Chapter 93: Losing Rice While Trying to Steal Chickens

  Xuanyuan Ze hadn't thought of these things, after all, he had drunk a lot of wine and his head was spinning. He was supported by the woman all the way into his own bedroom.

  "You stay there!" Xuan Yuan Ze, although drunk, still had a thread of clarity in his mind. He struggled to straighten himself up and pointed at the side hall.

  "Second prince, you've had too much to drink. Let me help you rest and I'll go sleep afterwards, okay?" a gentle voice said.

  Xuan Yuan Ze burst out laughing and let out a loud belch, the woman standing beside him wrinkled her brow slightly from the sudden onslaught of alcohol fumes, but quickly covered it up. Xuan Yuan Ze laughed and said: "You're going to be my wife, not my maid, don't worry about these things. Besides, we haven't even gotten married yet, what's the logic in having you serve me? Bao Zhu, escort Miss Xu Liu back to her room." As soon as he spoke, the woman's face turned pale, but quickly returned to normal. Xuan Yuan Ze didn't notice, but Bao Zhu did and looked at the woman with a puzzled expression. He stepped forward and said: "Miss Xu Liu, please." The woman stood there motionless.

  Although he had drunk too much, he still knew that if this got out before they were married, it would be bad for both Xu Mingjin and himself. Originally, letting Xu Mingjin stay in his palace tonight was already inappropriate. How could he let her serve him? Tomorrow morning, he should quietly send her back without anyone noticing. However, after Xuan Yuanze finished speaking, he also felt that something was not right. Seeing Baozhu opening his mouth again to say: "Miss Xu, please come this way." He made an inviting gesture with a very respectful attitude. Xuan Yuanze then said: "Baozhu, wait a minute."

  The words made the woman who had changed her face after hearing his previous words reveal a delighted expression, but Xuan Ye Ze's next sentence made her face not only turn black, but also red, yellow and green in a dazzling display. Although Xuan Ye Ze was drunk and blurry-eyed, he still spoke clearly to her: "Jin'er, if you live here, there will be suspicions of improper behavior, even though we are about to get married soon. It's not right to do this. How about this? I'll let Baozhu send you to Jinglin's place, since you two have a good relationship, it's fine to stay overnight, and then she can send you back tomorrow morning?"

  After hearing Xuan Yuanze's words, the woman immediately became anxious, but Baozhu was secretly delighted. He thought that no matter who she was, it would be best if she stayed away from his master. Just as he was thinking this, a sudden cry of surprise sounded in his ear: "Ah!" He quickly looked up to see Xu Liu Miss suddenly sitting on the ground, her face twisted in pain, and her delicate hand clutching at her ankle: "I... I sprained my foot."

  Baozhu was taken aback, the entire hall was paved with smooth and spotless marble, not a single hair on the ground, how could she have tripped? Probably just pretending. Baozhu looked down on Miss Xu Liu in his heart. But as soon as Xuan Yuanze saw the woman fall to the ground, he hurriedly reached out to pull her up, and as he did, she leaned into his arms.

  A drunk man, himself staggering and unable to stand still, wanted someone to support him. Then another person came over and pressed their entire body weight on him, almost making him fall to the ground. Even though the woman was slender, she had thrown Xuan Yuanze off balance, his eyes were dizzy with golden stars, and he almost fainted. Baozhu saw that the situation was not good, hurriedly ran over and pushed the woman aside, only then could he help his own master up from the ground.

  The woman had originally wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to give Xuan Yuan Ze a warm and fragrant hug, but now it was all disrupted by Bao Zhu. Moreover, the push from Bao Zhu, although not using much force, still made the woman hurt quite a bit. She was a delicate and weak young lady, how could she withstand such rough treatment? She couldn't help but give Bao Zhu a resentful glance.

  This glance, however, was caught by Xuan Yuan Ze. His heart was filled with suspicion, and he suddenly became more sober. Even when his cousin had tried to take Jin'er's life several times, she had never revealed such an expression or gaze. Now, out of the blue, why did she reveal such a venomous glare? Why did he feel that this gaze was so unfamiliar? Moreover, she had just leaned in close, when had Jin'er ever been so proactive? Every time she would usually try to avoid him.

