The next morning, Shen Ruoliao returned to Qingshou Temple in broad daylight, through the eyes of everyone in Beiping. Sideways glances and discussions along the way, he could only frown coldly and ignore them as always.

That night, nightshade did not come. The strange thing is that since he returned to Qingshou Temple, Dao Yan has not appeared for a whole day, and Yao Biao has not been seen. Normally, Master Yao comes to sit every day. As long as Master Daoyan is in Qingshou Temple, he will also come to inquire from time to time.

There must be something going on over there in the palace, Shen Ruoyu guessed.

He was a little uneasy. Ping'an, Chen Hui and other generals of the Southern Army have been sent to Beiping and settled properly. On the front-line battlefield, the Yan army should be like a bamboo. He couldn't think of anything that would trap Master Dao Yan and Yao Biao in the palace for a whole day, plus one night.

The hard night passed. Finally, it was morning again, and Shen Ruoyu saw Dao Yan. Yao Biao didn't go along, but Zhu Gaochi came in with Master Daoyan. The expressions on the faces of the two people were very solemn.

Zhu Gaochi: This is the first time I've come. When Shen Ruoyu saw the two of them, he only felt sinking in his heart.

"Your Highness, Master, is there something going on in the palace?"

Zhu Gaochi shook his head: "Everything is fine in the palace." ”

"Is there a battle report on the front?"

Zhu Gaochi said: "My father has gone down to Sizhou, crossed the Huai River, and conquered Xuyi. Sheng Yong was defeated and fled south. ”

Shen Ruoyu looked at him: "Then what are you...... What about Lord Yao? ”

Zhu Gaochi and Dao Yan glanced at each other. Zhu Gaochi said:

"Something happened in Beiping, and the master and I are here to tell the general."

Shen Ruoxiao said cautiously: "Please take a seat." ”

After the two of them sat down, Zhu Gaochi said:

"Yesterday during the day,—— in the morning to be exact, in the camp of the defenders of Beiping—"

He hesitated for a moment, looked at Dao Yan, and then looked at Shen Ruoyu's already gloomy face.

He sighed.

"General Shen already knows that Lu Jiang is in the barracks; At the same time, there is also the shopkeeper of Huiying Building, who is the aunt of Miss Xiang'er. I don't know who hung the two of them naked above the camp gate with their fingers cut off and their eyes. There was also a sign hanging on his body, which read- it was written: An eye for an eye. I have strictly ordered that the murderer must be found, but a day has passed, and there is still no clue. ”

Shen Ruoxiao sat there straight, motionless, his face like the autumn wind. Zhu Gaochi was already very unbearable, but the matter was far from over, so he could only continue.

"After the incident happened, I invited Master Yao and Master Daoyan to investigate the case in the army, and discussed how to deal with it; At this moment, suddenly a report came from the city, saying that the Yao family's pharmacy and Yao's mansion were on fire at the same time, and the fire was soaring to the sky. We rushed back to the city, and the fire was too hot to extinguish. Originally, two places caught fire at the same time, and they were both Yao's place, which was already very suspicious. What's more, the fire burned too vigorously, if it weren't for the accumulation of a large amount of firewood, grass, oil and other fire-causing things, it would not have burned to that point. It wasn't until midnight that the torch burned everything it could and then extinguished itself. Master Yao didn't come over because he was dealing with things at home, which is not difficult for you to imagine. ”

When Shen Ruoyu heard half of it, he had already stood up and walked two steps, turning his back to Dao Yan and Zhu Gaochi. The two of them could not see his expression.

He asked softly, "The people of Yao Mansion ...... Are there any casualties? ”

Zhu Gaochi said honestly: "It's not sure yet. ”

"Where's the pharmacy?" Shen Ruoyu felt that she was about to faint.

Zhu Gaochi glanced at Dao Yan again.

