"I heard that the elderly man is not doing well lately."

Xie Lingqin spoke each word carefully, watching Qi Rufeng's face gradually crumble. A cold smile welled up in her heart, but on the surface, she remained calm and composed, offering feigned comfort, "I wonder if Young Master Qi will still be able to act so arrogantly here if something happens to this old man."

"What, what did you say?"

Qi Rufeng's worry was evident as he looked at Xie Lingqin, "How could my master be sick? I haven't even received any news."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask your dear Senior Sister Qingyu." Xie Lingqin turned to look at Li Qingyu.

The ambiguous smile in her eyes made Li Qingyu's face turn slightly pale. Meeting Qi Rufeng's questioning gaze, she nodded gently, "Yes, I just received the news, I haven't had time to tell you yet."

But she only received the message half an hour ago, so why did Xie Lingqin know about it?

Xie Lingqin certainly wouldn't tell Li Qingyu because she had a close friend, Old Dong, who was much older than her.

Although the old man was highly skilled in martial arts, he did not know medicine. As he got older, even the strongest body would eventually develop problems. Therefore, in order to survive, he had to think of a way, so he secretly sent someone to find Old Master Dong.

Old Master Dong then sent someone to tell her about it.

She thought this was the best way to restrain Qi Rufeng.

"If I were you, I'd better go back and be a dutiful son as soon as possible. It would be better to do that than to spend your days following a woman around like that. You're more likely to cause trouble than get anything done."

"Xie Lingqin, how dare you!"

Li Qingyu was furious and blurted out her words. Afterwards, she felt somewhat regretful. She and Xie Lingqin were practically equals, and Xie Lingqin was even the descendant of a meritorious official. It was truly inappropriate for her to say those words to her.

"Miss Li has such great manners."

Xie Lingqin lowered her eyebrows slightly, her expression full of sarcasm.

How could Qi Rufeng bear to see his beloved senior sister suffer? He stepped forward and, in his haste, blurted out, "Then I see that the Crown Prince often follows you around. Doesn't what you're saying imply that the Crown Prince is incompetent?"

"Shut up."

As soon as Qi Rufeng finished speaking, Li Qingyu quickly rebuked him, "How dare you slander the Crown Prince so casually?"

"Yes, I'm sorry, senior sister, I... I overspoke."

"Oh……"

Xie Lingqin sneered, looking at the two of them, but she did not intend to let them off so easily. Her cold gaze swept over Qi Rufeng, "To criticize the Crown Prince in public is a crime. Young Master Qi, your manners are quite something, even more so than Miss Li's."

"Xie Lingqin, didn't you come to see your cousin? You're just wasting time making a scene here."

Li Qingyu calmed herself down quickly and wanted to remind Xie Lingqin to distract her, but Xie Lingqin suddenly stepped forward, smiled at her, and said softly, "Yes, Miss Li, Young Master Qi, would you like to come along?"

Li Qingyu felt a chill run down her spine from Xie Lingqin's gaze, and knowing she was in the wrong, she glanced at Qi Rufeng, then straightened her posture and maintained her smile, "No need, I think Young Master Zongzheng needs some peace and quiet after his injury."

After saying this, the two turned and left.

"Butler, close the door."

The two had just stepped out of the Zong government building when they heard Xie Lingqin's voice behind them.

Without any politeness.

The two men shuddered, clearly angered, but there was nothing they could do.

The butler stepped forward and closed the door, then breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He looked at Xie Lingqin and said, "Miss Lingqin, you are so insightful. Miss Li and Young Master Qi look like they have ill intentions. They must be up to no good."

Fortunately, although Li Qingyu is smart, she has a teammate who is as bad as a pig.

“Miss Lingqin, the young master is not in any danger, you shouldn’t have come.”

Zongzheng's steward was also a loyal man, and naturally understood Xie Lingqin's current predicament.

Xie Lingqin's eyes were calm and her expression serene. "I know, but I've thought of some things that I need to discuss with my grandfather, uncle, and aunt."

Seeing Xie Lingqin's composed demeanor, the butler stopped asking questions and led the way.

Zong Zhengxu had multiple knife wounds on his body, but it seemed that his opponent had held back, clearly intending to inflict pain without killing him.

Looking at Zong Zhengxu's wound, Xie Lingqin felt a chill run through her body.

This torture is worse than killing a person.

The Emperor has warned her time and time again.

Although Yuwen Yao was a master strategist, he was, after all, the son and the emperor the father, and there were still many constraints on him.

"Grandpa." Xie Lingqin's eyes were filled with a dark look, as if she was thinking about something for a long time. After a while, she turned to look at Zong Zhengxiong. After not seeing him for a few days, this kind and still vigorous old man looked a bit older.

"I have an idea..."

Xie Lingqin then called Zong Zhenghao and Yu Ruyi over, and they talked in detail for a long time.

...

When Xie Lingqin left the Zong government and returned to the General's Mansion, the setting sun had already dyed half the sky red.

Xie Lingqin barely took a sip of tea before getting back into her carriage and setting off from the General's Mansion.

At that moment, the sun began to set.

However, when the carriage was halfway there, someone suddenly jumped into the carriage.

It's Nie Zui'er.

Xie Lingqin was somewhat surprised.

"Take cover."

Nie Zuier's face was covered in sweat and her body was covered in blood.

Before Xie Lingqin could ask anything, her carriage was stopped.

"What happened?"

At Xie Lingqin's signal, Tridacna got out of the carriage.

It was a guard from the Jingzhao Yin's office, blocking the carriage and looking at Tridacna. "Excuse me, we are tracking down a wanted criminal, and she just happened to be coming this way."

"This is the General's carriage, and inside sits Miss Xie, who is about to enter the palace."

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