Hanging Knife (13)
Lin Feng thought so in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it directly. He just looked at Feng Siji with a strange look.
If he were to say, how could Empress Yun'an come to save him when she had specifically instructed him the day before yesterday that he must never be allowed to leave this prison?
Lin Feng couldn't understand why. He only felt that the Lord Feng before him had changed so much compared to the man he had been in years ago. Perhaps the experience of being demoted was too painful, tormenting him to the point of insanity.
The more Lin Feng thought about it, the more he felt that this was the most likely possibility. Otherwise, as a good official loved by everyone, why would he do those things in Qingqi Temple yesterday?
Not only did he hurt people for the sake of the witch, but he also...
But the more he thought about it, the more Lin Feng felt that Lord Feng was extremely pitiful. First he was demoted, then he became mentally ill, and he was still obsessed with that impossible person to come and save him.
Lin Feng couldn't bring himself to do it for a moment. Seeing his bloody wound, he sighed and said, "Let's leave it like this for now."
A soldier at the back frowned and asked worriedly, "But if the higher-ups ask about this..."
"Make up some story to cover it up, unless the higher-ups send someone to personally watch us execute the sentence." Lin Feng casually placed the whip on the execution table at the side, took the handkerchief handed over by the soldier who spoke, and wiped the blood off his hands.
He took one last look at the unconscious Feng Siji and said to the soldiers gathered around him, "Untie him and take him back. At this time tomorrow, tie him up again and bring him back."
As he spoke, he stepped out of the corridor and headed towards the brighter area outside.
Feng Siji was lifted up by his arms and thrown back onto the hay pile in the cell. The wounds on his torn skin rubbed against the rough hay, causing him to gasp in pain. Some of the hay roots were deeply embedded in his flesh. His face turned pale and he was covered in cold sweat. He supported himself on the hay pile with his hands and sat up with difficulty.
The only part of my body that wasn't injured was my buttocks, so it felt relatively better when I sat down.
He lowered his head and saw that there was a lot of hay stuck in the bloody wound on his chest, which pricked his flesh and hurt. He bent his fingers, picked up the hay, and cleaned it out one by one.
After cleaning, it still hurt. Feng Siji leaned back slightly, his head resting on the cold and hard wall. His hazy eyes just happened to see an oil lamp above his head.
The light flickered and flickered, and it seemed as if I could see Li Qi sitting here, staring at this oil lamp in a trance.
Feng Siji thought that when Li Qi was in Qianzhou, she had been flattering Wei Ming for gold and silver. Now she chose to go to Emperor Liang. Maybe she also had something she wanted or something she wanted to accomplish.
She must have had her own reasons for doing this, preventing him from leaving, perhaps just to protect him.
After all, once he fell from the altar in people's minds, who knew how he would be treated by the angry masses?
After Li Qi has done what she wants to do, if she is still alive, she will definitely come back to save him and then marry him.
Feng Siji thought so, since she was just pretending to be submissive, he naturally had a way to deal with Emperor Liang's dirty thoughts.
He slowly relaxed, and a smile slowly appeared on his pale and cracked lips.
-
The next day, majestic light rose from the east, breaking through the clouds and falling on the palace with numerous buildings.
The thin window paper in Yun'an Palace was penetrated by the sunlight, allowing it to leak in and shine on Li Qi's fair cheek.
Li Qi only felt a bright light in front of her eyes, which made her unable to sleep well. She rubbed her eyes and decided not to sleep. She supported herself on the bed with her hands and got up. Before she could call for help, she saw Qinglan's anxious figure outside the thin bed curtain.
Li Qi lifted the bed curtains. Qinglan happened to walk over and saw that she looked unhappy. Li Qi asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"Jiao Lan is here." Qinglan said as Jiao Lan walked in.
It was the first time Jiao Lan saw Li Qi. She saw that Li Qi had a fair complexion, bright and affectionate peach blossom eyes, and moist red lips. Although her body under the gauze dress could not be seen, from the faint curves, her posture was extremely charming.
She is truly a beauty on earth.
Jiao Lan was mesmerized for a moment, and at that moment she understood why Lord Feng disregarded her life, and even felt so sad at the mass grave as if she had lost a treasure from the world. If it were her, she would probably be even more useless than Lord Feng.
