Zhao Cheng looked at the young man in front of him, a slight smile playing on his lips. He thought to himself, "Just as I expected, this young man looks remarkably like Qi Bainian."

The resemblance... made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Yuan Yun also sized up Qi Rusong for a while and said, "Qi Bainian's crimes will inevitably lead to the extermination of his entire clan. However, the Miao family has rendered meritorious service and can be spared this calamity. Qi Bainian is an orphan with no other relatives, only this one child. If even this child is spared, then the extermination of his entire clan will have no meaning for Qi Bainian."

Upon hearing this, Miao Shaohua was shocked and immediately kowtowed to Yuan Yun, saying, "My Miao family will do anything for Your Highness and the Prince Consort. Please help me! He is my only son!"

As she spoke, Miao Shaohua pressed her son's head and kowtowed to Yuan Yun.

When Qi Rusong's head was pressed down, he showed displeasure.

Miao Shaohua crawled on her knees toward Miao Sui again, crying out, "Father! Please plead for Song'er, Father!!"

Miao Sui hesitated for a moment, then bowed to Zhao Cheng and said, "Young Prime Minister, what do you think..."

Zhao Cheng waved to stop Miao Sui, looked at Qi Rusong, and asked, "How old are you this year?"

Qi Rusong's voice was pleasant and his pronunciation was clear as he replied, "Fifteen years old."

"The same age as my fourth child." Zhao Cheng then asked, "Tell me, do you think your father is wrong?"

Qi Rusong's body trembled, as if he were struggling, and after a long while he finally said, "I was wrong!"

"You might die because of him, do you hate him?"

"I don't hate!"

Why?

"Because he's my father!"

"If one day an opportunity arises to avenge your father, would you take revenge?"

Qi Rusong asked doubtfully, "Revenge? Who should I seek revenge against?"

“For example, me.” Zhao Cheng looked at Yuan Yun: “For example, the Eldest Princess.”

Qi Rusong immediately knelt down and said, "My father's death was his own doing, and has nothing to do with anyone else!"

Seeing this, Miao Shaohua breathed a sigh of relief.

Zhao Cheng said softly, "Wife, look at this?"

Yuan Yun said, "You decide."

Zhao Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Miao Shaohua, I can save your son, but it will require some maneuvering."

Miao Shaohua immediately became excited and said, "It's all up to you, Young Prime Minister!"

"Let him change his surname to Miao, and from now on he will have no relation to the Qi family. He will only be a member of the Miao family from now on."

Upon hearing this, Qi Rusong's body trembled.

Miao Shaohua was overjoyed and said with a smile, "On behalf of my son Miao Rusong, I thank the young prime minister and the princess for their great kindness!"

Seeing this, Miao Rusong, who had already changed his name on the spot, also bowed down.

"Thank you, Young Prime Minister and Princess, for saving my life!"

Zhao Cheng said, "He's still young. If we train him well, he can help you and Patriarch Miao in the future."

"yes!"

That night, Zhao Cheng couldn't contain himself and wanted to discuss ball-playing techniques with Yuan Yun, but Yuan Yun firmly refused.

Yuan Yun's reasoning was quite scientific: she said that as the baby grew bigger in her womb, it would be easy for something to go wrong if the three of them played ball together.

Left with no other choice, Zhao Cheng had to practice his hand speed alone.

Yuan Yunping lay on the bed, stroking her belly, and said, "I saw the child's eyes and reaction, and you saw them too, so why did you spare him?"

“I understand that Miao Rusong harbors resentment, but he is powerless to do so now and can only endure it. If he hasn’t let go of his resentment by the time he grows up, he might cause trouble. But… he is no match for us now, and he will be even less of a match for us when he grows up.”

Zhao Cheng said confidently, "We may not need the Miao people in the future, but we do need them now. Why lose the Miao people as a source of support because of a child?"

“Miao Sui clearly doesn’t like this child. Killing him would only offend Miao Shaohua, not the Miao family.” Yuan Yun said, her mind clear as day. “You’re just soft-hearted and simply want to let him go.”

Zhao Cheng also placed his hand on Yuan Yun's belly and said, "That child is still small, but our child is about to be born. Let's do some good deeds for the child."

Yuan Yun smiled disdainfully and said coldly, "My brother and I were just kids when we were bullied all those years."

Zhao Cheng's expression turned serious. He said, "Ayun, I know your past and I know your style of doing things. You are more ruthless than me. If it were you, you would definitely eliminate him completely. But I don't think it's necessary because I have the confidence to do so. If he were eighteen years old, I wouldn't let him go, but if I were to kill a half-grown child, it would only make me, Zhao Cheng, look cowardly."

"Changli, do you think what your father did was right?" Zhao Cheng put his mouth close to Yuan Yun's belly.

Yuan Yun laughed and said, "Zhao Changli is a boy's name, so are you sure it's a son?"

Zhao Cheng said, "I feel so."

Yuan Yun asked, "Do you like sons?"

“No,” Zhao Cheng said sincerely, “I prefer daughters. But… I already have two concubines, Chunqin and Cai’e. Your first child must be a son for our family to be more united.”

Yuan Yun rolled her eyes at Zhao Cheng and said, "Mr. Minghua has already shown it to me."

"What did she say?" Zhao Cheng asked anxiously.

"I won't tell you." Yuan Yun pulled the covers over herself and said, "Go to sleep."

"Hey! Not only are you not going to play ball, but you're also keeping me in suspense like this. Are you trying to keep me from getting any sleep?!" Zhao Cheng exclaimed impatiently.

"I won't tell!"

"Are you going to tell me or not?!" Zhao Cheng started scratching his itch.

"I won't tell! I won't tell!!"

"If you're not going to talk, get up and play ball!!"

"No……"

"ah!"

"Alright, alright, I'll tell you..."

...

The next day.

The imperial court's investigation results were delivered as scheduled. At Yuan Yun's request, the two parties involved, Yan Chao and Zhou Wei, were even brought in and beheaded in Jiangcheng.

In exchange for the lives of their families, Yan Chao and Zhou Wei gave up resistance and told the whole story of what happened back then.

Both men had served as officials in Jiangcheng, and many people recognized them and had no doubts about their identities.

With the documentary evidence and their testimonies, the people of Jiangcheng finally accepted the reality.

On the day the two were beheaded and their heads displayed to the public, the execution ground was packed with people. When their heads fell to the ground, the entire execution ground was filled with cries.

This was a situation that no one had anticipated.

Why are the people weeping?

Yan Chao and Zhou Wei were not related to them and had slaughtered civilians. Why would the people cry for them?

The people were not weeping for the two men, but for themselves.

I'm crying over the meal I ate more than 20 years ago!

I weep for the last glimmer of hope that remains in my heart!

I'm so ashamed that I worshipped a beast as a god!

The person you are most proud of, the person you trust and rely on the most, the person you even consider family, is actually the one who hurts you the most!

Jiangcheng, the capital of Jiangyang County and a major economic center in the eastern part of Jing Kingdom, was shrouded in weeping on this day.

Some people cried loudly at the execution ground, while others hid at home and wept secretly.

Decades ago, when Jiangcheng was besieged by the Southern Zhou army and all its people were about to be taken prisoner, Ma Tiezhou single-handedly mobilized the entire city to fight, and the city did not cry.

Today, Wuhan wept.

The heavens and earth were moved by their cries.

It was like a national tragedy!