As soon as these words came out, Shi Qinghuan's heart trembled.
He grabbed Wei Qi's collar in disbelief, "What did you say? What did you just say?"
"I didn't kill him. I didn't kill him. He escaped. Those rebels in the army had been following him for a long time, but they dared to resist the order and protected him and escaped."
"You mean, Shi Qingyu...is still alive?"
"He escaped, he escaped!"
Wei Qi was unconscious, but he repeated these words.
Shi Qinghuan's heart was in turmoil at the moment, he couldn't believe it but was extremely pleasantly surprised.
What Wei Qi said at this moment could not be false.
"Then let me ask you, what happened to the corpse?"
"Shi Qingyu escaped. I was negligent in my duty. King Feng will kill me. If he killed me, I found a body with a similar body shape and chopped off the head. No one can recognize it."
I see.
Shi Qinghuan stood up, tears falling down, but there was a smile on his lips.
Big brother is still alive.
He is still alive.
But since he is alive, why is there no trace of him after ten years?
With his temperament, he would never let the grievances of the Protectorate go unnoticed.
unless...
I didn't dare to think about Shi Qingyu's death anymore, I could only hold on to luck.
Something happened to him, an accident that left him unable to escape.
Shi Qinghuan couldn't imagine what such a surprise could be.
But as long as there is a glimmer of hope, she cannot give up.
She must find him.
But the premise is that the crisis cannot stay any longer.
He turned his eyes and looked at Wei Qi.
Since only he knows this secret, he can no longer live.
When the Duke Protector's Office convicted him, the trumped-up evidence sent from the border town proved to be very effective.
Now I understand it completely.
However, there are still some things that he needs to explain first.
"Tell me how you and Cheng Yangfeng colluded and planned..."
It was already late at night when Shi Qinghuan came out of the prison. She couldn't hide her fatigue and left slowly.
In the cell behind her, Wei Qi had fallen to the ground, lifeless.
The moonlight was cold, but Shi Qinghuan's heart was extremely hot.
After leaving the prison gate, when he saw the figure waiting outside, the corners of his lips slightly raised.
Bailiheng stood in the night, smiling softly at her. The light of the candle was dim but warm.
"It's all solved."
"Um."
Shi Qinghuan said and handed the confession to Bailiheng.
"This is a confession. He also mentioned some letters with Cheng Yangfeng and hid them in different places. You can find them when the time comes."
"Okay, it's late at night, let's go back and rest."
Shi Qinghuan looked back at the carriage, but shook his head.
"Come for a walk with me."
Sensing that Shi Qinghuan's emotions were wrong, Bailiheng could only think of it as the entanglement and pain after revenge.
After all, she is not a murderer herself, let alone now, she is doing it herself.
"good."
Bailiheng said, taking out a cloak from the carriage and carefully putting it on Shi Qinghuan.
Due to Bailiheng and others' desperate efforts to defend the city, Hexi City did not suffer any damage.
The people who had evacuated before saw that they had calmed down and rushed back one after another.
Although it is no longer as lively as before, the deserted place with lights everywhere is the best comfort.
This is why the soldiers fought so hard to defend the city.
"If I didn't make it back in time that day, would I have..."
Shi Qinghuan did not dare to think that if he had taken one step that night, everyone would have died and Hexi would have been destroyed.
"Won't."
Bailiheng's answer was firm. When Shi Qinghuan looked at him, he said seriously, "No matter what, even if I am alone, I will fight until the moment you return."
In the past, Shi Qinghuan might have thought that Bailiheng was coaxing her.
But now, she believes it.
Beiyao's ability is well known.
But fear does exist.
Seeing Shi Qinghuan's expression, Bailiheng stretched out his hand and slowly took Shi Qinghuan's hand in his.
Shi Qinghuan was stunned, but subconsciously did not refuse.
The corners of Bailiheng's lips curled up slightly, and the tenderness in his eyes was even more profound in the light on one side.
"I didn't expect this accident, but I believe that you are not a weak person, so I have never regretted bringing you to Hexi. As I said, you can just follow your heart and be yourself. Whatever you want to do, I will be there for you."
Bailiheng's voice was very soft, but only Shi Qinghuan knew the weight of his words.
She looked directly at the promise in Bailiheng's eyes, but finally lowered her head.
"Then what if I did something bad, or I lied to you?"
"That's right for you."
Bailiheng answered without hesitation.
Shi Qinghuan was surprised, "You trust me so much?"
"Of course, you are kind-hearted and have great righteousness in your heart. What you do is definitely not a bad thing. As for lying to me, I can bear it."
Hearing this, Shi Qinghuan didn't dare to look at Bailiheng.
She even pulled her hand away from him.
"No, I am selfish and have a bad side, but you..."
"I know everything."
Before Shi Qinghuan could finish speaking, Bailiheng had already given his answer.
"As I said before, you are yourself and I will take care of the rest."
Gentle words, deep-set eyes.
Shi Qinghuan looked at Bailiheng and had no strength to say anything anymore.
There were waves in her heart, and she was so entangled that she couldn't resolve it herself.
She wanted to respond to Bailiheng, and she would cherish this trust, but it was destined to be impossible.
And the truth cannot be told.
After a brief silence, there was only a sigh that went away with the wind.
"I'm a little tired, let's go back first!"
"good."
Bailiheng could sense that something was wrong with Shi Qinghuan's mood, but it was only due to the impact of Wei Qi's incident.
After returning to the Hou Mansion with Shi Qinghuan, he was entangled in official business again.
It's almost dawn when I finish my work.
Looking up, he saw Shi Qinghuan walking in with a tray.
Baili Heng frowned slightly and quickly stood up and walked over, "Have you been up all night?"
"No, I just woke up. I saw you were busy all night, so I prepared some food and soup for you."
Shi Qinghuan's expression was very gentle at this moment, and the smile on his face was even more so.
Bailiheng felt so warm in his heart that he just thought that her depression was dispelled and she returned to her previous appearance.
He and Shi Qinghuan walked to the table and sat down. They drank the soup and medicine in one gulp before looking at the food.
"Why don't we eat together."
"good."
Shi Qinghuan chuckled and had breakfast with Bailiheng.
Bailiheng was immersed in the beauty of this quiet morning, but he didn't notice the guilt and reluctance in Shi Qinghuan's eyes when he lowered his eyes.
"The matter in Hexi has been almost settled. We will set off back to Kyoto in two days."
"good."
"We have a lot of evidence in our hands. Cheng Yangfeng will definitely not give up. We must be more careful along the way."
"good."
"I have already told you that when the time comes, the troops will be divided into three groups to disrupt the line of sight. You and I will take the water route this time."
"good."
Only then did Bailiheng feel that something was not right.
"Why did you just say yes?"
"Because I think what you said is very good."
As he spoke, Shi Qinghuan's eyes turned red instantly, and tears rolled down one after another.
This sudden incident made Bailiheng panic for a moment.
He reached out in panic to wipe away her tears, "What's wrong? What happened?"
Just as he was about to stand up, he suddenly felt dizzy.
His figure flickered, and he was supported by Shi Qinghuan, so that he did not fall to the ground, but he was still leaning on the table, weak and weak.
His eyes fell on the decoction and he understood instantly.
"You... were drugged?"