  The woman thought she had been wronged and sat on the ground, starting to sob. Xuan Yuan Ze was even more puzzled, except for when Lady Fan passed away, Jin Er had cried her heart out, he hadn't seen her cry since then. What's going on now? Although he was puzzled in his heart, he still felt that sitting on the ground was too unrefined, not like a noble lady at all. He wanted to pull her up, but was afraid she would throw herself into his arms again, and having Bao Zhu pull her up was also unacceptable, how could he let another man touch his own woman? Not even if it was one of his subordinates.

  Xuanyuan Ze was entangled infinitely on this side, and the woman saw Xuanyuan Ze not coming to help her up for half a day. She flashed her eyes, gritted her teeth, and crawled up from the ground by herself. However, she stood unsteadily and fell into Xuanyuan Ze's arms again without any hesitation.

  Xuanyuan Ze was now much more awake, he reached out and wrapped his arms around the waist of the woman on top of him. He lowered his head to look at her, only to see that pair of beautiful eyes gazing back at him with endless affection. Xu Mingjin had never shown such a charming expression before, and Xuanyuan Ze couldn't help but be enchanted. Suddenly, he felt two soft lumps rubbing gently against his chest. Xuanyuan Ze's eyes turned cold. The next second, the woman in his arms was flung away like a piece of mud.

  The woman fell to the ground, spitting out fresh blood, and looked disheveled. Xuan Yuan Ze slowly walked over, squatted down in front of her, and stared at her unblinkingly: "Do you really look like Jin Er, or is this face fake?" After finishing speaking, he ordered Bao Zhuang to come over and check whether her face was real or fake.

  The woman asked discontentedly: "You, how did you suspect me? I thought I had done a perfect job. Even my voice is mimicked to be like hers."

  Xuanyuan Ze snorted, saying: "My wife is the most knowledgeable and steady, every time we meet, she has never been so close to me, let alone seduce men like you. I am her future husband, this is a certainty, why would she need to seduce her own husband?"

  The woman heard Xuan Yuanze scolding her for being self-abased and was so angry that she vomited blood even more violently.

  Baozhu stood there with his mouth agape, still reeling from the sudden turn of events. Master, this was too much! One second you were all lovey-dovey, and the next, you were frowning and punching. And this was supposed to be the future Second Prince's consort? This treatment was too shabby! Baozhu couldn't help but worry about the future Second Prince's consort. But as soon as he heard Xuan Yuan Ze's orders, he immediately understood - this was an imposter, not Xu Liu Miss. What else was there to say? Master had given his orders, and of course, they had to be followed. Baozhu walked over without hesitation, and without any tenderness, repeatedly slapped the woman's face until a human skin mask came off. Then, the woman's true identity was exposed. Baozhu saw her and exclaimed in shock: "Qin Qī Miss? How could it be you?"

  It turned out that after removing the human skin mask, the woman was actually Miss Qin, the seventh young lady of the Qin family.

  Xuanyuan Ze was already half awake at this time, and upon hearing the words, a shocked expression appeared on his face. How could it be her? This Qin Qiqi had always been a gentle and docile girl, how could she do such a thing?

  Miss Qin wiped the blood from her mouth, and Xuan Yuan Ze's palm almost took her life. If it were someone else, after experiencing all this, they would be intimidated by Xuan Yuan Ze. But she was different, not only was she not afraid of him, but also coldly smiled: "Cousin, now that I've been in your palace for half a night, my reputation is already ruined by you. Today, even if you don't want to marry me, you'll have to marry me anyway. Our Qin family isn't afraid, to be honest with you, when I came here, I had already made arrangements with the Empress Dowager beforehand. She might arrive soon." After finishing speaking, she looked at Xuan Yuan Ze with a smug expression.

