Ink Burns

Chapter 134: Always the Same (Chubby Chapter)

"Xiao'er--Xiao'er--"

Xue Changfeng used up all his strength and shouted loudly: "Xiao'er, please save Daddy - please save Daddy - where are you going, where are you going - Daddy doesn't want to be like the old man - Xiao'er!"

Xue Changfeng suddenly remembered something: "The Saint - doesn't the Saint still want clues about the former crown prince? I, I, I try my best to think about it! Xiao'er - if you don't save me, how can you report to the Saint!!"

Xue Xiao stopped walking and his whole body disappeared into the darkness. He turned his head half way, slightly curled the corners of his lips, and sneered.

"Everyone in the capital city is saying that I am a 'mad dog'. It was you, Xue Taibao, who spread this name, right?"

Xue Changfeng's mouth twitched and he was stunned on the spot.

"Since I am a 'mad dog', how can I act according to common sense? It doesn't matter whether I complete the task or not, or whether I die or not! I just want you to die!"

Xue Xiao opened the prison door of Qiantang with one hand, and the chains collided with each other, blowing away a cloud of chaotic and dirty mist.

"Oh no, you're not going to die."

"Death is the easiest thing in the world."

"One death, all debts are forgiven!"

"I won't let you die."

"If you die, I will have to mourn for you. How can I take revenge for my grievances or my vengeance?!"

Xue Xiao paused, his eyes fixed on the rusty keyhole, and said expressionlessly: "I will only make you watch yourself, step by step, unable to walk, unable to speak, unable to raise your hands, repeating your grandfather's old path bit by bit. I will make you wish you were dead! - Then, you will know what true pain is."

Xue Xiao's figure gradually disappeared into the chilly darkness. After turning the corner of the rock underground, Xiao Bo, a fair-skinned and handsome man, came forward and said, "Saint, I am in the residence." He lowered his voice and added, "At noon, the Saint knew that Xue Taibao was seriously ill."

Xue Xiao paused slightly, nodded gently, took the handkerchief handed over by Luo Feng, wiped the stains on his hands, and strode to the residence to meet the emperor.

The underground residence is located at the deepest part of Tianbao Temple. There is a hole on the top of the head. It is the only place in the underground Tianbao Temple that can see light.

The mansion was deserted, with only two rows of armchairs in the open space, and a plaque with a thousand-character inscription hanging high on the mountain wall. Above the plaque was a plaque with the words "Yi Xin Yong Zhen" inscribed on it, and the inscription was signed by Qu Yan.

The saint of today is named Xu Quyan, the fourth son of the late emperor.

Now he is standing under the plaque with his hands behind his back.

The man was tall and thin, with a slightly hunched back. He was wearing a long black robe with loose sleeves and his clothes fluttering in the wind. He was looking up at the inscription on the plaque.

"Saint——" Xue Xiao knelt on one knee and saluted.

The saint did not turn around, but stared at the plaque, saying in a leisurely voice: "This plaque was given to you by me after you entered the Imperial Censorate. At that time, I did not have many people available, either old ministers who were just sitting there doing nothing or new officials with bad intentions. The previous emperor died suddenly, and I was appointed to the throne. Sitting on the high dragon chair, I looked down at the corrupt scholars and the rotten atmosphere in the court. After counting carefully, I found that there was not a single person who could take on the important task. For a moment, I felt a chill in my heart and felt attacked from all sides."

Xue Xiao rested one hand on his knee, his eyes motionless.

The saint turned around and saw a tall and handsome young man in his early twenties.

Putting aside the pale lips and thin figure, just looking at the sparse eyebrows, calm eyes, extremely high nose bridge and slightly protruding nose hump, it is like seeing green mountains and cypresses rising from the lush mountaintops and rushing into the eyes.

"When officials are corrupt, the atmosphere becomes corrupt; when the atmosphere becomes corrupt, the people suffer. Over time, it is like termites eating away at a dam. Once a flood comes, the dynasty will collapse."

The saint covered his lips with his sleeve and coughed lightly, his brows still calm and peaceful: "Back then, you and I built this Tianbao Temple and gave you this plaque, hoping that you and I could do our best to save the country like a mayfly shaking a tree."

"The four characters 'Perseverance, Faith, Courage and Truth' are what I expect of my ministers."

The saint paused and said, "Qishu, tell me, are you worthy of this expectation now?"

Xue Xiao paused, then calmly replied: "Your Majesty, I am worthy of this humble servant."

The saint smiled, his smile was light and open: "How could Xue Changfeng suddenly fall ill? Was it you who did it?"

Xue Xiao shook his head: "No."

"But you condoned the actions of others?" the saint asked again.

Xue Xiao lowered his head and did not reply.

The saint slowly sat down on the armchair very close to Xue Xiao: "You said that there was a 'Qingfeng' in Jiangnan, who was well connected with the upper and lower levels, and would not do anything without profit, and did all kinds of unscrupulous things such as selling official positions, reselling people, and using others as a substitute - I was terrified and shocked when I heard it. I knew that the court was chaotic and the officials from Jiangnan protected each other and were closely linked, but I couldn't believe that the world was so filthy!"

"I asked you for evidence, but you couldn't produce anything."

There is no tea in the mansion: The Censorate has never been a place for entertaining guests.

The saint did not ask for tea, but said calmly to Wu Daban beside him: "Pour me a pot of warm water - my throat is a little itchy."

