Cold Year (13)
Chapter 28 Cold Years (13)
In the Jiedu Mansion, the gorgeous hall shrouded in darkness was brightly lit, as bright as day.
A towering tree outside Qili Hall was hung with shining little lights. Li Qi couldn't recognize what the lights were, but she felt that the whole tree was lit up, as dazzling as a sea of fire and silver flowers.
She walked into the beautiful hall filled with the sounds of stringed instruments, and saw from afar that the high seat where Wei Ming used to sit was now blocked by a huge golden gauze screen with four gentlemen. She could vaguely see a person sitting behind it. She couldn't see the person's face clearly, but she felt that the person's figure was slender and graceful, with a high bun. She didn't need to look closely to know that the person was noble and unparalleled.
"Stop." A solemn command slowly floated out from behind the screen.
The voice was as graceful as a pure white flower blooming in spring, soft and beautiful, stirring up thousands of waves of memories in the deepest part of Li Qi's mind.
It's really her.
"It's the same tunes over and over again. I'm tired of them. Now that Li Leren is here, you all should leave. I'll just listen to her playing."
The girls stood up and saluted. The dancers straightened their clothes and the pianists put away their music scores. They lined up in a neat row and walked out from beside Li Qi. Occasionally one or two of them cast envious or jealous glances at her, but Li Qi didn't care.
She only looked at the person on the high seat. After everyone else had left and only a palace maid was left waiting by the screen, the person behind the screen slowly stood up and walked around the screen.
Li Qi had only known that although Dong Mingrong loved to read romance novels, she had her own dignity and decorum. However, she had never realized that her former dignity was only the tip of the iceberg.
Nowadays, every step Dong Mingrong takes seems to have been calculated precisely. Even half an inch more between steps will affect her elegance. Her every frown and movement reveals the elegance and propriety of a scholarly family, as well as the majesty and solemnity that a queen of high rank should have.
She walked down the stairs step by step, walking towards Li Qi with a smile.
It was very quiet in Qili Hall. Apart from the rhythmic thumps of Mingrong's footsteps, Li Qi could hear her own heartbeat getting faster and faster. When Mingrong came closer and she could see her eyebrows, her hair and her deep eyes clearly, Li Qi's breathing almost stopped.
"Eldest sister, I finally see you." Dong Mingrong spoke with tears in her eyes. The majesty in her voice was replaced by trembling sobs. She reached out her hand and slowly stroked Li Qi's face.
She was obviously the younger sister, but now she was dressed in luxurious clothes and covered with gold and pearls, while Li Qi was wearing a cloth dress and a hairpin with her hair tied up in a wooden hairpin. She had to be the one who took the initiative to reach out.
Li Qi took Mingrong's cold hand and choked out a sob. "How have you been these years? You never mentioned your life in your letters, and you haven't written to me in a year."
Mingrong smiled calmly and said in a heartless tone, "I am just a person trapped in a deep well. There is only darkness and the smell of mold at the bottom of the well. I can't find anything to share with you."
Mingrong withdrew her hand, turned around, and sat beside the guzheng that had been prepared for Li Qi.
She reached out and gently plucked the string instrument, and elegant yet low-pitched music flowed out, masking her voice's unreality. "When I came to the Jiedu Mansion, I saw my father's sword. I guessed you wouldn't give it to Wei Ming for no reason, so I asked Wei Ming for it back, and now it's back to its rightful owner."
As she finished speaking, the palace maid who had been waiting beside the screen picked up a long box and handed it to Li Qi with both hands.
Mingrong played the qin and said, "This box is inlaid with gold. Take it. If you have difficulties in the future, you can use the gold to make money. I will send some more gold and silver back home tomorrow. If others ask, you can say that it is a tip from me for playing the qin."
"I'm here to tell you that if you wait for me for another year, I will take you all to Kyoto.
"If anything happens to me, she will take you to Kyoto." After she finished speaking, she turned her head and said to the cubicle behind her where the dancers were changing clothes, "Come out."
A girl, about seventeen, also wearing a cloth dress and a hairpin skirt, came out from inside and knelt before Li Qi, saying, "My name is Shengxiang, and I am honored to meet you, young lady."
Li Qi didn't understand what Dong Mingrong meant by this. It was like she was saying her last words. Her expression was indifferent, her tone was indifferent, everything was indifferent, but her gaze was like a deep well, like a dying person, who had become indifferent to everything except the deep sadness of facing death.
She didn't dare to think further and hurriedly pressed down her hand that was plucking the strings, and the music stopped abruptly.
She squatted in front of Mingrong and said, "I promised mother that I would not give up on you and Linche. If you can't hold on in the palace, you can always return to Tingzhuyuan."
Mingrong nodded, not knowing whether she had truly heard it or not. She said to Shengxiang, "Let's go. It's not convenient for me to see you off. I'll let Linzhu take you out of the house."
Lin Zhu, holding the sword box, said to Li Qi, "Miss, please follow me." After that, she turned around and walked out of Qili Hall.
