Chapter 003: Who did you offend?

There was a lot of drinking and chatting at the banquet. Naturally, the birthday party for the granddaughter of the Duke's Mansion was not that simple.

Everyone knew the truth, and some people wanted to bring their nephews and nieces to show off in front of the old Duke.

The butler came into the hall, leaned over and whispered something in the old Duke's ear.

"Please sit down for a moment, I'll be right back."

In the study, the old Duke Zheng Mingyuan had a gloomy face.

"Grandpa..." Zheng Huiyin's eyes were watery and full of tears. Her red and swollen cheek was tilted to the side, and fingerprints were clearly visible.

She knew she had made a mistake and deliberately did not apply ice. At this moment, she was clenching her hands and turning away in front of her elders, looking so pitiful.

The old Duke ignored him and asked coldly, "Where is Pei Xueqiao?"

"Someone saw him heading towards the southeast corner and then disappeared."

The old Duke has experienced everything in his life, so there is no need to ask further.

He was angry not because he attacked a mere Sixth Princess, but because he failed and the accumulated resentment was exposed.

He didn't look at Zheng Huiyin, but at his daughter-in-law Cui Yunxiu who was standing silently beside him.

"The teaching is to the point. I will be confined to my home for a month, and a backup gift will be sent to the Sixth Princess's residence."

Seeing that her grandfather, who always loved her, never paid any attention to her, Zheng Huiyin was really panicked, "Grandpa, Huiyin really knows she was wrong..."

She bit her lip, showing her weakness and grievance to the extreme, "I can go to the Princess's Mansion to apologize, but I will never implicate our family."

"What are you doing? Stay home and stay at home!"

The empress was in power. She opened schools for girls, established imperial examinations for girls, and promoted girls to official positions. Not to mention the resistance from the literati, under the general trend of this generation, the granddaughter's mind was still thinking about love and the tricks in the backyard.

Since you are not making progress, don't blame him. You can only become a bargaining chip for marriage.

After leaving behind a few words, the old Duke waved his sleeves and strode away.

…

Pei Xueqiao woke up suddenly, with the cold tea dripping down his cheeks.

When I opened my eyes, they were still noticeably hazy, and it took me a while to come back to my senses.

Where is this...?

He remembered that he was at the Duke of Zheng's mansion. A maid accidentally bumped into him and led him to the guest room to change clothes. He then fell asleep in a daze.

"Oh, Master Pei can really sleep well."

A cold voice came from the front. Pei Xueqi looked over and found that it was the Sixth Princess.

He stood up suddenly and saluted, "Your Highness."

"Okay, can you remember what you've been through?"

Seeing his confused look, Qin Zhaoyue didn't waste any words and told him the story of the drugging in a few words.

But in this story, she used her wit to discover in time that someone had framed her, and she took advantage of the situation to find the person behind it.

"Do you know how critical this matter is and how vicious this move is?

If I hadn't been quick-witted, the matter would have been a fait accompli by now.

It doesn't matter to you, but if you take advantage of me, wouldn't it ruin my life?"

Pei Xueqiao:?

Although he is still a little dazed, his brain is not broken.

The Sixth Princess is notorious and has basically no chance of becoming the Crown Princess.

But he was the prime minister's legitimate son, a well-educated man, and a top scholar. The fact that the father and son served in the same court was a legend among scholars.

Who is taking advantage?

Pei Xueqiao's expression instantly turned horrified, and he subconsciously protected his chest, his eyes full of doubt.

Tsk... Qin Zhaoyue curled her lips, "No way, you don't think that this prince likes a pretty boy like you, do you?

You're so weak, you don't have any flesh on your chest, and you have a big piece of fat on your belly. Do you think I, the princess, can be interested in you? I'm dying of laughter."

Qingfeng, the secret guard hiding in the shadow of the palace pillar, felt a pang in his heart.

I don’t like weak scholars... Oh no, I hope they won’t come after him!

Pei Xueqiao was unhappy at the time, "Nonsense, of the six arts of a gentleman, I am very good at archery and charioteering."

Qin Zhaoyue waved her hand perfunctorily, "Yes, it's as if we didn't see it when it was twisting like a maggot."

Twisting... like a maggot...!

Each word was like a hammer hitting a bronze bell. In a daze, some memories seemed to flood into my mind.

