Qin Peng didn't really care about Liu Shiyun's life or death. What she cared about was that if Liu Shiyun really died today, she would definitely be involved!

Qin Peng suddenly understood at this moment, and she said, with Liu Shiyun's personality, how could she do such a thing as confronting her in the street and announcing to the public that she was pregnant, which would lead to both her and her losing the alliance.

All of this was just for this moment. Once Liu Shiyun died, all the blame would be directed at her, who everyone knew was in conflict with Liu Shiyun!

Not to mention that she was here when the fire broke out today, and everyone present, in the teahouse and on the street, must have heard Liu Shiyun's screams. If Liu Shiyun really died here today, she would probably be the first to suffer.

Qin Peng didn't have time to think about anything else, and turned around and rushed into the fire. Lu You grabbed Qin Peng and hurriedly said, "Princess, don't! The fire is already too strong to go in!"

Qin Peng held Lu You's sleeve and looked at the raging fire. There was no sound from inside and people around were frantically fetching water to put out the fire. Qin Peng closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said, "Quickly send soldiers to cordon off this street. If you see any suspicious people, especially those like Liu Shiyun, they must not be let go."

Lu You didn't quite understand Qin Peng's decision, but he immediately followed it.

Qin Peng stood at the entrance of the teahouse, looking at the flames rising to the sky, and vaguely felt as if she was a moth stuck in a spider web. From the moment she was in front of Zhao Peng, she seemed to be struggling desperately on this spider web, but there was no escape. In the dark, it seemed that there was an invisible hand behind the scenes, using spider silk to entangle her bit by bit, making her trapped in a small space, and she collapsed in despair bit by bit.

Lu You quickly brought people in and sealed off the entire street. At the same time, Qin Shuhuai also ordered the city to be locked down and rushed to the Yanyu Teahouse.

When he arrived, he saw Qin Peng standing at the door of the teahouse. The fire had subsided. He hurried forward, held Qin Peng's shoulder and asked, "Are you okay?"

Qin Peng turned around and saw that it was Qin Shuhuai who came. He looked shocked and supported her and said, "Pengpeng, don't panic, I'm here."

These words sobered Qin Peng up a lot. Her eyes quickly turned cold and she immediately said, "Go back quickly and don't worry about me."

Qin Shuhuai said nothing, but lowered his head and held her hand, and asked, "Have you eaten?"

"This matter is not just aimed at me." Qin Peng said quickly: "If Liu Shiyun is really dead, the Liu family will definitely not give up. Zhang Ying and the Liu family will join forces and will definitely take the opportunity to put me in jail. If you also make a move to save me, I'm afraid you will be dragged into it too."

"Did you kill him?" Qin Shuhuai looked up at her. Qin Peng was slightly stunned and quickly said, "No."

"Then why are you panicking?" Qin Shuhuai said calmly, "You didn't kill the person. If they want to throw dirty water on me, I should be the one to cause trouble for them. What do we have to be afraid of?"

"But," Qin Peng said with worry in his eyes, "sometimes, being upright doesn't mean that the dirty water won't splash on you."

"This is none of your business."

Qin Shuhuai spoke calmly, asked Zhao Yi to bring some clean water, and wiped the dirt off her hands. Then he looked up at her with a gentle expression: "The most important thing for you now is to go home and have a good dinner, and then wait for me to come home, okay?"

"I……"

"Give me a chance." Qin Shuhuai said suddenly, his tone was very serious: "I failed to protect you back then, give me a chance, and I will protect you well now."

As he spoke, he raised his hand to brush away her hair, his voice calm and steady: "I have fought for my life all my life, just for this moment. Pengpeng, don't always think about how to fight alone, I am here."

Qin Peng didn't say anything. She took a deep breath, suddenly smiled, hugged him hard, and then said, "Okay, I'll go back and wait for you."

After saying this, she turned around and got on the carriage.

Qin Shuhuai clasped his hands in his sleeves and watched her leave with a smile. When her carriage left his sight, his expression suddenly turned cold. He raised his eyes and said, "Seal off the scene and no one is allowed to enter or leave. Give an order in my name to seal the city gates and look for Liu Shiyun."

