Cold Year (8)
Chapter 23 Cold Years (8)
Back at Tingzhu Garden, a tall shed had been erected in the vegetable garden, shielding the wilted vegetables from the wind and snow. Dong Linche was practicing martial arts in the yard. Seeing Li Qi, he sheathed his sword and ran over, grabbing her hand. "Sister, you're back! Sister Yelan and I prepared Laba porridge. Can we play the Laba porridge-grabbing game again like Yunzhou did?"
Li Qi smiled and pinched his nose and said, "How can we have fun with so few people?"
She led the horse back to the stable and fed it a roll of hay. Watching the horse eat happily, she stroked its fur and continued, "Besides, we are all grown up now. We can't play those childish games anymore."
After feeding the horses, she came out of the stable and went to the well to fetch water. Dong Linche followed her and begged, "Who said that? Adults can play too! There are quite a few of us, including Adult Feng, so there are already four of us! Please, I haven't played in a long time."
Hearing Feng Siji, Li Qi paused holding the bucket and said, "That's fine."
Dong Linche nodded heavily and ran happily into the house to find Ye Lan.
Not long after, the sound of two people excitedly discussing how to win Li Qi could be heard in the room. Li Qi shook her head helplessly and took the water into the kitchen to heat it up.
While waiting for the water to heat up, she went to the room to find a bottle of medicine and took it with her, then returned to the kang and stared at the flickering flames in a daze.
If Dong Mingrong really came with His Majesty, she would definitely find a way to meet her in private.
But when we meet, what should we say? It’s always a bit daunting to meet someone you haven’t seen in a long time.
The water on the kang was boiling, bubbling. Li Qi came to her senses and scooped water into the bucket with a wooden ladle. The hot steam from the bucket hit her face, making it damp and hot.
She picked up the water and just reached the yard, she saw Feng Siji slowly coming in holding her cloak. He finally arrived home.
He also saw her, and quickly came over, stuffed the cloak into her arms, and bent down to pick up her bucket: "Where are you taking it?"
Li Qi took a look at the wounds on his body. The blood had already coagulated, but the whip marks were still hideous.
It's all because of her.
She turned away evasively, hugged the cloak in her hands and said, "It's for wiping your body. After that, it's easy to apply medicine."
Feng Siji was stunned for a moment, thanked her, and went into the house with the bucket.
He lived with Dong Linche. There were only three rooms in Tingzhuyuan, with Ye Lan and Li Qi each occupying one. On his first night here, Li Qi arranged for him to stay in Dong Linche's room.
The room where the child lived was not big. Feng Siji was tall, and once he entered, he squeezed the small room so tightly that he had to walk hesitantly.
Li Qi looked at him and thought that maybe she should give her room to him.
But she couldn't bear to leave because she liked a bigger house.
She closed the open window, and the light in the room dimmed instantly. In the dim light, she saw him taking off his clothes, but halfway through, he turned his head and asked suspiciously, "Aren't you going out?"
Li Qi raised the medicine in her hand and said, "I'm waiting to apply it to you."
"Then you should avoid it now."
Li Qi smiled, looked him in the eye, and said deliberately, "You said you would take responsibility today on the edge of the field, but now you're chasing people away?"
"you……"
"You're responsible anyway, so whether you watch it sooner or later doesn't it matter?"
"Li Qi..."
Li Qi sat down on the edge of the bed, crossed her legs and smiled, "There are only two of us here, no one will come even if you shout at the top of your lungs."
Feng Siji was stunned for a long while, then he pulled his clothes straight and said, "Then I won't wipe it."
"That won't do. If you don't wipe it off, you'll stink and what if it stinks and it gets on my brother?"
Feng Siji moved his lips to speak, but Li Qi spoke first, "But..."
She patted the bed under her seat and said, "This is my brother's room. I'd better not tease you here anymore. When you're clean, come find me."
“…”
She stood up, opened the door and went out, turning back and winking at him before leaving.
The door was closed by her from the outside, and Feng Siji's tense heartstrings finally relaxed. He breathed a sigh of relief. In his twenty-two years of life, this was the first time he met someone like her.
Straightforward and passionate.
She always wore a fiery red dress, like a ball of fire, but her eyes always showed coldness, as if a ball of fire was wrapped in a layer of frost, making him unable to understand her.
He took off his clothes, wet a handkerchief, and wiped the wound gently, carefully avoiding it.
In the misty water vapor, it seems that Li Qi’s red dress is swaying again, like the setting sun.
I still remember the first time they met. He was unconscious and on the verge of death, but in his hazy vision, he saw her in a red dress, as if she had fallen from the sky, protecting him.
Like a beam of light, it illuminated the darkness along the way from Kyoto to Qianzhou.
He was distracted and unconsciously put down the handkerchief. His fingers gently touched his lips, recalling the sudden kiss on horseback today.
At the time, I only felt nervous and offended, nothing else. But now, it felt like kissing a marshmallow, sweet and soft.
He had only known her for less than three days, so how could he have such a strong feeling that even he couldn't control it?
Feng Siji suddenly felt something was wrong, and his thoughts on handling cases over the years unconsciously traced back to everything that had happened in Qianzhou.
Initially, His Majesty demoted him to a clerk responsible for compiling case details, but that clerk position was suddenly filled.
Wang Mo seemed to have accepted benefits from that man and wanted to get rid of him. He chased him and beat him all the way, trying to create an accidental death.
He ran to the place where there were the most people and met Li Qi.
