Cage (9)
Li Qi didn't care what he said at all. She just asked angrily, "You let Zhang Zhouzhu take Shengxiang away just to lure me out?"
Feng Siji's handsome face was right in front of her, but it gave her a sense of unreal distance.
The darkness of night pressed down heavily, distorting his hateful features.
"So what?"
He clenched his cheeks and asked angrily, "You should know that the Kyoto court is either in your hands or Zhang Zhouzhu's. I've been away for so many years, and there aren't many people I can use. Why do you still want to go out and cause trouble for me?"
He reached out and pressed on the back of Li Qi's head, pressing her face towards him, so close that he could see each of her eyelashes clearly and the scenes and objects reflected in her pupils, before he stopped.
Feng Siji stared at his reflection in her pupils with veins bulging. His face had become so hideous and unrecognizable because of anger, and it didn't look like him at all.
His eyes were filled with disgust and hatred. His hand that was tightly gripping the reins suddenly loosened and he raised it to cover her eyes.
"Who did you go to first after you left? Was it Yunshan Min?" He gritted his teeth and said word by word, "You didn't think that someone like him could protect you, did you?"
The horse was well-trained and did not run around even when the owner did not hold the reins.
Feng Siji looked at them and chuckled sinisterly, "Sooner or later I will tame you like this horse."
He covered the entire scene in darkness, and Li Qi could not see his expression. She only felt that his laughter was too cold, and she shivered uncontrollably.
With her handcuffed hands, she clutched his collar tightly, her throat rolling as if she wanted to say something, but no words came out.
It took the time of an incense stick for the horse to run to the Gold Storage Pavilion. Feng Siji saw the tall outline of the Gold Storage Pavilion gradually emerging in the night, and finally removed his hand that was covering Li Qi's eyes.
The moment he caught a glimpse of the light, Li Qi's eyes, which had adapted to the darkness, blinked uncomfortably.
Seeing the wind shadow passing by, Feng Si quickly jumped off the horse, stood beside the horse, opened his arms to her, and carried her off the horse.
She looked at him with a calm expression, not even a frown on her face. But in his arms, with her ear pressed against his chest, she could hear the erratic, rapid beat of his heart, proving that he was at least furious enough to cause his blood to flow backwards and surge, leading to such a chaotic, rapid heartbeat.
She felt uneasy and her heartbeat quickened. His words about taming her like the horse seemed to echo in her ears again. What would that be like?
Her eyes couldn't help but fall on the horse tied to the wall. It was snow-white, with smooth hair and strong limbs. It looked no different from other horses.
With a bang, he kicked open the door to the eleventh floor. Li Qi came back to her senses abruptly and saw Qinglan and Liu Anhuaming hurriedly bowing. She was carried into the house by him, and the sound of an unknown maid locking the door came from behind her.
The click of the lock pushed Li Qi's fear to the extreme.
She opened her eyes wide in horror, seeing this closed room, the shameful windowsill, the bed, and the hot spring behind the screen. Past shameful scenes flooded back into her mind like a tide, and she suddenly struggled violently: "Let me go!"
"You're only realizing your fear now, isn't it too late?"
Feng Siji's merciless voice came from above his head. His arms were like shackles, trapping her tightly in his arms. He carried her across the desk, around the screen, and came to the hot spring.
"Why weren't you afraid when you went to find Yunshan Min?" Feng Siji threw her into the hot water pool with force.
With a "splash", Li Qi fell into the water. The warm water rushed to wrap around her body and opened every pore. She shuddered instinctively and choked on a few mouthfuls of water.
She struggled to float to the surface, but her hands were locked in his shackles, so she couldn't struggle out and sank deeper.
A pair of strong and straight legs appeared in the chaotic vision, followed by a large bony hand reaching out, grabbing her clothes, and suddenly pulling her out of the water.
Li Qi took a deep breath, coughed violently to get rid of the water stuck in her throat, and raised her hands to wipe the water off her face.
Only then did he see Feng Siji standing in front of him, naked, with streams of water running down his well-defined chest, his bulging muscles carrying with them an intimidating strength.
Li Qi was stunned and had no time to react before Feng Siji stretched out his claws towards her and tore the shorts on her body into pieces with a few rips.
"What are you wearing?"
He threw it away in disgust, and the torn cloth floated weakly on the water.
