Cage (8)
Shan Min's arrival today was like a bucket of cold water that woke Li Qi up.
She saw the kisses and pinch marks on her body in the mirror, and also saw the birds flying outside the treasury pavilion.
I kept thinking of her past. Even when she was down and out, she was always the one in control. No matter who it was, as long as she wanted, they could become tools in her hands.
Regardless of how glorious it was, at least she was once in a dominant position.
But now.
She became a prisoner of her former defeated opponent.
As she thought about this, she felt more and more that she could not continue to be trapped by Feng Si's illness. She still had a lot of things to do.
Li Qi raised her fair wrist and beckoned to Liu Anhuaming: "Come here."
Liu An placed the soap nuts on the small table beside the hot spring. Hua Ming placed Li Qi's dry clothes on the wooden rack, then followed Liu An with his head lowered. They stopped to the left and right of Li Qi and shouted in unison, "County Lady."
Li Qiqi's body, submerged up to her collarbone, lay on the edge of the pool, revealing only her jade-white shoulders and slender arms. She beckoned Liu Anhuaming, who was standing on the shore, "Come down! I'm not going to eat you, so why are you standing so far away?"
Liu Anhua Ming looked at each other awkwardly, hesitated for a moment, and then walked down the hot spring one after another.
Li Qi saw the hot water gradually covering the two of them. The clothes on their chests were soaked and stuck tightly to their skin, outlining their slender figures.
Looking at it this way, Liu An's figure becomes clearer and more obvious. Her height, weight, and even the shape of her chest are almost the same as Li Qi's.
Li Qi knew that she rarely showed up at the Cangjin Pavilion, and the people Feng Siji brought had only seen her once or twice and might not remember her.
At least Li Qi thinks that she is not beautiful enough to be unforgettable.
As Liu An Hua Ming approached, Li Qi immediately jumped out of the water and hit the back of the neck of the two men with both hands. The two men rolled their eyes and fainted in the pool.
Li Qi grabbed Liu Anhuaming's collar with both hands and dragged them out with force. With a splash, Li Qi pushed the two of them to the shore and walked out himself.
She squatted beside Liu An, deftly took off her clothes and put them on herself.
He put his clothes on her, carried her to the bed, covered her with the quilt, and manually turned her over to face the inside of the bed. From the outside, one really couldn't tell that she was Liu An.
Li Qi wrung the moisture out of her hair, then opened the door and walked out with her head lowered.
Qinglan had not returned yet. Five or six warriors were guarding outside the door, standing guard with their backs to the door.
Li Qi walked past them. They couldn't see her face, only her dark back.
The eleven-story wooden staircase was really difficult to walk up, and the thudding sound seemed to knock on Li Qi's heart, making her inexplicably nervous, fearing that Feng Siji or Qinglan would suddenly come back.
She lowered her head and finally walked to the yard downstairs, where she saw seven or eight teams patrolling back and forth. Each of them had a bent waist, fierce brows, and steady and powerful steps. It was obvious that they were people who had practiced martial arts for many years.
Li Qi estimated in her mind that she was no match for so many people.
She crouched down, hiding behind the evergreen bushes. There were newly sprouted wild flower buds at her feet. She plucked one or two of them, squeezed the juice between her fingertips, and smeared the juice on her face.
Then he paid close attention to the staggered patrol times, crouched down, lowered his head, and walked past quickly.
When she walked out of the courtyard, there was a group of people guarding outside, but they all had their backs to her, so she was able to walk out unhindered.
Someone saw her from behind and called out, "Sister Liu An, are you in a bad mood today? In the past, you would always greet your brothers when you went out."
Li Qi stopped and didn't dare to look back. She wanted to speak like Liu An, but suddenly found that she had hardly heard Liu An speak.
"Why isn't Sister Liu An speaking?" the young man behind her asked in confusion, and then walked forward to see her.
Li Qi listened to the approaching footsteps and clenched her throat anxiously, saying, "I caught a cold and my throat hurts. I don't want to talk. I have to go get medicine for the county lady. If I'm late, neither you nor I can bear the consequences."
