Han Jingyu stared, stunned, at the Seventh Prince who had strode out to eat with a crowd of soldiers.
How long had Ronghe County Princess been inside? Had she managed to sort things out so quickly?
What happened to "falling into dejection" and "being listless"?
Your Highness the Seventh Prince, your melancholy is far too cheap.
Qing Zhu walked into the room, a steaming bun in her hand. "Miss, please have some too."
Ji Zizhao, however, said, "There's still one more person I need to see."
Upon hearing that General Mu Man had ordered their departure from Luoyi and return to Tujue that very night.
When Ji Zizhao arrived at the restaurant with Qing Zhu, she saw the Tujue soldiers packing and preparing.
Ji Zizhao left Qing Zhu downstairs and went up to the second floor alone.
She pushed open the door to a private room and saw the Second Prince sitting on a stool.
The Second Prince, unseen for a long time, still had that sickeningly infuriating demeanor. However, his face, which should have been handsome, was now bruised and swollen, his eyes reduced to mere slits.
Looking at the pig-headed Second Prince, Ji Zizhao felt a great deal better.
Xie Jingxi, seeing Ji Zizhao arrive uninvited, instantly sprang from his stool.
As if facing a great enemy, he glared fiercely at Ji Zizhao, "What do you want?"
He had been beaten too many times to dare relax.
Ji Zizhao looked at the wary Second Prince and smiled calmly. "Your Highness the Second Prince, if you fear ghosts knocking at your door, why then commit deeds that weigh on your conscience? It's just that I didn't expect His Highness the Seventh Prince to still be so considerate of his siblings. If it were up to me, it would have been best to beat Your Highness the Second Prince until he couldn't stand."
Xie Jingxi was no fool; he understood her meaning at once. "You sent Old Seventh to the city gate!"
Ji Zizhao calmly admitted, "Your Highness the Second Prince dared to secretly send plague victims into Luoyi. Why then should I not dare to let His Highness the Seventh Prince wait by the city gate for a bird to fall into his snare?"
That's right, the person who had almost caused Luoyi to fall was the Second Prince.
Xie Jingxi!
When Ji Zizhao had first seen those plague victims wearing Yu Lin's armor, she had already suspected it.
Yu Lin armor was not something that could be flaunted by just anyone.
Being able to equip plague victims with Yu Lin armor in such large numbers was no small feat.
Coupled with the fact that Luoyi's current plague was the same as the one in Jingzhou, the answer became obvious without needing further investigation.
When the Jingzhou plague occurred, Ji Zizhao was only six years old, and Xie Jingqi should have been around five.
However, the Second Prince should have been ten years old.
Therefore, the only person capable of participating was the Second Prince.
She had never expected the Second Prince to be able to hide the plague victims for so long. If not for the Second Prince's secret alliance with Tujue this time, those plague victims would have undoubtedly brought great disaster to Yu Lin in the future.
Xie Jingxi's disguise was torn away, yet he showed no embarrassment. Since things had come to this, he was prepared to face the consequences. "Ji Zizhao, did you come all this way just to taunt me?"
Ji Zizhao gathered her robes and sat down on a stool, shaking her head. "No, I came to witness Your Highness the Second Prince's misfortune."
The young eunuch standing nearby...
To gloat so openly...
Ronghe County Princess, you are truly the number one in Yu Lin!
Xie Jingxi clenched his fists, stubbornly defiant. "So what if I've been exposed? Ji Zizhao, you've miscalculated one step. Even if you had Old Seventh block me at the city gate, Old Seventh would never dare kill me, and Father would surely protect my life. If you want to see me make a fool of myself, Ji Zizhao, you'll have to wait another hundred years!"
Ji Zizhao did not get angry. She poured herself a cup of tea. "Your Highness is merciful and would naturally not kill your elder brother. Moreover, truly bearing the crime of fratricide would be a great obstacle to Your Highness's future succession. Your Highness came to Luoyi to earn merit, not to slap yourself with filth."
Xie Jingxi was instantly shocked. "You want to support Old Seventh?"
"Your Highness the Second Prince should worry about yourself more. I will report the matter of the plague truthfully to the Emperor. Of course, Your Highness the Second Prince is correct, the Emperor will not kill you out of anger. Doing so would be an open admission that the Luoyi plague is related to Your Highness. Even if Your Highness does not care about his reputation, the royal family cannot afford to lose face because of you."
Ji Zizhao stroked her teacup, her words seeming casual but piercing Xie Jingxi's heart like needles.
"However, Your Highness the Second Prince has overlooked one point. The Emperor is Your Highness the Second Prince's father, and also the ruler of Yu Lin. If Your Highness the Second Prince, for his own selfish gain, is willing to let Luoyi disappear from Yu Lin, how can the Emperor tolerate a son who would harm his own city? After this matter passes, the Emperor will surely keep Your Highness the Second Prince here for the rest of his life. Therefore, Your Highness the Second Prince should stay in Luoyi well. After all, if there are any future disturbances in Luoyi, in the Emperor's eyes, they will be inextricably linked to Your Highness the Second Prince."
If anything else were to happen in Luoyi, even if it wasn't the Second Prince's doing, the Emperor would suspect him and be even more enraged.
Therefore, even if the Second Prince was unwilling, he had to ensure Luoyi prospered.
Xie Jingxi felt a surge of anger rise in his chest, making him tremble uncontrollably.
This wasn't a matter of tearing his face; it was like dragging his face across the ground!
Ji Zizhao hadn't killed him, but her ability to strike at his heart was more terrifying than killing him.
The reason Xie Jingxi had allied with Tujue in the first place was to collapse Luoyi together with them, so that he could rightfully return to the imperial city.
But now, he was likely to die in this wretched city forever!
Seeing the Second Prince so angry he was about to faint, the young eunuch quickly came to help him calm down. "Your Highness the Second Prince, please restrain your anger..."
Xie Jingxi, however, shoved the young eunuch to the ground and raised his teacup to smash it.
At the same moment, Ji Zizhao's hand gripped his wrist.
With great force, she caused Xie Jingxi's handsome face to contort in pain. "Ji Zizhao, what business is it of yours how I discipline my own servant!"
"Your Highness the Second Prince is free to discipline your own servants as you please. However, I will be taking this young eunuch back to the imperial city. After all, he has been by Your Highness the Second Prince's side, and there are many things he needs to describe to the Emperor personally."
Xie Jingxi...
So, she truly intended to make him grow old and die alone in this dilapidated city?
The young eunuch, lying on the ground, naturally understood that Ronghe County Princess was saving him.
With the presence of the young general and the Seventh Prince, how could he, a mere servant, ever have the chance to meet the Emperor?
Although this young eunuch had served the Second Prince since childhood, he did not wish to sacrifice his entire life, or even his life, for such a disgraceful master.
"This servant is willing to return to the imperial city with Ronghe County Princess." The young eunuch knelt on the ground and sincerely kowtowed in gratitude.
Ji Zizhao pulled the young eunuch up and left the private room without looking back.
Xie Jingxi, left behind, watched in disbelief as Ji Zizhao took away the last person by his side, so enraged that he could barely breathe.