  Xuanyuan Ze couldn't help but look at Qin Qiqi with new eyes. Compared to Qin Wu, this Qin Qiqi's plans were more thorough and well-thought-out. If he hadn't been familiar with Jin'er's temperament, he might have fallen into her trap today. With the power of the Qin family, the Empress Dowager would never mistreat her own niece, so in the end, only Jin'er would be wronged. Maybe she wouldn't even be able to keep her position as princess consort. But if he did something like this, would Jin'er forgive him? Maybe she wouldn't even marry him anymore. Even if she didn't disobey the imperial edict for the sake of the Xu family's lives, from now on, she would never give him a good face again.

  Thinking of this, Xuan Yuan Ze's eyes sank. This matter cannot be let known to his mother, otherwise, there will be endless trouble in the future. But Qin Qiqi had already spoken, she had informed her mother, and it was possible that she would appear in this palace at any moment. What to do? How can this problem be resolved properly?

  Miss Qin sat there, looking at Xuan Yuan Ze's increasingly pale face, a hint of triumph on her face. She came to the palace to seduce Xuan Yuan Ze, originally to get her father's attention. It turned out that Lord Qin saw that the crown princess was not from the Qin family, so he thought of marrying his daughter to the second prince. Although their family already had an empress dowager, when the crown prince ascended to the throne, she would become the empress dowager. The Qin family could only maintain its prosperity by forming a marriage alliance with the current crown prince's younger brother. However, his most beloved fifth Miss Qin miscalculated and did not expect Xu Ming Jin, causing her to lose their best girl in vain. Lord Qin sighed repeatedly but still did not want to give up on the second prince as a golden son-in-law. He had no choice but to choose among his concubines and selected this seventh Miss Qin, and the whole family devised this plan, intending to squeeze into the second prince's mansion first and then think of ways to drive out that Xu Liu Miss later. This was the reason for tonight's events.

  Lord Qin made his own daughter, the seventh Miss Qin, think of a way to get together with the second prince, Yu Cheng. Then, Lady Qin and the Empress would catch them in the act, so the second prince would have no choice but to marry Miss Qin.

  Xuan Yuan Ze's brain was racing, his eyes scanning Qin Wu's face, and finally caught the hint of color on her cheeks. Xuan Yuan Ze's anger rose from his heart. As for this Qin Qi, Xuan Yuan Ze hadn't seen her many times, to him, she was just a stranger he had met a few times, so there was no need to be polite. When Xuan Yuan Ze turned his eyes away, he saw the human skin mask that Bao Zhuang had thrown aside, which belonged to Qin Qi. Xuan Yuan Ze's heart moved, and he knew how to avoid the disaster in front of him. He gave Bao Zhuang a signal with his eyes, glancing at the human skin mask on the ground. Bao Zhuang quickly bent down to pick it up.

  Xuanyuan Ze finally looked at Miss Qin Qi, the blood at the corner of her mouth still seeping out non-stop. Xuanyuan Ze thought to himself: Just by beating you up like this, Mother will not let me off, never mind, since she won't let me off anyway, I might as well do it thoroughly. He walked step by step in front of Miss Qin Qi, smiled, but that smile was extremely chilling. He slowly said: "Thank you, Miss Qin Qi, for reminding me. You should be on your way." As he spoke, his palm came down and struck Miss Qin Qi's neck.

  Miss Qin Seven hadn't even reacted to what had happened, and with a white-eyed glance, she was dead. Until her death, she didn't dare believe that Xuan Yuan Ze actually dared to kill her.

  Xuanyuan Ze killed Miss Qin Qi, then ordered Baozhu: "Hurry up and put the human skin mask on her face. Later, when Empress Dowager asks, you just say that we only discovered she was not Miss Xu Liu, because she came to seduce me, so I beat her to death." Baozhu nodded repeatedly, putting the human skin mask back on Miss Qin Qi's face as it was.

  "Move her far away, just looking at her is annoying." Xuan Yuan Ze looked at Miss Qin Qi lying on the ground with disgust. He turned his head away. Bao Zhuang hurriedly followed his orders and moved Miss Qin Qi to a corner.

