"When I woke up, Xu Si-gege (Fourth Brother Xu) was already by my side. He said he saved me." After Xu Xingzhi finished speaking, Xie Ruizhi, who had been silent for a long time, spoke up.

She glanced at Xu Xingzhi with a complicated expression, then turned her gaze to Xu Zian and Xu Fengxia, the siblings.

Xie Ruizhi might be a little simple, but she wasn't stupid.

Xu Xingzhi could tell all the details, but Xu Zian only knew how to shirk responsibility. It was clear who was telling the truth.

So, Xu Si-gege (Fourth Brother Xu) had really deceived her.

The person who saved her wasn't Xu Si-gege (Fourth Brother Xu), but Xu Xingzhi, the son of a concubine whom she and Xu Si-gege (Fourth Brother Xu) had once scorned?

But, when she woke up that day, the first person she saw was Xu Si-gege (Fourth Brother Xu)!

After waking up, she was eager to report to the authorities to arrest the bandits.

But Xu Si-gege (Fourth Brother Xu) said that for the sake of her reputation, it was better not to report to the authorities, and that he would handle the matter.

At that time, she was still in shock, so she agreed.

She originally wanted to capture those bandits and ask them why they kidnapped her, but Xu Si-gege (Fourth Brother Xu), in the name of protecting her reputation, killed all the bandits.

At that time, Xie Ruizhi didn't think much of it, and was even very grateful to Xu Si (Fourth).

But now that she thought about it, everything seemed too coincidental.

Most importantly, that day, she also saw Qiu Shiyi Niang (Eleventh Mistress Qiu) in the inn.

At that time, she didn't think much about it either. She only listened to Xu Si's (Fourth) words, avoiding Qiu Shiyi Niang (Eleventh Mistress Qiu), fearing that if Qiu Shiyi Niang (Eleventh Mistress Qiu) saw her, she would spread some unpleasant rumors.

But now that she thought about it, Qiu Shiyi Niang's (Eleventh Mistress Qiu's) home was near that inn, why would she be staying at the inn for no reason? Moreover, how did Xu Si (Fourth) know that Qiu Shiyi Niang (Eleventh Mistress Qiu) was also at that inn, and specifically take her around to avoid her?

Xie Ruizhi's heart was filled with mixed feelings.

In an instant, a terrible and absurd thought surged into her mind.

Guilt, anger, resentment, and grief surged at the same time.

She stared intently at Xu Zian, who was cowering on the ground in panic, seemingly still trying to argue. Her eyes suddenly turned red, and she said coldly, "Xu Si-gege (Fourth Brother Xu), what exactly is going on? If it wasn't you who saved me, why were you at the inn that day? Also, why is your elder brother's jade pendant in your possession?"

Her lips trembled slightly, and her expression was more stern than ever before.

Xie Ruizhi was naturally heroic, and her features were somewhat cold. However, she usually had a simple and lively appearance, especially towards Xu Zian and the Xu family, she was infinitely tolerant and even humble. So humble that Xu Zian forgot that she was originally a high and mighty princess. Even if her mother was a Southern Yue barbarian, she was still the most beloved, only嫡出(dí chū, born of the legal wife)princess of the Holy One. If she wanted the life of this down-and-out marquis' son, it would be easy.

And the reason why she indulged him so much was on the one hand, because of her love for him, and on the other hand, because of the life-saving grace.

But now, the so-called life-saving grace was fake.

As for admiration, ever since he suddenly had diarrhea and cried just now, it seemed that her eyes no longer looked at him the same way as before.

Xu Zian didn't understand why Xie Ruizhi had changed so quickly, but at this moment, Xie Ruizhi's eyes frightened him.

He trembled and raised his eyes, and met her gaze, his heart filled with fear.

"Sixth Princess, you... you mustn't listen to his nonsense. It was clearly me... it was me who saved you. Have you forgotten? When you woke up, the first person you saw was me."

