I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

When they arrived at the Yellow Crane Tower again, there were very few guests inside. Apart from the manager and staff, there were only Qin Li's men.

The bottom few floors are all empty, which is something that has never happened before in all the years that the Yellow Crane Tower has been open.

Qin Li had been waiting for a long time on the top floor of the Yellow Crane Tower.

When Pei Yunhe reached the top floor, he saw Qin Li standing by the railing, gazing at the Yangtze River from behind.

"Your Highness, Patriarch Pei has been brought here."

Zhou Biao cupped his hands in greeting and led his men to the next floor to wait.

Pei Qingluan followed Pei Yunhe to the top floor.

Upon arriving at the top floor, Pei Qingluan immediately became familiar with the place.

What's more, Chun Tao was already beckoning to her, inviting her to come and have some snacks together.

At the top of the stairs, Pei Yunhe, unlike Pei Qingluan, didn't act rudely. Instead, he reached out and dusted off his clothes, lifted his robe, knelt down towards Qin Li's back, and kowtowed three times.

"Pei Yunhe of the Pei family greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Pei Yunhe's actions surprised all the women present, and they all looked at Qin Li.

In Jiangnan, in Jiangxia City, on Pei Yunhe's territory, Pei Yunhe's gesture of respect was truly astonishing.

After all, Pei Yunhe had met Qin Li more than once or twice. The previous times, he had only given a perfunctory bow and had not taken Qin Li seriously at all.

Such a respectful bow was unprecedented for a young woman getting into a bridal sedan chair.

They all looked at Qin Li, asking him what Pei Yunhe meant.

Qin Li slowly turned around, one hand clasped in front of his abdomen, the other behind his back, and said with a slight smile:

"Qingluan is a smart person, and so is Patriarch Pei."

Pei Yunhe, who was kneeling down, smiled awkwardly and said, "We all have the surname Pei, we are family. Your Highness is too kind."

Qin Li waved his hand at the women, telling them to go about their own business.

Do not interrupt his conversation with Pei Yunhe.

Walking to the small table, Qin Li extended his hand: "Patriarch Pei, there's no need for formalities. Please come and sit down."

After Qin Li sat down, Pei Yunhe stood up and slowly walked to Qin Li's side, but he did not dare to sit down. Instead, he bowed and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Your Highness, please sit. I will stand. If there is anything you need, please feel free to ask."

"Anything is fine?" Qin Li asked with a half-smile.

Pei Yunhe remained bent over: "Anything is fine."

"it is good."

Qin Li said, "The heads of the five great families are all dead, and one is still missing. So please, head of the Pei family, fill in the gap."

After saying that, with a clang, Qin Li produced a knife from who-knows-where and casually tossed it onto the small table in front of him.

Several girls who were eating snacks at a small table not far away turned their attention to the sound.

But after just one glance, they went back to doing what they were doing.

Some ate snacks, others chatted, completely disregarding Pei Yunhe's life or death, as if it were a trivial matter.

Looking at the knife on the small table, Pei Yunhe hesitated for a few seconds before picking it up and holding it to his own neck. He closed his eyes and slashed it fiercely.

The scene of blood flowing freely that he had imagined did not occur. Pei Yunhe opened his eyes and found that the blade was soft and could not cause him any harm at all. It was a fake knife.

"Ha ha ha ha…"

Hearing Qin Li's laughter, Pei Yunhe bowed respectfully again, and then heard the sound of tea flowing gently.

Qin Li poured two cups of tea, one for himself and the other slowly pushed towards Pei, saying, "Patriarch Pei, please sit down."

Pei Yunhe held the knife high with both hands, not daring to look Qin Li in the eye: "This humble one dares not."

"Why--"

Qin Li sighed and said, "The Pei family head is the leader of the six great families of Jiangnan. Is there anything the Pei family head wouldn't dare to do?"

Knowing that Qin Li was deliberately teasing him, Pei Yunhe's face twitched uncontrollably, unsure of what to say.

Qin Li said again, "Please sit down."

Pei Yunhe stole a glance at Qin Li before mustering his courage to sit down opposite him.

However, before sitting down, he respectfully placed the knife on the small table with both hands, returning it to its rightful owner.

After Pei Yunhe sat down, Qin Li reached out and picked up the fake knife, examining it closely: "I have a question for Patriarch Pei."

Pei Yunhe quickly clasped his hands in greeting: "Your Highness, please ask."