  "It seems that the Empress Dowager will come, but we'll have to wait until dawn. Let's go back to sleep." Xuan Yuan Ze glanced at the time and instructed Bao Zhu. In two hours, it would be daylight. At this hour, the Empress Dowager wouldn't stir up trouble by bringing people to find him. If she were to come, it would be after a hundred days.

  "Yes!" Baozhu responded with relish, and the master and servant both went to rest without mentioning it again.

  As expected, on the second day, early in the morning, Xuan Yuan Ze was still dreaming when the Empress arrived at his doorstep with Qin Furen.

  Madam Qin was full of confidence as she entered with the Empress, her own daughter who had been raised by her side since childhood did not return home last night, it must have succeeded. Although marrying into the royal family could only be a secondary wife. But relying on the power of the Empress and the Qin family, even if Xu Liu's sixth miss became a princess, what's the big deal? It's still necessary to beware of the mouse catching the device. In this way, her daughter must be able to suppress Xu Liu's miss in the palace. Maybe, after another year or two, her daughter will be able to pull Xu Liu's miss down from the throne and sit up herself.

  Madam Qin's thoughts were getting more and more beautiful, and she couldn't help but reveal a hint of a smile on her face. The empress beside her let out a sigh in her heart, thinking that Ze'er was about to get married soon, yet something like this happened at this critical moment. How could she not know what kind of calculation her sister-in-law was making? But one was her sister-in-law and the other was her own beloved second son. She was stuck in between and it was really difficult for her. When they arrived at Xuan Yuan Ze's palace, the empress heard that her son had not woken up yet, so she considerately did not send anyone to call him. Instead, she sat with Madam Qin in the grand hall, slowly drinking tea while waiting for Xuan Yuan Ze to wake up.

  Madam Qin was eager to go to Xuan Yuan Ze's bedroom and see her daughter, but since the Empress had spoken, she could only follow the Empress' intention and sit there absent-mindedly waiting. However, in her heart, she felt like she was burning with anxiety. Her gaze frequently turned towards the inner palace, and it was as if her buttocks were nailed to the chair, making her unable to sit still.

  The queen, however, was unmoved, not even lifting an eyebrow, slowly sipping her tea. Let alone sending someone in to wake Xuan Yuan Ze up, she didn't make a sound. No matter how anxious Qin Furen was, she could only wait quietly.

  It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Xuan Yuan Ze slowly woke up. The empress dowager was fine, but Qin had not slept all night and had been waiting here since early morning, by this time she was almost exhausted both physically and mentally.

  Xuanyuan Ze swaggered out of the inner hall, saw the Empress and Qin Furen, and hurriedly went forward to pay his respects to the two. Xuanyuan Ze got straight to the point: "I don't know why Auntie came to my place so early in the morning, is there something important?"

  Madam Qin looked left and right, but still didn't see her daughter come out, so she couldn't help asking: "Where's my Seventh?"

  Xuanyuan Ze raised an eyebrow: "Aunt, you're joking, when have I ever seen your family's young lady? Besides, Aunt, the way you put it, it sounds like I've hidden your little girl away. Which one of your misses is missing, anyway? I'd be happy to help you look for her."

  Madam Qin was stunned. The Empress was also stunned, and she couldn't help but look at her elder sister-in-law, thinking to herself: Didn't you tell me yesterday that Seventh Son had entered Ze'er's palace? How could Ze'er say he didn't know? Could it be that you deceived me?

  Madam Qin was stunned by Xuan Yuanze's words, but she quickly reacted and rushed into his bedroom like a gust of wind. She couldn't believe it! Wouldn't she be the one on Xuan Yuanze's bed? Yesterday, she had seen with her own eyes that her daughter was pulled in by Xuan Yuanze! Xuan Yuanze looked at her back and sneered coldly.

  The empress beside him saw his appearance and knew he was furious. So the words that wanted to ask him were left in their mouths. She remained calm, thinking of observing the situation first.

