Linyu

The violent commotion soon alarmed the prince and the prefect.

Qi Qinghehe backed away, leaning against the cell door. Her face was pale, bloodless, and her smoky purple dress was stained with large patches of bright red. The wrist blade fell not far away.

Ning Yu's eyes widened, and her dark pupils stared at Qi Qinghe, like a ghost, pestering her endlessly.

Qi Qinghe was trembling, her limbs shaking uncontrollably, her almond-shaped eyes darting around in panic and confusion.

Xiao Junbaiqi held the bars of the cell tightly, shouting and cursing without stopping for a moment.

Xiao Junbai strode over, pulled the person over, blocked her gaze, frowned, and walked out with the person in his arms, "Deal with it as soon as possible."

The prefect was old, with white hair and beard. He had been in office in Yangzhou for most of his life. Even though he had seen many horrifying scenes, he was still a little frightened at this moment. After a moment of stunned silence, he quickly ordered the jailer to take the man away.

"… Serious criminals who died in the prison will be taken to the mass grave outside the city and buried. Your Highness, rest assured that no more epidemics will occur."

The prefect was old and frail, so he quickened his pace to catch up with the prince's explanation.

Xiao Junbai was holding the person. Seeing Qi Qinghe's distracted state, he bent down slightly and carried the person away. He glanced at Xiao Junqi, who was still cursing, and said casually, "I will return to the capital in four days. Serious criminals must be strictly guarded. Are you going to let them down?"

The prefect nodded repeatedly, took out a towel and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

“…How can she be thrown into a mass grave when she loves beauty so much? Come back here…” Xiao Junqi kept cursing. Seeing that everyone disappeared around the corner and he didn’t even hear a sound, he kicked the broken cell in anger.

Only then did You remember the prince's words and return to the capital four days later...

Xiao Junqi seemed to be lost in thought and fell silent.

…

Xiao Junbai carried the person all the way to the carriage, put him down carefully, and was about to give him some tea and say a few words to comfort him.

Qi Qinghe grabbed his sleeve and said in a muffled voice, "Third Princess, are you really going to the mass grave?"

Xiao Junbai avoided answering, "It's not important. Now that things have come to this, do you still want to participate?"

Qi Qinghe was startled, lowered his head and remained silent for a moment, then said softly, "But the Third Prince was not like this in the past."

To this day, she still couldn't believe that the Third Prince would do such a thing, coveting the throne, murdering his brother, and privately raising his own death squads with evil intentions.

"How long have you been with him?" Xiao Junbai looked at her and sighed almost inaudibly.

His Crown Princess is too kind-hearted. If she doesn't change, she may not be able to gain a foothold in the capital.

Qi Qinghe bit her lip and didn't say anything for a long time.

The carriage drove away and slowly returned home.

When she was about to get off the car, Qi Qinghe just remembered what she had said at first, "Your Highness, I want to make it easier for the Third Imperial Concubine to go."

Xiao Junbai remained silent. "Just tell Chengxi that you need to return to Linyu tomorrow. You should have a good rest."

Qi Qinghe nodded almost inaudibly, and then he remembered what His Highness had said, that he would return to the capital in four days, and he would probably be busy in the next few days.

Thinking of this, she slapped her head, remembering something she had forgotten. She lifted her skirt and followed His Highness to his bedroom. "Your Highness, if you return to the capital, how will my mother and my younger sister be accommodated?"

"You decide." Xiao Junbai never paid much attention to such trivial matters. When he heard her ask, he paused for a moment, then continued, "It's been a rough few days. Tell them not to wander around. We'll discuss this again when we return to Beijing."

Qi Qinghe nodded as if she understood, changed her blood-stained dress, and made a special trip to give more instructions.

As for the Third Imperial Concubine Ning Yu, she chose a place in the deep forest on the outskirts of the city to be buried there.

The next morning, the drizzle finally stopped, but the sky was still not clear, there was no sunlight, and dark clouds covered the sky.