"When the fire started, there were only Yao Jizhu, Miss Xiang'er, a Lang Zhong and two guys in the pharmacy. I don't know if I'm dead or alive now. ”

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "In both places, after the fire, there is only coke soot left. If a man does not escape, there is no way to live. ”

Dao Yan sighed and said, "Amitabha." Lord Yao was fortunately not at the fire. ”

Shen Ruoyu trembled all over, and said tremblingly: "I...... I want to go to the fire and see it. ”

Zhu Gaochi persuaded: "By all means, General Shen can't show up in Beiping anymore." I have sent people to seal the fire to look for clues to the arson and search for the dead. It is uncertain whether the three arsons are linked to the murders in the barracks. General Shen is only waiting here, and if there is any news, I will immediately send someone to inform the general. ”

Shen Ruoyu wanted to say something more, but he couldn't say a word. Seeing this, Dao Yan glanced at Zhu Gaochi, and the two of them said goodbye together.

Shen Ruoyu closed the door and walked back to the bed in a groggy manner, but fell to his knees, covered his face, and sifted chaff all over his body.

The world is spinning. His punishment, his hell. He had expected it, he hadn't expected it.

Xiang'er, Yao Biao's family, Yao Jizhu; Lu Jiang, Xiang'er's aunt; Yao Biao's entire family business.

Too much, too much, how could he possibly afford it? Even if he is in front of Yao Surface, he apologizes for his crime with death, what can he lose with a broken life!

Xiang'er, Xiang'er...... You didn't come, I just said that you were accompanying Yao Jizhu, but I didn't know that you and he were both ......

Shen Ruoyu knelt beside the bed and knelt until the afternoon, and the water and rice did not enter.

In the evening, Dao Yan walked in, still kneeling there, motionless.

"Lord Yao's family has escaped. The fire was burning from outside, the courtyard of Yaofu was large, and there were many pools, so the fire did not spread so quickly, plus it was daytime, and everyone was awake, so they also escaped quickly. His Royal Highness the Prince and the princess arranged for Lord Yao's family to live in the palace. Mrs. Yao was frightened and fell ill. ”

Shen Ruoyu turned around and looked at Dao Yan blankly, his face as haggard as a dead man.

Dao Yan walked up to him and reached out to help him. Shen Ruoyu shook his head, didn't let him help, and still knelt on the ground.

Dao Yan said: "Lang Zhong of the pharmacy escaped from the front door, one of the two guys hid in the water tank, and the other is still missing. Yao Jizhu escaped and said—"

He hesitated.

Young Master Zhu said that the back door was blocked by fire, and there was thick smoke everywhere, so Xiang'er helped him escape through the courtyard wall by the window. He climbed over the wall, and just as he hit the ground, the house inside collapsed, crushing Xiang'er underneath. ”

The last glimmer of light in my heart is completely extinguished; It was as if something was shattering in the heart, making a slight sound. Shen Ruoyu closed her eyes and lowered her head.

Dao Yan squatted down, his heart in turmoil.

"Let's go. You can't stay any longer in Peking. The people here are going to drive you crazy. ”

He pulled a roll of money from his bosom.

"These are the entanglements given to you by His Royal Highness the Prince and the Princess. They also said, let you go. Peiping is sorry for you. If the prince is to blame, it will be borne by those of us. The prince will not do anything to us. But if you continue to stay, you will die without a place to be buried. ”

Shen Ruoyu still didn't move.

Dao Yan said earnestly: "Enough." That's enough. The old man knows that you are thinking, since you have chosen the dead end, you have to bear everything. Ruo Shao, let me tell you, no matter what the reason for your betrayal of King Yan is, no matter how heinous you are, the punishment is enough to this point. Even if King Yan comes back and personally punishes you, I'm afraid it won't be so miserable. Whether you want to atone for your sins or bear it, it's enough. You just let yourself go and go. ”

Shen Ruoyu raised his head and looked at him, and said solemnly:

"It's time for me to go. If you don't leave, Lord Yao's whole family will be killed by me. ”

Dao Yan sighed.

