Upon closer reflection, Cai's disappearance was indeed bizarre. At first, she thought it was just a normal disappearance, but now the time elapsed since she disappeared was far too long.
Something must have already happened. The most likely person to suspect is Qi Yu. The more Li Xiaoxiao thought about it, the more frightened she felt. These details that she had overlooked surfaced in her mind one by one.
Perhaps we should ask them properly.
The princess walked directly up to Li Xiaoxiao and asked softly, "I wonder if Madam Li has time for a chat?" Standing in front of Li Xiaoxiao, her previous arrogance had disappeared somewhat, and she looked rather docile.
"Of course, Princess."
The princess waved her hand, and the guards stopped hitting Qi Wenzhu, leaving him to struggle on the ground covered in blood. She then followed Li Xiaoxiao into the Suixin Pavilion. Gu Lan rushed over to greet her as soon as she saw Li Xiaoxiao.
"Master, are we having a distinguished guest? Please take a seat." Gu Lan then led Li Xiaoxiao into the private room on the second floor. The princess sat in the seat of honor, and Li Xiaoxiao sat down in the seat next to her.
On the second floor, by the window, one could see the nearby pavilions. Feng Caiyi got up and closed the doors and windows before taking off her mask. The area covered by the mask had not yet scabbed over, and after the long journey, it had become somewhat infected and was bleeding. There were no other symptoms; it was just a normal scar. However, if it could not heal, it would indeed leave a scar.
"Can it be cured?"
Li Xiaoxiao smiled and nodded, "Okay."
The princess's previously terrified expression instantly relaxed a bit. "That's good." Li Xiaoxiao didn't argue with her any further and took out a small bottle of spiritual spring water from her bosom.
“Princess, I do have this medicine, but not much. There are only ten portions in the whole world. Since you are an honored guest, I need to charge you one-third of the cost, which is five hundred taels of silver.”
It could have been given away for free, but the princess's matter will inevitably make more people aware of this spiritual spring water, which will then cause trouble.
As long as she keeps raising the price, fewer and fewer people will try to take advantage of her. Although the spiritual spring in the space is unlimited, the amount of spiritual spring she can create each day is indeed limited.
"Five hundred taels of silver, that's fine. I have some silver notes here." The princess took out some silver notes from her bosom. Originally, she had budgeted five thousand taels of silver, so five hundred taels was already a favor. If she didn't want the silver, she wouldn't dare to use it easily. Feng Caiyi felt much relieved and even felt more favorably toward Li Xiaoxiao.
After placing the silver note in Li Xiaoxiao's hand, Feng Caiyi took the small bottle of medicine and drank it directly.
After taking that sip, she felt incredibly refreshed. Even her previously stalled Qi Refining Stage 9 level showed signs of loosening, and she even had a tendency to break through. Feng Caiyi dared not stop and hurriedly sat down to meditate and begin advancing directly.
As long as he breaks through, he can go to the Heavenly Stems Academy to study. This is the only opportunity. Feng Caiyi meditated and cultivated on the ground, while Li Xiaoxiao sat beside him. An hour later, Feng Caiyi was radiating golden light and broke through directly. When he opened his eyes, he saw Li Xiaoxiao dozing off on the table next to him.
"Madam Li, thank you for the medicine. Now that I have broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, I will definitely teach that bitch Wu Shiyao a lesson."
After Feng Caiyi advanced to the Foundation Establishment stage, she looked radiant. Even the pustules on her face fell off, and within just one hour, they had scabbed over.
"What is it that makes the princess so angry?"
"It's all because of that little bitch Wu Shiyao. My fiancé, Hu Yingzhao, and I grew up together since childhood. I was waiting for him to marry me, but he would rather be Wu Shiyao's servant than my husband. He even forced me to break off the engagement. I just wanted to teach Wu Shiyao a lesson, but she viciously slashed my face and almost tore it apart."
“She is confident in her power. When I complained to the Empress Dowager, she just waved her hand and said that Wu Shiyao was not easy to mess with, let alone convict. I started the trouble first, and now everyone is blaming me because I am not as powerful as her.”
Feng Caiyi cried as she spoke, which made Li Xiaoxiao both smile wryly. Why did it sound so childish and melodramatic?
"May I ask how old the princess is?"
“Twelve.” Feng Caiyi agreed tearfully, while Li Xiaoxiao just wanted to laugh.
"Okay, stop crying. There are plenty of good men in the world. Let's not cry, let's find another one, okay?" He hugged Feng Caiyi and began to comfort her.
Suddenly, a scene flashed through her mind: Feng Caiyi's fiancé did indeed become Wu Shiyao's husband, and he coldly severed all ties with Feng Caiyi. The young Feng Caiyi protested several times to no avail, and was almost killed by Wu Shiyao instead.
At a young age, Feng Caiyi was driven to become increasingly wicked. Originally, she was exceptionally talented, but Wu Shiyao ruined her foundation.
"I don't want it, I want Brother Hu Yingzhao." Feng Caiyi continued to cry, and Li Xiaoxiao could only pat her back to comfort her.
"Then get stronger. Don't go looking for trouble with Wu Shiyao for now. If you can't beat her, you'll keep suffering losses. You can consider going to the Heavenly Stems Academy for further studies. Once you can beat Wu Shiyao, you can come back and take revenge, okay?"
While comforting and admonishing Feng Caiyi, Li Xiaoxiao nodded through her tears, "Okay, I'll make that bitch Wu Shiyao look at me with new eyes."
After finally calming Feng Caiyi down, Li Xiaoxiao lied and left Suixin Pavilion, leaving Wu Shiyao in the room. Soon after, the dishes were served, and Li Xiaoxiao went to find Qi Wenzhu alone, as there were some things she needed to discuss with her brother-in-law.
After leaving the inn, they found a little beggar on the street and asked him what was going on. It turned out that Qi Wenzhu was still living in a dilapidated temple not far from the city and had just left with his injured body.
Li Xiaoxiao bought a horse on the street and headed straight for the dilapidated temple. On the way, she saw Qi Wenzhu walking unsteadily. Qi Wenzhu, who used to weigh 200 pounds, now weighed less than 150 or 160 pounds.
The speed at which he lost weight was nothing short of miraculous.
"Qi Wenzhu, stop. I have some questions for you."
Qi Wenzhu then stopped and stretched out her hand. It turned out that three fingers on that hand had been cut off, leaving only two lonely fingers, which she waved in front of Li Xiaoxiao.
"So you're my sister-in-law. May I ask what brings you here?" Qi Wenzhu was filthy, her face covered in mud, her body stinking, and her clothes were tattered.
"I want to ask you, how did Cai die?"
She asked directly, but Qi Wenzhu couldn't help but laugh, "I thought my sister-in-law wouldn't notice, after all, Qi Yu is very good at pretending to be wronged."
"Alright, then I'll tell you. My mother is greedy for money. Qi Yu told her to go to the woods to find him before Chen Shi (7-9 AM) and he would give her all the dozens of taels of silver he stole from you. She went, and then it was gone."
“I asked the Lu family lady by the roadside, and she did see Qi Yu go to that grove. Although she didn’t see Cai Shi’s figure, she guessed that Qi Yu told her so that no one else would find out.”
“His movements were indeed very swift. I went to check afterward and couldn’t find a single trace.”
Qi Wenzhu spoke for a long time but had no substantial evidence, yet his malice towards Qi Yu could not be hidden.
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