Chapter 175 The Confession of the Minister

Zhang Zhe found something missing halfway through.

However, after encountering Jiang Xuening, he was lost in thought and couldn't remember when he disappeared, and whether it was lost on the way back or in the Prince's Mansion in Linzi.

So they went back and forth.

Jiang Xuening's figure has disappeared from the empty garden, and there is nothing in the pavilion, except for two attendants cleaning up the messy cups and plates left in the pavilion.

Seeing Zhang Zhe go back and forth, the attendants who had previously served had some impression of him. They approached and bowed, taking the initiative to ask, "Mr. Zhang, what's wrong, but what has fallen?"

Zhang Zhe asked, "Have you ever seen a brocade pouch?"

The attendant was taken aback and said, "Is it the appearance of a silver pattern on the mysterious background?"

Zhang Zhedao said, "Have you seen it before?"

The attendant waved his hand repeatedly, but his gaze became somewhat strange, with a hint of confusion in his expression. After hesitating for a moment, he chatted up and said, "I saw it was a mistake, but when I came here to tidy up, I saw the daughter of the Jiang family standing here, holding a brocade pouch that looked a bit like what you were looking for. She looked at her face... I didn't dare to ask more questions."

"..."

Zhang Zhe stood in front of the steps, completely dazed.

The waist is a bit empty without that brocade pouch.

The attendant felt that the expression of the young court official in front of him suddenly overlapped with the Jiang Er girl he had seen before, creating a strange and swaying heaviness, like a mirror beneath the dark water surface, making the reflected light appear dim.

After a long time, Zhang Zhe finally spoke up.

He asked, "Has Miss Jiang Er left?"

The attendant nodded and said, "Yes, it seems we have already returned to the mansion with Lord Jiang."

Zhang Zhe closed his eyes slightly and remained silent for a moment before saying "thank you".

The attendant was puzzled in his heart, but dared not ask more questions.

Bowing down again, looking up, I saw this adult walking along the radial direction outside the garden. It was clear that the warm breeze was intoxicating on a summer night, and his back gradually disappeared into the end of the stacked corridor lights, as if walking in the cold autumn frost.

===Kunning Section 220===

A rain washed away the floating dust covering the capital the day before yesterday, and the road surface of Changjie was also washed clean by the rain.

The sound of cars and horses gradually faded away.

So the sound of footsteps lightly stepping on the road became obvious, empty and desolate. Zhang Zhe seemed to have thought about everything in his mind, but it also seemed like he had not thought about anything.

The place where he lived was quite a distance from the gathering place of the royal and noble mansions. After passing this inch of land and inch of gold, the height of the buildings on both sides lowered, and gradually some laughter and shouting began to sound.

I accidentally knocked over the teapot at home this morning, and my mother reminded him to remember to buy a new one when he comes back.

Zhang Zhe entered a porcelain shop that closed late and chose a simple set of Xing kiln white porcelain tea sets. However, he heard the shopkeeper of the porcelain shop accompany an elegant guest standing in front of Duobao Ge and sighing.

"Qinggu fine wine, intoxicated by the sea of wine from my hometown, with a clear and thin glaze, truly known as the thin bones of plum blossoms. It's a pity that Mr. Zhou's plum vase is shattered. I have hired many skilled craftsmen to repair it, but I can only stop here."

"From a distance, it's no different from a new bottle."

"I can't appreciate it if I'm close. Look at this neck, the fine seams are faint, even if a skilled craftsman can take away the craftsmanship, it's difficult to fill in the old marks. After all, it's broken, and your precious love will require even more careful care in the future. Otherwise, any bumps or bumps will come apart, and it cannot be compared to when it's completely integrated when it first comes out of the kiln."

"Sigh..."

Zhang Zhe looked at the grid and saw a one foot tall plum vase standing in the middle. The sky was as green as jade, and the texture of the body was delicate, with a natural beauty. But there are subtle cracks on it, which have been repaired and left behind, like scars that have been worn away by time but are still difficult to disappear.

The clerk in front of the counter glanced at him and said, "Young master, do you also want to buy a plum bottle? Our store has everything, would you like to take a look?"

Zhang Zhecai slowly withdrew his gaze and said, "No need."

The silver has been paid and I have brought my tea set home.

Zhang's mother knew that he was going to the banquet today, and was afraid that he would have to drink too much during the banquet. Therefore, she prepared a hangover soup to heat it up. When she saw him coming back, she happened to offer him a drink.

Zhang Zhe's heart was filled with sourness.

For a moment, he even felt a sense of decadence, but in the end, he lowered his voice and said to Jiang, "I came back late and worried about my mother. You're not feeling well, so let's go to bed earlier in the future."

How could Jiang, who was raised by himself, not see that he was deeply troubled? For several days in a row, he had been leaving early and returning late, busy with official duties in the yamen. If it was indeed a complicated matter, it would be fine. But looking at him, it seemed that he didn't want to think about anything other than official duties, and it was more like using this to suppress something.

But he has been very thoughtful since childhood, burying everything in his heart.

