This matter wasn’t orchestrated by Old Marquis Qi or Qi Zhen.
These men were most likely truly military households from Jizhou—their background had to be genuine. Otherwise, how could the Qi family be properly incriminated?
No wonder they had come in such a high-profile manner, assassinating her on New Year’s Day and storming the Qi family’s estate to carry out a massacre. They wanted to stir up a huge commotion.
They weren’t afraid the Qi family would report it to the authorities—they were only afraid they wouldn’t.
Only if it was reported would the matter spiral into a scandal.
Only then would the story of the Qi family smuggling ironware to the Oirats come to light.
On the first day of the new year, if the Qi family were wiped out—wouldn’t that seem perfectly reasonable?
Pu Wuyong let out a faint chuckle. “So, they reported it?”
Little Xuzi, ever quick with his hands, immediately stepped forward to take Pu Wuyong’s cup, then naturally began massaging his shoulders and back while replying softly, “Our people have been following the whole time. They filed the report right away. It’s just that…”
Pu Wuyong raised an eyebrow. “Just what?”
“It’s just… no one expected that Miss Qi would be so formidable. She killed eight of our men on the road by herself—even Liuzi, who was the best among them, died at her hands.”
Little Xuzi lowered his voice even further. “And then there were ten sent to the estate… only one came back alive. The rest were all killed by her.”
Those three words—killed them all—had impact.
Especially since Pu Wuyong knew those were trained soldiers, men who had truly seen the battlefield.
So this was how the Qi family raised girls?
They taught them how to kill?
He was now even more certain that what he’d seen on New Year’s Eve hadn’t been a mistake—Qi Yuan had indeed been hiding a weapon on her body that night.
“Oh?” Pu Wuyong gave a light chuckle. “So she’s a martial arts master now? A pampered noble daughter, splattered with blood—how unsightly. And besides, what’s so great about killing?”
What’s so special about being able to kill?
Even if you can kill one, or ten, or a hundred—so what?
Once a charge of treason and colluding with the enemy is placed on your head, all you can do is sit tight and wait to die!
You alone—what, you think you can stand against the machinery of an empire?
Little Xuzi grinned flatteringly. “Of course, of course. The Lord pulls the strings behind the scenes—just the flick of a finger, and they’ll all be crushed like ants.”
Pu Wuyong curled his lips faintly.
Exactly. Being good at martial arts was utterly useless.
Did he, of all people, lack highly-skilled fighters under his command?
Even the strongest martial artist was nothing more than a killing tool.
Just then, the sound of a woman crying came from inside the room. Pu Wuyong frowned.
Little Xuzi noticed immediately. He turned and went inside, and slap slap—two heavy smacks landed on the face of a girl barely twelve or thirteen. With a vicious expression, he growled, “Being allowed to serve the Lord is a blessing! Don’t you dare act ungrateful!”
Then he turned back around with a completely different smiling face: “Apologies, my Lord, it’s a new one—still doesn’t understand how things work…”
Pu Wuyong had lost interest. He let out a cold snort and waved his hand dismissively. “Forget it. As if I’m lacking in people to serve me.”
After a pause, he said darkly, “Speed things up. I want the Qi family gone before the Lantern Festival. Tell Xu Huan to handle it.”
Xu Huan—Shilang of the Ministry of War, in charge of the Bureau of Armaments.
Little Xuzi immediately gave a respectful “Yes, my Lord.”
Meanwhile, back at the Qi residence, the faces of Old Marquis Qi and Qi Zhen were extremely grim.
They truly hadn’t expected something this catastrophic—enough to wipe out their entire clan—to erupt on New Year’s Day.
Qi Zhen no longer even saw the Imperial Grandson as a viable future son-in-law.
With a dark expression, he said, “What a pity we already reported it. Now those people will definitely seize the chance to blow everything out of proportion!”
Seeing that Qi Yuan didn’t speak immediately, Xiao Yunting was the first to open his mouth: “They are Qi family military households, and over the past few years, they’ve indeed been liaising with the Oirats—smuggling iron goods to them. Are you sure you weren’t aware?!”
Qi Zhen, no longer caring that the man before him was the Imperial Grandson, snapped: “How could we possibly commit such a foolish act of destroying our own Great Wall?! The Oirats are our sworn enemies—how many of our kin and comrades have died at their hands? You think we’d collude with them?!”
Old Marquis Qi’s face was ashen.
This situation had hit him completely off guard.
What to do? How should this be handled?
Bribe Tongzhou’s magistrate Ma Xuan?
No. That wasn’t realistic.
If the people behind this had gone so far, they were definitely watching them like hawks.
If they forced Ma Xuan to suppress the matter, that would only further incriminate the Qi family—solid proof of treason.
No matter how you looked at it, this was a death trap.
Xiao Yunting tapped his knuckles lightly on the stone table. “This case—at the latest, by this afternoon—will reach the Ministry of War. And once it gets there, the Cabinet will be alerted. And the Cabinet…”
This was a matter of grave importance. The Cabinet would absolutely report it to Emperor Yongchang.
He looked toward the Old Marquis and asked, “If they were smuggling, they must have kept ledgers…”
The Old Marquis immediately grasped Xiao Yunting’s intent. “Quick! Go home!”
There must have been an informant who was bought off. It was very possible that those account books had already been planted in the study of the Marquis’s residence.
At that thought alone, both the Old Marquis and Qi Zhen nearly fainted.
Finally, Qi Yuan spoke for the first time.
Her voice was cold. “No. First, we kill someone.”
……
Seriously, our dear little aunt…
At a time like this, instead of thinking about how the whole family is about to meet the King of H*ll together, your first thought is still murder?
Who the h*ll do you want to kill now?!
Qi Zhen finally couldn’t hold back. Considering Qi Yuan’s overwhelming combat ability, he kept his tone calm and gentle: “Now’s not the time for killing. We need to think about our safety first.”
“Exactly. So tell me—if you burn the account books, will that guarantee your safety?” Qi Yuan let out a cold laugh. “You think they only made one set of ledgers?”
Then she turned to the Old Marquis: “Who is the City Surveillance Censor of Jizhou?”
City Surveillance Censor of Jizhou?
Xiao Yunting instantly understood what she meant.
Exactly! Jizhou wasn’t only governed by the military commander—there was the prefectural office and multiple bureaucratic departments.
And among them, the one responsible for overseeing local officials, with the authority to directly submit memorials to the court, was the City Surveillance Censor.
If the Qi family had truly committed treason by colluding with the Oirats, how could they possibly have hidden it from the censor’s ears and eyes?
Not to mention the local Embroidered Uniform Guard—the imperial secret police.
Were they all asleep?
Old Marquis Qi immediately answered: “Xu Huan’s nephew—Xu Xinqiao, the Shilang of the Ministry of War’s nephew. He was just transferred back to the capital and is waiting to undergo evaluation by the Ministry of Personnel after completing his report!”
Qi Yuan let out a soft laugh. “I’ll go kill him.”
Then she gave a calm glance at the Old Marquis and Qi Zhen. “As for Grandfather and Father—you don’t get to sit around either. Now that things have blown up, go declare your innocence. Go kneel at the palace gates.”
When an official was implicated in a scandal, it was customary to kneel outside the palace to confess and plead one’s case.
And as for her—cutting down the hand that held the knife against them was just as reasonable.
As for Xiao Yunting—she looked at him.
He didn’t need her to say a word. He simply nodded. “Don’t worry. You take care of Xu Xinqiao—I’ll make sure the evidence you need makes it to the Cabinet.”
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