Hidden Sky Light

"General Shen." Dai Jingjie stepped forward according to his saber.

His fists hidden between his sleeves clenched tightly, trying not to show sadness and anger in front of Shen Ci, his voice of pressure, as calm as possible, "I will send the general for a ride."

The Dali Temple is in charge of the actual judicial Xing Prison, and the Dali Temple Prison is...

Few of the officials who can enter the prison of Dali Temple can get out of it.

Earlier, the Censor's Office impeached General Shen, saying that the Shen family had cooperated with the enemy and betrayed the country.

But today, it was the Son of Heaven who hand-picked him into the Dali Temple to await the trial.

The Son of Heaven said, General Shen should not say that he will return to the Imperial Army again, it will not be easy to get out of the Dali Temple safely.

Dai Jingjie choked up in his throat, "General..."

Shen Ci said warmly, "Okay."

"General!" Dai Jingjie's heart was full of anger and unwillingness. Just as he was about to speak again, Shen Ci interrupted, "Be careful with your words and deeds."

Dai Jingjie's fingertips clucked.

"On the way to Dali Temple, I happened to have something to tell you." Shen Ci reassured, "Go out and talk."

Dai Jingjie endured the drowsiness in his eyes and nodded slowly.

Before turning around, Shen Ci looked not far away.

Not far away, Xiao Wuzheng's eyes were red, and he wanted to go forward...

Shen Ci shook his head at him.

Xiao Wu bit his lower lip, barely able to stop crying.

Xiao Wu was only sixteen or seventeen years old. When he was in the army earlier, he had seen golden horses and iron horses, and he had also fought on the battlefield. He had seen the pile of dead people buried in bones, and he had seen the triumphant flag raised high; This time when I really entered the capital, I saw what is called a battlefield where people kill without blood, and what is called gold in public, accumulating and destroying bones...

It is clear that the general will not betray the emperor, but each has his own purpose, pushing the situation step by step to today, and pushing the general step by step to the current Emperor Jing.

"General..." Xiao Wu tightly pressed the saber on his waist, and finally cried out in the face of Shen Ci.

Shen Ci whispered to Dai Jingjie, "Take care of Xiao Wu."

Dai Jingjie nodded.

Shen Ci glanced at Xiao Wu from a distance, and said to Dai Jingjie, "Let's go."

Shen Ci turned around and Dai Jingjie followed.

Xiao Wu's eyes became more and more hazy, his tears fell uncontrollably, and he wanted to catch up with his feet, but when he saw Shen Ci stopped, he turned around, shook his head at him, and said with a mouth he could understand, military order.

Xiao Wu stopped, with tears and snot on his face, but he didn't take a step forward with a military order. He watched Shen Ci and Dai Jingjie leave the hall together.

Xiao Wu sobbed, but did not dare to speak aloud. After Shen Ci and Dai Jingjie disappeared outside the hall, they slowly sat down behind the stone pillar engraved with the five-clawed golden dragon in the hall.

- Xiao Wu, take care of the emperor and the prince for me.

general...

Xiao Wu burst into tears, the tears soaked the front of his clothes, his fingertips sank deeply, and finally buried his head in his arms, and did not make a sound.

***

On the carriage to Dali Temple, Shen Ci was with Dai Jingjie.

"General, this matter is too strange, and suddenly it started to brew in the court, adding fuel to the flames, and it was too late to respond. This is basically aimed at the general, general... Your Majesty, why does Your Majesty not believe in the general!"

Dai Jingjie lowered his voice.

Shen Ci looked at him, "It's not that I don't believe it. Jing Jie, this is for me, but it's also for your Majesty. The forbidden army is in my hands, I am a confidant of the emperor, and it is impossible to defect, but it is different for another person. Jingjie, listen carefully, you may not have the opportunity to be alone with me in the future, remember what I said, no matter whether I am detained in the Dali Temple prison, or the emperor has other arrangements, you should take good care of the banned army, don't rashly Act, the military power of the forbidden army cannot be lost, and protect the emperor for me!"

Dai Jingjie couldn't help trembling, "General!"

"Can you do it?" Shen Ci said in a deep voice.

Dai Jingjie choked up again, "If they..."

