Qi Surong looked at the man in front of him. He was about forty years old. Although he was dressed like a servant, he had sharp eyes and a good momentum. He folded his hands behind his back and looked down at her.
When Qi Surong looked at this person, the other person was also looking at her. The once aristocratic daughter of a noble family is now wearing a prison uniform without makeup, her long hair is tied up casually, her body is as slender as catkins, her body is stained with blood, and there is a strange smell in the cell. Not to mention a wealthy lady like her, even an ordinary woman would not be able to endure such a dirty environment. However, she was not frightened, and her pale face always remained calm.
"Are you Qi Shuo's daughter Qi Surong?" the man asked.
"Exactly." As soon as this person said this, Qi Surong was sure that he was not a real servant. No one in Jingtian Mansion knew her identity, so they would never ask this question again.
"I wonder what this eldest brother has to do with a little girl?" Qi Surong sat on the straw mat and did not get up.
"I am here today on the emperor's orders to ask you a few questions."
Qi Surong's eyes flashed slightly, and she couldn't help pinching her sleeves with her fingers: "The emperor's order? The little girl is just a commoner. I wonder what questions the emperor wants to ask the guilty girl?"
"You don't have to pretend to be stupid." The man chuckled, "I got that thing from you, you should have expected the consequences."
"My lord, where did you say this? Please forgive me for being such a dull girl and not understanding what it means."
The man smiled and asked, "I heard that you were sentenced to prison for poisoning Young Master Cao?"
"Yes, but the guilty woman was wronged."
"Really? If Cao Xiang is really blind, I'm afraid your crime will never be washed away, right?"
Qi Surong suddenly raised his head and looked at him.
The man looked around and said: "Zhou Du sentenced you to five years, but do you know what it is like to be in prison? Do you think you are just suffering a little physical pain like you are now?"
Qi Surong remained silent.
"Ordinary labor is nothing, but the dirty things that the jailers do in private are beyond your imagination." The man said lightly, "Especially for a young and beautiful woman like you, let alone five years, it's just five days , it can also make your life worse than death."
Qi Surong bit her lip and said with a pale face, "If you have any questions, sir, just ask. I will tell you everything I know."
Seeing her fear, the man sneered, took out a token from his arms, and said, "I am the emperor's personal guard. The thing you hid has fallen into the hands of the emperor, so you'd better tell the truth."
Qi Surong looked panicked and leaned over and said: "The Qi family has fallen and has no support. Now we just want to live in a peaceful corner and stay away from the government. I hope you can report back to the emperor and ask him to forgive the Qi family. The sinful woman will bear all the blame." Can."
"You alone are responsible for carrying it?" the man mocked, "Can you afford it? Qi Shuo secretly kept such an important secret letter. It would not be an exaggeration for the emperor to sentence him to treason."
"My lord, my father doesn't know about this." Qi Surong remained in the prone position and replied, "The letter has always been kept by Sin Nu."
"What?" The man looked directly at her with sharp eyes, "How could he not know such an important thing? Tell me the truth immediately."
"Yes." Qi Surong said slowly, "I wonder if you remember that when the late emperor was still alive, Sinful Girl once played the piano for the late emperor in front of the emperor. Fortunately, the late emperor praised him and gave him a pair of wish-fulfilling beads. The letter is hidden in In a brocade box containing wish-fulfilling beads.”
"Is this true?"
"Don't dare to lie."
"You were only eight or nine years old at the time. Why did the late emperor give you the letter? Why didn't you give it to your father after you found the letter?"
"Sir, the things given by the late emperor have always been kept by my father, and the sinful daughter rarely comes into contact with them." Qi Surong calmed down and continued to panic, "If my father is a careful person, he will definitely discover the existence of the letter soon, but He had never cared about treasures and would only keep them properly according to the rules. It was not until more than two years ago that the sinful girl accidentally remembered this while practicing the piano and asked for the pair of orbs from her father, thus discovering the letter. .”
"Two years ago? Why didn't you tell your father about this?"
Qi Surong sighed: "Sir, you should have heard about my father's temperament. He may have the courage to kill enemies, but he doesn't know how to be an official. Over the years, he has offended many powerful people. Now the Qi family has just had their property confiscated. , if you get involved in the power struggle, you may be in danger of killing someone. Therefore, the guilty woman took it upon herself to hide the matter of the letter, just to keep her family safe for a lifetime."
"Oh?" The man looked at her noncommittally, "Then why don't you just burn the letter?"
"The guilty girl also thought about burning it." Qi Surong said calmly, "However, this thing was given by the late emperor after all. If it is used as a basis for criticism in the future, the Qi family may not be able to escape the blame. Therefore, the guilty girl is I will boldly keep it, and I don’t want to be careless and get it by the emperor. The sinful girl only asks for forgiveness from the emperor, and don’t inflict sin on my family."
"Humph, you ignorant women and children also want to deceive the emperor?" The man stared at her coldly.
"Your Majesty is right, the guilty girl is indeed ignorant." Qi Surong lowered his head and shed tears, with a dejected look on his face.