"My Lord," Jiang Chun frowned, "I'm afraid Liu Shiyun is in there..."

"She's not here."

Qin Shuhuai raised his eyes and looked at Jiang Chun: "Liu Shiyun met with the Northern Yan people alone, and set fire to assassinate the eldest princess Qin Peng, but failed and escaped halfway. Do you understand?"

Jiang Chun was stunned for a moment, then immediately said: "Your Majesty, this is too risky!"

Qin Shuhuai wanted to say more, but at this moment, the people from the Dali Temple came in hastily and said directly: "Seal off the scene, no outsiders are allowed to enter!"

As they were talking, the people from the Dali Temple immediately took action. Qin Shuhuai frowned. At this time, the Dali Temple Minister Lu Xiucai discovered that Qin Shuhuai was also here. He quickly turned over and dismounted, and stepped forward and said, "Meet the prince."

Qin Shuhuai didn't say anything. Lu Xiu was Zhang Ying's man, and he came too quickly. It was obvious that Zhang Ying had informed him in advance.

According to Qin Shuhuai's idea, now that the fire is out, he will have people take control of the first scene. As long as Liu Shiyun's body is taken away, it can be said that Liu Shiyun escaped, and Qin Peng will be safe.

However, Lu Xiu came first, and it was not someone from the Liu family but Lu Xiu who came. It can be seen that in the matter of Liu Shiyun, the real person behind might not be Liu Shixuan, but Zhang Ying.

Whether Liu Shiyun is dead or not has become the most crucial point in this case.

As they were talking, Zhou Yu also rushed over. When he saw Lu Xiu, his face changed. He dismounted, walked quickly to Qin Shuhuai, and said respectfully, "Prince." Then he turned to look at Lu Xiu, smiled and said, "Lord Lu came so quickly. The Dali Temple has always tried cases related to royal relatives. This case has not yet been handled by the Ministry of Justice. Why is Lord Lu here?"

"Mr. Zhou is absolutely right," Lu Xiu said respectfully, "This case should not have been handled by the Dali Temple, but last night the Dali Temple received a secret letter in which someone reported that a certain royal relative intended to kill someone, saying that if he was killed, it was this person who ordered it. The Dali Temple sent people to protect this believer, but she still encountered an accident today along with several officials from the Dali Temple."

Lu Xiu's face showed a sad expression. "After I noticed that those officials had lost contact, I rushed here immediately. Although the case has not been handled by the Ministry of Justice, it has been confirmed that the case involves royal relatives. Lord Zhou can rest assured to hand over the case."

Zhou Yu didn't say anything, he looked at Qin Shuhuai.

Qin Shuhuai looked at Lu Xiu calmly, nodded and said, "Lord Lu is right. The princess was almost killed here today. We must not let the murderer escape. I have ordered the Nine Army Commander's Office to lock down the city. I believe that the real murderer will be caught soon."

"Your Highness has thought it through carefully," Lu Xiu said with a face full of admiration, without any displeasure, "I will definitely track down the real culprit as soon as possible, please rest assured, Your Highness!"

"Zhou Yu," Qin Shuhuai looked at Zhou Yu and said calmly, "This case involves a lot of things. I'm afraid the Dali Temple doesn't have enough manpower. You can transfer people from the Ministry of Justice..."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," Lu Xiu interrupted Qin Shuhuai and said with a smile, "Compared to the Ministry of Justice, the number of cases handled by the Dali Temple is relatively small. I will definitely do my best in this case. There is no need to cause trouble for Lord Zhou."

Qin Shuhuai didn't say anything. He just looked at Lu Xiu quietly. After a long time, he slowly smiled.

"You are very good," he said, and then he turned around and got on the carriage without further ado. He said to Jiang Chun, "Call Wang Yushi to supervise the Dali Temple in handling this case. Before Wang Yushi arrives, Zhou Yu from the Ministry of Justice will take over this position temporarily."

"Yes."

Zhou Yu respectfully accepted the order, and Jiang Chun immediately got up and went to the Yu Shitai.

