The Long Night (9)
Chapter 9 The Long Night (9)
At this point, Li Ke already understood what she was worried about.
Seeing that she didn't take the Yingluo, he carefully put it in his pocket and said, "Empress Li told me that my life belongs to the County Master. So, He Mu, I will find a way to solve it. Please give me three days."
She didn't say anything else. He took a few steps forward, supported her, and said, "It's dark and cold, be careful not to catch a cold, County Lady. I'll take you back home."
There was a charcoal stove burning in Li Ke's carriage, making it warm, but Li Qi couldn't stop shivering when she sat in it.
She didn't look well, so Li Ke kept an eye on her.
She leaned against the soft pillow, half of her face buried in the darkness of the pillowcase. Her peach blossom eyes, which were as beautiful as in spring, now looked like a huge bottomless pit, with depression constantly bubbling out.
"Don't you think I'm ridiculous? I'm putting my hopes on someone else, someone I don't know at all." She said suddenly.
Li Ke lowered his head and fiddled with the charcoal fire, then spoke slowly, "People always make mistakes like this, mistakenly believing others are reliable. But in the end, everyone will wake up. Isn't the county lady also awakened now?"
Li Qi's cheeks were covered with tears. "If I really come to my senses, I should open my heart and forgive everything."
She gritted her teeth and said, "But I can't forgive you. I still hate Emperor Liang, Empress Zhang, and Wang Xiu. But the one I hate most is Zhang Zhouzhu. If it weren't for him, all 50,000 soldiers in Yunzhou wouldn't have turned into dried bones."
Sparks popped in the brazier, and Li Ke slowly lowered the tongs before saying, "The county lady was wrong. True enlightenment doesn't mean forgiving everything. It means that even if we've been through a lot of thorns and waves, we still have love and respect for the people and things around us, but we will never forgive those who have cut us."
Hearing this, Li Qi suddenly sat up straight and stared at Li Ke with sharp eyes: "You absolutely can't say that."
She knew Li Ke. He had once wandered in the countryside, eating and sleeping with stray dogs. He didn't recognize many people. But his loyalty was rare in the world, which was why he was promoted by Dong Mingrong and stayed by her side.
It is impossible for someone without broad mind and literary talent to say what he said.
Li Ke did not deny: "It's Empress Ming.
"Empress Ming understands the County Lady's temperament. She's worried that once she leaves, you'll be driven by hatred and rush forward, willing to destroy eight thousand of your own men to injure ten thousand of the enemy. By then, there's no hope of survival. She repeatedly warned me to tell the County Lady that you can hate, but you can't lose yourself because of hatred."
Li Qi was silent for a while after hearing this. Everyone in Kyoto called Dong Mingrong Empress Li, and only Li Ke called her Empress Ming.
Because "Ming" is her name and "Niangniang" is her identity. The former is love, and the latter is sober restraint.
Li Qi laughed and said, "I will never be able to compare with Mingrong in these matters."
Li Ke replied, "Empress Ming also said that there's no comparison between Li Qi and Dong Mingrong; they only complement each other. If I had to say, Li Qi is the guiding light."
"It was because of Li Qi that Dong Mingrong of Qianzhou was able to survive and enter the palace as a concubine. She used her status as a concubine to assist Li Qi in reclaiming Yunzhou. Li Qi was the most eye-catching person from beginning to end."
When these words came out, Li Qi was stunned.
She was stunned and didn't speak for a long time.
She only knew that Dong Mingrong had been generous and dignified since childhood, and had the style and mind of a legitimate daughter, but she never knew that Dong Mingrong had her own set of overall perspectives when looking at people, things and events.
Li Qi recalled that every time he did something bad or killed someone, Dong Mingrong was there when he returned to the County Lord's Mansion.
Dong Mingrong boiled some hot water for her, washed the blood off her hands, and gently asked her if she felt better. If she did, he would temporarily put aside everything about Yunzhou and accompany her to write poems, paint, and play with birds.
It turns out that the so-called "accompanying her" is actually just giving your mood a break.
It turns out that she has been nourishing herself in her own way, so that she will not be distorted by hatred.
Li Qi cannot match Dong Mingrong's wisdom and gentleness towards life.
But with just these, she could not survive in such a world. It was because of Li Qi's ruthlessness and cruelty that the two of them could be safe and sound.
So - there is no comparison between them, only mutual complementation.
The snow was still falling outside, and the charcoal in the brazier was burning more and more vigorously. The warm heat rushed straight to the door, and Li Qi's tightly clasped hands suddenly loosened.
She used her sleeve to wipe away the tears that gathered on her chin and said softly, "Eunuch Li, thank you. I understand your painstaking efforts."
"My Lady, you have wronged me."
-
Li Qi's clothes were all soaked by the snow. It was a cold winter night and even the strongest person could not bear it. Soon after returning home, she felt dizzy and had a fever.
I fell asleep in a daze.
When she woke up, her throat was burning.
The maidservant Ye Lan had been watching over her all night. When she woke up, she asked anxiously, "County Lady, are you feeling better? Last night, I made you a bowl of ginger soup. You didn't intend to swallow it, so I forced it down your throat and you choked out some of it."
Li Qi swallowed her saliva. No wonder her throat was so sore. It turned out that she was choked.
