The fire started in the direction of the prison of the Prefect of the Capital.
Hearing the commotion, Xie Lingqin looked up at the flickering firelight in the darkness and immediately headed towards the prison of the Prefect of the Capital.
Of course, since she was disguised as a man at this time, it was inconvenient for her to appear in front of the Prefect of the Capital, so she simply hid in the crowd.
Outside the prison of the Prefect of the Capital, guards were frantically fighting the fire. Fortunately, the fire was discovered in time and was soon extinguished.
"Take an immediate headcount of the prisoners, quickly."
The Prefect of the Capital gave an order, his face grim.
"Reporting to Your Excellency, a headcount has just been taken, and all the prisoners are present, except for the Second Miss of the General's Mansion, and..."
"Who else?"
"And then there's the eldest son of the Minister of War, who was just transferred from the imperial prison."
"What?"
The Prefect of the Capital's expression changed upon hearing this.
Both were wanted criminals, and both of them have disappeared.
"Your Excellency, I have investigated and found signs of damage to the cell, indicating that someone may have taken advantage of the situation to rescue the prisoner."
Upon hearing this, the Prefect of the Capital immediately issued an order: "Quickly, seal off the city and bring the person back at all costs."
"But, sir, so much time has passed..."
"Do everything you can to bring them back."
"yes."
The crowd was dispersed, and the Prefect of the Capital sent someone to report the matter to the palace while he himself led his men toward the city gate.
In addition to the main gate, there are three other city gates to leave Beirong City.
At this time, the closest exits from the city, besides the main gate, were the south gate and the north gate. As for the west gate...
That's the furthest place; any smart person who wants to escape wouldn't choose that door.
However...
Looking at the sky, Xie Lingqin remained calm and unhurried.
Sure enough, not long after, Tinghai appeared and reported, "Miss, just as you predicted."
"Did you enjoy the fight?"
Xie Lingqin asked.
Tinghai smiled, looking rather embarrassed, "It's been a long time since I've had such a satisfying fight."
"take me."
Tinghai immediately led the way.
It was getting late.
As Xie Lingqin passed by the teahouse where Yuwen Yao and Li Qingyu had just been drinking tea, she kept her eyes straight ahead and didn't stop for a moment.
Tinghai was unaware of these matters, but he felt for a moment that the young lady's aura was exceptionally cold. He thought it was just his imagination and quickly led Xie Lingqin to a small grove of trees.
The swaying shadows of the branches all around, combined with the dappled darkness of the night filtering through the foliage, created an eerie and sinister atmosphere.
Minglan was also there. Seeing Xie Lingqin arrive, he kicked the person covered by a sack next to him and said, "Now that she's here, you can beg for mercy."
"When I arrived just now, I ran into Minglan and asked him to come along," Tinghai said from behind Xie Lingqin.
Xie Lingqin said it didn't matter, having more people was just right. She then stepped forward, looked at the two people covered by sacks on the ground, let down her tied-up hair, and then raised her hand and lifted it off heavily.
Instantly, under the dappled light, Li Junru and Xie Lingyu's faces looked exceptionally beautiful.
"you……"
"you……"
Both of them stared at Xie Lingqin in astonishment.
"Oh, you two weren't very close before, were you? Now you seem to be in sync, even speaking in unison," Xie Lingqin said sarcastically, her head bowed.
Li Junru had a fresh injury on his face, most likely inflicted by Ting Hai. Finally regaining his senses, he glared at Xie Lingqin, "How could this be? You actually…"
"What?!" Xie Lingqin stepped forward and suddenly grabbed Li Junru's chin. "You were thinking that you conspired so well with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and with Xie Lingyu's influence outside, and with your father's flawless cover, you should have easily escaped the capital, and then secretly plotted against me, until one day, when you regained your glory, you would trample me under your feet, right?"
Xie Lingqin spoke each word with icy coldness, increasing the force in her hand until she saw Li Junru's face turn ashen, at which point she forcefully swung him away.
Li Junru tilted his head, his eyes blazing with fury, "Xie Lingqin, you poisonous woman..."
"I've kept you alive for so long, you should thank me." Xie Lingqin's coldness was evident in her brows.
"You...you...you foresaw this all along?...Impossible, our plan was so well-hidden, you..."
"I'm leaving you."
Xie Lingqin wiped her hand heavily on Xie Lingyu's body, not even glancing at Li Junru, and said, "Tell me, how do you want to die?"
"How did you know that I, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was involved in the conspiracy?"
Xie Lingqin looked at Li Junru, "Curious?"
Li Junru clearly felt that this was flawless from the start. What ability or skill did Xie Lingqin have to do something like this?
Xie Lingqin smiled mercifully, "Because you colluded with the barbarian Black Cloth Guard to assassinate the Crown Prince, and have been imprisoned for so long without being interrogated again, and you have been honest and well-behaved, it's natural that I would become suspicious."
“I did not send anyone to act on behalf of the Crown Prince at this time, nor did I collude with the barbarians.”
"That's not what I want to know. All I know is that you want to kill me, you want to kill my cousin, and you're having an affair with the Seventh Princess."
Xie Lingqin's voice was extremely soft, yet every word was powerful, leaving Li Junru so embarrassed that he couldn't utter a single word.
"Of course, everything is based on evidence. Now I am favored by the Emperor, and in the entire capital, the person who has the most grudge against me is willing to cooperate with you in order to deal with me. I think there is no one else but the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. After all, his son Qin Qi is still bedridden. Even if I and Elder Dong saved him, I don't think he is the kind of person who would think of repaying the favor."
"Xie Lingqin, I underestimated you."
"It's alright, it's the same whether we think highly of it now or not."
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