The gray sky makes people lose the motivation to do anything.

Qi Qinghe sat listlessly in front of the dressing mirror, allowing the maid to dress her and put on makeup for her.

Xiao Junbai took the book, sat down on the side, and placed the book on his knees. He opened the book for a long time without turning the page, his eyes always on Qi Jiaqinghe.

Qi Qinghe felt uncomfortable being stared at, so she twisted her body and asked casually, "Your Highness, is there anything important that you are going to Linyu today?"

"County magistrate." Xiao Junbai said concisely.

The county magistrate had clearly seen the prince and Qi Qinghe entangled, and the prince had also instructed that the county magistrate should know Qi Qinghe Mu's identity.

But that night, he suddenly rebelled and, along with many other people, drove the people out of the city.

It really doesn't make sense. Who would risk offending the prince and force people out of the city on a rainy night?

It is definitely not something that can be solved by a certain amount of silver.

Qi Qinghe thought about it carefully and realized that something was amiss. "Could it be related to the third... Xiao Junqi's rebellion?"

"You'll know when you go there." Xiao Junbai didn't say much, but he had another guess in mind.

Linyu County was shrouded in a gray fog, making it dark and unclear.

There was no one in the streets, as if the shadow of the epidemic had not yet dissipated, and the encounter in the rain that night seemed like a dream that no longer existed.

Walking on the familiar streets, Qi Qinghe was sad and dazed. He looked carefully at every corner of the streets, as if he wanted to engrave them firmly in his heart.

After turning a corner, she separated from the prince. She went back to the cloth shop, while the prince went to the government office.

Unexpectedly, the cloth shop was in a mess.

The inky black gate was lifted and splashed with red paint, and the gate was wide open. In the originally neat and exquisite front hall and courtyard, the potted plants fell to the ground, the gray-black soil was scattered everywhere, the beautiful flowers withered, and wild grass emerged from between the bluestone slabs.

It was obvious that no one had taken care of it for several days.

The further Qi Qinghe went in, the more frightened he became.

The tables and chairs in the main room were overturned in all directions, broken teacups were scattered everywhere, and there was even a thin layer of spider webs in the corners.

Further in is the dormitory for the helpers, which is now quiet and deserted.

Qi Qinghe pushed open the door of her bedroom. The floor was covered with written rice paper and the gauze curtain beside the bed fell to the ground, covered with dust.

On the bedding, cotton wool was flying all over the place, and the marks left by sharp weapons on the bedding were particularly conspicuous.

The accompanying guards stood in front of the empress, carefully checking everything in the room, always on guard against anyone attacking.

However, despite all the precautions, it still couldn't be prevented.

A thin figure rushed in from outside the door, choked with sobs and knelt in front of Qi Qinghe, "Girl, I think I finally waited for you, girl."

Qi Qinghe was so shocked that she stepped back repeatedly, covering her lips and taking a closer look. On the man's handsome face, there was a striking scar on the left side of his cheek. After taking a closer look at his facial features, she felt a sense of familiarity in her heart and asked tentatively, "Li Niang?"

Li Niang nodded repeatedly and cried uncontrollably. Without waiting for the girl from the landlord to ask, she told the story in a fragmented manner.

It turned out that on that day, Qi Qinghe was driven out of the city, and the people in the cloth shop did not come forward to plead for him. It was just because a few people had a disagreement. During the dispute, a group of men in black climbed over the wall in the backyard, hacked at anyone they saw, and smashed any house they saw. Every knife attack was fatal. They hacked and drove away everyone before they stopped.

"…At that time, everyone was just trying to escape. No one cared about each other, and they all dispersed at once." Li Niang said, stroking the scar on her face, tears streaming down her face. "I wanted to stay and wait for the young lady from the Dong family to return, but they all said she wouldn't come back."