She took the hot tea that Ye Lan poured for her and drank it to soothe her throat. "It's nothing serious. Get ready. I need to leave the city."
Li Qi threw off the quilt and got out of bed, dragging her uncomfortable body to sit in front of the dressing table.
The makeup mirror showed her lifeless facial features and sickly pale face, like a snowflake about to melt, exuding a broken fragility.
Without the necklace around her neck, Li Qi felt empty and inexplicably relieved.
The mirror reflected Ye Lan, who came in with hot water. She put the basin away, a worried look on her face: "The county lady really won't wait until she's well before leaving the city tomorrow?"
Li Qi covered her lips and coughed a few times, then said in a hollow voice, "I can't wait any longer."
She wanted to go out of the city to meet Dong Linche and Shengxiang. Their original plans were disrupted by Feng Siji and He Mu, and they couldn't just sit there and wait for death.
Ye Lan did not persuade him anymore. He helped Li Qi wash and dress up, put on makeup, changed into her usual red dress, and also harnessed the carriage from the mansion.
The driver whipped the horses, and the two-horse carriage rushed out at the speed of an arrow.
As the carriage passed through the busy city, Li Qi heard someone outside shout, "It's the Yun'an County Lady's carriage!"
Immediately afterwards, a steady stream of debris began to hit the car with a crackling sound.
"You deliberately stole the favor of your good sister. Before the Empress Li's body is even cold, you are going to enter the palace as a concubine. Bah!"
"Monster, you have caused our Lord He to become disabled for life, get out of Kyoto!"
"Get out of Kyoto!"
“…”
Li Qi slowly clenched her fists.
He Zhangjing used to work in the Ministry of Revenue, a well-liked official who enjoyed the support of the people. But ever since Li Qi crippled him, all the people's hatred has been directed at her.
She specially reinforced the carriage, including protecting the front room where the coachman was, so that none of those things could get in.
Li Qi has long been accustomed to the crackling sounds of cars being smashed and the verbal abuse from others, but that doesn't mean she has to endure it.
"stop!"
As Li Qi's shout fell, the driver pulled the reins, and the horse raised its front hooves high, neighed, and stopped.
Li Qi was about to get off the carriage when the driver suddenly advised, "County Lady, forget it. It's not safe for you to get off with so many people around."
The front room was also reinforced and protected by Li Qi. If she wanted to face these people directly, she had to get out of the car.
Li Qi did not respond to the coachman's words. She pushed open the door and jumped out of the carriage.
The people who surrounded Li Qi became more aggressive and their curses became more harsh.
Li Qi stood in the crowded and noisy crowd, her red dress blown by the cold wind and flying in the air.
She directly lifted the belt around her red skirt and pulled out a sharp dagger from it, pointing it at the vitals of the man closest to her: "It doesn't matter if you hate me, and it doesn't matter if you curse me behind my back. But if you act arrogantly in front of me, it won't be so simple."
The noisy crowd suddenly became still and silent.
The man held hostage by his men was trembling and kept shouting, "Let me go."
The dagger flashed coldly, and Li Qi raised the knife and slashed it, causing the crowd to howl one after another. The man was so scared that he peed his pants, holding his head and screaming as he jumped. After he jumped several steps away, he realized that he was not dead.
He raised his frightened eyes and saw Li Qi's dagger flying out and piercing the carrot in the hand of an old lady ten steps away from them.
The crowd was silent, staring at the carrot.
The old lady was so frightened that the carrot fell to the ground.
The carrot was actually split in half from the middle, with a neat cut.
When she looked at Li Qi again, she raised her chin proudly and said, "If you do it again, your fate will be the same as this piece of carrot.
The man turned his eyes and looked at his wet vagina, feeling ashamed.
He thought Li Qi was not serious about this, and she had already thrown the dagger, so it should not pose a threat.
He wanted to save some face, so he pointed at her furiously, "You've caused Lord He to be wheelchair-bound for life. We're seeking justice for him, but you show no remorse and even threaten us! This is unjust!"
Others reacted and echoed: "Yes! It's unfair!"
Li Qi sneered and guessed what the man was thinking, but his sad thing was that he didn't understand her.
Even if she is unarmed, she is still a huge threat.
Li Qi pulled out the red flower silver hairpin from her hair and twirled it gracefully in her hand. The hairpin flew out and pierced deeply into the man's shoulder.
Blood splattered all over the place, and the man squatted on the ground, covering his shoulders and crying.
The crowd suddenly felt as if death had grabbed their necks, and not a sound was left.
Li Qi straightened her long hair and smiled, her eyes full of arrogance. "He Zhangjing's leg has nothing to do with me, but I won't prove it. I'm only saying this one last time. If you mess with me again, the hairpin won't hit your shoulder, but your throat."
She turned around resolutely and got back into the carriage.
This time, no one dared to stop her, and the carriage moved forward smoothly.
As soon as Li Qi sat down, she felt dizzy and her head was hot and painful. She had just gone to teach them a lesson, and it had almost exhausted her last bit of strength.
Especially since my throat was already sore, it felt like a sharp thorn was stuck in it.
I couldn't help but think that if Dong Mingrong were still alive, she would definitely let me save the energy to see a doctor instead of arguing with those gossips.
But Li Qi felt that if she could swallow this, she would no longer be Li Qi.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