In a trance, his elbow was pulled. When Jiao Lan came back to his senses, he saw Qinglan looking at him speechlessly and said, "Have you seen enough? Tell me what happened."
"Oh," Jiao Lan sat upright on the soft stool Qinglan had brought, and said to Li Qi politely, "Eunuch Li Ke asked me to tell you that the envoys from Southern Yan secretly arrived in the capital last night. His Majesty will host a banquet in the palace tonight."
Li Qi was confused: "What does this have to do with me?"
Jiao Lan lowered his voice and whispered, "Among these envoys, it seems Zhang Zhouzhu is here to discuss a marriage alliance."
The three words "Zhang Zhouzhu" made Li Qi's face change.
This bastard, after escaping from Kyoto, actually surrendered to the enemy?
Li Qi never expected that he would do this, but then she thought, where else could he continue to hold such a high position of power except in Nanyan?
Li Qi looked at Jiao Lan, pondered for a moment, and said, "Zhang Zhouzhu defected to Southern Yan and even came to the palace as an envoy. His purpose is definitely not just to marry a princess."
It's more likely her and Feng Siji.
It was the two of them who forced Zhang Zhouzhu to retreat. The real purpose of Zhang Zhouzhu's visit this time was probably to seek revenge.
Jiao Lan said doubtfully, "I know that's the case, but what I don't understand is that he's just an envoy now. His old subordinates in Kyoto have long since disintegrated. He has nothing, so how can he deal with you and Lord Feng?"
Li Qi shook her head. She couldn't figure it out either. "But it's always right to be more prepared. Pay more attention to your subordinates these few days. If anything unusual happens, deal with it immediately."
Jiao Lan nodded and said, "I have to go back." In order to avoid suspicion, she didn't dare to stay any longer. Li Qi responded and asked Qinglan to send her out.
Li Qi got out of bed and dressed. When she was done, Qinglan had returned. She placed a basin of water on the table, tilted her head, and said, "Your Majesty, there's one more thing. This morning, I received a message from Yeshu saying that Chen Hu was torturing Lord Feng in prison."
Li Qi paused while tying her belt: "Where does Chen Hu get the courage?"
But as soon as she asked, she figured it out. Now, several major families in Kyoto have disbanded, especially the He family and the Zhang Zhouzhu family. If Chen Hu can take this opportunity to eliminate them completely, he will be the next powerful official.
He clearly used Feng Siji to get rid of He and Zhang Zhouzhu. After the two men fell, he pointed the knife at Feng Siji.
Feng Siji's reputation among the people of Kyoto is no longer as high as it used to be. Even if he were tortured to death in prison, I'm afraid no one would pursue the matter except Li Qi himself.
However, Li Qi acted outside as if she didn't care much about Feng Siji, and even seemed a little annoyed. Chen Hu might have been certain that even Li Qi wouldn't pursue the matter.
If nothing is done, Feng Siji will probably die at his hands in a few days.
At this time, Qinglan asked: "My Lady, what should we do?"
Li Qi glanced at her, understanding her concern for her old master. She said, "I'll ask Li Ke to go and take a look."
Qinglan breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
-
At night, Li Qi didn't hear any news about the envoys' banquet.
Generally, only His Majesty and his close associates know about this kind of secret banquet, and occasionally the Queen will also participate.
In short, the news will not be delivered to Li Qi, she can only wait for Li Ke to deliver the news.
Li Qi waited very late, but there was no news until midnight. She thought that it was too late or too busy today, and Li Ke would not pass on the news. She decided not to wait any longer and was about to go to bed, but she heard hurried footsteps coming from outside the palace.
Immediately afterwards, a young eunuch's voice was heard outside: "His Majesty has ordered Princess Yun'an to appear before the Emperor at Yongshou Palace."
Qinglan hurriedly opened the bead curtain and came in. Li Qi had already stood up, put on her clothes, and led Qinglan out.
When they reached the door frame, Qinglan suddenly stopped. Li Qi looked over in confusion. Qinglan stepped forward and said in a low voice, "This eunuch should be serving the emperor. He is the most well-behaved. Why would he call you the county lady?"
She felt uneasy, which was probably not a good thing.
Li Qi patted her hands, soothed her with her eyes, and walked out without saying a word.
When she went out, she saw the young eunuch standing alone in the palace waiting. When he saw her come out, he bowed slightly and turned around to lead the way.
