After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

Rong Jing had no idea that in such a short time, Shen Jingque's mind had already conjured up a whole drama.

Shen Jingque thought that her mother was a person who valued her promises very much. Since they had agreed to cooperate, she would never betray them and arrest them.

Then there is only one possibility.

The fox willingly put on the chain itself.

As for the reason...

Shen recalled the mysterious circles that netizens had explained to her when she was surfing the internet before she traveled through time.

It is said that this special hobby has existed since ancient times.

Could it be that Rong Jing wanted to experience something while he was out and about?

After all, we're all acquaintances in Beijing, so it's a bit embarrassing to do this.

She respected personal preferences, but was deeply shocked.

Xu Wanying, who was behind her, also leaned over. Her eyes lit up when she saw the thick iron chain, and she reached out to touch it.

"What are we playing? I want to play too!"

Rong Jing was speechless for a long time, choked by the reactions of these two clowns.

He shook his wrist helplessly, and the metal objects clashed, producing a crisp cracking sound.

"Ladies, is it possible that I am now a prisoner of Her Highness the Princess?"

He sighed, "For a hostage of Great Yan to leave the capital without permission is a capital offense, and His Highness is personally escorting him back to the capital."

Shen Jingque rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Don't give me that crap. What mischief are you plotting now?"

Rong Jing's eyes drooped slightly, and a hint of hurt appeared on his usually aloof face.

"In Sparrow's eyes, am I just a scheming person?"

Shen Jingque gave a cold snort and turned her face away, but her heart was filled with a weak feeling.

The other person did take that hit for her, and the wound hasn't healed yet. Now she's locked up in cold iron chains, and she does look rather pitiful.

Her cheeks flushed slightly, and she muttered softly, "Who told you to talk such nonsense? Fine, I'll go ask Mother."

She flung down the carriage curtain, turned around, and nudged Xu Wanying's shoulder: "Let's take the last carriage. You go first."

Then she turned and walked alone toward the carriage at the front.

Only when she got closer did she realize that something was wrong.

The convoy was surrounded by bodyguards in tight-fitting clothes, but none of the women from Qianyuan Village were seen.

Could it be that they're not going back to Beijing with us?

Filled with doubt, Shen Jingque reached out and lifted the curtain of the first carriage.

"Mother, I—"

Before she could finish speaking, the scene inside the carriage made her swallow the rest of her sentence.

Shen Yan leaned slightly forward, his fingertips gently tucking a stray strand of hair from Xiao Mingyue's temple behind her ear.

The two were so close that their breaths seemed to mingle together.

The carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, and sunlight poured in.

As if his hand had been burned, Shen Yan immediately withdrew his arm, and his handsome face quickly flushed red.

He hurriedly picked up the teacup on the table, but forgot that it was a cup of scalding hot tea and almost spilled it.

Xiao Mingyue remained relatively calm, but she cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Sparrow, what is it?"

Shen Jingque pretended not to have seen anything and quickly changed the subject.

"Mother, why did you lock Rong Jing up?"

She sat down next to Xiao Mingyue. "Also, why aren't the sisters from Qianyuan Village coming with us?"

Xiao Mingyue looked at her with a half-smile, her gaze scrutinizing: "You came all this way because you're worried about Rong Jing?"

Shen Jingque quickly waved her hand, "No way! I just find it strange. Didn't he agree to a cooperation with you? How come he's become a prisoner in the blink of an eye?"

Xiao Mingyue's eyes held a deeper meaning: "This is part of the cooperation."

Shen Jingque wanted to ask more, but she noticed that Xiao Mingyue's gaze was subtly sweeping out the car window.

A thought flashed through her mind, and she instantly realized what was happening.

Cangcheng is still someone else's territory after all, with many people and eyes watching, so naturally, the act has to be done completely.

Rong Jing's request to be locked up was probably to avoid attracting attention.

Knowing that the fox was not in danger, Shen Jingque felt a weight lifted from her heart.

She changed the subject and pressed on, "What about the women from Qianyuan Village? I haven't seen them."

Shen Yan finally caught his breath, put down his teacup, and continued the conversation.

"With such a conspicuous group following the caravan, I'm afraid before you even see the gates of the capital, someone will already be writing a memorial accusing your mother of raising an army in rebellion."

Shen Jingque suddenly realized, "Father is right. So where did they go?"

Xiao Mingyue picked up her teacup, took a sip, and said calmly, "This is also part of the cooperation."

Shen Jingque's eyes widened. Xiao Mingyue had always been frank with him, so when did she start speaking in such a cryptic way?

So she grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"Mother, you actually had a secret from me! What happened to our promise that we were the best of everything?"

A burst of soft laughter erupted in the carriage. Shen Yan looked at his daughter's charming appearance, and the blush in his eyes gradually faded, turning into a heart full of tenderness.

