Huailiang Qin Wang indeed brought great benefits to the Great Zhou.
As someone from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Lai Chenglong was of course well aware of this.
He sighed. “Miss Qi, I know you’re very capable, and I know your abilities are great. But let me give you a piece of advice—always leave yourself a way out. Man cannot fight against heaven.”
This time, both Censor Tie and Lord Han dug up the old offenses committed by Huailiang Qin Wang’s family back in the day. But all it achieved was making Emperor Yongchang deny the matter of marrying off noblewomen as dowry.
As for the matter of the princess marrying into his family—that still hadn’t changed.
That was enough for Lai Chenglong to understand Emperor Yongchang’s true intentions.
He stood up. “Miss Qi, I’m sorry. In this matter, I’m afraid I won’t be able to help you.”
He knew very well how formidable Qi Yuan was and that she was indeed capable.
But no matter how capable someone is, before the imperial court and the power of the emperor, they are still far too insignificant.
Qi Yuan calmly took a sip of tea. “What Huailiang Qin Wang can offer is nothing more than a silver mine. But if one were to kill Huailiang Qin Wang… well, wouldn’t that silver mine be just the beginning?”
Lai Chenglong froze in his tracks. He turned his head to look at Qi Yuan.
Qi Yuan’s eyes carried a smile. She raised her cup toward Lai Chenglong. “Pleasure doing business.”
Yes, just as Lai Chenglong said, killing a princess was indeed a risky move.
But so what?
She could afford to take that risk.
Besides, she never placed herself in a position where others could trample on her.
If she didn’t kill Baorong, Baorong would come for her. Compared to that, of course it was much more comfortable to be the one who strikes first.
As soon as Qi Yuan returned home, she saw that everyone in the household wore smiles on their faces. Seeing her back, Old Madam Qi was especially delighted. “Ah Yuan, come sit here quickly!”
She pulled Qi Yuan to sit beside her.
Before Qi Yuan could ask, Old Madam Qi already smiled and said, “Your father has been promoted to the Five Armies Command. He’s now the Left Commander, in charge of the capital’s defense.”
Oh, that’s a promotion.
Previously, Qi Zhen was in the Ministry of War, but in truth, he held little actual power.
Most of his tasks were actually helping Emperor Yongchang look for Liu Wangfei.
Now that Liu Wangfei had been found—and considering that the Qi family had almost been framed during this time, with both the Old Marquis and Qi Zhen having been thrown into the imperial prison—Emperor Yongchang giving them some compensation was nothing more than expected.
It was something they could certainly endure.
Qi Yuan smiled and nodded. “Then congratulations to Father.”
Indeed, Old Marquis Qi and Qi Zhen were both genuinely happy.
This task, which no one could tell whether it was fortune or misfortune at first, had ultimately turned into fortune.
Being in charge of the capital garrison—what a significant responsibility!
It meant being responsible for the defense of both the capital and Tianjin.
Now, Qi Zhen truly held real power in his hands.
Precisely because of this, Qi Zhen increasingly realized how important Qi Yuan was.
He secretly spoke with the Old Marquis about the matter between Qi Yuan and the Imperial Grandson.
Both proud and anxious, he said, “If Ah Yuan refuses, I feel uneasy—as if we’re missing out on a great fortune. But if she agrees…”
His expression turned solemn again. “I’m quite worried, too.”
The Old Marquis, a seasoned old fox, immediately understood what Qi Zhen meant.
If she doesn’t agree, they might miss out on the chance of becoming the Emperor’s in-laws in the future.
But even if she agrees… it’s not certain that they would actually become the Emperor’s in-laws.
He let out a sneer. “This isn’t something you can decide on your own. What’s there to worry about?”
Qi Zhen immediately understood.
Right—everything depended on whether Qi Yuan was willing or not. If she was, then no matter how full of thorns the road ahead was, she would cut them all down until not a single blade of grass remained.
If she was unwilling, then even if the road was paved entirely with flowers, she wouldn’t take a single step forward.
Once he figured this out, Qi Zhen stopped struggling with himself. Honestly, there was no point in overthinking—just follow Qi Yuan’s lead.
Look, hadn’t the family already taken a huge step forward?
Qi Yuan could tell how happy they were just by looking at the reward money they gave the servants.
The atmosphere in her courtyard was even more jubilant—everyone was smiling from ear to ear.
As soon as Baizhi saw her enter, she beamed. “Miss, there’s good news for you!”
Qi Yuan smiled. “Father’s promotion? I already know about that.”
“No, no!” Baizhi hurriedly explained. Seeing Ah Huang wagging his tail as he ran over, she couldn’t help but grin. “It’s that Shunzi is back!”
At the mention of Shunzi, Baizhi’s face was full of joy.
Qi Yuan let out an “Oh?” and indeed, a hint of a smile appeared on her face.
She had asked Shunzi and the others to escort those girls and Jingkong to Huizhou, and handle some tasks along the way. She hadn’t expected Shunzi to return ahead of schedule.
After a brief pause, she immediately said, “Come, let’s go see.”
Shunzi was waiting in the courtyard outside the flower hall. When he saw Qi Yuan enter, he quickly called out, “Miss.”
Qi Yuan nodded. “Good work. You came back earlier than expected?”
Shunzi replied softly, then followed Qi Yuan into the flower hall. He reported, “Miss, the person you asked me to find—I found them earlier than expected. I didn’t dare delay, so I let Cuihu and the others continue escorting the girls while I brought my people back first.”
Qi Yuan chuckled lightly.
It seemed that Heaven was truly favoring her in this life.
She had only relied on vague memories from her previous life, remembering that this person should appear somewhere along the coastal region. Who would have thought Shunzi would actually run into them on the way?
If this wasn’t Heaven helping her, then what was?
She tapped the table lightly and asked in a calm tone, “Was it difficult to capture them?”
Shunzi scratched the back of his head sheepishly, but there was a hint of sharpness in his eyes that was hard to detect. “We used a little trick. Once we showed them the weapon you gave me, there wasn’t even any need for persuasion—they climbed right up the pole themselves. They behaved very well the whole way, afraid we’d ditch them.”
A smile tugged at the corners of Qi Yuan’s mouth.
Shunzi was truly useful. Having such capable people at her side was something worth being happy about.
She looked at Shunzi with a smile. “Good job. Keep a close watch on them—don’t relax for even a second. I’ll have great use for them later.”
Shunzi answered loudly, “Yes!” When it came to handling tasks for Qi Yuan, he had always been the type to follow orders without question.
Because he knew, just obeying Qi Yuan was enough.
Everything else was her concern. Even if the sky were to fall, he wouldn’t be afraid.
Just then, Old Marquis Qi and Qi Zhen came looking for Qi Yuan. Hearing her tell Shunzi to keep a close eye on someone, both of them couldn’t help but feel puzzled.
Qi Zhen looked at Qi Yuan, confused. “Who do you need to keep an eye on?”
Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow, smiling as she looked at Qi Zhen. “The Japanese.”
The Japanese?!
Qi Zhen was startled, and the memory of Qi Yuan’s previous words—about killing the envoys and Princess Baorong together—sent a chill down his spine.
Wasn’t the dowry issue already resolved?!
He asked, both shocked and suspicious, “The Japanese envoy group?”
Qi Yuan sneered. “Japanese envoy group? Right now, I’d bet they’re the ones watching me.”
