La vie des gens de la campagne en ville sous la dynastie Song

Chapitre 61

"Yes or no?"

Qin Zhen pressed him for answers, and Zhao Yong shrank back into the large chair, shaking his head as he said, "I didn't want to hurt Fengye, I didn't want to... but she suddenly rushed out, the arrow was already fired, and I had no way to stop her... I could only watch her die..."

"You're the murderer! Give me back my sister's life!" Shuihen roared, her face flushed red.

Zhao Yong had been scolded by Shuihen for years, but he seemed unmoved, simply saying, "It was all my doing, I'm a sinner... You can't blame the prince..."

Upon hearing his words, Shuihen laughed wildly, "You damned lackey! Neither you nor Zhao Gou will escape! I will avenge my sister!"

Qin Zhendi's eyes were already brimming with tears as she pushed Zhao Yongdi's shoulder and asked, "If it wasn't Fengye who died, you were going to kill Wushuang, weren't you? Zhao Gou ordered you to do all this, wasn't he?"

Zhao Yong remained silent, refusing to answer any questions regarding Zhao Gou's involvement. Qin Zhen felt both pain and anger. She sneered, "I understand. If you won't tell me, I'll go ask him myself!"

Seeing Qin Zhen about to leave, Zhao Yong anxiously called out, "Qin Zhen!"

Qin Zhen slowly turned her head and saw Zhao Yong ask, word by word, "If it's true, what do you want to do?"

A tear rolled down Qin Zhen's cheek. She said, "Tens of thousands of people in Tokyo died because of him, Maple Leaf died because of him, and now Sister Wushuang is missing again because of him! If he did all these evil deeds..." Qin Zhen raised her head, a ruthless glint in her eyes. She gritted her teeth and said, "If he did all of this, I will kill him with my own hands to atone for the deaths of tens of thousands of people!"

After saying that, Zhao Yong began to tremble and hurriedly said, "No...you'll regret it!"

Qin Zhen asked ethereally, "Regret?"

"To watch your beloved die by your own hand, there is no greater pain than this. Don't do anything foolish! The prince is only thinking of the country. The fault does not lie with him!"

Qin Zhen turned his head away, unwilling to listen to him anymore. Only one sentence echoed in Zhao Yong's ears: "Can the lives of the Liao people be sacrificed so easily?"

Watching Qin Zhen's resolute departing figure, Zhao Yong was filled with immense pain, while Shuihen threw her head back and laughed loudly: "Good, that's for the best. I never imagined Zhao Gou would die at Qin Zhen's hands. This is the greatest punishment for him! Sister, did you see that!"

--

Just two or three days later, the weather in Nanjing turned somewhat cold, and the autumn wind brought a desolate feeling to the streets and parks.

Today is the eighth day of the tenth lunar month, Qin Zhenzhen's birthday, but no one around her knows it. She sits quietly in her room, as if waiting for someone.

Indeed, she was waiting for Zhao Gou. Xu Hanwen must have informed Zhao Gou of Qin Zhen's attendance at the banquet in the carrier pigeons he sent a few days ago. If he was still concerned about Qin Zhen, there was no reason for him not to come on this day.

Sure enough, like a gust of wind, the south-facing window was pushed open, and Zhao Gou, dressed in black, leaped into the room and appeared in front of Qin Zhen.

Qin Zhen sat quietly, looking at the person in front of him. He had changed a lot in the few months since they last met. His skin had turned bronze, and his eyes and brows exuded both heroism and might. Just by standing there, he possessed the aura of a thousand troops.

Seeing Qin Zhen glance at him without warning, Zhao Gou softened his gaze and asked with a smile, "Did I scare you? I knew you would come to your birthday celebration. I thought you had guessed that. Look how scared you are..."

Qin Zhendi

She stopped looking at him. Zhao Gou found it strange, walked closer, and asked, "Why are you ignoring something unpleasant?"

Still no one answered him. Zhao Gou felt awkward and nudged Qin Zhen's head, saying, "You little brat, I finally came to see you, and you're acting up. I haven't even questioned you about what you've been up to behind my back!"

Zhao Gou has grown rapidly in the past two years, and now he really does look like he is a few years older than Qin Zhen.

Upon hearing this, Qin Zhen looked up and asked, "What have I done behind your back?"

Upon hearing Qin Zhen speak, Zhao Gou smiled and paced around the room, saying, "Let me see... Oh, right, this is it!"

Qin Zhen looked over and saw Zhao Gou picking up the hair ribbon that Ao Luwo had given her from the dressing table. Zhao Gou glanced at it, twisted the ribbon, and asked Qin Zhen, "This was given to you by another man, wasn't it? Hmph, I caught you red-handed, now you'd better explain yourself!"

Qin Zhen turned her head away with a cold smile. Zhao Gou finally realized that Qin Zhen was really acting strangely today. After thinking for a moment, he assumed that Qin Zhen was angry that Xu Hanwen had underestimated her. So he walked up to her, sat down, and looked at her seriously.