She became as naked as he was, and faced him frankly.
His brain, which had been filled with water, finally started to work. Li Qi turned around and tried to climb out of the hot spring, but someone grabbed his shoulder hard and pulled him back violently.
The back of her head hit Feng Siji's hard chest, causing her to see stars in pain, but it was followed by even more intense pain.
Without any warning, he squeezed her hard from behind.
She was in so much pain that tears rolled down her eyes. She swung her shackled hands behind her, trying to hit him, but he bit her finger.
Her fingers were connected to her heart, and she cried out in pain, but it was soon drowned out by the sound of the splashing water in the hot spring.
"You knocked Liu An Hua Ming unconscious here, changed Liu An's clothes here, and then ran away, right?" His voice lingered in her ears like a devil. Li Qi was in so much pain that she could no longer think. Her head was buzzing and she was not sure what he was saying.
Her eyes, ears, mouth and nose were full of water, which made her cough, sob and cry constantly.
She couldn't bear it anymore and crawled forward uncomfortably, trying to climb out of the hot spring that frightened her, but before she had taken a few steps, he grabbed her waist and pulled her back.
"You had the guts to run, but why don't you have the guts to end it now?" Feng Siji said coldly, "Today I will torture you until you are afraid of this hot spring."
Li Qi was tortured to the point of feeling weak all over. This was the first time he had made her so miserable in this matter. She felt so uncomfortable that her whole body felt weak and she kept sinking to the bottom of the water.
Feng Siji placed his palm on her waist, lifted her up, and pinched the back of her neck to prevent her head from falling into the water and drowning.
"Are you scared? When I found out you ran away, I felt the same way you do now."
She was floating around, unable to respond.
The water in the hot spring pool rippled in circles, and the sound of the water mixed with her crying and begging, forming a chaotic mess, echoing in the closed room.
The moon in the sky was gradually hidden by dark clouds, and the wind blew through the eaves, making a whistling sound.
As the night deepened and gradually brightened, and a light blue-white appeared on the horizon, Feng Siji finally carried Li Qi out of the hot spring.
She had already lost consciousness, her cheeks and body were abnormally pink, her hair was wet and stuck to her cheeks, covering her beautiful eyebrows and eyes.
Feng Siji placed her on the couch, gently turned her body to the inside of the bed, then picked up the hair towel, sat on the edge of the bed and gently twisted her hair.
By the time she had wrung it dry, the sky was bright and a beam of spring sunlight fell on her eyes. She rubbed her eyes uncomfortably and a hoarse moan came from her throat.
Feng Siji stood up and moved lightly to draw the curtains to block out the glaring sunlight.
The room became dim, and she finally calmed down and fell into a deep sleep again.
Feng Siji turned around and walked to the treasure cabinet, took out a small jade-white porcelain bottle, returned to the bedside, gently turned over the quilt, dipped his fingertips in the transparent ointment, and applied it to the purple pinch marks on her waist.
The ointment spread out with a faint cooling sensation, and a light medicinal fragrance lingered across the bed.
After Feng Siji finished applying the cream, he tidied her bedding and lowered the bed curtains before cleaning up the messy bathtub.
The hot spring was restored to its original state. He walked out of the house lightly. Liu An, who was guarding outside the door, lowered his head hurriedly, fearing that he would make trouble for the county lady taking his place.
But he just stared into the void and asked, "Is there any news from the Prime Minister's Mansion?"
Liu An whispered, "Sister Qinglan has gone out to inquire and hasn't returned yet."
Hua Ming's voice became even quieter, and he faltered, "Last night, someone from Ping'an Village brought a gift, saying it was from a man named Yunshan Min who was celebrating the county lady's birthday. General Dong also sent one. Sir, do you want to dispose of it?"
Feng Siji pursed his lips and said it was not necessary. He told Liu Anhuaming to go into the house and guard it, so that he could take care of Li Qi if she had any instructions when she woke up. Then he went down the wooden ladder.
Liu Anhuaming pushed open the door and walked into the house carefully. As soon as he entered, he smelled an indescribable smell.
The two of them looked at each other. Neither of them had any idea what the smell was. They were just worried that the county lady would wake up and find the smell unpleasant and make trouble, so they hurried to light some calming sandalwood.
With the help of aromatherapy, Li Qi slept very soundly.
When she woke up, the sun was setting.