Wu Daban hunched over and responded. He first turned sideways to take out a silver medicine pot from his bosom, put a piece of silk on his hand, poured out a sugar-coated oral pill, and presented it respectfully: "Please put it in your mouth first, it will relieve your asthma!" Then he stepped aside to pour water.

The saint took the pill in his mouth, and the cool feeling instantly made his throat feel much better. "Now, I finally seized the opportunity to bring down Xue Changfeng, who was related to 'Qingfeng'. He was also involved in the death of Brother Huai. Interrogation, interrogation, you have interrogated hundreds of thousands of people, don't you know what interrogation is like? It's nothing more than you pulling me, you retreating and I advancing, it's all about patience and tug of war."

The saint closed his eyes as if he was a little tired. "You deliberately let Xue Changfeng fall for your own selfish reasons. I know you did it for your mother. I know I shouldn't blame you, but I still can't help but feel sorry for you."

Xue Xiao remained silent and looked at the uneven ground.

The silence was unbearable.

Fortunately, both the king and his minister are people with great patience.

Wu Daban held the whisk between his arms and a bowl of hot water in both hands. He cried out "Ouch" and stumbled, almost falling to the ground. He looked down and found that the big black dog guarding the gate had fallen off the ground at some point and was lying on the ground with its legs spread out!

"Hey - this dog! It's so black that people can't see it!" Wu Daban wanted to beat it with his whisk - just think about it, but don't beat it. Xue Xiao, the most precious thing to Xue Yushi is this dog and the bird at home. The furry and horned one became the bird king of Xue Mansion, and the other became the dog door god of Tianbao Temple. They are both amazing people.
"Swish—" Xue Xiao blew a whistle lightly and raised his eyes slightly: "Zhuifeng, come here."

The big black dog wagged its tail and walked over lazily.

Xue Xiao stretched out his hand.

The big black dog Zhuifeng looked big and honest, with drooping eyelids, opening his wide mouth, stroking his tongue, and spitting out something.

Xue Xiao said in a low voice: "Xue Changfeng is a mediocre and stupid person. He can never be used as a breakthrough point. Instead, he is just a bait. I deliberately spread the news of the death of the former crown prince, and someone immediately assassinated Xue Changfeng. This is enough to prove that there is something fishy about the death of the former crown prince."

Xue Xiao wiped the vomit from the dog's mouth and handed it to Wu Daban with both hands: "This is the hidden button that Zhuifeng bit off from the black-clothed man who attacked Tianbao Temple four days ago."

Wu Daban couldn't help but exclaimed: This dog loves to stand up and pounce on people's waists! He must have taken advantage of the time to pounce on people's waists and secretly bit off the hidden button on their waists!
This piece of shit!

He looks honest, but he doesn't do anything wrong!
In Xue Xiao's palm, there was a black wooden buckle.

The material and style are ordinary, and there is no clue at all.

Xue Xiao stretched out his hand, and Luo Feng handed him a small jar of ink. Xue Xiao dipped the button into the ink with his backhand.

The vermilion mark instantly revealed all the bumps and depressions on the button.

There is a tiny butterfly engraved on the small button.

The butterfly flaps its wings, intending to fly into the sky.

"This butterfly is called Qingfeng, and it is unique to Songjiang Prefecture."

Xue Xiao raised his eyes and said, "Sage, because of my selfishness, I have abandoned the clue of Xue Changfeng. Then I will naturally give you a better and more convincing evidence."

The saint said lightly: "So, there is indeed a 'Green Phoenix', and Brother Hui's death is definitely related to the 'Green Phoenix'?"

Xue Xiao lowered his eyes: "It's more than that."

"Luo Feng hid under the eaves, following the dark shadow that attacked Tianbao Temple day and night all the way north, and finally... arrived at the Grand Princess Jing'an's residence."

Xue Xiao's voice was extremely low.

The saint was stunned for a moment, and then his throat felt itchy. He covered his lips with one hand and coughed muffledly.

Wu Daban rushed forward and patted the saint's back: "Calm down, calm down! Don't think too much!"

The saint took a deep breath, his chest heaving violently, but he still waved his hand to signal Xue Xiao to go out - even if it was Xue Qishu, the saint was not used to exposing his illness in front of others.

Xue Xiao lowered his head and walked out.

Wu Daban took out a mint sachet and asked the Saint to breathe deeply to calm his breath. The Saint gradually calmed down. Wu Daban was so angry that he wanted to kill a dog: "I will go and warn Censor Xue! Don't act so rashly! - He has too big ideas. How can he be a minister like this!"

The saint grabbed Wu Daban's wrist.

Wu Daban was furious and said, "How can he look like this and not be worthy of the words on the plaque?"

"It's worthy of the name."

The saint's breath was a little weak, and his voice was intermittent: "Resolute, faithful, brave, and true - there is no loyalty in it. He can have his own thoughts, as long as the result is correct."

Wu Daban couldn't bear to see the emperor and nobles who had been raised by him like this, so he changed from anxious to sympathetic, and said sharply: "You are a saint! You are the Son of Heaven! As a minister, we can't plot against you like this!"

The saint took a few deep breaths, calmed down a lot, raised his eyes, and looked at the narrow cave entrance: "Above all the people, there is the emperor, there is me, there is my lonely family, how can I not be plotted against?"

One person is in the air, and ten thousand people are looking up at him. You can only see their smiling faces - and everyone will only let you see their smiling faces.
But Xue Xiao was not like that.

He could see through Xue Xiao's smiling face, his silence, and even his calculations, despair, and struggle like a trapped beast.
That's fine.

There is no need for him to doubt or be suspicious.