FID – Chapter 843

Chapter 843: She Said You Killed Him

The roof right above the bridal chamber had a tile pried open, and Qian Wanjin was lying by the small opening, straining to listen.

Extremely sneaky.

Oh my gosh!

Holy crap!

Who would’ve thought Zhiqiu was capable of this?

The sounds were fast—like a storm of wind and rain.

With all that pounding on Little White Lotus, by the time the storm ends, probably most of the petals will have fallen off.

Why so intense?

Qian Wanjin glanced slyly at the woman sitting beside him and pondered whether his own vigor on his wedding night could surpass Liu Zhiqiu’s.

Looks like… it might be tough…

Shi Xianrou didn’t need a man to do this; she could clearly hear all the noises from below and even catch Little White Lotus’s delicate pleas.

Pinching her forehead at the lecherous look on the man next to her, Shi Xianrou raised her hand to wipe the blood trickling from his nose and gritted her teeth.

This little scoundrel—if they weren’t still unmarried, she’d have dealt with him right here.

Nosebleeding in front of her? Isn’t that just seductive?

Wiping under his nose with the back of her hand, Qian Wanjin was feeling smug, thoroughly enjoying what he was hearing.

You think sprinkling powder around the bridal chamber would stop me?

He has Shitou with him—silently climbing onto rooftops was easy as pie.

He had listened in on three different eavesdroppings before, but this time was by far the longest. Hahaha, the people below were so fired up they didn’t even care if anyone’s around.

That’s youth for you.

With fingers calloused and strong, Shi Xianrou grabbed his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze. She raised an eyebrow and flicked the corner of her eye in a certain direction, mouthing, “Do you want to?”

Hiss! Qian Wanjin’s eyes blazed as he nodded frantically.

The next moment, two figures silently slipped away from the roof.

Inside the room, behind the curtain, Liu Zhiqiu smirked slightly—Nice try kiddo, as if I don’t know what is going on.

If this keeps up, you’re going to need a blood transfusion tomorrow!

“B-Brother Zhiqiu…” the woman beneath him tried to plead, but she had no strength left to even speak.

The man’s eyes darkened deeply again as he whispered, “Don’t want to anymore?”

The woman nodded weakly, her helpless appearance easily stirring the baser instincts in someone.

A low chuckle escaped the man within the bed curtains, and a new round of storm completely drowned the woman once more.

Meanwhile, Liu Yusheng and Feng Qingbai finally woke up. Just as they passed by the gate of the second courtyard, Feng Qingbai paused his steps.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. He was supporting her as they walked, so even the brief pause didn’t escape Liu Yusheng’s notice.

“Nothing. Let’s go eat first. Grandma probably left us some food.”

“Mm, it’s definitely being kept warm on the stove,” Liu Yusheng said with a soft smile.

They had slept all afternoon, and no one in the family came to wake them. Surely the elders knew that Feng Qingbai must’ve been exhausted from rushing home, so they let them rest undisturbed.

When they arrived at the front courtyard, they saw that the kitchen still had an oil lamp burning. No one was inside—it had clearly been lit just for them.

A large log was still burning inside the stove, and the pot above held neatly prepared and warmed food.

The fire wasn’t too strong, but even if left alone, that log would burn till midnight, ensuring the food stayed warm.

Feng Qingbai brought out the dishes and sat side by side with the woman at the table. He made sure she started eating first before picking up his own chopsticks.

“Feng Qingbai, tell me about what happened at the border. I received the letters you sent back. How was the situation resolved? Was there a battle?”

This time, he had gone to the border for three months and had only sent news twice. One of those was merely a teasing painting he had done of her.

As for the actual situation at the border, he hadn’t mentioned a single word.

“The situation there was a bit complicated. I’ll explain it to you slowly another time,” Feng Qingbai brushed it off lightly. “Why don’t you tell me why the Empress Dowager is here?”

