The sky - reaching flames illuminated everything in the courtyard brightly, and the billowing thick smoke covered half of the sky.
The dancing light and shadow flickered on Li Zhichen's fair and petite face. She looked lazy, smiling extremely wantonly and boldly.
Suddenly, the system felt a chill all over. There was a hint of panic in its usually calm mechanical tone.
【Host, what are you doing??】
Li Zhichen sneered, "Didn't they want me to have a wedding night with a rooster? I'll just let it be buried in the sea of fire!"
Just a second before the beams of the house collapsed, Li Zhichen wrapped Qi Lixiao's quilt tighter and left without looking back.
"Let's go. We won't stay in this lousy place anymore."
Qi Lixiao was completely stunned. He watched the small courtyard gradually collapsing in front of him and felt the on - coming heat wave. His long - suppressed heart actually felt inexplicably elated...
Burn it well. Let it be as if he were dead. All the past humiliation and unwillingness would vanish into thin air along with this small courtyard.
The fire raged for a whole night. By the time the King of Qi and his princess rushed to the villa, it had already turned into a charred ruin.
Nanny Lin hid in the corner, so scared that her knees went weak. She had locked the doors of Second Master Qi and the Crown Princess's rooms last night!
With such a fierce fire... could anyone still be alive?
It wasn't until the servants carried out two charred corpses from the house that Nanny Lin let out a sob and fainted.
The Princess Qin of the King of Qi covered her nose and mouth with a handkerchief, but her eyes stared intently at the relatively tall corpse.
It wasn't until she saw the jade pendant tightly held in the corpse's hand that she let out a relieved breath.
That jade pendant was a keepsake from Qi Lixiao's birth mother. He never parted with it on weekdays. It seemed that Qi Lixiao was really dead!
Thinking of this, a hint of a smile finally appeared in Princess Qin's eyes. Then her face quickly darkened again. Qi Lixiao had just married the daughter of the Li family, and they were both burned to death in the bridal chamber. Even if she could deceive the King, would the Li family let it go so easily? And what about the gossiping public!
At this thought, Princess Qin gritted her teeth. She cursed the two of them thoroughly in her heart. Why couldn't they even let people have peace after death!
...
The next day, the news that Second Master Qi and his new bride had been buried in the fire on their wedding night spread like wildfire, shocking the entire capital!
Some busybodies ran to the outside of the King of Qi's mansion to watch. Sure enough, three - zhang - long mourning streamers had been hung in the mansion. Everyone inside was dressed in white linen, with thick and wide white belts around their waists, and the mourning music never stopped.
On the originally peaceful Chang'an Street, the sound of horse hooves kept coming one after another, and carriages and soft - silk sedan chairs came in an endless stream.
The old butler of the mansion held a white paper label with the character "Guide" written on it and kept shuttling between the mansion gate and the courtyard, leading the noble guests who came to pay their condolences to the mourning hall.
In the middle of the mourning hall, Princess Qin of the King of Qi lay prostrate on the coffin, crying until she was almost in a state of fainting.
"My son!" Her face was pale, and her voice was mournful. "Yesterday I was still happily welcoming your bride, but who would have thought that there would be a fire at night... How could I, a white - haired person, send a black - haired person away!"
Nanny Lin sobbed, "Your Highness, you haven't closed your eyes for a whole night. If you continue like this, how can your body bear it!"
Looking at the grief - stricken Princess Qin, all the people who came to pay their condolences were somewhat moved.
"Princess, please mourn with restraint! Your love for Second Master Qi is obvious to all of us. If Second Master is in the spirit world, he definitely wouldn't want to see you worrying and hurting yourself for him!"
"It's not easy to be a step - mother or an adoptive mother. Second Master has been ill for so many years, and you, Princess, have always taken good care of him. Now you've also arranged Second Master's funeral so comprehensively. You're really kind - hearted!"