Qin Shuhuai sat in the carriage, closed his eyes and watched this happen.

Last night, Liu Shiyun informed the Dali Temple that Qin Peng would kill her, and then Zhang Ying also intervened in the matter. Today, she tried to lure Qin Peng into the teahouse, set herself on fire and killed herself in order to frame Qin Peng.

But if she wanted to frame Qin Peng, why didn't she just kill him? Since she was already risking her life, it would be more straightforward to just kill Qin Peng.

Therefore, the real target of this matter was not Qin Peng, but him.

Or maybe Liu Shiyun had no intention of dying at all, and at this moment, she might have already escaped.

How could Liu Shiyun, who values ​​life so much and is so selfish, sell her life for anyone?

Qin Shuhuai thought about it and was almost certain that Liu Shiyun must have changed her identity and escaped.

But after doing all this, she can no longer be the legitimate daughter of the Liu family. What will she be then?

There must be a better identity waiting for her, so she is so desperate.

Who made the promise to her, and who was helping her behind the scenes?

Qin Shuhuai thought about it and went directly to Wei Mansion.

At the same time, a man in purple put on a veiled hat and turned and walked into the long alley.

"Master," the man in black who followed him said hesitantly, "Miss Liu is pregnant after all, you..."

"That's not my child."

The man said calmly: "She thought so, that's all."

When Qin Shuhuai arrived at the Wei Mansion, it was already dark. He went straight to Qin Peng's room. Qin Peng was reading a memorial. When she saw Qin Shuhuai coming in, she smiled and said, "I wanted to eat first, but I thought you must not have eaten when you came back, so I waited for you in the room."

Qin Shuhuai didn't say anything, he just stood at the door.

It was raining outside. It was late autumn and the weather was slightly chilly. Qin Peng had already lit a charcoal stove in the house early on, and the whole room was as warm as spring. She was wearing a pure white gown with a black robe on the outside. There was not a trace of makeup on her face, but because of her gorgeous facial features, she seemed to have color.

"You're waiting for me?"

Something in his heart spread out, warm and soft, as if ink dropped into warm water, slowly invading every inch and every drop of the water.

Qin Peng smiled slightly: "If I'm not waiting for you, then who am I waiting for?"

Qin Shuhuai suppressed the throbbing in his heart and responded. Qin Peng walked up to him and untied his outer cloak for him. Qin Shuhuai pulled her into his arms and pressed her against his chest.

"Are you afraid?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"There was a fire today and I wasn't with you," Qin Shuhuai held her hand tightly, "I was very scared when I heard about it."

Qin Peng couldn't help but laugh. She listened to the man's heartbeat and said gently, "I'm not afraid. I know I'll be fine. Don't worry." She couldn't help but make her tone even softer, "It's not that easy for me to die before I grow old with you."

Qin Shuhuai was stunned by what she said. He lowered his head to look at her. Qin Peng noticed his gaze and looked up. The two looked at each other quietly. After a moment, Qin Peng stood on tiptoe and pecked her.

Qin Peng then turned around and clapped his hands, and Chunsu had the food brought up.

Qin Peng took Qin Shuhuai to sit down and eat. While eating, he asked about what happened next. At the same time, he told Qin Shuhuai the whole story. Qin Shuhuai frowned and said, "Lu You said he met someone from Beiyan. Did you go and meet him?"

"No." Qin Peng shook his head and said, "After I went there, I didn't see any people from Beiyan."

The people of Northern Yan and Qi looked very different. Northern Yan people were tall and strong, with dark skin and straight and deep features. On the other hand, Qi people were slender and thin, with elegant manners and light features. Most people of the two countries could be recognized at a glance.

Qin Shuhuai nodded, and then said: "But you don't have to worry, since you didn't do anything, we can always find evidence to prove this."

Qin Peng said nothing. After dinner, the two of them went to bed together. Qin Shuhuai held her in his arms until midnight. There was a commotion outside. Qin Peng was about to get up, but Qin Shuhuai raised his hand to hold her down: "You go to sleep first, I'll go check."