Her whole body ached and she tried to turn over with great difficulty, but she felt as if she was weighed down by a huge weight and was too heavy to turn over.
One hand lifted the bed curtain, and the dark Liu who was covered by her came into view.
Liu An, perhaps due to his training, was expressionless. He simply supported her waist, helped her turn over, and asked in a low voice, "Would the County Master like to have dinner?"
Li Qi rolled her dry throat and asked hoarsely, "Where is Envoy Feng?"
"My Lord has gone out on some business, and he said he would be back tonight to have dinner with you. Would you like to wait for him?"
Li Qi must be crazy to wait for him. Seeing him made her lose her appetite: "No, I want to eat now."
Liu An turned around and signaled Hua Ming to set the table, while he helped Li Qi get up and dress.
Seeing that she was quick and nimble, not saying much, and taking care of herself diligently, Li Qi felt a little guilty and asked softly, "He didn't hurt you yesterday, did he?"
Liu An paused for a moment as she held her hair in place. "No, the master returned home at night and found the county lady missing. He simply asked a few questions and then rode away on horseback."
Li Qi was slightly startled and looked at her face: "Did you find out at night?"
Liu An didn't know why she asked this, but still responded respectfully.
That's strange, because Zhang Zhouzhu took Shengxiang away in broad daylight.
It was just getting dark when Li Qi went to eat wontons.
Feng Siji lied to her again. He didn't use Shengxiang as bait at all. He just guessed that she would go to the Prime Minister's Mansion. It was a blind cat catching a dead mouse.
Li Qi was just thinking about it when Hua Ming came into the house with the food and placed it neatly on the dining table.
Liu An helped Li Qi sit at the table and served her food.
Li Qi had skipped several meals and was now so hungry that she felt weak all over and was eating her meal seriously.
After taking a few bites, the door was pushed open. Feng Siji stood by the door frame against the light and looked over leisurely.
The lion's head in Li Qi's mouth suddenly lost its fragrance.
Feng Siji signaled Liu Anhuaming to leave, closed the door, and sat down next to Li Qi.
He served himself some food and began to eat it politely. Seeing that he was silent, Li Qi had nothing to say to him, so she also remained silent.
Feng Siji was like a little calico cat that Li Qi raised in Yunzhou. He ate very little and would stop eating after just a few bites.
He served Li Qi some food and asked nonchalantly, "Is your birthday coming up? It's strange that we've known each other for so long, and I didn't even know when it was."
Li Qi casually said, "The beginning of spring."
Feng Siji calculated silently in his mind, "That won't be long."
"I never celebrate my birthday."
Feng Siji stopped talking and just watched her eat silently.
Perhaps because she was not brought up as a lady of nobility, she never ate her meals in the elegant and slow manner of most other ladies from noble families. Instead, she stuffed everything into her mouth and chewed it slowly.
Every time this happened, her cheeks would puff up like a little hamster.
There was a sudden knock on the door, and Qinglan's voice asking for a meeting was heard outside the door.
Feng Siji called out, and the door opened. They both looked over and saw Qinglan approaching with a letter. She stopped in front of Feng Siji, raised the envelope with both hands, and handed it over, "Sir, this is a letter from the Prime Minister's Mansion."
When he heard the words "Prime Minister's Mansion", Li Qi reacted faster than Feng Siji. He threw away his bowl and chopsticks and snatched the envelope from Qinglan's hand.
Qinglan looked at Feng Siji in embarrassment.
Feng Siji waved his hand, signaling her to leave.
Qinglan retreated silently and closed the door.
After the people left, Feng Siji moved his stool closer to Li Qi and leaned over to take a look.
There were only four big words written on the dark yellow envelope: From the County Princess herself.
This is Shengxiang's handwriting.
Li Qi tore open the red seal, took out the letter and flattened it.
The words on the letter paper were crooked and looked like graffiti. They didn't look like words, but more like some kind of symbols.
Feng Siji frowned and looked at it for a long time, but he couldn't recognize what it was. He asked, "What does it say?"
Li Qi was concentrating on reading the letter and ignored him.
Feng Siji saw that her brows were getting tighter and tighter as he looked at her, and guessed that it was not good news.
He took her hand and squeezed it with a little force, trying to reassure her. "What did she say?"
Li Qi raised her eyes, looked at Feng Siji's face, and suddenly hesitated.
