handsome appearance. Ning Zheng's gaze moved down Ning Chengyi's face inch by inch, and finally landed on the area between his waist and abdomen. on a terrible wound.

The conditions on the battlefield were poor, so they could only restrain themselves hastily.So Ning Chengyi was still wearing the broken armor, his whole body was splattered with jet-black blood, and an arrow wound in his waist and abdomen turned out ferociously, almost rotting into a huge hole.

Ning Zheng didn't need to ask anymore, he saw the scene from the injury.

——It must be an extremely accurate and powerful arrow to hit the vital point so fiercely.Most of the arrow body passed through the body, almost piercing the young man in the coffin.

Such a serious injury, not to mention the poor frontline, even in the capital city where there are many imperial doctors and masters, it may be difficult to recover.

Ning Zheng's eyes turned red, and he bit his back molars hard.

"Trash." Ning Zheng cursed in a low voice.

Ning Chengyi's companion trembled all over, did not dare to speak, and bent down even more, with his forehead firmly pressed against the back of his hand.

Ning Zheng took a deep breath, barely suppressing the soreness and pain in his heart, gritted his teeth and took a step back, waved his hands, and said in a cold voice: "Carry it in."

The cart carrying Ning Chengyi's coffin was unloaded from the horse, and pulled by three soldiers instead, it moved into the main courtyard bit by bit.

After a while, the crying in the main courtyard suddenly changed, and suddenly became mournful.Ning Zheng swayed slightly on the spot for a moment, and had to reach out to support the stone lion at the door to stand still.

In early spring, there is a lot of rain in the south. It just rained last night in Shunchang Mansion, and now the stone lions are still wet and not completely dry, and they are cold to the touch.

Ning Zheng's heart skipped a beat, and for a moment he didn't know who to hate.

Ning Zheng stood at the door for another half an hour, and a young servant hurried out of the mansion, looked at Ning Zheng in embarrassment, walked up to him, bowed, and whispered: "My lord, Miss Xiu Passed out from crying."

"Miss Xiu" is named Wu Xiu, she is the daughter of a small official family in Anqing Mansion, and she has admired Ning Chengyi for a long time.Ning Chengyi also had a good impression of her, begged Ning Zheng twice, overtly and secretly, and wanted to give her an explanation, but Ning Zheng never agreed.

It stands to reason that with such a family background, it is enough for Ning Chengyi to be a side concubine.But Ning Zheng had great ambitions, and he was unwilling to hastily set the eldest son's marriage in such a small place as Anqing Mansion, so he never gave him any status.

Wu Xiu was sincere and didn't care about her status, so she simply stayed in the palace and made Ning Chengyi a concubine with no title or status.

This time, Ning Chengyi was afraid that she would be embarrassed by her stepmother in the mansion, so she also brought her here selfishly.

"Look at the arrangement." Ning Zheng said, "There's no need to talk to me about it."

The boy sighed in embarrassment, agreed with his lips, turned around and entered the mansion again.

When Wu Xiu woke up from the side of the mourning hall, it was almost dark outside, and the people who came to express their condolences had dispersed at some point, and only Ning Zheng was left standing alone beside the coffin, with a pale expression on his face. What emotions.

Wu Xiu had a headache from crying, and her eyes were dark and blooming, but she refused to leave Ning Chengyi for half a step, her hands and feet were weak, she pushed away the maid who was about to feed her tea, stumbled to the side of the coffin, and held the coffin for a long time. look in.

Ning Chengyi had already changed into clean clothes, and he looked no longer so hideous and terrifying. Wu Xiu only took one look at him, and felt his eyes heat up, and she shed tears again.

"If you want to cry, go to the side and cry." Ning Zheng said, "Don't cry in the coffin, it's unlucky."

His voice sounded so calm, it seemed that the person lying here was not his own son, but some random general who didn't care.

Wu Xiu supported the coffin and slid on the ground, and gave him an almost resentful look.

"This king knows your resentment." Ning Zheng seemed to have eyes behind his back, without turning his head, he said: "You hate this king for rebelling, and let Cheng Yi lose his life for nothing."

Wu Xiu couldn't disobey his father in front of Ning Cheng Yiling, but she was really impatient, so she could only bite her lip fiercely, and bit a small wound on the corner of her lip.