Qin Peng answered in a daze, and Qin Shuhuai walked out wearing a cloak. When they reached the corridor, Qin Shuhuai asked coldly, "What's going on outside?"

"The Dali Temple is here to arrest someone," Jiang Chun said in a cold voice, "They said that the eldest princess is suspected of murdering Liu Shiyun, and they are here tonight to arrest her and put her in jail."

Hearing this, Qin Shuhuai couldn't help but laugh: "Can the princess be arrested just because she is a mere Dali Temple official? Send the soldiers out and ask him, given his rank, under whose orders did he arrest the princess?"

"Prince," Zhao Yi walked out after hearing what Qin Shuhuai said and said calmly, "Just now, someone came from the palace saying that Lu Xiu is in the Huai'an Palace, waiting for your approval of the arrest warrant."

"Where does he get the courage?!" Qin Shuhuai suddenly got angry and raised his voice: "He actually came to me to give orders? What if I don't give orders?!"

"Your Majesty," Zhao Yi said calmly, "Don't you understand why he came to you to give you orders?"

I understand. How could Qin Shuhuai not understand?

By now, the Dali Temple must have sufficient evidence, so they came to apply for Qin Peng to be imprisoned. This should have been done directly with Qin Ming's approval, but he went to Qin Shuhuai instead.

Firstly, it showed the world that he, the regent, could indeed control the emperor and the princes.

Secondly, if he did not approve this matter, and word got out that he stayed in Wei Mansion tonight, then this incident would become ironclad evidence of his abuse of power and perverting the law.

If it was someone else, Qin Ming or someone else, they could still find a way to refuse. However, since they were Qin Shuhuai, in order to prove his innocence, Qin Shuhuai had to approve the arrest warrant.

Qin Shuhuai knew everything clearly. He understood their plans the moment Lu Xiu appeared in the teahouse.

"But what does it matter?"

He looked up at Zhao Yi and said, "I just won't approve this arrest warrant. Even if the whole world talks about me, what can a bunch of scholars say?!"

When he was lying in the Jiang family compound, with his hands and feet broken and his body covered in blood, he had already understood this.

"Zhao Yi, don't you know why I have come this far?"

"I will not issue this arrest warrant."

"Your Highness!" Jiang Chun said anxiously, "Let's put the princess in jail first. Lu Xiu doesn't dare to do anything to her. We'll make arrangements in jail, and the princess will just stay there for a while while we find a way to get rid of Lu Xiu..."

"Don't I know what you're talking about?"

Qin Shuhuai glanced at them coldly: "Get out, tell Lu Xiu's people to get out. If they don't leave tomorrow morning, go to the Nine Army Commandery to call for people and drive them out!"

"My Lord!"

After saying that, Qin Shuhuai turned around and went back. Jiang Chun stood at the entrance of the corridor and raised his voice anxiously: "Don't you want your reputation anymore?! You worked so hard to build up your reputation, are you going to go back to being known as the son of Emperor Jing just because of this case?!"

Qin Shuhuai paused.

Because he was the son of Emperor Jing, the eldest son of that cruel monarch and the former crown prince, people in Qi had always been wary of him.

After so many years of hard work, he finally got rid of this reputation and made everyone believe that he was not as stupid and cruel as his father.

However, once he had so obviously committed favoritism and abused the law, Zhang Ying would have surely ruined all his efforts if she had made some further moves.

Jiang Chun watched Qin Shuhuai stop, and hope ignited in his heart. He said anxiously: "Prince, I promise that nothing will happen to the princess..."

"In fact, I never thought of becoming an emperor."

Qin Shuhuai suddenly spoke, he raised his head and looked at the lantern swaying in the distance with a calm expression.

"Before coming to Qi, I promised Peng Peng that I would give her a stable life. We would live in seclusion in the countryside and no one would bother us. She would no longer have to be cautious and live in fear for the rest of her life. At that time, I thought that if I didn't want anything, power or glory, people would just let us go."

"Later I realized that it was a crime to possess the jade, and no one believed me because I was not right."