The young man stopped. He knew that the county lady had been feeling unwell for the past two days, and it was Liu An who had been getting the medicine.
If it's too late, Lord Feng will definitely blame me.
He didn't dare to engage her in conversation anymore. He just stared at her from behind and said, "Sister, you must have caught a cold while caring for the sick county lady. Go quickly and get yourself some medicine. Look at your voice. It's so hoarse it doesn't seem like you anymore."
Li Qi lowered her head and left in a hurry.
She was worried that Feng Siji would come to capture her later and threaten Ping'an Village, so she went to Ping'an Village first.
Without a horse, she had to walk. By the time she reached the village, her legs were sore and her round forehead was covered with sweat.
When she arrived at Yun Po's house, she didn't rush in. Instead, she stood under the porch to avoid the shade, wiping the sweat from her forehead and hair with her sleeves.
Looking up, the sky was gloomy. It was still chilly in early spring, but after walking all the way, Li Qi still felt a little hot, and two blushes appeared on her fair cheeks.
"County Lady? You're back?" Shan Min came out with a broom, ready to sweep the yard. Seeing Li Qi in the corridor, he was surprised and delighted. "You walked back? You look so hot, why don't you come in? Come in, I'll pour you a bowl of water."
Shan Min threw away the broom, ran into the house happily, poured a bowl full of cold water and handed it to Li Qi.
Li Qi scooped up the water in both hands and gulped it down. Then he put the bowl down, wiped the water stains from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve, and panted, "I have something else to do. I can't stay for long. I came here to tell you to take the rest of the village to another place. Feng Siji has already found out about this place, and I'm worried it's not safe."
When Shan Min heard Feng Siji's name from her, he remembered the way that adult looked at him. It was full of hostility, as if he was some kind of enemy.
Moreover, Li Qi was a little afraid of him. Shan Min had known Li Qi for so many years and had never seen her afraid of anyone. He felt a little confused, but more worried. He couldn't help but frown and asked, "Why is it unsafe if he finds out? Doesn't everyone say he's a good official? And you..."
Li Qi was a little irritated. With the urgent matter at hand, she didn't have time to explain anything. She said hastily, "Just do as I say. And then go to the village and find me a better horse. I'll be able to use it."
Shan Min had no choice but to stop talking and quickly walked out of the house.
After seeing him leave and close the door, Li Qi walked to the closet in the house, found a piece of Yun Po's clothes to change into, took off all her hairpins, and wrapped her hair with a piece of ordinary rag instead. She then went to the yard and smeared some yellow mud on her face.
When Shan Min came back with the horse, he looked at her again. She looked like an old woman.
Shan Min looked at her cheeks, which were covered in mud and yellow, in surprise and stammered, "What are you doing?"
"Only in this way can we avoid being discovered." Li Qi said as he jumped on his horse. Finally, he instructed Shan Min to take the villagers away, and then rode away.
After changing into thinner clothes, she felt much cooler. When the horse galloped, the early spring breeze blew on her face. Li Qi no longer felt hot and felt much more energetic.
She had already made up her mind that there was no place for her in Kyoto, and her best option was to go to Dong Linche's military camp.
Even if Feng Siji found her in the end, he would not go against Dong Linche's soldiers.
Dong Linche's military power can protect her.
But now that he was already out, he had to try his best to prevent Feng Siji from discovering him and wipe out all traces.
So she didn't go to find Dong Linche immediately, but turned around and went to Kyoto City first.
Ping'an Village and the Treasury Pavilion are both outside the city. If Feng Siji finds out that she is missing, he will definitely start looking for her outside the city.
She entered the city first to obscure her whereabouts so that she would not be easily discovered.
Li Qi rode into the city on horseback. The sounds of hawkers shouting, gambling and fighting in the casino, children running and playing, and women cracking melon seeds and gossiping mixed together, ringing in his ears in a lively manner.
The city was crowded and bustling. Li Qi led the horse to a stable, sold it, and took the copper coins he got and walked into a clothing store.
The owner of the clothing store came forward and showed her a few of the old woman's clothes made of coarse cloth, and said with a smile: "These are all made of the best material..."
