After picking up the White Cut Black Prince

The following days passed in the blink of an eye, and tomorrow is June 30th, the day when the Qi family will hold a polo match in the suburbs of Beijing.

That evening, Huang Jian carefully turned into the entrance of Yong'an Lane, looked left and right, and then entered the house at the end of the lane.

The house is not big, but it is more than enough for a young girl to live in. Huang Jian just came here from the Ministry of Rites after finishing his shift. He calmed down before entering the house and tried his best to smile.

In his hand, he was holding a string of candied haws, which he had bought when he saw them on the road.

There was only a small lamp burning in the room. The light flickered, casting the thin figure of the little girl on the wall, swaying again and again.

She sat on the chair with a tense expression. When she saw the door open, she visibly shuddered. But when she saw it was Huang Jian, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, walked up to him, and called out, "Uncle."

Huang Jian bent down and touched her head, as a response to her words. He handed her the candied haws in his hand and said, "Xiaoqing, candied haws."

After hearing this, the girl named Xiaoqing reached out and took the candied haws.

Xiaoqing is only twelve years old. She is not very tall, but she looks very sweet. Her eyes are almond-shaped, watery and sparkling on her palm-sized face.

Huang Jian looked down at her and couldn't help sighing in his heart. The little girl suffered misfortune because she was born too beautiful.

Huang Jian said, "Good boy, let's sit down and eat slowly."

Xiaoqing refused to sit down. She held the candied haws but didn't eat them. She looked up at Huang Jian and said, "Uncle, have I caused you any trouble? I see you seem to be very busy these days. Is it because I am not as good as you, please send me back to grandma's house?"

Huang Jian forced a smile, but he was already in his forties, and this smile brought all the wrinkles to his brows, making the smile seem particularly forced.

Huang Jian smiled and said, "What does it have to do with you? It's your uncle who failed to protect you. It's not safe now. After a few days, your uncle will make arrangements and your grandma will come to take you. You and your grandma will move to another place after you go back. If someone asks you if you know your uncle in the future, you just say you don't know him and have never seen him. Do you understand?"

Huang Jian's words sounded as if some disaster was about to happen. Even though she was young, she could tell something was wrong. She had been frightened quite a bit these days, and she burst into tears when she heard Huang Jian's words.

"Uncle, Xiaoqing only has you and grandma. Doesn't uncle want Xiaoqing anymore?"

Huang Jian's eyes were also filled with tears. He was afraid that the little girl would think too much, so he hurriedly said, "It's not that uncle doesn't want you anymore, it's just too dangerous here. This time uncle saved you, but what about next time? Xiaoqing, the world is not peaceful now, you have to be obedient and be good to grandma."

Xiaoqing and her grandmother lived in the countryside, relying on each other for survival, and they didn't even have any other relatives. Only Jian would send people to give them some things during the holidays, and then after the New Year, he would bring a lot of things to their place and have a reunion dinner with them. And every time it was Xiaoqing's birthday, Huang Jian would find opportunities to visit her with gifts. Even when the two of them were bullied, he would rush to the village to help them.

Xiaoqing asked who Huang Jian was, and Huang Jian only told her that he was her father's friend, and he didn't say anything else. Xiaoqing also asked her grandmother, and she said that Huang Jian was their benefactor.

Huang Jian knew that Xiaoqing had a miserable life without a father or a mother, so he had been trying his best to play the role of a father in her life. Although he couldn't make her life very good, at least he could make her live in peace.

But a few days ago, Xiaoqing was kidnapped by a group of human traffickers in the village. Her grandmother was terrified and had no choice but to ask Huang Jian for help. After hearing about this, Huang Jian quickly used his connections to find someone. Fortunately, after finding the person, Xiaoqing was still fine. Later, Huang Jian discovered that those human traffickers specifically looked for girls like Xiaoqing, who were half-developed, around 12 or 13 years old, and some were even boys.

After Huang Jian rescued Xiaoqing, he temporarily placed her here. He planned to move them somewhere else after her grandmother's place was sorted out in a few days to prevent the human traffickers from coming back.

Huang Jian thought that the traffickers wanted to sell these girls to the dignitaries in Kyoto. After all, those powerful people had a tendency in recent days to like these half-open girls, and there were even many who liked boys.

