Cage (13)
Dong Linche frowned and said unhappily, "What nonsense are you talking about? Are you deliberately cursing my elder sister?"
Feng Siji didn't notice anything and continued calmly, "She fought Zhang Zhouzhu at the mass grave and died in the sea of fire. Don't you know?"
Dong Linche was stunned. After he came to his senses, he grabbed Feng Siji's collar and swung his fist at his face: "Nonsense! Do you believe that I can kill you with one punch?"
Feng Siji didn't dodge or evade. His fist came close to his cheek, but he didn't even blink. He just said calmly, "Look at me. Does it look like I'm talking nonsense?"
Dong Linche's fist paused, and then he noticed that Feng Siji was different today.
He was dressed in rags, with a few dead leaves in his hair and muddy, as if he had just eaten grass. A few blades of grass hung from the corners of his cracked mouth. A large pool of dried, black blood lay on the front of his shirt, and his hands were wrapped in thick gauze.
He used to be as clean as a breeze. Even though he was dressed poorly, his every move revealed the noble character of pine and cypress. Except for the time when my sister rescued him in Qianzhou, I had never seen him as miserable as he is now.
But at this moment, let alone saying that he was a special case envoy of the court, he would believe it even if you said he was a beggar in Kyoto.
Dong Linche finally realized the seriousness of the situation. He sheathed his fists, drew the long sword from his waist, and said coldly, "You just said it was Zhang Zhouzhu, right? How dare you hurt my sister? I'm going to chop him down right now!"
The sword he swung flashed a cold light, illuminating his angry red eyes.
He lost Yunzhou at a young age and picked up the sword before he had received any formal education in etiquette. He was reckless and honest like a warrior. When he heard that his elder sister was really in trouble, he could not contain his grief and anger, and it all showed on his face.
He gritted his teeth, raised his sword and was about to step out of the tent to gather troops.
Feng Siji didn't move, just observed him quietly, trying to find any signs of performance.
But there was nothing, he was still the impulsive young general who only cared about his temper.
Seeing that he was about to rush out, Feng Siji stopped him and said, "She has taught you countless times not to be impulsive, but it seems that you haven't improved at all."
Dong Linche paused, turned around, stared at him with furious red eyes, and roared, "Who are you to lecture me?! It's not your sister who's in trouble, so of course you can be so calm and patient!"
After he finished speaking, he couldn't help but rush forward, raised his fist, and swung it at his face:
"Last time in Ping'an Village, this general didn't have the chance to teach you a lesson. Now that you've come to me, I want to vent my anger for my sister!"
A heavy punch hit Feng Siji, and his weak body fell to the ground. His eyes and ears were buzzing, and his face felt a burning pain and slowly swelled up. A warm line flowed down from the corner of his mouth.
He wiped it lightly with a fist, only to see blood on the gauze on his palm. He turned around, looked at Dong Linche and sneered, "Just because I swore an oath of worship to heaven and earth with her in Qianzhou, and because we are husband and wife in Kyoto, I am considered your brother-in-law. Now that she is gone, I naturally cannot watch you die in vain."
Dong Linche was so angry that he rushed to him, bent down, grabbed his collar and shouted angrily: "What kind of brother-in-law are you to me? No one has ever acknowledged you!"
"Okay, I won't stop you. Go find Zhang Zhouzhu. Where is he? How many people does he have? He's cunning and ruthless. How do you plan to deal with him?"
He threw a series of questions at Dong Linche, and his face froze as he stood there staring at him.
He looked at the silent Dong Linche with contempt and said sarcastically, "You didn't listen to a word she taught you. You're still as impulsive and reckless as before."
"Nonsense!" Dong Linche angrily lifted him up, easily lifting him off his toes. He hissed, "I clearly listened to her! Before this happened, she had Shan Min tell me not to act rashly no matter what happened in Jingdou, because many people want my military power, and if I'm not careful, something might happen to me. That's why I never left the barracks!"
But what did he get in return for his obedience? He even had to rely on others to tell him about his sister's accident!
He held up Feng Siji's collar, and Feng Siji was choking on the collar. His face gradually turned red, but he did not say a word, did not struggle, and did not even cough. He said slowly and with difficulty:
"Zhang Zhouzhu cannot be let go, but... everything must be arranged by me..."
Seeing that he was about to be strangled to death, Dong Linche suddenly loosened his grip and threw him back to the ground, snorting, "Why?"
Feng Siji didn't say anything, but just raised his head and looked at him steadily with his dark and deep eyes.
Dong Linche felt very uncomfortable when he was looked at like this.
Frankly speaking, he didn't like Feng Siji, but he didn't hate him either. If it weren't for his sister's approval of his character, he would never have had any contact with such a weak civil servant in his life.
In a world of constant war, everything is dominated by warriors, while scholars are scarce, and many parties are vying for positions as aides. If he wanted, he could certainly have a good career and status, but he chose not to, and stayed by his sister's side.
Thinking of this, Dong Linche frowned. He also knew that Feng Siji was better at planning than himself and his military advisor.
