0p0 Chapter 152 General's Mansion 23
Chapter 152 General's Mansion 23
There is no home anymore...
I remembered the rumors I heard about the Zhou family a few days ago, the confiscation of their property, and their exile. It was all because of him.
"Sister, father and mother...how are they?" These words seemed to have drained all of Zhou Leping's strength. Please bless them to be alive, as long as they are alive, as long as they are alive, it will be fine.
"My aunt and uncle were sentenced to exile. But the public outcry was too intense. The streets were full of curses against you. My aunt and uncle tried to refute them, but no one believed them. They blamed you for the failure of the war. Even though you had disappeared long ago. My uncle died by hitting his head against the wall at the city gate to prove his innocence. My aunt followed him."
They are all dead, both his parents are gone.
"I'm going to kill them! I'm going to get revenge!"
Song Shuyi used all her strength to imprison the brother she had finally found, and tried her best to stop him. She cried with tears and pierced her heart with every word: "When my uncle and aunt were dying, they firmly believed that you did not commit treason. The sons and daughters of our Zhou family are worthy of heaven and earth, and even more so of the people. It doesn't matter what they think, Leping, as long as you have a clear conscience, that's enough. The most important thing now is that you have to survive. You are the only one left in the Zhou family, and you have to live well. This is not only my wish, but also the idea of my uncle and aunt. They don't care whether the rumors can be clarified. They only care whether you can survive in this world."
Looking at his wounded sister, Zhou Leping gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and finally nodded. "I will survive. We all have to survive."
Song Shuyi's eyes were filled with tears after she saw Zhou Leping. Looking at his completely unfamiliar face, she felt a little relieved. These two completely different faces should be able to help him survive in this chaotic world.
"After my uncle and aunt left, I wanted to go to the front to find out your whereabouts. But there were too many obstacles around me and I couldn't get away. After asking around, I finally heard from a Daqi man that you were dead. You died on the night you were captured. I couldn't believe it. My brother was so powerful, how could he die like this?"
"Until Ning'an Pass fell, everyone ran away, and I was forced to flee south by them. However, the farther I was from the capital, the more panicked I became. I was worried that if I left, I would never hear from you again in this life. I thought I had to wait for you in the capital. The army of Da Qi will definitely come. I have to wait here for you to come back."
Zhou Leping choked up: "You should have gone with them."
Song Shuyi shook her head: "The eldest son of the Gu family said the same thing. He said that there is no one left in the Zhou family, and I should follow him. Go south to my father. He also said that we will get married in the south as scheduled according to the marriage contract, and I will marry from the Song Mansion. We will live in love for the rest of our lives."
Zhou Leping nodded: "You should be happy."
Song Shuyi looked at her brother kneeling in front of her, tears streaming down her face. "Whose family is the Song family? I have never been there, so why should I marry there? Besides, now that you are gone, how can I be happy in the future?"
"So, when there were still a dozen days left before the wedding, I broke off the engagement. I want to find you. Even if my brother is really dead, he can't die in such an unclear way! I want to see his body, whether he's alive or dead. I have to bring my brother to my aunt and uncle."
Zhou Leping's throat seemed to be strangled by a big hand, and he couldn't say a word. His sister clearly had a way out, and was clearly going to get married. She would have a happy family in the future. However, because of him, his sister threw it all away.
Zhou Leping is a scoundrel who destroyed the whole family! He is a disaster!
Song Shuyi spoke softly but with a cheerful tone: "I returned to the capital, and the army of Da Qi finally arrived. I thought I would be one of the souls killed by the sword. But I didn't expect that their soldiers didn't harm ordinary people. Moreover, to my shock, I actually saw Jing Zhuo in the army of Da Qi."
"That was definitely Jing Zhuo. Even if he had changed into Da Qi's clothes, I would never have mistaken him. After much inquiry, I learned that the man's name was Zhuo Jing, and he was the son of Marshal Zhuo Feng."
"I laughed immediately. Jing Zhuo was actually from Da Qi, and he was the son of the marshal. I wondered if he would secretly rescue you in the Da Qi army. After all, Jing Zhuo would not watch you die. I had to find a way to sneak into the barracks to check it out. However, the Da Qi barracks were much more strict than I imagined. No matter how much money or effort I put in, there was no way for me to get in. I happened to hear that they were recruiting military prostitutes, and I thought I should have a chance."
