Cage (19)
Feng Siji seemed to be finally satisfied. He loosened his grip on Li Qi's ankle, bent down, and kissed her forehead without any lust.
"Go take a bath."
Feng Siji slowly stood up, gently untied the silver chain, put it away, the chain rattling, and lay back in the box.
He put the box back into the small drawer under the footrest before picking up Li Qi.
Li Qi's whole body was soft, like a cat, and she felt like a ball of soft cotton when held in my arms.
Her snow-white skin was flushed pink, and her beautiful peach-shaped eyes were hazy, as if covered by a thin layer of snow mist.
Feng Si walked quickly past the screen that was filled with ghosts and monsters. Li Qi looked over and saw that the hot spring pool was overflowing with mist. In the mist, he carried her into the water. The warm water gradually spread over her calves, knees, waist and collarbone.
Leaning in his arms, I could clearly feel his strong heartbeat and his steady steps.
Feng Siji let go of her hand and let her lean against the edge of the hot spring. Then he turned around and went to the shelf on the shore to get soap nuts and a comb.
His outline was blurred by the mist. There were only three or five candles lit behind the screen. The light was dim, and it was even harder to see the emotions in his eyes.
I felt the ripples that spread out when he walked back, covering my collarbone in circles and then retreating, bringing an itchy and warm feeling.
Feng Siji broke the soap nut open and crushed it gently in his palm. He stood beside Li Qi and smeared the crushed soap nut into fine foam on her fair shoulders.
The soapberry melted on her skin, and his fingertips were powerful, brushing past her like a spring breeze, bringing a sense of comfort. Li Qi exhaled and slowly closed her eyes.
Now she no longer finds this hot spring scary because of the chain that makes her even more afraid.
Feng Siji washed his body carefully, then picked up a wooden comb, lifted up her messy and sweaty long hair, placed it in his palm, and combed her hair with the comb.
I could feel his fingertips moving back and forth through my hair, and the wooden comb would occasionally scrape across my scalp, giving me a sense of relaxation after massage.
His care after that was always meticulous and trustworthy.
Suddenly, his unclear voice rang in my ears:
"Sometimes I can't even see through you. If you're so cruel, why would you be so willing to get involved in something to save Ye Shu and Sheng Xiang? If you're so evil, why would you give almost all your copper coins to beggars, leaving yourself a penny for wontons?
"You said you're not a good person, and you really aren't to me, but you always care more about others than you do about me."
Li Qi opened her eyes upon hearing this and turned to look at him sideways: "Yunzhou has not yet been recovered. Even if I had the will, I wouldn't use it on you."
Feng Siji looked at the long hair that slipped from his palm as she turned around, and the ripples of hair that swayed in the air. He put down the comb, lowered his eyes, looked into her eyes seriously, and said:
"I hope you can be a good person that everyone knows. Only in this way will others be willing to protect you when I'm gone."
Otherwise he wouldn't even be able to leave with peace of mind.
Qingqi Temple was very popular, and this time people all wanted him to execute her. He had thought that he had planned everything and used his own sacrifice to pave the way for her to recapture Yunzhou, but he had forgotten this one thing.
She and her brother Dong Mingrong have always been the dominant ones.
No one will protect her except herself.
If she doesn't change the public's impression of her, there will be a second or countless attacks from the public.
By then, someone will find ways to kill her in the name of eliminating harm to the people.
He knew that she was a good person, or at least definitely not a bad person, but people didn't think so. The prejudice in people's hearts was an insurmountable mountain that could crush a person to death.
At this moment, Li Qi spoke up, pulling his thoughts back: "Good man? What's the point of being a good man? You, Feng Siji, are a good man, but no matter how much you've done, no one remembers you, no one praises you, and even if you ever fall on hard times in Qianzhou, everyone will throw stones at you."
She laughed sarcastically, "But what about the bad guys? Like me, there are so many people in the temples praying for my death, and so many people in the streets spreading evil words about me, but no one will throw stones at me because they know I'm so evil that I'm invulnerable. So they can only build temples and pin their hopes on the empty gods to get rid of me."
