Cold Years (5)
Chapter 20 Cold Years (5)
The streets were bustling with people. The snow in Qianzhou was not too heavy and melted in the blink of an eye as soon as it fell on the ground.
On the spacious streets, a large road, wet from the melting snow, led directly out of the city. Li Qi lived in Tingzhuyuan outside the city, and it didn't take long to walk, but the road was slippery and easily stained her clothes.
Li Qi pulled Dong Linche's sleeve and walked carefully past him, reminding him from time to time to pay attention to the puddles under his feet.
The vendors' hawking continued incessantly, and she followed Feng Siji with her head down. He was tall, with long strides and walked fast, so Li Qi had to walk quickly to catch up.
Feng Siji suddenly stopped, and Li Qi was not paying attention and almost bumped into him. She braked suddenly, wondering why he suddenly stopped.
He turned sideways and stared at him with his deep and calm phoenix eyes.
He was so handsome that when Li Qi saw him like that, her heart started beating like a deer. She inexplicably didn't dare to look at him and quickly turned away. She inexplicably expected him to look at her with such a serious look, wondering if he wanted to say something to her.
"Can I borrow a few coppers from you?" His deep and pleasant voice came from above my head.
"Ah?" He actually wanted to say this. Li Qi's heartbeat instantly subsided. She sullenly took out a few copper coins and gave them to him: "What are you going to do?"
Feng Siji took the copper coin and said, "Buy some medicine." He pointed at Dong Linche's hand and walked into the roadside pharmacy. His tall figure was particularly eye-catching among the people coming and going.
Li Qi held his chin and thought, he is really a person who will stand out in the crowd.
pity.
A great official in Kyoto, once beloved and supported by the people, had fallen to such a state. She became increasingly curious about what kind of sin could have caused him to become like this.
The more destitute he was, the more he could facilitate what she wanted. Everything was clearly going as she wished, yet she felt a sense of loss. How could the world be like this? A good official and a good man like him should be serving Daliang loyally, not living in such a state of destitution.
"Sister, did I perform well today?" Dong Linche suddenly asked, looking up at Li Qi with sparkling eyes, the expectation in them almost overflowing.
Li Qi patted his head and said, "That's great. But you have to keep your mouth shut about this."
Dong Linche felt a hand gently caressing his head, and his heart felt warm. He had a sense of satisfaction that he was needed by his elder sister. He was no longer the burden that could only depend on her.
He nodded heavily. "Don't worry, sister. I won't tell anyone. But how did you know that Mr. Feng would definitely go?"
How could she be so sure that Feng Siji would go to the Jiedu Mansion? Li Qi thought, judging by his behavior in Kyoto, he was not someone who would sit idly by and let the people suffer.
But, she is just one of the common people.
She pinched her brother's face lovingly and teased him, "Because I'm a fairy."
Dong Linche snorted, crossed his arms, and turned his head away proudly: "I'm fourteen years old, already an adult, sister, please don't lie to me like this."
Fourteen is indeed not young. If Yunzhou had not been destroyed and their home was still there, he might already have a wife.
But for some reason, she always inadvertently thought that he was still the little boy when he first arrived in Qianzhou, following her around and calling her "Sister" all day long.
During their escape, there were starving people everywhere, and they had no idea where to start. Sometimes, she was so hungry that she even thought about eating the dead bodies that hadn't moved, just like everyone else.
But she couldn't do it. She watched helplessly as Dong Linche went from a fat boy to a skinny, dark-skinned man, and Dong Mingrong went from a graceful and elegant figure to a withered, sickly figure. She felt like she was walking on a knife's edge, each step drawing a drop of blood. The pain had long since numbed her, leaving only her ideal of reclaiming Yunzhou.
She was silent for a moment, and Dong Linche thought she didn't believe him, so he straightened his back, patted his chest and said, "Sister, if you believe me, I can pick up the sword and protect you and Ye Lan now!"
After he finished speaking, his eyes suddenly dimmed like a firefly, and he said sullenly, "It's a pity that the sword my father left me was taken away by that bastard official."
"Let's go." Feng Siji's voice sounded behind him. He was holding a bottle of ointment in his hand. Li Qi didn't say anything and followed him.
-
Listen to the bamboo garden.
Li Qi hadn't slept all night, and upon arriving at Tingzhu Garden, she went to rest. She fell into a deep sleep, and when she woke up, she was awakened by the aroma of food.
She got up from the couch and opened the window. It was already dark outside. The kitchen was lit with a faint yellow light, and a tall figure was busy inside.
She walked into the yard, drew some water from the well, and poured it directly on her face.
Feng Siji walked out of the small kitchen carrying the food, passed by her, frowned and said, "It's cold, why are you washing yourself with cold water?"
Li Qi wiped the water off her cheeks and said with a smile, "What's the big deal? I'm used to it."
She followed him into the room. A small lamp was lit in the narrow house. The warm light of red and yellow sprinkled down, stretching over his tall and handsome figure, like a warm light and shadow, which made people feel tender.
There was a wooden table next to the small bed. She sat down opposite Feng Siji. He set the table for her, lifted his clothes and sat down.
