"The Imperial Guards are conducting an investigation; all unauthorized personnel must leave immediately."
This time, Shao Yuan personally led a group to capture Ji Xiaoxiao.
Ji Xiaoxiao had anticipated this and got up early to eat breakfast. She sat at the round wooden table in the center of the main hall, on which were placed a few plates of snacks, and the steaming tea had a refreshing aroma.
Shao Yuan led the Imperial Guards into the main hall, his gaze sharp and piercing.
“The prisoner Qiao Xiuxiu has audaciously escaped from prison. Men, seize her.”
Shao Yuan spoke with great righteousness, as if the louder his voice, the more confident he became.
The Imperial Guards responded immediately, drawing their embroidered spring knives and approaching Ji Xiaoxiao step by step.
Ji Xiaoxiao remained calm and said, "A criminal? May I ask Lord Shao Yuan, what crime have I committed? Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard has someone to back you up, the law is the law above. Whether things in this world are right or wrong is not determined by your Embroidered Uniform Guard."
"That's just sophistry," Shao Yuan said angrily.
Princess Yi'an is a member of the royal family, while Qiao Xiuxiu is just a commoner. Just because she attacked Princess Yi'an, he could kill her a thousand times over.
Ji Xiaoxiao remained seated, saying, "Lord Shao Yuan, if you don't give me a clear explanation today, I will not go back into the Jinyiwei prison."
"You have to leave whether you like it or not." Shao Yuan gave a wink to the Imperial Guards around him, and they silently approached Ji Xiaoxiao, intending to subdue her in one fell swoop.
Ji Xiaoxiao, with her keen senses, snorted, grabbed a teacup from the table, and smashed it against the surface, shattering it. She calmly picked up a shard of porcelain, pressed it against her neck, and gently pushed it in half an inch, piercing her skin.
"Don't push me, or I'll kill myself."
Ji Xiaoxiao inadvertently touched a nerve with Shao Yuan. No matter what, he couldn't let Ji Xiaoxiao die. Ji Xiaoxiao's death meant the failure of Princess Yi'an, and Princess Yi'an's crushing defeat meant that he would lose Yi'an forever, his good wife.
Shao Yuan hurriedly ordered the Imperial Guards to stop, "None of you move."
Ji Xiaoxiao slowly recounted, "Shao Yuan, I know you don't like me, but we are from the same village. My father took good care of you and even married me off to you. How did you treat me? How did you treat me? You heartless bastard."
Ji Xiaoxiao silently shed tears, her desperate eyes filled with hatred for Shao Yuan.
"Don't talk nonsense. My wife can only be a princess. Look at yourself, do you think I would even look at you?" Shao Yuan denied.
He already had a wife before marrying the princess, and this must not be spread, or he will be in deep trouble.
"What a joke! Back then, you weren't even as good as a beggar in the capital. Everyone in Stone Village knew what your family's situation was like. We were starving, sometimes eating a full meal, and we couldn't even afford to eat for years. I still feel uneasy thinking about how skinny you were."
Ji Xiaoxiao spoke the truth. At that time, Shao Yuan's family had lost elders one after another. In order to give his elders a grand funeral, Shao Yuan sold the family's land and barely managed to raise enough money.
Money can be wasted, but people don't need money for basic necessities like eating, drinking, and defecating. Moreover, Shao Yuan needs to study and write; the cost of writing materials is a huge sum for ordinary people.
Shao Yuan didn't want to give up on the only way to change his life, so he gritted his teeth and persevered by saving every penny. However, he was still hungry and cold, and became thin and frail, looking like he could be blown away by a gust of wind.
Ji Xiaoxiao continued, "My father was the village chief. Because you were the only scholar in the village, he took good care of you. Seeing that you were getting old and there were no elders in your family to arrange a marriage for you, he betrothed me to you. My family didn't even ask for a dowry, and I just married into the family like that. After I married you, I took care of everything inside and outside the house so that you could concentrate on your studies. I won't say how good I was to you, but I managed the household affairs and bore your children. And what did you do? After you became the top scholar in the imperial examination, you abandoned my mother and me like trash. Shao Yuan, is the Confucian classics you read teaching you to abandon your wife who shared your hardships after you become successful?"
"The most righteous are often the lowly butchers, while the most ungrateful are often the scholars. It's true, it's true."
Ji Xiaoxiao was acting a bit crazy. The original owner was unwilling to accept it. The cabbage she had painstakingly nurtured had been eaten by that pig, Princess Yi'an. Had she even asked her?
The carefully nurtured cabbage was gone just like that, and the original owner was extremely unwilling to accept it.
"I have nothing to do with you." Shao Yuan gritted his teeth, pondering when and how to make his move and turn the tide.
For a moment, the two sides could only stare at each other, locked in a stalemate.
"My lord, this is it! Those Imperial Guards are too arrogant and unreasonable. They arrested my fiancée without any regard for the consequences." A voice came from outside. "My lord, you are the Prefect of the Capital. You must seek justice for me. Yesterday, my fiancée suddenly returned. It turns out that the Imperial Guards sold her to Prince Yu like merchandise. Is this any justice? Arresting people without asking any questions, imprisoning them without interrogation, and then selling them—is this the Imperial Guard that the court established to monitor all officials?"
The suppressed breathing was rapid and clear. The man said, "They're just robbers, bandits."
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