“Princess, don’t listen to this bandit’s nonsense, we servants…” Si Juan’s heart tightened, and she quickly spoke up.

"Clap clap clap clap!"

A crisp, loud slap completely interrupted Si Juan's sophistry, knocking her to the ground.

Ji Fengyao followed closely like a god of death, stepping on Si Juan's chest to immobilize her. Blood dripped from her left hand onto Si Juan's disfigured face, her voice cold and sharp as if from the depths of hell: "In this situation, you still dare to scheme against me? It seems you are ruthless and arrogant. I cannot let you live!"

"You dare, today is..." Before Si Juan could finish her angry and shocked words, Ji Fengyao's feet sank, and she heard a crisp sound of bones breaking in Si Juan's chest.

Sijuan opened her mouth wide, blood gushing out, before she could even let out a scream.

The palace servants and ladies-in-waiting, drawn by the noise of the commotion, screamed in terror upon seeing the horrific scene:

"Ah! The bandits are killing people!"

"Something terrible has happened! The Ninth Princess has killed someone!"

Ji Fengyao's eyes flashed with fierce intensity as she looked over, and she suddenly roared, "What are you howling about? Such a wicked servant who stirs up trouble for his master and then drags his master out to take the blame; such a vicious, disloyal, and unjust servant; shouldn't I kill him!"

Everyone immediately fell silent, fearing that the bandit might become bloodthirsty and kill them as well.

"Your Highness, your hand..."

"Miss, please bandage your hand quickly!"

Lin Shuang and Xi Que stepped forward with heartache to help Ji Feng Yao treat her still-bleeding hand.

Ji Fengyao raised her injured left hand and clenched it, wincing slightly in pain: "It's nothing, don't rush to bandage it."

"But..." Xi Que was about to say something.

Realizing what was happening, Lin Shuang quickly pulled her back and silently shook her head at her.

People in the palace have always been biased, and playing the victim is a daily occurrence.

It's not a big deal if a hundred servants die, but if the master is injured, then they have to play the victim to win.

Don't be fooled by Princess Zhaoping's current pitiful state, covered in blood; all the blood on her is Siqi's. But their princess is different; she has a real hand injury that is still bleeding profusely.

"Where are the Imperial Guards!" Ji Fengyao shouted sternly.

The Imperial Guards, stuck not far away and caught in a dilemma: "..."

These bandits are really arrogant; they order them around more confidently than the Empress.

"exist!"

Because of her status as the Ninth Prince's Consort, the Imperial Guards had no choice but to come over and obey her orders.

"Drag these two blind fools out and bury them. Also, send someone to Huguo Temple to light two prayer lamps for the Empress Dowager and the Emperor," Ji Fengyao said, taking out a stack of silver notes from her sleeve pocket (storage space). She pulled out a hundred-tael note from it: "This is for incense money. You can use the rest to buy wine and drinks."

These Imperial Guards have served in the palace for many years and can see through many things: if they take the body away now, and the Empress Dowager and others try to reason with the Ninth Prince's wife later, it will just be a verbal battle, and there will be no evidence to prove it.

They just didn't expect that the Ninth Princess would be so generous.

They say it's money for incense oil, but lighting two prayer lamps wouldn't cost more than a few thousand taels. This is clearly an attempt to give them a way to profit.

She also gave them an extra hundred taels of silver as a reward to cover for them, so that even if they ate and drank afterwards, they would have an explanation.

They've done such a great job for us, they should at least know what's good for them, right?

The imperial guards were overjoyed when they received the silver notes; their expressions changed completely.