Lin Yongzhi’s words made Wei Shao tremble with rage. His grandson was already dead, yet this old bastard was still talking about deserving execution. The old fool truly deserved to die.
He fixed Lin Yongzhi with an eagle-sharp gaze, looking as though he wished he could tear him to pieces on the spot.
“Hmph. Grand Tutor Wei, are you planning to send someone to assassinate me?” Lin Yongzhi taunted him without the slightest fear in the face of his icy stare.
As the Imperial Censor, if he did not even have that much courage, he would not deserve to hold his position.
The Vice Minister of Justice then stepped forward and tearfully described the miserable state of his son, claiming that the boy had been beaten for no reason and was still so badly injured that he could not get out of bed.
Besides the Vice Minister of Justice, several other officials also came forward one after another. Some spoke in support of Wei Shao, some defended the Ninth Princess, and others spoke up for the two children.
Duke Anguo and the other officials whose estates had been robbed all disliked the sisters. Because of the two children, they had indirectly suffered beatings with wooden rods. Now that they had the chance, they each began listing the sisters’ crimes, wishing they could have the two children arrested immediately.
The emperor felt a headache coming on as he watched the officials bicker below. He had only just woken up after fainting and had not yet recovered. At that moment, he was even more irritable than usual.
He could no longer remain seated. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Court is dismissed!”
The morning court ended in complete disorder, but the ministers did not immediately disperse. Instead, they continued arguing in the hall.
The Vice Minister of Justice got into a fierce quarrel with one of Wei Shao’s students. The two men’s faces flushed as they shouted at each other, and before long, they began fighting. When the other officials rushed forward to break them up, they accidentally became enraged themselves and started grappling with one another. In an instant, the entire hall descended into chaos.
When word of what had happened at court reached the princess’s residence, Xi Qingyue was lying on her side on a soft couch in her room. One hand was still reaching into the fruit plate beside her for grapes, and she looked perfectly relaxed.
Xi Weilan was sitting at a table not far away, eating a piece of assorted-flower pastry with great enjoyment.
Lu Shiwan had only just entered the room. Seeing the two of them, she shook her head with a laugh. “You two still have the appetite to eat? Aren’t you afraid Father will issue another decree and have you thrown into prison?”
Xi Qingyue waved her hand indifferently. “It’s fine. Even if they sent a hundred thousand troops, it would be useless. If we want to leave, no one can stop us. If they make me angry, I’ll blow them all into the sky.”
After saying this, she seemed to remember something.
“Oh, right, Sister Wan, you said that Duke Anguo and those other ministers all demanded that I be arrested? Do they still have enough money to eat after being robbed?”
Lu Shiwan burst into laughter. “You’re imagining them as far poorer than they are. Even without cash on hand, they still have shops in the capital and estates in the countryside. It will just take them some time to restore their residences to their former state. After all, the shops won’t have that much ready cash either.”
The corners of Xi Qingyue’s lips curled upward when she heard this. Since those people still had the leisure to ask the emperor to punish her, she would just have to keep them busy.
“Sister Wan, I have something to do. I’m going out for a while.”
With that, she ran out like a gust of wind.
Inside Lu Qianning’s room, a group of imperial physicians and doctors from the capital were gathered together, trying to think of a way to save her.
They had arrived the previous day and had spent the entire day and night discussing how to treat Lu Qianning without sleeping. Luo Ling had remained at the bedside, keeping watch.
Xi Qingyue suddenly hurried over, grabbed Luo Ling, and pulled her outside, leaving Luo Ling puzzled.
Only after they left the room and reached a deserted spot did Luo Ling ask in a low voice, “What’s wrong? I have to keep watch over the princess. What if they try to harm her while I’m gone?”
“Relax. She won’t die. At most, those people would poison her, and they wouldn’t chop off her head. Even if someone really did poison her, I could still save her.”
Luo Ling was shocked and confused. “Yue, what are you doing, then? Do you really need to be so secretive just to talk?”
