"you dare!!!"
Li Ziqian originally planned to think of something else when she got to the city, but she didn't expect that the man meant to be executed directly on the spot. She suddenly became nervous, broke away from the person who tried to stop her, and tried her best to stand in front of the Liu family.
Like a mother wolf whose cub was threatened, she opened her arms to protect the person behind her.
"If you dare to do anything to the Liu family, Ji Changze will not let you go!"
The person sent by the emperor smiled: "Madam, please don't bring it out, Mr. Ji, to scare me. Yes, I am indeed no higher than Mr. Ji. But firstly, it is His Majesty's will to execute the Liu family members. Secondly, What is the relationship between the Liu family and Mr. Ji? Why did Mr. Ji turn against me for the sake of the Liu family?"
"I know that Madam and Mrs. Liu have a very good relationship, but Madam, this is a matter for the court. You, a female family member, can't get involved. Please move aside and don't embarrass me."
Li Ziqian refused to leave. If someone came to pull him away, she would resist with all her strength. After all, she was the wife of Mr. Ji Changze Ji. Those who were sent to pull him away did not dare to use force. In the end, they actually ended up in a stalemate.
When the man saw Li Ziqian blocking the way, the expression on his face darkened, and he said sternly: "Mrs. Ji, if you insist on doing this, even if I hurt you, there will be a reason."
Mrs. Liu stood next to Li Ziqian and said in a low voice: "This is Mr. Zhou from the patrol camp. He is a classmate of my master. I have never liked him. When I met him, I always treated him coldly. Today, I am afraid that I am here to take revenge. You Don't be impulsive, lest I get tired of you too."
"We voluntarily return to the city and ask to see His Majesty. Apart from women and children, there are only children here. In front of so many people, if he doesn't agree, his reputation will be damaged. Then he will enter the city and start plotting."
But Li Ziqian still didn't want to let the Liu family be taken away: "If you really let them take you away, you won't be able to escape even if you don't even have wings."
"We don't care about that much now. Don't get involved, otherwise we will lose all hope. You will take Leping away in a while."
Mr. Zhou knew that they could not escape, so he was not in a hurry. He only waited for them to say a few words and then raised his voice, "What are you talking about? What kind of regulations did the two ladies come up with?"
"I also ask Mrs. Ji not to interfere with my work anymore. The execution of the Liu family was ordered by His Majesty himself. You are disobeying the order. Don't implicate Mr. Ji anymore."
"Sir, we and the Liu family are willing to return to Beijing with you. This matter has nothing to do with the Ji family. Please let the Ji family leave."
Mr. Zhou sneered: "Of course."
The carriage pulling Mrs. Li was let out first. Li Ziqian glanced at Mrs. Liu worriedly, turned around and got into the carriage. After getting on, she stretched out her hand to Liu Leping:
"Leping, come up."
Liu Leping was stunned and looked at his mother beside him.
Mrs. Liu nodded: "Leping, get in the car."
"etc."
Mr. Zhou suddenly spoke and stared at Liu Leping for a few seconds: "This is Mr. Liu's daughter, right? This is a member of the Liu family. How can he follow the Ji family?"
"Mrs. Liu, don't play any tricks. I know exactly how many people are in your family."
Mrs. Liu said coldly: "Although she was raised in the Liu family, she is not of my Liu family's blood."
Liu Leping was shocked and looked at her in shock: "Mother?!"
Mrs. Liu did not respond to her, she just kept staring at Mr. Zhou and said in a sonorous and powerful voice:
"She is the biological daughter of Master Ji and Mrs. Ji. Due to some strange circumstances, she was raised in my house. If you don't believe it, just ask Mrs. Ji."
Li Ziqian also said: "Leping is indeed my and Ji Changze's daughter. Mr. Zhou, please let my daughter go with me."
In the distance, the curtain of Mrs. Li's sedan was suddenly opened, and a gray-haired old lady looked at the pretty girl standing next to Mrs. Liu with tears in her eyes in shock.