Today he went to the Jiedu Mansion to exchange Zhang Zhouzhu's information for Li Qi's freedom. Before leaving, Wang Mo suddenly said that he was coveting Wei Ming's gold.
He didn't know what kind of gold it was, but Wei Ming was furious and fabricated a case of theft to put him in jail.
After he was imprisoned, Wang Mo came to beat him, not only beating him but also verbally humiliating him.
Later, Li Qi came to rescue him.
She was still dressed in red, descending from the sky like a god bestowing nectar.
Every time she was in danger, it was related to Wang Mo, and behind the disaster, there was always Li Qi's help.
Li Qi was originally unable to enter the prison, but since Wang Mo had been to the prison gate, she was able to enter as if no one was there.
Now that I think about it, Wang Mo went outside the door not to pick a fight with her, but to welcome her.
Feng Siji's hands slowly clenched into fists, and her joints creaked. All this was a plan between her and Wang Mo.
But what was the point? He didn't know.
After washing himself, he put on clean clothes and walked slowly to Li Qi's room.
She was fiddling with daggers. Rows of them lined the edge of the bed. She sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, counting the daggers.
Hearing him coming, she raised her sparkling peach blossom eyes to look at him and said with a smile, "Master Feng, you've arrived just in time. Come and see which of these daggers is the most beautiful?"
Feng Si quickly walked to the edge of the bed, lifted his clothes and sat down, straightened his back and looked over one by one.
The patterns on the scabbards of each dagger are different, some are fairy mist among clouds, some are dancing dragons and phoenixes, and some are mountains and flowing water.
The workmanship is exquisite, the patterns are intricate and lifelike, just like the real scene. You can tell at first glance that it is not a cheap item.
The same thing is that the tassels on the daggers are all red.
He discovered that she loved red. The curtains were red, the quilt was red, her clothes were red, and her temperament was even more so.
He placed his hands neatly on his knees and asked in a serious tone, "Miss Li is a musician, so why do you have so many exquisite and impressive weapons? And not just string instruments?"
Li Qi blinked in surprise: "The murder weapon?"
"Sorry," Feng Siji's heartbeat suddenly quickened, and his cheeks gradually became hot because he had said the wrong thing. He had said the wrong thing before, but never felt so embarrassed as now. He always felt that he had lost face in front of her.
He picked at his fingers and said in an embarrassed voice, "I've handled too many cases."
Li Qi chuckled, pushed the dagger away, took out the medicine bottle and tried to apply the medicine to him: "Master Feng, take off your clothes."
Feng Siji paused for a moment, hesitantly and slowly extended his fingertips, and finally touched the cold collar. Suddenly, he heard an old voice shouting from outside the courtyard:
"Sandalwood! The finest agarwood!"
Feng Siji frowned and glanced at the dark sky outside the window. It wouldn't be long before night fell, but he was still shouting and selling things.
Turning around, I saw Li Qi jump out of bed, open the closet, take out another red cloak and put it on. As she tied the belt, she said, "Master Feng, please ask Lin Che to apply the medicine for you. I suddenly remembered that I'm out of horse feed. The grain merchant is going out of town tomorrow, so I have to go buy some first."
Before he could reply, she hurried away. The moment she turned around, the smile in her eyes disappeared, leaving only a chill in her eyes.
Feng Siji frowned, this was not normal.
Many criminals and accomplices always reveal flaws in their every move.
Thinking of this, he went back to his room to change his clothes, asked Ye Lan for an umbrella, said he was going to buy some sandalwood, and followed him out.
He quickly caught up with the old man selling sandalwood, bought a small piece, covered his face with an umbrella, and followed Li Qi from a distance.
He wanted to see what she was planning, as he was clearly just a useless person now.
At night, Qianzhou City was ablaze with lights. From time to time, a couple would pass by. Amidst the throngs of people, the sounds of children playing and laughing, mixed with the chatter of adults bargaining, created a bustling atmosphere.
The bustling prosperity was even more evident outside the Qunfang Building. The foot of the tall building was crowded with people queuing, and various kinds of music could be heard from inside the building.
To welcome the Emperor, everyone in Qunfang Tower practiced diligently, playing the qin and singing. The musicians were practically flying. Since the building was closed to the public today, everyone crowded at the entrance, willingly standing in the snow, hoping for a chance to enter.
Li Qi gathered her cloak tightly and walked past those waiting in line to enter the Qunfang Building.
Feng Siji was unable to enter the Qunfang Building, so he folded his umbrella and walked into a nearby pancake shop, ordered a bowl of white porridge and two pancakes, and sat down patiently to wait.
He was very curious about what value he, a chess piece abandoned by Kyoto, had to her.
He waited for a long time. The crowds on the street gradually dispersed, and the vendors began to pack up and close their stalls. The hustle and bustle gradually faded away in the chaotic light and shadow, and only the snow was still falling on the empty long street.
The owner of the pancake shop lost his patience and urged him to leave quickly.
Feng Siji took out some small change and said to wait a moment. He had exchanged this money at a jewelry store on his way to the Jiedu Mansion today.
After waiting for about a cup of tea, Wang Mo emerged from Qunfang Tower and disappeared into a dark alley. A moment later, Li Qi emerged, her cloak rustling in the cold wind.
Feng Si quickly stood up and walked over to block her way.
She raised her head, and her jade-white cheeks were charmingly beautiful under the brilliant light of the Qunfang Tower.
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