"Think about it, he's just a庶出子(shù chū zǐ, son of a concubine), a son born to a lowly peasant woman, what good could he be? You can't believe what he says!"

Xu Zian looked panicked, as if he couldn't find any other evidence to refute, so he had to repeat those pale and weak words over and over again.

If it were in the past, after he refuted a few sentences, Xie Ruizhi would have easily believed him.

But at this moment, her eyes didn't waver at all.

The face that used to be gentle and flattering to him was also expressionless. She repeated the words just now in a cold and stern voice, "Xu Zian, I'll ask you again, why were you at the inn that day? And why did you take your elder brother's jade pendant? How could it be such a coincidence?"

This time, there was no trace of love in her eyes, only murderous intent. Suddenly, she grabbed Xu Zian's neck and asked again sternly, "Xu Zian, this princess asks you, why did you just happen to be at the inn that day? The so-called bandits were arranged by you and that slut, Qiu Kui, right!"

What was this all about?

Xie Ruizhi's sudden questioning frightened Xu Zian, shocked the others in the hall, and even made people furious.

Looking at Xie Ruizhi's expression, listening to what she said, and looking at Xu Zian's panicked face, the answer was obvious.

Everyone in the hall looked at each other, their eyes filled with anger.

The Crown Prince sitting on the throne darkened his face, his phoenix eyes fixed on him, and he snorted coldly, "Clearly a murderer, yet he pretends to be a life-saving benefactor."

"Xu Zian, you have a lot of nerve."

With a loud bang! Xie Jin Yan grabbed the inkstone on the table and smashed it at Xu Zian.

His face was already covered in blisters from the scalding just now, and now that the inkstone hit him hard, Xu Zian's forehead was bleeding.

He covered his head and fell to the ground with a wail.

Seeing things develop like this, Xu Fengxia was completely dumbfounded.

After a moment of愣(lèng, blanking), she immediately wanted to play the fool and muddle through, "Ah! Murder! This is terrible! Murder!"

Xu Fengxia wailed loudly, seemingly wanting to attract someone's attention.

But unfortunately, this was the Eastern Palace.

The palace servants outside turned a deaf ear to her cries.

On the contrary, Yu Qi outside was a little impatient when he heard her shouting, so he entered the door and bowed to Xie Jin Yan, "Your Highness, Crown Prince, leave the rest to this servant."

Seeing that things were almost done, Xie Jin Yan didn't say anything more and nodded slightly towards Yu Qi.

Receiving the permission, Yu Qi immediately gave a wink to the two eunuchs who came with him.

The two came up and stuffed Xu Fengxia's mouth, dragging her out like a dead dog.

Soon, Xu Fengxia and Xu Zian were dragged out.

Before long, Xie Qiyun and Qiu Kui, who were in the Imperial Garden, were also summoned.

Kidnapping the princess, framing the Crown Princess, and disrupting the harem, these crimes were enough to kill her ten times over.

As for Xu Zian, even if he didn't die, he would probably spend the rest of his life in prison. This was still the light punishment. If it was heavier, the entire Xu family would be implicated by him.

As for the Qiu family, they would probably also be implicated by Qiu Kui. This time, even if Xie Qiyun wanted to protect her, he couldn't.

For a time, Yu Qingwu was filled with mixed emotions.

She also felt the importance of power and status even more.

If she was the one who was kidnapped, the royal family would probably still deal with Qiu Kui and the Xu family leniently for the sake of their relationship with the aristocratic families, but it was different when it was Xie Ruizhi, this princess.

Thinking of this, Yu Qingwu couldn't help but feel a little mocking.

"What is shijie (senior martial sister) thinking about?" It was half an hour later when they returned to the banquet.

As soon as Yu Qingwu sat down, Xie Jin Yan sat down beside her. Seeing the slight upward curve of her lips, he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, as if he had seen through her thoughts, and asked, "Does shijie (senior martial sister) feel that if Xu Zian and Qiu Kui's kidnapping of Ruizhi hadn't been involved today, they wouldn't have been dealt with so severely?"