Mr. Zhou was also stunned, but soon he came to his senses: "Why do you want to raise your good daughter in another family? I know that Mrs. Ji and Mrs. Liu have a good relationship, but they are just deceiving the emperor. I don't know if you can bear it." Get up."
"I can't believe a word of Mrs. Ji's words today. Once Madam has got in the car, she should lower the curtain so as not to be frightened when she sees me dealing with the Liu family's relatives."
Everyone present was shocked.
Li Ziqian's face turned ugly, and she quickly cited the law: "Even if Mr. Liu is convicted, his family members should be sent to prison first and then distributed. There is no reason to deal with them immediately. If an official is convicted, the female family members of the prisoner will be punished. According to the nationality, men who have not yet become adults are exiled. In Master Liu’s family, his wife and daughters are all female dependents. If his son is not yet an adult, even if he wants to be disposed of, he should be taken to Xingtian Mansion first."
"Your Majesty has always been kind, and he would not have rashly issued such an order. He also ordered that defectors be killed without mercy. However, Mrs. Liu and the others just happened to accompany me to worship the Buddha. Now they have said that they are willing to return to Beijing to obey His Majesty's order. They are not defecting. Aren't you afraid of His Majesty's questioning if you do this?"
Mr. Zhou's face didn't look good either.
His Majesty had indeed told him that he would be killed if he defected, but if the Liu family members cooperated, it would be hard for him to kill someone directly.
but…
After finally seizing such an opportunity, how could he leave any hope for Liu Shengyan's family members to survive
Liu Shengyan has always been very lucky, and he is very evil. Every time, he can find a noble person to help him. If he seizes the opportunity this time, he might be able to turn around again.
He didn't want to waste any more words. The more he spoke, the more mistakes he made. Anyway, he was just a minor official. Even if he dealt with it, as long as he killed them and tried to escape, His Majesty would not investigate them.
As for Ji Changze’s wife…
He was just a tool who was kept to build his reputation. The cruel and cold-hearted Master Ji didn't care at all.
And they kept saying that Liu Leping was the daughter of Ji Changze and his wife, which was even more nonsense. Why should a good daughter be sent to someone else's house
Not wanting to waste any more time, he directly ordered: "Whoever comes, shoot the offender's family members on the spot!"
Li Ziqian's voice broke in panic: "If you kill them, I will never let you go!!"
Mr. Zhou smiled contemptuously: "Madam, as a prostitute, it's better not to threaten her."
He looked at the anxious-looking Liu family mother and daughter, put down his bow, slowly drew out his sword, jumped off the horse, and walked towards them:
"I am an official of the imperial court. If I change my mind because of one or two threats, wouldn't I be a laughingstock?"
As he spoke, he smiled fiercely and raised the knife high towards Mrs. Liu who was protecting her daughter in her arms.
"don't want--"
Amidst Li Ziqian's heart-rending shouts, the knife fell heavily.
--Whoosh!
"ah!!!!"
Mr. Zhou screamed, covering his wrist that had been shot by an arrow, and bent over in pain, his right hand holding the knife was injured, and the knife he held naturally fell to the ground with a "clang".
The rapid sound of horse hooves got closer and closer, and then Ji Changze came on horseback with a team of people.
He sat on the horse, looked down at Master Zhou who was screaming on the ground, and said coldly:
"Sir Zhou Ru really cherishes his reputation, but I don't know if he would be as merciless as he was to my wife if I were a threat."
Behind him, there was Nanny Xu who was riding up on a horse. As everyone was confronting her, no one noticed that she quietly slipped out and went to the nearby western suburbs camp to ask for help.
"Ji Changze!!"