But what could he do even if he knew all this? He had threatened to report to the police in the beginning, but the traffickers adhered to the principle of less trouble is worse than more, and seeing that Huang Jian was accompanied by many servants and was wearing official uniforms, they barely allowed him to save the children in the car.

There were always many dirty things happening under the emperor's feet. He was just a fifth-rank official and could only save the lives of a carload of children at most. He could not do anything else, no matter how many more.

The treacherous party is in power, killing all loyal and good people, while the emperor is incompetent and the nobles only seek to protect themselves.
There is filth everywhere under the imperial city.
What kind of world is this?

Because of this incident, Huang Jian looked at the girl in front of him and thought of his deceased master again.

His teacher, the teacher who taught him and answered his questions.

The nearly fifty-year-old Taifu was accused of corruption and sentenced to death. The evidence of his crimes was presented to the emperor. After all, he was his teacher who had taught him for more than ten years. That year, Emperor Linghui was twenty years old. The emperor was heartbroken and the ministers forced him to issue an order to execute the treacherous minister. Emperor Linghui was unwilling, so the ministers knelt in front of the Jinluan Palace for a long time. Taifu couldn't bear the emperor being so embarrassed, and finally hit his head against the wall in front of the Jinluan Palace and died.

"Grand Tutor! Teacher!" Emperor Linghui's shrill cries lingered in his ears.

The death of the Grand Tutor was a heart-wrenching pain for Emperor Linghui, and it also sowed the seeds for future imperial chaos.

Huang Jian was also present at that disaster.

In the twelfth year of Linghui, Master Wen died in that bone-chilling winter, but it seemed that Master Wen was not the only one who died.

The image of the Grand Tutor's face oozing blood came into Huang Jian's mind again. He could not help crying. He was in his forties and had white hair on his head, but he cried like a child.

At that time, the people of the Wen family were exiled or killed, and the women with outstanding appearance were stuffed into the Jiaofangsi. Xiaoqing's mother was the daughter of Master Wen. She was outstanding in appearance and had not married yet in her twenties. After the Wen family got into trouble, she was selected into the Jiaofangsi because of her outstanding appearance.

The daughter of the Imperial Tutor could not escape her fate. She was forced to be escorted to and from the Imperial Academy every day, and finally became pregnant. She could neither live nor die, and was watched over every day. In the end, she could not survive and died after giving birth to the child.

She was visited by many dignitaries every day, but she had no idea who the father of her child was. Because she was the descendant of a criminal, they despised her for being unlucky. They threw her body and her newborn baby into a mass grave, and Huang Jian was able to retrieve her body and the child.

That child is Xiaoqing who has grown up now.

She is the descendant of the Wen family, the only descendant.

And her grandmother was also a servant of the Wen family and the wet nurse of Xiaoqing's mother.

When Xiaoqing saw Huang Jian crying so sadly, she thought she had made him angry and sad.

She cried, "Uncle, don't be angry, I'll leave, don't cry anymore."

Xiaoqing's voice made Huang Jian even more unbearable, and they both cried together.

Huang Jian stayed here for another hour. Xiaoqing finally got tired of crying and fell asleep in his arms. Huang Jian wiped the tears from her face, put her on the bed, and then tiptoed out the door.

He locked the door carefully and checked again and again to make sure everything was safe before leaving.

It was a dark night. When Ran Fang turned around, someone patted him on the shoulder.

Huang Jian was shocked and looked back.

The man was dressed in black night clothes and his face was covered with a veil. He almost blended into the night. Huang Jian had no idea who he was.

This place is remote, if you don't come here intentionally, how can you meet him? He forced himself to be calm and asked, "Who is it?"

The man in black didn't waste any time and didn't intend to argue with him, so he just took off his mask.

"It's you?!"

Huang Jian had met this man several times. He was Han Qi, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard serving Emperor Linghui.

Huang Jian's heart was filled with alarm. He asked, "Commander, what's the meaning of following me? Did Fang Xiu ask you to follow me?"

The first eunuch of the Dazhao Dynasty was now addressed by Huang Jian by his name, even in front of the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Han Qi laughed and said, "Master Huang, why are you so resentful? I came to you this time because I have something serious to discuss. You don't have to regard me as Fang Xiu's running dog."

