Yuan Qi was chatting with Tu Shanli when Tu Shan Ang came up and reported to Yuan Qi with a strange expression that her maid, Lü Zhu, had arrived and told her to hurry back, saying that an imperial edict had been issued from the palace.
Yuan Qi and Tu Shanli exchanged a glance, Yuan Qi pinched his chin and muttered, "Give me an imperial edict? Which of the emperor and the crown prince is out of their minds to give me an imperial edict? Could it be that last time I repaired the palace's grand formation, the emperor didn't pay me and got a free ride, and now he wants to pay me?"
Tu Shanli chuckled: "That's unlikely."
Yuan Qi was too lazy to do any calculations, so he went downstairs directly. Tu Shanli followed him down, wanting to see what the commotion was about.
Green Bamboo waited anxiously in the main hall. When she saw Yuan Qi, she broke down in tears, rushing towards him: "Miss, something's happened! People from the palace have come, they say they want... they say they want..."
Yuan Qi reassured her, "What's the panic? Speak slowly. Is the sky falling?"
Green Bamboo pulled Yuan Qi away. The Jiang family's carriage was parked at the door, and the driver had already prepared a stool for Yuan Qi to get on. He urged her, "Miss, hurry up. Madam is holding off the messenger at home. This servant will escort you out of the city."
Yuan Qi was completely bewildered: "What on earth happened?"
With a sob in her voice, Green Bamboo pushed Yuan Qi onto the carriage: "The Crown Prince has decreed that you be put to death."
Yuan Qi chuckled and raised an eyebrow: "Execution by imperial decree? What about my master and my senior brother? Were they executed together?"
Green Bamboo nodded and urged her to get in the carriage again: "Hurry up, Miss, otherwise the city gates will be closed and we won't be able to get out. Your master and senior brother have already been tied up."
"Don't be afraid. The person who wants me dead hasn't been born yet. I want to see if the underworld dares to take me when the Crown Prince orders me to die."
When Wen Zhujun saw Tu Shanli, whom she hadn't seen for quite some time, her eyes lit up again. However, knowing that he didn't mean her any harm, she didn't dare to be too presumptuous. She turned to Yuan Qi and nodded in agreement: "That's right. The Crown Prince has been sentenced to death, but the Underworld might not dare to take him. Maybe the Underworld will take the Crown Prince away instead. Green Bamboo, what are you panicking about?"
Tu Shanli, standing at the entrance, with his handsome face and ethereal white robes, was simply a beautiful sight.
The customers coming and going were dumbfounded, and didn't even hear about Yuan Qi being sentenced to death.
Tu Shanli followed Yuan Qi into the carriage: "Let's go to the Jiang residence and watch the show. Let's see how the Crown Prince handles this and whether he dares to take Yuan Qi's life."
Green Bamboo was extremely anxious. No matter what she said, Yuan Qi refused to leave the capital and insisted on returning to the Jiang residence.
The driver had no choice but to obey.
On the way, Tu Shanli kept discussing with Yuan Qi what was wrong with the Crown Prince this time. Wen Zhujun kept secretly observing Tu Shanli. After being neglected these days, she realized that Tu Shanli was not someone she could even dream of.
She has already decided to give up.
She had figured it out, but she still couldn't shake off the admiration she felt for Tushan.
She couldn't help it herself. Actually, she wasn't the kind of person who judged people by their appearance before, but this time, she didn't know why, she was just captivated by Tu Shanli.
Upon arriving at the Jiang residence, they found many imperial guards standing at the gate, completely surrounding the residence.
As soon as Yuan Qi stepped off the carriage, Imperial Guards drew their swords at him, and one of the deputy commanders even held a knife to Yuan Qi's neck.
Wen Zhujun sneered, "How dare you be so disrespectful to the Seventh Miss! Let her go!"
She gathered a ball of ghostly power and was about to strike the man with the sword.
Yuan Qi raised his hand: "No need. Take the knife away. If I wanted to escape, would I come back?"
