It took Consort Feng twelve hours in that teahouse before she returned to the palace, filled with shame and indignation.

She was filled with regret and anger. She had discussed the matter with her elder brother, Feng Aotian, trying to persuade him to support her decision. However, her brother advised her that Yuan Qi, despite his young age, was not someone that could be easily subdued. She stubbornly refused to listen and ended up suffering a great loss.

Because she hadn't returned to the palace for twelve hours, the Emperor and Empress knew about it. The Empress, who had no children and had been bullied by Consort Feng for many years, finally got her revenge and felt very satisfied.

Consort Feng was different; she got angry on the way and wanted her son to arrest Yuan Qi and throw him into the imperial prison.

Xiao Yi had already gone to cause trouble for Yuan Qi, and not only that, he even tried to persuade Yuan Qi with their relationship. However, he was almost frozen in place as well.

“Mother, let’s just let this matter go. Uncle is right. Yuan Qi is someone we can only befriend. With our abilities and power, we can’t subdue her for the time being.”

"I've become a laughingstock. Who knows how the women in the palace will laugh at me! Isn't what she did to me a slap in the face to your father, the Emperor?" Consort Feng said resentfully.

Xiao Yi sighed, "Last time Xiao Zhen rebelled, it seemed he was about to succeed, but it was thanks to Yuan Qi that the situation was saved. Father Emperor knows her abilities are no less than the Imperial Preceptor's, but you see, Father Emperor didn't reward her, did he? Father Emperor knows that it was thanks to Yuan Qi that time, but Yuan Qi's abilities are just too great, and she's not easy to control..."

A dark glint flashed in Consort Feng's eyes: "You mean we don't need to lift a finger, your father will find the right opportunity to deal with her?"

She sneered, "With such great abilities, it would be wonderful if the Imperial Advisor were willing to deal with her."

Xiao Yi was worried that even the Imperial Preceptor was no match for Yuan Qi, because wasn't the Imperial Preceptor also no match for Xiao Zhen when faced with Xiao Zhen's surprise attack?

Yuan Qi dealt with Xiao Zhen quite easily back then.

...

Yuan Qi originally thought that Consort Feng and the Crown Prince would go back to the Emperor to complain, and the Emperor would at least send someone to reprimand her, or even beat her. Unexpectedly, no one came from the palace.

Even Jiang Zhengqing and Jiang Juncai were not reprimanded, which was quite unexpected for her.

She always felt that this emperor was not a magnanimous person, and who knows what big tricks he was up to.

However, Yuan Qi was not afraid. She was willing to use any tricks she had up her sleeve. If Yuan Qi blinked, she would consider herself the loser.

As usual, Yuan Qi went out to set up his stall every day. The weather was getting colder day by day, and before he knew it, it was Jiang Bailu's wedding day.

Yuan Qi disliked such crowds, so he simply continued to set up his stall during his sister's wedding and homecoming.

The hustle and bustle of the Jiang family had nothing to do with her.

At the end of the year, the Jiangnan region experienced several blizzards, which was extremely rare in the history of Jiangnan. Many people froze to death after the blizzards, and the imperial court sent people to Suiyang area to provide disaster relief.

Unexpectedly, the imperial envoy was killed by refugees as soon as he arrived in Suiyang, and all the grain he brought was looted.

Within a few days, people in Suiyang rose up in rebellion, leading the starving people in a revolt.

The rebellious people looted the government's granaries, robbed the wealthy and powerful in the city, and distributed the grain to the common people.

In just half a month, Suiyang's call to arms was met with overwhelming support, and more than a dozen surrounding counties joined the rebellion, quickly spiraling out of control.

The Emperor dispatched Feng Aotian to lead troops to quell the rebellion.

As soon as this happened, grain prices in all states of Rong Kingdom skyrocketed, and even in places where there was no shortage of grain, people began hoarding it.

