Old Marquis Qi and Qi Zhen weren’t exactly overjoyed.
Well, of course—they had every reason not to be.
Previously, Qi Wang and Princess Baorong had incited Pu Wuyong into action, and he had nearly taken a bite out of the Qi family. Several of the family’s guards had died, and more were seriously injured.
And now, if Princess Baorong and Qi Wang were going to make another move, just like Qi Yuan said, wouldn’t that mean disaster was coming again for the Qi family?
But Qi Yuan merely smiled and reassured them, “It won’t be like it was with Pu Wuyong again. He was an eunuch dog, and he had already made a deadly enemy of the Eastern Palace. With no way out, he went all in without hesitation. But the others aren’t like him.”
The rest of Qi Wang’s subordinates wouldn’t be foolish enough to stir up trouble at a time like this.
They had the examples of Lu Minghui and Pu Wuyong right in front of them.
Whether it was fate turning against Qi Wang or the Eastern Palace being superior in skill—either way, the political wind had clearly shifted toward the Eastern Palace now.
Those who were smart knew how to read the times.
Duke Chu’s household and the noble consort had both fallen. Princess Baorong and Qi Wang didn’t have many people left to call on.
Old Marquis Qi quickly understood what Qi Yuan meant.
Since it was still early in the first lunar month, after the envoys from the Eastern Kingdom met with Princess Baorong, they submitted a request to the Ministry of Rites: they wanted the princess to bring two concubine-maids along as part of her dowry.
In fact, the Great Zhou dynasty had never before agreed to a marriage alliance with the Eastern Kingdom.
That was because the Eastern Kingdom was a small, fickle nation that often raided Zhou’s coastal regions. Even marrying off a princess wouldn’t benefit Great Zhou much.
Political marriages had never succeeded in maintaining peace for long.
But precisely because there was no precedent, when the Eastern envoys brought it up, they even cited a supposed precedent from the Warring States period—how princesses then brought concubine-attendants with them as part of the dowry.
The Ministry of Rites officials were so infuriated they laughed.
A country whose entire culture was copied from the Tang and Song dynasties, with no real heritage of its own, actually dared to lecture them about Warring States customs?
But then Princess Baorong personally went to plead with the Yongchang Emperor.
She cried and said that she was going to be far from home forever, and begged the Emperor to grant this one request—so she’d at least have something familiar to cling to.
After much deliberation, the Yongchang Emperor agreed.
When the news reached the Qi household outside the palace, Qi Yuan was in the garden, watching Shen Jialang and Qi Yunzhi playing with Ah Huang.
The two boys were a bit far apart in age, but Qi Yunzhi played the big brother role well, smiling warmly as he watched Shen Jialang have fun.
Old Marquis Qi arrived in a hurry, only to see this scene.
His steps immediately slowed, and he let out a long breath.
Why rush?
The sky wasn’t falling. If anyone really dared demand that Qi Yuan accompany Baorong to the Eastern Kingdom for the marriage, then not only Baorong but the entire envoy group would probably die.
Shen Jialang quickly stopped when he saw the Old Marquis, a little shy as he stood still.
The Old Marquis lovingly patted his head and smiled. “It’s a nice day today. Grandfather bought you two a kite made by Master Da and Master Er. Why don’t you go fly it, hmm?”
Shen Jialang looked toward Qi Yuan, and when he saw her smiling and nodding, he grabbed Qi Yunzhi’s hand. The two boys ran off with the attendants.
The Old Marquis truly cherished Shen Jialang.
The moment he heard the boy’s name, he understood what Qi Yuan meant by it.
“Jialang”—she hoped this child would live his whole life pure and bright, untouched by suffering.
He smiled as he watched the two children run off, then turned to Qi Yuan and said, “The families of the fallen guards have all been settled. Each family has been given a compensation of one thousand taels of silver.”
Even in times of peace and prosperity, paying a thousand taels for a guard’s life was a grand gesture.
You had to know—even for soldiers who died in service, the standard pension was usually just a few dozen taels.
But neither Qi Yuan nor the Old Marquis looked relieved.
These were people, not objects—lives couldn’t be measured in money.
And to their families, they weren’t just guards—they were fathers, sons, husbands. The silver might help with the days to come, but it could never ease the pain of loss.
Qi Yuan said softly, “I heard that some of the families’ sons are already grown, but they haven’t been able to find work…”
The Old Marquis immediately replied, “Don’t worry. I’ve already given the order—those who are suitable will be brought into the household to take over their fathers’ posts. If they don’t know how yet, they’ll learn. I’ve heard many of them have been training at home, and their martial skills are decent.”
As he spoke, Qi Zhen came hurrying in from outside. When he saw Qi Yuan, his face still carried a trace of unreleased fury. He took a deep breath and said: “Ah Yuan, Princess Baorong has named you and Wang Chan specifically as her dowry companions—to accompany her to the Eastern Kingdom!”
Qi Zhen was so angry he was practically about to ascend to Nirvana.
Had they dug up the Liu family’s ancestral graves or something?
They hadn’t even done much to offend the Liu family at first, but ever since Liu Mingzhu, the whole Liu clan had come at the Qi family like rabid dogs—until now they were all dead and gone.
Yet the last one left, Princess Baorong—still carrying the Liu family’s blood—just wouldn’t let the Qi family go!
The thing they had most feared had now actually happened. The Old Marquis closed his eyes, worry showing on his face.
Qi Yuan, on the other hand, laughed.
Truly and genuinely laughed out loud.
For some reason, when they saw her laughing, both the Old Marquis and Qi Zhen felt a chill crawl down their spines—their scalp prickled, and the hairs on their arms stood on end.
Qi Yuan touched her injured shoulder.
The wound there still hadn’t fully healed.
She had already been planning to settle the accounts of past and present lives with Princess Baorong and Qi Wang. Now that they insisted on delivering themselves to her doorstep—that was just as well.
At that same moment, Princess Baorong was also wiping away nonexistent tears as she sat on a meditation cushion, coldly looking at Qi Wang: “Don’t glare at me! Even if she doesn’t go to the Eastern Kingdom with me, that little sweetheart of yours still wouldn’t marry you. What she’s more likely to do is stab you to death with a single slash!”
The death of Pu Wuyong had only deepened Princess Baorong’s hatred toward Qi Yuan.
Even Pu Wuyong couldn’t do anything to Qi Yuan, and instead died at her hands!
Qi Wang’s eyes were bloodshot.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want Qi Yuan dead.
But if she was going to die—then it had to be by his hand.
Princess Baorong had made the deal with Pu Wuyong behind his back. The poisoned dart had also been forcefully taken from Eunuch Xu and Jinbao by Baorong herself.
And now she wanted to bring Qi Yuan along as a dowry companion to the Eastern Kingdom? He lowered his voice and warned coldly: “Are you insane?! You really think you can take her with you?”
If Qi Yuan were the type to obediently marry off to those Eastern b*stards, he’d chop off his own head and offer it to Baorong as a footstool!
Princess Baorong looked at him blandly and said, “She won’t stay lucky forever. The people of the Eastern Kingdom aren’t like those of Great Zhou—they don’t fuss over virtues like propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame.”
Then she turned to look at him mockingly. “And besides, what do you think an imperial edict means? If the decree says she’s to accompany the dowry, then even if she dies, her corpse still has to be delivered to the Eastern Kingdom!”