"Okay, since the emperor sent me here, he also wanted you to redeem your sins. After all, that letter is of great importance. The emperor has been looking for it, but he didn't want to get the opportunity from you." The man said, "I Let me ask you again, do you know who else holds the letter?"
Qi Surong shook his head: "The guilty girl doesn't know."
"It's really useless!" The man scolded, "You'd better keep your words to yourself today. If any news leaks out, you will be responsible for the consequences. As for what you said, I will go and verify it."
"Sir, can you help Sinnu ask the emperor for mercy, and ask the Emperor to forgive Sinnu and his family? Sinnu promises that the Qi family will only be ordinary common people in the future and will never participate in any government affairs."
"Let's take a look." The man flicked his sleeves and strode out of the cell.
Qi Surong's eyes fell on his shoes, which were a pair of boots with black soles and gold thread embroidery. These embroidered boots were only worn by members of the royal family. This person's identity was already obvious.
But she didn't expect that the emperor would come in person. Presumably the secret decree had a great influence on him. He doubted all his brothers, but he trusted his own brother who was born to the same mother. Even if he doubts the authenticity of the secret decree, he can no longer trust him as before. Once there is a crack in trust, suspicion will only grow.
Among the several princes, only the Eighth Prince has the greatest power, the deepest foundation, and the most difficult to deal with. However, these have nothing to do with the Qi family. The reason why she took the risk of tampering with the secret decree was not only to make a contribution to the future king, but also to remove the Qi family from the power struggle in the near future.
But what the emperor just said also reminded her. Five years in prison is not as simple as it seems. She is not afraid of physical pain, but if someone wants to disfigure her appearance, insult her innocence, or cut off her fingers, how should she prevent it
It is true that her family will spend money to make her life in prison more comfortable. But as long as she is remembered by the villain, she will not be able to please him.
Although she guessed that there would be a disaster, she did not expect that she would be imprisoned. When things come to an end, it's too late, so we can only let nature take its course and take advantage of the situation. After all, she is not fighting alone, and the Qi family is not as miserable as in the previous life. There will always be a way to overcome the difficulties. Qi Surong was so convinced.
Prince Jing's Mansion.
"What? Your Majesty has already obtained that thing?" King Jing said with a pale face, "Where did you get it from?"
"It doesn't matter where you got it from." Mr. Wei Ding also had a solemn expression. "If the news is true, then the next person the emperor has to deal with will definitely be you, the prince. We may not even have time to make plans."
King Jing paced back and forth, silent in thought.
"Sir, do you have any good ideas?" King Jing asked.
Mr. Wei Ding muttered: "For the current plan, the prince has no choice but to find a way to leave the capital as soon as possible and make arrangements for the funeral."
"It seems that's all." King Jing sat on the chair, frowning.
At this time, Yuan Xi, who had been standing quietly aside, suddenly asked: "Is it the secret decree that the emperor got from the Qi family that the prince is worried about?"
"How did you know you got it from the Qi family?" King Jing and Mr. Wei Ding looked at him at the same time.
"If it's really the Qi family's title, then the prince doesn't have to worry."
"how do I say this?"
"Because the sealed edict is false."
"What?" they both said in shock at the same time.
Yuan Xi's eyes were bright and he said: "Miss Qi's family has tampered with the secret decree."
"Tampering? How?"
Yuan Xi dipped his fingers into some tea, and then wrote the character "eight" on the table.
King Jing stared at the word "eight", his breathing a little short.
"Are you sure that the emperor can't see the flaw in that fake secret edict?" King Jing asked.
"If the flaw had been seen, the Qi family would never have been safe and sound until now." Yuan Xi replied, "Although Miss Qi is in prison now, it is not because of the emperor, but because of the villain she once offended."
"No, if there is no instruction in this matter, most people will not dare to frame the daughter of the Qi family." Mr. Wei Ding said thoughtfully, "I suspect that the emperor is using the hands of villains to attack the mountain and shake the tiger. But one thing is right, the emperor must not have discovered the letter The secret edict is false, otherwise he would never have just punished you with a small punishment or a big warning."
King Jing nodded, with joy in his eyes: "In this way, things will be easier to handle."
It was such a turn of events. I thought I would escape death, but I didn't expect to get an unexpected surprise.
"So it seems that the Qi family intended for the emperor to obtain the secret edict?" Mr. Wei Ding's mind was clear and his eyes were shining brightly. This Miss Qi was so unexpected that she actually helped them plan a game in advance.
Yuan Xi nodded.
"Haha, I have to say 'I am convinced'. Even if the emperor finally finds out that the secret decree is fake, he still doesn't know who the successor in the secret decree is." Mr. Wei Ding added, "It's just that the Qi family may be killed. How could Miss Qi be so bold? Dare to tamper with the secret decree? Is she really confident that the emperor will not see the flaw? "
Yuan Xi smiled and said: "I have spent some time with her. This woman is indeed very courageous, and she behaves informally. I believe she can do it perfectly, and she will not make fun of the lives of the Qi family."
"Oh?" A trace of curiosity flashed in King Jing's eyes.
Mr. Wei Ding stroked his beard and smiled: "In any case, Miss Qi's unexpected and dangerous move created the most favorable start for the prince."