[R18] Will drink wine – Chapter 16 of “About Wine” [English]

Chapter 16 Heavy Rain

Later the wind picked up and the rain fell.

Xiao Chiye was galloping in the rain. When he arrived at the Imperial Academy, he heard Gao Zhongxiong looking up and shouting: “If we don’t kill the national traitors, the public’s anger will be difficult to quell!”

The students behind him kowtowed and shouted in unison: “If we don’t kill the national traitors, the public’s anger will be hard to quell!”

The dust rain splashed and wet the students’ clothes and hair.

Xiao Chiye reined in his horse, and the horse’s hooves shifted on the same spot. He looked at it for a while and said loudly: “What did you do earlier? If you had knelt down like this when the remnants entered the capital, you would never have been able to save your life.”

Gao Zhongxiong’s chest heaved and he said: “Your Majesty Governor, it is not too late to make amends for the situation. Now that the remnants have not fully fledged, as long as the emperor is willing to take back his orders and deal with them strictly, it can be regarded as a comfort to Zhongbo’s loyal soul!”

“There is absolutely no reason for the Emperor’s oral orders to be changed overnight.” Xiao Chiye said, “You are kneeling like this, not to ask the Emperor to withdraw his orders, but to force the Emperor to withdraw his orders. You are all filial and loyal people in the world. There are a hundred ways to do so, so why should you use the lowest policy?”

“My Lord Governor.” Gao Zhongxiong raised his head, “We will die to remonstrate, and we will fight to the death! If we are to watch the emperor being deceived and acting foolishly, why don’t we have to spill our blood on the imperial palace tonight to prove our will to death!”

Xiao Chiye said: “Is this the only skill of civil servants in ancient times who often threatens others with death?”

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, but the students remained motionless.

Xiao Chiye dismounted and squatted in front of Gao Zhongxiong.The rain was pouring like a waterfall. He leaned closer and asked: “Who instigated it?”

Gao Zhongxiong showed a resolute look on his face and said: “My loyalty to the emperor prompts me!”

Xiao Chiye showed his arrogance, heSaid: “I don’t think so. If you want to be a bailout, you can do it. But what you did tonight will affect the three thousand classmates behind you. If the emperor is angry and blood flows tonight, you will be the same as the remnants of the Shen family, and you will be sinners through the ages. What you are most afraid of is not this. What is most afraid is that your head falls on the ground, and the emperor still refuses to reap the rewards. You have studied hard for twelve years in a cold window, just to be a robbery stick for others?”

Gao Zhongxiong raised his arm to wipe the rain off his face, and said: “What I did was a matter of loyalty, which is completely different from Shen’s betrayal of the country! Even if three thousand students like me and I die here tonight, and the imperial palace is covered with blood, it is for the sake of the emperor!”

Xiao Chiye said: “Under such circumstances, the palace neither withdraws Shen Zechuan’s appointment nor sends out an edict to appease the students. Don’t you understand what the emperor means?”

“If the emperor does not withdraw his orders for a day,” Gao Zhongxiong said, “we will not eat, afford, or retreat for a day!”

The thunderstorm roared and Xiao Chiye stood up.Chenyang wanted to hold an umbrella for him, but he raised his hand to stop him.The rain soaked through the clothes, and the tag on the waist was also dripping with water.

“Governor.” Chen Yang suddenly said softly, “The Jinyi Guards are here!”

Xiao Chiye turned around from the rain and saw Qiao Tianya arriving on horseback. He dismounted and rushed towards him, cupping his fists and saluting from afar.

When the students saw Tiqi, there was a sudden commotion.

“This matter is difficult, so I don’t want to trouble the governor.” Qiao Tianya held up his knife and smiled, “It’s next to our Jin Yiwei, so it’s natural for us Jin Yiwei to solve it ourselves.”

“Solve it.” Xiao Chiye casually raised his arm, put it on Qiao Tianya’s shoulder, and said, “How can Zhen Fu solve it? How can a group of unarmed students work for the Jinyi Guards?”

“In this capital, the emperor is the biggest.” Qiao Tianya glanced sideways, “Whoever dares to disobey the emperor’s order will be the enemy of Jin Yiwei.”

Xiao Chiye and he looked at each other, and after a moment they both laughed loudly at the same time.

“Good brother.” Xiao Chiye said, “How courageous.”

