#542 - "hope"
Great Feng, Huailing City.
The prison was dark and damp, holding hundreds of prisoners.
Only a small portion of these people had been imprisoned for a long time. Most were Great Feng righteous men who had recently been jailed for attempting to "rescue" Li Qi, totaling two hundred and eleven.
From the time Wu Ding hung Li Qi on the city wall until now, exactly half a month had passed.
In fifteen days, more than two hundred people were imprisoned, averaging more than ten people per day.
This number was already high enough, but one must know that only a small number of people could be imprisoned.
And more people didn't even have the chance to be imprisoned, having already died beneath the North City Tower, a symbol of Great Feng's national humiliation.
According to incomplete statistics, in this half month, nearly two thousand people had died or been captured for trying to save Li Qi, launching no less than a hundred attacks, with even third-rank experts participating several times.
But in the end, none succeeded.
Li Qi was still hung high on the city wall, watching wave after wave of Great Feng people die at his feet.
And every time he witnessed this process, he didn't show any heartache. Later, he didn't even feel fear anymore, his expression only showing numbness.
That kind of extremely foolish numbness.
"Do you know? The Emperor is really stupid!"
"I heard he was stupid when he was in Fengyuan!"
Faced with this rumor, no matter how heartbroken, unwilling, or regretful the Great Feng people were, they seemed to have to accept this reality.
And because of this, they also felt extremely sad about their own future and the future of Great Feng.
Unlike leaders in previous lives, "Emperors" do not have terms of office.
Even if Li Qi was stupid or crazy, as long as he didn't die, he would always be the Emperor of Great Feng.
And such a fool was about to negotiate with Ning Yongnian... No one would have any expectations for the outcome of the talks.
Therefore, even though Wei Changtian in Shu Province had just won a great victory, indirectly weakening Da Ning's national strength, the people of Great Feng were still full of confusion about the future.
In fact, many wealthy and powerful households had already begun to "plan ahead", secretly showing goodwill and leaning towards Da Ning.
This cannot be blamed on these people for "selling out their country for personal glory." After all, the Emperor was stupid, so what future could the country have?
As for the few people who knew that Li Qi was pretending to be stupid...
"Ka!"
"Creak..."
The heavy prison door slowly opened, and two Great Feng soldiers acting as jailers entered the prison with cold faces, walking straight to Li Wutong, who was lying paralyzed on the stone bed with her acupoints sealed.
They pried open her chapped lips, put a Bigu Pill into her mouth, and then poured a bowl of water.
Seeing Li Wutong swallow the Bigu Pill with difficulty, the two turned and left the prison directly, without a trace of pity throughout the entire process.
They knew Li Wutong's identity.
But so what if she was a princess?
Anyway, the order from above was to ensure that Li Wutong did not die, so in the eyes of these two soldiers, this disheveled woman was no different from the other prisoners.
"Bang!"
The prison door closed heavily, followed by a mechanical and harsh sound.
Soon, the prison fell silent again, with only Li Wutong, her eyes tightly closed, trembling slightly on the stone bed.
The physical and psychological pain coexisted, and she could no longer tell which was more severe.
Seven days ago, she arrived at Jiunan County.
Two days ago, she was escorted to Huailing.
And whether it was deliberately arranged or by chance, she happened to enter the city through the North City Gate.
When she saw the man hanging high on the city wall through the car window, Li Wutong only felt her heart being clenched tightly by a large hand, hurting her so much that she almost fainted.
This was a kind of humiliation to the extreme, a kind of desolation to the extreme.
Li Wutong never thought that Ning Yongnian would do this, and the last trace of fantasy in her heart finally shattered at that moment.
In fact, Li Wutong always knew that what she was doing was very stupid.
But if there was a way, why would anyone want to be foolish?
Knowing that she was a moth flying into the flame, she still plunged into the sea of fire regardless, until all hope was extinguished.
And now, Li Wutong just wanted to die.
She no longer hoped that one day she could become Wei Changtian's bride.
She didn't even dare to expect that she could meet Wei Changtian again.
The only thing she was thinking about now was—
That is, she must not become Ning Yongnian's weapon, slashing at Wei Changtian one day in the future.
But unfortunately, she couldn't do it.
"Creak..."
Suddenly, the prison door in the distance made a harsh sound again.
At this time, less than a quarter of an hour had passed since the two jailers came in to feed the pill, so...
Her eyes suddenly widened, and Li Wutong stared at the prison door.
Then, she saw a man in a robe.
The man's expression was calm, his clothes were spotless, and he wore a long sword at his waist.
A real dragon was carved on the scabbard.
Ning Yongnian secretly arrived in Huailing City this morning.
The imperial carriage was still on the road, but he arrived one step ahead.
Such an approach was naturally to avoid any possible assassinations.
After all, there were many people who wanted to kill him now.
Although Ning Yongnian didn't think anyone could really assassinate him, it was better to avoid trouble.
What's more, he couldn't leave the capital for too long and had to deal with the affairs of Great Feng as soon as possible and return as soon as possible.
"."
Walking slowly to Li Wutong, after looking at her for a while, Ning Yongnian slowly reached out and unlocked the latter's Lianquan acupoint.
The Qi and blood in the throat became smooth, and Li Wutong, who had regained her language function, did not question Ning Yongnian why he hung Li Qi on the city wall, nor did she beg the latter to fulfill his previous promise to withdraw troops.
She just struggled and squeezed out three words in an extremely weak and difficult voice.
"Kill, kill me..."
"."
The prison was cramped and dark, with only a few wisps of firelight about to die out illuminating the floating dust slowly dancing in the air, stretching the man's shadow into a twisted and slender shape.
"Kill you?"
His expression still calm, Ning Yongnian asked with a smile that was not a smile: "Why should I kill you?"
"I..."
Li Wutong's tone was still weak, but there was infinite hatred in her eyes.
She was just about to say something, but before she could say it, Ning Yongnian suddenly made a gesture of silence.
"I understand that you don't believe me."
"But have you ever thought about why you would appear here if you really didn't believe me?"
"I know that many people must have advised you before you came."
"But you still came, so naturally, I will not disappoint your trust."
"How about this..."
After a pause, Ning Yongnian suddenly shouted loudly: "Someone!"
"."
"Your Majesty!"
In less than three breaths, Wu Ding, wearing a general's armor, appeared in the prison, clasping his fists and kneeling on one knee: "Your General is here!"
"General Wu..."
Ning Yongnian didn't even turn his head, just kept looking at Li Wutong, slowly ordering:
"Immediately take Li Qi down from the city wall."
