The atmosphere suddenly became tense. The imperial guards all stared at Hong Siku, fearing that he would order the Jiang family to be beheaded.

The deputy commander of the Imperial Guards came over and advised Hong Sibao: "Eunuch Hong, why don't we take Miss Seven to the palace to meet His Highness the Crown Prince? After all, Miss Seven's father is the Marquis of Wu'an and the Minister of War, and her brother is also the commander of the Imperial Guards. We can't be so rigid in our approach."

Hong Sibao snorted arrogantly, "Vice Commander Wang, you're mistaken. We're paid by the emperor, so naturally we must serve the emperor and the crown prince. Jiang Yuanqi defied the imperial decree and should be executed on the spot. What did His Highness the Crown Prince say when we arrived? If the Seventh Miss defies the decree, kill her on the spot; if the Jiang family dares to show the slightest favor, kill them all. What, Vice Commander Wang, do you intend to defy the imperial decree?"

“That’s a good idea.” Tu Shanli walked over, staring into Hong Sibao’s eyes with a hint of coldness. “The Grand Preceptor couldn’t kill Yuan Qi, so he used the Crown Prince’s hand. He was afraid he couldn’t defeat Yuan Qi, so he used the imperial edict to force Yuan Qi to submit. The method is clever. However, he forgot that we also have brains, and not only brains, but also magic.”

Yuan Qi nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly with Tu Shanli's statement: "Tell me, what happened in the palace? Has the Crown Prince taken control of everything in the palace? Even the Emperor has become a prisoner?"

Hong Sibao's eyes darted around: "Nonsense! Guards, execute her! Send her on her way!"

Guangcheng Daojun shook his wide sleeves, formed a hand seal, and a spell flew out from his fingertips, instantly immobilizing the Imperial Guard holding the sword.

He walked over arrogantly and berated Hong Sibao: "Do you think I'm a pushover just because I don't show my power? My disciple has studied Taoist magic for so many years just to surrender? Do you think a knife can stop my disciple? What a joke! Fool! Humph!"

Yuan Qi nodded: "Master is right. I just wanted to see what other tricks he had up his sleeve. But they're nothing special. Master, stay here and watch over things. I'll be right back."

Guangcheng Daojun whispered in her ear, "Xuanqing is probably involved this time too. Let's go take a look and clean up their ranks while we're at it. My spell is very effective; no one can undo it, so they can only remain in this position."

In that short time, Yuan An had already pulled the Jiang family members out of the clutches of the sword and freed them from the control of magic, allowing them to move freely.

Even the guards no longer felt threatened by having knives at their necks.

Xiangli Mingzhu and everyone else ran over, and everyone was very worried.

Xiangli Mingzhu said, "Xiao Qi, something must have happened in the palace. For the imperial decree to kill you to reach our home, your father and your elder brother must be in trouble. You must go and save them. At worst, we'll just quit being officials."

She was also very worried about Jiang Bailu: "I don't know how you are doing in the East Palace, Bailu. I wonder if anything has happened to you."

Yuan Qi looked around and said, "Don't worry, judging from your faces, there are no signs of you losing your husbands. Father and elder brother are both alive. Something must have happened in the palace. You can wait here without worry. I'll go and see what's going on."

When Hong Sibao saw that the Imperial Guards were unable to move and the Jiang family had regained their freedom, he panicked. The Crown Prince had repeatedly ordered him to kill Yuan Qi by any means necessary.

Seeing that everyone was talking to the Jiang family with their backs to him, he pulled out a dagger from his sleeve and rushed towards Yuan Qi.

Unexpectedly, Yuan Qi and Tu Shanli seemed to have eyes in the back of their heads. They grabbed his wrist and twisted it gently, and the dagger pierced his abdomen.

Hong Sibao slowly fell to the ground, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Yuan Qi lowered his head and told him, "I told you, the person who will kill me hasn't been born yet, but you just wouldn't believe me."

She shook her head lightly: "The place where I stabbed you was very delicate. The blade was right next to a major blood vessel. If you don't move, you can still save your life. But if you move even slightly, the blade will pierce the major blood vessel, and you will bleed to death in no time. Do you understand?"

No blood flowed from the stab wound on Hong Sibao, but it hurt terribly. He dared not move, and nodded slightly: "I understand..."

He watched Yuan Qi leave with a bitter expression. He knew that even if he didn't die from bloodshed, the Crown Prince would still kill him for messing up his job.

Yuan Qi didn't care about any of that, whether Hong Sibao was forced or willing, or whether he hated her in his heart.

She abandoned Hong Sibao without even asking the Jiang family to call a doctor.

The Jiang family pretended not to see Hong Sibao. Just now, Hong Sibao had threatened them with a knife, trying to kill them. He deserved it; he brought it on himself.

Hong Sibao looked at Xiangli Mingzhu with a bitter expression: "Madam Jiang, for the sake of the Crown Princess, could you please find a doctor to treat me?"

Xiangli Mingzhu snorted: "When you held a knife to our throats just now, did you give face to the Crown Princess?"

On the way, Deputy Commander Wang introduced the situation in the palace to Yuan Qi. He didn't know the specifics, but he knew that in the Xuanzheng Hall, the Crown Prince controlled the whole place. Even the Emperor was as obedient as a quail, saying nothing on the throne and letting the Crown Prince do whatever he wanted.

He couldn't understand anything else, only that the court officials listened to the Crown Prince. Apart from the Emperor's unusual behavior, everyone else seemed normal, yet also abnormal. The normal ones showed no reaction, while the abnormal ones, whether they were inclined towards or opposed to the Crown Prince, were as quiet as chickens and as obedient as three-year-old children, doing whatever the Crown Prince told them to do.

Yuan Qi had the Imperial Guard Deputy Commander Wang lead her into the palace. When they arrived at the palace gate, she found the palace very quiet, with only a few guards standing at the entrance. Deputy Commander Wang said that everything seemed normal, and from the outside, it was impossible to tell that something had happened inside the palace.

Looking at the palace's protective array, it was also undamaged.

Yuan Qi got out of the carriage, and Tu Shanli, holding Wen Zhujun's hand, used an invisibility spell to follow behind Yuan Qi. The guards at the palace gate couldn't see them, and the two walked straight in.

Tu Shanli's magic was superb, and the palace-protecting formation couldn't stop him at all. He sneered and said to Wen Zhujun, "What formation? It's just for show. It can only stop some petty thieves."

Wen Zhujun never expected that her long-cherished plan to get close to Tushan would end so suddenly.

She was a ghost, her body was made of paper and she had no feelings, but she still felt very happy, as if she could feel the warmth from Tushan's body.

Tu Shanli turned to look at her: "Your body is in good shape."

Wen Zhujun didn't know what to say.

Deputy Commander Wang showed his waist token to the imperial guards at the palace gate: "By order of His Highness the Crown Prince, bring the seventh young lady of the Jiang family into the palace."

The two entered the palace without incident.

The Xuanzheng Hall was as quiet as a chicken's nest, and Yuan Qi could sense the ghostly aura emanating from the front from afar.

As he stepped onto the stairs, a eunuch announced loudly, "Jiang Yuanqi has arrived!"

When Yuan Qi reached the top step of Xuanzheng Hall, he was met by imperial guards wielding long swords.

Crown Prince Xiao Yi stood in front of the dragon throne in the Xuanzheng Hall, his hand resting on the back of the emperor's neck.

Yuan Qi chuckled: "Tanxi, you've miscalculated."