"I don't have to regard you as Fang Xiu's running dog." Huang Jian repeated Han Qi's words, then sneered, and continued in a cold voice: "You are in cahoots with each other. The Imperial Household Department, the Eastern Depot, and the Embroidered Uniform Guards are all involved. How can I, Huang Jian, deserve your respectful address of "Sir"! What is your intention in following me this time! If I have offended you again, you can take my life!"

Han Qi did not respond to his words, but said: "If you really offended Fang Xiu, you would not be alive today. They can even kill the master, so what about you?"

"Don't mention the Master!"

Huang Jian said angrily, afraid of alarming Xiaoqing in the room, so he only dared to roar. However, even so, he still strangled Han Qi's next words.

Han Qi really stopped talking about this topic. He said in silence, "Huang Qingwei, I am the only one who knows what kind of person you are. Otherwise, with your temper, I would not have talked to you today."

Qingwei is Huang Jian's pen name.

He continued, "I know that the little girl inside is important to you, but are those human traffickers just simple human traffickers who capture young boys and girls and sell them to rich families as pedophiles?"

"It's not like this?"

Han Qi said in a deep voice: "If that's the case, how can those human traffickers have the courage to do such things? In Kyoto, the human trafficking is strictly regulated. It is clearly written in the Dazhao Law that those who buy and sell children will be punished by skinning and pulling out tendons. Why do you think they dare to do such life-threatening business under the feet of the emperor? Let me ask you, this matter involves too many things, do you want to listen?"

Huang Jian said: "Now that things have come to this, I can guess most of what you said without you saying anything. You dare to do it because there is someone behind you, so you have nothing to fear."

The night was quiet. Huang Jian paused, stretched out his hand, pointed to the sky, looked directly at Han Qi and said, "There is someone covering their heads. It is the darkest sky that covers the people of Dazhao - the He family."

"Right?"

Han Qi didn't expect Huang Jian to be able to guess the person behind the scenes right away, and said, "Sure enough, someone who can get the third place in the imperial examination can't be stupid."

Han Qi thought about what he was about to say, and his throat couldn't help but become dry and hoarse. He cleared his throat and said, "Since you can guess this, I won't try to hide it anymore."

He talked about what the He family had done.

"He Hong and his men have set up a manor in the suburbs of the northern part of Kyoto, more than ten miles away. Do you know what those manors are used for?" He didn't want Huang Jian to answer, so he pointed to the door of Xiaoqing's room and continued, "Children her age are locked inside. Some of them were bought from human traffickers, but you should also know that there are not so many parents willing to sell their children in this world. If they just buy from human traffickers, it's not enough, so they get these children from various other channels, secretly snatching them, and there are ways everywhere. In short, it doesn't matter whether they are men or women, or ages, from eleven to thirteen at most, as long as they are good-looking. They locked these children up in the manor, and as for what they are used for, you can imagine."

"Crazy! He is so cruel and crazy, worse than beasts!" Huang Jian was so angry that his chest heaved up and down after he said this.

Han Qi saw him like this, and waited for him to calm down before continuing, "It's more than that. If it's really for the He family's enjoyment, there's no need for so many. They have a great demand for these children, because not only the He family, but they also bring along officials in the court who have a close personal relationship with them, and use this to consolidate their alliance. Those officials and ministers are well-dressed during the day, but when they take off their clothes, they are worse than beasts. As for the secret manor, as long as an official goes there, someone will die every two days."

Han Qi said such horrifying words in a calm voice, so calm that it was numb. He said, "Is it scary? That place is their paradise, but it is the abyss of hell for those children."

Huang Jian's eyes were already filled with tears. He covered his face and said, "If you know all this, you are also inseparable from them. Why did you come to tell me?"

How could Han Qi know such a secret? At this moment, the night wind was blowing again and again. There were many trees planted in the yards of each household in the alley. The leaves were blown by the wind, and the rustling sound was like a child's sobbing. For a moment, the sky was gloomy and the earth was miserable.