“It’s raining heavily and cold.” Qiao Tianya clasped his fingers on the knife and said, “I’ll send someone to take the governor back to his mansion.”

“I just arrived a moment ago.” Xiao Chiye’s hand on his shoulder didn’t move, making him unable to move the hand holding the handle of the knife. He still said with a smile on his face, “It doesn’t matter if I stay a little longer.”

Qiao Tianya said: “This matter is not easy to handle. Why should the governor stir up this troubled water?”

Xiao Chiye said: “It’s just that it’s difficult to handle, so we can’t do it all at once. These students are all important to the country, and no one can afford to lose one.”

The man who dismounted behind was wearing a thin and wide shirt and no sword. He was caught among a group of guards in royal robes, which was very eye-catching.

Qiao Tianya let go of the hand holding the knife and shouted: “Lan Zhou, come here.”

Shen Zechuan turned around and looked at Xiao Chiye.

Qiao Tianya leisurely moved Xiao Chiye’s arm away and said, “What the Governor is worried about is that our Jin Yiwei does not just act recklessly. I have some arrangements on the other end, and the emperor’s order will arrive later… Ah, you are still old friends, right? Lan Zhou, stay here with the Governor for a while, he is afraid.”

Shen Zechuan rolled up his sleeves and looked at the students in the rain.

Xiao Chiye glanced at him and said, “It’s so easy to hang up your belt.”

Shen Zechuan said: “Second Young Master’s brand also returns quickly.”

Xiao Chiye’s brows were cold, but he smiled and said: “Although this matter seems to be directed at you, it is actually directed at the palace. What, because yesterday’s harvest was too small, so I just got out of the prison and want to make trouble?”

Shen Zechuan tilted his head slightly, looked at he with a very pure and kind look, and said: “Second Young Master, look at me, I don’t have the ability to change everything. Since I am going to the palace, who is hoping that the Emperor and the Hua family will turn against each other now? Second Young Master, don’t you understand better than me?”

Xiao Chiye said: “I don’t understand. I don’t understand the crooked things the most.”

Shen Zechuan smiled at he and said, “We are old acquaintances, why are you being polite to me?”

Xiao Chiye did not answer this, but raised his finger and lightly dusted Shen Zechuan’s waist badge and said, “The Elephant Taming Center is a good place, are you happy?”

“Happy.” Shen Zechuan said, “I happen to have a lot of experience in taming wild beasts.”

“Experiences don’t count.” Xiao Chiye said, “That’s called in-depth discussions with similar people.”

“How dare you have a deep talk.” Shen Zechuan coughed slightly and said, “If the talk breaks down and I get kicked again, wouldn’t all my previous efforts be wasted?”

“Use your teeth.” Xiao Chiye took the umbrella from Chen Yang, held it above his head, and blocked Shen Zechuan.He said, “You are not sharp-tongued, so what are you afraid of?”

“I cherish my life.” Shen Zechuan sighed with emotion, “They say a drop of kindness should be repaid by a spring. I still have a lot to repay to the Second Young Master.”

“You must have found the wrong person.” Xiao Chiye sneered.

“That’s not possible.” Shen Zechuan turned his eyes slightly and said calmly to Xiao Chizhi, “I recognize him.”

“Okay.” Xiao Chiye also looked sideways and said, “I also want to see how much I owe you.”

The voices outside the umbrella were blocked, and the height of the two people stood out because they stood side by side.

“Actually, you can’t stay out of it.” Xiao Chiye looked at the students in the rain, “If one of you dies tonight, someone will blame you.”

“Forty thousand innocent souls are just a lot more.” Shen Zechuan said lightly, “Since you are afraid of death, why do you need to be a knife in someone’s hand? Even if someone wants to blame me for this incident, I will admit it.”

The two fell into silence again.

Qiao Tianya sat astride the shed and cracked melon seeds. Seeing that the time was almost up, he shook off his robe and stood up. Sure enough, he saw a sedan coming into the night.

As soon as the curtain was lifted, it was Pan Rugui who came.

The little eunuch supported Pan Rugui, and Ji Lei followed to hold an umbrella.Pan Rugui, wearing a five-poison mugwort and a cigarette cap, was led to the students by Qiao Tianya.

“Such a heavy rain.” Qiao Tianya restrained his laughter, “It actually disturbed the factory boss.”