Ugh! Pei Xueqiao clenched his fists tightly, trying his best to suppress the unbearable scene.

"Listen carefully, I like guys with strong bodies and eight-pack abs. You?"

Qin Zhaoyue raised his proud head and looked up and down at the prime minister's son across from him, "Tsk tsk tsk tsk... thin dog."

Biaji, it was as if something had fallen to the ground and shattered into pieces. It was something called dignity.

Pei Xueqi covered his clothes and took several steps back. His face was as pale as paper, and he had a kind of beauty that made people feel pity for him.

It was at this moment that Qin Zhaoyue discovered that this pretty boy was actually quite handsome.

It's not necessary to undermine her confidence, but it is necessary to completely separate her from the drugging incident, so as to avoid the empress's disgust and revenge from the prime minister's office.

This was not enough, Qin Zhaoyue continued KFC:

"Don't be so delicate, are you leaning on the willow tree or the railing?

I am a princess who is neither good at literature nor martial arts. What is the value of framing me? Who can I stand in the way of?"

“Although you are a top scholar, you are still young and your official position is not high. It is not worth it for others to plot against you. But your father is different.

As the prime minister and leader of all officials, if his legitimate son is framed and forced to be tied to me, who do you think will benefit the most?

Pei Xueqiao frowned tightly, his head was hit hard, and he subconsciously followed the line of thought in the words.

Who wants to force his father to die? Who benefits most from the combination of the Prime Minister's Mansion and the Sixth Princess' Mansion?

Before there was any result, I heard a lazy voice coming from above.

"Forget it, I was just trying to be blind. What can a rookie like you know?

Remember, go back and ask your father. When you have the answer, send someone to deliver a message. I want to see who dares to attack me."

"Someone, show them away! What bad luck..."

Pei Xueqi was "invited" out by the servants without knowing what was going on.

Before attending the banquet, he was the legitimate son of the prime minister, a top scholar in the imperial examination, and a talented man pursued by countless women.

After the banquet, I was inexplicably drugged, twisted, thrown over the wall, doused with cold water, and subjected to a ruthless PUA. It was miserable...

Qin Zhaoyue felt sorry for him for a moment but then forgot about him. The prime minister's legitimate son was not as important as her own life.

This hurdle should be considered passed, as they were not caught in the act. If they wanted to settle the matter later, they would just have different stories.

After a sigh of relief, I felt hungry because I didn't have any proper food at the banquet.

She ordered the servants to prepare the meal, and when she was the only one left in the hall, she took out the booklet from her waist.

After looking through it carefully, there was indeed nothing inside.

hiss!

Qin Zhaoyue frowned and cut a hole on her right index finger, from which blood immediately flowed out.

paper cut!

Miraculously, the blood did not seep into the pages of the book, but instead flowed slowly on the cover, condensing into three small words.

The characters were so thin, it was difficult to write three words with just one drop of blood.

Merit book? What the hell is that?

The next moment, the book disappeared and appeared in my mind out of thin air.

Qin Zhaoyue quickly looked at it carefully and saw that the three words "Merit Book" on the cover had turned into a shining gold color.

Without a doubt, this is the gospel for time travelers: the golden finger.

I opened the cover and found two more sentences on the title page.

The first sentence explains the function of the merit book. You only need to accumulate merit to exchange it for martial arts skills.

Are you kidding? She is a princess, second only to the emperor and above everyone else. Why would she need to learn martial arts?

Learn, even if it means selling everything you have! God knows how dangerous this world is.

The second sentence said that the gift bound to the merit book had been sent out, but it did not say what was given.

Qin Zhaoyue felt it carefully and didn't feel anything unusual.

Still beautiful, still weak, still very smart.

Is this a fake cheat? At least give me some space, spiritual springs, fertile soil, or something.

After thinking for a while and still making no progress, she brought up the hot dishes and rice first, along with her other personal maid, Jiangxue.

"Your Highness, why did you return home early? Did your plan go well?"

Qin Zhaoyue smiled faintly and ate and drank by himself. The hall fell into silence.

"Your Highness?"

The smile on his lips became even wider. He was so brave. I don’t know if it was because he was too spoiled before or because he bullied the original body because he was stupid.

In this atmosphere, the maid actually dared to ask.

"Qingfeng, arrest her."

"yes!"