What did you say?
The characters written by Shengxiang are crooked and the strokes are slanted, like little soft bugs.
When she was writing this letter, she was held captive by Zhang Zhouzhu in a pavilion by the pond. Facing a huge fish with its mouth wide open, she finished writing while trembling.
Zhang Zhouzhu took the letter from her pen, unfolded it in front of his eyes, glanced at it, and then frowned: "What did you write?"
Shengxiang bit her lip and said with red eyes, "I'll write whatever you ask me to write."
Zhang Zhouzhu fixed his inquiring gaze on her face and stared at her for a long while. Suddenly, he laughed out loud in anger. After laughing, he did not argue with her, but grabbed the teapot in front of him and smashed it to the ground.
The loud bang startled Shengxiang. She shrank into the armchair, closing her eyes and trembling.
Zhang Zhouzhu stepped over the broken porcelain pieces and tea stains on the ground, grabbed Shengxiang's clothes and lifted her to the railing of the pavilion.
Shengxiang opened her eyes in horror to see where he had taken her. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw the big fish he had raised crawling at his feet, with its bloody mouth wide open facing her.
She could still vaguely smell the blood in the big fish's mouth and screamed in fright.
Zhang Zhouzhu threatened from behind her, "I asked you to meet Li Qi and Feng Siji at the mass grave, and you did, but what are those extra things you wrote? Do you dare to tell them that Dong Mingrong is in my hands? Believe it or not, I can push you down to feed the fish at any time!"
Shengxiang frowned in pain, tears rolling down her cheeks, and she shrieked, "I've already written what you asked me to write. If you force me, just push me down to feed the fish. I'd rather die than write!"
"You are such a chaste slave, so loyal! You're willing to reveal some information to them even when you die. Have you forgotten that you were originally a slave of two surnames?"
Zhang Zhouzhu grabbed her hair, turned her face back, stared into her tearful eyes and said, "Even if you don't write, I have my own way to make them come to the mass grave to see me. But don't force me. If it really comes to the point where I do it myself, I will kill you.
"Feng Siji is used to being a good man and a good official. No matter how much he hates Li Qi, he won't kill her easily. But I'm different from him. You know I crawled out of a pile of corpses. I can cherish you when I want to, but if I don't want you anymore, I can kill you at any time."
Shengxiang closed her eyes and cried for a long time before slowly opening them and looking at him tremblingly: "If I write, can the queen survive?"
"She is my last resort against Li Qi and Feng Siji. I certainly won't kill her. But I will absolutely not allow you to tell her this news."
Otherwise, if Li Qi joined hands with Feng Siji to rescue Dong Mingrong from him, then he would have lost his last trump card.
"I told you all my plans, and you wrote the letter. We agreed on that from the beginning. Why are you now adding all that extra stuff that I forbad you to write?"
Shengxiang doesn't speak.
Zhang Zhouzhu had no patience and said irritably, "Are you going to write it or not? If you say no, I will kill you right now."
As he said this, he cruelly pushed her an inch down into the pond. The big fish under his feet raised its head excitedly and swam a few inches towards him.
But without its owner's permission, it waited patiently underwater, not daring to act rashly.
Shengxiang could read the hunger in its eyes. She closed her eyes resignedly. Since she was going to die, she might as well die in a more meaningful way.
For example, he had to find a way to let the county lady know that the queen had been discovered by Zhang Zhouzhu.
Shengxiang said wearily, "I'll write."
Zhang Zhouzhu let go of her hair with satisfaction, pulled her back into the pavilion, personally prepared pen, ink, paper and brush for her, and watched her write.
It was finished, just two short sentences. After Zhang Zhouzhu confirmed that there was no problem, he asked Qingsong to send it out.
Seeing that she was crying non-stop, Zhang Zhouzhu took out a handkerchief and personally wiped her tears, washed her face, and combed her hair that was messed up by him.
After cleaning her up, he squatted down and picked up the broken porcelain pieces on the ground, picking them up one by one and putting them on the tray, just like picking up the past between him and Shengxiang one by one.
When he fainted in the mass grave, his consciousness was very scattered and he could hardly feel any movement.
He seemed to have seen the King of Hell and was on the road to the underworld, but suddenly a pair of warm hands patted his face.
The warm hands pulled him back from the road to the underworld. Extremely exhausted, he opened his eyes hazily and saw a fair and tender face. Without making any sound, he lost consciousness.