Zhao Gou said, "Are you angry with me? I know I shouldn't have sent Xu Hanwen to keep an eye on you, but I'm worried about leaving you out there alone. Look, it's only been a few days and you've already gone on a blind date!"

"Are you done questioning me?" Qin Zhen suppressed the turmoil in her heart and asked coldly, "Now that you've asked me about my affairs, shouldn't you tell me what you've done behind my back?"

"Eh?" Zhao Gou said while thinking, "There are only men on the battlefield, and no women. What can I do? Let me think... Oh, right, Wu Shaofen has come to the military camp twice, but you're not thinking anything of it, are you? You know perfectly well that she and your elder brother are in love..."

"Enough!" Qin Zhen stood up angrily and said, "Stop spouting nonsense! I'll just ask you, when the Bohai Kingdom's capital, Tokyo, was in turmoil, did you send Zhao Yong to disrupt the situation and try to sow discord between the Feng Huo Sect and the Liao Kingdom?"

Zhao Gou's expression changed drastically. He recalled the earlier news that Zhao Yong had appeared in Tokyo, and now that Qin Zhen knew about it, he said, "You already know..."

"It seems it's true..." Qin Zhen said weakly, "In that case, I will avenge the tens of thousands of innocent people who died in Tokyo!"

With a long, trailing silver whip, Zhao Gou glared at the ground and asked, "What are you doing? Do you really want to fight me with your weapons?"

"Enough talk, take this!"

A gust of wind swept by, and Zhao Gou narrowly dodged a whip. The frame behind him immediately collapsed to the ground, demonstrating the considerable power of that whip.

"Qin Zhen!"

Qin Zhen ignored Zhao Gou's shouts and continued to lash him with each blow, forcing Zhao Gou to take the matter seriously. In no time, everything in the room was smashed, and the two broke out of the window, chasing each other all the way into the garden.

Zhao Gou was in turmoil. He couldn't understand why Qin Zhen insisted on killing him. What was wrong with him using some schemes against the Liao Kingdom to recover the territory of the Song Dynasty? He also didn't want the people of Dongjing to die unjustly. Why was Qin Zhen so heartless towards him?

The silver whip "Phoenix Wing" was long and sharp, and the wind it produced scraped cuts on Zhao Gou's face. Zhao Gou had to take out his precious sword to defend himself, but he still did not draw the sword from its sheath.

With each move Qin Zhen made, her heart ached terribly. How could she fight with all her might in such a state? Zhao Gou's skills had become increasingly refined on the battlefield, and the two were locked in a stalemate for a time.

Unable to bear seeing Qin Zhen hurt each other any longer, Zhao Gou exerted force, causing his sword to become entangled in the silver whip. He gripped the whip-bound sword with his right hand and pulled it forward with all his might, while his other hand seized the whip, pulling it piece by piece into his own. Qin Zhen, no match for his strength, was naturally pulled closer step by step, the two staring at each other, unblinking.

When Qin Zhen was pulled in front of Zhao Gou, she finally couldn't hold back her tears and cried out, "What should I do? Why did you do such a terrible thing!"

Zhao Gou did not answer Qin Zhen; instead, he spat out a mouthful of black blood!

With a loud crash, Zhao Gou fell backward. Qin Zhen saw black blood stains on her blue clothes and then remembered that her whip was highly poisonous!

She rushed forward in a panic and pried open Zhao Gou's hands. Sure enough, his palms were covered with bloody marks from when he had just stopped whipping him!

At that moment, she felt dizzy and disoriented!

Volume Two: Eagle Soars Through the Sky 114 Difficult to Judge Good and Evil, Right and Wrong

"Zhao Gou... Zhao Gou!"

Qin Zhen looked at Zhao Gou lying on the ground, spitting out black blood. He struggled for a couple of moments and then stopped moving. Qin Zhen recalled with horror what Iron Hammer Zhang had said: the poison on the Phoenix Wing Silver Whip... would kill on contact with blood!

She really killed him! She really killed him!

"No……"

The painful and desperate cries came from Qin Zhen's mouth. No one had ever seen her so heartbroken!

She slumped down beside Zhao Gou, grabbed his chin, and forced him to swallow one of the miraculous pills she had brought. Then she shoved Zhao Gou twice, but he remained motionless and unresponsive.

"I killed him...I really killed him...How could this be..."

Qin Zhen murmured those words to herself, completely lost in thought, her empty eyes wide open, tears streaming down her face.

This feeling is more hopeless than despair!

A white shadow flashed through the air, and the next moment, Ji Wuhuan appeared beside Zhao Gou. His hands moved swiftly over Zhao Gou's various acupoints, and upon closer inspection, Zhao Gou's body was covered with silver needles.

With a cold face, Ji Wuhuan pulled out a dagger, grabbed Zhao Gou's hand and slashed it hard. Then he used his internal energy to force the blood out of Zhao Gou's body from the wound on his hand.

Seeing the blood gushing out like a gushing stream, Qin Zhen finally recovered from her shock and grabbed Ji Wuhuan's arm, asking, "What are you doing? He's already dead, don't torture him anymore!"