She raised her eyes, looked at him condescendingly, and asked with disdain, "But do you think the temple can get rid of me?"
After hearing this, Feng Siji fell into a long silence.
After a while, he picked up a dry sweat shirt from the rack, put it on, and then returned to the steps of the hot spring pool and sat there, the hem of the sweat shirt being soaked by water.
Li Qi was tired and leaned on the shore without saying a word.
I don't know how long the silence lasted, the candles on the candlesticks were almost burned out, Feng Siji suddenly asked, "Where is Concubine Li Dong Mingrong? He Mu was right behind me that day. I know exactly where she was injured, and I guessed she wasn't dead.
"She has the so-called evidence. If I can't find Dong Mingrong, I can't save you even if I want to."
Li Qi moved upon hearing this, creating ripples as she swam towards him. She climbed up the steps where he was, sat beside him, and looked at him with red eyes as she said, "Mingrong was originally in Yunzhou. I personally sent her to Yunzhou to check on the situation of the Southern Yan army stationed there, in preparation for the future recovery of Yunzhou.
"But Zhang Zhouzhu somehow got wind of it. He captured Mingrong in Yunzhou, and his whereabouts are unknown now."
She pulled Feng Siji's arm pleadingly, changing the disdain she had just expressed. She pleaded in a low voice, "Please release Ye Lan and me, and let us take people to find Ming Rong, okay? I will remember your kindness."
Feng Siji lowered his eyes and looked at her slender fingers pulling his arm.
Thinking back to that snowy night when I first returned to Kyoto, she held me like this and begged for protection.
Feng Siji turned his eyes and stared into the pair of peach blossom eyes filled with tears: "But I forced you to show up, and the case I used to arrest you was Wei Ming's. What should I do now?"
Li Qi grabbed his arm tightly, frowning and trying to suppress her anger: "Wei Ming and He Zhangjing are birds of a feather. People like him are not worth overturning the verdict!"
Feng Siji took her hand that was holding his arm, held it in his own, and stroked the smooth skin on the back of her hand with his fingertips, saying meaningfully:
"He's certainly not worth overturning the case, but what about you is worth me protecting you? Letting you go? Fraud and favoritism, there must be an exchange of value."
Li Qi gritted her teeth and asked reluctantly, "What do you want?"
Feng Siji took her hand, put it to his lips, and kissed it gently, but his eyes were fixed on her: "I said, all I wanted from the beginning to the end was you."
Li Qi felt a slight tingling sensation on the back of her hand. She trembled and stammered, "But I can't be imprisoned here by you forever. I have a lot of things to do."
"I only have one request," Feng Siji raised his head. A ray of sunlight leaked through the screen that was filled with ghosts and monsters, and fell on his eyebrows. The bright light made his eyebrows and eyes look dark, which Li Qi could not understand. "From now on, you have to listen to me in everything.
"I won't stop you from doing anything, but you have to follow my instructions. Only in this way can I guarantee that you won't scheme against me again and try to get rid of me. I don't want any promises. I don't trust you at all. I want the feeling of control that I firmly hold in my hands."
Li Qi was slightly stunned.
She doesn't like being controlled.
But now Ye Lan and I are still in his hands, and he also has Wang Mo, who can overturn Wei Ming's case at any time.
Li Qi didn't know what else he would do if she didn't obey.
She thought for a moment and nodded.
Feng Siji immediately embraced her in his arms, resting his chin on her still wet hair, sniffing her faint fragrance, and said, "Where is the fragrance? She is involved with Zhang Zhouzhu, maybe she can guess where Zhang Zhouzhu is."
After saying this, she heard a sob.
Feng Siji frowned and lowered his head. Seeing her crying, he said, "Shengxiang is dead. Zhang Zhouzhu forced her to death."
Li Qi still remembers clearly that when she was taken into the theater by Qingsong, Shengxiang was dressed gorgeously, with a golden phoenix hairpin on her head and pearls and gold and silver all over her body.
Even the black robe was made of Shu brocade, embroidered with a phoenix in nirvana. The phoenix's colorful tail was inlaid one by one with glass beads of different colors.