Li Qi stuffed the food in her mouth, looked at him and said, "This dress suits you very well."
Feng Siji lowered his eyes to take a look. The snow-blue robe was padded inside and very warm to wear, as if it could dispel the cold he had suffered on the way to exile.
She added, "Very handsome, very good-looking."
Feng Siji paused. He had never heard such blatant praise before. He politely replied, "Your clothes are well made."
Ye Lan said she made it herself. She had originally made it for her future husband, to keep in the bottom of his wardrobe, but since she saw he didn't have any nice clothes, she took it out first.
The clothes were finely stitched and embroidered with a pale green plum blossom. He thought it was beautiful and lifelike, as if he could really smell the fragrance of the plum blossom.
His face showed nothing, and he said calmly: "I heard that you made it yourself, thank you."
"What are you thanking me for?" Li Qi said, taking a bite of her rice. "You don't know who this dress was originally made for, do you? You're wearing my future husband's dress. Who knows, maybe he really will be my husband in the future."
The dish Feng Siji had just picked up fell down.
He hurriedly picked it up again, but missed, feeling a little flustered. Li Qi pressed it down with her chopsticks, picked it up, and put it in his bowl, saying with a smile, "Look how nervous you are."
"……No."
As if to prove his point, he picked up his serving chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish and placed it in her bowl, then changed the subject: "It's getting late, and they've gone to bed. I thought you'd be waking up soon and must be hungry, so I made some food for you."
"Not bad. If you really become my husband, you will be a good husband and father. I will win."
Feng Siji was choked and turned his back to cough for a long time. Li Qi hurriedly poured him some water, and he took a sip and recovered.
Looking at his red face from coughing, Li Qi smiled and said, "Sir Feng, you seem to get nervous very easily. Are you like this when you're in court with the emperor? How can you even present your petition to His Majesty then? Or are you just like this to me?"
Feng Siji's knuckles turned white as he gripped the chopsticks, and he couldn't utter a single harsh word in rebuttal to the person who had saved his life.
"Okay, I won't tease you anymore. I know that Lord Feng can achieve such political achievements in Kyoto. He must be a rare talent." Li Qi stopped teasing him and put the piece of fish he picked up into her mouth.
The fish is crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the fragrance of lotus. The tender and smooth fish with just the right saltiness melts in your mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance on your lips and teeth.
Li Qi was stunned for a moment, then said excitedly, "Master Feng, I didn't expect you to be such a good cook. Aren't you an official? Aren't officials supposed to be like Wei Ming, utterly clueless and incompetent?"
Feng Siji picked up another piece of green vegetable for her and said, "When I was little, my family was poor. We relied on my mother's skillful hands to make women's headwear for a living. My father was going to take the imperial examination, so I took care of everything at home."
"Is that so? It seems that Lord Feng is a man who has experienced hard times. He is not the kind of playboy I thought." Li Qi finished a few bites and put down his bowl and chopsticks. Feng Siji opposite him was still eating.
He was slow and methodical, his movements were elegant, his eating manners were impeccable, even chewing was slow.
Li Qi couldn't help but choke. Before she met him, she really didn't think she was a straightforward person.
She said bluntly, "I'm saying, Master Feng, if you eat like this, don't you feel like you'll never be full?"
Feng Siji looked up in confusion: "Why?"
"Because you eat so slowly, by the time you finish the food at the back, the food at the front has already fallen. Then you'll feel hungry again, and when you're hungry, you eat so slowly, and then the food at the front has fallen. So, you'll never feel full, right? That's called eating in vain."
Feng Siji: "..."
"Why are you looking at me like that? I'm not wrong about what I said."
Li Qi stood up and walked towards the four-compartment cabinet in the corner. "After Yunzhou was conquered, I brought my brother to Qianzhou. We had to fight with wild dogs for food along the way. If we had eaten like you, we would have starved to death countless times."
Feng Siji frowned and looked at her rummaging through the drawers in the corner with a heavy face. Is she actually from Yunzhou?
She fiddled with it and produced a jar of wine. She chuckled and patted the jar lovingly: "This is a fine wine I've treasured for a long time. Sir Feng, would you like some wine?"
"No." Feng Siji put down his chopsticks and looked at her seriously: "But I can watch you drink."
"Well, a refined man like you probably can't appreciate the beauty of wine. Have you finished?"
Feng Siji glanced at the food in front of him and hummed lightly.
"Shall we go drink on the rooftop?"
"The roof?"
"Yes! It's snowing again now. It's so pleasant to drink wine and enjoy the snow." Li Qi went out with the wine jar, stood in the yard, jumped into the air, and flew to the top of the eaves.
She shouted from the eaves, "There's a ladder next to the kitchenette. Sir Feng, come up from there!"
Feng Siji glanced at the dark sky. Small snowflakes fell slowly from the sky, leaving beautiful and light trails under the faint yellow light in the yard.
He looked at the long ladder. Having never done anything like this before, he hesitated for a moment and slowly walked towards the ladder.
He climbed up and sat down next to Li Qi. She had already started drinking, and the aroma of wine drifted through the air. He looked under the eaves and asked, "Are you from Yunzhou?"
