After seeing off his younger brother, Feng Jiangming immediately had to deal with his younger sister.
A palace servant stumbled in, on the verge of tears. "Your Majesty! The princess is threatening to kill herself!"
Feng Jiangming's face darkened at once. What a reckless girl!
He quickly followed the servant to Li Jiuge's chamber. As soon as he entered, he saw Li Jiuge standing on a chair, shouting at the top of her voice.
"Get down! What a disgrace!"
Seeing her elder brother, Li Jiuge didn't dare to act up anymore. She got down, looking wronged.
"What's the matter? Can't you stay in the palace?"
Li Jiuge shook her head, not daring to answer. Her previous arrogance vanished in an instant.
"I know what you're thinking. You just want to go with them. But Ji Yuchen isn't going on a pleasure trip. He has important matters to attend to. If you go with him, will he be able to focus on his work or take care of you?"
"But I'm not completely useless!"
"What can you do? Aren't you just threatening me with hanging yourself now?" Feng Jiangming slapped the table. "Last time you left the palace without permission. It was only because Ji Yunxi made a blood oath with someone that you were saved. Don't you ever learn?"
Li Jiuge fell silent at once. This was a sore spot for her, and her brother had just ripped it open.
"Jiuge, you're not a child anymore. It's time you started thinking about those around you. I know you like Ji Yuchen, but if he becomes the princess consort, he'll never have a chance to stay in the court. So I can't allow this. Do you understand?"
A tear rolled down Li Jiuge's face and plopped onto the ground.
Feng Jiangming held out his hand, and Li Jiuge obediently took it, just like she had done countless times when she was a child.
"Alright, just stay in the palace obediently. Your second brother told me that you're really bad at learning the rules. I've found some old ladies from the previous dynasty to teach you. You'd better study hard."
With that, Feng Jiangming turned and left, leaving Li Jiuge standing there in shock.
They had originally planned to leave in the afternoon, but because of Feng Xingzhi's addition, they didn't set off until the next morning.
After much pleading, Li Jiuge was allowed to see them off outside the city.
Ji Yunxi had already heard from Feng Xingzhi about the crazy girl's heroic act of threatening to hang herself the day before. She joked, "Not going with us this time?"
Hearing this, Li Jiuge pouted. "Brother is so mean. Forget it. I'll just wait for you to come back..."
Saying that, she reached out and hugged Ji Yunxi. "Wait for me. I'll definitely come find you guys."
Ji Yunxi's eyes widened in surprise. She thought this girl was really crazy. "You..."
Li Jiuge quickly covered her mouth. "Shh!"
Ji Yuchen curiously turned to look at her. Seeing this, Li Jiuge quickly let go and ran away in a flash.
After getting into the carriage, Ji Yunxi couldn't help but laugh when she thought of Li Jiuge's mischievousness.
Ji Yuchen looked at her and then said, "I guessed what she said. I just sent someone to inform the emperor. She won't be able to get out."
Ji Yunxi couldn't hold back her laughter anymore. She leaned on Feng Xingzhi's shoulder, laughing until her waist bent. She thought her elder brother really knew Jiuge well. Just by looking at her, he could tell what she was up to.
As for Li Jiuge, as soon as she got back, the palace gate was locked from the outside, and ten imperial guards were stationed there to guard it strictly. But that's a story for another time.
In the carriage, Ji Yunxi told Ji Yuchen about Sang Yuanyi's plan to rally his troops.
He was a bit anxious at once. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Don't worry, elder brother. He won't be able to cross the border of Xuan City. I've already sent a secret letter to the Empress of Beidi."
Ji Yuchen was a bit worried. "Will it work?"
Feng Xingzhi glanced at them and immediately added, "I've left the royal token of Nanyan. The empress will definitely believe it."
Ji Yunxi gave him a grateful look, knowing that he was helping her explain. Otherwise, it would have been really difficult for her to explain it clearly to Ji Yuchen.
Ji Yuchen knew that his younger sister had always had some secrets. He didn't know when she had changed so much. He didn't know if it was good or bad, but she was his younger sister, so he would believe whatever she said.
The situation was urgent. After traveling non - stop for several days, the group finally arrived in Rui City.
Feng Xingzhi dispersed the mansion guards he had brought and had them sneak into the city to lie in ambush. On the surface, there were only Ji Yuchen, Ji Yunxi, Feng Xingzhi, and Qing Xuan.
As they entered the city, they were greeted by a bustling scene.
This place was no different from other cities in Nanyan. In fact, it even seemed more prosperous. It was obvious that the person in charge of this area was a good governor.
"I really didn't expect such a small border town to be like this."
She slightly lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked out. The peddlers on the side of the road were still shouting their wares, and the people coming and going all had smiles on their faces.
Some people were talking.
"The prince and princess are really kind - hearted people!"
"Who says they aren't? Thanks to them, we can still have a full meal in this drought."
"Yes, yes. I heard that there are strange phenomena in various places. We're really lucky!"
Ji Yunxi had some doubts in her mind. She stopped Qing Xuan, who was driving the carriage. "Qing Xuan, wait."
The carriage stopped, and Ji Yunxi leaned out and asked the commoners who had just been talking.
"Folks, sorry to bother you. I wonder if the prince you were talking about is the Prince of Rui?"
The commoner replied with a smile. "Of course. You girls must be from out of town, right?"
"Yes, we just came from another place."
"Oh, you're really lucky to come to our Rui City. You can stay here without worry. With the Prince of Rui here, we can still have enough to eat even when strange things happen!"
"Yes, yes. The prince sets up porridge sheds outside his mansion every other day, and we can also get free grain according to the number of people in our family!"
"The Prince of Rui is such a great person!"
After hearing this, Ji Yunxi, Ji Yuchen, and Feng Xingzhi looked at each other. Was the Prince of Rui really so caring for his people?
Her doubts were also the doubts of the other two.
However, as a person from the capital, Ji Yunxi was not naive. The words of the commoners might not be reliable.
"I think we need to investigate this matter slowly. We can't believe it so easily." Ji Yuchen suggested.
"Right." Feng Xingzhi tidied his clothes. "We didn't really try to hide our departure from the capital. There's a chance that the Prince of Rui has guessed our purpose. He might have arranged this long ago and is just putting on a show for us."
Ji Yunxi was thinking even more.
"Do you think he might be using these strange phenomena to win the hearts of the people?"
Feng Xingzhi immediately chimed in. "It's not impossible. He's very good at winning people over with his kind and gentle appearance."
"Now that there are strange phenomena from the sky and the court hasn't taken any action yet, but he, as a prince, has already made a lot of preparations. It's hard to say that he doesn't have any ulterior motives, right?"
"Recently, a lot of military supplies have arrived in Rui City. Once a war breaks out, with the support of the commoners, even if he's in the wrong, it might seem right."
After Ji Yuchen finished speaking, all three of them looked very solemn.