Zhou Ru was originally afraid of Ji Changze. He held great power in the court and would retaliate. If you poured a glass of water on him, he would throw you into the river and drown you. Who wouldn't be afraid of Mr. Ji
But now, he already knew that His Majesty no longer had the favor and trust he once had in Ji Changze, and that any powerful official was nothing more than a sword that was about to be discarded.
If Ji Changze is gone, who knows if Zhou Ru can replace him.
He staggered to his feet, clutching his injured wrist, and roared embarrassedly at Ji Changze, who was sitting on the horse and was about the same age as him, but still handsome and handsome, making him even more embarrassed: "I came here under orders, how dare you Disobey His Majesty!"
Li Ziqian didn't have much to worry about now, and hurriedly stepped forward to tell him that Liu Leping was Ji Changze's biological daughter, so that he could save the Liu family.
But before she staggered forward, she heard Ji Changze ask Zhou Ru slowly: "So, His Majesty asked you to kill the only one of my bloodline?"
Zhou Ru, who had always thought that Mrs. Ji's remarks were just an excuse to save Liu Leping, was stunned.
Li Ziqian was also stunned.
She looked at her husband in disbelief.
He knew, how could he know
She thought of something again and looked at Nanny Xu who was walking towards her. Nanny Xu understood it and hurriedly explained: "It's not what the old slave said."
Then... how did Ji Changze know
Ji Changze had no time to pay attention to this. He only looked at Zhou Ru like a dead person: "If you are smart and apologize now, I can forget the past."
"It's a joke. Although you have a higher official position than me, I am following His Majesty's orders. How dare you not even listen to His Majesty's words!"
"You said she is your daughter and she is your daughter. Who knows if you are colluding with the Liu family and deliberately deceiving His Majesty in order to protect the Liu family. If you are sensible, get out of the way, otherwise I will report you in front of His Majesty. Even if you are His Majesty’s favorite, I’m afraid you won’t be able to escape the dragon’s wrath this time.”
Li Ziqian clenched her fists nervously.
Ji Changze... would he give up their daughter to save himself
Fortunately, Ji Changze had no intention of backing down, but he just sat on the horse with a cold expression: "When my father-in-law was convicted, I ordered Wen Po next to my wife to find an opportunity to hide the child. Unexpectedly, I happened to meet Liu My wife gave birth to a stillborn child, and Mrs. Liu was kind-hearted and kindly took in my and my wife’s daughter. If you don’t believe it, I still have the letter that Mrs. Wen reported back then.”
Li Ziqian's whole body was stiff, and all she could think about was the words her husband said just now, which she kept repeating.
Was that Wen Po from back then Ji Changze's
Doesn't that mean he knew it from the beginning.
He knew that she entrusted the child to the Liu family, knew that she falsely reported a stillbirth, knew what she was worried about, and knew that she wanted to hide the news about the child.
By the way, when Ji Changze knew that the child was stillborn, he was indeed not sad. He could even be called cold-blooded and had no feeling at all.
At that time, she was still thinking that this was the true face of this man.
She determined that he had no feelings for their mother and daughter, and that everything was just a show, so that he could be indifferent to the death of their child. This became evidence that Ji Changze was just pretending before.
But what if he knew the truth from the beginning.
Now that I know the child is fine, I naturally won't feel sad.
Knowing where the child is, being taken care of properly, and of course there is no need for anxiety or worry.
Li Ziqian went through all the events of the past years in her heart, and looked up at Ji Changze with complicated eyes.
He had always known it, but why... why did he cooperate with her in this way, not only did he have love and care for their children, but why did he step on his father so ruthlessly to get the upper hand in the first place.
And why... knowing everything she did, she still pretended not to know. Maybe no one knew about it all these years, and it was also because of Ji Changze's contribution.
Just...why.
Why should this be so.
Ji Changze is still in a strange mood:
"As for whether Your Majesty wants to convict you, that depends on Your Majesty. Instead of worrying about me, Mr. Zhou, you might as well think about whether you will be able to serve His Majesty again in the future after you have lost one of your hands. You will be as arrogant and offending as you are now. .”