Jiang knew little about his situation, and now that he seemed to have nothing to do with him, he knew he wouldn't say anything even if he asked him. He simply didn't ask and said, "Even if your father didn't make a name for you back then, he would surely close his eyes. You, my mother only hopes for you to be peaceful. It would be great to meet a girl she likes and start a family. When it comes to prosperity and wealth, although good is good, you have to pursue and pursue him, but it will only make you very tired."

Zhang Zhe did not explain.

Jiang sighed and withdrew from the ordinary study, instructing him to go to bed earlier and then closing the door.

He brought back many files from the Ministry of Justice to read.

Now they are all piled high on the desk.

The flame of the nearby lamp gently swayed, illuminating the rows of ink characters lying on the paper, but unable to reach the bottom of my eyes.

Zhang Zhe felt the light dazzling, so he moved the lamp further away.

So the words on the paper also darkened.

He sat behind the desk, like the ink gradually drying up from the inkstone on his desk, without moving a single move all night.

The dawn of early summer comes very early.

The sound in the market became noisy again.

Jiang woke up in the morning and cooked Congee, thinking that Zhang Zhe had gone to court before dawn as usual, so he planned to clean up his room and tidy up the courtyard before the weather got hot. Who would have thought that he would put his hand on the door of his bedroom, and the door would open. The bed inside was neatly pillowed, making it clear that no one had slept last night.

Turning around again, the door to the study was tightly closed.

Before dawn, there was still some light shining through.

She hesitated for a moment and knocked lightly at the door, "Aren't you going to court today?"

Zhang Zhe's body, sitting behind the table, moved slightly, as if finally being pulled back from some dark and desolate place, but slowly said, "I won't go today."

He never delayed the days when the court called for a big start.

I never said I would take leave today yesterday.

Jiang was stunned for a moment before saying, "Then I'll go to the market and buy some vegetables. I'll go to the yamen after breakfast."

She packed her things and went out, carrying a small bamboo basket.

The morning market is a bustling time.

Pick a two pound black carp, buy some tender ginger, scallions, chives, and fresh tofu. Finally, choose a nice piece of pork shoulder meat, put it in a bamboo basket, and walk home.

When we went to the market, it was only dawn.

When I returned, the morning light was already dim.

Just as Jiang turned around the familiar alley and saw his old courtyard, he suddenly noticed a young girl standing under the mossy steps. Wearing a moonlight white wide sleeved fairy skirt, with a plain face facing the sky, her skin appeared pale in the morning light. She slightly raised her head and seemed to stare blankly at the mottled wooden door.

This early morning

After hesitating for a moment, Jiang walked over and asked with a smile, "This girl, is she looking for someone?"

Jiang Xuening turned around and realized that she had been standing for a long time.

She saw Jiang Shi, an ordinary looking woman who had experienced the ups and downs of raising her son alone, leaving deeper marks on her face than women of the same age. Her temples were white with fine wrinkles.

In the bamboo basket with bent arms, there are fresh vegetables that have just been bought.

At this moment, he looked at himself with a hint of concern, but his eyes and eyebrows were very kind.

He should hate himself.

There was only one household deep in the alley, and Jiang Xuening had guessed the woman's identity. The guilt in her heart surged like a hot spring, forcing her to smile, but tears still flowed down her face.

She said, "Excuse me, is this Mr. Zhang's family from the Ministry of Justice?"

Surprisingly, he came to find his wooden son.

Jiang Shi didn't even think about Zhang Zhe when he saw such a fairy like girl shining brightly. It was evident that she shed tears without saying a word, and then remembered Zhang Zhe's unusual things last night and this morning. For a moment, he muttered to himself, "That kid can't move his elm bumps. Don't you provoke the girl and make her sad?"?

When I was in Henan, I was still good, but when I came to the capital, I didn't learn well!

If he really does something unethical, see if she doesn't follow the family rules and beat him up hard for his short-lived father!

"Yes, yes, this is it." Jiang couldn't help but feel flustered and said hurriedly, "He didn't go to court today and is currently in the study. Please come in first, and I'll call him for you!"

She stepped forward and opened the door, inviting Jiang Xuening to enter.

Then, even forgetting to put down the bamboo basket in his hand, he went to knock on the study door that had not been opened that night to let Zhang cover it up.

Unexpectedly, before she could step up the stairs, the originally tightly closed door opened.

Zhang Zhe stood inside the door with his hand resting on the frame.

Mo Lan's long robe hung on him, although still straight, giving a sense of silence and desolation. He looked quietly at Jiang Xuening standing in this simple courtyard, and after a long time, he said, "Miss Jiang, please come in."

Jiang Xuening also looked at him for a while before taking a step up the stairs.

When he arrived at the door, Zhang Zhe made way inward.

She entered the room.

Zhang Zhecai explained to Jiang and turned around to close the door.

Two sleepless people sit face to face.

The tea was aged last night and has already cooled down.

On the bookshelf filled with files, a wisp of green smoke floats at the end of the wick of the lamp, which is already burned out. The rising sun slanted from the east onto the low painted table in front of the window, dispelling a bit of coldness.