"I bought this for my wife, she doesn't want to read these."
When Li Qi spoke, she saw the boss's expression freeze, and he looked at her as if he had seen a ghost: "Old woman, why does your voice sound like that young girl..."
Li Qi blushed with embarrassment, but luckily it was covered by the yellow mud on her face and he couldn't see it.
She picked up a gray old man's shorts at random, paid twenty copper coins, and asked the owner for the toilet, who pointed her in a direction.
Li Qi walked into the toilet holding her newly bought shorts, endured the stench inside, changed her clothes, and then walked out through the small path, as if she had never been to this clothing store.
In just this short journey, she had changed her identities twice. Now she only needed to wait a little longer before she could leave the city.
Li Qi took this opportunity to find out more about the situation in Kyoto, so she went to her aunt's group.
Being an old man requires one to have the awareness of an old man. She naturally grabbed a handful of their melon seeds and ate them while listening to their gossip.
After listening for a long time, I didn't get the news I wanted to hear. Just as I was about to get up and leave, I suddenly heard the sound of drums coming from not far away.
If I remember correctly, this should be coming from the government office. The only drum sound that can be heard from the government office is the drum being beaten for the purpose of making a sound.
The court is in chaos right now, and officials have very little time to deal with such unjust cases involving the people. Who would go and beat the drum to appeal for justice at this time?
With doubts in his heart, Li Qi leaned on a crutch that he had forgotten where he picked up, mixed in the crowd, and walked towards the direction where the sound came from.
When we got there, we saw a man beating a drum standing at the gate of the government office, and it was Shengxiang.
Shengxiang's sunken cheeks were covered with tear marks, and her messy long hair was blown into a mess by the wind, covering her tired, thin and withered face.
She was barefoot, her clothes were dirty, and she held the drumstick in both hands, beating it hard, one after another, without stopping.
Li Qi tightened his grip on the crutch and stared at her with a frown.
She didn't look like she had just come out of Fengs Prison, but rather like she had just returned from wandering the streets.
But didn’t Feng Siji put both her and Ye Lan in jail?
Li Qi was filled with doubts and tried to keep his head down to observe the situation outside the government office. Before he could see anything, he heard the voices of armored soldiers and heard an excited shout from the crowd: "Lord Feng is here!"
Li Qi's throat tightened, he gripped his crutch tightly, lowered his head and quickly left the place.
Even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance that he would find out, she didn't want to stop him.
She squeezed into the crowded crowd and walked along the street to a shabby alley.
This alley is where beggars in Kyoto gather. In the past, He Zhangjing often came here to distribute porridge and built a shed to shelter from the rain and sun.
The beggars were eager to get enough food and clothing and had no time to quarrel or fight or fight for a place to sleep. Li Qi found a relatively clean shed and sat down in the corner.
There was also a mother and daughter and two men in the side shed.
It was spring and the weather was warm. They had to go out to beg for a living every day, and they were exhausted and sweating. When they came back, they had no conditions to wash up. The whole shed was filled with the stench of sweat and the smell of the rotten and sour food they had found. The two mixed together, it was so smelly that it was unpleasant.
But Li Qi had been through this before, so she didn't feel that uncomfortable.
She watched the mother give the moldy steamed bun she had finally found to her young daughter. She hugged her daughter who was eating the steamed bun and huddled in the corner, looking at the small piece of sky outside the shed with a lost look, as if wondering when these days of begging would end.
Li Qi recalled the days when she hugged the seriously ill Dong Mingrong and slept on the streets with the young Dong Linche. She also had such eyes, hesitant and uneasy, looking forward to but not knowing when such days would end.
Her eyes were filled with warmth. She took out the copper coins she had exchanged for the horse, kept two for herself, and gave the rest to the mother.
The mother turned around and saw the copper coin she handed over. She hugged her daughter tightly with excitement and stammered in disbelief, "For us?"
Li Qi nodded without saying a word, pulled her dirty hand, stuffed the copper coin into her calloused palm, and then leaned against the pillar behind him and closed his eyes to rest.