"But Jiang Chun," Qin Shuhuai turned his head and said calmly, "I came to this point, in the end, just to protect someone. Her reputation is the same as mine, and I can't bear to see her suffer even a little bit of injustice."

After saying that, Qin Shuhuai walked back. Jiang Chun wanted to chase him again, but Zhao Yi held him back and shook his head, saying, "Don't try to persuade me. Do you know what will happen better than the prince?"

If Jiang Chun knew what the consequences would be, didn't Qin Shuhuai know?

He knew it, but he still had to choose.

He was willing to carry her on this thorny road, even if it was through knives and fire, with him bleeding, because he hoped that she could remain clean and innocent as before.

Lu You returned to the house in advance to tell Qin Peng about every word he said. Qin Peng stood on the corridor, looking at the drizzle under the lights, feeling a lump in his throat and unable to say anything.

She thought of the clear and steady eyes of the boy in her youth, and of the day when they left Yandu, when the sky was clear and he leaned on her legs, listening to her belly, his eyes full of anticipation.

"Peng Peng, we don't have to be afraid anymore. I will give you a home, and when you have a child, I want him to be a teacher. Do you think that's okay?"

At that time they were full of hope and they thought they were heading towards a bright future. However, they never imagined that they were just going from one hell to another.

From a hard life, it becomes a life of separation and ignorance.

Qin Peng looked at Ye Yu and heard approaching footsteps.

Qin Shuhuai saw Qin Peng standing barefoot on the corridor, frowned, held her hand and said: "Why are you standing here? You will catch a cold if you stand like this."

Qin Peng didn't say anything. She looked at the lines on his chest, raising her head to look at them inch by inch.

The young man from that time now stood here, with sharp features and eyes as deep as the night sky and the deep sea. She opened her mouth, but felt as if something was stuck in her throat.

Qin Shuhuai noticed that something was wrong with her and couldn't help but soften his tone: "Pengpeng, what's wrong with you?"

"Qin Shuhuai," she said hoarsely, her eyes becoming blurry, but she stared at him intently, and said slowly, "Why are you so nice to me?"

Qin Shuhuai held her hand, looked at her, and couldn't help but smile.

"Who else is there in my life besides you?"

He has no parents, no brothers or sisters, no relatives or friends.

In his life, there was only Zhao Peng, only Zhao Peng.

He had promised to accompany her and protect her for the rest of her life. Other people's promises might be just words, but his promises were for a lifetime.

She was alive, and he protected her with his life.

She died, and he avenged her with his own life.

Qin Peng couldn't bear it any longer, she rushed up, pushed him against the corridor, and kissed him on the lips.

Her kiss was wild and hot, in sharp contrast to the night rain and the cool autumn wind. Qin Shuhuai's head buzzed, and he felt her soft tongue coming in, sucking and stirring.

His breathing became rapid, and without time to think about anything, he picked the person up and put him on the bed.

He had a kind of tenderness towards the person in front of him that came from the bottom of his heart, and even when he put her down, he did it very carefully.

However, Qin Peng felt very anxious. She had something in her heart that she wanted to express, and it was surging, making her want to hold this man in her arms and wrap him with her eagerness to be known.

She tried to please him in every way she could think of. Qin Shuhuai was addicted to the tenderness and joy she gave him. She hugged him and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"That year you said you wanted a child, and when he grew up, you wanted him to be a teacher." She hugged him and whispered in his ear: "Do you still want it now?"

Those words were so exciting that Qin Shuhuai's breathing became disordered.

He pressed on top of her and held her tightly.

"think."

He closed his eyes: "I've been thinking about it all my life."

She put her hands in his hair and tenderly kissed the childlike man on her body.

"Qin Shuhuai," she said with a smile in her eyes, "I know you want a home."

Qin Shuhuai looked up blankly and saw the light in the girl's eyes, and also in his eyes.

She spoke so warmly and tenderly.

She said, "I give you this home."

I will give you a safe place, no matter how hard you try, no matter how wounded you are, when you return here, you will still be a young man.

Qin Shuhuai, this safe place is given to you by Qin Peng.