Sun Qi frowned and said, "If Miss He has nothing else, I will take my leave."
Judging by the timing, the real show should be starting now.
"Third Master, don't go!"
He Zihan spoke anxiously, wanting to take his hand, but then withdrew it shyly.
She didn't care about anything else, quickly took out a purse, closed her eyes and handed it out: "This is a purse I embroidered myself, please accept it, Third Master."
In this era, it was of great significance for a woman to give a man a purse, as it was a subtle way of expressing her feelings.
Looking at the exquisitely embroidered purse, Sun Qi thought to himself that Prime Minister He was indeed capable of great things, as he could even send his legitimate daughter to someone whose nominal identity was merely that of a merchant.
He smiled but did not reach out to take it: "Thank you for your kindness, Miss He, but I already have someone I love. I apologize."
He took a step back, and He Zihan's face turned pale. Wasn't it said that Sun Qi was indifferent to women? What did it mean that he had someone he loved?
Who is that woman?
Before she could grieve too much, a maidservant came running from a short distance away, hurriedly reporting: "Miss, something has happened up ahead! The Sixth Prince, he, he..."
"What's wrong with my cousin?"
He Zihan hurriedly tossed the purse to her personal maid, glanced apologetically at Sun Qi, and left in a hurry.
Sun Qi smiled silently, turned around and followed.
The main hall was in complete chaos. Everyone who came to the banquet looked extremely unwell, and some of them were even sweating profusely.
Even from outside, He Zihan could hear the Sixth Prince's roaring voice: "You, you are all bad people! I will not let you go! I will kill you, kill you all!"
Just as she was about to enter, she screamed in fright at a human head that had rolled to her feet and fainted instantly.
Sun Qi, standing behind her, saw He Zihan about to fall into his arms, and quickly dodged to the side, successfully distancing himself from the situation.
If he were to actually offer to help in front of so many people, it might be difficult to explain.
"Miss, Miss! Someone, please help! Save my young lady!"
The little maid was also terrified when she saw the heads in front of her, but she could only hug her young mistress, close her eyes and cry. How could this perfectly good birthday banquet have turned into this?
The prime minister, who had intended to give the young people some space to get along, was reading in his study in the backyard when he heard a servant report that he had jumped up from his seat and rushed over to check.
The sixth prince suddenly went mad at the banquet, wildly slashing people with his long sword. The head that just rolled off was the head of an eunuch serving the sixth prince. The sixth prince had just snatched the sword and tried to go forward to persuade him, but he was the first to suffer.
As a result, no one dared to step forward to stop the Sixth Prince.
When the Prime Minister arrived, the Sixth Prince was still acting mad. The Prime Minister was extremely anxious and angry: "What are you useless people doing? Quickly restrain the Sixth Prince!"
Upon hearing this, several strong servants rushed forward, surrounded the Sixth Prince, pinned him down, and sent him to the backyard.
Faced with the mess on the ground and the pale-faced officials and their sons around him, he said apologetically, "I'm sorry to have made you all laugh at me today. With such a thing happening, let's end the banquet here."
As he spoke, he instructed the butler beside him to arrange for the guests to leave.
That evening, dark clouds covered both the Prime Minister's residence and the Imperial Palace.
The sixth prince is only eleven years old this year. Logically speaking, he has no chance of winning the throne. However, with the death of the crown prince, he is the only one who is slightly older and whose maternal family is very powerful, making him the most suitable candidate.
The emperor placed all his hopes on him and paid great attention to his cultivation during this period.
However, the sixth prince had a hidden illness since childhood, which would occasionally cause him to go mad. When he went mad, he would kill anyone he saw, and the illness could not be cured despite long-term treatment.
Fortunately, his mother was the current prime minister's younger sister, so the prime minister's residence naturally helped to cover it up, and the matter was kept secret. Even the emperor did not know that his son had a problem.
As long as he can control himself and not go crazy in front of outsiders, ascending the throne smoothly will not be difficult.
But now, not only has he gone mad, but he has also killed people, so it's impossible to keep it a secret any longer.
In the palace, Consort He wept bitterly: "Tian'er's condition was clearly under control. He hasn't been like this for a long time. Why did he suddenly fall ill?"
"Someone is definitely trying to harm him! Someone is definitely trying to harm him!"
"The Emperor already knows about this! What should I do? What should I do? Brother, please save me!"
Consort He collapsed to the ground in tears, clutching the Prime Minister's sleeve and refusing to let go.
This matter was kept secret for many years, which is a serious crime of deceiving the emperor. If the emperor were to investigate it, even the prime minister's residence would suffer.
How could the Prime Minister not be heartbroken? All his hard work over the years had been ruined by this small birthday banquet.
"Sister, don't be anxious. Now our He family is second only to the emperor. Even if the emperor finds out, he will be wary and won't really take his anger out on you. This matter needs to be considered carefully."
He was much more meticulous than his sister, and now that things had come to this, he had no choice but to give up.
“We’ll say that Tian’er was framed. She’s never had this kind of illness before. It must be because there were all sorts of people around today, which gave the thieves an opportunity to take advantage of her!”
In this way, it wouldn't be considered deceiving the emperor.
"But……"
Consort He was still somewhat afraid, after all, the people in the Sixth Prince's palace and the imperial physicians she had bribed were all aware of this over the years.
"Don't worry, little sister, I'll handle it."
The Prime Minister's eyes darkened. "No poison, no man. To achieve anything, one must be ruthless!"
Consort He shivered, suddenly feeling that this brother was somewhat unfamiliar.
But since it was all for the good of her and her child, she couldn't say anything else and could only nod and agree.
In the back courtyard of Shunyu Casino, Sun Qi was in a rare good mood. He had his men prepare a grill, and he and Qin Jian ate grilled meat and drank wine.
"Wow, Xiao Liu managed to escape safely even in that situation, you're really something!"
Qin Jian had always thought that Xiao Liu would definitely be discovered today, since the servants he had arranged were in charge of the drinks. Who knew that the Sixth Prince could draw his knife and kill people, which bought Xiao Liu a lot of time, cleared his name, and made the Prime Minister think that the Sixth Prince had fallen ill on his own.
The dance at the time was just a group of masked women performing a sword dance, nothing unusual. But the sixth prince suddenly went mad, grabbed a sword and started slashing wildly. Everyone was in a panic and didn't notice anything amiss.
Sun Qi chuckled: "Logically speaking, they should have suspected me, but He Zihan just happened to come looking for me at that time, which provided me with evidence of my alibi."
Therefore, the Prime Minister's family is his lucky star.
"Tsk tsk, I'm telling you, kid, the Prime Minister's daughter has taken a liking to you, but you're just using her. You have no heart!"
Qin Jian put on a pitiful look, like a wronged wife, almost as if she were biting her handkerchief and cursing him for being a heartless man.
Sun Qi looked at him with disgust and couldn't help but kick him: "You disgust me."
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