Hearing the mother and daughter's constant thanks, she did not open her eyes to respond. She just thought that she might not be able to leave the city today, and she had to stay to see what condition Shengxiang was in.
Li Qi couldn't relax in the side shed, fearing that Feng Siji would find her and take her back. She was not afraid of being imprisoned, but she was afraid of being locked up and losing control of the situation in Kyoto.
She buried her head in her knees, but she didn't doze off for even a quarter of an hour. Her mind was clearer than ever before. She was planning to go out after dark to find someone to find out how the drum-beating and grievance-seeking incident was going.
The night gradually darkened, and as soon as it got dark she couldn't wait any longer, so she stood up and walked outside with her crutches.
It was dinner time, and the street food stalls were bustling with activity. The aroma of wontons, noodles, and pot cakes filled the entire street, giving off a strong smell of fireworks.
Li Qi found a wonton restaurant and sat down. She ordered a bowl of small wontons. While waiting, she pretended to be casual and said, "Oh, that girl who beat the drum to complain today was really pitiful!"
The boss just brought some wontons and placed them in front of her. Seeing that there was no one in the restaurant, he pulled on his apron to wipe his hands, then sat down next to her and started chatting with her: "Isn't it? Everyone knows her. She was the maidservant of the Yun'an County Master. I didn't expect her to have such a pitiful life story.
"That Prime Minister Zhang wiped out her entire family, and today he took her away in the street. Who knows what he'll do to her."
'Snap'
The wontons Li Qi had just picked up suddenly fell back into the bowl. Unable to believe it, she asked again, "What did you say? That girl was taken away by Prime Minister Zhang?"
"Yes!" The boss slammed the table, stretched his neck to look in the direction of Prime Minister Zhang's residence, and said with a click of his tongue, "In my opinion, there's no way the Prime Minister would let her live. After all, she's the only witness in the inn case!"
Li Qi suddenly lost her appetite, and her mind was dizzy from the shock of the information that Zhang Zhouzhu had taken Shengxiang away.
She frowned and asked, "Isn't Feng Qingguan here too? He's the Justice Bao we believe in. How could he let the Prime Minister take that girl away?"
Upon hearing this, the boss's eyes widened with excitement, and he described it with great joy, "We were also surprised. Originally, Lord Feng was determined to take the girl away. He even nearly led his troops to fight with the Prime Minister for this.
"In all my years, I've never seen anyone dare to confront the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister himself probably hadn't seen such a thing before, so he was so angry that his face turned blue. But for some reason, the Prime Minister suddenly came out in his anger."
The boss was so excited that he couldn't help but perform. He immediately stood up and imitated Zhang Zhouzhu, whom he had seen today, and said in his tone:
"Lord Feng, if you start a war with me here, I will accidentally hurt many innocent people. Have you forgotten the blood shed outside the County Lord's mansion? She is the County Lord's maid. If she bleeds again today because of the County Lord, not only will the people be outraged, I'm afraid the County Lord will be infamous for eternity~"
He imitated the scene so vividly that Li Qi felt as if she were there herself. Her fingers gripping the chopsticks were white with force and she asked in a deep voice, "And then?"
"And then?" The boss thought for a moment, then sat back down next to Li Qi and said, "I can't act out Lord Feng's expression. Anyway, after hearing what the Prime Minister said, he was so angry that he crushed the token His Majesty had given him. His face was ashen, like a dark cloud, and then he withdrew his troops."
At this point, the boss became puzzled and frowned as he thought, "But what did the Prime Minister mean by that? The county lady's reputation has long been ruined. So what if she will be infamous forever? Why would Feng Qingguan withdraw his troops because of that?"
Li Qi didn't respond to him, put down the copper coins and stood up to leave.
The boss looked at the full bowl of wontons in front of her, but she hadn't eaten a single one. It must be because she acted so well that he was so attracted that he forgot to eat.
He raised his eyes and found his cane still leaning against the dining table. He hurriedly shouted to the thin figure, "Old man, don't you want your cane anymore?"
Li Qi didn't reply.
