get away
"Your Majesty, please understand. I have never done these things." Qi Lin reacted very quickly and kowtowed. His knocks on the ground echoed in the mountains and fields.
The emperor sneered, "Could it be that the prince is framing you?"
"Of course not." Qi Lin refused without a second thought, racking his brains to think of how to explain, "Your Highness is as clear-minded as a mirror, how could you act like this?"
None of you gentlemen made any defence for what the Crown Prince had mentioned earlier, fearing that you might anger Your Majesty and commit an even greater crime.
Who would have thought that Lord Qi would be so bold as to contradict Your Majesty.
"Your Majesty, please allow me to report. I had an argument with the Crown Princess. Perhaps the Crown Princess was resentful and whispered something in her ear." In just a short moment, Qi Lin had no time to think about it and subconsciously pushed the blame onto the Crown Princess.
After he finished speaking, he turned his head to look at the prince.
However, there was no sign of the Crown Princess beside the Crown Prince.
In an instant, Qi Lin suddenly understood. No wonder Qi Qingyu couldn't find anyone today. It turned out that she was waiting here.
These two sisters might have already run away!
Thinking of this, Qi Lin was already filled with anger. He immediately bent down and saluted, "Your Majesty, I want to report that the Crown Princess impersonated someone else and married into the Eastern Palace. This is undoubtedly a deception against the emperor."
As soon as these words were spoken, they caused a huge uproar.
During the banquet, all the officials stared with wide eyes, whispering and gossiping with their wives and daughters.
After all, it had only been three or four months since the prince married, and the time was short. However, she was quite favored by the prince, and the news was widely spread among the people.
No one would have thought that the Crown Princess was actually a fake, which is a capital crime of deceiving the emperor.
The emperor narrowed his eyes, staring at Qi Lin with sharp brows, "Are you serious?"
Xiao Junbai said calmly, "Master Qi just said that he had an argument with my daughter, and now he's claiming to be an imposter. Master Qi, you might as well think it over before you speak."
As soon as he said this, Qi Lin felt a little regretful. He couldn't escape the blame if he told the truth. It was not worth deceiving the emperor and hiding the truth from his superiors.
Anyway, what the prince said was just corruption. At most he would go to jail for a few years, which is better than losing his head.
After regaining consciousness, Qi Lin broke out in a cold sweat, his mouth trembling as he stammered, "It is my fault for speaking carelessly. My family has suffered misfortune. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
It is not surprising that Qi Lin's attitude changed. When it comes to life and death, everything is trivial.
The discussion at the table continued without stopping.
The emperor's cold gaze swept across Qi Lin and landed on the Crown Prince. "Where is the Crown Princess now? Did she escape during the chaos?"
"Pass on my oral order, Fengshan is under martial law." The emperor's voice was as loud as a bell, clearly reaching everyone's ears.
Xiao Junbai's expression remained unchanged, and his voice was steady: "The little girl couldn't stand it. She must be afraid of being implicated by Master Qi."
"It's just a small matter. Your Majesty, don't be angry. I will handle it myself."
The prince's words were calm, as if the person who escaped was not the princess.
The emperor frowned, his mouth corners tightened, and his sharp eyes pierced the prince.
For a moment, the atmosphere at the table was solemn. No one dared to speak, and even coughs were ignored.
The oppression permeated the mountains and fields, making it hard for people to breathe and unable to raise their heads.
Qi Lin did the same. He knelt on the ground, his body trembling, his eyes closed and his teeth gritted, secretly cursing himself for speaking without restraint.
Only the crown prince stood still, meeting his father's gaze directly without dodging at all.
"If the Crown Princess is really an imposter, what will the Crown Prince do?" The Emperor sat high up in the throne, lowering his eyes coldly.
"Your son is selecting a concubine and has gone through layers of screening by the Queen Mother. She has a clean background, so how could anything go wrong?" Xiao Junbai said calmly.
The emperor was silent and had to admit that the prince was right.
The Crown Princess had been selected through many layers of selection, and the implications were widespread. If this was true or false, wouldn't it be...
Thinking of this, the emperor sighed and shook his head, "Forget it, whatever the Crown Prince says is what it is. I'll leave this matter to the Crown Prince."
As he grew older and weaker, he felt exhausted after the banquet. He was afraid that he did not have the energy to deal with these trivial matters, so he waved his hand and returned to the emperor's palace.
After His Majesty left, the tense civil and military officials finally relaxed.
The imperial concubine secretly breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the prince with a complicated expression. She opened her mouth but hesitated to speak. She wanted to ask the prince's wife but didn't know where to start. In the end, she didn't ask anything and left with a group of palace servants.
The Fu brothers and sisters who were near His Majesty the Crown Prince had different expressions. Fu Jingyuan gritted her teeth. Was the good show she had arranged missed just like that?
She was unwilling to give in and wanted to go forward to ask her cousin the Crown Prince for clarification, but before she could take a few steps, she was grabbed by her brother and half-dragged away.
After the banquet, all the officials and their families left together, talking in whispers.
Xiao Junbai slowly loosened his clenched fists, ordered someone to take Qi Lin away, looked up at the frosty moonlight, and was lost in thought.
It was not until Cheng Xi called out to His Highness again and again that he came back to his senses.
"It's getting late, Your Highness, please go to bed early." Cheng Xi bent over and advised softly.
…
The entire hilltop was fenced off and used as a royal hunting ground.