Princess Qin nodded with difficulty. Her steps were unsteady. If it weren't for Nanny Lin supporting her on the side, she would have fallen to the ground at any moment.
After the elders in the clan had advised her for a long time, Princess Qin reluctantly agreed to go back to her room to rest. Her back was no longer tense, and she staggered away, disappearing around the corner of the courtyard.
Looking at Princess Qin's lonely back as she left, everyone sighed at the impermanence of life. Little did they know that Princess Qin was sneering in a corner where no one could see her.
It was worth all the energy she had spent personally arranging Qi Lixiao's funeral. The King not only didn't blame her but also let her handle Qi Lixiao's relics at will. She also gained a good reputation as a kind - hearted mother. It was really a perfect thing that served two purposes!
In a corner of the mourning hall, Li Zhengchu covered his face with his hand and said nothing, but there was an uncontrollable look of joy in his eyes.
He had originally been worried that the matter of the substitute bride would be exposed and the mansion would hold them accountable.
Unexpectedly, Li Zhichen died as soon as she got married, and her body was burned to a charred mess. It was almost impossible to tell who it was!
Moreover, the princess had allocated a large sum of silver to compensate the Li mansion, and the raw materials that had been blocked in the Li family's timber business for a long time were also smoothly released with the King's tacit approval.
Li Zhichen's death was simply beneficial to the Li family in every way!
Amid the chanting of the monks for the dead, yellow paper fluttered in the air, and this funeral came to an end...
At this moment, Li Zhichen and Qi Lixiao, who should have been lying in the coffin being mourned by everyone, were lying side by side on an old cart, bumping slowly towards the outskirts of the city. Although the north wind was cold, fortunately, there were some haystacks on the cart to block the wind. The two curled up inside, feeling quite comfortable.
After leaving the mansion, Li Zhichen pawned the original owner's jewelry and got a few pieces of silver. First, she used the money to buy two of the cheapest men's clothes in the clothing store to replace their eye - catching wedding clothes. Then she hired a bullock cart at a low price to take them out of the capital.
Qi Lixiao watched as Li Zhichen tossed the silver coin up high and caught it steadily. The usually calm and still eyes finally showed a hint of ripples.
Yesterday's wanton fire was like a dream. Li Zhichen had actually managed to take him out and had made fools of everyone in the King of Qi's mansion!
How on earth did she do it?
Qi Lixiao recalled the two corpses that Li Zhichen had conjured out of thin air last night. His heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Li Zhichen had used the power of ghosts and gods?
He turned to look at Li Zhichen. The girl was only sixteen or seventeen years old. She had fair skin, a regular oval face, thin and curved eyebrows, a pair of clear and bright almond eyes. When she smiled, her eyes were like crescent moons. She was like a female Bodhisattva in a painting and also like a wild fairy or goblin described in strange - tale books.
But if Li Zhichen really had the power of ghosts and gods that could reach the sky, why didn't she just leave by herself? Why did she take a useless cripple like him with her?
Li Zhichen seemed to sense his gaze and turned her head, just meeting Qi Lixiao's dark eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, and his voice, like the sound of jade, suddenly vibrated. It was surprisingly pleasant to hear.
"Find a place to leave me behind. You can't take care of me."
Li Zhichen refused without thinking, "I won't leave you alone. If you die, I won't be able to live either."
Qi Lixiao was stunned, and a momentary look of confusion flashed in his eyes. He thought that Li Zhichen was just concerned about their marriage contract. He closed his eyes and said, "Now the whole capital thinks we're dead. You don't have to care about our marriage contract. You're free."
Li Zhichen realized that her words were ambiguous. She waved her hand and explained, "I didn't mean that."
Just as her voice fell, the system suddenly issued a task: 【Death warning! Please complete the exchange of endearing terms with Qi Lixiao within three minutes. Please call Qi Lixiao 'husband' and make Qi Lixiao call you 'wife'.】
Li Zhichen: ???