The sky was even darker at this time, and the last trace of sunset glow in the sky fell behind the mountain top. Under the gloomy sky, the street restaurants and stalls were busy closing up, and brothels, taverns and other places lit up the night lights, and the music and dancing started, adding a touch of luxury and vitality to the dark night.
Li Qi stepped over the bright lights and singing, blended into the busy crowd, and quietly headed to the Prime Minister's Mansion.
She had been busy running during the day and had specially worn light and thin clothes. Now the cold of the spring night came over her silently, and the cold wind blew on her face, making her skin gradually stiff and numb.
At that time, Li Qi was standing behind a big tree outside the Prime Minister's Mansion, feeling even colder as he did not move.
She hugged her arms and trembled slightly. The door of the Prime Minister's Mansion was wide open, right in front of her, but she couldn't get in.
Li Qi didn't understand why the man came even though she knew she couldn't get in. She just came here subconsciously after hearing what the wonton stall owner said.
It seems that looking at the Prime Minister's Mansion like this is like looking at Shengxiang.
Suddenly, a carriage drove out from the night.
The carriage was very ordinary. From a distance, it was impossible to tell what material it was made of, but at least it was certain that it was definitely not the kind that someone who had contact with Zhang Zhouzhu would ride.
Li Qi stared at the carriage intently.
The driver jumped out of the carriage, lifted the curtain, and called out to the people inside: "Miss Mu, we're here."
The first thing I saw was a pair of delicate white hands holding the car frame, and then a person in a silver-white spring jacket came out. Her long hair was not tied up, and she was not wearing any makeup or jewelry. Her thin figure was shrouded in the darkness, and she was as fragile and pure as a drop of dew.
She was helped down from the carriage by the driver, turned around and handed the driver a few copper coins, and took the box handed to her by the driver. The light from the four lanterns under the eaves of the prime minister's mansion shone on her face. Li Qi saw her face clearly. It was He Mu, who was said to be dead by the He family.
In an instant, Li Qi's questions almost burst out of her throat. She opened her eyes wide and watched He Mu holding a red box and following Qingsong who came out to greet him as he walked into the mansion.
She didn't bring any maids with her, and she hired a carriage. The person who came to pick her up was Qingsong, whom Zhang Zhouzhu trusted the most. With such secrecy and precautions, their meeting was probably not just for chatting.
Li Qi stared at the direction where the two people disappeared, her nails digging deep into her flesh, her mind became confused. At first she just felt cold, but now all her internal organs were shivering with cold.
He Mu lied to others that he was dead, but what was he planning behind the scenes? All Li Qi could think of was to expose her own crime.
She once looked for Feng Siji because Li Qi seemed to still be on Zhang Zhouzhu's side.
Now the situation has changed. Li Qi is under Feng Si's control. The only connection between him and Zhang Zhouzhu is that they both want to kill each other. He Mu will naturally come to Zhang Zhouzhu.
If He Mu really wanted to expose himself...
"You are here after all." A cold voice suddenly came from behind. Li Qi's scalp suddenly tightened, and she felt numb and stiff. She didn't need to react and just ran away.
A hand grabbed her neck from behind, and then a dagger was placed across her vitals. She stopped and turned her head to see a dagger that was so familiar that it made her feel unfamiliar.
The scabbard of the dagger was vermilion, with gold edges and hanging tassels.
It was the best-looking one chosen by Feng Siji, the one she stabbed into Feng Siji's abdomen when she left Qianzhou.
"Can you run away? Do you think I won't recognize you if you change into Yun Po's clothes or carry a crutch?" Feng Siji grabbed her hands, clamped them behind her back, trapped her with shackles, and then pushed her towards a horse tied not far away.
"I gave Shengxiang to Zhang Zhouzhu to use as bait, but I didn't expect you to actually come back on your own."
Feng Siji carried her onto the horse's back, and he immediately mounted her, turned her over in his arms, and sat her on the horse's back facing him.
He put one hand on the horse and with the other hand pulled her close to him, tilted his head and bit her earlobe, "See if I don't skin you alive tonight."
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