My younger sister insisted on marrying me and made me the Marquis' wife.

Chapter 702 Just a Caught in the Crossfire
Qin Siyuan didn't know what to say.

The world is completely different from what is written in books; its unpredictable and treacherous nature is beyond imagination. In the end, he could only turn his pleading gaze to Qin Yuan.

Perhaps the younger sister can break this deadlock.

Seeing this, Qin Yuan took a deep breath and asked, "Lin Ziqi, even at this point, are you still not going to tell the truth?"

"……truth?"

Lin Ziqi slowly raised his head, chuckled a few times in a self-destructive manner, and seemed rather manic.

What is the truth?

No one responded. He paused, then pounded his chest heavily with his right fist and shouted, "The truth is, everyone is plotting against me, Lin Ziqi. I thought I was the mantis, but little did I know that the oriole was behind me."

"You can fight all you want; I'm just an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire anyway."

Everyone was stunned.

Wu, the scholar, realized what was happening and burst into laughter, adding smugly, "Brother Ziqi is right. What are we? Just minor scholars, nothing more than fish on the chopping block for the nobles. They can mold us into whatever they want. Once you understand that, what's the point of struggling?"

Lin Ziqi didn't respond, only crossed his arms and snorted coldly a few times, standing to the side like a clay sculpture.

Mr. Songshan was greatly puzzled and asked Qin Yuan in a low voice, "Why is that?"

Qin Yuan said, "He now feels that all of this is because of the Qin family, so even if he copied this poem, he should blame the Qin family."

How could he even say that!

Mr. Matsuyama shook his head.

He muttered things like "low character" and "how dare you, you brat!"

Qin Siyuan was furious and yelled, "So it's my fault that I dare not easily convict you? Fine, very well, Uncle has really found a good son-in-law."

Lin Ziqi said coldly, "Who knows what the Qin family is up to? If it weren't for Qin Wan, how could I have ended up in this situation?"

"...You're really something...I never imagined you, Lin Ziqi, were this kind of person. Today has truly broadened my horizons."

Qin Siyuan was both anxious and angry, but he was too tongue-tied to say anything hurtful.

Lin Ziqi retorted, "The Qin family is no exception."

He was so angry that he was trembling all over.

The Ninth Princess sneered from the side: "You two should stop putting on an act here. Even if this Wu fellow is no good, how much better are the Lin and Qin fellows?"

I, the princess, don't care what kind of wicked schemes you have up your sleeves. Just strip them of their official titles and leave them to their fate, so they won't be able to deceive the world, steal fame, and commit evil deeds in the future.

As for you…

Looking at Qin Yuan, he continued, "Since you, Young Master Nantang, want to be a hermit, then be a hermit properly."

The Ninth Princess felt that she had acted swiftly and decisively in handling the matter, truly deserving the title of "ruthless and decisive." She proudly shook her head, and the two bright green jade earrings hanging from her earlobes swung around, making them quite eye-catching.

Standing in the crowd, Lord Xu gently shook his head: "How could this be?"

The commander-in-chief of the Five Cities Garrison beside him said, "Commander Xu's in-laws have gotten themselves into trouble."

Lord Xu hurriedly replied, "Your Excellency is wise. In truth, the Xu family and the Qin family have some complicated relationship. It is really inappropriate for me to step forward. Besides, with Prince Qi and the two princesses present, I dare not act rashly."

Commander Fu looked at him with a strange expression, chuckled a few times, and said, "I wonder what Commander Gu has gone off to do."

The implication was that if Gu Jingcheng were here, he certainly wouldn't just stand by and watch.

Lord Xu replied, "Commander Gu has only recently been promoted. How dare he disobey your orders and act rashly? Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday. What would happen if something went wrong?"

Gu Jingcheng previously held a sinecure in the Five Cities Garrison, but after gaining the favor of Marquis Gu, he was quickly promoted to commander, becoming his equal, which greatly angered him. He couldn't help but try to sow discord between the commander-in-chief and the general commander.

To everyone's surprise, Commander Fu smiled broadly and was in high spirits: "He received the news early and was making arrangements... If we achieve merit, our Five Cities Garrison will be able to hold our heads high in front of the Emperor."

The Ministry of War, the Prefectural Governor's Office, and the Imperial Examination Office always dumped the mess on the Five Cities Military Command, receiving no benefits and unable to escape the blame.

Although commanding troops in five cities sounds impressive, it only grants a rank of sixth grade, which is quite lowly in the capital.

Commander Fu had long been dissatisfied and had tried every means to gain favor with the Emperor.
Lord Xu's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he hurriedly asked, "What is it? Has Commander Gu received some major news?"

Commander Fu smiled and said, "After Marquis Dingbei returned to the capital, the Gu family is no longer what it used to be. Even when the old Marquis Gu was alive, he paid more attention to the northern frontier."

He had observed the changes in the low-ranking officials of the Five Cities Military Command recently.

Now that the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion is operating in the capital, it is naturally much better informed than before, and the Gu family members have also benefited.

If Commander Xu had been more astute, he could have gained more benefits.

Unfortunately, Lord Xu did not take his good intentions to heart, after all, he trusted his own sons and nephews more.

Lord Xu muttered to himself, "Why isn't His Highness Prince Jin here, but His Highness Prince Qi is? I wonder..."

Just as they were muttering to themselves, a loud shout came from afar: "Hey Wu, what's your intention in trying to pin this on the Qin and Gu families? What benefits did the Prince of Jin promise you?"

The words came from afar and hadn't even finished falling when a person was spun around and thrown into the crowd, landing heavily with a loud thud.

The surrounding crowd couldn't help but scream.

Before the screams had subsided, another person was thrown in and spun around on top of the first one.

The two of them were stacked on top of each other, looking just like a stack of Arhats.

Commander Fu's eyes widened as he muttered, "Where did this fiend come from? How dare he provoke the Prince of Jin? Does he have a death wish?"

He didn't see the first one thrown into the crowd clearly, but he saw the person behind him very clearly—that was the old eunuch who served in front of Prince Jin, who was deeply trusted and often went out to handle some private matters.

But at this point, Lord Xu had no time to reply.

His eyes, mostly white with little black, nearly popped out of their sockets. The veins on his hands, gripping the hilt of his waist knife tightly, bulged. His muscles trembled all over. He used every ounce of strength he had in his life to barely keep himself from rushing in and attacking people.

Because the first person thrown into the crowd was Xu Tang—the most promising young man in the Xu family at present.

Who on earth is so arrogant?!

"Who? Who did this?!"

The Ninth Princess let out a deafening scream.

"Protect the emperor! Protect the emperor!"

Princess Fuyun was also quite startled. Her clear black and white eyes looked at Lord Gu in a panic, only to see that Lord Gu had already stepped aside to shield the young master of Nantang behind him, showing no intention of protecting the royal family.

Princess Fuyun: ...

Prince Qi, however, remained remarkably calm. He slammed his folding fan against his palm and scolded, "Gu Baozhu, Gu Baozhu, you really are..."

"Gu Baozhu?" Princess Fuyun also came to her senses.

No wonder she hasn't said a word despite all the commotion; it's definitely not her style.

"hiss……"

Princess Fuyun gasped.

What was Gu Baozhu howling about just now?