At the mention of the Empress Dowager, Liu Yusheng immediately tapped her forehead with the tip of her chopsticks in frustration. The man’s hand instantly moved to rub the spot for her, helplessly saying, “Why are you hitting yourself?”

“I almost forgot something important!” 

Feng Qingbai had just returned, and all her attention had been on him. She had nearly forgotten about the Empress Dowager. There was no doubt the old lady was sulking again by now.

“What important thing?”

“Feng Qingbai,” Liu Yusheng looked at him with a serious expression. “I know why the Empress Dowager hates you so much and is determined to oppose you. It’s not just because you killed her two sons. Did you know she once had a little grandson named Yun’er?”

“Yun’er?” Feng Qingbai frowned, trying to recall. “She did have a little grandson once… he died very young.”

“Died young? She said you killed him!”

Feng Qingbai’s brow furrowed even tighter as he stared fixedly at the woman. “Do you believe it?”

“I naturally don’t believe it. But I also can’t let you carry the blame for something you didn’t do, so I need to get to the bottom of it—give the Empress Dowager an explanation too.”

Just that one sentence from her was enough to make his tightly knit brows relax. “It wasn’t me.”

“Then first thing tomorrow morning, I’ll go talk to the Empress Dowager!”

“You don’t need to get involved in this matter,” Feng Qingbai said calmly. “The knot between her and me isn’t one that can be untied so easily. Even if I didn’t kill her grandson, the fact remains that her two sons did die by my hand. I’ll speak to her myself.”

Liu Yusheng hesitated, then reached out, lightly scratching his hand with her fingers. “Feng Qingbai, when you talk to her, can you try to be a little… nicer?”

“…I’ve been that rude?”

“While you were away at the border these past few months, I stayed in the Yangxin Hall. She took great care of me—not once did she make things difficult. In fact, she was thoughtful in everything. Once, when I suddenly developed a high fever, it was she who summoned the imperial physician in the middle of the night. Another time, I nearly fell from the window ledge, and she was the one who saved me. If she were truly malicious, she could’ve just ignored me. Then I would’ve suffered much more… and our child might’ve…”

Seeing his face darken, Liu Yusheng bit her lip. She hadn’t intended to tell him these things, not wanting to burden him with past worries. But she truly didn’t want the rift between him and the Empress Dowager to deepen until it was beyond repair.

Hearing that the woman had suffered a high fever and nearly fallen from a windowsill, Feng Qingbai’s heart twisted with guilt.

He had arranged shadow guards to protect her, but he hadn’t anticipated she would stay in the Yangxin Hall.

The Empress Dowager’s guards were stationed there, so his shadow guards naturally couldn’t get close enough to protect her directly. As a result, when danger came, they couldn’t respond in time.

He had miscalculated.

Taking her hand, which was still resting on the back of his, he turned his palm over to clasp it and said, “I’ll do my best.”

That was all he could promise.

The Empress Dowager had a peculiar temperament and a deeply scheming mind. She especially never looked at him favorably. Even if he treated her with respect, she might not appreciate it.

Still, no matter what, if he had promised Liu Yusheng something, he would see it through.

The Empress Dowager had protected Shengsheng. No matter what kind of political or personal rift existed between them, he would always remember that debt of gratitude.

However… if she only wanted answers to that particular incident, would the Empress Dowager really be so desperate that she came personally to Xinghua Village to wait for him?

Feng Qingbai’s half-lowered eyes grew darker, fathomless.

The next morning, before dawn had even broken, sounds began to stir from the inner courtyard.

In the adjacent room, Feng Qingbai slowly opened his eyes. At first, he had no intention of getting up—until he looked down at the woman sleeping peacefully in his arms, her body curled slightly toward him, her shoulder brushing against his stomach.

After a moment of hesitation, he finally got out of bed.

When he stepped out of the room, he saw that the window next door was already open. The room was unlit, but the woman inside sat upright by the window, her posture straight and unyielding.