Sister Zhiyun
Just as Wu Qi had suspected, the wooden box contained correspondence between Zhao Lang and that important official in the court, but...
Wu Qi flipped through the letters but didn't see any names mentioned. There wasn't even Zhao Lang's name on the letters. However, the entrance to this secret room was in Zhao Lang's study, so he was probably also to blame.
Wu Qi put away the letters and was about to leave with Yi Shen when he suddenly heard a noise.
"Quick, quick, hide!!"
Wu Qi pulled Yi Shen around and finally hid under the table. Thinking back, Wu Qi found it amusing. Just a moment ago, he was wondering why Zhao Lang liked hiding under the table so much—the entrance to the secret room had to be under the table, and the wooden box also had to be placed under the table.
Now, she and Yi Shen are also hiding under the table.
The space under the table was cramped. Wu Qi was inside, leaning against the wall, while Yi Shen was outside, leaning against the table leg with his legs bent.
Wu Qi held her breath and waited for a moment. When she heard no sound, she gently shushed Yi Shen beneath her, then crouched down and peeked over her shoulder.
Because the place was so low, Wu Qi had to put one leg over Yi Shen's upper body first. Although she was almost straddling him, she supported herself with both legs and did not press down on Yi Shen.
A strand of hair lightly brushed against Yi Shen's neck. Before he could even feel it, the slight itch disappeared, leaving him with a sudden sense of loss.
He covered his eyes with the back of his hand, refusing to look at Wu Qi.
Wu Qi had no time to pay attention to anything else. She quietly peeked out and saw no one coming from this direction, nor did she hear any sound. Suddenly, a rustling sound startled Wu Qi so much that she couldn't pull her leg back in time and ended up straddling Yi Shen.
Yi Shen felt a weight on his body and subconsciously reached out to support Wu Qi's waist. When he opened his eyes, he saw her nestled in his arms, her head resting against his chest.
At such close range, he could smell the fragrance of flowers on her body.
The rustling sounds grew louder and louder. Wu Qi, lying on Yi Shen's chest, heard Yi Shen say, "Cat."
His voice seemed to come from his heart through his chest and flesh, and Wu Qi didn't quite hear it. He looked up and asked, "What?"
Yi Shen held Wu Qi's waist with both hands and gently lifted her up, not letting her sit where she had been before, but letting her sit on his abdomen instead.
“That was a cat,” he said.
"A cat? What are you doing here?"
Wu Qi got up and indeed saw a black cat standing in the corner where the gold and silver jewelry was.
The black cat had soft fur, suggesting it wasn't abandoned, yet it hadn't uttered a single meow, which was highly unusual. When the black cat opened its mouth, Wu Qi noticed that it had no tongue or teeth.
She crouched down, stroked the black cat's head, and said, "We searched for ages before we got in, you really got a great deal. Since you're so lucky, I hope you stay lucky and live a good life."
Whether the cat understood or not, it rubbed against Wu Qi's palm and tugged at her skirt, pulling her away.
Wu Qi and Yi Shen exchanged a glance, and she handed all the secret letters to Yi Shen. She said, "There is no way that cats and dogs would appear in Zhao Lang's secret room for no reason. It seems that this cat was sent by him to guide the way."
Yi Shen carefully put away the secret letters and wrote: "Be careful in everything you do."
The two followed the guiding cat through the passageway, a path they had never taken before. Most people would be terrified walking in the dark, glancing around nervously, or even shouting for encouragement if they were too timid. But these two, hand in hand, showed no fear.
Wu Qi even had the leisure to raise his finger and tap Yi Shen's hand.
Yi Shen did not stop her, letting her play around.
The two walked to a door. Under the dim light, the black cat foolishly rammed its head against the door, not only failing to open it but also making its head tremble. Wu Qi couldn't help but chuckle and hugged the black cat to his chest, saying to Yi Shen, "Could our Third Young Master Yi please help us open the door?"
Yi Shen mimicked how she petted a cat, patted her head, and asked, "Ready?"
“Of course,” she said. “Nothing in the world can stop me.”
"good."
Yi Shen pushed open the door.
Outside the gate, the lights were bright, and the glass lamps shone brightly, illuminating the courtyard as if it were daytime. Even the moonlight paled in comparison here, leaving only a sense of unease and desolation, like the glint of swords.
The cat in Wu Qi's arms seemed to have met someone familiar. It leaped down from her arms, landed steadily on the ground, and trotted away to a spot not far away. It rubbed against the woman's feet, looked up, and saw that the woman was kneeling on the ground with her hands tied behind her back.
Before it could rub against the woman's feet again, it was picked up by a man.
Zhao Lang sat behind a group of guards, holding the black cat in his arms, and said, "You only know how to go find Pianpian, why don't you know how to find me?"
Wu Qi leisurely observed the guards in the courtyard, Zhao Lang playing with the cat, and Pianpian kneeling beside Zhao Lang. She stood still, waved to Zhao Lang, and said lazily, as if trying to suppress her drowsiness, "Lord Zhao, you have quite the leisure, sitting in the courtyard waiting for us in the middle of the night."
Zhao Lang, knowing full well the answer, asked, "Wasn't the lady murdered in the back mountain?"
Wu Qi replied, "What harm are those wolves in the back mountain? In my opinion, the person in front of me is the real menace."
