Chapter 80: Fated
In Fengyi Palace, Li Luoyan knelt before Feng Qi, looking at the poisoned wine placed before her, and couldn’t help but sneer.
Feng Qi said coldly, “Why did you harm Yixin? He has no grudge against you.”
If Yu Qianshou hadn’t been there that night, or if he had forgotten to cut Wen Ning’an’s wrist tendon in time—if any small detail had gone wrong, then Wen Ning’an would have really…
Even now, Feng Qi felt a lingering fear. The thought of Wen Ning’an having been so close to the gates of hell, having already stepped in and almost not coming back, made him frantic.
Xie Mufang had now been imprisoned, but strangely, the shadow guards had found another “Xie Mufang’s” body in the wilderness. It turned out that the real Xie Mufang was already dead. This fake Xie Mufang who had attacked Wen Ning’an, after tearing off the fake skin on his face, revealed a face that Feng Qi would never have expected.
It was Feng Ji.
His own full-blooded brother, who looked so similar to him. He had thought he was already dead, but he hadn’t expected him to be able to come back and stab him in the back so hard!
If Feng Ji hadn’t had an insider’s help, how could he have avoided the eyes and surveillance of countless shadow guards and successfully disguised himself as Xie Mufang? And after investigation, everything became clear. It turned out that although Li Yuxi was already dead, he had already pulled the strings for Feng Ji and Li Luoyan.
Li Luoyan said leisurely, “It’s nothing. I just didn’t want to live anymore, but I also wanted to drag someone with me, to comfort this resentful heart of mine.”
“You hate me, then come at me! What was the point of attacking Yixin!” The thought of the suffering Wen Ning’an had endured made Feng Qi feel as if a hole had been dug in his heart.
Li Luoyan looked at the dark circles under his eyes and felt satisfied, smiling. “His Majesty loves His Highness deeply. If I had poisoned His Highness, wouldn’t Your Majesty be in even more pain? Isn’t it… as if your whole heart is being wrung, your whole body pierced by needles that can’t be pulled out, but you don’t have the courage to pull them out? Wishing for death, but unwilling to die alone. More important than your own life, and the pain is more terrible than having your soul torn apart.”
Feng Qi looked at her without a word.
She smiled, but tears slid down her face.
“For these past few years, that is how this one has felt.”
That night, Feng Changhuan had finally made it clear to her. Perhaps to him, she was dispensable, but he was her only one.
He would never know.
That day, he had just said to her lightly, “I already have someone I love.”
The person I love… heh.
“It’s just a pity that His Highness and the Crown Prince did not die. How wonderful it would have been if they had. This one prayed to the Buddha and the heavens every day, for them to die… This way, at least this one would have someone of high status, and someone His Majesty loved deeply, to accompany me on the road to the underworld. And His Majesty would surely be heartbroken, and might even despair and follow in death. Then this one’s life would have been worth it.”
“Wen Ning’an’s luck is really good. He couldn’t even die like that, and there’s a group of people rushing to protect him.”
The waves in Feng Qi’s eyes were turbulent.
“Li Luoyan, the wine is ready.”
She took the wine cup. This was the grace she had asked for. She no longer wanted to live. It would be good to die. To die would be a release, no longer having to suffer, to be in pain, to be lonely.
Since she was young, no one had ever looked at her properly. Her father had only treated her as a tool, to be sent to whichever man’s bed was needed. And Feng Changhuan had only paid attention to her because she was useful.
How ridiculous.
She said in a low voice, “Your Majesty, do you know that actually, a long, long time ago, when this one first married you, I had also truly liked you.”
Feng Qi raised an eyebrow. “I also had pity for you back then, and also disappointment. Is your liking to use the power I granted you to join forces with the Li family against me?”
“Your Majesty’s pity back then, it would have been better not to have given it. If not for Your Majesty’s coldness towards this one, this one would not have…”
She took the wine cup and drank it down in one gulp.
“In the next life, do not marry into the imperial family, do not marry into the imperial family…”
Dark blood slowly trickled from the corner of her mouth. She only felt her consciousness begin to slip away, her whole body convulsing.
Feng Qi said faintly, “I was cold to you, and you turned around and wanted to put me to death. But I failed Yixin, and he was still loyal to me. So in the end, the one who is with me is Yixin, not you.”
“You were blinded by hatred, your heart full of schemes to harm others, so you also could not see Feng Ji’s true feelings for you.”
Feng Qi hadn’t expected that Feng Ji would suddenly protect her so much in prison, that even under severe torture, he was unwilling to confess her.
But then again, Li Luoyan was a national beauty, born of noble birth and with a myriad of charms. And Feng Ji was already ruined. How could she look at him again?
He had done all he could for her. Considering that she was his wife in name, it was just a cup of poisoned wine. If it were an ordinary person, to be so cruel to Wen Ning’an and the child in his womb, they would have been sliced into a thousand pieces long ago, not dying a good death.
He sneered, watching her fall and die before his eyes.
Finally, with a flick of his sleeves, he left, never looking back.
To prevent any accidents, Yu Qianshou and Qin Zhaohuang had moved into a side hall. Not only Wen Ning’an, but Yu Qianshou was also exhausted tonight.