"I dare not." Wu Xiu said.

Ning Zheng was silent for a while, then suddenly said: "After the funeral, you can remarry."

"Wangfu will give you a small dowry, husband-in-law, you can recruit yourself." Ning Zheng said.

Wu Xiu was taken aback, and said, "Why?"

"This king will not embarrass his son's concubine." Ning Zheng said: "You are still young and have no children, this king can be the master."

Wu Xiu couldn't understand how there could be such a cold-hearted father in this world. His son's body was not cold, not to mention distraught, but he refused to shed two tears. The intention of the son with two kind words.

Wu Xiu suddenly felt very sad, not sure if it was for Ning Chengyi or for herself.

"The concubine will not remarry." Wu Xiu said firmly: "The concubine will be his for the rest of his life."

Ning Zheng didn't ask why, and he didn't persuade her too much. He seemed to just point out a bright way for Wu Xiu. As for whether Wu Xiu was willing to leave, he didn't care at all.

His eyes fell on the coffin for a long time, Wu Xiu originally thought that Ning Zheng would not talk to her anymore, but Ning Zheng was silent for a while, and then he opened his mouth again.

"...Xiao Liu lied to me." He said suddenly.

Ning Zheng said this very lightly, if it wasn't for the silence in the mourning hall, Wu Xiu might not be able to hear his words clearly.

Wu Xiu frowned, not knowing for a moment whether Ning Zheng was talking to her, or simply talking to himself.

"This king thought that the letter was sent by the queen mother, saying that she had already succeeded in Beijing, so I needed my two help." Ning Zheng said in a low voice: "... But I heard that Ning Yan came to the battlefield, This king knew that this king might have fallen into his trap."

Wu Xiu sat on the ground blankly, she could only look up at Ning Zheng.

A few strands of white silk were mixed into his temples at some point, and the fine lines at the corners of his eyes were dyed a little reddish, making this middle-aged man look extremely haggard.

The loneliness in his eyebrows was so clear that even Wu Xiu couldn't ignore it.

"My lord..." Wu Xiu said, "Do you know that you are going to lose?"

These words were too bold, to Ning Zheng's ears, it was like slapping him in the face.But Ning Zheng didn't get angry, just didn't answer.

Wu Xiu knew he was acquiescing.

Wu Xiu's heart suddenly surged with anger, tears mixed with anger surged out, she didn't know where the courage came from, her eyes were red and she asked: "So the prince knows that it is a dead end, but he still wants to send his own son to die! "

"Otherwise." Ning Zheng turned his head and looked at her coldly: "According to the kindness of your wife, why don't you tell me what this king should do."

"Should I write a letter to beg for mercy and plead for the preservation of one side's land, or raise the flag to surrender and be taken back to the capital to be confined by Ning Yan." Ning Zheng said: "In your opinion, which way is more sensible."

Wu Xiu was stunned by what he said.

Ning Zheng didn't intend to say more, he turned his head, looked at Ning Chengyi's body inside the coffin, and said in a low voice, "...it's already too late."

"It's too late."

There was no turning back when he opened the bow. Sooner or later, he would meet Ning Yan on the battlefield.

Ning Zheng would rather fight to the last moment on the battlefield than being escorted back to the capital to be imprisoned in desperation, and die more vigorously like Ning Yu did back then.

Even if he is infamous, at least he can occupy a place in the history books as part of Ning Yan's "record".

It's better than being circled back to the capital like a stray dog, lingering on his last breath.

Ning Zheng slightly tightened and loosened the hand holding the coffin—he finally took his eyes off Ning Chengyi, took a step back, turned around, and seemed to be leaving.

"Is the prince's own dignity that important!" Wu Xiu seemed to be smashing a pot, and said angrily: "Is it more important than the life of my son, more important than the lives of my family!"

Ning Zheng turned a deaf ear and walked out without stopping.

"My husband's life is miserable. He was born in a family of royal relatives and nobles, but even when he died, he was not cared for by his relatives. His life is not as good as that of a countryman!" Wu Xiu cried miserably, like a cuckoo weeping blood, almost screaming.

"Husband, don't be disappointed, this concubine is here to accompany you—"

Ning Zheng paused, only to hear a muffled sound behind him, and even the sound of crying disappeared.