"you!"
Lord Yin Yang Qi didn't care at all about Zhou Ru, who was getting angry. He just drew the bow and arrow in his hand, pointed it at the man standing on the ground with his arms covered, and said in a calm tone:
"If we don't give in, Mr. Zhou may lose more than one of his hands today."
Zhou Ru wants to say, do you dare
But looking at Ji Changze's nonchalant eyes, he was instantly discouraged.
How dare he.
Isn't Ji Changze always like this? The reputation of being wanton, sure and ruthless in doing things, and taking ruthless attacks is not just talk.
It's just that in the past, he used this method to deal with those who did not agree with His Majesty. This is the first time that he has dealt with people around His Majesty like this.
Zhou Ru was afraid.
Of course, what he was afraid of was not Ji Changze's revenge afterwards, but that now this madman would directly kill him with one arrow.
He gritted his teeth unwillingly and took a step back.
Seeing Ji Changze jump off the horse and walk towards the Liu family and Mrs. Ji, Zhou Ru shouted from behind: "Don't be complacent! The Liu family will definitely die!"
"Even if you say she is your daughter, His Majesty will not believe it!"
Ji Changze's back paused, then slowly turned around and looked at him with squinted eyes: "What do you know?"
Zhou Ru finally felt a little proud, and smiled sarcastically with some revenge: "Do you really think His Majesty will protect you? You have repeatedly blocked His Majesty's establishment of the palace. Do you really think His Majesty doesn't know? It's just that you can think of something. To raise these 70,000 personal soldiers, this is just pretending not to know."
"I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. You spent all your heart and soul and the whole house to raise these mud-legged people. Do you want to please His Majesty? It's a pity that His Majesty didn't take these mud-legged people in his eyes. Now you have If there is no money, you will naturally be of no use to His Majesty."
Seeing that there was finally something in Ji Changze's eyes, and that the faces of the soldiers following him were full of anger, Zhou Ru became more and more proud, ignoring the pain, and his smile grew bigger.
"Hahahahahaha! Didn't you just mock me that my hands are useless to His Majesty? Why don't you, the powerful Lord Ji, have the same fate?"
"You, Liu Shengyan, were brilliant when you were young, and even more brilliant when you entered the court. In the end, you are not like me. No, you are not as good as me. At least I can live. And Sir Ji, do you think His Majesty will Let you live?"
The soldier who was following Ji Changze turned pale with anger and couldn't help but put his hand on the saber on his waist: "You are so presumptuous!"
Ji Changze ordered calmly: "Step back."
The soldier glared at Zhou Ru unwillingly, but still took a step back obediently and stood there.
"Zhou Ru."
Ji Changze called out to him, and before he responded, he kicked the opponent's knee with a sharp and precise kick. His lower body was unstable and he was about to fall. Zhou Ru didn't even react, so he suddenly fell to the ground in a panic.
Before he could get up, a foot stepped on his back, making him unable to move.
Above, Ji Changze's voice that made people feel chilled came. It wasn't very loud, but it reached Zhou Ru's ears like a devil's whisper.
"How much can I tolerate you now? It's just that I don't want to break up with you now. Do you really think that I am that good at sex?"
Zhou Ru still wanted to struggle, but the shoe stepped on him a little harder, making him unable to breathe.
Ji Changze lifted his legs and moved his feet away from Zhou Ru's back. Seeing him getting up in embarrassment but not daring to say anything, he sneered:
"Get out while I still have a little patience."
"You, you... I was sent by His Majesty, how dare you do this..."
Hearing that Zhou Ru, who was obviously scared to death, still pretending to be confident, Ji Changze smiled: "You should be glad that you were sent by His Majesty, otherwise, today would not only be an insult."
"Why don't you get out yet?"
Zhou Ru gritted his teeth and looked at the red-faced and tall soldiers around Ji Changze who looked stronger than the men he brought with him. He turned angrily and said, "Let's go!"
