After two days of not eating or drinking, Xu Huixin finally gave in for the sake of her child. This child carried the blood of the Xu family, and she wanted to give birth to this child safely.

"How could the evidence be collected so completely in such a short time? I don't believe these court officials did it all on a whim." Xu Huixin's eyes were bloodshot as she gripped Si Hengnian's arm tightly, tears streaming down her face. "Please help me find out who was involved, okay?"

"Even if you don't say it, I will still do it. I will not let any of those who have hurt you go unpunished!" Si Hengnian's voice was cold and sharp, and his eyes were terrifying. "Even the royal family will be the same."

Since it was an imperial edict personally issued by the Emperor sentencing the Prime Minister's family to be beheaded and displayed to the public, the execution date arrived quickly. Although children under the age of ten were pardoned, there were no children of that age in the Prime Minister's residence, and only the young children of the Xu clan escaped the execution.

In other words, from then on, Xu Huixin had no relatives left.

As for her two half-sisters, firstly, they were already married; secondly, they had a bad relationship since childhood; and thirdly, after their dowries were confiscated, they were divorced by their husbands' families, and Xu Huixin never saw them again, so she did not consider them family.

"Hengnian, from now on, you are the only one I can rely on."

"And our child, he will always protect you."

"It's snowing..." Xu Huixin looked out the window, tears streaming down her face. It wasn't that she didn't want to see her parents off on their final journey, but that she was simply too physically unable to go.

"I have already arranged for someone to collect the bodies; I will not leave my father-in-law and mother-in-law's bodies lying in a mass grave."

"But won't His Majesty be displeased by doing this?"

“He doesn’t care about my dislike for him, so this one incident doesn’t matter. The entire Prime Minister’s mansion has been destroyed. Does he think he can use this incident to implicate the Prince’s mansion? Even if the court officials agree, the people will not.”

Outside the execution ground, Qi Jiejing held an umbrella for Song Xia: "Godmother, shall we go back?"

Song Xia looked at the sky. There was no sign of the snow stopping. In her previous life, the General's Mansion was destroyed in this way. The whiteness of the snow covered all the evil. Now it was the Prime Minister's Mansion's turn. Next, it should be the Prince's Mansion.

"Return."

"It's admirable that Princess Consort Xun was able to resist coming to see her off on her final journey."

"Si Hengnian loved her so much, how could he have caused her such heartbreak?"

"It's a pity he didn't fall for it this time. If he had tried to break into the prison or the execution ground, that would have been interesting."

"Having won so many battles, he must have some plans in mind, especially since he had gotten to know Xiaoluo and Liuchuan all over again before."

Qi Jiejing smiled slyly: "I reckon he'll be looking for me soon."

“Lingling, no matter what you do, you must take those guards with you. Si Hengnian is wary of Princes Xiao Luo and Liu Chuan, but he may not be wary of you. There’s no guarantee that he won’t do something rash in a moment of impulse.”

"Don't worry, Godmother, I want to spend the rest of my life with you!"

As the two of them had expected, when Qi Jiejing returned to the Qi residence, Si Hengnian was already waiting for her, along with their shared mother.

After learning that Qi Jiejing was her biological daughter, Madam Qi looked at Qi Jiejing with a complicated expression, but Qi Jiejing didn't want to pay any attention to her.

"What do you want?" She sat down in the main seat with an air of confidence, as if to say, "You'd better have something to say."

Madam Qi was immediately provoked: "Qi Jiejing, is this how you talk to us? I am your mother, and he is your brother!"

Although Madam Qi initially felt a little guilty towards Qi Jiejing after learning the whole truth, her years of favoritism had become a habit that was difficult to change.

Not to mention that the daughter she mistakenly thought was her biological daughter has now become her daughter-in-law and is cherished and loved by her son, so her favoritism has not changed at all.

Qi Jiejing shrugged: "If it were possible, I really wouldn't want you as my mother, and I certainly wouldn't want him as my brother. We only have that one blood relation, so don't bring up anything else. I'm not interested."

“Qi Jiejing, do you...do you know that he is still a Prince Consort personally appointed by His Majesty? If you weren’t Hengnian’s sister, you would never have come into contact with such a powerful person in your entire life.”

"As if I'm some big shot." Qi Jiejing rolled her eyes. "The Prime Minister's family was just executed, so what brings you to the Qi residence at this time? If you have something to say, say it. If not, I have other things to do."

Madam Qi stared wide-eyed: "You really don't care about family ties?"

"That's ridiculous," Qi Jiejing said sarcastically, looking at her. "Have you ever cared?"

Madam Qi choked: "I...I used to be..."

"Mother, don't talk to her so much." Si Hengnian was also a little annoyed. "My surname is Si, hers is Qi. We are not family."

After being spoken to like that by her own son, Madam Qi became taciturn and stopped saying anything more.

Si Hengnian stared intently at Qi Jiejing: "According to my investigation, after Feng Shao went to war, you had the Qi family transport a lot of supplies to the border?"

"Yes," Qi Jiejing nodded frankly. "Is there a problem?"

"I'm telling you to stop these actions immediately."

Qi Jiejing nodded: "Sure, what are your conditions?"

Seeing that Si Hengnian only had a gloomy expression, she pretended to be surprised: "No way, you're not going to just let me suffer losses and stop doing business like this, are you? You also said that I have nothing to do with you. In business, you have to show enough sincerity before I can do things for you, right?"

"You'll certainly get your share in the future."

"Stop." Qi Jiejing gestured to stop him. "You think you can make the Qi family take risks for you for nothing with just a few words? That's impossible, Your Highness. Things are different now. The business model needs to change."

"When have I ever been lacking in your favor before? If it weren't for me, would your Qi family's business have grown so large?"

"You can't say that. We were cooperating before. If it weren't for my Qi family escorting supplies and transferring grain for you, your war wouldn't have gone so smoothly, would it?"

"So this time they're refusing to cooperate?"

"Where did I say I wouldn't cooperate? I just wanted His Highness Prince Xun to show some sincerity first. After all, General Feng signed a contract with my Qi family when he went to war. I can't bear the loss of breaking the contract, can I? Is His Highness Prince Xun being reluctant to part with it? No way! When you went to war, you brought back so much treasure. Did you give it all to Princess Xun as a betrothal gift? My loss is far less than half of that betrothal gift!"

It would have been better if the betrothal gifts hadn't been mentioned. Just thinking about them made Si Hengnian feel suffocated. So much treasure had been confiscated.

"Whose side are you on? I am the matriarch of the Qi family. If you don't agree, hand over the power to manage the household. This Qi mansion is not for a mere young girl like you to call the shots." Madam Qi was furious, using her status to wield her power.

Qi Jiejing put her index finger to her lips and said, "Mother, if you don't want to be divorced and kicked out of the manor, you should keep quiet. If it weren't for your daughter, do you think you could have lived peacefully in the Qi manor for so many years? Making a scene will not only do you no good, but it will also do no good for His Highness Prince Xun. He already has a princess with a terrible reputation, and if he has to add a divorced mother, he will really become a laughing stock in the world."