When he woke up again, he was in a simple and clean house.
The windows in the room were brightly lit, and there was a faint smell of medicine boxes.
Next to the wide-open window, there was a tree of extremely brilliant peach blossoms. The petals fell with the breeze, floating on the shoulders, hair and eyebrows of Shengxiang who was sitting by the window.
She was still very small, and when she sat on the bench, her feet could not touch the ground, and her legs were dangling in the air and swinging back and forth.
She noticed that he was awake, turned around and smiled at him with her white teeth: "Brother, are you awake? I'll go call my mother."
She jumped off the bench and ran out with a beep.
Later he found out that she was only twelve years old. He thought she was just a child and didn't have any extra thoughts. If he had to say something, it would be that when he had the ability, he would definitely repay her for saving his life.
At that time, Shengxiang's parents had not yet built the Xianglai Inn. The family of three lived in the deep mountains and made a living by hunting.
Shengxiang's surname was Mu. The two elders of the Mu family were very kind to him. They sent him to school and helped him take exams. Sometimes when they were busy, they would leave Shengxiang to his care.
A few years later, he left to take the imperial examination, and when he came back to look for them, they were nowhere to be found.
Originally just a passer-by, Zhang Zhouzhu had no obsession to look for her. He was devoted to assisting the emperor, cleaning up the marquis's mansion, and climbing up the ladder.
When the new emperor ascended the throne, he foolishly and brainlessly launched a war with Southern Yan. Yunzhou was lost, and he, the prime minister, was branded as a blind assistant.
He chased Feng Yijun to Xianglai Inn and only then saw them.
Zhang Zhouzhu also wanted to leave someone alive, but Yunzhou had fallen at that time and there was panic everywhere. If he left one person alive, the risk would be greater for him.
In the end, he only left behind Mu Shengxiang, who seemed to pose the least threat.
Unfortunately, Mu Shengxiang was disobedient and opposed him every day. He got annoyed and threw her into the palace to restrain Queen Zhang Wan.
However, she didn't expect that she had close contacts with a man named Li Ke from Yunzhou, and they joined forces to undermine his power in Kyoto.
In order to regain the power he had lost, he fought with Li Qi, but the situation only got deeper and deeper.
Now Feng Siji wants to overturn the verdict, and Mu Shengxiang is the most critical person. Besides her, Zhang Wan and He Zhangjing can also testify.
In his early years, he was too harsh on Zhang Wan when he cleaned up the Marquis' Mansion. Now that Zhang Wan has the chance, she will definitely not give in easily.
He Zhangjing's legs were bitten by the fish he had raised, so he would naturally take this opportunity to take revenge.
He is at the end of his rope this time and is doomed to die.
But if he died, Li Qi and Feng Siji could not live either.
Mass grave, he wanted to make sure that those who had been against him from the beginning to the end had no place to be buried.
"If I had known you were such a person, I would never have saved you at the mass grave." Shengxiang suddenly spoke, interrupting his thoughts.
Zhang Zhouzhu came back to his senses, stared into her eyes for a long moment, then sneered, "You've already saved her, and it's hard to undo what's been done. But don't worry, after I've dealt with Li Qi and the other two, I'll be with you from now on."
Shengxiang spat in his face with disgust: "No one wants to be with you, you might as well just die."
Zhang Zhouzhu was stunned. He raised his hand to wipe the saliva off his face, looked at her coldly, and left with the tray full of broken porcelain pieces.
Shengxiang lowered his eyes, slumped exhaustedly in the armchair, staring blankly at the scattered pieces of letter paper in front of him.
The handwriting on the letter was crooked and disorganized, which was not her usual handwriting.
Or one could say that every crooked stroke of the handwriting reflected her struggle.
Li Qi looked at the letter in her hand and answered Feng Siji's question honestly, "She asked us to meet her at the mass grave in three days."
After saying that, she crumpled up the letter and gritted her teeth in doubt: "But I think it's more than that. Her handwriting is too messy."
Feng Siji pried open her fingers, picked out the letter, and threw it into the brazier beside the table to burn it to ashes.
"I'll go then, and you stay here."
"No!" Li Qi stood up excitedly. "This matter involves Shengxiang's safety. I will never give in. If you insist on trapping me, I will jump from here!"
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