Li Qi looked at the anxious young eunuch walking ahead and asked softly, "Eunuch, do you know why His Majesty is looking for me?"
The young eunuch didn't even turn his head, his voice carried by the night wind to his ears: "I don't know, but His Majesty looks very unhappy."
Li Qi thought that perhaps the envoy from Southern Yan had caused trouble for Emperor Liang, and the Emperor Liang was in a bad mood and wanted to summon her to talk to him.
Thinking that this might be the case, Li Qi felt a little relieved.
But when Li Qi entered the Yongshou Palace and saw Zhang Wan there, he immediately became alert again.
Li Qi remained calm and was about to bow when Emperor Liang glanced at her and said, "No need. Please take a seat."
Li Qi sat on the soft chair brought by the palace maid.
Emperor Liang looked her up and down and felt that she was still the same as before, liking to wear red, with bright eyes and eyebrows, and always having a bold and attractive temperament.
But it was also different. There was an ambiguous look in those eyes that he couldn't understand, a bit like hatred.
Emperor Liang looked away, sipped his tea, and asked casually, "What is the relationship between the county lady and my envoy Feng?"
Li Qi was stunned: "What does your Majesty mean?"
Emperor Liang flicked the lid of his teacup, his dark eyes fixed on Li Qi without blinking. He said nothing, but Zhang Wan spoke up. "Your Majesty already knows what Feng Siji did to you at Qingqi Temple. Since you and he were both willing, why did you come to the palace and bring disgrace upon the imperial family?"
Zhang Wan's tone was quite good, and she did not reveal her true colors in front of Emperor Liang.
Li Qi didn't really need to put too much effort into dealing with Emperor Liang, so he just casually explained, "Your Majesty, Envoy Feng loves me but can't get me, so he deliberately slandered me. He wanted to misunderstand others and tie me to him. In fact, I have nothing to do with him at all."
Zhang Wan asked, "You mean you and Feng Siji just met by chance? Didn't you promise any friendship?"
Li Qi felt that what she said seemed a little wrong, but if she denied it, it would mean that she admitted to having a relationship with Feng Siji. Even if she was not a proper concubine, Emperor Liang would not allow the person he had chosen to be with to have any mixed feelings.
She could tease Emperor Liang and deceive him, because that was a game between her and him, but she would never dare to cheat on him.
Just because of her royal bloodline, countless eyes are watching her. Even if Emperor Liang doesn't have the ability to kill her, countless people will come to kill her.
Li Qi had no choice but to admit, "Yes."
Zhang Wan immediately smiled. She tilted her head to look at her husband, the emperor, beside her. She reached out and took Emperor Liang's hand, patting it gently to comfort him, saying, "Isn't what I said correct? Since the county lord has no one in her heart and hasn't gone through the ceremony of being crowned a concubine, she is still just the county lord. There are no princesses in the palace, so it would be best to marry her off."
"Besides, Nanyan has clearly stated that if there's no princess, a county lady will do. What do you think?"
Emperor Liang didn't look at her, but only at Li Qi, who was sitting below him. He felt both angry and reluctant. He was angry that Feng Siji had the audacity to covet the person he had long admired, and reluctant that he had finally gotten Li Qi, only to have to give her away.
"Alas," Emperor Liang sighed, looking at Li Qi with a complicated expression, and said, "Yunzhou and Qianzhou are adjacent to each other. Now that Southern Yan has occupied Yunzhou, they want to attack Qianzhou from the west. The current situation at court is not suitable for war, so they proposed a marriage alliance. However, I don't have a princess..."
Emperor Liang explained it clearly, and looking at Zhang Wan's attitude beside him, what else did Li Qi not understand?
This is Zhang Zhouzhu's method of revenge. If he lets her marry him, won't she be at the mercy of Zhang Zhouzhu in Nanyan?
Zhang Zhouzhu was also certain that even if Zhang Wan was not on good terms with him, Zhang Wan hated Li Qi and would definitely push Li Qi out on her own initiative after hearing the news of the marriage.
It's a good plan.
But Li Qi came up with a solution in just a moment. She was not panicked at all. She smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to share your worries. However..."
Zhang Wan was afraid that she might change her mind, so she hurriedly asked, "But what?"
Li Qi said, "If that's the case, I'm afraid I can no longer stay in the palace. My status is unacceptable."
