The young lady is delicate and soft, yet she criticizes the powerful minister for bowing and scrapin

Suddenly, he was pulled into a warm embrace. After the black cloth on Qi Yunli's head was removed, her head was pressed against his chest.

She could clearly hear Wei Jun's heartbeat, which was even faster than hers.

For a moment, Qi Yunli had a somewhat distorted feeling.

Was Wei Jun afraid that she would die by Zhao's dagger?

But the arrow just now was shot by his men. Weren't they afraid that it would miss and kill her?

"Who assigned you!"

Wei Jun looked at Zhao Shi with an intimidating aura.

Zhao's arm was bleeding profusely, and she was rolling on the ground in pain, howling.

"It's Madam Li! The former second wife of the Marquis's mansion. She made us sell that little hussy and gave us a large sum of money!"

"Help me! People will die from bleeding! Aren't you afraid of getting people killed?!"

Zhao's words were both a plea and a threat.

Zhao's face was contorted as she writhed on the ground.

Without hesitation, Wei Jun stepped on her arm, which had been pierced by an arrow, causing the blood to gush out even more from the wound.

It pooled red on the ground, almost too exhausted to struggle, and could only convulse on the ground.

"Nonsense, full of loopholes!" Wei Jun scolded. "The Li family isn't wealthy enough; why would they give you a large sum of money to sell people!"

"Given the hatred she harbors for Ah Li, she should at least have made you kill her outright!"

Wei Jun picked up the dagger from the ground and pressed its cold touch against Zhao's face repeatedly.

"I'll talk, I'll talk..."

Wei Jun's eyes screamed that he wanted her dead; if she didn't speak up, she would die.

"Yes, Madam..."

Qi Yunli was stunned for a moment, but quickly accepted the fact.

After letting out a final scream, Zhao fainted completely, and the guards appeared and dragged her away.

"Master, we've injured and imprisoned the messenger and Qi Fu outside the carriage." The guard wanted to ask how to handle the situation.

"Keep them locked up for now, just keep them alive, don't let them die."

"yes!"

The guards withdrew, and Wei Jun threw away the dagger, his steps unconsciously becoming heavier.

"Ah Li..." Wei Jun wanted to explain.

It was his grandmother who ruined her.

Qi Yunli broke free from his embrace, looked up at him, and saw only exhaustion in her eyes:

"Wei Jun, do you love me?"

"Without a doubt."

"If you love me, then let go."

Wei Jun's heart was suddenly gripped by an invisible hand, the pain making it hard for him to breathe.

"Impossible, I won't hand you over to someone else, I can't accept it..."

"I really don't want to see any more ugliness."

Qi Yunli dragged her legs and walked back to the small courtyard step by step.

Wei Jun strode forward and grabbed her wrist.

His voice trembled, and his eyes were filled with pain and anxiety.

"You think letting go is the end of it? Outsiders already know that you are the one I love. Today the Zhao family kidnapped you, tomorrow someone who wants to kill me will go to even greater lengths to harm you!"

Qi Yunli had no way to refute it. She knew, she could guess, but she didn't want to get entangled with Wei Jun anymore.

"Ah Li, having only beauty as a card is a sure way to lose."

Wei Jun lowered his voice, with a hint of pleading, "Give me a little more time. If you still want to leave me, I won't stop you."

"How long until you can leave?"

"Six months."

Qi Yunli scoffed, "Three months, Wei Jun. Time won't change anything; it will only delay things and waste your youth."

"Okay, three months."

Wei Jun compromised; it was unbelievable.

Qi Yunli felt like laughing for no reason: "A year ago, I couldn't have imagined that you would have such a humble side."

Wei Jun was speechless. He had misunderstood too many things and done too many hurtful things.

"Ah Li, I..."

"Alright, you should hurry back to the old lady's side, lest she worry."

Qi Yunli was exhausted after a long day. Her nanny prepared a meal, and after eating a few bites, she fell asleep.

Wei Jun disappeared after that; apart from hearing news about him in the streets, his voice was never heard again.

The sun was shining brightly, and some roses had sprouted on the courtyard wall, filling the air with a faint fragrance.

Just as the nanny finished brewing the pre-rain Longjing tea, Wei Ruowei came skipping and hopping.

"Ruowei?" Qi Yunli put down her book. "The old lady finally let you out?"

"Um."

Wei Ruowei became somewhat unhappy when her grandmother was mentioned.

"Don't mention what upset her. I bought you some crystal cake on the street. Try it and see if it tastes like home."

Ah Li was originally from Jiangnan, Wei Ruowei still remembered.

The two sat in the yard basking in the sun for a long time.

Wei Ruowei sighed, "I thought my older brother would be with you, but it seems he isn't."

"Why is he with me? Shouldn't he be under the supervision of the old lady in the Marquis's residence?"

Qi Yunli paused slightly with her fingertips, but her expression remained calm.

Without hearing from Wei Jun these past few days, she had to admit that she felt a little empty inside.

"You don't know while you're in the courtyard, but my elder brother hasn't returned to the Marquis's residence for ten days."

Qi Yunli's eyes widened.

Wei Ruowei: "Grandmother was so anxious that she kept asking people to wait for him on the main street every day, but she couldn't find him anywhere. The guards in the mansion knelt down every day."

Our emperor values ​​filial piety, but I never expected Wei Jun to disregard it.

"Some officials raised this issue, but the emperor turned a blind eye to it all."

Wei Ruowei said worriedly.

"When Prince Rong lost power, Prince Sheng should have gained power, but the Emperor insisted on investigating the old case of the Empress Dowager's death and let my elder brother investigate it."

If Prince Sheng were to be dethroned, the situation in the court would become even more unpredictable.

Qi Yunli understood the implications. "Could the Empress Dowager's death be related to Prince Sheng?"

Wei Ruowei nodded firmly: "That's what people are saying, but it's all baseless. The emperor's illness is getting worse, perhaps..."

She didn't say anything more.

Qi Yunli recalled all the key events.

First it was Prince Rong, then Prince Sheng.

The emperor was intentionally or unintentionally in charge of these two cases, and put Wei Jun in charge of them.

This shows that Wei Jun only serves His Majesty, and the Emperor does not want the two princes to compete for his throne.

Thinking that before his days were numbered, he had to bring those two down with him.

No wonder Wei Jun said that even if she left the manor, there would be many people who wanted to kill her.

Now it seems that this is indeed the case.

"Ah Li, I may not be able to visit you often in the future." Wei Ruowei choked up a little.

Qi Yunli wanted to pat her shoulder, but gently withdrew her hand.

Why?

"My grandmother and mother have already started looking for a future husband for me. They want to seize as many opportunities as possible before the court becomes turbulent."

Having more connections means having more security.

"Who do they want you to marry?" Qi Yunli was very reluctant.

Wei Ruowei was not a true aristocratic young lady in the traditional sense. She liked horseback riding and hunting, disliked gold and silver treasures, and her ideas were quite different from those of other aristocratic young ladies.

She is so special.

But no matter how special they are, in a strictly regulated aristocratic family in the capital, their life trajectory cannot deviate.

Get married and have children.

"They want a ring match; whoever wins will marry me."

The more grand and elaborate the wedding of a daughter in the Marquis of Dingyuan's household, the more praise she would receive, even if she ended up marrying a man with no power or influence.

It certainly grabbed a lot of attention.

They even exploited their own eldest daughter.

The aristocratic families are truly a den of thieves who eat the meat but don't spit out the bones.