  In a moment, Madame Qin rushed out from inside, ran to Xuan Yuanze and said: "Where is my daughter Qi'er? Where did you hide her? Speak quickly!"

  Xuan Yuan Ze also stopped calling her Aunt. He sneered and said, "What is Madam Qin talking about? Isn't Miss Qin Qiqi supposed to be staying in her own home? She's not my concubine or mistress, what right does Madam Qin have to come here and demand that I hand over this small palace? Madam Qin can send someone to search it if she wants. See if I'm hiding your daughter?"

  It was you who hid my daughter! Madame Qin wanted to shout this, but she had to suppress the flames of anger in her heart and coldly said: "Good! This is what you said, let's have someone search carefully. Let's see where my poor daughter has been hidden by you!" As she spoke, her gaze turned to the Empress: "Your Majesty, can I ask you to send someone to investigate? I want to see her alive or dead!" She wailed and wept, overcome with grief.

  Xuanyuan Ze remained unmoved, and calmly asked: "Madam Qin, you keep saying that your daughter is with me, but I haven't seen her at all. When did she come here? Why did she specifically run to my place?"

  "Madam Qin choked, could she say that her daughter had come to seduce him the night before? It was too hard to mention. So, she quickly thought and said: 'Last night, Seventh Sister couldn't sleep, so she came out for a walk, who knew she saw you drinking alone, getting drunk, so she kindly sent you back, who knew you held onto her and wouldn't let go, Seventh Sister then sent someone to tell me that she was at Second Brother's place. I heard this and thought she was here with you, and you're not an outsider, so I felt relieved, which is why I came early today to pick her up. Tell me, where did you hide Seventh Sister?'"

  Xuanyuan Ze smiled and said, "Lady Qin, Seventh Miss and I are not engaged to be married. I already have a fiancée and we will be getting married soon. I am a grown man and Seventh Miss is no longer a child, don't you care that she is living in my chambers? Aren't you afraid of ruining her reputation? Or perhaps, you were waiting for her reputation to be ruined before letting me marry her, right?"

  Even someone as worldly as Madame Qin couldn't help but blush at Xuan Yuan Ze's blunt words, which so openly expressed his inner thoughts.

  The queen sat silently on one side, only casting a glance at Madame Qin. Madame Qin was even more speechless under the queen's piercing gaze.

  The empress dowager sent people to search every single large hall, but nothing was found.

  Madam Qin had originally thought that her daughter was being hidden by Xuan Yuan Ze, but now that they've searched and found nothing, she's finally getting anxious. How could she not have expected this? Why did the Second Prince do things so absolutely? He actually hid his own daughter away and then refused to acknowledge it? Now that her daughter can't be found and the Second Prince won't admit it, can it really just end like this?

  So be it, how could Madam Qin be willing to let it go? That was the daughter she had raised by her side for many years, although not born to her, but Madam Qin also treated this daughter very well. Now, without any reason, she just disappeared, how could she swallow this breath? What else could she do if she couldn't bear it? The development of things at this point was completely unexpected by Madam Qin. They had only expected that Xuan Yuan Ze would not be willing to give her daughter a title, or the title he gave was too low, according to Old Master Qin's idea, that was his daughter, and giving her to Xuan Yuan Ze as a concubine was already overstepping. No one had expected that her own daughter would actually disappear. What was the point of making such a fuss?

  Madam Qin reluctantly got up and left with the Empress. The Empress looked at her with a chilly gaze, and Madam Qin felt a sudden jolt in her heart. As they were about to leave, Xuan Yuan Ze stood up with a smile to see them off. Just as they reached the door, Xuan Yuan Ze suddenly said to the Empress, "Mother, wait."

  His voice made not only the queen stop but also Qin's wife. She didn't want to leave in the first place. The two of them looked at Xuan Yuan Ze together.

  Xuanyuan Zedao said, "Last night, an assassin came to my bedroom. She looked exactly like Xu Liu's daughter, the one who has captured my son's heart. My son initially thought it was Xu Liu's daughter, but then he thought again - Xu Liu's daughter is my own daughter-in-law. How could she possibly assassinate her own husband? This absolutely wasn't Xu Liu's daughter! So, my son ruthlessly killed her."