It was the first time he had received His Majesty's attention, and when he was sent to do something and then driven away in such an awkward manner, how would his subordinates view him
How could His Majesty continue to use him with confidence
discipline! long! Ze!
Zhou Ru turned around and saw Ji Changze striding towards the Liu family. His black cloak was blown away by the wind, which made him even more majestic. Only the small beads of sweat on his forehead revealed how anxious he was to come.
You rushed here just to save your only child, right
In any case, Liu Leping was still Liu Shengyan's daughter, and she would still be implicated by Liu Shengyan. Even if he killed Liu Leping on the spot, at least it would be justified on the surface.
Ji Changze let him be humiliated, so he wanted to let Ji Changze know what the pain of losing a daughter was.
Zhou Ru endured the pain, gritted his teeth, raised his bow, and tightened the bowstring in the direction of Liu Leping.
The sharp arrow headed straight towards Liu Leping.
Li Ziqian was far away, but she was watching what Zhou Ru was doing. In panic, she only had time to shout hastily:
"Leping——"
Liu Leping also saw it, but she had no time to hide, so she closed her eyes subconsciously.
A pair of strong hands grabbed her shoulders and quickly pulled her head down.
Then, there was a muffled groan from close range.
Zhou Ru saw that Ji Changze reacted so quickly to block the arrow for Liu Leping, and the injury was only to his arm, so he must not die.
He snorted coldly: "Don't want to break up with me? I still want to break up with you."
"Let's go! It's time to go to court. Ji Changze is protecting the family of the prisoner. I will go to court and take a copy of him."
He led the people away quickly. Of course, only he knew clearly whether he was running so fast to join Ji Changze quickly or because he was afraid of being killed by Ji Changze directly on the spot.
Because she had just walked between life and death, Liu Leping's heart was beating fast. When she realized that she was okay, she subconsciously raised her head to see what happened, but her eyes were covered by a pair of big hands.
Then, Lord Ji suppressed the pain in his voice:
"Don't open your eyes."
The situation was urgent just now, Ji Changze only had time to protect Liu Leping in front of him, and he naturally blocked the arrow for his daughter.
He covered Liu Leping's eyes with one hand, and pulled out the bloody arrow from his shoulder with the other hand.
Fortunately, he was wearing a heart armor, so the arrow wound only looked scary and did not prevent him from going to court.
Li Ziqian, who had witnessed everything, opened her mouth to speak, but was too frightened to make any sound. She could only relax and feel complicated. Her legs softened and she knelt down on the ground.
In her mind, the words she had spoken to Aunt Xu before seemed to resound.
——[Believe it or not, if he is in danger and arrows are coming, his first reaction will be to pull Leping over and use him as a shield.]
But when they were really in danger, Ji Changze used himself as a shield to protect their daughter.
Li Ziqian covered her mouth and began to sob as she watched her husband being injured but still caring about his daughter and covering her eyes to prevent her from being frightened.
She couldn't tell exactly why she was crying.
As Ji Changze pulled out the arrow, there was another groan, and Liu Leping, who couldn't see anything, trembled subconsciously.
"Uncle, uncle?"
As he spoke, he remembered that Ji Changze had just said in person that she was his biological daughter.
Ji Changze: "Fuquan."
"master!"
Fuquan simply crawled forward. At Ji Changze's signal, he quickly took off his cloak and shivered and covered it with his master.
When the blood was covered by the cloak, Ji Changze slowly took back the hand covering his daughter's eyes and ordered:
"The young lady is frightened. Take her back home to rest."
Fuquan hurriedly agreed and approached Liu Leping attentively: "Miss, I will lead you."
Liu Leping looked at the person standing in front of him blankly.
"Are you...are you okay?"
Ji Changze stood firmly, the blood was covered by the cloak on his body, his expression was still calm, except that his face was whiter, he could not tell that he had just been hit by an arrow.
