The Long Night (5)
Chapter 5 The Long Night (5)
Yongshou Palace.
Feng Siji entered the hall and bowed to Emperor Liang on the dragon throne. He said, "Your Majesty, I have discovered something strange and am reporting this to you."
Emperor Liang waved his hand at him and asked him to stand up.
Feng Siji straightened up and continued, "The files state that before Concubine Li died, the county lord personally witnessed all the candles in her palace being extinguished. I have examined files on similar cases over the past three years and discovered that the cook, Wang Xiu, was also murdered in this manner. I believe this is no coincidence."
Emperor Liang asked, "What do you think?"
Feng Siji said quickly, "I want to interrogate the County Princess. She was the last person to see the Empress and Wang Xiu, and she witnessed the extinguishing of all the candles in the Empress's palace. I believe she is the key to this case."
There was no response from the leader for a long time, and the hall was silent.
He raised his eyes slightly and saw Emperor Liang leaning casually on the dragon throne, his narrow eyes narrowed with sharp dark light, staring at him without blinking.
Feng Siji calmly looked away, then heard Emperor Liang's slightly dissatisfied statement: "What connection does Li Qi have to the case? There's no point in trying her. Let's discuss this matter later."
"The Queen came just now and brought you a dress. Come and see if you like it."
Someone walked past and presented a piece of clothing in front of him. Feng Siji took a quick glance and saw a red plum blossom blooming brilliantly on the snow-blue material.
The goose yellow stamens turned into a warm light in his eyes. Under the light sat Li Qi from Qianzhou. She threaded the needle between her fingers and sewed a plum blossom on his torn robe.
There was some hair hanging diagonally on her temples, which she casually hooked and tucked behind her ears, and continued to concentrate on the embroidery in her hands.
He made her some hot tea and cautiously suggested that the color of his clothes was too plain and that sewing a bright red plum blossom on them would not look out of place. She rolled her eyes at him and said that it should look out of place, so that others would know that he was already taken.
Because that plum blossom is not a flower, but her.
"Lord Feng, do you like it?"
The Emperor's voice brought Feng Siji back from Qianzhou. He raised his head and smiled at the Emperor, saying deliberately, "Thank you, Your Majesty. The embroiderers in the palace are excellent. I like this dress very much."
Emperor Liang leaned lazily back in his chair, smiling smugly, "What kind of embroiderer is that? There are no embroiderers in the palace anymore. The ministers' official uniforms are all made by hand. This one of yours was also made by her."
Feng Siji frowned, feigning confusion: "Oh? Princess Yun'an?"
Emperor Liang said, "Originally, your name wasn't mentioned, but Li Qi was very thoughtful and thought that since you had just returned to Kyoto and would be busy with cases, she took the initiative to do this for you."
Feng Siji's voice faded: "Very good."
He was silent for a moment, then said something that Emperor Liang would like to hear: "Your Majesty is very lucky to have this girl."
He didn't hear clearly what Emperor Liang said next. His attention was all on the dress. His slender fingers gently stroked the plum blossom. The realistic color... turned out to be blood.
There were no embroiderers, she was the one who did it all, but how long had she been doing the embroidery for so many ministers in the court? When we met just now in the imperial garden, I noticed that her fingers were red and swollen. It turned out to be because of this.
When he regained his focus, he heard Emperor Liang above him praising Li Qi: "Li Qi is lively and lovely, considerate and delicate, and kind-hearted. I am truly fortunate to have met her."
"I am also happy for Your Majesty."
Feng Siji showed a deep smile. What came to his mind was the treacherous Li Qi in Qianzhou and the Li Qi who belittled him in the Imperial Garden.
Did His Majesty listen to the negative comments about Li Qi from the people of Kyoto but not care, or did no one dare to bring them up before His Majesty? So, was that why His Majesty was completely clueless about Li Qi's true character?
After cooperating with Emperor Liang to perform the play, Feng Siji talked about what happened just now, and Emperor Liang's smile gradually faded.
Emperor Liang squinted his eyes and looked at Feng Siji. Everyone said that he was an honest official, never formed cliques, and would never succumb to power.
I think he was exiled because he was too upright and offended people. After he was exiled, I felt regretful for a long time. After all, there were not many honest officials like him, and it was a loss to the court.
However, Feng Siji's stubbornness had hit him hard. Emperor Liang's face turned unhappy. Just as he was about to refuse, Li Ke walked into the hall, waving his whisk and bowing, saying, "Your Majesty, the Empress has asked this servant to pass on a message to you."
Emperor Liang beckoned Li Ke forward. Li Ke leaned over and whispered, "Her Majesty said that if we let Envoy Feng investigate and employ the County Lady, the County Lady can help Envoy Feng solve the case quickly, and Your Majesty can then take her into the palace sooner. This is the best of both worlds."
"The county lady won't lose a single piece of flesh, and I believe Envoy Feng wouldn't dare neglect her. Your Majesty, why don't you agree?"
Emperor Liang pondered for a moment and felt that this was reasonable. He couldn't help but feel that he had been short-sighted. He looked at Feng Siji and instructed, "I agree to your request. However, Li Qi must return to the palace in the same way she came to you. If she makes any mistakes, I will hold you accountable."
"I obey the order."
Feng Siji bid farewell to Emperor Liang and left the palace. He took a detour to visit the Imperial Garden.
The snow in the imperial garden had been swept clean, but the surroundings were quiet and empty.
He stood there, feeling a little self-deprecating. Was it true that he should expect something unrealistic just because of a piece of clothing?
-
A carriage was waiting outside the palace. Feng Siji had just boarded it when Yeshu lifted the curtain and poked his head in. "Master, guess who I just met?"