To deal with Zhang Zhouzhu, we really have to use him.
Especially when he remembered what his elder sister had told him: never be impulsive.
He let out a long breath, looked up at the sky, and let the tears in his eyes retreat. Li Qi was gone. Although he was sad, he didn't want to cry. He had never liked the crying behavior, which was something only civil servants and women liked to do.
Dong Linche held back his tears, then looked down at Feng Siji, picked him up again, and said to him harshly, "I'll trust you this once. You can come to my military camp at any time. If there is any news or if you need me to come forward, just send me a message!
"I only have one request, you must find Zhang Zhouzhu and chop him into pieces!"
Feng Siji didn't say anything, just nodded slightly.
Seeing him looking like he was about to die, Dong Linche's anger instantly subsided, as if he was bullying a weak person.
He angrily pulled Feng Siji to sit on the general's chair, and then he called someone over, asked them to bring food, and found him a set of clean clothes, and then he went back to sit opposite Feng Siji.
Two eight-foot-tall men sat facing each other in silence.
After a while, a soldier brought food and clothes. Dong Linche pushed them in front of Feng Siji and said, "Eat, change clothes, and hurry into the city to figure out how to kill Zhang Zhouzhu."
Feng Siji glanced at him sideways, without saying a word or changing his clothes. He just took a white flour bun, stood up and walked out.
Dong Linche called him, but he didn't respond.
He was like a walking corpse, chewing his steamed bun stiffly while slowly walking out of the barracks.
The man he had just asked for help had already fed the horse and brushed its coat. The blood stains on the horse were gone, and it was clean and fresh as before.
After Feng Siji expressed his gratitude, he walked to the horse tied under a tree. The horse dug the yellow soil on the ground with its claws from time to time. When it sensed its owner coming, it raised its nose and exhaled hot air.
Feng Si quickly jumped on the horse and gently squeezed the horse's belly, and the horse started to trot.
The sky above gradually darkened, and when Feng Siji entered the city, it was already dawn.
He looked neither human nor ghost, so no one recognized him and he returned home quietly.
He tied up the horse and then walked into the ancestral hall.
The candles and incense in the ancestral hall never stopped burning. The black smoke from the burning candles floated in the air, making the seats on the incense table hazy.
Feng Siji lay on the ground in front of the incense table and reached into the darkness under the table.
His fingers touched a cold, hard object, and he pulled it out and held it in his hand.
With the help of the dim candlelight in the ancestral hall, he looked at the words one by one: The spirit of my beloved wife Li Qi.
This was the spirit tablet made when they couldn't find her and thought she was dead, so they built a tomb for her.
The last time Li Qi came to the ancestral hall to find him, he was afraid that she would see him. As soon as he heard her footsteps, he hurriedly stuffed the spirit tablet under the incense table, thinking of disposing of it later, but somehow he didn't think of this matter.
I didn't expect it to be found and used again.
It was just left there for too long, and was covered with a thick layer of dust. Feng Siji blew on it and then wiped off the dust with his sleeve.
The handwriting gradually became clear, and her spirit tablet was very clean. He leaned against the incense table, held it in his arms and was in a daze.
He didn't know how to describe this feeling. He just felt as if his skeleton had been hollowed out, leaving him with only a dry body.
Without the supporting skeleton, it was difficult for him to stand up again.
Everything in the eyes is gray, covered by a layer of despair. No matter where I look, there is a layer of darkness.
Perhaps a long time had passed, or perhaps only a moment or two had passed. He was not sure, because he could no longer feel whether he was breathing, let alone sense the passage of time.
In short, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the ancestral hall, followed by a person coming in.
Feng Siji rolled his eyes stiffly, his misty vision fell on her face, and he recognized her as Qinglan.
He lowered his eyes again and looked only at his dirty robe and worn boots.
Qinglan squatted in front of him, blocking his view even further. Her voice came from above his head: "Sir, when did you come back? Why didn't you go into the house?"
Feng Siji slowly slid down. Qinglan wanted to help him, but she couldn't reach him. He had already slipped and lay on the ground on his side, still holding Li Qi's spirit tablet in his arms.
He said dryly: "Is she really dead?"
Qinglan lowered her head and bit her lip, saying, "I saw it with my own eyes. Qingsong took her into the theater specially built by Prime Minister Zhang, along with Mu Shengxiang. They haven't come out yet..."
Feng Siji blinked his sore eyes and trembled as he said, "But why don't I believe it? I don't believe she died just like that. Yunzhou hasn't been recaptured yet, and she hasn't fulfilled her promise to solve the Yunzhou case for me. How could she have died?"
Qinglan didn't dare to speak. Seeing him like this, she felt very uncomfortable and reached out to pull him: "Sir, you should go back to your room first. If you continue like this, Prime Minister Zhang will come to your door and you will be unable to hold on."
Feng Siji's body, which looked like a dead fish, was lifted up by her, but he was unwilling to get up and go with her. She couldn't move him and was in a dilemma when she suddenly heard him say, "Did you take anyone to look for her later? Did you see her body?"
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