Li Qi wanted to stay, but Mingrong no longer looked at her. The three-foot-thick ice did not form overnight. They had not seen each other for so many years. She might not be able to open her heart for the time being, or she might not want to drag herself down. In short, there was no time to rush.
She glanced at Mingrong one last time and asked, "Are you going home tomorrow?"
Mingrong smiled and said, "Of course I'll go and take a look."
"Then we'll wait for you."
Li Qi took the girl named Shengxiang away with her.
-
It was already dark when they arrived at Tingzhu Garden. All the candles in the garden were lit, and it seemed that they were worried about Li Qi and were afraid to sleep.
Li Qi glanced at the lights. Normally, she would feel warm, but now all that appeared before her eyes were Dong Mingrong's eyes as deep as an ancient well and her words that sounded like her last words.
Li Qi stopped under the plum tree and looked back at Shengxiang: "How long have you been with the Empress?"
Shengxiang bowed again and said, "I have been following the Empress since she entered the palace."
Li Qi frowned. "I'm not some official's daughter. You don't have to be polite to me, and you don't have to call yourself a servant. Tell me, how are your days in the palace?"
"Your Majesty is deeply favored by His Majesty, and no one in the six palaces can compare to you."
"Is it the same with the Queen?"
"If we only talk about favor, yes."
A cold wind blew, sweeping down a plum blossom tree. Li Qi grabbed her shoulders amidst the falling blossoms, glaring at her coldly, "You know that's not what I'm asking! She's an orphan with no family. To reach her current high position, she must have broken countless wings and shed countless blood. Each time, she grew new wings to fly, and then broke more, right?"
Shengxiang's eyes flushed red, and she bravely raised her eyes to meet Li Qi's. "The Queen didn't tell you because she didn't want you to take any risks. You don't have the ability to help her now, so what's the point of asking and only adding to her sadness? Everyone goes through this, and what you need to do is let it go. You can't save everyone."
"But at least I can save her!"
Shengxiang took a deep breath, her nose stinging from the cold air. She said, "I can only tell you that the Empress lost two children this year, and she's still struggling to recover. If you truly want to save her, don't wait a year for her. Find a way to get to Kyoto yourself. Once I've seen your abilities and believe you're capable of saving her, I'll tell you the whole story and who to seek revenge on."
Li Qi looked at Shengxiang for a few seconds. He was indeed a man taught by Dong Mingrong. He was really a man of integrity.
"Girl?" Ye Lan called out from behind them. As Ye Lan approached, he looked at the unfamiliar Sheng Xiang and asked in confusion, "What are you arguing about? Who is she?"
Li Qi smiled and said, "She was brought here by Mingrong. She will live here with us from now on. You can stay in the same room with her."
Ye Lan chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll go make her bed."
She skipped back to the house. Li Qi's smile vanished in the blink of an eye. She said to Shengxiang, "You have guts. I respect you. I have the ability to go to Kyoto within three months. I hope you'll keep your promise by then."
"It's natural."
-
Li Qi returned to her room alone.
Feng Siji sat beside her desk, motionless as a mountain, flipping through an ancient book with a worn and wrinkled cover. He flipped through the pages so quickly that they made a rustling sound. His appearance made Li Qi doubt whether he was reading at all.
She closed the door, sat down next to him, and leaned over to read his book, but he gently closed it and looked at her sideways.
The candlelight lingered, obscuring half of his face in gray shadow, blurring his eyes and obscuring his true feelings. But the seemingly frozen air in the room, and the almost still candlelight, made Li Qi sense something was amiss.
She asked puzzledly, "What's wrong with you?"
Feng Siji's fingers pinched the pages of the book, stroking them back and forth very slowly. He spoke as if deep in thought, "You really don't know that Wei Ming's gold mountain is empty?"
Li Qi's heart skipped a beat, and she suddenly felt the light in front of her dim. The dim light and shadows were impenetrable and densely wrapped around her from head to toe.
She asked in a suppressed voice, "What do you mean?"
"I heard from Ye Lan that you once lived there when you were homeless. If that's the case, how could you not know that the Golden Mountain is empty?"
Li Qi blinked, hoping to dispel the guilt in her eyes. She tried to sound serious, "We didn't hear about it at that time. How could people at the bottom know about news from the upper class? I really don't know."
Unsure whether he had received the letter, he stared at her with those deep, dark eyes, staring intently, barely blinking. His fingers tightened around the pages, poking a hole in the already worn book. He probed, "But when you returned from the Jiedu Mansion today, you didn't ask Dong Linche about the situation in the cave. Did you forget to ask him, or do you already know what's going on down there, so you don't need to?"
Li Qi's breathing slowed down a bit.
I just feel that Feng Siji's eyes will kill all the truth, and all the secrets and disguises will never escape as long as they are under his nose.
Sometimes she really wanted to ask why he had such a pair of eyes that could distinguish right from wrong and the truth, but could not save this absurd country, nor could he save the people of Yunzhou who died in vain.
She gritted her teeth and confirmed her original idea: "I really don't know. I didn't ask because I forgot."
He smiled faintly, "Have you forgotten?"
"Yes, I forgot. Why, don't you believe me?"
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