Zhang Wan was eager for her to leave as soon as possible. Hearing this, she had nothing else to say. She immediately said, "Don't worry, I will take care of these matters. As long as you agree, I will arrange for someone to escort you out of the palace tomorrow."
Li Qi smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Your Majesty."
The marriage was finalized. Li Qi didn't stay long before Zhang Wan sent her back to Yun'an Palace.
After the people left, Emperor Liang felt very regretful. He looked at Zhang Wan who was sitting next to him and felt that he was tired of seeing her face. He suddenly felt it was very boring, so he got up and went to look for Jiao Lan.
The emperor was away, and Aunt Chen, who had been waiting nearby, came forward slowly and whispered in Zhang Wan's ear, "Your Majesty, the county lady agreed without even considering it. Could this be a trick?"
Zhang Wan pondered for a moment and said, "I'm worried too. When we send her out of the palace tomorrow, have Taohong go with you and keep a close eye on her to prevent her from playing any tricks."
"yes."
Zhang Wan stood up and walked out of the hall. The twenty or so palace maids and eunuchs who were waiting outside came forward to greet her.
Aunt Chen helped Zhang Wan sit on the ceremonial procession, and a group of people slowly headed towards the Fushou Palace where Zhang Wan lived amid the creaking sound of the ceremonial procession.
Zhang Wan propped her head up, leaned against the soft cushions of the ceremonial guard, closed her eyes, and asked in a low voice, "How's the Phoenix Seal going?"
Aunt Chen glanced at her angrily and whispered, "We've sent people to look for Miss He Mu, but they couldn't find her. They said she was lost..."
"Lost?!" Zhang Wan's voice suddenly rose. She opened her eyes and looked at the numerous attendants and the frightened ceremonial guards around her. She calmed down a little, a cold and murderous look flashing in her eyes. She whispered, "This matter must not be leaked. Arrange people to kill He Mu."
Aunt Chen nodded and replied yes.
-
Li Qi returned to Yun'an Palace, and the fake smile on her face disappeared completely. She acted out a play in Yongshou Palace, and her face was almost stiff from laughing.
Li Qi lay down on the bed, turned over comfortably, and felt her whole body relaxed a lot.
Taohong brought a basin of hot water and placed it at Li Qi's feet. She took off her embroidered shoes for her and was about to put her feet into the basin when Li Qi said, "No need to wait on me. Go away."
Taohong nodded, stood up and left the room.
Qinglan lifted the beaded curtain and came in. She sat down next to Li Qi and frowned as she said, "The county lady agreed to this. Marriage is no joke. How are you going to get out of this?"
Li Qi turned her head to look over, reached out and patted Qinglan's shoulder to comfort her, smiled indifferently and said, "Don't worry, I have my own way."
As soon as she finished speaking, she heard Tao Hong outside shouting, "My Lady, Eunuch Li Ke is here."
"Let him in."
After a while, Li Ke came into the room, waving a whisk. He first said a few polite words in a loud voice to make sure that the palace maids outside could hear him, then he took out a box from his sleeve and handed it to Qinglan.
Qinglan quickly accepted it, opened the lid, and found that what was lying inside was the Phoenix Seal!
She was stunned and looked at Li Ke in surprise: "Eunuch Li, this is..."
Li Qi also looked at him strangely, not understanding why Zhang Wan's phoenix seal was here.
Li Ke explained, "Before, Lord Feng arranged for Yun Shanmin and others to cause trouble at the He Mansion. Shanmin found this in He Mu's room. He gave it to Lord Feng, and Lord Feng asked me to give it to you. He said you might need it when dealing with Zhang Wan in the future."
Li Qi nodded and ordered Qinglan to put the things away and take them out of the palace tomorrow. Then she looked at Li Ke, who was still standing in front. He had no intention of leaving, but looked at Li Qi, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
Li Qi frowned and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"
Li Ke lowered his head: "Is there any news from Empress Ming?"
After Zhang Zhouzhu escaped from Kyoto, things happened one after another and Li Ke had no time to inquire about the situation.
He was worried about Mingrong because she was not as resourceful as Li Qi.
Li Qi said, "I just heard a few days ago that she has escaped from Zhang Zhouzhu and should be in Kyoto soon."
She believed in Dong Mingrong's ability, and Li Ke naturally believed in it too. He turned and asked, "I'm afraid Zhang Zhouzhu planned the marriage. I heard that you agreed to it."