The deputy commander had a good relationship with Jiang Juncai. He had no choice but to do so just now. He had learned a lot about Yuan Qi from Jiang Juncai, and he had also been to the Jiang residence and met Yuan Qi.
He sheathed his sword and ordered the imperial guards behind him to also put away their weapons.
Yuan Qi led Tu Shanli and Wen Zhujun inside, and sure enough, they saw that Daoist Guangcheng and Yuan An had been tied up, but the two of them showed no panic at all. Instead, they had an expression that said, "What can you do to me?"
Standing arrogantly to the side was Hong Sibao, the Crown Prince's confidant.
Yuan Qi remembered that when she last met Hong Sibao, he was very polite to her. This time, his attitude was so arrogant. She wondered what had happened on the Crown Prince's side.
"Tie him up!" Hong Sibao ordered immediately upon seeing Yuan Qi, his attitude arrogant and brooking no discussion.
Each member of the Jiang family standing nearby had a knife to their neck.
Xiangli Mingzhu, Feng Caiyi, Jiang Songlu, Li Guiqie, Jiang Jiulu, and even Jiang Junjing and Jiang Junyu were all subdued. The Jiang family's guards were also kneeling on the ground, with a gleaming knife pressed against the back of their necks.
When the Jiang family saw Yuan Qi return, they were all worried and anxious for her. Xiangli Mingzhu even scolded her, "What are you doing back here?"
Yuan Qi went over to comfort her: "Mother, don't worry, the person who can kill me hasn't been born yet."
Xiangli Mingzhu was very worried: "What time is it? Why are you still talking big?"
Tu Shanli followed behind Yuan Qi. He calmly scanned the entire scene and noticed that the people who had taken action were all imperial guards, but the leader was a eunuch. This was suspicious.
"Such a big commotion?" Yuan Qi walked around and, seeing that none of the Jiang family members were injured, went to Hong Sibao's side.
In the short time it took to circle around, two imperial guards were watching Yuan Qi with ropes in their hands, but they dared not come closer.
"Prepared especially for me? Your Highness, you flatter me greatly." Yuan Qi said coldly.
Tu Shanli walked to Daojun in the square and untied him, as well as Yuan An.
The imperial guards watching over the two of them didn't know what was going on; they just stood there without moving or stopping them.
Hong Sibao then scolded them, "What are you doing? Who told you to let them go?"
Although he was arrogant, he didn't dare to lay a hand on anyone.
Although Yuan Qi was small in stature, he had a strong presence. He looked up and asked Hong Sibao, "Those are my master and senior brother. Who told you to tie them up? Apologize to them."
Although her tone was gentle, her eyes were cold and full of murderous intent.
Hong Sibao represented the Crown Prince and the royal family. He snorted coldly, "There is no such reason. Even if he is your master, he is still a citizen of Rong Kingdom. Anyone who dares to question the Crown Prince's decree should be punished."
He held up the imperial edict in his hand: "His Highness the Crown Prince intends to order the death of the Seventh Miss. Please do not make any futile resistance, otherwise your family will be implicated."
"Is that right? You're ordering me to die, right? What's the reason?" Yuan Qi pulled the yellow imperial edict from his hand. After a cursory glance, the reason for the execution was actually treason.
“This is outrageous! She is ungrateful and has plotted to murder the Imperial Preceptor. She deserves to die. However, out of consideration for the Jiang family’s contributions, the Crown Prince will not implicate them and will only order the death of the Seventh Miss.”
After saying that, he shouted, "Guards, carry out the execution!"
Two imperial guards approached, followed by an executioner carrying a nine-ringed sword.
"Please, Miss Seven."
"I want to see the Crown Prince. Lead the way." Yuan Qi didn't even look at the Imperial Guards and executioners, and gave the order to Hong Sibao without any politeness.
Hong Sibao roared, "Insolence! If you defy the imperial decree, the entire Jiang family will die!"
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