A Clash in Prison

That night, in the prison of the Yan Prefecture government offices.

In the dark, damp prison, Li Yi crouched in a corner, his eyes bright as he gazed outside.

The night was already deep, yet he felt no trace of weariness.

He was waiting—waiting for the person he had in mind to come.

The faint clacking of a night watchman's wooden clapper drifted in from outside, drawing nearer.

It was the third watch.

The jailers on duty had been sitting around a square table, with a few simple dishes and a pot of warmed wine before them.

Before all the wine bowls had even been filled, the men had slumped over the table, fast asleep.

The flame of the oil lamp hanging on the wall swayed gently, occasionally giving a soft crackle.

When Li Yi saw Li Hai fall asleep without warning on the other side of the bars, he raised his head and looked toward the prison entrance.

On the passage paved with bluestone, he saw two men slowly approaching him.

"Lord Yang, you still have such refined tastes. Should this humble commoner feel honored?"

Li Yi gripped the wooden bars tightly with both hands, staring unblinkingly at the man standing before him.

"Li Yi, when you abandoned your family and child to come to Yan Prefecture City all those years ago, did you ever imagine you would end up here?"

Yang Qing showed no concern that Li Yi had seen through his identity at a glance. He slowly sat down cross-legged, directly in front of him.

At Yang Qing's words, Li Yi's pupils abruptly contracted, then returned to normal.

"You jest, Lord Yang. This humble commoner has no idea what you mean."

Li Yi smiled, the expression spreading across his face.

At that moment, the genial head of the Li Household appeared before Yang Qing once more.

"Is that so? Wealth and splendor have their end; fame and fortune turn to emptiness in the blink of an eye. How laughable that a man as clever as the head of the Li Household cannot grasp the meaning of those words."

"If I told you that everything you have clung to over these years was nothing but flowers in a mirror and the moon reflected in water, would that give you some new insight?"

Having said this, Yang Qing took a small sandalwood box from Bu Er, who stood behind him.

Watching Yang Qing's every movement, Li Yi felt an inexplicable flicker of foreboding.

The smile vanished from his face.

Without realizing it, he tightened his grip on the bars of the cell door.

"Lord Yang, what do you mean by this?"

"I mean to tell you that all your painstaking schemes—hiding here in Yan Prefecture City, secretly controlling Scarface's gang to oppose the local authorities and the imperial court—have merely sewn a wedding gown for someone else. In the end, all your efforts were in vain."

Yang Qing smiled faintly. To Li Yi, that smile was as chilling as cold that pierced the bones.

"Perhaps you should take a good look at what is inside this box. Then you will understand exactly why I have come."

Li Yi reached out and took the box with trembling hands.

His gaze settled on the slightly worn sandalwood box. He moved to open it, then hesitated.

Finally, Li Yi gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and opened the box.

Inside lay nothing but a letter.

At the sight of the writing on the envelope, Li Yi's hands suddenly began to shake.

He knew that handwriting all too well.

Though he had not seen the person who wrote it for many years, he could never mistake those strokes.

"My dear Li, seeing these words is like seeing me in person..."

Those few opening words instantly reddened Li Yi's eyes, though he soon regained his composure.

But the farther he read, the harder it became to contain his anger.

By the end, he clenched the letter in his hand, nearly tearing it to pieces.

"Lord Yang, may I ask where you obtained this letter?"

"A village woman I rescued on my way to take up office gave it to me. When she heard I was coming to Yan Prefecture, she entrusted me with this letter."

"At first, however, I did not know who the 'dear Li' she spoke of was. Only after observing you for several days did I confirm that you were its intended recipient."

"You rescued that village woman? What about the child? Did you see the child?"

Li Yi suddenly lunged toward Yang Qing, but the cell door stood between them. He could only press himself against the bars and look at Yang Qing with desperate urgency.

"There was also someone gravely ill in that woman's home. I did not know who that person was, but since you ask, I imagine that person must be closely connected to you."

"Gravely ill? Gravely ill..."

Li Yi murmured to himself, then suddenly burst out laughing. "Retribution! This is retribution! Here I was, thriving in Yan Prefecture City, never imagining that my own wife and child had been reduced to such misery!"

"To tell you the truth, when I rescued your wife, she was in a very bad situation. There were also quite a few men lying in ambush behind her, waiting for their chance to strike."

Yang Qing did not continue, but he knew Li Yi understood what he meant.

Sure enough, at those unfinished words, Li Yi abruptly stopped laughing.

He stared fixedly at Yang Qing with bloodshot eyes. "Lord Yang, are you saying there were people pursuing her and her son, trying to kill them?"

Yang Qing nodded. "Yes. But time was short, and I had no chance to establish who those ambushers were."

Li Yi's expression changed completely.

The anger on his face gave way to utter pallor.

"To think that a lifetime of unwavering loyalty would earn me such an end. Since you have forsaken loyalty, do not blame me for showing no mercy!"

As he spoke, Li Yi took a key from a pocket close to his body and placed it in Yang Qing's hand.

"Lord Yang, this is the key to a concealed cabinet in my study. There are some extremely important things inside. Once you go and look, you will understand."

He paused, as though remembering something else, then spoke to Yang Qing again. "You have saved my wife and son. Such immense kindness is a debt this humble commoner can only repay in his next life!"

Yang Qing looked at the old-fashioned key in his hand and slowly closed his fingers around it. "There is no greater good than recognizing your mistakes and correcting them. I believe Lord Dai will give you a chance to turn over a new leaf."

Li Yi shook his head with a bitter smile. "Turn over a new leaf? I fear that chance disappeared long ago. I can only wait until my next life to atone for my sins."

Yang Qing slowly rose and headed out of the prison. Behind him, Li Yi bowed deeply toward his retreating back.

Not long after Yang Qing and Bu Er left the prison, the jailers who had been sleeping over the table stirred groggily awake.

They looked at the dishes, now cold, then at the untouched wine in their bowls, all rather puzzled. How had they suddenly fallen asleep?

"Come on, let's keep drinking!"

One of them called out, and the prison grew lively once more.

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