The year in Rongguo was not peaceful. The emperor was worried that Feng Aotian would not be able to control the situation. Sure enough, what he feared came to pass. Feng Aotian suffered defeats in his first few battles with the rebels.

Feng Aotian is the Great General King of Rong Kingdom, and he has never lost a war he has participated in.

The entire court became worried and tense.

Feng Aotian presented a secret report, stating that there were rebels who could command evil spirits to fight against the imperial army. Whenever the two sides fought, the imperial army would lose its ability to resist and would be slaughtered by the rebels, which was why the imperial army had been defeated several times.

Feng Aotian requested the Emperor to send a capable person to help, preferably the Imperial Advisor.

By this time, the Imperial Preceptor had almost fully recovered from his injuries, so the Emperor sent him to Suiyang. The Imperial Preceptor, accompanied by several of his disciples, arrived in Suiyang in a few hours.

As soon as Jiang Zhengqing returned from the yamen, he told Yuan Qi about the matter.

"Xiao Qi, in your opinion, what happened at the Suiyang battlefield? Everyone says it's because the emperor is immoral and this is divine punishment. Now the court and the people are in a state of panic. Do you think the rebels will march all the way north and kill their way to the capital?"

Jiang Zhengqing was well aware of the Rongguo army's fighting strength; dealing with ordinary rebels was no problem. But with evil spirits involved, things were a different story.

Yuan Qi had already heard about this matter. In the past few days, many ghosts had come from the south. She had asked those ghosts, and they said that what happened in Suiyang was not as simple as just a few evil spirits.

"Father, there's no need to worry. We won't be coming to Kyoto for the time being. However, Feng Aotian's days are probably not going to be easy."

Jiang Junjing came in from outside: "Father is here too. I ordered people to stock up on some grain and vegetables, enough for our whole family to eat for two years."

Accompanying Jiang Junjing was his beautiful concubine, Wusun Yayue. She had rarely seen Wusun Yayue lately, supposedly because Consort Li forbade her from going out to avoid seducing unrelated men. Wusun Yayue was quite content with her current life. Although she couldn't freely wander around, at least she was well-fed and clothed, wouldn't be beaten, and had people who cared for and loved her.

She is very well-behaved.

Wusun Yayue stood behind Jiang Junjing and bowed to Jiang Zhengqing.

Jiang Zhengqing asked, "What brings you here?"

Jiang Junjing felt a little guilty: "Father Ya Yue is pregnant. I know that Seventh Sister knows medicine, so I wanted Seventh Sister to take a look at her."

Jiang Zhengqing was not happy: "You haven't married a wife yet, and you don't have a legitimate son. How can you let a woman who isn't even a concubine give birth to your eldest son? What do you think about the marriage your mother arranged for you?"

Jiang Junjing knew that this matter was not very appropriate, so he wanted to keep it from everyone. Who knew that Jiang Zhengqing would come to Yuan Qi's place?

“My son has no objections, and I trust my mother’s judgment.” Jiang Junjing didn’t want to discuss the marriage with his father any further, so he made an excuse to leave.

Jiang Zhengqing continued, "The Imperial Preceptor has already taken several disciples to Suiyang. What do you think the chances of victory are?"

Yuan Qi chuckled: "Father, haven't you noticed that the Grand Preceptor has been quite unlucky for the past six months? He's either injured or on his way to being injured. I'm afraid things won't go smoothly for the Grand Preceptor this time. Only I can handle it."

Jiang Zhengqing chuckled wryly: "Our family has been in the limelight enough lately. If you can avoid it, then try not to."

“Father, I hope you will consider the matter of burying my mother in the ancestral grave.” Yuan Qi suddenly brought up the old matter again. “Just based on what I have done for our family these days, I think my mother deserves it.”

Jiang Zhengqing nodded: "I know you've done a lot, and I'm sure the elders have seen it all. I'll discuss it with them when I have the chance, and I'll make sure your mother isn't wronged."