"Um."
"The county lady always has her own ideas. I won't interfere. I will just wait for your instructions."
Li Qi nodded.
Li Ke said nothing more and slowly retreated.
After soaking her feet, Li Qi lay on the couch, listening to Taohong coming to take away the basin of water. After a while, Qinglan came to lower the bed curtain for her, then quietly retreated outside and fell asleep on the small couch used for night watch.
Li Qi closed her eyes and listened to Qinglan's even breathing. She slept for a while with her eyes closed, but didn't fall asleep. She simply opened her eyes and looked at the blurry furniture outside the bed curtains. Her mind flew farther and farther away.
She thought of Feng Siji, Yunzhou, and Dong Mingrong. She really hoped to reclaim Yunzhou and return to normal life, so that Mingrong and Li Ke could no longer be separated and tossed around, and she would no longer have to scheme against others and treat Feng Siji as a tool.
Li Qi suddenly realized that there were many things she wanted to do.
After walking all this way and waiting for so many years, fortunately it is finally coming to an end.
Li Qi was thinking about the next step and fell asleep in a daze.
-
At dawn the next day, Li Qi was still asleep when she felt someone shaking her. She opened her eyes sleepily and saw Qinglan already dressed and standing beside the bed. The gray light that had not yet fully risen made her figure a little blurry.
"County Lady, we have to leave the palace today. It's time to get up. If we get up later, the sun will be too strong and it will be uncomfortable."
Qinglan helped Li Qi up. Fortunately, Li Qi didn't have the habit of staying in bed. She got off the bed by herself and put on her clothes. Qinglan went out to serve breakfast, and Taohong came in with a basin of water and put it on the table.
Li Qi walked to the table, picked up the handkerchief in the basin and rubbed it, then glanced at Tao Hong and asked, "I thought you went back to Fushou Palace."
Taohong nodded and lowered her brows, saying cautiously, "I just heard from Aunt Chen last night that I should leave the palace with the county lady."
Li Qi paused and looked at her: "Come out of the palace with me?"
Taohong responded. She was a little afraid of the Yun'an County Master in front of her. It was not only because of the rumors she had heard, but also because of the sharpness of her eyes that seemed to see through everything when she swept over, and the unnecessary pride in her temperament, which made her feel oppressed.
Seeing her timid look, Li Qi guessed that she could not do anything and probably didn't even dare to get close. It was an insult in another way for Zhang Wan to send such a person to monitor her.
Li Qi didn't chase anyone away. She just said "oh" casually. After washing up, she had the breakfast brought by Qinglan, packed up her valuables, and left the palace.
When I came, I didn't have much stuff, just two boxes in total. I left before I even lived there for three days, so my valuables were much easier to pack up.
After all this back and forth, Zhang Wan had plenty of ways to say that Li Qi had only been in the palace for two days of fun, and was not a proper concubine after all. As long as she didn't admit it now, no one would investigate further.
Li Qi just felt that all this was absurd and ridiculous.
She was sent out of the palace before she had the chance to kill anyone.
The carriage creaked to the gate of the county lady's mansion. Ye Shu had received the news long ago and was waiting outside the mansion.
Qinglan helped Li Qi get off the carriage and walked towards the mansion. Taohong followed carefully behind them. Li Qi looked back at her and said, "Go find someone to arrange accommodation and work for you. You don't have to follow."
Taohong was a little hesitant. Before coming, Aunt Chen had told her to keep a close eye on Li Qi, but she was sent away as soon as she arrived at the County Lord's Mansion.
But Taohong didn't dare to say anything and just responded timidly.
Li Qi continued to walk inside, with Ye Shu following beside her. She tilted her head to glance in the direction of the woodshed and asked, "How is He Zhangjing?"
"I've followed your instructions. I've only been given water and no food. I'm very weak now. However, I have something to report," Ye Shu said, frowning. "He Mu died in prison last night. Not long after, He Rucheng also committed suicide by hitting his head against the wall. I went to investigate, and everyone inside said it was the Queen's men who came."
Li Qi was slightly stunned when she heard the news. "She acted so quickly?"
"County Master, what should we do?"
"No big deal. Since both father and daughter are dead, there's no need to keep He Zhangjing."
As he spoke, Li Qi walked towards the woodshed where He Zhangjing was imprisoned.
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