Li Qi looked over, a hint of coldness in her clear eyes. She smiled and said, "Yes, it's a pity that Yunzhou is gone."
She lifted the jar of wine and downed it in one gulp. The liquid slid down the corners of her mouth. She casually wiped it away with her hand, praised the wine, and said, "What about you? Is Lord Feng from Kyoto? What is Kyoto like? Is it very prosperous? I heard that the tiles there are all glazed and the floor tiles are gold bricks. Is that true?"
"Fake."
Fine snowflakes fell on her hair and eyelashes. Feng Siji looked at her quietly. She was very beautiful, without any makeup, and had a very plain face, like a spring gurgling in the mountains, clear but with a coolness, and an indescribable toughness.
Her eyes were not like those of an ordinary person, but her words were truly vulgar and ordinary.
He turned his eyes away. The big tree in the courtyard was swaying in the wind. A swing hanging on the tree was also swinging back and forth with the wind.
He said, "It may not have glazed tiles or gold bricks, but it is indeed prosperous. Why do you... yearn for it?"
Li Qi snorted while holding the wine jar. "What do I have to yearn for? I yearn for Yunzhou. That's my hometown."
She picked up the jar of wine and poured it out, but nothing came out. The whole jar of wine was finished.
Feng Siji frowned slightly. This speed showed that he often drank like this on weekdays.
Feng Siji brought her empty wine jar over, put it aside, and asked her, "Why do you always drink on weekdays?"
Li Qi rested his chin on his hand, looking at the brightly lit Qianzhou City in the distance. He said, "Because I'm depressed. Lord Feng, is there anything you really want to do, something you'd want to do even if it cost you your life?"
Feng Siji was silent for a while and said yes.
She looked at him with hazy drunken eyes: "What is it?"
He placed his hands behind his head and lay down, the coldness of the eaves tiles pressing against his back. He stared at the dark sky in front of him and said, "Investigate the real reason why Yunzhou City was destroyed.
"Besides this, I also hope to rediscover all the unjust, false and wrongful convictions in the world and restore the innocence of those who have been wrongly accused."
Li Qi was stunned for a moment. There was a moment of clarity in her drunken eyes, but it was gone in a flash. She asked, "Did you do it?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be here."
"I heard from Wei Ming that you were demoted here. Why?"
"Because I haven't found out why Yunzhou was breached. Since you're from Yunzhou, you probably think I'm incompetent, right? Will you blame me?"
"Won't."
Li Qi pointed at the brightly lit Qianzhou City in the distance. "I want to recapture Yunzhou, no matter the cost. Countless times I've sat here looking at Qianzhou, wishing it were Yunzhou."
She burped, hugged Feng Siji's arm and clung to him: "Master Feng, you are so warm, just like my mother."
She arched her back, her face almost pressed against his neck: "But you are not my mother, and this is not Yunzhou."
She buried her face in her grave, her nose suddenly sore. It had been three years since Yunzhou was destroyed. She thought the court had forgotten them long ago, but she didn't expect that there were people like him who would remember them and take this as their life's mission.
She didn't want to deceive a good man like him. Unfortunately, the world was like this. He was banished here, which showed how many hands in Kyoto were trying to stop his investigation. If she stayed here and waited for death, no one would be able to save Yunzhou.
A hot tear burst out of her eye socket. Li Qi smelled the crisp woody scent on his body. This set of clothes was not made by her. She just bought it from a ready-made clothing shop for fifty cents.
In order to create the illusion that it is at the bottom of the box, I soaked it in water with agarwood for a long time.
I didn't expect him to believe it.
Feng Siji felt the warmth beside him and was stunned. He glanced sideways and saw her lips, which were moistened by wine and slightly opened, exhaling the fragrance of wine. Her long eyelashes were dotted with snowflakes, which sparkled in the warm yellow light of the yard, like stars falling on her.
They were too close, and his heart beat inexplicably faster, as if it was about to burst out of his chest. He was so nervous that his palms were full of sweat. He wanted to push her away to escape this feeling, but he couldn't do it.
It turned out that she and he were the same, homeless and miserable people, destitute people who were pushed into the abyss by the world.
Feng Siji stretched out his hand, wanting to hug her, but felt it was inappropriate, so his hand remained stiff in mid-air, enduring the attack of the cold wind, and became numb from the cold.
The ruins of Yunzhou City were like a broken thread connecting the two of them, but neither of them could be complete and perfect.
-
When Li Qi woke up the next day, her head hurt as if nails were drilling into it. She hissed and patted her head gently with her hand, thinking that this feeling was too familiar. Every time she woke up from a hangover, her head would hurt like hell.
The door was pushed open. Li Qi endured the pain and looked inside. Ye Lan came in with hot water: "Miss, you're awake. Why did you drink again last night?"
Li Qi threw off the quilt and got out of bed, splashing hot water on her face. She sighed and said, "It's all for our plan. You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing your child." "Eh," she finally came to her senses and stared at the basin of steaming water. "Where did you get the hot water? You don't look like someone who has time to boil water for me."
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