Zhou Leping was already sobbing and lying on the thin blanket that wrapped his sister, tears dripping into the cotton wool. He hated himself and wanted to torture himself to share the pain his sister was going through.
Song Shuyi gently patted Zhou Leping's back, just like she comforted him when he was a child: "Don't be sad, this is my own choice. I have long been prepared to accept the bitter consequences."
"After arriving at the military camp, I really heard a lot of news. They all said that Zhou Leping had died and that General Zhuo personally handled the funeral.
. With such a firm conviction, I am naturally more certain that you are alive. A few days later, I heard from them that General Zhuo was very fond of a personal guard named Xiaoji. Even though the guard was seriously injured, he never gave up and brought him all the way to the capital. "
"I wondered if Xiaoji was you. I wanted to go and see. But there was no way out of here. So I sewed the ribbon, hoping that you would see it one day."
"But, I couldn't wait for you. I could only ask for Xiaoji's news. They said that Xiaoji's injury was still not healed. I also heard that Xiaoji had lost his memory. He couldn't remember anything from the past."
Song Shuyi narrated slowly, and Zhou Leping listened with gritted teeth: "I didn't know what kind of injury could make a person lose his memory. Until one day, I met a witch doctor. While he was drunk, I found out that there was a kind of poisonous insect that could make a person completely lose his memory! Moreover, it could also make a person completely change his appearance. And it just so happened that Jing Zhuo had once fed this kind of poisonous insect to a seriously injured person."
Song Shuyi touched Zhou Leping's head with a look of heartache: "I can't believe how much pain you have endured to survive. It must be so painful to have the poison in your brain!"
"I can't remember."
"That's fine. It's fine even if you can't remember. The witch doctor didn't tell me how to remove the poisonous insect, so I thought you would never remember it. I thought Zhou Leping's memory was really gone forever. I thought, I'd like to see you before I die. Even if you don't know me, as long as you know that you are living well, you can forget about the past. But I didn't expect that you actually remembered it. My Leping is back."
Zhou Leping hugged his sister and held her tightly in his arms: "Well, I remember, sister, let's leave this place together. Let's live somewhere where no one knows us. Forget everything here, and we can live well."
But Song Shuyi shook her head: "The reason why I am still alive is to find you. I promised my uncle and aunt before that I would bring you to them. Now I have found you, and I believe they have seen it in heaven. I don't have any extravagant requests. Now I just hope to find my mother. I really miss her."
Zhou Leping shook her head desperately: "Sister, we can't do this, sister, we can still survive."
Song Shuyi wanted to raise her hand to touch her brother's face, but after thinking about it, she put her hand down. She showed a bitter smile: "Fool, it's easy to deceive others, but how can I deceive myself?"
At this time, Zhou Leping discovered that the thin blanket wrapped around his sister was actually oozing blood. Zhou Leping reached out to check, but was stopped by his sister: "Don't look, don't look. Just let me die!"
"sister!"
"Hey." Song Shuyi responded softly. There were more and more blood stains on the quilt, but she smiled: "In my box, there is a wedding dress that I have never worn. After I die, find someone to change it for me. I wanted to wear it beautifully on the wedding day, but unfortunately there is no chance after all."
"After I die, please burn this body of mine. No need to erect a monument. Just let the wind blow away everything about me, cleanly and without leaving any trace."
"Sister, how can I live on my own! How can you let me live on my own!"
"Fool, it's only a few decades, what's so hard to endure? My mother...and...my aunt...and my uncle...and I will be waiting for you at the Naihe Bridge."
The hands finally fell down, and a bloody golden hairpin also fell out from the quilt.
Zhou Leping stared at the golden hairpin decorated with a phoenix. How could he not know this hairpin? It was clearly the golden hairpin of the Queen Mother that he won for his sister at the garden party that year. He had originally thought of it as a make-up for his sister. But he did not expect that it would eventually become the murder weapon that took his sister's life.
Zhou Leping reached out and picked up the hairpin on the ground with a trembling hand. It seemed that his tears had dried up and he could not cry anymore. He had no family left. In this world, he no longer had any family.