Han Qi said, "I can't argue with that. You're right. They are dirty, and I'm not much clean. The reason why I found out that you rescued the girl from the traffickers is because I'm in the same group with them. You know, when you ordered the traffickers to release a carload of children that day, they turned around and told me. You're lucky that you told me, otherwise, He Hong and the others probably wouldn't let you go."

"Why tell you?"

"I am Fang Xiu's man. I have had contact with He Hong and his gang. All crows are black. They have been mixed up with each other for a long time. I don't believe you don't know. Fang Xiu has also been to that secret village. I have been there too!"

Tears rolled down his cheeks. Huang Jian pointed at him, his fingers trembling. He said, "So, you did it too!"

Han Qi cursed in a low voice, "How can I be such a beast! My child is so old, how can I do it! But if I don't do it, how can they feel at ease? If those things are exposed, no matter how powerful they are, it will be difficult to cover it up. They are worried about me and will drag me down with them. Seeing that I am determined not to do anything to the child, they let me use my duties as a Jinyiwei to help them buy and sell children. So, when those traffickers get into trouble, they come to find me first."

Han Qi was also in agony. He was disgusted by their behavior, but if he didn't listen to them, he believed that his child would be kidnapped here. But fortunately, He Hong only asked him to keep an eye on the traffickers, as long as nothing went wrong. Han Qi was only half-hearted about this matter, and he felt disgusted when he saw it. But no matter how disgusted he was, there was nothing he could do.

The previous commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard died, and it was said that he died suddenly and accidentally, but his family members were implicated after his death. The word "accidentally" was most likely intentional.

Han Qi knew that the previous commander was a hot-tempered man who refused to be cannibalized by the eunuch Fang Xiu, a high eunuch in the inner court. He fought with him for three years, but was ultimately defeated in the struggle between the eunuchs and the Jinyiwei. Since then, the Jinyiwei could no longer hold their heads up in front of the eunuchs in the inner court.

He is tough, but does he use his life to be tough?
If he doesn't listen to Fang Xiu and the others, I'm afraid someone will come and take his place soon.

Huang Jian saw that he was in collusion with those people and angrily shouted: "If this is the case, what is there to talk about between you and me!"

"Do you think I want to? How can they feel at ease if I don't get involved with them?! Their power is intertwined and intertwined. When the young emperor ascended the throne, Fang Xiu was his companion in the palace and ascended the throne with him. After all, he has been with the emperor since he was born! He took care of the emperor for nine years. Before he ascended the throne, everyone called him 'Fang Daban'. After he ascended the throne, relying on the young age of the emperor, he colluded with the people of the He family and became his friends. The most powerful eunuch in the inner court colluded with a powerful family in the outer court and wanted to swallow the emperor. When Prime Minister Song was alive, he couldn't do anything to them. Tell me, why should I go against them!"

Huang Jian saw him mention Prime Minister Song, the teacher who had taught him in the Imperial College, and he showed disgust in his eyes, saying: "Prime Minister Song can't do anything to them? The Song family has never thought of doing anything to them. That piece of black sky can't cover their heads, why should they go against them. When the Grand Tutor intended to implement the new policy, Prime Minister Song did not oppose it openly, but behind the scenes, he delayed the matter again and again, and even stabbed him in the back. Isn't it because he doesn't want to cause trouble?"

Huang Jian didn't want to bring up those old things again. So many years had passed, so what was the point?

He finally asked, "So why did you come to me today? Why did you tell me all this?"

Han Qi said, "Huang Qingwei, another girl died in the village. She was tortured to death by them. In troubled times, it is usually women, the elderly, and children who die. In peaceful times, they are the first to die amidst the undercurrents. When the nest is overturned, no egg can remain intact. Today those boys and girls died, who will die tomorrow?"

Huang Jian said: "So, you told me this because you want me to expose them? What? Are you afraid that they will hurt your family, and then I will have no family?"

Han Qi said, "It's not about exposing it. Tomorrow the Qi family will hold a polo match in the suburbs of Beijing. There will be many people going. It just so happens that the polo field is close to the secret village. I can steal the body of the girl and throw it over there. In this way, I can make things clear. Song Yusheng, the Minister of the Dali Temple, will also be there tomorrow." He paused and continued, "He may be in charge of this matter, but the secret village is very hidden. If no one provides some clues, it will be difficult to find it."