The tail of her gorgeous skirt dragged very far, swaying and flowing like floating light as she walked.
One could tell at a glance that the clothes were from Zhang Zhouzhu's collection. Shengxiang came to Li Qi and looked at her with relief, as if life and death were no longer a matter of fact.
"County Lady, it was not my intention to trick you and Master Feng here today, but fortunately Master Feng didn't come."
Li Qi then realized something was wrong. This theater room was like a solid wall of iron and steel, with no cracks at all. Not even a fly could get in.
The air still smelled of lamp oil.
Before she could ask anything, Shengxiang pushed the candlestick and the candle fell to the ground, quickly igniting the layer of lamp oil on the ground. The flames suddenly jumped up and leaped, rushing to the beams and burning.
Li Qi subconsciously took a few steps back, putting some distance between herself and Shengxiang. The crackling of the flames was mixed with Shengxiang's voice:
"My parents died at the hands of Zhang Zhouzhu, and I fell into his hands as well. I never thought of living. He wouldn't let me tell you that Mingrong was in his hands. Instead, he used Mingrong's life and death to force me to come out with you and Master Feng. He wanted to catch us all in one fell swoop."
Her face was gradually engulfed and obscured by the flames. Li Qi could not see anything clearly and wanted to rush over to pull her away. A beam fell in front of her, and the scorching flames sprayed onto her body, and the hem of her skirt was ignited by sparks.
Li Qi screamed and stepped back, grabbing the hem of her skirt and slapping out the sparks.
Shengxiang continued, "I've thought a lot these past two days. Zhang Zhouzhu is indeed different from Lord Feng. He said he would kill me when he ran out of patience with me, and I never doubted he was threatening me.
"That day will come. Rather than dying at his hands, or living in his clutches and becoming a bargaining chip for him to threaten you, I'd rather end my own life and follow my parents."
Li Qi's vision was blurred by the heat of the fire, but she seemed to see her pointing to the window:
"I've already dug a hole there, and the county lady escaped from there. I've already found a body to replace you, so Zhang Zhouzhu won't be suspicious. Once you escape, find Mingrong as soon as possible, and then kill my enemy for me."
The fire was getting bigger and bigger, and Li Qi could no longer see Shengxiang clearly. She seemed to have been completely swallowed by the fire and disappeared from her sight.
Li Qi's heart was beating fast and tears welled up in her eyes. She endured the pain and ran to the window. She pried the window open with the dagger she carried with her and climbed out.
She heard the sounds of fighting among her companions behind her, but she did not look back and ran firmly into the depths of the woods. She knew that she had barely managed to save her life this time, and if she went back, they would be wiped out.
If Zhang Zhouzhu found her, they were outnumbered and Zhang Zhouzhu would definitely catch her and use her to force Feng Siji to appear, and then catch him all in one fell swoop.
Li Qi ran stumblingly, unable to suppress the hatred boiling in her heart. Before she completely left the battlefield, she vaguely heard Zhang Zhouzhu's cries coming from the fire.
Li Qi stood under a tree and looked back, wiping her tears and sneering. Zhang Zhouzhu would never have thought that he failed to get rid of anyone and instead forced Shengxiang to death.
Li Qi raised her head, looking at Feng Siji with tearful eyes: "Back in Qianzhou, when things were so difficult, I protected Mingrong and Linche. How come now, when you're obviously more snobbish than before, you didn't leave Shengxiang behind?"
Feng Siji hugged her against his shoulder, and slowly, he felt his shoulder getting wet and warm from her tears, but she didn't sob at all.
It was difficult for him to explain his mood. He only remembered that before he caught Li Qi doing those things, he rarely saw Li Qi cry.
Feng Siji patiently wiped away her tears and said, "Shengxiang is liberating herself. She wants to die. No matter how much you protect her, it's useless."
He was worried about something else.
Shengxiang's death was beyond Zhang Zhouzhu's expectations, and Zhang Zhouzhu might blame Li Qi for this accident.
In the future, he will definitely intensify his efforts to deal with Li Qi, and his methods will only be more cruel and vicious than this time, but Dong Mingrong is still in his hands.