Shen Ci took the words from his mouth, "If they do anything, you jump out to stand up for me, you are the remnant of the rebellion with me, and you are in the arms of others."

Dai Jingjie took a deep breath, still trembling between his lips and teeth.

Shen Ci continued, "If you hand over the military power of the Imperial Army to others, especially those with ulterior motives, the consequences will be disastrous. Jing Jie, the ancestors of the Dai family were once the guards of the emperor's grandfather. It's different, as long as you don't make a mistake, others can't catch you. I can rest assured that the Imperial Army is in your hands."

Dai Jingjie lowered his eyes and nodded.

The carriage slowly stopped, and both of them knew that they were outside the Dali Temple.

"Don't follow." Shen Ci lifted the curtain of the carriage.

"Please remove your armor, General." After entering the prison, the jailer of Dali Temple asked for instructions.

Although it is the emperor's intention to detain General Shen in prison pending trial, but everyone in Beijing knows that General Shen is someone close to the emperor. Even if there is an accident in the Shen family, he will not be treated as a criminal who is actually detained until a final conclusion is reached. .

He will not be shackled, nor will he be tortured, but the armor on his body cannot be left.

"Okay." Shen Ci was not embarrassed.

Take off the armor and hand it over to the jailer.

The jailer was surprised, he took it in both hands, bowed and said, "The little one has retired first."

The prison door was locked, and suddenly, the surroundings seemed to be quiet, except for the sound of footsteps walking away, there was only the sound of the newly locked chain colliding gently.

Dali Temple is divided into many prisons, and this is not a death row.

He has a special status, there are no detainees around him, and he is the only one in the empty prison.

There was barely a ray of light in the prison, and next to it was a wall lamp.

Shen Ci knew that this could bring light to the prison.

Go to the next place, you should not see the sun.

Shen Ci sat down on one side, staring at the wall lamp in a trance.

What Dai Jingjie said was true, this matter suddenly began to brew in the court, adding fuel to the flames, and it was too late to react, it was directed at him.

In such a short time, and knowing so much about Big Brother, he was well prepared.

He was surprised because it was only through Xiao Mingju and Jiang Hongyun's mouth that he knew what was going on, and he finally put together what the elder brother said in the letter and what he told his sister-in-law...

Shanhai said that Chen Ling had seen his elder brother.

- Zi'an, how much do you know? "

——If you want me to know, you will tell me; if you don’t want me to know, I don’t know.

Chen Ling didn't tell him, because if no one mentioned the matter, the matter of the Shen family would be equivalent to turning the page over.

Chen Ling will not mention it again.

But this matter was used to make an article, and it suddenly came to the forefront. It was mastered by the other party early in the morning.

Either he or the Shen family has caused trouble for the Son of Heaven again.

He closed his eyes.

In the icy prison, there is a chill in the cold.

If you stay in such a place for a long time, your heart will be twisted, irritable, and dark.

Shen Ci took out the concentric knot from his sleeve, and he kept it with him all the time, but he didn't expect that it was the only sustenance in the dark prison at the moment.

how should I do?

A Ling...

***

The matter of the Shen family's treason quickly fermented, and Shen Ci was in an important position again. The influence and importance of Shen Ying's participation in treason and treason far outweighed the original Pingnan Houfu involving the Hucheng government and silver.

Therefore, since September, Dali Temple has presided over two rounds of trials.

From early to mid-September, Shen Ci was arraigned twice.

In fact, there was no further progress in the two trials, and all the evidence stayed in the early court. Although Dali Temple sorted out the whole case, it also tried to extract something from Shen Ci's mouth during the trial.

But Shen Ci didn't answer.

All things end in ignorance.

Although Shen Ci is currently detained in the Dali Temple prison, the original words of the emperor were to be detained and await a trial.

This one is very subtle!

It's detention, awaiting trial; it's not dismissal!

There is a world of difference between the two.

Everyone in Dali Temple can only guess what the emperor means, and no one dares to act rashly until they understand it.

Shen Ci is different from local officials or civil officials in the court.

Not to mention the family rank of the Shen family, the status of Shen Ci's grandfather in the army, the prestige of Shen Ci in the garrison of Licheng Border Pass, and the official position of commander of the forbidden army, are hot potatoes for Dali Temple.

