Old Marquis Qi gave the abbot a deep, meaningful look and quietly agreed.
Then he smiled at the abbot. “Master, you’d best behave. Those who shouldn’t remain in the capital will eventually leave. But our Qi family, well, we’re not going anywhere.”
Behave. There it was again, behave.
Did the Qi family just love hearing other people say “yes, sir”?
Behave. Behave!
The abbot felt a surge of resentment, but when he recalled Qi Yuan’s tone when she said someone wasn’t “behaving,” he shuddered all over and reflexively widened his eyes to express loyalty: “Yes, yes, of course, Marquis, rest assured! I will behave, I’ll absolutely behave!”
Old Marquis Qi gave a dark, cold snort. “It’s fine if you don’t behave. But if you don’t, then not a single person at the foot of your mountain will survive. I’m not worried.”
The abbot left, his face long with despair.
He never should’ve gotten greedy!
Once the abbot had gone, the old marquis finally let his real concern show. He looked at Qi Yuan and said, “First Qilin, then Gao Qing and Jinbao at Feilai Peak… Yuan Jie’er, Qi Wang is absolutely determined to abduct you!”
Now he finally understood why the flooding in Jiangxi had been so severe. How could it not be?
Qi Wang spent all day thinking not about flood relief or disaster management, but about how to seize Qi Yuan while Xiao Yunting was away, dragging her back to Jiangxi!
What was going on inside that man’s head?
What was in Qi Wang’s head all day long was Qi Yuan.
That night, Eunuch Xu knocked lightly on the door. Qi Wang immediately called out, “Come in!”
As soon as Eunuch Xu stepped inside, Qi Wang asked urgently, “Is there news from Qi Yuan’s side?”
Eunuch Xu, too, was at a loss for words.
He truly didn’t understand Qi Wang. With all the power in his hands, what kind of woman couldn’t he have?
There were plenty of beauties in Jiangxi, surely at least one was prettier than Qi Yuan. Why did he have to be so fixated on her?
He sighed inwardly but dared not show a trace of it on his face. Bowing his head, he replied, “No. It’s news from the Imperial Grandson’s side, Qi Wangkui and his men are all dead…”
Useless!
Utterly worthless trash!
Qi Wang cursed and gave a cold, impatient sneer. “Got it.”
Dead? So be it. Even if Qi Wangkui dragged his name into it, so what? Did he have any proof?
But Eunuch Xu didn’t leave. His face showed worry and deep anxiety. Bowing even lower, he sighed. “Your Highness, that’s not the only issue…”
Qi Wang had no patience left. “If you’ve got something to say, then spit it out!”
So annoying! Ever since he’d come to his fief, nothing good had happened.
Eunuch Xu was a little disappointed. Qi Wang really wasn’t cut out for great things. He’d already forgotten how cautious and fearful he had to be during those final days in the capital.
But what could he do?
He could only say helplessly, “A message has come from the capital, His Majesty has issued an urgent summons for Your Highness to return.”
This time, Qi Wang was truly stunned.
He was arrogant, but not ignorant of the rules.
Before he was sent to his vassal fief, Emperor Yongchang had made it clear: he was not to return to the capital unless summoned.
And now such a quick summons, it couldn’t possibly mean His Majesty just missed him.
Unless…
He looked at Eunuch Xu.
Sure enough, Eunuch Xu said gravely, “Your Highness, there’s been an incident in the capital. Cao Xingwang has confessed everything. Qilin was killed at Tian Bao’s dog arena, Miss Feng is also dead… all our arrangements…”
Qi Wang could no longer stay calm. He flipped the table in a rage, grabbed Eunuch Xu by the collar like an enraged lion, and roared, “What did I tell you?! Didn’t I say, be cautious? Be cautious?!”
Eunuch Xu couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.
If you wanted to be cautious, you shouldn’t have messed with the capital in the first place.
And Qi Wang still didn’t understand?
The real problem now was this: a vassal prince had conspired with eunuchs, that was the true, fatal issue!
But here Qi Wang was still fixated on whether or not Qi Yuan had been killed or brought back.
Reasoning with Qi Wang was hopeless. Eunuch Xu could only swallow his frustration and say, “Your Highness, this is my fault. But the bigger issue now is that the emperor has summoned you back to the capital!”
Returning to the capital would make things much worse.
Everything Qi Wang had done, none of it was minor.
So long as Emperor Yongchang was still alive, he might be lenient with this son. At worst, he’d place him under house arrest and raise him like a caged pig.
But the problem was, the Qi family and the Feng family now hated Qi Wang to the bone.
Returning to the capital would mean certain death.
Why couldn’t he understand that?
Eunuch Xu could only remind him, “Your Highness, even if you truly must have Miss Qi, you need to get out of this crisis first. You absolutely must not go back to the capital right now!”
No kidding!
Qi Wang wasn’t an idiot, he definitely wasn’t going to sit still and wait to die.
He paced around the room in frustration, both agitated and furious.
Finally, he turned and glared at Eunuch Xu. “And you’re just standing there not thinking of a plan?!”
Fortunately, Eunuch Xu had already thought it through. “Your Highness is gravely ill…”
Feigning illness was the best strategy.
Even if the capital suspected something, they’d still have to send an imperial envoy to verify the illness at his fief.
But once someone left for Jiangxi, they’d no longer control what happened next.
Qi Wang thought it was a solid plan too. He slumped into a chair and snorted coldly, though his face was still grim. “There’d better not be any more screw-ups with Gao Qing and Jinbao.”
At the mention of Gao Qing and Jinbao, Eunuch Xu’s heart sank.
He quickly changed the subject. “Your Highness, the imperial inspector is almost here, you need to come up with something!”
Qi Wangkui hadn’t stopped Xiao Yunting. Worse, he’d ended up exposing the traitors in the ranks.
Now, Xiao Yunting was about to pass Wuchang and enter Hongdu.
That delay was only possible because Eunuch Xu, using Qi Wang’s name, had bribed the Wuchang magistrate to hold a flower parade to greet the imperial envoy, buying them time.
Otherwise, Xiao Yunting would already be in Hongdu.
Qi Wang couldn’t even stand to hear Xiao Yunting’s name. Just thinking about how Xiao Yunting had won Qi Yuan’s heart made his stomach churn with pain.
Xiao Yunting, Xiao Yunting!
Even Emperor Yongchang’s favor had been stolen by him, and now, even Qi Yuan too!
Gritting his teeth, Qi Wang snarled, “If he comes, he’s not leaving!”
Eunuch Xu actually agreed with that sentiment.
There was no other reason, both sides were locked in deep, irreconcilable hatred. And the incident with Qi Wangkui was a card they could play.
Once Xiao Yunting entered Hongdu, he definitely wouldn’t let Qi Wang off easy.
Eunuch Xu lowered his voice. “Your Highness is right, of course, but we still need a proper plan.”
Killing the imperial envoy wasn’t easy.
They’d failed once already, next time had to be flawless.
Qi Wang sat back down in his chair and suddenly recalled the last time he had dealt with the Xie family in Songcheng…
