Before Yun Xi could get used to the Queen's sudden intimacy, her mind stirred at these words.
She took out the hairpin and handed it to the Queen.
"This hairpin was specially made for me by a craftsman commissioned by my father on the day of my coming - of - age ceremony. So the craftsmanship is rather uncommon. Two such hairpins were made at that time. One was for me and the other for my younger sister. To tell them apart, Father had characters engraved on them..."
Saying so, Yun Xi showed the small characters on the inner side of the hairpin to the Queen. In a very inconspicuous corner, there was a character "Xi" engraved.
It was hardly noticeable if one didn't look closely.
The Queen smiled and nodded.
"In that case, you should cherish it well and don't let the Prime Minister down."
Saying so, she personally took the hairpin and put it in Yun Xi's hair.
During the conversation, the archery competition on the field had ended, and the participants were sitting down one by one. And Qi Rong was sitting in the male guests' seats not far from Yun Xi.
His face was cold, and his eyes were as sharp as hooks, staring at Yun Xi. It made her scalp tingle and feel extremely uncomfortable.
What are you staring at! Staring so directly. Who are you trying to scare?!
Yun Xi was raging inside and had cursed Qi Rong thousands of times in her mind. But when she met his jet - black eyes, she swallowed hard and averted her head like a coward...
Seeing her intimidating on the outside but timid on the inside, Qi Rong sneered. He lowered his head and stroked the round scar on his wrist.
Suddenly, he gave a leisurely smile.
Ten years had passed. She was still as stupid as ever!
The long years had changed his appearance beyond recognition, but it seemed to have left no trace on her.
Today's archery competition was originally meant to mark the hunting trip perfectly. However, with the appearance of a person, the relaxed atmosphere suddenly turned cold.
The reason was that the Emperor had been assassinated during the hunting yesterday!
Early this morning, the body of a Jinyiwei (imperial bodyguard) was found in the forest, and a sneaky man was captured on the spot. The man claimed to be the Prime Minister's nephew, Jiang Qing!
"Your Majesty, please distinguish the truth! I'm innocent! I didn't see any Jinyiwei last night, let alone assassinate Your Majesty!"
Jiang Qing was in ragged clothes stained with blood, obviously having been tortured.
As soon as he was dragged up, he shouted his innocence. He was struggling desperately, fearing that if he didn't shout now, he would have no chance!
The moment she saw Jiang Qing, Yun Xi's fingertips trembled and her throat tightened. She thought to herself:
It's finally here!
She looked over the crowd and stared at the Jiang family below. The other party also looked pale, no better than her.
"You claim to be innocent. Do you have any proof?"
At the Emperor's order, Lin Hai, the Minister of Dali Temple, personally interrogated him.
"What were you doing in the forest in the middle of the night? Confess the truth!"
As the highest - ranking official of the Three Judicial Departments, Lin Hai was imposing. And Jiang Qing, who had already suffered from torture, immediately nodded like a pounding garlic:
"I'll tell. I'll tell everything!"
So, Jiang Qing briefly recounted what had happened last night and insisted that he and Yun Xi were in love and had an appointment to meet in the forest.
He was so overwhelmed by his feelings that he wanted to be intimate with Yun Xi. But in a panic, Yun Xi stabbed his eye with a hairpin.
Yun Xi escaped, but he was captured as an assassin by the Jinyiwei...
"If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, I have Yun Xi's hairpin as proof!"
Facing the continuous gasps from the audience below, Yun Xi bit her lips and clenched her fists. A warm hand suddenly rested on the back of her hand.
She looked up in surprise and saw the Queen silently staring at the people below, while gently patting her hand twice.
Even though she knew that the Queen was just using her, Yun Xi felt inexplicably warm at this moment.
Her heart also calmed down.
After all, the Minister of Dali Temple in charge of the interrogation was the Queen's elder brother.
Maybe the Queen knew something...
"Utter nonsense!"
Before Jiang Qing could finish speaking, the Prime Minister Yun Sheng got up angrily and knelt in front of the Emperor.
"Your Majesty is wise! My daughter is pure and chaste. She would never do such a ridiculous thing! This villain must have known that the maid who had an affair with him was punished by Yun Xi for stealing. So he is taking revenge and ruining my daughter's reputation! If Your Majesty allows this scoundrel to continue slandering my daughter and fails to clear her name, I'd rather resign from my position as Prime Minister!"
After these words, the whole audience was shocked!
This was an obvious threat! And the target was the Emperor!
Even if Yun Sheng had ten heads, he probably wouldn't dare to act so recklessly!
"Dad..."
Yun Xi's eyes were red. She knelt beside her father.
"I'm not afraid of slander for things I've never done. You mustn't act rashly because of me!"
The Prime Minister's beloved daughter was so pitiful.
Even the Emperor, who had long known the Prime Minister's temper, didn't get angry. Instead, he got up and helped him up.
His tone was rather helpless:
"Prime Minister, you know what I'm trying to do. Why bother?"
His purpose was not to target Yun Xi but the mastermind behind the assassination.
Although he knew that Yun Xi would be involved, he didn't expect the Prime Minister to react so violently.
Just when the Emperor was hesitating, a cold and sarcastic voice suddenly rang out:
"The show has started. How can it end without a conclusion?"
Yun Xi frowned and looked at Qi Rong anxiously, not knowing what he was up to.
She knew that Qi Rong hated her father and her, which was obvious from his actions.
If he was determined to kill her, not even the Queen could save her this time!
Under Yun Xi's gaze, Qi Rong got up from his seat and walked slowly to Jiang Qing.
The next moment, he grabbed Jiang Qing's neck and lifted him up with one hand.
"Where's the hairpin?"
His eyes were cold, with a blood - thirsty look that made people shiver.
"Here..."
Jiang Qing gasped with difficulty and tremblingly handed the hairpin to Qi Rong.
After taking the hairpin, Qi Rong let go and threw the man on the ground like a rag.
Then, he wiped the blood off the hairpin, examined it carefully, and saw a small character on the inner side. He read it out directly:
"Ni?"
He looked at Yun Xi with interest, curled his lips, and said to Yun Sheng:
"Prime Minister, do you have a daughter named 'Ni'? Is this the eldest lady's given name?"
Qi Rong looked sarcastic, but Yun Sheng's face darkened immediately.
"This is impossible!"
Before Yun Sheng could speak, Yun Ni blurted out in shock:
"This hairpin is clearly Yun Xi's! I exchanged it with her early in the morning!"