It was already very difficult for Han Qi to steal the corpse. Moreover, although he did it behind the scenes, he had violated a great taboo. If he was discovered, he would probably be torn into pieces by the He family and Fang Xiu's people.

Huang Jian said: "So you want me to be the one who provides clues, right?"

Han Qi nodded and said, "But if you say that, you never know if you will be targeted by the He family."

Huang Jian asked: "Why do you think I am willing? And why should I trust you? Or, why did you betray them?"

Han Qi's expression was also somewhat miserable. "You didn't let me mention the Grand Tutor, but I have to mention it this time. I know that you can't let go of the Grand Tutor's tragic death. The new policy couldn't be pushed forward because it touched the interests of those old parties. The Grand Tutor couldn't get rid of the He family and was killed by the He family. They killed the Grand Tutor and killed the emperor's heart."

Han Qi pointed to the sky and said, "You ask me why I betrayed them? Because this is such a big world, we can't let dark clouds cover it forever."

Han Qi said, "You know, the emperor was a good emperor before, and I don't want to betray him. In the autumn hunt of the tenth year of Linghui, the emperor was only eighteen years old. When the emperor was hunting that time, a ferocious beast jumped out from nowhere and almost injured the emperor. The empress dowager was furious and wanted to order the killing of all the people who followed him that day as a punishment. My father was among them at that time, and he was only a captain of the Jinyiwei, and he almost died with them. The empress dowager's anger could not be calmed down, but the emperor could not bear to see them die, so he pleaded guilty and took all the faults on himself, and knelt down in front of the empress dowager without saying a word."

“In this way, those people, including my father, were pardoned from the death penalty.”

The young emperor was constantly taught and tamed by the Empress Dowager and his teachers, and had developed such a cowardly character. He was given the mandate by heaven, and if his actions violated the will of heaven, he would be punished. His temper was worn away by kneeling again and again, which was exactly what they wanted.

Han Qi said: "I respect His Majesty, but I need a life to do so. I only ask you if you are willing to join me. If not, we will pretend that this has never happened."

Huang Jian was silent for a moment. If he was discovered, he would suffer more than just death. However, his heart couldn't stop beating up and down just thinking about what he was about to do. He seemed to recall what Wen Lilian had said to him.

Huang Jian once asked Wen Lilian, "Sir, what if the new policy cannot be implemented? Should we continue even at the cost of our lives?"

Wen Lilian said to him, and he still remembers it. He said, "Whatever your heart desires, you should go forward with your feet. People live in this world, walking between heaven and earth. I don't want to live a life of greed. Even if this thing fails, I will be happy to die."

Death is sweet.

The words of the Grand Tutor back then sent out a deafening echo, hitting Huang Jian today.

Back then, Huang Jian was a successful scholar who was so proud of himself that he could see all the flowers in Chang'an in one day. But now, more than ten years have passed, and he has become like this.

Huang Jian's eyes seemed to be filled with tears, which were particularly clear in the dark night. He murmured to himself, "I am willing to die. This is how it should be. It should have been like this a long time ago. The teacher taught me how to be a good person, but now that he is dead, how can I live alone?"

When Han Qi heard his words, he even felt a little bit of the desire to perish together with his foe. He knew that he would do this thing, even at the cost of his life.

*
June 30th has arrived as scheduled. The weather is nice and it is a sunny day. The sun has risen from the east before dawn.

Because she had something on her mind, Wen Chu woke up very early today, more than two quarters of an hour earlier than usual. After she got up, her heart was beating very fast, and she was always worried. She could guess that if she failed to escape this time, she would be killed without a burial place after being caught by Song Yusheng.

No one can tolerate repeated deception and betrayal, especially since she had made a promise to him that she would always be with him.

Wen Chu was almost deceived by Song Yusheng last time. He was such a good man who took advantage of others. Moreover, he said such affectionate words to her that even Wen Chu almost felt a little moved. But when Song Yusheng's handsome face that looked like a banished immortal disappeared from her sight, Wen Chu quickly came to her senses.

What the hell is this Prince's wife? What the hell is this marriage? It sounds like it's a great thing, but he just wants to use this to tie her to his side and make her stay in the Song family mansion for the rest of her life.