Seeing that Qin Zhenru had lost her mind and couldn't even see the bloodletting to detoxify, Ji Wuhuan decisively reached out and pressed her sleeping acupoint, causing her to fall into a deep sleep.

Qin Zhen slept all day and didn't wake up until the next day. The moment she opened her eyes, they were filled with tears. She turned and buried herself in the covers, sobbing uncontrollably. She was filled with regret.

Yes, Zhao Gou made a mistake, but from his perspective, he certainly didn't realize where he went wrong. In the eyes of the Song Dynasty people, what he did was still a heroic act. Her astonishment was obvious, but killing him wouldn't solve the problem. She now deeply regretted her impulsive decision!

She even considered being selfish for once, disregarding all matters of national importance; all she wanted was for Zhao Gou to come back to life...

Recalling Zhao Gou's tenderness and care for her, Qin Zhen felt excruciating pain! Zhao Gou's smiling eyes constantly appeared in her mind. At this point, she regretted that there was no remedy for regret in this world; everything was like flowing water, with no chance of turning back.

Thinking of the blood-soaked floor before she closed her eyes, Qin Zhen's sobs grew louder. This startled Ji Wuhuan in the next room.

When Qin Zhen discovered that Ji Wuhuan was standing by her bedside, Ji Wuhuan had been watching her for a long time.

"If you're in so much pain, why did you still kill him?"

“I…I’m angry. I’m angry that he harmed Maple Leaf, Wushuang, and so many people in Tokyo.”

Wu Huan patted Qin Zhen's head and said, "You usually seem quite smart, so how come you let your emotions cloud your judgment when it comes to things involving feelings?"

Qin Zhen's tears flowed continuously. She stared blankly at Wu Huan. Wu Huan said, "In the grand scheme of things, what is right and what is wrong? There are no absolutes. What you consider wrong, he may consider perfectly normal. Even if he did something unjust, he didn't have bad intentions. Have you ever thought about that?"

Wu Huan continued to persuade Qin Zhen, saying, "Human nature is the foundation of humanity. While things may be good or evil, it's difficult to distinguish right from wrong. Conflicts need to be resolved slowly. Can they be resolved simply by dying? You killed Zhao Gou, but can those thousand-odd people come back to life? It would only add another source of bloodshed to this world..."

Qin Zhen looked at Ji Wuhuan intently and slowly sat up from the bed.

"Senior brother... are you trying to persuade me not to kill Zhao Gou? But Sister Wuhuan has been killed by him and her whereabouts are unknown, and... and Zhao Gou is already dead..."

"He can't die even if he wants to, without my consent."

Hearing Ji Wuhuan's "domineering" and confident words, Qin Zhen suddenly smiled and asked, "You saved him, you saved him, didn't you!"

Ji Wuhuan smiled and nodded, then frowned and said, "But the situation is not good. The poison of the Tianshan Ice Serpent requires Tianshan Snow Lotus as a medicinal ingredient. He is only temporarily alive now. I still need to find the medicinal ingredient to prepare the antidote."

Qin Zhen didn't hear what Ji Wuhuan said next. She only knew that Ji Wuhuan had saved Zhao Gou and that Zhao Gou was still alive. So, she jumped out of bed and ran to the next room.

Ji Wuhuan came to Nanjing to follow Iron Hammer Zhang in order to find the whereabouts of Shuihen and Zhao Yong, but unexpectedly learned two earth-shattering pieces of news from them.

One of them is Qin Zhen's attempt to kill Zhao Gou. The other is that Ji Wushuang is now in Zhao Gou's hands, not because she is trapped by him, but because she was rescued by Zhao Gou after failing to commit suicide!

Therefore, after learning all this, Ji Wuhuan immediately went to find Qin Zhen, but he was still a step too late.

After telling Qin Zhen about these things, Ji Wuhuan headed towards Tianshan. Qin Zhen also notified Wu Shaofen and his senior brother to search for Tianshan snow lotus in all directions.

The servants in the Prince of Qin's mansion only knew that the princess had left a seriously injured man in the mansion to recuperate, and they knew nothing else. Qin Zhen also ordered that this joy be kept secret, forbidding them from telling Yelü Chun or revealing it to the outside world.

Fortunately, Yelü Chun was seriously ill, and everyone in the Prince's mansion listened to Qin Zhen, so it did not cause any bigger trouble. Afterwards, Qin Zhen personally wrote a letter and asked Xu Hanwen to deliver it to Liu Qi so that he could be prepared.

During the days that Qin Zhen stayed by Zhao Gou's sickbed, he couldn't understand one question: since Zhao Gou had sent Zhao Yong to kill Ji Wushuang in the first place, why was he now saving her?

She clutched her head and pounded it a few times, muttering to herself, "What's wrong with me? I've gotten dumber and dumber these past few years..."

As she was pounding, a cold hand covered Qin Zhen's arm. She looked up in alarm and saw that Zhao Gou had woken up!

I went for an internship interview today, and it was quite a blow.

I thought that after the written test, the interview wouldn't ask any more highly technical questions, but who would have thought... sigh, it's really hard to get into a big company.