  The queen's expression suddenly turned stern upon hearing the news, a female assassin? How dare she try to assassinate her own son! The queen was concerned and asked: "Why didn't you say so earlier? Are you injured? Does the assassin have any accomplices?" After finishing speaking, she looked up and down at Xuan Yuan Ze, seeing that he was unharmed from head to toe. Thinking of her son's bravery and martial prowess, a mere female assassin wasn't even worth his attention, thus she finally felt at ease.

  Only Madame Qin heard Xuan Yuanze's words, but she was struck by lightning, her face turned pale, and she swayed. The palace maid next to her quickly supported her. Madame Qin trembled with an unbelievable voice to Xuan Yuanze: "You...you really killed her?" Her eyes had a hint of pleading, hoping that what he just said was false.

  Too late! If I had known it would end up like this, why bother in the first place? If I hadn't killed her, could you have let me off? No way, right? In that case, what's there to say? Xuan Yuan Ze waved his hand and Bao Zhu and another guard dragged in the dead Qin Qiqi. They casually tossed her onto the ground and stood behind Xuan Yuan Ze.

  Madam Qin's eyes were fixed on the woman on the ground, and she let out a mournful cry as she rushed over. Madam Qin knelt down, her trembling hands slowly removing the human skin mask from Miss Qin's face, revealing her true appearance. There was still fresh blood at the corner of her mouth. She placed her right hand shakily on Miss Qin's nose, and after a moment, confirmed that she was really dead. Madam Qin suddenly sprang up and rushed towards Xuan Ye Ze, shouting: "Return my daughter's life to me!"

  The queen's eyes widened in surprise as she saw the person being dragged out was actually Xu Mingjin. This Miss Xu, whom Ze had desperately wanted to marry, how could he have ruthlessly killed her? However, seeing Madame Qin rush over like a madwoman, she knew it couldn't be that Xu girl. Otherwise, Madame Qin would have been overjoyed at the sight of her corpse, not lost control like this. When she saw Madame Qin remove the human skin mask to reveal Qin Qī's face, everything became clear to her.

  The Empress knew that Qin's wife must have known about her daughter dressing up as a Xu family maid to seduce the Emperor's son. This family was desperately trying to push people into the second son's room, first it was Miss Qin Wu, then Miss Qin Qi, when would this end? The Empress was truly annoyed. Seeing Qin's wife crazily rushing towards Xuan Ye Ze, the Empress hastily shouted: "Stop her! Quickly stop her!"

  At the queen's command, many guards rushed in from the entrance and quickly subdued the frenzied Madame Qin.

  Baozhu had already blocked Xuan Yuan Ze's path before Madame Qin rushed over. When she did, she scratched and pinched him, causing several gashes on his face. As Madame Qin was Xuan Yuan Ze's nominal aunt, he couldn't very well lay hands on her. Seeing the injuries on Baozhu's face and body, his gaze towards Madame Qin grew increasingly unsympathetic.

  "Stop! Look at the state you're in!" The queen scolded Qin Furen.

  Madam Qin was no longer afraid, her own daughter had died, what else did she have to be afraid of? With tears in her eyes, she said: "Second prince, you killed my seventh child, this is a fact! I will go to the emperor's presence to seek justice!"

  "Then go! Tell your father about how the seventh young lady of your household disguised herself as my fiancée and attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince with a dagger! See if your father will have the entire Qin family executed!"

  Madam Qin was stunned, she really didn't expect the Second Prince to say such a thing. Is this a threat? Madam Qin sneered, I really don't believe in evil omens!

  "Are you going to implicate the entire clan? Counting it out, you are also my nephew in the Qin family, which is within the nine clans! Are you going to die too?" Madam Qin sneered.