If you think back to the past, you can see that Song Yusheng doesn't even know what love is, and he still talks about getting married. What does marriage mean to him?
If he wants to sink, she will not sink with him.

Wen Chu stood up and went to the closet, and took out the silver notes that she had received after betraying Song Yusheng. Last time, she broke a hundred-liang silver note and gave some to Aunt Yang and Doctor Zhao. Now she put the remaining change into her sleeves, and placed the remaining four hundred liang on the table.

Wen Chu never let herself suffer any loss. After all, she had been Song Yusheng's maid for more than a month, so it couldn't be in vain.

She only took the small change and copper coins, and didn't take anything else. If she took it, it would definitely make Song Yu suspicious. After she took out the money, she found the brocade dress in the closet.

She had never worn this dress before. She reached out and touched it, then just took another look at it, then withdrew her hand and closed the cabinet.

He sat in the room for a while, calmed down, and then went out when it was almost time for Song Yusheng to get up.

When Wen Chu arrived, Song Yusheng had already woken up and was sitting on the edge of the bed in his pajamas, as if he had just gotten up.

His hair was scattered behind him and he lowered his head. He sat quietly by the bed, waiting for Wen Chu.

Wen Chu didn't know what he was thinking, he just looked lost in thought. She walked up to him and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Song Yusheng heard the voice, raised his head and looked at her, a smile appeared on his face, and he said, "It's nothing, I just had a dream and I'm in a state of nightmare."

Song Yusheng doesn't dream often, but when he does, it's usually a nightmare. In the past, his nightmares were all about being abandoned, but after growing up, he no longer had those dreams. But today, he dreamed that Wen Chu was gone, leaving him again.

The more you fear something, the more you will dream about it. Song Yusheng had never worried or been afraid of anything, and he was confident of success in everything. But Wen Chu's matter affected him again and again, and he was even so uneasy and afraid that he dreamed about it. Why was this happening? Song Yusheng never knew, and his palpitations were so severe that he was almost sick.

Song Yusheng was a little scared, afraid that what she said that day was a lie to him.

He exhaled a few times, broke free from the nightmare, and reached out to Wen Chu with some fear.

Wen Chu looked at the fair and slender hand that Song Yusheng stretched out to her. She didn't understand why, but she still stretched out her hand and shook it.

She didn't want anything to go wrong today.

Song Yusheng held her hand, raised his eyes, looked at her and said, "I dreamed of you just now. I dreamed that you ran away."

Being spoken of hits the nail on the head, Wen Chu's heart, which had finally calmed down, suddenly started beating again. When she heard what Song Yusheng said, she lowered her head to look at his face, and sure enough, she saw a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, as if he had had a nightmare.

She forced herself to remain calm, bent down, and used her sleeve to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Dreams are always the opposite, no, this is a nightmare." She smiled casually and continued, "Besides, you promised to marry me and make me the wife of the prince. Isn't that a huge fortune? Why should I run? What's there to run for?"

Song Yusheng looked into her eyes. Her almond-shaped eyes were full of sincerity, and she did not seem to be lying. He nodded and said, "Well, you are right. Dreams are always the opposite. You can tell us the fortune when the time comes, and we will pick an auspicious day."

Song Yusheng's heart beat faster just thinking about that kind of day, and his previous uneasiness was instantly soothed.

He was a little anxious. He wanted to get married with her as soon as possible, the sooner the better. He didn't care even if someone tried to stop him.

God comes to kill God.

No one can stop it.

When Wen Chu heard Song Yusheng say this, she felt her scalp tingling for a moment. At this moment, she felt that Song Yusheng was really terminally ill. He only said this two days ago, but he wanted to pick a good day today.

There is no need to be so anxious even to be reborn.

She was not ashamed to be an emotional liar, but for a cautious man like Song Yusheng, if she didn't use these to deceive his eyes, she couldn't even leave his side.

She laughed dryly and replied, "Okay, I'll settle it when I get back."

When Song Yusheng heard this, he let go of all his guard.
He thought, maybe, there really would be a future.

But I took the wrong path at the beginning, so where should I start from?

(End of this chapter)