"Alright, you'll be told when it's your turn. Go back to your carriage and get ready to depart."

As sunlight streamed onto the city walls, the princess's entourage slowly passed through the city gate.

After a period of emergency repairs and disaster relief, the streets are bustling with life again, and most people have returned to their normal lives.

Therefore, many people spontaneously waited at the city gate to see them off.

Xiao Changqi stood at the front of the crowd, his brocade robe fluttering in the morning breeze.

He watched the convoy disappear at the end of the official road before turning around and strolling back to the county government office.

As soon as he stepped into the main hall, his gaze was fixed on the main table.

In the center of the once empty desk, a square lacquer box has appeared out of nowhere.

Xiao Changqi frowned slightly, quickly stepped forward, and carefully opened the box lid.

Inside, a stack of files was neatly arranged.

He casually flipped to the top book, glanced at it twice, and his fingertips involuntarily tightened.

It was all evidence of Cheng Rui's corruption and illegal activities over the years, as well as information about his background.

Xiao Changqi grabbed the stack of files, strode out of the main hall, and pulled Sun Ji, who was passing by under the corridor, along with him.

"Has anyone entered this main hall just now?"

Sun Ji was startled by his solemn expression and stammered, "No, no, sir. I've been guarding outside the courtyard gate the whole time; not even a fly has gotten in."

Xiao Changqi waved the wooden box in his hand: "Then do you know who sent this?"

Sun Ji shook his head again, looking completely bewildered.

Looking at the heavy evidence in his hand, Xiao Changqi felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

Someone actually managed to evade all the eyes and ears in the yamen, and even his shrewd and capable guards, and quietly place the item in the main hall of the county yamen.

The people of Tingfeng Pavilion are truly as pervasive as the wind.

Fortunately, they are now of one mind.

I can't even imagine how they would defend themselves if they were on the opposite side, with this knife hanging over the head of the Princess's residence.

……

Thousands of miles away, in the inner garden of the imperial palace in the capital.

Xiao Jingchen leaned lazily against the chaise lounge by the window, wearing only a wide, light blue silk robe.

Ali knelt on the footstool beside the couch, peeled a purple grape, and carefully offered it to his lips.

Xiao Jingchen took a grape from her hand and put it in his mouth, gently biting her fingertip as well.

Ah Li's hand flinched, but she didn't dare to pull it back, and her delicate face instantly turned crimson.

Since Fu Yibai's death, he has personally taken over the control of those shady assassins.

But Xiao Jingchen now realizes that those assassins who only know how to kill are not as useful as this little palace maid in front of him.

He raised his hand, his cool fingertips slowly tracing up Ali's jawline and gently brushing across her cheek.

Xiao Jingchen never expected that he would bring back such a big surprise from this girl after he had casually promised her a chance to visit her family outside the palace.

That day, Ali happened to bump into a woman on the street who was searching for someone.

After asking her questions, she cleverly led the woman to him.

He merely used some tricks to painstakingly unravel a shocking secret from his conversation with the woman.

Qin Lie, that brute, is very likely the bastard child of a woman from the Northern Di.

Xiao Jingchen's expression was gentle, but a surge of hatred ran through his heart.

During this period, he was forced to lie low and try to make his presence as inconspicuous as possible, but he was still ridiculed by his father from time to time.

Fortunately, he had made arrangements in advance.

The Emperor is now completely fooled by Tantai Liang, and spends his days cultivating immortality.

That was bad enough, but they also took the frail and sickly eldest prince, Xiao Jingyan, to take the pills with them.

Little did they know that he had instructed Tantai Liang to do all of this.

However, Tantai Liang had already added something to the pills he gave to his elder brother Xiao Jingyan.

The more that fool eats, the less likely he is to have children in his lifetime.

The Empress Dowager was still hoping to support her eldest son to ascend to the throne.

dream.

It's all a dream!

Once Qin Lie's true identity is fully revealed, the Princess's residence will inevitably be implicated.

At that time, he would not only strip Xiao Mingyue of her military power, but also make the Empress Dowager watch helplessly as the eldest prince she had bet on was rendered childless.

This is what happens when you abandon him and oppose him!

He grabbed Ali by the back of the head, pulled her into his arms, and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Ah Li, my dear Ah Li." His voice was sticky and dangerous, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, "You'll never betray me, right?"

Ali was forced to look up, staring at him with a dazed expression, like a tamed bird.

"This servant belongs to Your Highness in life and in death; I will never betray you."

Xiao Jingchen stroked her long hair, but his gaze went past her shoulder and landed on the Louze not far away.

At this time, his dear aunt Xiao Mingyue was still missing. Even if she miraculously returned to the capital alive, it would be too late.

Having eliminated such a major threat for his father, he will surely regain his favor.

Thinking of this, Xiao Jingchen couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Laughter echoed through the empty hall, carrying a chilling madness.