Jiang Xuening stared at him.

Zhang Zhe lowered his gaze.

She whispered, "Today was supposed to be morning, but Mr. Zhang is at home, as if he knew I would come. Are you waiting for me?"

Zhang Zhe remained silent.

Jiang Xuening folded her hands on her kneeling knees and remained calm as she smiled, "I once confessed that I had feelings for Mr. Zhang, but Mr. Zhang said he already had feelings for him. That day, with a dazed and unyielding nature, I forgot to ask. I don't know who this girl is that Mr. Zhang is interested in."

The palm under Zhang Zhe's case quietly clenched tightly.

He said, "People from the capital are just ordinary people."

Zhang Zhe can also lie and deceive people.

Jiang Xuening blinked and then asked, "Zhang Dacai and Miss Yao divorced shortly after, and then moved to this person. Although they are from an ordinary family, I think their talent and appearance are not bad, and their temperament is also above mine, right?"

After a while, Zhang Zhe said, "Miss Jiang Er is impeccable, but she comes from a humble background and dare not waste her life. Her talent and appearance cannot be compared to Miss Jiang, and her temperament is not extremely good, just..."

Jiang Xuening asked, "Just what?"

Zhang Zhe finally looked up at her, restrained and patient, but his heart was unusually desolate. He gazed at her pupils, as if he wanted to engrave this face in his heart, and slowly said, "It's just that I love and cherish her."

Jiang Xuening burst out laughing and said, "What's her name?"

Zhang Zhe remained silent.

Jiang Xuening suddenly hated him so much that she couldn't even hold back the slightest false smile. She gently placed the brocade bag that had been hidden in her sleeve for a long time and had been looking at it all night on the table. The thin piece of paper unfolded and pressed against the brocade bag, saying, "Mr. Zhang can't say it, shall I tell you?"

Zhang Zhe closed his eyes.

Jiang Xuening, however, spoke word by word, almost fiercely, with red eyes turning to him and saying, "The person you like is not as good as her appearance, extremely bad, and not a good person - her surname is Jiang and her name is Jiang Xuening!"

I will turn my heart to the bright moon.

On that page of paper, the rare and neat ink has penetrated, but it is not yet outdated.

The heart that can be covered by Zhang is already riddled with wounds and holes.

Jiang Xuening stubbornly asked, "How can you say you don't like me? How dare you say you don't like me?"

Zhang Zhe then remembered the previous life.

She is lively, bright, flamboyant, and unrestrained. At that time, he couldn't restrain his rebellious heart and wanted to approach her. But ultimately

The jade mountain tilts, the golden screen shatters.

The heart in his chest seemed to have been pierced by her sharp words, blood drenched at the tip of the knife, a thousand kinds of bitterness surged to his throat, and then fell back, his abdomen full of soreness and bitterness.

Is the plum vase broken.

He looked at her, as if he had looked from past life to present life, and finally, in a low voice, he called out to her, "Empress..."

Empress.

===Kunning Section 221===

How could this person in front of me call her "Empress"?

Jiang Xuening first felt a sense of confusion, and then shook and dizzy. The faint words in her voice transmitted from her ear to her heart. The Zhang Zhe in front of me was gently shaking, and the sunlight shining in was a pale shade. There seemed to be mist rising in the room, making everything around me blurry and even rumbling loudly.

She instinctively shook her head.

How could it be?

I must have misunderstood

But there was a voice inside Ke Xin who was coldly smiling: You knew it, you should have known it long ago! How long have you only known each other in this life? Why does he have a deep affection for you and like you, yet still keep it from you? You didn't hear me wrong!

A piercing pain, accompanied by endless guilt, bound her and made her sit down in despair.

At this moment, everything understood.

Like there were high mountains and deep abyss that crushed her, and she couldn't bear to fall into them. She buried her head, covered her face, and couldn't help but cry uncontrollably.

Zhang Zhe walked over silently, feeling like the cruel executioner who had broken her last line of defense.

The various gatherings of past and present lives are like a torrent.

He half knelt beside her, his Adam's apple rolling slightly, and finally allowed himself to trespass at this moment. He gently embraced her and said, "It's because I'm not good, it's because I'm not good..."

She cried and said, "You didn't tell me earlier, you lied to me..."

Zhang Zhe said, "I deceived you."

Jiang Xuening detested herself and, recalling her previous questioning, felt that she was absurd and ridiculous. Where does she fit in?

Her tears fell on Zhang Zhe's chest, wetting his collar and soaking his heart inside, confirming that he shouldn't have told her: "Madam, I'm afraid too. I'm afraid you know that this one in front of you is Zhang Zhe from the previous life."

Once known, memories flood in, giving rise to endless guilt.

She wants freedom and to fulfill her wishes.

But this guilt is enough to crush and knock down a person who has gradually let go of the past. Everyone she meets is new, only he is her old bond. And even if both of us want to do our best to fill the gaps that have been torn apart by the heavy past, how can we heal them like new?

How tiring should it be to live like that?

When she was in front of him, she didn't look like the real her at all.