During the whole process, apart from the separate custody of Shen Ci and the prisoners in the middle of the Dali Temple, no torture could be used.

But the emperor was urging again, so the trial round after round, but nothing at all.

Until late September, the Dali Temple suddenly interrogated, and the jailer told Shen Ci privately that the emperor came to Dali Temple to hear the trial in person.

Shen Ci's heart sank.

Chen Ling will not come for no reason...

If the first round, two rounds and three rounds of trial in Dali Temple are over, there is no conclusive evidence to conclude, and Chen Ling will not show up after the fourth round of final trial. But when Chen Ling came to Dali Temple, Shen Ci knew that something had happened again.

In the hearing hall of the Dali Temple, Chen Ling was on the side of the hearing.

Earlier in the trial, Shen Ci never knelt down, but now that the emperor arrived, Shen Ci knelt down on one knee.

Chen Ling didn't say anything.

It became clearer and clearer that something had happened in Shen Ci's heart.

In the previous trial, the Dali Temple and the trial department would take turns to question, but this time, Jiang Hongyun directly brought witnesses to court.

Shen Ci raised his head, and when he saw that the other party was Yu Manlou, Shen Ci froze.

Uncle Yu?

Uncle Yu is the steward around the eldest brother, and Uncle Yu knows everything about the eldest brother.

One month before the eldest brother left home, Uncle Yu resigned and left the Shen family.

After his father passed away, the time he saw his sister-in-law when he came home, after the sister-in-law gave him the letter from his elder brother, he asked someone to check Yu Manlou, but he never found Yumanlou, and the whole family of Yumanlou was young and old. All disappeared.

Suddenly, seeing Yu Manlou in Dali Temple, Shen Ci's face began to look ugly.

In the trial hall of Dali Temple, Shen Ying also knew that Yu Manlou was intercepted in the south, and then escorted all the way into Beijing.

Yu Manlou denied that Shen Ying was involved in the conspiracy, and insisted that Shen Ying did not know about it, but when Dali Temple summoned Lei Gengsheng's nephew to confront him in the hall, Yu Manlou also froze.

Before getting up early, Yu Manlou and Shen Ci had met Lei Huanwen. Lei Huanwen confessed that it was indeed Shen Ying and Lei Gengsheng who sent Xirong people into Yanhan in batches through the business channels of the Lei family. I have been to Yumanlou.

Lei Huanwen also mentioned that later, Lei Gengsheng realized that he had brought wolves into the house, and he also asked Lei Huanwen how to get rid of these Xirong people, saying that he was also deceived and trapped.

Lei Huanwen knew exactly what happened in this section, but Lei Huanwen also believed that he had seen Yu Manlou, and explained exactly when he saw Yu Manlou, when and where, and who he was. The temple has also verified, and also brought the witness of the time. Everything can be matched, and Yu Manlou's denial is futile.

During the whole process, Chen Ling kept his eyes on Shen Ci, without saying a word.

The surrounding officials can also see clearly...

There was a confrontation in the hall, and the certified physical evidence on the side were also presented one after another. Jiang Hongyun looked at Shen Ci and asked in a deep voice, "General Shen, whether the Shen family participated in Tan Jin's rebellion, the evidence is in the letter; but the Shen family participated in collaborating with the enemy and treason. The evidence is conclusive, General Shen, do you agree?"

Yu Manlou was full of remorse and powerlessness, "Second Master..."

Shen Ci lowered his head without raising it, and said solemnly, "I don't recognize it."

"This." Not only Jiang Hongyu, but the surrounding officials who participated in the trial were also stunned.

This is not the first time that Shen Ci has done this.

But this time the Son of Heaven is here, and the evidence just now has been matched.

Yu Manlou clenched his fingertips.

Shen Ci lowered his voice, "I don't recognize it."

Fang Siping lowered his eyes.

Jiang Hongyu had no choice but to ask the emperor, "Your Majesty, do you want to punish him?"

At this point...

But the emperor didn't answer, but got up and walked straight to Shen Ci, "I'll ask you again, have you done it?"

Shen Ci didn't look up, "No."

Chen Ling suddenly took a deep breath, annoyance, disappointment, sadness and inexhaustible complex emotions could be heard in the hall, "Is it bad for you, Shen Ci?"

