Seeing that he was awake and recognized her, Xun Ying instinctively chopped him unconscious again.
Wanwan, standing to the side, was stunned by what she saw.
Xun Ying was startled by her own subconscious action. She looked at her daughter guiltily and scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "It's not time for us to acknowledge each other yet. I got nervous and couldn't help but act."
Wanwan remained silent. While Wanwan was cleaning Xiao Qi's wounds, Xunying made up an excuse and left the Wan family that night.
The next morning, the sun shone brightly, and light streamed into the room through the layer of green plants climbing on the small round window, casting a light green shadow on Xiao Qi's cheek, cool and gentle.
Xiao Qi's long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his vision gradually cleared. What came into view was a scarlet gauze curtain, and a light sandalwood fragrance wafted in the air, without any trace of blood.
This is not my room.
Xiao Qi subconsciously tried to sit up, but found some weight on his body. Looking down, he saw Wanwan sleeping soundly next to him.
A pale green shadow also appeared on her face. Her eyelashes were wet, perhaps from crying for a long time. Her skin, gently caressed by the sunlight, was like beautiful jade, even with a hint of white halo. The green ribbon tied in her hair hung down to her face, complementing the green shadow.
She rested her head on her arm, one hand covering Xiao Qi's palm, a section of her sleeve brushing against her wrist, revealing a slender arm.
Xiao Qi looked closely and saw that her arms were covered with wounds of all sizes. The small wounds had begun to scab over, but the large wounds were still bleeding, reflecting the light and showing a reddish halo.
This little brat has used her own blood to save someone again.
Xiao Qi felt a dense, throbbing pain in his heart. He quickly got up to find medicine to stop the bleeding, but his movements were too vigorous and woke Wanwan.
"Brother Xiao..."
Wanwan rubbed her eyes and, seeing that Xiao Qi's complexion had regained some color, her face lit up with joy. She threw herself into a bear hug, embracing Xiao Qi's back. Before she could even speak, tears welled up in her eyes, "That's wonderful, Brother Xiao! I was so scared the day before yesterday! I thought I was going to send you away..."
Two joyful tears slid down her curved eyes, turning into two pearls that rolled down Xiao Qi's back.
The strange, tingling sensation from the rolling pearls made a certain string in Xiao Qi's heart tighten. His eyes flashed, and an unknown impulse surged into his mind. Just as he was about to hug Wanwan, he suddenly realized that he was half-naked. He quickly pulled the blanket over himself and placed it between himself and Wanwan.
"Wanwan, Young Master Shen!" Wan Yuechi suddenly pushed the door open and entered. When he saw the two of them hugging each other in an odd posture, his lips twitched and his smile froze strangely.
Wanwan quickly released Xiao Qi as if she had done something wrong, while the latter hurriedly searched for clothes to cover his exposed upper body.
The three avoided eye contact. Wan Yuechi looked down at the crack in the ground. "Young Master Lin just sent word that he has purged many of Marquis Xining's cronies. Now is the perfect time for us to thoroughly investigate Prince Sui'an. If we find any evidence, please go see the Emperor as soon as possible."
That's right! Evidence!
Those letters that Xiao Qi risked his life to steal!
"Wanwan?" Xiao Qi asked while tying his clothes. Before he could finish speaking, Wanwan solemnly handed over a box. "Is this it? Wanwan helped Brother Xiao put it away the day before yesterday."
Xiao Qi didn't even have time to put on his coat before he quickly and carefully examined the letter in Wanwan's hand.
Indeed, there were quite a few letters, and even the bloodstains were carefully cleaned up by Wanwan.
"Thank you..." Xiao Qi met the bright, expectant eyes of the crescent moon, and the string in his heart almost snapped. His earlobes, which were not good at speaking, turned pink without him even noticing.
"Ahem, get ready and go, this is no small matter." Wan Yuechi urged from the doorway before leaving first.
This war without gunfire has reached its most critical moment. Xiao Qi received the letter and rushed to the palace with the Wan family.
The Emperor had been looking forward to this moment for a long time. Upon seeing Xiao Qi and his entourage enter the palace, he immediately wrote an edict summoning Marquis Xining and his cronies into the palace.
This time, he will rely on Xiao Qi to bring down these treacherous officials!
Marquis Xi Ning knew that this trip to the palace was most likely a one-way trip, but he still held onto a sliver of hope. As long as he denied it, what could the emperor do to him, given the influence he had cultivated in the court over the years?
Perhaps we can seize this opportunity to defeat Shen Yuheng and the Wan family, who are stumbling blocks, and prevent them from getting back up.
So when he entered the palace, Marquis Xining brought almost all the officials he was on good terms with. The officials stood in neat rows in the hall, just like when they went to court. Marquis Xining held his tablet, but his eyes were not on the tablet. Instead, he looked Xiao Qi and Wanwan up and down.
They're just a bunch of young boys and girls, what can they do to me?
That's utterly outrageous! After court today, I'll send men to kill them all.
"Minister Shen," the Emperor said, sitting on the dragon throne, his expression stern, a stark contrast to his usual gentle demeanor in the Imperial Study, "You said that the case of Prince Sui'an that you are investigating is closely related to Marquis Xining. Do you have any evidence?"
Marquis Xi Ning snorted coldly, his voice so loud that all the officials present could hear it clearly. The Emperor did not frown at all, but stared intently at Xiao Qi.
"Your Majesty, that is indeed the case. Your humble servant infiltrated the Marquis's residence and found evidence that the Marquis framed Prince Sui'an and treasonously betrayed the country."
He pulled a stack of letters from his pocket, which the imperial eunuch took and handed to the emperor. "These letters are all evidence of the Marquis of Xining's communications with foreign enemies, his framing of others, and his oppression of the people!"
The Emperor glanced through it, and the Marquis of Xi Ning's eyes twitched a few times, but his expression remained calm. As everyone waited for the Emperor to finish reading, a deathly silence fell over them.
"Indeed," the Emperor's brow furrowed with displeasure, his gaze shifting to Marquis Xining. "I wonder if these letters look familiar to Marquis Xining?"
Marquis Xi Ning stepped out of the queue and bowed respectfully to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, I have never seen these letters before, nor do I know where Lord Shen found them. I was ordered by the late Emperor to investigate the case of Prince Sui'an. I did not intend to frame him. I beg Your Majesty to investigate thoroughly. Evidence can be forged, let alone a few letters. If Your Majesty judges me guilty based on these letters of unknown origin, then, if I may be so bold, Your Majesty is only slightly better than Jie and Zhou."
"You!" Even the usually mild-mannered Wan Yuechi was so angry that he wanted to step forward and teach this arrogant old man a lesson, but Wanwan stopped him.
The Emperor's anger deepened, his hand gripping the dragon throne tightly. Marquis Xi Ning smiled arrogantly, turning to look at Xiao Qi, "Does Young Master Shen have any other evidence?"
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