Pan Rugui looked at Gao Zhongxiong and asked Qiao Tianya: “He won’t retreat?”

Qiao Tianya said: “Students are all bull-tempered, and they don’t accept soft or hard advice.”

“I’m afraid it’s not tough enough.” Pan Rugui lost an arm yesterday, and his suppressed anger had nowhere to vent.He was supported by others and arrived in front of Gao Zhongxiong, “We are all people who have read poetry and books. How come they don’t understand the word ‘transgression’? How can the affairs and opinions of the court be controlled by young boys like you!”

When Gao Zhongxiong saw this famous minion of the “Flower Party”, he couldn’t help but stand up and said: “Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. Since the students of the Imperial College are deprived of the emperor’s salary, they must be loyal to the emperor! Now the emperor is surrounded by traitors, if not…”

“Treacherous and sycophantic!” Pan Rugui sneered, “What a treacherous and sycophantic sentence! Who instructed you to dare to slander the imperial court and the emperor!”

“I am loyal…”

“Stop talking nonsense.” Pan Rugui suddenly ordered, “You were instigated by the underworld, openly resisted the decree, incited the masses, and slandered the government and the opposition. If this person is not punished, where will the law exist? Come on, get him!”

Gao Zhongxiong didn’t expect that he would dare to take people indiscriminately. He immediately raised his arms in the rain and said hoarsely: “Who dares? I am the Imperial Academy appointed by the emperor! The villain is in front, the eunuch is harming the country! The Queen Mother controls the government and refuses to return the jade intact to Zhao. It is you treacherous officials and traitors who should be captured!”

“Drag him away!” Ji Lei immediately scolded Pan Rugui when he saw that he was furious.

Jin Yiwei stepped forward to drag him away. Gao Zhongxiong tried to get up, but was stopped.He raised his arms in the direction of the palace and shouted: “My death today is really a death remonstrance! If the eunuch wants to kill me, then let him kill me! Your Majesty…”

Qiao Tianya strangled Gao Zhongxiong’s neck. He couldn’t breathe and struggled to shout out words intermittently.

“Your Majesty—where is loyalty and righteousness when traitors and sycophants rule?!”

Xiao Chiye said to himself that it was too bad.

Then, as expected, I saw the three thousand students expressing their grief and anger. At that moment, life and death were squeezed out of the generous lament.During the heavy rain, a group of creatures got up and rushed towards the Jin Yiwei.

“The eunuch is harming the country!” The recruitment bag was pulled down and thrown at Pan Rugui, who said angrily, “The traitor is in power!”

Ji Lei hurriedly covered Pan Rugui, backed away while protecting him, and angrily shouted: “What are you doing? Are you plotting rebellion!”

“This is a national thief!” The students almost poked Ji Lei’s face with their fingers as they bumped into the Jin Yiwei’s blockage. They spat and spit, “A national thief! A national thief!”

Xiao Chiye quickly threw his umbrella to Shen Zechuan and walked down the steps quickly.

Shen Zechuan stood alone on a high place, watching with cold eyes the chaos of the crowd. Pan Rugui was pushed back into the sedan, and Ji Lei even had his shoes stepped off.

“There are many turmoils in the world.” Shen Zechuan whispered to Ji Lei from a distance, “Master Ji, what a scene.”

A chuckle gradually emerged under the umbrella, he turned the umbrella handle leisurely, and looked at Xiao Chiye’s back again.

Taifu Qi and Ji Gang were drinking and having tea under the eaves.

Ji Gang ate tea and said, “Is killing Xiao Fuzi just to let Chuan’er out?”

Mrs. Qi sipped the wine in small sips, holding the gourd in his arms as if reluctant to part with it, and said, “Who knows, I can just guess for myself.”

Ji Gang turned around and said, “No matter what, his safety is the most important.”

Grand Tutor Qi shook the gourd and said: “A soldier can make dangerous moves so that he can be surprised. You taught him kung fu so that he can remain calm in the face of danger. Sometimes danger must be put aside, and the place where he is put to death can survive.”

Ji Gang frowned, watching the rain getting heavier and heavier, and said, “I have already made arrangements for what you asked me to do.”

“This is called playing the long game.” Taifu Qi scratched his feet. “If you don’t close the net for a few years, all you will catch are smelly fish and rotten shrimps. If one day, you and I die midway, today’s arrangement will be his life-saving move.”