Feng Si glanced at him and said nothing.
Ye Shu said, "I met Li Qi! It was Li Qi! Didn't the lord say that if he saw her, he would tear her into pieces? I have already found out where she lives, and I will go to help you tonight..."
"Shut up." Feng Siji interrupted irritably.
Li Qi from Qianzhou and Li Qi from Kyoto flashed back and forth in his mind, and the plum blossom would appear from time to time. Now there was another piece of clothing, and his brain was about to explode.
But Yeshu seemed not to be listening and continued to mutter: "By the way, she also came from the palace. Did you see her just now? Tell me, did she give you a hard time? Did she look down on you? Or did she belittle you? Just one word from you, and I..."
Feng Siji pressed his forehead with annoyance and said, "Since you have so much free time, why don't you go to the homes of all the officials above the second rank in the capital and buy me all the clothes that the palace distributed today.
"Remember, buy it, no matter how high the price. If someone refuses to sell, use some tricks."
"Ah? The winter clothes distributed by the court, maybe someone has already tried them on, why are you collecting these rags?"
"So much talk?"
"I'll go buy it right away!"
-
Feng Siji drove back home alone, and while sitting in the car he was also looking through the case files of Concubine Li.
The case happened a year ago and someone has been investigating it for the past year. The information in the files is mixed and diverse. It is not an easy task for Feng Siji to analyze the truly useful information from it.
Suddenly, the carriage jolted violently. He quickly threw away the files and held onto the carriage. After it stabilized, the carriage did not move forward.
Hearing a commotion outside, Feng Siji gently lifted the curtain and asked the driver, "What's the delay?"
The driver tugged at the reins, turned around and said, "We're passing by Qingqi Temple. Your Excellency, you may not know that Qingqi Temple is located in a busy city and is very popular every day. Ordinary carriages will be much slower passing here."
"Today, unfortunately, we happened to run into Prime Minister Zhang's carriage. He's a high-ranking official and very powerful. Anyone who bumps into his carriage must let him go first. Look, there's a traffic jam now."
The driver's face was full of helplessness.
Feng Siji looked in the direction he pointed and saw a luxurious carriage with glittering wheels and glazed lanterns hanging on the curtains slowly approaching from a few dozen meters away.
When the distance got closer, Feng Siji could see clearly that the glittering object was silver coins.
They were so densely packed that they covered the entire wheels of the carriage. Many people followed behind the carriage, bending over and carefully fiddling with the areas where the wheels had passed.
Feng Siji frowned: "What are those people doing?"
The driver exclaimed, "Looking for some silver. Chancellor Zhang often drops a lot of small change from behind his cart. If you're lucky enough to find some, it would make a real difference to your family's well-being."
As he was speaking, Zhang Zhouzhu's carriage had already passed in front of him. Feng Siji watched silently. The black and gold brocade curtain was lifted by the cold wind, revealing one of Zhang Zhouzhu's eyes.
Feng Siji watched quietly, his hands in his sleeves slowly clenching into fists.
Zhang Zhouzhu's threat three years ago still rang in his ears. He wanted him to accept the bribe himself and let the case go, otherwise he would be forced to leave Kyoto forever.
Feng Siji refused and was willing to be demoted. On the day he left the capital, Zhang Zhouzhu sat on his horse's head, looking down at him and instructing the escort to take good care of him.
Along the way from Kyoto to Qianzhou, he suffered a lot and struggled between life and death several times.
I didn't expect to see you again so soon.
Zhang Zhouzhu seemed to sense something and glanced over sideways, his eyes full of contempt as if he were looking at an ant.
A few breaths of silence passed, and an invisible flame of war permeated the space between the two men. Only when Zhang Zhouzhu's carriage had completely passed by, sending countless clouds of snow powder flying into the air, did Feng Siji withdraw his gaze.
When he looked up, he saw a peach wood plaque not far away: Qingqi Temple.
The driver noticed him looking at this and took the initiative to explain: "This is Mr. He's daughter. He Mu spent the money himself to build it. Do you know what it is used for?"
"I don't know."
"It is used to ask the King of Hell to get rid of the Yun'an County Lady!"
Feng Siji frowned, even more confused: "Why?"
The driver didn't answer. He craned his neck to look at the long line of cars ahead. Feeling that he couldn't get through any time, he shouted to the crowd at the Qingqi Temple gate and the people rummaging through the snow for small change:
"Look who's here! It's Lord Feng, the former Supreme Court Justice! With this great judge, are you still worried that no one will get rid of the county lady? Instead of worshipping the King of Hell, why not worship a second great judge?"
The driver's shout was like a stone thrown into a lake, stirring up countless waves. Those people were stunned for only a moment, then they rushed over and blocked Feng Siji's carriage.
"It's Lord Feng! Lord Feng! You must seek justice for us!"
"Capture Li Qi! Get rid of the county lady! Return peace and stability to Kyoto!"
"You are the god of our people. Apart from you, I'm afraid no one will try to capture the county lady!"
Feng Siji looked at the anxious expressions of those people and listened to their heartfelt pleas, and could feel the most genuine desire.
This desire was like the feeling of desperately wanting to survive on the way to Qianzhou, and it almost swallowed him up.
Why do they hate Li Qi so much?
He Mu, who never took anything seriously, hated Li Qi to the core and even spent a huge amount of money to build the Qingqi Temple.
When Feng Siji was confused, Dao Subai walked out of Qingqi Temple.
He Mu stood on the steps of Qingqi Temple, holding three incense sticks in her hand, looking at him coldly. She raised her chin, motioning him to follow, and then turned back and walked into the temple.
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