Jiuxi

Chapter 873 871 [The Road Back]

After spitting out a mouthful of blood, Li Shizhi calmed down instead, as if the blood was the depressed anger that had been pent up in his heart for many years.

He raised his hand to wipe the corner of his mouth and nodded, "Good scolding."

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. He certainly didn't come here to deliberately humiliate Li Shizhi today - it wasn't that he thought there was anything wrong with doing so, but there were many important things waiting for him to arrange right now, so he didn't have the leisure to come here and curse at others.

Li Shizhi took a little time to tidy up his appearance. Even in this prisoner environment, he still had to maintain the most basic composure.

He looked up at Lu Chen and said slowly, "Forty-nine years ago, I was born in the ancestral home of the Li family in Jinlin County. As the eldest grandson of the eldest son, I have been carrying the expectations of this huge family since the moment I was born. From the beginning of my memory, my life has been fulfilling and boring. My father hopes that I can inherit the family business, and his requirements for me are far higher than those of other peers, even to the point of being extremely strict. Others can win praise from the whole room if they can recite a model essay at the age of seven or eight, but what I have done is just the most basic performance."

Lu Chen raised the corner of his mouth slightly, signaling the other party to continue.

Li Shizhi recalled the past and said in a low voice: "Now your reputation is known all over the country. Countless young talents take you as their role model. People all over the world are telling stories about you. They all say that you are a natural talent, a rare genius in the 170-year history of the Great Qi Dynasty. In fact, I want to say that if it weren't for those people who interfered back then, maybe I could also be famous throughout the world."

Lu Chen did not mock directly. He looked around and sat opposite Li Shizhi. He said calmly, "When I went to Jinlin County to visit the old prime minister, I heard him mention that you have shown extraordinary talent since you were a child. You won the first place in the county exam at the age of twelve, the first place in the prefecture exam at the age of fourteen, and the first place in the state exam at the age of fifteen. According to the saying in the imperial examination field, you should be called a small third place. Although it is not unprecedented, it is also a remarkable achievement."

The reason why Li Shizhi was chosen by Li Daoyan as the heir was certainly not just because of his status as the eldest son. In fact, from the time he started school to the tenth year of Jianwu, during the more than 30 years in between, he had always been a very outstanding child of aristocratic family. His academic research, official duties, and conduct were almost impeccable. Otherwise, how could Li Daoyan hand over power to him step by step?

"The first place in the imperial examination was indeed the first achievement in my life that made me stand out. In addition, I won the provincial examination again two years later, and it was in the prosperous place of Jiangnan, where I defeated countless young talents. I couldn't help but feel a little proud and wanted to become the first scholar in the history of Da Qi to win the sixth place. Even if I don't make any achievements in the future, this achievement alone will make me famous in history."

Li Shizhi laughed at himself. It was obvious that even though decades had passed, he still could not forget his initial anger. He then said in a deep voice, "The following year, I went to Heluo with full confidence to take part in the examination. After three days and nights of hard work, I finally finished the first and most important answer sheet. However, the examinee in the next room ran around like a madman, knocking over the inkstone on my desk, and spilling ink on the answer sheet I had just copied."

Lu Chen had never heard Li Daoyan mention this before, so he asked, "Accident?"

"Perhaps. That candidate was disqualified and will never be allowed to enter the Imperial College again, but I also lost the chance to pass the imperial examination."

Li Shizhi took a deep breath and continued, "I was only eighteen years old at that time, an ambitious age. How could I be defeated by an accident? Three years later, I took part in the Spring Examination again. I did not encounter any crazy candidates, but I was reported for cheating. Although I was found innocent in the end, I had already lost my precious opportunity. In six years, I went from being a child prodigy praised by everyone in Jiangnan to a ridiculous joke."

Lu Chen frowned slightly and asked, "Who is targeting you?"

Li Shizhi sneered, "They were the Jiangbei clans that controlled the court at the time. I finally passed the fourth imperial examination when I was 24 years old. It was not because those people had a change of heart, but because my father was finally squeezed out of the court by them and transferred from the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works to the Governor of Xinzhou. Perhaps my father was no longer a threat in their eyes, so there was no need to target me. Now you should understand that the dispute between the north and the south was never a rumor, but naked oppression, framing and struggle."

Lu Chen roughly understood his mental journey, so he said calmly: "No wonder you couldn't stay in the Hanlin Academy and were sent to the impoverished Chengzhou Yitong Prefecture."

“Good fortune and bad fortune are hard to predict.”

Li Shizhi showed a hint of sarcasm and said softly, "Emperor Chengzong was incompetent and incompetent, not even a hair of the previous emperor. Even my father was forced to leave the center of power because he believed in slander. How could he care about a young junior like me? Nineteen years ago, I was looking at the mountains and rivers in the north of Yitong Prefecture, and suddenly learned that the Jing army broke through Heluo and Emperor Chengzong burned himself in the palace. At that moment, I didn't have too much fear and panic, but instead added a bit of joy and relief. You should know the story after that. The previous emperor hurriedly crossed the river to the south, and my father and Dongyang County Prince Han Gong welcomed him together and supported him to ascend the throne in Yongjia."

Lu Chen said: "In other words, your ambition began to grow from that time?"

"No."