Qi Qinghe stood in front of the group, listening silently, and quietly handed over a handkerchief. "So, what are your plans now?"

Li Niang sobbed and shook her head. "My lady is now of noble status, but I know that I am of humble status. I don't ask for anything else but a meal."

After saying that, Li Niang kowtowed until her forehead became red and swollen. She raised her eyes and looked at her eagerly.

Qi Qinghe was speechless for a moment, lost in thought. After a long moment, he said, "You can follow me and do anything you want."

Li Niang nodded hurriedly.

Qi Qinghe secretly thought that it shouldn't be difficult to take her to the capital and find her a job as an embroiderer. "Then you can follow me."

After saying that, she waved her hand, signaling people to follow.

Since there is no one in this cloth shop, there is no need to look at it anymore.

Qi Qinghe calmed down and went to the government office.

At this time, the government office was in chaos.

The magistrate of Linyu County, who had mediocre achievements and was a cautious person, was hanged from the beam of his study.

On the desk in the study was a letter of confession written by the county magistrate himself, stating that he had been corrupt and accepted bribes, had curryed favor with the powerful, had ignored the suffering of the people, and was unworthy of being an official. Therefore, he committed suicide to apologize for his crime and hoped that the emperor would spare his wife and children from the suffering of imprisonment in view of his confession.

The officers and soldiers conducted a widespread search but did not dare to move anyone, so they had to report to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince first.

Xiao Junbai carefully flipped through the letter of confession, his expression calm and without any sign of abnormality. He simply folded the letter and put it away, then ordered the man to be released and sent back to Yangzhou City first.

"Hurry up." Xiao Junbai frowned slightly, fearing that Qi Qinghe would see this horrific scene when he came.

Ning Yu's suicide yesterday had frightened her deeply. She had nightmares all night and couldn't sleep well.

There was really no need to let her know about this sort of thing, Xiao Junbai thought so and strode out of the study.

The government office looks imposing, but the most exquisite part is in the backyard, where the county magistrate and his family live.

The pens and inks are all top-grade from Beijing, the treasure chests and bookshelves are all made of golden nanmu wood, and the glazed tea sets are radiant and beautiful.

Food, clothing and other necessities are not something a mere county magistrate can afford.

In addition, the county magistrate's wife and children were nowhere to be found, along with their clothes and valuables. It was likely that they had already fled for their lives.

The accompanying guards took half of the money and sent the county magistrate's body back to Yangzhou City to hand it over to the coroner.

After searching around and finding nothing else, the group waited quietly in front of the government office.

Qi Qinghe accompanied Li Niang and asked a lot of questions along the way. When he learned that she was the only one left in Li Niang's family, he felt even more pity for her. He only whispered to her, "Don't worry, you will definitely have enough to eat when you get to the capital."

Li Niang finally stopped crying and nodded repeatedly.

When he arrived in front of the government office, Qi Qinghe saw the prince at a glance.

Xiao Junbai stood in front of the steps, his sky-blue robe making his shoulders look broad and his legs long. He tilted his head slightly, staring at her with his ink-black eyes without blinking. When she looked at him more closely, a faint smile flashed across his eyes.

Qi Qinghe's eyes curved, she lifted the hem of her skirt and called out "Your Highness", jogging all the way, the tassel hairpin on her bun shaking constantly.

Xiao Junbai took a few steps forward and supported her lightly, "Why are you so anxious?"

Qi Qinghe pursed her lips and said nothing. She couldn't explain it clearly. She only knew that when she saw the prince, the gloom, depression, grief and anger in her heart disappeared in an instant.

The restless heart calmed down, perhaps because His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had already made plans and was omnipotent.

"Your Highness is here, have you found anything?" she asked curiously.

Xiao Junbai just said he would go back first.

Li Niang, who was not far away, looked at this scene, feeling bitter and unwilling in her heart. When she raised her eyes again, she suddenly met the prince's cold and deep eyes. She trembled all over and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look any longer.