Her insults were obvious, but Zhao Lang wasn't annoyed. He patted the cat and sent it to play somewhere else. He pulled Pianpian onto his lap, pinched her cheek, and said with tenderness, "Pianpian even knelt down to plead for others, but I don't think they appreciate it very much."
Pianpian turned her head away from his hand and shouted to Wu Qi, "That high-ranking official in the capital sent him a letter, telling him not to worry and to kill you and Lord Li!! You two run!"
What?
Would that high-ranking official in the capital really dare to do such a thing?
Wu Qi thought to himself, "If that's the case, then what about Lord Li Xi? Has he already been murdered?"
Pianpian seemed to sense Wu Qi's worries and continued to call out to him across the crowd, "Lord Li is not dead yet, she is..."
Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Lang covered her mouth.
“Pianpian, you’re getting more and more disobedient.” Zhao Lang walked past the crowd, his gaze falling on Wu Qi, and said to himself, “Does the lady know where this is? This is where Li Shuying was stabbed thirty-two times. I thought you could keep her company on her journey to the underworld, so I specially waited for you two in the courtyard.”
“Now that you two are here, then…” He paused for a moment, then continued, “Kill.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the guards in the courtyard all stepped forward.
The courtyard was not small, and there were at least several dozen guards in it. Moreover, this was the Zhao residence; if one courtyard of guards died, another courtyard of guards would come.
But there were only two of them.
Wu Qi understood—if they really fought, the two of them couldn't win, but they had no choice but to fight.
If they don't fight, if they don't carve out a bloody path, not only will the two of them die here tonight, but the filth of the world and the ignorance of the truth will also be buried in this courtyard with the night.
Then, more and more people will die.
They are not fighting for themselves.
Wu Qi kicked one person to the ground, then seized the man's sword. She held a dagger in her left hand and a sword in her right. Yi Shen also drew his soft sword from his waist, and they stood back to back.
They had only each other, yet they resisted thousands.
“Tomorrow,” Wu Qi said to Yi Shen, “let’s go buy flowers tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Yi Shen said.
After saying that, the two began to fight.
Zhao Lang put one arm around Pianpian's waist and covered her mouth with the other. Seeing her tears, he sighed and said helplessly, "You cry so easily, what are we going to do with you in the future?"
Pianpian opened her mouth and bit his palm with all her might. Even after smelling the blood, she did not let go. She bit off a piece of flesh from his palm, her mouth filled with the smell of blood.
Blood dripped from his palm, staining her clothes instead. She felt bored and powerless; no matter how she struggled, she was just a caged bird waiting to die.
She did something wrong, she can die.
But Li Shuying was innocent in the past, suffering thirty-two cuts in this courtyard. Wu Qi and Yi Shen are also innocent now, relying on each other for survival in this courtyard, resisting hundreds of people.
Several people cried out and fell to the ground, while several others stepped forward again. Tonight, there was much more blood than on the day Li Shuying was injured. Even the soil that nurtures countless flowers and plants could not withstand the blood and refused to let it seep in, so it could only flow on the ground.
With tears blurring her vision, Pianpian could no longer see Wu Qi and Yi Shen clearly. She could only silently pray to the gods, asking them to let the two of them live.
From afar, she heard Wu Qi say, "If Miss Pianpian keeps crying, her eyes will be swollen tomorrow."
Wu Qi spoke with great difficulty, her breath unsteady, and accompanied by the sound of clashing swords, Pianpian seemed to smell the blood on her body.
Was she injured?
Let her live.
Pianpian pleaded in her heart, "The world needs her. Please, let her live."
She didn't know who to beg for or who she should beg for. She only heard the sound of the courtyard gate being kicked open. She turned her head and first saw a small patch of dim yellow light. She blinked away the tears in her eyes and then saw clearly what the dim yellow light was: a glass lamp.
The glass lamp was shaped like an orchid and had a flaming flame inside.
It is a blue-and-white lamp.
A woman on horseback, carrying a blue lantern, flashed her token and scanned the courtyard. She announced loudly, "I am here by order of His Majesty to lead the Golden Armor Army to assist in the thorough investigation of the Peach Blossom Forest corpse case. Anyone who dares to obstruct me will be killed without mercy."
Behind her, two squads of golden-armored soldiers lined up and quickly surrounded the entire courtyard. On the courtyard wall, a pair of golden-armored soldiers held crossbows, aiming at everyone in the courtyard.
The Golden Armor Army was an army personally trained by the Emperor, and each soldier required an immeasurable amount of silver to train. Back then, the Golden Armor Army numbered two thousand men, and they helped the Emperor ascend the throne.
There are only a few dozen Golden Armor soldiers present today, but premeditatedly murdering them is a capital offense.
Blood condensed on the sword, dripping silently onto the ground. Wu Qi was panting, a bloodstain on her face. Even without her saying anything, others could tell that she had just been jumping back and forth at the entrance of the Yama's Palace.
Wu Qi threw away his sword, sheathed his dagger, clapped his hands, and looked at the woman in purple on horseback. He asked Yi Shen with some confusion, "Sister Zhiyun is here, but where is Brother Lianshi?"
Sister Zhiyun is here, but why haven't Brother Lianshi arrived yet after waiting for so long?
Did they argue again?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
