Chapter 34: Secret Irony

Capital city, imperial palace.

The palace maids were busy, adding charcoal to the fire from time to time. The nobles in gorgeous clothes held heaters and chatted with the hot water bottles. However, the concubines and other female relatives were obviously dressed much more simply than before, with fewer hairpins, pearls, and rouge and powder.

"Disasters are hitting every corner of the country, and the people are suffering. Your Majesty proposes frugality. I hope you will understand."

The Empress who was in charge of the palace banquet walked out of the hall and spoke loudly with an elegant manner, and everyone around her echoed her.

Gu Mingqi stood in the crowd, dressed in a lavender robe. Several dandy young men around him nodded and flattered him. He rubbed his ears impatiently, threw the cold tea in his hand aside, and muttered in dissatisfaction, "My father has ignored me for many days."

"Who knows what tricks that bitch Qin Xiangnuan used to empty the mansion of everything! Not to mention that I didn't get anything, I have no way to report to the emperor, and I was also punished for it."

Whenever Gu Mingqi mentioned Qin Xiangnuan, he gritted his teeth in hatred and wished he could carve a few more big words on her face.

"Seventh Prince, please do not worry about this. No one from the General's Mansion will ever return to the capital, and she will not be a nuisance to you again."

Jiang Lin, wrapped in a fur cloak made of black fox, heard their conversation from a distance and couldn't help but sneer.

He didn't hide it. Gu Mingqi turned around and looked at him unhappily. "Your Highness, you're not feeling well, but you're still coming to the palace for a banquet? You'd better be careful of catching a cold. Don't hurt yourself, or your father will worry about you."

"Thank you for your concern, Seventh Prince. However, you should be more careful than me. You don't look too good."

"I think the marriage thread is broken, and I can't help feeling sad."

Jiang Lin deliberately poked Gu Mingqi's lung tube, and seeing his expression change immediately, he continued calmly, "The Seventh Prince used to be so close to the General's Mansion, but now he doesn't seem to be very sad."

Jiang Lin's voice was quite loud, so naturally many people around him heard it.

Just as Gu Mingqi was about to speak, the staff beside him raised their hands to stop him, fearing that he would speak without restraint and cause disaster.

"Seventh Prince, I would like to give you a piece of advice. You should always leave yourself a way out and avoid being too drastic."

After Jiang Lin finished speaking, he gave a few instructions to the secret guards around him, nodded to the Queen from a distance, and left the Imperial Garden.

Gu Mingqi stared at his back, so angry that he felt like smoke was coming out of his head. "Who the hell is he! I don't know which eye of my father is..." The curse he blurted out quickly turned around and swallowed the rest of it back into his stomach. "How can he give me orders! Why did you stop me just now!"

"Seventh Prince, you brought people to the General's Mansion to confiscate the property, which has aroused the concern of many officials in the court."

"If you can do this to the General's Mansion today, they are worried that you will do the same to them tomorrow. At this time, we need to win over the people's hearts, rather than making more enemies and rashly conflicting. Although the Prince of Xiaoyao Hou does not serve in the court, he has many close friends and should not be treated lightly."

Gu Mingqi did not take his staff's sincere advice to heart.

He just irritably threw away his sleeves and asked, "Where are the people we sent out?"

"Why haven't they sent back any news yet? The General's Mansion is full of the elderly, the weak, women and children. Killing them won't be difficult!"

"We've already sent out four or five groups of assassins! Where did you hire them from?"

Gu Mingqi and his staff walked to a place with fewer people, and he couldn't help growling.

The staff's expression changed. Although he was dissatisfied, he still patiently replied soothingly, "Your Highness, I don't know what kind of ability the Third Miss has. She actually managed to win over and subdue all the escorting officers. Things are not going well now. They have already entered the Savage Valley, and I'm sure they won't come out in peace..."

"I don't want to be sure! I want to be sure!"

Gu Mingqi said fiercely, his brows full of cruelty and sinisterness. He gritted his teeth and beckoned to his staff, "Send someone to replace all the escorts with obedient ones. Don't let them reunite with Qin Guang, otherwise... those things might reach the ears of the emperor."

"I want to be absolutely sure!"

After Gu Mingqi finished speaking, he looked up at the Qinzheng Hall in the distance.

No matter what, the place there will be his alone! He must sit on that dragon throne.

——

In Savage Valley, the people from the General’s Mansion followed three brown bears, one big and two small, and walked slowly outside.

"Cousin, you're really far-sighted! It knows how to be grateful. It even knew to lead us out. Take those two paths just now, for example. If we had explored them on our own, we might have encountered many dangers, and we would definitely have fallen into that big pit in the grass!"

Qin Feng took out a dried cornmeal cake from his arms, took a bite, and spoke incoherently.

Hearing the sound of his teeth chattering, Qin Xiangnuan glanced at him worriedly, feeling that next time his teeth would be knocked out by those hard-as-stone pancakes. She turned around and looked at the tired faces of everyone in the general's mansion, frowning.

Ever since rescuing the wild bear, it seemed to know that they were about to leave the Savage Valley, and it led the way, stopping and starting.

In two days, they were almost reaching the border of the Savage Valley.

However, the long journey without much rest consumed too much of everyone's energy, and the lack of food also made them unhealthy. Old Madam Qin would cough and gasp for breath after taking two steps, and Qin Yi and Qin Wen had to take turns carrying her on their backs.

"Second Uncle, Third Uncle, let's take a break in front."

Qin Xiangnuan looked around and pointed to a relatively safe open space in front and said, "I'm going to look for something nearby to see if I can find something edible." After that, she took the lead and walked towards the dense forest. The brown bear asked the two children to stay with the people in the general's mansion, and he followed Qin Xiangnuan staggeringly, as if he was determined to protect her.

"Oh?" Qin Xiangnuan heard the movement behind her and patted its head with a big smile on her face. "I'll give you something good to eat later."

At the foot of a cliff in Savage Valley, Qin Xiangnuan looked around to see that there was no one around, closed her eyes, and walked into the space.

"Get some sand apples and Beibei's favorite marshmallows. Grandma's health isn't very good..."

Qin Xiangnuan poured the nourishing nutrient solution and red ginseng liquid into the water bottle she carried with her. She walked past the rows of counters in the supermarket, a shopping basket slung over her arm, tossing the necessary items into it. "The variety of goods is a bit limited right now. If I had charcoal and skewers, I could do some barbecue."

When Qin Xiangnuan was concentrating her attention, she suddenly heard a roar in her ears. It came from the brown bear!

boom--

Qin Xiangnuan opened her eyes and saw countless pieces of rubble falling towards her from above. She had no time to dodge!