Li Shizhi shook his head and said frankly, "I just think that the world is really treacherous. The Jiangbei clans that once held power in the court surrendered to the Jing army's iron cavalry, while the Jiangnan clans that had been excluded, suppressed and humiliated countless times helped the late emperor to support the Great Qi Dynasty. Isn't this ironic enough? I admit that the Jiangnan clans gained a lot of benefits in this process, but you can't deny that if my father hadn't united the clans to provide money and people, even if the late emperor was gifted, he wouldn't have been able to keep this half of the country."

Lu was silent.

In fact, he never denied this, not only out of admiration for Li Daoyan, but also because he knew that the more than 200,000 border troops in Jiangbei had been relying on the financial support of Jiangnan.

"My father, as the leader of the Jiangnan clan, has gradually turned his back on the aristocratic families that supported him in his monopoly of power, and has stood on the side of the late emperor time and time again when faced with choices. You always talk about the Northern Expedition, but how have the northerners oppressed the southerners over the past hundred years? As the eldest son of Li Daoyan and the heir of the Jinlin Li family, it is a luxury for me to even participate in a safe imperial examination, let alone others? Even if you can succeed in the Northern Expedition and the Emperor of the Great Qi reigns over Heluo, what will happen?"

Li Shizhi had a mocking smile on his face and said sternly, "Are we going to go back to the situation that has lasted for a hundred years? Are we going to see the northerners dominate the southerners again? Why?"

"I can understand the resentment in your heart, and I can also accept the reasons why you oppose the Northern Expedition. After all, everyone is in a different position, so naturally they look at the problem from a different perspective."

Lu Chen spoke calmly, then changed the subject and said, "But this is not a reason for you to covet the imperial power. No matter the late emperor or Li Zongben, they have never owed the old prime minister, you, or even the entire Jinlin Li family. The fact that your Li family can stand out from the Jiangnan nobles is the reward given by the late emperor to the old prime minister."

Li Shizhi lowered his head and brows for a long time before he said, "The winner is the king and the loser is the bandit."

Lu Chen shook his head and said, "You have no chance of success from the beginning to the end." This time Li Shizhi did not refute. Perhaps it was because Lu Chen had listened to him patiently telling about those old stories before, or because of Lu Chen's initial sharp words that made him vomit blood, which made him give up the idea of ​​continuing the verbal dispute.

He raised his head slightly desolately and said slowly: "Actually, I know what answer you want today."

Lu Chen said: "Tell me about it."

"Although you are my most hated rival, I have to admit that you have the temperament to achieve great things. You are not arrogant or carried away by young people at all, so you certainly won't come here just to humiliate me. It would be a waste of energy for you."

Li Shizhi gradually revealed his depressed mood, and his tone became gloomy: "At this point, there is no need for me to hide it anymore, because I will die anyway."

Lu Chen looked at him steadily.

Li Shizhi met his gaze and said frankly, "I did not murder the late emperor. What Gui Qiuliang saw was all an illusion. I just used some means to make him believe that he did not fulfill his duties, which led to the late emperor being murdered and his condition worsening. The death of the late emperor was due to his long-term overwork, and on the other hand, he did not maintain a more reliable treatment method in order to lure the king and ministers of Jingguo into the trap. As for the death of the eldest prince, it certainly made the late emperor heartbroken, but it would not make him give up treatment."

This is the real reason why Lu Chen came here.

Li Shizhi sighed and said in confusion: "I don't quite understand why you are so obsessed with this. Even if I murdered the late emperor, what would it do to you other than increase your anger? Even if you tortured and abused me in every way, it really doesn't matter to me."

Lu Chen said calmly: "When the old prime minister left, he took away a baby in swaddling clothes."

Li Shizhi's face changed drastically and he sat up straight abruptly.

Lu Chen continued, "Your youngest grandson is only three months old. The old prime minister left me a letter saying that this baby has nothing to do with you. If he can grow up safely, he will be the offspring of one of your cousins ​​and has nothing to do with the regicide crime of Li Shizhi. When he grows up, he will spit on you, the sinner of the Li family, countless times, because you have made the Jinlin Li family a target of public criticism and there will be no chance of getting back on their feet within a hundred years."

How could Li Shizhi not understand at this time that if he had done such a thing to the late emperor, Lu Chen would never be soft-hearted given his temper. Even if Li Daoyan promised that the baby would never know his own life experience, Lu Chen would not allow Li Shizhi's bloodline to continue.

"Also, Cui Yu is dead."

Lu Chen stood up and repeated Cui Yu's last words. Looking at Li Shizhi's pale face, he said expressionlessly, "It's a pity that so many talented people died because of your foolish ambition. This is probably the most absurd, saddest, and most hateful thing in the world."

After saying that, he did not stop and turned to walk out of the cell.

Li Shizhi stared blankly ahead, as if he didn't notice Lu Chen's departure, nor did he hear the sound of the prison door being locked again.

Countless images flashed through his mind.

When you are young and full of success, the road to fame and fortune is bumpy and tortuous.

Forty-nine years of life, thirty-two years of ups and downs.

Sadness and joy, honor and disgrace, success and failure, will eventually turn into nothingness.

Countless familiar faces appeared in his sight. They said nothing, but just looked at him silently.

Or disappointment, anger, hatred, or ridicule.

It turns out that this life is nothing but self-deception.

Li Shizhi showed an expression that seemed like he was half crying and half laughing. He stood up and slowly knelt on the hard ground.

Then he leaned over with difficulty.

Keep bowing.

(End of this chapter)