All the gentlemen and ladies have gone to rest, or are talking about what happened tonight. The Crown Princess's life story is too fascinating and worth savoring.
However, the maids and servants who were running errands for their master were coming in and out without stopping.
In the kitchen, all the dishes and fruits that had been removed were piled up here.
Qi Qingyu pretended to be down, her voice hoarse from the wind all night, and she pushed the swill bucket, "Let me do it."
The servant who led her looked hesitant. She shouldn't have been asked to do such dirty work. At the moment, everyone was so busy that they had no time to rest.
So after a moment's hesitation, Duoduo instructed, "Go south to Fengshan Mountain. Walk for about a quarter of an hour, and when you see a black pool, pour it in."
The Black Water Pond was originally abandoned and was not easy to find as it was hidden in the valley. The people in the mountains often dumped slop here, and the government would come to clean it on fixed days. So although it had a bit of a bad smell, it was not a big deal.
It’s just that these servants are lazy and don’t want to be brought back to the palace for separate processing.
The servant said this, still feeling uneasy. He looked left and right, wanting to find someone to go with Qi Qingyu.
But Qi Qingyu said hoarsely: "I can handle these little things by myself."
Her voice was very hoarse and quite unpleasant to the ear. The servant stepped back a little, nodded repeatedly, and told her to go and come back early.
These servants were in the backyard and had no idea about the Crown Princess's background, so naturally they didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
Qi Qingyu pushed a four-wheeled cart, dragging two waist-high泔水袋, and slowly headed south.
With his dusty clothes, mud-stained face, and hoarse voice, he was inconspicuous among the servants.
Even when they reached the edge of the hunting ground, the guards did not suspect anything. They searched her twice and casually asked her what was in the barrel.
"Kitchen slop." Qi Qingyu said dryly, raised his hand to lift the wooden cover and show it to the guards.
As soon as I opened the lid, an indescribable smell hit me in the face, like rotten fruit that had been left for ten days, or like something that hadn't been bathed for months, it was nauseating.
Several guards took one look and immediately looked away, retching and pinching their noses tightly, refusing to look any further.
Occasionally, some brave people would peek out and see that it was mostly soup, water, melons and fruits. They would immediately step back and wave their hands for people to cover it up quickly.
Qi Qingyu did as she was told woodenly. Her voice was hoarse and unpleasant, her clothes were worn out, her face was covered in mud, and she was wearing a bra. She didn't look like a girl at all.
"You look unfamiliar, brother. I'm afraid you're new here." The guards who had just dispersed immediately surrounded him, looked him up and down, and then let him go. "You've worked hard, brother. Go and come back soon."
"Thank you, gentlemen." Qi Qingyu thanked them and pushed the cart away with a creaking sound.
When I reached the south, I turned around and saw no one, nor could I hear any human voice.
Qi Qingyu retracted her gaze, quickly opened the lid, and knocked on the bucket. "It's okay, sister. You can come out now."
As soon as he finished speaking, a man suddenly rushed out of the wooden barrel, wrapped tightly in a straw raincoat from head to toe, even covering his face, and rushed straight out of the泔水袋.
Qi Qingyu helped the person stand firmly with her hand, and threw the smelly straw raincoat into the泔水 barrel. Under the ink-black cloak, the woman's beautiful palace dress could be vaguely seen.
This is the missing Crown Princess, Qi Qinghe.
Her plain face turned pale and red, and the foul smell made her feel nauseous and dizzy. Fortunately, her younger sister helped her stand up and calmed her down a little.
The two of them were quick to tidy up their clothes, pack up their hidden valuables, and run away.
Rain began to fall in the dark night sky, dripping onto their bodies. After a while, it turned into a downpour, soaking the two of them from head to toe, but it still did not stop them.
After going around half the mountain, at the southwestern foot of Fengshan Mountain, in the rolling valley, weeds and thorns grew everywhere, and large maple leaves fluttered.
In the deep forests of the mountains, two horses were tied to a sturdy tree, paddling their hooves restlessly in the wind and rain.
"Sister, here!" The rain washed Qi Qingyu's face, revealing her pretty face. She swiftly untied the horse rope, jumped onto the horse, and did not forget to turn around to look at her sister.
Qi Qinghe fell behind by a step, and imitated his younger sister to climb onto the horse, pinching his nose and sneezing.
The wind and rain were roaring and pouring down.
She glanced around in panic, and when she saw that there was no one around, she felt a little relieved and rode away with her younger sister, one in front and one behind.
The two sisters galloped in the rainstorm, and the trees beside them disappeared in an instant, as if they had forgotten everything, including the prince and the princess.
The prosperous capital city was getting farther and farther away behind me until it disappeared.
Qi Qinghe couldn't help but look back. He didn't know how long he had been running. The Fengshan Mountain that looked like a ferocious beast was now only the size of a palm in his sight.
She took a deep breath and raised a sincere smile on her lips. She finally escaped from the deep palace!
Qi Qingyu also turned around and saw her sister laughing happily, so she started laughing too and asked casually, "Sister, what are your plans from now on?"
Qi Qinghe looked ahead, feeling that the sky was high and the road was broad, and everything seemed insignificant. "I can't say for sure what will happen next. Maybe it will be like what happened to my father."
It wasn't Qi Lin, it was her biological father Qi Feng. She wanted to follow her biological father's will and do some small business and work to support her mother and sister.
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