Zuo Qiyang raised his eyelids slightly and glanced at the knife handed to him.

The blade shone in a faint glow of dim light from the window behind it.

Ruipeng knelt there straight, waiting for Zuo Qiyang's "trial".

As he said, at this moment, no matter what Zuo Qiyang did with him, he was willing to be punished, even if he took his head, he had no complaints.

"What do I want your head for? Get up first. ”

Unexpectedly, after a long silence, Zuo Qiyang's voice came slowly, but it did not reveal the pain or anger of being betrayed by the person he trusted the most as Ruipeng expected.

Ruipeng looked up at Zuo Qiyang in shock, and stumbled and asked, "My lord...... You...... You don't hate my betrayal? ”

A trace of gloom flashed in Zuo Qiyang's eyes.

If it had been many years ago, when he was still young, maybe he would have killed the young man in front of him. After all, at that time, he had told everyone around him, including his family and friends, that he hated betrayal the most in his life.

But now it's different.

He had long since passed the age of his life, and he himself had turned his back on the people and countries to whom he had been loyal and turned to the enemy country. He has already experienced countless betrayals, from subordinates, from superiors, from colleagues, and even from the people he loves the most......

Time and experience have made him more and more aware of the naivety of his youth, and he finally stopped revealing the softest part of his heart to anyone, let alone believing that someone would never betray him.

So he laughed at Tang Yinbrown's heartfelt and righteous before.

In fact, he is very similar to King Xin in his bones, they only know people and employ people, but they don't really rely on or trust anyone completely. However, he thinks that he is better than King Xin, after all, he uses people with sincerity.

It's just that outside of this sincerity, there is just a bit of suspicion wrapped in it.

Because of that bit of suspicion, he guessed his betrayal from the moment he noticed that Rui Peng's behavior was a little abnormal, so his every move after that was not completely defenseless, so he avoided the embarrassment of being stabbed in the back again but at a loss; And because he used sincerity, he was still sad when he first found out about Ruipeng's transformation, and he didn't want to lose a rare follower so easily, so he still gave him opportunities again and again, waiting for him to take the initiative to confess.

Therefore, when Ruipeng painfully admitted his mistake and even wanted to apologize with death, he still decided to forgive him.

After all, a subordinate who has lost his way is often more reassuring to him than a follower who has always been loyal to him—because they have crossed the line, they know where the line is, and they know the torment of betrayal, so they are less likely to be tempted and swayed by the benefits that follow, because they understand that the consequences are beyond their means.

These are Zuo Qiyang's ways of employing people, and he is familiar with them. Ruipeng didn't understand this, he only knew that he had made a big mistake, and now he might be forgiven by Lord Zuo, so he looked at Zuo Qiyang with antiquity.

"Hate? Of course hate, who in this world would not hate to be betrayed. Zuo Qiyang said calmly, "But hate to hate, I don't want to lose you yet." ”

Ruipeng was shocked when he heard this, tears flashed in his eyes, but he couldn't speak.

Zuo Qiyang sighed, leaned over to Ruipeng's side with his hands on his knees, and said in a low voice: "Ruipeng, you've been with me for ten years, right?" Decade...... How many decades can a person have in a lifetime?

"You know, I still think a lot of times about you when you were brought to me by your father, who hid behind you and didn't dare come out to see me, and your father grabbed you by the collar and carried you up to me. When I asked you, you didn't say a word, and you didn't look at me. Your father is so angry that he stretches out his hand and is about to pump it at you. I raised my hand to stop him, and deliberately taught him a few words in front of you, saying that he couldn't even teach a child, so what else could he do.

"I distinctly remember the hint of anger and unwavering assertion in your eyes when you heard me speak ill of your father. After that, I asked you anything, and you replied very seriously, and there was no rebellion and shyness.

"I still remember that look. It's also that look that keeps me by my side. Because I always believe that your heart is pure and good, so that you are willing to give everything to protect the people you respect and love.

"I don't know if the emperor saw you alone, and allowed your conditions to blind you, so that you were willing to hide from me to help him. But I believe that you still live in your heart the boy who was willing to draw a sword against a powerful opponent for the sake of his loved ones, but in this foreign country, you are a little confused and lost yourself.

"Do you think I'm right?"

Zuo Qiyang's voice was very soft, like a feather brushing in his ears.

But word by word fell into Ruipeng's heart, but it hurt like a knife.

Tears gathered in threads from his eyes, slid down his cheeks, and fell to the ground beneath his feet. His lips trembled, his shoulders shrugged, his head bowed, and he couldn't stop crying.

Seeing this, Zuo Qiyang patted him lightly on the shoulder and said, "Okay, the man doesn't flick if he has tears, I haven't punished you yet, you just cry like this first, do you want to use a bitter trick to make my heart soft?" ”

Ruipeng couldn't hold back his crying when he heard this, wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand, raised his head and looked at Zuo Qiyang, his eyes were indescribably clear.

"I'll do whatever the adults want to punish me."

Zuo Qiyang nodded, stood up and sat back on the stool at the table, and said, "I need you to find what I said before, stay in this forbidden palace, stay by the emperor's side, take my place, and become his confidant." ”

Ruipeng heard this, his mouth was half open, and he was speechless for a long time.

What kind of punishment is this? What is the difference between this and the benefits that Emperor Yan promised him before? Lord Zuo is now telling himself that he knows about his betrayal and forgives himself, and does he still have to accept the conditions given by Emperor Yan with peace of mind?

This is not more than a confirmation of his accusation of betrayal.

Ruipeng shook his head in shock, instinctively resisted this arrangement, and muttered in his mouth: "I can't continue to do things for the emperor, my lord, you were dismissed from your post and sent to a small town on the edge, but I took the opportunity to take your place and stay in the palace?" What's the difference between this and continuing to betray you? I will go and talk to the emperor, tell him that you are innocent, and beg him to be gracious enough to withdraw the arrangement for you to leave the palace. If not, I ask that I be allowed to go with you to Gaoxiang Town. If it doesn't work, I'll resign, leave this forbidden palace, and follow you as an ordinary person. ”

Zuo Qiyang waved his hand and interrupted Rui Peng: "Don't you understand? Think about it, why did you fall into the situation of betraying me step by step? (To be continued.) )