Xi Qingyue glanced around before speaking with a beaming smile. “Sister Luo Ling, I suddenly feel like eating the chickens and ducks raised at the countryside estates. I was afraid someone might laugh at me, so I brought you somewhere private to ask. Does Sister Lu have any estates outside the capital?”
“She does. There’s one not far from the western outskirts. The largest estate in that area belongs to the princess. If you want to eat some, I can simply have someone send them over.”
Xi Qingyue nodded. “All right. Sister Luo Ling, do the other officials in the capital also have estates outside the city? Tell me about the sizes of their estates. When I have time in the future, I’ll go out of the city and visit them.”
Her questions were rather strange, but Luo Ling still told her everything she knew. She even wrote out a list, marking the estates and country residences belonging to the various households in the capital.
At the end, Luo Ling added, “By the way, this may not be completely accurate. Many officials secretly purchase farmland and estates, so there may be hidden properties we don’t know about.”
Xi Qingyue put away the paper and said unconcernedly, “That’s fine. I just want to take a look. Maybe I’ll run into them when the time comes. Oh, right—please write down the shops these people own in the capital as well.”
Luo Ling immediately became wary. She seriously suspected that Xi Qingyue was planning to cause trouble, but she had no proof.
Most importantly, she was somewhat afraid of Xi Qingyue. With the princess still unconscious, she naturally agreed to all of Xi Qingyue’s requests. She was afraid of being beaten otherwise.
“Sister Luo Ling, when I become rich and powerful in the future, I won’t forget you.” After receiving the completed list, Xi Qingyue happily patted Luo Ling on the shoulder.
She had to jump to do it, startling Luo Ling so badly that she staggered backward and nearly fell.
Xi Qingyue shook her head and sighed at her. “You’re far too timid. I really don’t know how Sister Lu managed to keep you by her side. Mu Jin is so much better. She doesn’t jump at every little thing like you do.”
With that, she walked away leisurely with her hands clasped behind her back, leaving Luo Ling standing there in utter bewilderment.
She had been summoned to write down a long list of the officials’ estates and shops, frightened out of her wits, and then criticized for being less courageous than Mu Jin. That little devil had definitely done it on purpose.
Luo Ling unhappily scratched her head before hurrying back toward Lu Qianning’s room.
When she returned, the imperial physicians were still arguing among themselves. Taohua was already keeping watch by the bed, and only left after seeing Luo Ling come back.
Xi Qingyue returned to the room with the two sheets of paper, looking delighted. Xi Weilan had both hands propping up her chin as she stared toward the doorway.
When she saw Xi Qingyue return, Xi Weilan quickly jumped down from her chair and ran over. “Big Sister, where did you go? Sister Lu still hasn’t woken up, and it’s so boring here.”
“Where’s Sister Wan?” Xi Qingyue looked around and asked.
Xi Weilan smiled. “It seems someone from the palace summoned her. She just left.”
Hearing this, Xi Qingyue picked Xi Weilan up and sat down with her on a chair. She placed the two sheets of paper on the table. Her tone carried a hint of arrogance.
“Lan’er, weren’t you bored? Tonight, Big Sister will take you somewhere else for a stroll. Some people still haven’t given up and keep thinking about capturing us. We didn’t take everything last time, so tonight we’ll visit their estates and shops again and take away whatever is left. They won’t behave until they’re so poor they don’t even have clothes to wear to court.”
“Yay!” Xi Weilan clapped delightedly.
After making their plans, the two children left the room and began wandering around the residence.
They were curious about every corner of the estate, wandering from place to place until they finally stopped at dusk.
Xi Qingyue instructed everyone not to disturb them. The sisters were tired from their day and needed a good rest, and no one was to come bother them the next day either. They were going to sleep until they woke naturally, and anyone who came was forbidden from entering their room.
Mu Jin thought nothing of it. After all, the two children had been exploring for so long; it was perfectly normal for them to want to sleep in and get up a little later.