After confirming that Wen Ning’an was fine and no longer needed to be watched over, he and Qin Zhaohuang returned to the side hall. After changing his clothes and washing up casually, he fell directly onto the bed, unconscious. Now there were only the two of them, so he didn’t wear a veil.
He no longer avoided it in front of Qin Zhaohuang.
“You’ve worked hard today.” Qin Zhaohuang lay down beside him and rubbed his back.
“Mmm…” Yu Qianshou didn’t have the strength to reply and felt it was very strange.
He was originally a bad person who killed and schemed against others, right? How did he end up saving people now, and even saving them with such trepidation and effort…
Truly strange.
Seeing his weary face, Qin Zhaohuang said, “Ah Shu! I’ll give you a massage!”
With that, without waiting for the other person to agree, he began to knead his shoulders.
Yu Qianshou shrank back. This wasn’t a massage at all, but a tease or a tickle…
Yu Qianshou was extremely annoyed. He directly reached out and pulled Qin Zhaohuang down, pressing him under him, holding him tightly, and directly using him as a soft pillow.
Qin Zhaohuang’s face was a deep red.
“Oh my, in the middle of the night…”
No one answered.
Qin Zhaohuang raised his head and planted a “mwah” on his cheek.
“Stop fooling around.” Yu Qianshou couldn’t help but chuckle softly and stroked the top of his head.
After fidgeting for a while, Qin Zhaohuang was about to go to sleep. Just as Yu Qianshou was about to sigh that it was finally quiet, he heard a eunuch announce from outside, “His Majesty has arrived—”
Yu Qianshou, who still hadn’t gotten any sleep, wanted to kill someone.
He shook his head, got up, put on his veil, and knelt down with Qin Zhaohuang.
Feng Qi immediately helped the two of them up and smiled at Yu Qianshou. “Thank you very much for your trouble tonight. If not for you, Yixin would not have been able to safely give birth to Long’er.”
Yu Qianshou lowered his eyes slightly. “It was what I should do.”
Feng Qi turned to Qin Zhaohuang. “What are your plans for the future?”
He replied with some excitement, “We plan to use my previous salary to open a small shop or a stall to save up silver, and then buy a house to settle down.”
Feng Qi thought for a moment. “Do you still remember the opera house you helped Yixin manage before?”
“I remember!” Qin Zhaohuang nodded like a pecking hen, then said with apology, “A lot happened after that, and the opera house has been delayed. It hasn’t even opened yet. I don’t know if Ning’an still wants it.”
“I’ll give it to you,” Feng Qi said. “This way, you won’t have to work so hard to open a shop. The residence next to the opera house was also bought at the same time. I heard from Yixin that it’s quite spacious and comfortable. It should be fine to live in.”
Qin Zhaohuang stared blankly at him, not knowing whether to refuse or accept for a moment.
Feng Qi blinked. “Consider it the salary of a lucky star?”
Qin Zhaohuang was stunned, then smiled. “Thank you for the reward, Your Majesty!”
Seeing his weary face, Feng Qi did not stay for long and left on his own.
The moonlight outside was clear, illuminating the spring flowers in the courtyard. Feng Qi was inexplicably reminded of a long time ago, when he was the crown prince, and Qin Zhaohuang was still imprisoned in that dark high tower of the Fengtian Temple.
Little Feng Qi had brought a steaming, fragrant roasted chicken and slipped to the small window at the back of the high tower.
“Qin Zhaohuang! Look what this crown prince has brought!”
Little Zhaohuang smelled the fragrance from outside the window and excitedly leaned on the window. “Roasted chicken! You really brought roasted chicken!”
Feng Qi said proudly, “Isn’t it because you said those old men wanted you to purify yourself to serve the gods and wouldn’t let you eat meat? That’s why I brought it. Next time, I’ll bring you roasted duck!”
Qin Zhaohuang took the greasy and plump meat, so excited that tears almost came out, and even foolishly “sold himself” for a roasted chicken.
“Your Highness, you are so good! When I grow up, and you let me out, I will do anything except be the empress!”
“That’s natural! If anyone is to be the empress, it will be Ning’an.”
“Who is Ning’an?” Qin Zhaohuang said, pouring the sauce on the slightly charred meat.
“Ning’an is this crown prince’s study companion, the person who is best to me!”
“Then I can be your lucky star,” he said, taking a bite of the chicken leg. “The kind that brings you good luck.”
Feng Qi rolled his eyes, clearly not believing it.
“Really! Those old men said that as long as I am willing, I can bring good fortune to my master.”
“Finish your chicken leg first, lucky star.”
And so, at the coronation ceremony that year, Qin Zhaohuang left the Fengtian Temple for the first time. In his excitement, he accidentally knocked over the tea table on Feng Qi’s desk, and the poisoned tea spilled on the floor, burning the golden tiles dark black. And now, it was Qin Zhaohuang who had saved Wen Ning’an on Jueyan Cliff, and it was also him who had brought Yu Qianshou to his side.
Feng Qi smiled. These things sounded mysterious, but they seemed to really exist. Just like his fate with Wen Ning’an, it was already destined to be tied together. To be able to be with him, he had even been reborn.
Fu Che draped a coat over his shoulders. “Your Majesty, the night is cold.”
“Back to the hall.”