The hall was stunned.

I never thought that God would say this...

Shen Ci was also stunned, and looked up at her blankly.

"You are my companion, you said when you were young that you were going to the border gate, and I asked you to go to the border gate of Licheng; Tan Jin rebelled, I asked you to return to Beijing to take charge of the Imperial Army, seal the prince as Taibao, and let the prince follow you... How much I trust you! Don't you understand? Don't you understand what Shen Ci has done with these **** done by the Shen family! Then what else do you know!"

The emperor was furious, and not only gave a deep speech, but all the ministers in the hall knelt down one after another, not daring to look up at the emperor.

The surroundings were so quiet that only one's own breathing could be heard, no one dared to make a sound, and no one dared to make any noise from the side, they all knelt in the same place, waiting for the emperor.

After a while, Chen Ling said angrily, "Shen Zi'an, I'm asking you something!"

Everyone in the hall trembled, and his breathing was shaking, and he didn't dare to raise his head again.

Shen Ci looked at Chen Ling, his eyes gradually became rosy, he wanted to speak out, but he didn't know how to speak out, and finally he lowered his voice again, and said in a suppressed voice, "The last general is the son of the emperor's companion, and he has never had a second heart for His Majesty, no matter what. Whether the last commander is at the border or in the capital, he will only do his best and die, but the last commander will not recognize it! My brother is not here, all the reasons and consequences today are all speculation! Patriotism, single-mindedness, if I recognize it, I am sorry for my grandfather, I am sorry for the Shen family, I am sorry for the ancestors of the Shen family, I cannot recognize it! I am a descendant of the Shen family, and the ancestors of the Shen family are only heroes. When the horse hides the body, instead of dying here..."

Shen Ci swallowed heavily, and said again, "I will deny it at the end."

Even the sound of breathing in the hall was stagnant, and he never thought that Shen Ci would say these words in front of the emperor.

The emperor didn't answer, and everyone in the hall didn't know what to do next, so they all held their breaths and waited.

Right now, anything is possible.

Shen Ci clenched his palm.

Chen Ling nods his head, his eyes are dense, "Do you want to wrap the body in horse leather?"

Shen Ci was stunned.

Chen Ling continued to nod, "Okay, I will fulfill you."

Shen Ci froze, and everyone in the hall froze.

But instead of waiting for the emperor to speak, he heard a heavy cuff of sleeves, and then the emperor left the hall with a red scoop, and never came back.

Shen Ci lowered his head.

But Jiang Hongyun and Fang Siping raised their heads one after another following the footsteps of the emperor leaving.

This, how can this continue the trial...

Everyone looked at each other.

The attitude of the emperor just now, and the words of the emperor just now, were clearly angry, but in the end, no one knew what the emperor meant, and no one dared to ask them in detail.

"Mr. Jiang, how is this going to be judged?"

Jiang Hongyun is the presiding judge, and in such a situation, a side trial officer asked about it.

Jiang Hongyun also sighed heavily, this case has not been easy to try from the beginning, and it has never been tried, and it is even more difficult now...

How else to judge!

"Return to the Dali Temple prison first, and wait for the retrial." Jiang Hongyun fixed the tone.

In Shen Ci's case, there was one trial, two trials, three trials, countless trials, and the result was the same - only the emperor tried, the emperor decided, and everything else was futile.

Fang Siping looked at Shen Ci, Shen Ci's eyes had long been blank.

From the hall to the prison, Shen Ci did not speak again, but continued to sit by the wall, looking up at the wall lamp in a trance.

Chen Ling's every sentence today is like a sword poking into his heart...

She might not really think so.

But every sentence she said was right, and every sentence she said was the reaction of the Shen family to rebellion, a son of heaven should have...

Just never said it was broken.

The Shen family rebelled, and another emperor would not be as good as Chen Ling.

Knowing the calamity, or...

Shen Ci gritted his teeth.

When will he really be able to carry these shoulders for her.

***

In the next five or six days, no one in the Dali Temple was arraigned, and there was no further judgment, and more news came again.

Shen Ci's whole person is not as sober and calm as before.

The eye sockets are deeply sunken, and some days and nights are reversed.