  "How dare you!" The empress gazed coldly at Madame Qin and said, "Go take a look, does your daughter still have the dagger on her? That was something I bestowed upon Lord Qin back in the day! What is she doing bringing a dagger into the palace? Is she here to commit murder? If you want to say that I'm speaking up for my son, no matter what the situation is, Miss Qin Qi has already died. You want to investigate this further? Fine, let's take it to the imperial court! My son said that Miss Qin Qi was coming to assassinate him, so it won't be an unfounded claim. Assassinating a prince is a crime punishable by the extinction of one's entire clan, think carefully about that!"

  Madam Qin looked down at her daughter and indeed saw that Miss Qin Qi was holding a dagger, the very one the Empress had mentioned. She was shocked in her heart but said calmly: "Qi'er has come to see her cousin, without any deep grudges or hatred, why would she want to assassinate him?"

  "Who knows?" Xuan Yuan Ze smiled indifferently: "Is it because of love and hate? Or is it that if you can't get it, you want to destroy it?"

  Madam Qin's heart skipped a beat. The phrase her own daughter, who had married into the Lin family, often said was precisely this: if she couldn't have it, then she'd rather destroy it than let anyone else know! Could it be that Seventh also harbored such thoughts? Was it that last night, Second Prince had brutally rejected her, and in a fit of anger, she had tried to assassinate him, only to be killed by him instead? If that were truly the case, then the Qin family would likely be doomed.

  Thinking of this, Madam Qin's face turned red and white. Although her daughter died unjustly, she couldn't ignore the fate of the entire family! Alas, why did you have to go and assassinate the Second Prince? If you hadn't, nothing would have happened! Madam Qin began to regret, she shouldn't have let her husband send their daughter into the palace. If not, none of these things would have occurred.

  Madam Qin felt a pang of regret in her heart, and her words were no longer as harsh and unpleasant. She also stopped being overbearing. The Empress saw that Madam Qin's momentum had weakened, and took her back to her own palace to persuade her thoroughly. In the end, Madam Qin extinguished the idea of reporting to the Emperor, but in her heart, she was still indignant for her daughter.

  The queen, seeing the situation, had to promise many benefits to Madame Qin again, and only then did she stop pursuing this matter. In any case, Miss Qin was the cousin of Xuan Yuanze. Being killed by him would have some impact on his reputation.

  The queen sent Qin Furen back with the body of her daughter, who was heartbroken. She herself came to Xuan Yuan Ze and asked sternly: "What's going on? Why did you have to kill her?"

  Xuanyuan Ze looked at his mother and sighed, saying: "Mother, you clearly know that I don't want to marry those women from the Qin family. Why did you still let them enter the palace? They are all treacherous and deceitful, pretending to be like Jin'er in order to seduce me. Jin'er has always been reasonable and rational, never having such frivolous behavior! She clung to me, and I lost control for a moment and slapped her flying with one palm, then she died."

  The empress heard that it was Miss Qin who had seduced her own son and was accidentally killed by him. It wasn't intentional. She finally felt a sense of relief in her heart, thinking that her son wasn't the kind of person who couldn't tell right from wrong. The empress began to resent the Qin family, thinking that they had sent their daughter into the palace without any qualms, trying every means to seduce her son. A good noble lady actually did such a shameful and despicable thing, it was no wonder that her son killed her!

  The queen only knew in her heart that no matter what, Miss Qin Qi was still the daughter of her brother. The person had passed away, and she didn't want to pursue Miss Qin Qi's mistakes. She just gave more compensation afterwards.

  Mr. Qin was originally waiting at home for his wife to bring him good news, but unexpectedly, the news he received was that his daughter had already died. Mr. Qin immediately fainted and didn't come around until after a long time. However, he wasn't as reckless as Mrs. Qin, knowing that she would only return in such a manner if the Empress hadn't taken charge of seeking justice for them. He hastily went to see Mrs. Qin and listened as she told him everything that had happened.

  Others were fine, but when Madam Qin mentioned that her daughter had a dagger in her hand, Lord Qin was startled: "What kind of dagger?"

  "Madam Qin sobbed and said: 'It's that dagger the princess gave you, the one with blue diamonds on it.'"

