"Qingfeng?" Xia Chuli leaned over and nudged Shen Qingfeng. "What's wrong with you?"
Shen Qingfeng shook his head. He couldn't quite put his finger on his current feelings. Last night, when he saw that familiar look on Xia Chuli's face, for a split second, he thought Xia Chuli had also been reborn just like him. So after he returned to the Shen Mansion, he tossed and turned all night, constantly thinking about the possibility of this. After all, he himself had been reborn once. Xia Chuli had died before him, so maybe he could be reborn too.
However, after much thought, Shen Qingfeng felt that if Xia Chuli had been reborn, many of his behaviors and habits didn't match the current Xia Chuli.
In Shen Qingfeng's memory, Xia Chuli was crazy, even a bit deranged.
He once, in order to take revenge, dragged Xia Yonglin, who had been tortured beyond recognition, to the Disciplinary Platform, then cut out his tongue with his own hands, and threw the still - half - alive Xia Yonglin into a cage full of dozens of hungry wolves.
He also once, in order to assert his authority, summoned all the ministers and concubines to the entrance of the Shanhe Hall. Then, right in front of everyone, he had Chen Qi torn apart by five horses. Chen Qi's blood splattered everywhere at the entrance of the Shanhe Hall. The warm corpses were trampled into minced meat by the frightened horses, and the blood seeped into the bluestones at the entrance of the Shanhe Hall, leaving stains that could never be washed away.
Shen Qingfeng even remembered that darkest night -
By then, he and Xia Chuli had fallen out. He couldn't stand Xia Chuli's blood - thirsty methods, nor could he tolerate Xia Chuli using the Listening Wind Pavilion as his own assassination organization.
At that time, in the entire Lige City, anyone who had the slightest dissatisfaction or disloyalty towards Xia Chuli would be purged. At best, they would be killed and their bodies exposed; at worst, their entire families would be wiped out.
The Listening Wind Pavilion, which Shen Qingfeng had founded with his own hands, had long deviated from its original purpose. Every order from Xia Chuli meant someone's death. Whole - family exterminations, human pigs... It seemed that Xia Chuli didn't want to leave any hidden dangers for his rule. He would choose to kill all those who didn't submit to him. In just half a year, almost the entire court of Li Xia had been replaced. Xia Chuli's tyranny made everyone in Lige City seethe with anger but dare not speak out, for fear that a single slip of the tongue would cost them their heads.
In that half - year, at first, Shen Qingfeng would still lead the people of the Listening Wind Pavilion to carry out Xia Chuli's orders. But after that, Xia Chuli's decrees became more and more brutal. One day, a vice - minister of the provincial governor submitted a memorial asking Xia Chuli to release Xia Yanhe, who was in prison. His reason was that since King Li of Xia had just ascended the throne and his foundation was unstable, the method of killing Xia Yonglin before had been too cruel. If Xia Yanhe was still imprisoned, the rumors of tyranny among the people would become more and more serious. To avoid the people rebelling, it would be better to give Xia Yanhe a fief and exile him.
The vice - minister had spoken sincerely and had indeed considered everything carefully. But unfortunately, his choice of words was wrong, and he had offended Xia Chuli. It was right to avoid tyranny and prevent the people from rebelling, but he didn't know that Xia Chuli had no intention of letting Xia Yanhe go, nor would he consider giving him a fief so that he could live out the rest of his life in peace. As soon as these words were spoken, Xia Chuli flew into a rage on the spot. He immediately ordered the vice - minister to be arrested and flogged thirty times.
Shen Qingfeng, who had been appointed prime minister at that time, immediately stopped the executioner and pleaded for the vice - minister. But by then, Xia Chuli was no longer the same person who had once walked side by side with Shen Qingfeng. He had killed his father and elder brother and stepped onto the throne step by step over the blood of others. When he put on the yellow robe, he had also discarded many things. In the end, he sat on the dragon throne and became King Li of Xia.
Even though Xia Chuli had successfully ascended the throne, everyone knew that his throne had been obtained through an ignoble means. Since he had rebelled to seize the throne, Xia Chuli was instinctively sensitive about this matter. Coupled with the hatred in his bones for his father and elder brother, he had no confidence in the political arena of Li Xia at all. Let alone being asked to release Xia Yanhe. In his eyes, it was no different from setting a tiger free in the mountains.
Setting a tiger free in the mountains meant rebellion and disloyalty.
Disloyalty deserved death.
So no matter how much Shen Qingfeng tried to persuade him, Xia Chuli finally decided to kill the entire family of the vice - minister. After the decree was passed to Shen Qingfeng, he thought Xia Chuli's action was unreasonable, so he went to the Shanhe Hall to confront him. As a result, he was locked up in the Qifeng Hall, deprived of his control over the Listening Wind Pavilion, and placed under house arrest.
From then on, he and Xia Chuli became like strangers. He was like a canary that had been played with and then grown tired of. His feathers were plucked, his ankle was tied, and he was thrown into a corner, not allowed to see anyone.
The Qifeng Hall was very quiet, so quiet that it seemed like a place where no living person should be.
And it was in this terrifying silence that Shen Qingfeng endured day and night until that night.
Shen Qingfeng remembered clearly that there was no moon that night.
As usual, he returned to his room early, lit a fire, and curled up in bed reading a book. This was one of the few things he could do every day. Although he had read that book countless times, the nights in the Qifeng Hall were so dark and terrifying. He could only light a weak candle and read it over and over again to dispel the fear brought by the silence.
Just as he was reading, there suddenly came the sound of tiles crashing on the roof. It was very urgent, as if someone was walking on the roof. Shen Qingfeng was startled. He quickly sat up straight, jumped out of bed, and before he could do anything, the window of the room was suddenly opened from the outside.
The night wind rushed in with a whoosh, lifting the books that Shen Qingfeng had casually thrown on the bed and blowing out the tiny candle flame.
Along with the wind that rushed into the room came the pungent smell of blood from the visitor.
"Who's there!" Shen Qingfeng's scalp went numb. Without the candle flame and the light source, he couldn't see anything. After shouting, he reached under his pillow for his dagger.
"Sir, sir!" The visitor was none other than Xiang Cheng.
Shen Qingfeng didn't expect it to be him. After all, he had been imprisoned for a long time. In the past few months, except for the occasional mercy visit from Xia Chuli, he hardly saw any living people. The Qifeng Hall had been strictly guarded by Xia Chuli's order. Even the people from the Listening Wind Pavilion found it difficult to enter.
And now, Xiang Cheng had actually come at the risk of his life, covered in blood. Shen Qingfeng's heart skipped a beat. He reached out and lit the candle. When the light came on and he saw Xiang Cheng's face, he was even more shocked. Xiang Cheng was covered in blood from head to toe. The moment he saw Shen Qingfeng's face in the firelight, this tall man couldn't help but burst into tears.
Xiang Cheng's voice was urgent. "Sir, I sneaked out. Just now, the people from the Listening Wind Pavilion were led by Yu Shuang to the Shen Mansion!"
Shen Qingfeng knew better than anyone what it meant when the people from the Listening Wind Pavilion were mobilized. He felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, and a sense of uneasiness and fear suddenly welled up in his heart.
Although he hadn't been back to the Shen Mansion since he entered the palace, and although he was annoyed with his father and elder brother because they didn't support his relationship with Xia Chuli, he had never thought that the target of this operation by the Listening Wind Pavilion would be the Shen Mansion!
Shen Qingfeng suddenly grabbed Xiang Cheng's shoulders and asked urgently, "Why are they going to the Shen Mansion? What does Xia Chuli want to do?"