After the death of the previous emperor, the Empress Dowager became arrogant

Without reporting to the court, Yuan Qing was directly imprisoned in the Ministry of Justice.

It's like revisiting an old place, but not in the same room.

Yuan Qing sat cross-legged in the corner, grabbed a handful of hay, twisted it into a rope, and wrapped it around his arms, round and round.

It seemed that the noise was a little too loud. The prisoner imprisoned next to him moved, and the rusty iron chain dragged on the ground, making a dull sound.

The man pushed aside the dirty hair on his face, revealing a pair of lifeless eyes. He looked at her, then sat back without saying a word.

Yuan Qing had no intention of talking to him and continued to twist the rope.

After a long time, the man spoke.

Perhaps because he had been silent for too long, his voice was a little hoarse, "Someone else is coming?"

Yuan Qing glanced at him and said, "Yeah."

"Committed a crime?"

"Cheating in the imperial examination." Yuan Qing did not hide it from him.

Hearing these two words, the man suddenly sat up, looked at her seriously, and said with a smile: "It's really the same old story."

He didn't ask Yuan Qing whether he really cheated, but said this in a ambiguous way.

Yuan Qing's ears moved slightly, as if he didn't understand.

He stretched out his fingers to pull out the thicker and stronger part of the hay that had not yet been soaked by the sewage, wrapped it into the rope he had woven earlier, and continued.

"I said, you don't want to commit suicide with this straw rope, do you?"

Yuan Qing stopped what he was doing, looked at him, and asked, "Do you usually talk so much?"

“Oh,” the man lay back down, half curled up against the wall, with the cold iron bars between him and Yuan Qing, and said self-deprecatingly, “No one is around on weekdays, I always talk to myself facing the wall.

Even if someone came, they would think I was crazy and would not want to pay any attention to me.

There are at least ninety-nine people locked up in this cell of yours, if not a hundred.

Come and go, go and come, it's boring, it's not as long lasting as talking to the wall.

To be honest, it's rare to find someone like you who is not afraid of me."

"You don't eat humans, so what are you afraid of?" Yuan Qing said without even raising his head.

"You didn't see me clearly."

As soon as Yuan Qing raised his eyes, he saw half a face with bared teeth in a mess of hair.

She burst out laughing.

The man pulled his eyes out of his hair and asked in surprise, "You're still laughing?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you. I just remembered a certain little guy who had the same expression as you when he was vicious."

Especially the grinning look just now, it looked exactly like him.

Just as I was thinking about it, I felt a sinking sensation in my arms, and a soft fur ball was hugging me affectionately.

Yuan Qing's face turned dark.

Where are you going?

[Sister Qing, why are you so miserable every time I come? ] Roudun'er's long-lost voice sounded.

【Are you willing to come back?】

"Where did such a big white rat come from?" The man next to him leaned over and looked at the meat dumpling that suddenly appeared.

Hearing himself being compared to a stinky thing like a mouse, Roudun'er stood on Yuan Qing's legs, bared his teeth at him, and made a "whooshing" sound from his mouth as a threat.

The man was stunned for a moment, then he gave Rouduner the same look in return.

Yuan Qing: "..."

She couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so she reached out and picked up the angry meat ball.

“So it’s a cat, but this is the first time I’ve seen such a round cat.

Brother, did you raise him?"

"Ah."

The man rolled up his sleeves and felt behind him. He saw a fat, black rat hanging upside down by its tail.

He brought it in front of Roudun'er and shook it, "Little guy, do you want to eat it?"

Roudun'er's eyes suddenly widened, and he looked at the hastily captured mouse with deep affection.

It immediately jumped off Yuan Qing, supported itself on the wall with its little paws, and vomited continuously.

The fat mouse was stunned for a moment, then twisted its body wildly and squeaked.

"Hey, it's really a spirit!" The man threw the mouse away and said in a different tone, "Such a picky thing deserves to be disliked by its owner."

It seemed as if he was talking about himself.

"My name is Gong Bin, may I ask who you are?"

The man sneered, "Name? I've been locked up for too long, I've forgotten it a long time ago.

Just call me Wuming, it’s easier to remember.”

Yuan Qing nodded.

Wuming thought she would continue chatting, but when he realized she didn't reply, he squinted his eyes and looked over.

Weaving straw ropes again.

This time he was interested and stared at Yuan Qing's movements without blinking.

The braiding is quite neat, but the hands are small and look very soft, and occasionally they raise their fingers, like a girl.

As soon as he finished thinking, he cursed himself inwardly.

He has been locked up for so many years, maybe he is starving and has lost his mind. He is obviously a young boy, so why is he considered a girl?

"What did you find out?" Yuan Qing suddenly asked.

She knew he was looking at her.

She didn't hide her behavior habits. She just wanted to test this freak next door. Who is he?

She didn't feel that she was placed in this cell at random.

Wuming felt ashamed of his previous thought, scratched his head, and said: "It's just... this rope is pretty good-looking."

Yuan Qing picked up the one-meter-long rope, took a closer look, and agreed, "It's really pretty."

She broke off the unfinished end of the rope and handed it over, "How about I give it to you?"

"What do I need this rope for?"

"Kill yourself."

"…Then what's the point of braiding this rope?"

"Strangle someone."

Wuming froze and retracted his head.

He was tickled by the ambiguous words, and after a moment, he reached out to her and asked, "Who?"

"The most evil person in the world."

Wuming thought she was just bragging and laughed, "There are so many evil people in this world, can you strangle them all to death?

Even if you could run into them, who are you? Can the rope in your hand withstand the bloody blades of those people?

If they just swing their butcher knife lightly, not to mention the rope, even your life will be gone.

You are still young...

Instead of thinking about those empty things, it is better to think about how to get out of this cage.

Only when you go out, your dreams will become reality.”

This is the first time Wuming has spoken so much in all these years.

If you want to listen, then fine. If you don’t, just think of it as the Yuan Dynasty losing another loyal person.

Less, less, until the world is rotten and can never be saved, that would be satisfying!

Wuming leaned against the wall and gradually fell asleep.

Yuan Qing glanced sideways and saw Wuming's face hidden in the darkness. His heavy breathing concealed his heart which had long been rotten but never dried up.

She thought she knew why Wen Chengyu wanted her here.

The Yuan Dynasty did not have a deep foundation, and most of the old ministers who founded the country were left over from the previous dynasty.

Emperor Taizong used his iron fist for decades to recruit talented people, build up the country and strengthen the military, which frightened other countries and made them dare not invade.

Although Emperor Gou was not very capable, he was kind and diligent when he was young. However, he became increasingly suspicious after middle age, and caused conflicts between the emperor and his subjects on many occasions.

The Yuan Dynasty began to go downhill from then on.

What exactly is the crux of the problem?

Is it the disloyalty of a minister or the immorality of a monarch?

There are.

Both defending against foreign aggression and maintaining domestic stability are indispensable.

Wen Chengyu deeply understands this truth.

If you want to accomplish great things, you must completely turn over the old court from the inside out so that the filth has nowhere to hide.

After he ascended the throne, he used some people who had been through the mud but still retained their childlike hearts as pillars of society.

Lu Huaizhou, Lu Zhao...this Wuming, he might also be one of them.

They are fearless, yet full of yearning.

With them, the court can be completely renewed and regain vitality.

Can't a straw rope strangle a bad guy to death?

Not necessarily.