Yuan Qi was not surprised at all that Princess Liyue had befriended her, after all, she was an invaluable asset to those in power.
Although the Empress is low-key and doesn't compete or fight for anything, it doesn't mean that she really doesn't want to fight for anything.
The empress had three children, two daughters and a son, but her son had no chance to become the crown prince. Anyone would feel indignant about this.
Princess Liyue condescended to sit next to Yuan Qi and took the initiative to chat with him, discussing everything from women's hairstyles to rouge and powder to clothing fabrics.
Yuan Qi knew that Princess Liyue wouldn't lower herself to speak to him for no reason; Princess Liyue must have a purpose.
What she didn't understand was why Princess Liyue wanted to see Xiangli Youming. Did she really want to marry him?
Yuan Qi stared at Xiangli Youming for a moment. Xiangli Youming kept staring at Yuan Qi nervously, without looking at Princess Liyue. Yuan Qi knew that Xiangli Youming was still the same Xiangli Youming, as always cold and indifferent.
Yuan Qi could tell that Princess Liyue was very enthusiastic and kept taking the initiative to find topics to talk about, giving people the feeling that they had met too late.
After lunch, Princess Liyue tried to persuade Yuan Qi to go to the palace to play, but Yuan Qi politely declined, as she didn't have a good impression of the palace.
A few days later was Xiangli Mu's birthday, his fiftieth birthday. Many guests from the Xiangli main family and collateral branches came, as well as many dignitaries from other surnames in the capital. Almost all the important people were there.
Yuan Qi then saw Feng Aotian, as well as Old Master Bai, Bai Fujun, Bai Youhui and their fathers. Of course, Jiang Zhengqing also came, and even the three brothers Jiang Juncai, Jiang Junjing and Jiang Junyu came.
The Xiangli family had never hosted a banquet for outsiders before, but this time was an exception.
Jiang Juncai followed her inside, whispering in her ear, "I guess the Xiangli family wants the Emperor to know that the four great families are not a disorganized mess, but can unite."
Yuan Qi didn't have any particular thoughts on this. Whether the four major families were united or not was none of her business. In her opinion, the four major families were deeply rooted and powerful, and it wouldn't be easy to uproot them. In fact, the emperor's throne might be in jeopardy.
I've heard of aristocratic families that have been passed down for thousands of years, but I've never heard of imperial power that has been passed down for thousands of years. Historically, imperial power has changed hands every two or three hundred years, which is enough to show that imperial power can't compete with aristocratic families.
"Does His Majesty still intend to deal with the four great families?" Yuan Qi asked as he walked.
Jiang Juncai said, "I don't know. How could His Majesty let others know about such a secret matter? However, His Majesty has summoned Xuanqing quite often recently, and I wonder what they are discussing. The fact that the Xiangli family head is holding this birthday banquet is clearly a way of showing His Majesty a bad attitude."
Yuan Qi looked at him with a half-smile: "You're a government official, and you've come here too. Aren't you slapping the Emperor in the face?"
Jiang Juncai replied very seriously: "I am the next head of the Jiang family, so naturally I have to stand on the side of the Jiang family. I can give up the position of commander of the Imperial Guards, but I must keep the position of head of the Jiang family. Without the Jiang family, I am nothing."
“You’re quite sensible.” Jiang Junyu, who was standing nearby, also heard this. “Xiao Qi, there’s no need to worry. Right now, the four great families are full of talented people, and they have people in every department of the court. Let alone the Emperor wanting to get rid of them all, it would be very difficult for him to get rid of even one of them. You don’t need to worry about the safety of the four great families at all.”
“I’m not worried. I’m just thinking that the Emperor and the throne won’t last long. He’s courting death.” Yuan Qi also knew a little about this.
Many people from the four major families came. The men gathered in the east hall to chat about the current political situation. The women were in the west hall, discussing Lady Xianglimu's jewelry and clothing.
Lady Xiangli Mu was not the first wife, but the daughter of the first wife. She was more than ten years younger than Xiangli Mu, only in her thirties, and was the biological mother of Xiangli Youming and Xiangli Baoyu.
Yuan Qi wasn't actually interested in women's clothes, jewelry, or cosmetics; she listened with great boredom.
Suddenly, Xiangli Baoyu appeared out of nowhere, his big, bright eyes looking at her with a sweet smile. She tugged at Yuan Qi's sleeve and said, "It's so stuffy here. My brother invites you to Jiuxiao Tower. Do you want to come?"
"Hmm." Yuan Qi didn't even think before walking away.
Jiang Jiulu and Jiang Songlu were so engrossed in chatting with the girls from the Bai and Feng families that they didn't even notice when Yuan Qi left.
As soon as Yuan Qi stepped out of the flower hall, he saw Xiangli Youming.
Xiangli Youming was uncertain; he didn't know if Yuan Qi would do him the honor, and he waited anxiously here.
Seeing his nervous expression, Yuan Qi couldn't help but laugh. She teased, "Young Master Jiu is the next head of the Xiangli family. Why aren't you in the flower hall entertaining the guests? Why are you out here playing with me?"
"Their topic is too boring, I don't want to listen. I have two older brothers and uncles here, it doesn't matter whether I'm here or not." Xiangli Youming felt much more at ease. As long as Yuan Qi was willing to come out and give him this opportunity, he felt reassured that Yuan Qi was not completely heartless towards him.
The Xiangli Mansion was very large; it took about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea to walk from the flower hall to the Jiuxiao Tower.
The four guards of Xiangli Youming served tea, fruit, snacks, and dried meat. In the blink of an eye, Yuan Qi was surrounded by food, all of which were her favorite flavors.
Seeing that there was no one else there, Yuan Qi spoke up directly.
Xiangli Youming was incredibly excited.
To everyone's surprise, Yuan Qi's words had nothing to do with romantic love: "I saw a malevolent aura on your second uncle. He's practicing some kind of evil cultivation technique. Did you know that?"
Xiangli Youming was both disappointed and helpless, but he quickly composed himself. Seventh Sister was still young, and it was too early to talk about romantic relationships. He couldn't rush things.
“My father and brother both guessed it, and I also noticed that something was wrong. Last year, my second uncle was disfigured, and the doctors said that he could not recover. But five months later, he appeared in public completely unharmed. At that time, my father guessed that my second uncle had some kind of extraordinary encounter or had practiced some kind of martial arts. It’s just that we can’t tell what kind of evil martial arts he has practiced.”
Now Xiangli Youming thought of something else: Yuan Qi might have mentioned this because he was worried about him and afraid that his second uncle would harm him.
Xiangli Baoyu rested her chin on her hand, looking at the two of them with an innocent and naive expression. She was the same age as Yuan Qi, but her eyes were clear and pure, without any ulterior motives. She didn't care about politics and was just waiting for her brother to finish talking to Yuan Qi so she could chat with him.
"I think his cultivation level is already enough to crush your guards. You'd better be careful." Yuan Qi picked up a grape, popped it into his mouth, and nodded. "It tastes good."
Xiangli Youming dared not mention wanting to marry Yuan Qi, fearing it would scare him away, so he could only continue along with Yuan Qi's topic.
"Do you have any powerful magical artifacts to deal with my second uncle?"
Yuan Qi pondered for a moment: "There really is one. A few days ago, I asked Tu Shanli to get some resurrection grass and made three resurrection whips. I used one myself, gave one to Tu Shanli, and now there is one left. This resurrection whip is exactly your second uncle's nemesis."
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