"It doesn't matter, you go back first."
Such a natural father's attitude towards his daughter is as if they are not strangers who have only known each other for less than an hour, but have been getting along day and night and watching her grow up.
Mrs. Liu hurriedly ran over and hugged her daughter who was almost dead: "Leping, Leping..."
Mrs. Liu, who couldn't calm down at all, was escorted away together with Liu Leping and the young master of the Liu family.
Together with Li Ziqian and Ji Changze, they signaled to Nanny Xu to help them get into the car.
Before Li Ziqian got in the car, she glanced at Ji Changze hesitantly: "What should the Liu family do?"
Her husband still looked calm, as if he didn't care about anything, but his words contained assurance: "They will be fine."
Li Ziqian hesitantly glanced at Ji Changze's shoulder, which was covered by the cloak: "Your injury..."
"It's just a minor injury. You go back home first, drink some soothing medicine and sleep for a while. When you wake up, everything will be fine."
After Ji Changze finished speaking, he turned around and headed towards Mrs. Li's carriage. Mrs. Li was inconvenient and never got out of the car. She only opened the curtain with withered hands, revealing a face full of wrinkles.
She looked at her husband's only and most beloved disciple walking towards her.
Watch him kneeling in front of the car.
Watch him buckle.
Listen to him shout: "Nagaze pays homage to the master's wife."
"My wife has been wronged over the years. After today, I will definitely give my master a clear name."
Mrs. Li's turbid eyes looked at the soldiers following Ji Changze and the resolute look on the child's face. She thought about something and suddenly smiled, with tears in her smile:
"My master... I'm not wrong about you. I've made it difficult for you for so many years."
"You can go, don't worry about us, Sissi, your daughter, I, will wait for you to come back together."
Ji Changze kowtowed again, then stood up and left with his soldiers: "Order the troops, let's set off."
The soldier asked: "Sir, where are we going?"
"Go to court, Qingjun will be by your side."
***
The court on this day was as peaceful as ever.
Until Zhou Ru, who went to court with blood, stood up and said that he wanted to join Ji Changze.
Bearded Fang's eyes widened and he wanted to hear what Zhou Ru said about him being argumentative. As soon as he took a step out, his arm was grabbed by his father.
Father Hu's eyes widened even more than his beard, and he reprimanded his son in a low voice: "Don't meddle in other people's business! I got the news that His Majesty is tired of Ji Changze, and he can only stay away from him for the past two days. You stay away from him." "
Husband Fang was not convinced, and just as he was about to break away, there was a noise from outside.
It's time to go to court!
On such a serious occasion, you dare to make noise outside. Is it because you are too long-lived
The emperor above obviously thought so, especially when Zhou Ru continued to complain: "Ji Changze hindered Wei Chen from doing things, and even threatened Wei Chen, saying that if he stopped him again, he would break up with Wei Chen. This shows that he Arrogant…”
He was talking, boom——
The door to the court, which had always been tightly closed when going to court, was actually pushed open from the outside.
Such a big movement caused all the civil and military officials in the court to subconsciously turn their heads and look back. The door opened and the sunlight from outside poured in.
Then, there was a familiar tone that was both lazy and naturally sarcastic:
"Master Zhou, this is an injustice to me."
Ji Changze, who was dressed in armor, was the first to enter the palace. Behind him were rows of strong soldiers who had been carefully trained and fed and well fed.
He turned against the light and said in the same understatement and exasperating manner as usual: "Who are you, do you deserve to worry about me? Ants are even better than you, but you are such a useless person, I can't even look at you. If you think it's a waste of time, get out of the way and don't block the road."
With that said, Ji Changze pushed Zhou Ru away, raised his eyes to look at the person sitting on the dragon chair, and saluted respectfully: "Ji Changze, a humble minister, has met your Majesty."
"Your Majesty, I have come to quarrel with you."