Without any disturbance, Qi Rong and Yun Xi nestled under the grape arbor. They talked for a long time under the star - filled sky.
Yun Xi fell asleep on Qi Rong's shoulder at some point. Qi Rong carried her into the bedroom.
In the dark room, Qi Rong lay on his side on the outer edge of the bed. He propped his chin with his hand and his elbow on the bed. His ink - black pupils, shining with a faint light, stared intently at the sleeping Yun Xi.
As a martial artist, his eyesight was better than ordinary people. Even in the darkness, he could clearly see Yun Xi's delicate features.
He gently stroked her eyebrows as slender as distant mountains, her thick and curly black eyelashes, then moved to her straight and petite nose, and finally stopped on her soft and fragrant cherry - like lips.
Seeing the involuntary curve of Yun Xi's lips, Qi Rong hooked his thin lips. He leaned down slightly and solemnly kissed her lips.
It was just a light peck. He didn't want to wake her up from her sweet dream.
Seeing that she was finally sound asleep, he got up and left the room, walking towards the wild lake outside the courtyard.
Although he had changed his clothes when he came, he could still smell the blood on himself.
This was his world, full of blood and killing!
But even so, he wanted to give her the best and spoil her as much as he could within his ability.
After last night's thinking, he had made up his mind.
Rather than making Yun Xi sad because of his deliberate coldness and even planning to leave him, it would be better for him to strengthen the guard around her and do his best to protect her from harm.
Now, after Yun Xi took over the power of managing the mansion and his secret investigation and cleaning, the Prince Xian's Mansion was in a very safe situation.
So he didn't have to wrong Yun Xi anymore and let her little head keep over - thinking.
Qi Rong took off his outer robe and slowly immersed himself in the lake. At this moment, a black figure suddenly approached quietly from behind.
"Has something happened on Yuan Zhen's side?"
Before the other person could speak, Qi Rong asked calmly without turning his head, still with his back to the figure.
The black figure was slightly stunned and immediately knelt down, saying, "My lord is really farsighted. Something has indeed happened to Ke Keqin's Yuan Zhen!"
In that competition, Yuan Zhen not only poisoned several noble young masters from the capital who participated in the competition but also tried to murder the crown prince. The poison that the crown prince had once been poisoned with was found in his traveling package.
With a series of charges listed, the emperor was already extremely angry. Unexpectedly, a defense map of the capital was also found in Yuan Zhen's package. Not only were each defense checkpoint clearly depicted, but even the map of the emperor's bedroom was marked without the slightest error!
Therefore, the emperor flew into a rage and directly ordered Yuan Zhen to be imprisoned in the death - row cell. His intention was very obvious.
However, less than five hours later, the emperor, for some unknown reason or on whose advice, secretly transferred Yuan Zhen from the death - row cell to an ordinary cell.
For this reason, the eldest prince, Yuan Qi, was extremely anxious!
Yuan Zhen was a man of remarkable strength. It was not easy to seize the opportunity to bring him down and get rid of him completely with the emperor's hand.
Unexpectedly, in less than half a day, the situation took a huge turn, which caught him off guard!
If Yuan Zhen was allowed to return to Ke Keqin, it would be like setting a tiger free. With Yuan Zhen's power in Ke Keqin, it would be almost impossible to get rid of him again!
Hearing what the black - clothed man said, Qi Rong showed no surprise on his face.
He slowly walked out of the lake and put on his outer robe leisurely. In his usual cold tone, he said, "Tell Yuan Qi to stay calm and not to lose his composure. Yuan Zhen will never leave the capital alive!"
From the very beginning, he had already anticipated the current situation.
Although the emperor was angry and intended to suppress the arrogance of Ke Keqin, he would not kill Yuan Zhen for fear of a direct conflict with Ke Keqin.
Coupled with the interference of the empress dowager, Yuan Zhen would eventually be "cleared of his charges".
"My lord, won't all our previous efforts be in vain?"
The black - clothed man, Yang Cheng, couldn't help showing anxiety on his face.
You should know that in order to prove Yuan Zhen's guilt this time, they had made a lot of efforts early on. Before Yuan Qi went to the Prince Xian's Mansion, his lord had already ordered people to start preparing!
"How could it be in vain? It's better to say that this is exactly the moment I've been waiting for."
Qi Rong gave a cold smile. The black - clothed man stared at his mysterious face and suddenly couldn't figure out what was on his mind.
"Then, my lord, what should we do next?"
Yang Cheng respectfully asked Qi Rong.
He was very afraid of missing this opportunity. If they did, it would be even more difficult to suppress Yuan Zhen in the future.
Now, in order to promote the marriage alliance with Ke Keqin, the emperor was bound to be lenient towards Yuan Zhen. They must take timely action while the situation was still in their favor!
Qi Rong naturally understood this. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly hooked his lips and said coldly, "Since Yuan Zhen is so eager for freedom, I'll be kind enough to give him a helping hand!"
Listening to Qi Rong's plan and looking at the cold smile on his lips, Yang Cheng couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat.
He thought to himself that in the future, no matter who he was against, he must never be against his lord, otherwise, he might not even know how he died in the end!
However, thinking of his lord's strategy, Yang Cheng hesitated for a moment and then asked, "My lord, there's something I don't understand. I hope my lord can enlighten me: Why does it have to be the eighth princess?"
Why not someone else?
Hearing Yang Cheng's words, Qi Rong tied the jade belt around his waist and gave a cold smile. He only said one sentence, "Because the eighth princess is the empress dowager's only weakness."
Once a person's weakness is grasped, they will unconsciously feel fear and become irritable.
As a result, they will do some things beyond their rationality.
And when making certain decisions in the future, they will naturally think twice before acting!
On the one hand, he wanted to use the empress dowager's hand to completely get rid of Yuan Zhen. On the other hand, he wanted to teach the empress dowager a profound lesson through Yuan Zhen's incident!
After Yang Cheng left, Qi Rong slowly walked back to the bedroom. Looking at Yun Xi sleeping soundly on the bed, smacking her lips from time to time, Qi Rong couldn't help laughing.
He gently tapped Yun Xi's nose with his finger, his eyes full of doting, "Little girl, what sweet dream are you having?"
Even after eating for almost an afternoon, she could still dream about food in her sleep?
It seemed that no matter what happened, nothing could stop her enthusiasm for food.
Qi Rong's smile was gentle. He stretched out his long arms and hugged Yun Xi into his arms. Then he closed his eyes and fell into a sweet dream together with her.
The scene changed, and it came to the prison in the capital.
After Yuan Zhen was transferred from the death - row cell to an ordinary cell, the heart that had been hanging in his throat finally settled down.
He knew that since the empress dowager was secretly supporting him, how could he be executed by the emperor?
So, he suppressed his inner anxiety. When the fifth princess, Yuan Zhu, came to visit him just now, he told her not to mobilize a hidden force of Ke Keqin in the capital.
This was to avoid spoiling things with excessive enthusiasm and making the emperor's just - lowered guard rise again.
That situation would be even more unfavorable to him!