This is the case in Dali Temple, but the Dali Temple has not announced the progress of the tribunal for a long time, and there is a lot of quarrel.

In the morning, the Censor Station took the lead to put pressure on Dali Temple.

Jiang Hongyun acted as the director of Dali Temple, and he was speechless, and he also understood the dilemma of the daily Shiyong in the morning.

The Censor Desk was responsible for talking about this matter, but all the pressure fell on Dali Temple.

Jiang Hongyun was also annoyed.

But in addition to the Censor Desk, there were also officials from the Ministry of Punishment and the Ministry of Personnel who repeatedly mentioned matters related to the Shen family in the early court. It is now September, and with all the certified evidence, whether the emperor or Dali Temple has not given the following, how many pairs of eyes are looking at the emperor, it is really detrimental to the justice and prestige of the emperor.

Therefore, in addition to the official mention in the early court, some people fanned the flames in the Guozijian, inciting the students of the Guozijian to jointly submit a letter.

There were also students who could not afford to kneel outside the palace.

In the next few days, stacks of documents from the court officials, large and small, had to be presented to the Lihe Hall. Qishan was shocked to see them.

Qishan knew that it was about General Shen, and the emperor was having a hard time.

But on the morning of the sixth day, Guozijian again submitted a student petition, demanding that Shen Ci be severely punished to show the emperor's justice.

And the Censor's Desk followed closely. If the Shen family matter is not resolved as soon as possible, I am afraid that there will be a second Tan Jin in the court, asking the emperor to conclude the matter of the Shen family's rebellion, so as to appease the court and the people.

"I implore Your Majesty to come to a conclusion and appease the hearts and minds of the DPRK and the people!"

One after another, officials were invited to play.

Fang Sifu was horrified, this was all aimed at taking General Shen's life. He knew that the emperor was thinking about how to take out General Shen, but he mentioned it at this time, because he didn't want to give General Shen a way to survive. Oh, this time General Shen is probably going to have an accident...

Dai Jingjie held down the saber firmly, for fear that he could not hold back, this group of people would kill the boss!

But Dai Jingjie remembered what Shen Ci said earlier.

——If they do anything, you jump out to stand up for me, you are the remnant of the rebellion with me, and you are in the arms of others.

——If the military power of the forbidden army is handed over to others, especially those with ulterior motives, the consequences will be disastrous. Your entry into the Imperial Army was hand-picked by the late emperor. Unlike others, as long as you make no mistakes, others will not be able to catch you. I can rest assured that the Imperial Army is in your hands.

Dai Jingjie suppressed the anger in his heart and listened to the increasingly strong denunciation atmosphere in the hall.

Ning Rutao looked at Chen Ling, who had been silent since the beginning.

Qishan was also worried and looked at Chen Ling, who was the queen of the Twelve Yuzaoya, but Chen Ling never said a word.

Until Xiao Ming in the court kowtowed, "Your Majesty, in a peaceful and prosperous world, open the way, and now the officials in the court and China have all requested orders to dispose of the Shen family, and please ask Your Majesty to decide."

"Bring Shen Ci to the temple." Chen Ling said quietly.

"Yes!" Qishan responded, and then informed the guards on one side, and immediately the guards on duty in the hall went to Dali Temple to pick up people.

In the early morning, the momentum that everyone wanted to criticize and write down suddenly stopped and returned to the discussion.

When Shen Ci arrived in the hall, the hall suddenly became quiet.

When I saw Shen Ci earlier, he just handed in his saber and waist card, but he was still wearing the armor of the Imperial Army.

Goodbye this time, the armor has been removed, and although his face is tired, he is not shackled or wearing prison clothes. The sober mind in the hall immediately understands that it is the Son of Heaven who did not make a sound, so Dali Temple did not dare to let Shen Ci prison clothes.

I heard earlier that the Dali Temple trial, the emperor scolded Shen Ci, and everyone pushed the wall down. This has always been the truth, so many people came out to petition today. Shen Ci was once again a holy favor earlier, but the Shen family's rebellion is a taboo. Even if he can save his life, he is afraid that he will die in the death row of the Dali Temple, and he has long been an abandoned son in the hands of the emperor. The emperor may still remember a few days, but the affairs of the court will be over in a few days, and no one will not turn around without it.