"The old man will ask the little monk to help you pack some clothes, and you can bring the money. Tomorrow morning, the old man will send you out of the city. ”

Shen Ruoyu asked, "Where are my mother and Xiang'er's aunt buried?" I want to say goodbye before I leave. ”

Dao Yan replied, "The old man will take you there." Do you still want to meet Master Yao? ”

Shen Ruoyu shook his head. "Do I still have the face to see him again?"

Dao Yan was silent for a moment and sighed.

"Get some good sleep."

So saying, he withdrew.

Shen Ruoyu didn't get up, and lay down directly on the ground next to the bed.

Xiang'er, Xiang'er......

Her quiet, slightly vicissitudes of life sounded in his ears again: "I am a weed." Weeds are easy to live and can't die. ”

Can weeds withstand fire?

He burst into tears, breathless. He pulled out his boot knife and slashed it down his arm, red blood staining his sleeve and he felt no pain. He threw down the knife and smashed his fists into the ground, and soon all ten phalanges were bloody and he still couldn't feel it. The suffocating pain in his chest spread along the bone marrow to his whole body, and there was no external injury that could give him the slightest share and transfer his pain, even if it was only for a moment.

In the early morning of the next day, Dao Yan drove a car and took Shen Ruoliao out of Beiping.

Shen Ruoyu sat in the car, imagining the streets and alleys outside. He didn't lift the curtain to look. He left Peking like this, for the last time in his life; Will he ever come back? Everything here, memories of the past, poverty, wealth, joy, shame, happiness in the past, hell now.

The car left Beiping City and passed by the familiar grove by the river.

"You shameless stinky rascal, let go!" Xiang'er shouted; His fingertips still had a little bit of warm and flexible elasticity, which made him feel painful.

Dao Yan turned his head and looked in the car.

"General Shen, where are you going to go? Got an idea? ”

Shen Ruoyu said calmly: "Go back to the capital." ”

Dao Yan was taken aback and stopped the car. "Back to the capital?!"

Shen Ruoyu said: "I still have something to do. ”

"What's the matter?" Dao Yan looked at his eyes, and his heart was half cold.

"General Shen, you can't! There are no two days in the sky, and there are no two lords in the country; Even if you save the Son of Heaven, how can you allow others to sleep peacefully on the side of the prince's couch? ”

Shen Ruoyu looked at Dao Yan in silence.

"After all, I used to be his personal bodyguard, the governor of the Twelve Guards. I have this last obligation that I must fulfill. I won't stop the prince, and I also want to watch him ascend to the throne. As long as I save the Son of Heaven and finally die before the Son of Heaven, I will have no regrets. ”

Dao Yan looked at him in shock.

"General Shen, Lao Wei sent you out of Beiping because he wanted you to stay away from the government and the prince from now on, not to let you seek death."

Shen Ruoyu said: "What I want to do, I have done everything I can do." Only this one remains. ”

Dao Yan was silent for a moment, turned around, and continued driving.

The car slowly walked to a forest hill and stopped.

"General, we're here."

Shen Ruoyu got out of the car and saw two tombs in front of him. The bare dirt bags have no tombstones.

Dao Yan said: "In a hurry, I haven't had time to carve a stone monument. ”

Shen Ruoliao said: "It's better this way." ”

He looked around for a moment and said to Dao Yan:

"Master, please go back. If you stop here for a while, you will go on your own way. ”

Dao Yan looked at him uneasily. "If the old man is fine, it doesn't hurt to send it to the general on the road."

Shen Ruoyu shook his head and said stubbornly: "Master, please go back." ”

Seeing that he didn't want to stay by his side, Dao Yan had to sigh.

The general was unwilling, so the old man took his leave. I just wonder if it is possible for the old man to persuade the general to change his mind and give up the idea of returning to the capital? ”

Shen Ruoliao said: "Since Ruoliao returned to Beiping, it has all relied on the master's efforts to protect it. If there is an afterlife, you must repay the great kindness of the master. ”

Dao Yan knew that it was useless to say anything more, so he had to fold his hands and bow: "Amitabha; May God have the virtue of a good life. The general took care of himself along the way. ”

Shen Ruoyu bowed back and said, "Master also take care." ”