Feng Siji frowned and said, "Our top priority is to find Mingrong. If I'm not mistaken, you plan to wait for her to return with information on the enemy forces in Yunzhou and Nanyan before you start sending troops?"
Li Qi nodded: "But where can we find her? She is in Zhang Zhouzhu's hands, and we don't even know where Zhang Zhouzhu has escaped to."
Feng Siji thought for a moment: "There is someone who wants to find Zhang Zhouzhu more than we do, but unfortunately she can't take action."
Li Qi looked up at the sound and met his determined gaze. She immediately realized, "Zhang Wan?"
"That's right."
Queen Zhang Wan has lived under Zhang Zhouzhu's control for half her life. Now that he has run away, she is more anxious than anyone else and wants to find Zhang Zhouzhu and get rid of him as soon as possible.
Moreover, she had been entangled with Zhang Zhouzhu's family relationship for many years, so perhaps she could guess where Zhang Zhouzhu might be hiding.
Li Qi wiped her tears and said hurriedly, "What are we waiting for? I'll go find Zhang Wan right away."
As he was about to stand up, he felt a sharp pain there, his legs went weak, and Li Qi fell down. Feng Siji reached out to catch her at the right time and managed to hold her in his arms.
Feng Siji picked her up and walked around the screen. He saw that it was already bright outside, but the screen blocked most of the sunlight, which was why the hot spring behind was so dim.
Feng Siji carried Li Qi to the couch, then turned back to pull the curtains across the window to block out the glaring sunlight. He returned to the couch, looked at Li Qi, and said, "I'm going to go find Zhang Wan. You wait here for me."
As he spoke, Feng Siji leaned down, gently pinched her face with his bony palms, and smiled coldly: "I will be back in the afternoon. Remember, you have to listen to me in everything about looking for Dong Mingrong.
"If you don't stay here and wait for me to come back, and if you have any evil ideas or do something unreasonable, don't blame me for locking you up with the thing you fear most and trapping you here forever."
Li Qi hummed, knowing full well how ruthless he was, and she didn't dare to take any further action.
Seeing that she was well-behaved, Feng Siji finally let go of her hand and said, "You didn't sleep much last night. Get some good sleep and then get up for dinner."
He pulled the quilt and covered Li Qi tightly. Finally, he looked at her with reluctance and warning, then turned and left.
-
Feng Mansion, ancestral hall.
Feng Siji stood in front of the incense table, staring at Li Qi's spirit tablet for a long time. Finally, he reached out and took the spirit tablet down from its original position and handed it to Ye Shu who was standing behind him: "Keep it."
Ye Shu took it with both hands, held up the spirit tablet, turned around and walked out of the mourning hall.
After the footsteps faded away, Feng Siji knelt on the futon, clasped his hands together, looked at Feng Yijun's name on the spirit tablet, and said, "Forgive my son for being unfilial. This is my last confession."
He kowtowed, resting his forehead on the ground, and said, "Because of Li Qi, my son now understands that wrongful convictions cannot be generalized. Just like Wei Ming's case, who was more wronged between the two of them? I don't know, and I don't want to spend the time to figure it out.
"So after careful consideration, I no longer want to hold on to this ideal. From now on, I will live only for Li Qi. Whether it means favoritism or bending the law, I will just be an ordinary person trapped by love."
Not only does he live for Li Qi, but he also stands by her side. Even if she is a person that is disliked and hated by the world, he will walk side by side with her.
Just think of it as falling in love with a monster in everyone's eyes.
Feng Siji pursed his lips and corrected himself. Li Qi didn't love him, it was just his wishful thinking. It didn't matter. He had thought it through. Compared with anything else, he was more afraid of losing Li Qi.
He kowtowed three times before slowly standing up.
Go around to the back of the incense table and push open the door.
As soon as I walked in, I was hit by the sour smell of food. It was hot, and mixed with the sweat smell of people who hadn't taken a shower for a long time, it was extremely unpleasant.
Feng Siji frowned slightly, his eyes moving downwards to focus on the figure crawling at his feet.
