What did that mean? Did Xu Si, Fourth Brother Xu, steal the credit of his own elder brother?

As soon as Liang Xiuyuan said this, even a fool would understand the implication. Xie Ruizhi's expression changed drastically.

Doubt surfaced in her usually clear and pure black eyes, and they suddenly fell on Xu Zian, her gaze extremely cold.

Xu Zian had already been scared out of his wits by Xie Jin Yan's actions, and now that he was exposed, he was even more flustered.

Seeing Xie Ruizhi staring at him with that kind of gaze, he panicked and hurriedly waved his hands, arguing with Xie Ruizhi with a crying voice, "Sixth Princess, don't listen to his nonsense."

"He must be...he must be helping my illegitimate elder brother to deceive you, Princess. As you know, my elder brother was born to a peasant woman and has always been of despicable character. You've heard why he was expelled from the mansion. How can you believe what comes out of such a person's mouth?"

"Exactly, Sixth Princess, you must not trust the words of a lowly illegitimate child!" Xu Fengxia also chimed in at this time, sneering at Xu Xingzhi as she spoke, contemptuously saying, "Xu Xingzhi, you damned孽障 *niezhang* (inauspicious creature), your mother took advantage of my father's drunkenness to have you. My mother, considering your sake, did not punish him and raised you as her own son. But what about you? You not only stole jewelry from the house to sell it, but now you dare to impersonate the princess's savior!"

"Xu Xingzhi, the crime of deceiving the emperor is punishable by beheading! Not only will you be implicated, but even your mother will be implicated!"

Xu Fengxia raised her voice, her words slurred, but her eyes were fierce.

She seemed to be speaking up for Xu Zian, but in reality, she was threatening Xu Xingzhi, using Xu Xingzhi's own mother to threaten him, wanting him to admit that he was impersonating Xu Zian as the princess's savior.

Back then, when Xu Zian stole things from the house to sell, she and her mother had also used Qiao Yiniang to threaten Xu Xingzhi, which was why Xu Xingzhi had taken the blame for Xu Zian.

As long as Qiao Yiniang was still in their hands, Xu Xingzhi, not to mention climbing up to the Ning Prince's grandson, could even climb up to the current emperor, and wouldn't he still be at their mercy?

Thinking of this, Xu Fengxia couldn't help but reveal a smug look on her face, fiercely asking Xu Xingzhi again, scolding, "Tell me, are you deliberately trying to frame Fourth Brother again?"

Xu Fengxia was full of confidence, believing that Xu Xingzhi would definitely take the blame. Xu Zian and Xu Fengxia exchanged a glance and immediately changed their faces, righteously saying, "Xu Xingzhi, I really don't understand, what enmity do I have with you that you repeatedly try to frame me like this? Even after being expelled from the Xu family, you're still not giving up! Do you know that because of your actions, Qiao Yiniang has fallen ill from anger! Do you want her life?"

He looked indignant, as if he had been wronged greatly.

However, the look he gave Xu Xingzhi was smug, as if he was just waiting for Xu Xingzhi to confess.

Unfortunately, this time, the usually cowardly Xu Xingzhi did not let them manipulate him as before.

He snorted, a hint of coldness appearing on his handsome face, and said in an unpleasant tone, "Elder Sister, Fourth Brother, what do you mean by constantly mentioning my姨娘 *yiniang* (concubine)? Are you trying to use my 姨娘 *yiniang* (concubine) to threaten me, to make me take the blame for Fourth Brother again? What? I took the blame for stealing things, and now you want me to take the blame for impersonation?"

"Are you even going to make me take the blame for Xu Zian's secret meeting with Qiu Kui, plotting to ruin the Crown Princess's reputation?"

"Let me tell you, Xu Zian, I will no longer be threatened by you! What you did is what you did! You impersonated me, you impersonated me!"

Unlike Xu Zian, who was slender, Xu Xingzhi was burly and had a handsome face. Moreover, he had been fighting alongside Liang Xiuyuan for many years, and his whole body exuded a murderous aura, that kind of bloody aura from the battlefield. Now that he was angry, his whole body exuded an intense sense of oppression that kept people away.

In that instant, Yu Qingwu felt a little breathless.

Not to mention the Xu siblings, the two of them were so frightened that they retreated again and again, almost huddling together.

"You...what nonsense are you talking about! You're the one impersonating me!" Xu Zian trembled, but his words were still stubborn.

Seeing this, Xu Fengxia also wanted to interrupt again.

Seeing the two siblings dragging their feet and still wanting to struggle desperately, Xie Jin Yan had already lost his patience.

Before Xu Fengxia could speak again, he interrupted Xu Zian coldly, rebuking, "Enough, Xu Zian, take your family affairs home."

"I only ask one question, when and where did you save the Sixth Princess?"

"Your Highness, Crown Prince, I've already said, it's been too long, I don't remember clearly," Xu Zian still stubbornly refused, but his eyes became more and more guilty.

Seeing that he still refused to admit it, Xie Jin Yan didn't bother to pay attention to him and only looked at Xu Xingzhi on the side, asking solemnly, "Xu Xingzhi, tell me, how did you save the Sixth Princess from the bandits that day?"

Compared to Xu Zian, Xu Xingzhi seemed extremely calm.

He stepped forward and bowed, then glared coldly at Xu Zian and replied, "Your Highness, Crown Prince, about four years ago, I was falsely accused by Xu Zian of stealing jewelry from the house. I was expelled from the mansion by my father and had nowhere to go, so I thought of joining the army in the north. On the way to the north, I passed by Seven Rock Mountain and happened to encounter a little girl calling for help. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a girl in green clothes being blindfolded by a group of bandits, so I chased after them immediately."

"But soon, I realized that with my strength alone, I might not be able to save the girl, so I followed them all the way to the mountain stronghold. When I entered, the chief was about to..."

Speaking of this, Xu Xingzhi glanced at Xie Ruizhi with some embarrassment, and hesitated, "was about to consummate the marriage with that girl. That girl seemed to have been drugged and was unconscious all the time. I didn't care so much at the time, so I stepped forward and knocked the bandit unconscious, changed his clothes, and carried the girl out."

"Because my height was somewhat similar to that of the chief, the bandits didn't recognize me at first, until I got outside, when four or five guards recognized that I wasn't their chief. Fortunately, before their reinforcements arrived, I rode out of the mountain stronghold on horseback."

"Although I suffered some injuries, it wasn't a big deal. But that girl, I looked like a daughter of an official family. Thinking that if people knew that such a woman had fallen into such a den of thieves, even if she returned home, she would probably be forced to death by her family."

"Therefore, I put her in an inn, and found a doctor to bandage her wounds. If I remember correctly, that girl's wound was on...on her shoulder, it was a knife wound."

As Xu Xingzhi spoke, he looked at Xie Ruizhi again, and seeing Xie Ruizhi's expression becoming more and more complicated, he lowered his voice and said, "Later, after settling the girl down, I left. But halfway there, I found that my jade pendant was missing, so I went back. But when I went back, not only was the jade pendant gone, but the girl was also no longer in the inn."