But seeing Shen Ci today, he proposed from Dali Temple that he could still be decent in the hall, and many people in the court retreated.

"The last general has seen His Majesty." Shen Ci knelt down on one knee in the hall, a military salute.

But the emperor didn't say anything.

The more shrewd people in the court, suddenly sensed something wrong.

Suddenly, above the main hall, the emperor got up, stepped on the red ladle and walked down the steps of the hall. A bright yellow dragon robe was dazzling and dazzling in the hall, and the jade algae on the crown swayed gently in the morning light. , Majestic, solemn, with the bearing of the emperor, solemn and soul-stirring.

The emperor was born handsome, and against the background of a dragon robe and a maiden robe, his clothes were evenly tied, revealing an indescribable elegance.

In the hall, Ning Xiang took the lead, and all the officials knelt down to the emperor.

The emperor's red spoon stopped in front of Shen Ci.

Shen Ci held his breath, listened to the people nearby, and said gently, "Yan Jin ten years, the late emperor asked Shen Ci to take me into the capital. Since then, Shen Ci has been my companion, and Shen Ci was ordered by the late emperor. Taking care of me everywhere, I was my first playmate in Beijing when I was young."

"In the fifteenth year of Yan Jin, I was established as the heir, and Shen Ci was my companion in the East Palace. From the fifteenth year of Yan Jin to the eighteenth year of Yan Jin, Shen Ci rescued me in danger more than thirty times. Blocked the open guns and dark arrows; when the horse group was frightened, everyone was stunned, and it was Shen Ci who carried me out from the rush of horses; in Huai City, I was stabbed by an assassin mixed in the forbidden army, Shen Ci carried me away Three days and three nights..."

"In the eighteenth year of Yan Jin, I asked Shen Ci what he wanted to do most, and Shen Ci told me that the old general Shen told him that the Shen family is loyal, and the descendants of the Shen family should be dressed in military uniforms. The horse leather wraps the body, but also gallops through the border to protect the family and the country. I asked Shen to resign from the Licheng border, and he followed General Liu for several years, crawling out of the dead pile countless times..."

"Three years of Yan Heng, during the Huaicheng Rebellion, I was imprisoned in Fuyang. It was Shen Ci and a few people who searched the whole Fuyang and rescued me and the prince. Do you know how to save it?"

Chen Ling whispered, "Take off your clothes."

Shen Ci lowered his eyes and loosened his robe a little.

Chen Ling said in a deep voice, "Let me look up..."

Everyone in the hall raised their eyes in surprise, but when they saw Shen Ci, they all froze.

Even Xiao Mingju, who has always been aggressive, was silent.

Dai Jingjie's eyes suddenly turned red.

Chen Ling continued, "When I was in Fuyang County, Lou Chi led the troops to chase and block him, and I took the prince away. Shen Ci told Lou Chi's people that whoever wants to kill me should step on his corpse; have you seen it? , except for these years at the border, they are all left by Fuyang County. Every wound is on the way to escape. The doctor brought the medicine on me, can you count it? It is high in the temple, you can see some How many?"

Xiao Wu stretched out his hand to cover the corner of his mouth, and the tears couldn't stop falling.

The tip of Chen Ling's nose was slightly red, "Listen to me, I and the prince's lives were saved by Shen Ci, whoever wants to force me to kill Shen Ci today, I will kill whoever!"

Shen Ci froze and looked up at her.

The hall was also silent.

"The Shen family is loyal and fierce, saying that the Shen family rebelled and Shen Ci rebelled, and I wouldn't believe a word! I won't chill the hearts of the border garrison troops, nor the hearts of the forbidden troops in the capital! Who wants to die in the hall to remonstrate Yes, now I will run into my face and die in front of me, and see if I will stop me!"

The hall was silent and deadly silent, and no one dared to answer.

Shen Ci's eyes were tight, and his throat was also choked up.

Chen Ling came to him again, "Go to the north for me, without my edict, I will never return to Beijing!"

——I miss your Shen family as a loyal and strong one. This matter will not be extraneous, but from today, you will get out of the East Palace for you!

Shen Ci's eyes were warm and couldn't bear it any longer.

"Retreat!"