Wang Mo raised his head when he heard the sound. On his dirty face, only his eyes were dark and shiny. His eyes seemed to be on fire, and he looked at Feng Siji anxiously and hotly: "Sir, sir, can I go out now?"
At the end of his words, he cried out in anxiety and excitement. His dirty hands tightly grasped Feng Siji, and the chains that locked his limbs crackled with his movements.
"Sir, I've finally found you! Please let me out! I can provide evidence for you. I'll tell you whatever you want me to say. I'll definitely help you send Li Qi to hell!"
Feng Si kicked his leg quickly and ruthlessly kicked away the hand that was holding his robe. Wang Mo was caught off guard and fell backwards, and the chains rattled.
He was stunned for a moment, but quickly reacted and continued to reach out, wanting to grab Feng Siji. Feng Siji quickly took a step back and dodged his outstretched hand.
Looking at his hand, which was stiff in mid-air and so dirty that even the joints couldn't be seen, Feng Siji sighed and said, "You can indeed leave, but I've changed my mind."
Wang Mo slowly withdrew his hand and looked up at Feng Siji: "What do you mean by this?"
"I wanted to take revenge on Li Qi before, but now I've changed my mind. I want you to tell the court how Wei Ming colluded with He Zhangjing to cause the fall of Yunzhou."
Feng Si took two quick steps forward, raised his foot, and placed the tip of his shoe against Wang Mo's chin. He lifted his face and looked down at him with a cold gaze: "The ones you need to cooperate with me in dealing with are He Zhangjing and Wei Ming. Do you understand?"
Wang Mo's eyes were blank. He didn't recognize who He Zhangjing was, and Wei Ming was already dead. What else could he do?
Just as I was wondering, Feng Siji said, "I'll teach you a few things. As for the rest, you can figure out how to deal with it yourself when you face the court. If you succeed, I'll let you go. If not... I don't need to tell you what your fate will be, right?"
Wang Mo's stiff mind started working. As long as he could get out, he was willing to do anything.
But he was not a fool. He was worried that Feng Siji would turn against him, so he was silent for a while.
Feng Siji had personally experienced Wang Mo's miserable state. At that time, the only thought in his mind was to survive.
So now no matter what I think about, he can guess what Wang Mo is thinking.
Feng Siji's foot, which was against Wang Mo's chin, moved slightly and kicked him on the shoulder: "If you want to live, you have no choice. Why don't you get up and follow me?"
Wang Mo was kicked and fell backwards, with the back of his head hitting the wall with a thud. He grimaced in pain, knowing that Feng Siji had restrained his strength in the kick, otherwise he would probably have died from this blow.
He got up from the ground again and again. Ye Shu had already returned. Following Feng Siji's instructions, he went into the house and opened the chains that locked Wang Mo.
Then he lifted Wang Mo's collar and brought him to Feng Siji. Ye Shu asked cautiously, "Sir, what should we do?"
Feng Siji glanced at Wang Mo calmly and said, "Change his clothes and feed him a good meal. Otherwise, others will say that he was forced to confess and testify for me."
Yeshu nodded and carried Wang Mo downstairs.
Feng Siji looked up at the sky. It was already afternoon, the sun was hanging in the sky, and the warm sunlight was pouring down.
He walked with his hands behind his back and went to the study room at the side.
The room was still the same as before I left. The desk was piled with messy files, and next to the files was a cup of cold medicine.
Feng Siji's figure was reflected in the dark medicine. He walked to the desk which was exactly the same size as the wall and opened a locked wooden cabinet under the desk.
The moment the cabinet door was opened, the things inside reflected a gorgeous golden light, shining into the air and reflecting the dust floating in the air, beautiful and quiet.
Feng Siji reached out and took out Jueyin.
The last time the county lady's mansion was attacked by the people, this guzheng was also damaged. When Feng Siji found it, all its strings and the glass bottom had been broken.
Feng Siji repaired it for a long time. Although it is not as perfect as before, it is still in shape.
He wrapped Jueyin in a piece of ordinary coarse cloth, carried it on his back, and rode to the Treasury to find Li Qi.
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