When Qin Mian heard that His Majesty was going to imprison his entire family, how could he dare not confess?
Qin Mian worried that once he went to prison, he would never get out again.
Since we will never see His Majesty again, we should naturally give whatever we have now.
Before confessing, Qin Mian apologized to himself: "I am guilty, I deserve to die ten thousand times over."
Pei Minxue shouted sternly, "Hurry up and confess! You dare to lie in front of His Majesty?"
Qin Mian kowtowed repeatedly, "That's how it is."
"I was fortunate enough to follow my teacher into Your Majesty's bedchamber."
"In His Majesty's bedchamber, I saw a portrait of a woman."
"That woman was as beautiful as a fairy. I saw her once and remembered her."
"It was a coincidence that a while ago, I saw a woman in the capital who looked exactly like the one in the portrait."
"I then had some thoughts about taking this girl home, but I don't know where the accident happened."
Qin Mian casually excused himself, "Since this girl has amnesia, I might as well go all the way and claim that she is a daughter of the Qin family."
"In order to gain wealth and status from this girl, I want to send her all the best and most precious things."
"She just went to Pei’s residence to attend a birthday banquet, and when she came back, she made a scene, saying that she was not my daughter."
"This girl probably suspected it all along and had already scouted out an escape route."
"After arguing with me today, she kicked over the wall and jumped into the lake."
After Qin Mian finished speaking, he kowtowed again, "This is the whole story, and I have not concealed anything further."
Pei Minxue's expression also became somewhat strange.
His Majesty said he had seen Zhizhi, but Pei Minxue didn't take it seriously.
But Qin Mian was only a minor official of the fifth rank, and he gave the same explanation.
Perhaps the person he picked up really does look very similar to Pei Zhi?
"Nothing to hide?" Xiao Chengci asked with a smile. "Then let me ask you, how did you bring her back?"
"Your Majesty... Your Majesty," Qin Mian trembled, "I ordered my men to knock her unconscious and bring her back when she was off guard."
That girl was indeed clever; Qin Mian's men tried to take her down several times, but all attempts failed.
The last time, he managed to get his hands on her by taking advantage of her kindness.
"You knocked her unconscious?" Xiao Chengci scoffed. "The rest of the Qin family are to be thrown into prison."
"As for Qin Mian, give him fifty strokes of the cane first. Once I find him, I'll settle accounts with you one by one."
Qin Mian never expected that even after he had confessed everything, His Majesty would still punish him.
Moreover, he had only been imprisoned before.
Why is he being punished with caning even though he's already been imprisoned?
Ignoring Qin Mian's cries for help, Qin Mian and the rest of the Qin family were dragged away.
Pei Minxue's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. "Your Majesty, what are your plans next?"
"Have someone carefully scout around the lake first, so as not to give anything away."
Pei Minxue exclaimed in surprise, "Shouldn't Your Majesty immediately send people to the lakeside to guard it and try to rescue this girl?"
Xiao Chengci shook his head. "Minxue, don't you know what kind of person your sister is?"
Xiao Chengci laughed and said, "The fact that she could jump into the lake proves that she has prepared a way out for herself."
"Once she notices strange people by the lake, she'll definitely assume they're from the Qin family and will try to hide as far away as possible. How am I supposed to find her then?"
“Your Majesty, my sister is dead. This woman may look similar to my sister, but she is definitely not my sister.”
Xiao Chengci had no intention of arguing with Pei Minxue.
"Once I find her and you've seen her, you won't say that anymore."
Pei Minxue opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing.
Pei Minxue wanted to advise His Majesty not to use someone else as a substitute for his sister.
This was an insult to Pei Zhi.
But the person hasn't been found yet, so it's too early to say anything like that.
As for Pei Zhi, he has now reached the shore and used the silver in his purse to exchange for a clean and comfortable set of clothes with a peasant girl.
Pei Zhi asked the other party to burn her clothes to avoid causing trouble for the farmer.
Pei Zhi didn't linger; she changed her clothes and left in a hurry.
Pei Zhi went straight to buy a horse, disguised herself slightly, and successfully left the city gate.
After leaving the city, Pei Zhi ran along the official road for a while before finding an inn to rest.
Pei Zhi pondered where she should go next.
Pei Zhi has no plans to return to the capital. From now on, Qin Mian and she will likely be mortal enemies.
Only then did Pei Zhi realize that, in all the world she had to go, there was nowhere else for her to go.
Pei Zhi wanted to find a safe place where she wouldn't be disturbed and settle down.
She should be able to spend all those silver notes she has for decades without any problem, as long as she doesn't squander them.
Seeing two upright-looking men at the next table, Pei Zhi took the initiative to approach them.
"Where are you two from, gentlemen?"
Although Pei Zhi was disguised, she still looked like a woman.
Although the two men were somewhat puzzled by being approached by a woman, they answered cheerfully.
"We both came from the military, and we're on leave to visit our families back home."
Pei Zhi feigned surprise: "From a distance, you two exuded an aura of righteousness. I never imagined you were military officers!"
"The military now even offers leave for family visits; that's truly humane."
The two officers nodded in agreement, "It only started last year."
"The court is stable, and we don't have many battles to fight. The general has also arranged leave for us to visit our families every year so that we can go home and reunite with our loved ones."
"At first, only our army had it, but later, other armies began to follow suit."
"That requires our general to be bold, and who would dare to object to a proposal put forward by our general?"
Pei Zhi inquired, "Is this general in your army someone of great importance?"
"Our general is His Majesty's own cousin. Who in the court would dare not give the general some face?"
Pei Zhi asked, "Then isn't your general arrogant? With such a noble status, what kind of general are you?"
"Women's vision is so shallow. Our general, go out and ask around. Not to mention the court, even among the common people, there is not a single person who speaks ill of our general."
"They are not afraid; they sincerely admire our general."
"Our general is of such noble status, yet he went to the battlefield at such a young age to fight the enemy and protect the peace of the world."
“There are many people around our army’s garrison who have suffered injustice and have traveled thousands of miles just to have our general seek justice for them.”
The man proudly said, "We're not bragging, but around our army, even the wicked dare not do evil."
"Moreover, our place is beautiful with clear waters and lush mountains, and because the army is stationed there, everyone is very simple and honest."
Pei Zhi raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.
If these two men weren't lying, then if such a place really exists, that would be quite nice.
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