  Qin Da Ren was shocked and changed color, hastily saying: "What did the Second Prince say?"

  Madam Qin said angrily, "The Second Prince says it was our Seventh Son who came to assassinate him! That dagger is the evidence! Not only did Seventh Son die unjustly, but our family can't escape being implicated either!"

  Lord Qin looked at his wife and frowned: "Then how did you answer the Second Prince?"

  Madam Qin thought of what she had said at the time, "Second prince, you killed my family's seventh son, this is a fact! I will go to the emperor's face and ask for justice!" Her heart felt guilty, and she hesitated, not knowing what to say.

  Lord Qin took one look at his wife's expression and understood everything. After all those years of marriage, he knew her too well. He looked at Lady Qin and said, "Are you saying that you want to go before the Emperor to seek justice for Seventh's death?"

  Madam Qin's face turned red with shame. Lord Qin took one look and knew he had guessed correctly, his anger causing his whole body to tremble: "You, how can you say such things! Are you saying the Emperor trusts his own son or trusts you? Can you gain any advantage from this? Don't end up sacrificing your entire family's reputation for a mere little maid!"

  Madam Qin was scolded, it's all too much. Because Miss Qin Wu didn't get married, she couldn't be buried in her family's ancestral tomb, and as a concubine-born daughter, she wasn't qualified enough. It wasn't until several days later that they finally found a place to bury her.

  As for Xu Mingjin, she was completely unaware of the events that had occurred in the palace. She spent a happy day and finally got through the hairpinning ceremony, which was truly exhausting! However, the gifts she received still made her very happy. I won't go into details here.

  Xu Mingjin is now starting to worry, two months later her wedding ceremony will be very tiring.

  On this day, the empress suddenly sent two imperial maids to the Xu residence to instruct Xu Mingjin on some rules and etiquette for participating in the wedding.

  Xu Mingjin knew that before the grand wedding of a prince, the palace would usually send an imperial nanny to instruct the future princess on etiquette. This learning was also for her own good, so since the two nannies arrived, Xu Mingjin treated them with courtesy and followed their teachings diligently. The two nannies were very satisfied seeing Xu Mingjin's diligence.

  But exhaustion is certain. Xu Mingjin secretly prayed every night when he went to sleep: Time, please pass quickly!

  Xuanyuan Ze didn't tell Xu Mingjin about the troubles in the palace. Therefore, Xu Mingjin didn't know that another daughter of the Qin family was ruined by her future husband.

  Because Xu Mingjin was about to get married, Xuan Yuan Jinglin didn't come to take Xu Mingjin out to play anymore. However, every time she hunted rabbits and wild chickens in the imperial villa, she would still send someone to deliver them to the Xu residence. Xu Mingjin couldn't help but think that this future younger sister-in-law was indeed a good girl, so why hadn't she been betrothed yet? She's already fifteen years old. Xu Mingjin felt anxious in her heart, and Yu Zhu teased her: "Miss, the princess's lifelong matters are taken care of by the emperor and empress dowager, and if all else fails, there's still her older brother and sister-in-law. People say that an older sister-in-law is like a mother. No matter what, it's not up to you, a second sister-in-law who hasn't even entered the household yet, to worry about it."

  "Dead girl!" Xu Mingjin was angered by Yu Zhu's words. What kind of talk is this? Did he worry about her for nothing and even got it wrong?

  Jade Bamboo saw Xu Mingjin coming over to tickle her, and she had already cleverly dodged to the side. Xu Mingjin also knew that this little girl's martial arts skills were exceptional, so when he saw her run away, he didn't give chase, but instead ordered: "Don't let Jade Bamboo eat dinner tonight! Just look at her, she's gotten fat over this period of time!"

  Indeed, Yu Zhu followed Xu Mingjin's side, accompanying her at home every day, not as busy as before, so she gained a bit of weight.

  After hearing Xu Mingjin's words, Yu Zhu winked mischievously. No big deal, Miss doesn't let her eat, she can just lick the bowl clean! She's also a rich person now!