Qin Li looked at Pei Yunhe and asked, "Does Patriarch Pei truly wish to die, or did he already know this knife was fake?"

Pei Yunhe quickly replied, "This humble servant did not know that this knife was fake."

"So, Patriarch Pei really wants to die?"

Pei Yunhe swallowed hard: "It's not that I really want to die."

"That is?"

Qin Li asked.

Pei Yunhe replied, "I only did what Your Highness asked me to do, that's all."

"If that's the case, why did Patriarch Pei treat me like that before? It's as if in Patriarch Pei's eyes I, the Crown Prince, am just a figurehead."

"Your Highness, please forgive me."

Pei Yunhe quickly stood up, clasped his hands in apology.

Previously, he did not take Qin Li seriously, thinking that Qin Li, the crown prince, was just a figurehead.

What right does a prince from the capital have to point fingers and boss people around in Jiangnan, his own territory?

But now, he doesn't think so anymore. When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head.

"Please sit down."

Qin Li said, "Innocent. What crime has Patriarch Pei committed? If he were guilty, he should have had his head chopped off by me three days ago, just like those five people."

"Do you know why I'm keeping Patriarch Pei alive?"

"I am unaware."

Pei Yunhe replied.

No, you know.

Qin Li looked into Pei Yunhe's eyes.

Pei Yunhe immediately knelt down with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly: "Please forgive me, Your Highness. I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness before. Please forgive me."

"I've already said, Patriarch Pei is innocent," Qin Li repeated.

"No, I am guilty."

Pei Yunhe said, "This villain's crimes are heinous. First, he forcibly seized farmland and plundered property; second, he arbitrarily established laws to oppress the villagers; third, he privately possessed weapons and raised a private army; fourth, he disrupted local governance and colluded with officials; and finally, he harbored treacherous intentions and plotted a rebellion!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Li first snorted coldly, then smiled with a smirk:

"Patriarch Pei, you are indeed smarter than the other four. Three days ago, when I returned from Longhu Mountain, I asked the four of them if they knew what crimes they had committed over the years. If they had just told me, I would have spared them. But they said they didn't know. Even if I put a knife to their necks, they would not admit it."

As Pei Yunhe knelt on the ground, he muttered to himself... They were too clever for their own good, especially Lu Ruanxiong. He thought that by providing Qin Li with information, Qin Li would treat him as one of his own. He thought that as long as he insisted that he didn't know what crime he had committed, Qin Li would spare them. Little did he know that Qin Li was the one who was going to kill them.

If he confessed all the crimes he had committed over the years, Qin Li would not kill him.

Qin Li didn't care at all what crimes they had committed over the years. Of all the powerful families in the world, which one had clean hands and no blood? How could they have gotten to where they are today?

Qin Li only cares about these people. Whoever lies, or who stubbornly continues to lie, will be killed.

"Your Highness is too kind. I only said what I should say."

Pei Yunhe replied.

Qin Li nodded in satisfaction and said again, "Get up. Do you know the other reason why I didn't kill you?"

Standing up from the ground, Pei Yunhe sat down and said cautiously, "Because Your Highness needs someone to reorganize Jiangnan and handle the aftermath."

If Pei Yunhe were to kill all the heads of the six great families, he would look down on Qin Li. Qin Li had made a foolish move.

What will the people below think when they see Qin Li kill all the heads of the six great families?

They would only think that Qin Li was going to carry out a major purge in Jiangnan, and that he would not let any of those who had made mistakes in the past go unpunished.

Since Qin Li is not going to let them go, they have no reason to obediently surrender; they might as well fight to the death.

But keeping him would have been a completely different story. It gave the people below hope that as long as they were like Pei Yunhe, they would have a way to survive.

In this way, Jiangnan will not fall into a complete upheaval.

Qin Li only needs to exert a little effort to take control of Jiangnan.

"Good to know," Qin Li said. "Then Patriarch Pei knows what to do next, right?"

Pei Yunhe nodded and said, "I know."

Qin Li waved his hand at him: "Then go, but come back quickly. The Marquis of Guanwai will help the Pei family head."

"Yes."

Pei Yunhe quickly left the Yellow Crane Tower.

"Wait a minute."

Qin Li suddenly called out to Pei Yunhe.

Pei Yunhe stopped and asked, "Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

Qin Li picked up his teacup and offered a toast from afar: "Go quickly and come back quickly. I won't stay in Jiangnan for long. I still need to return to the capital."

"Yes."

After responding, Pei Yunhe turned to leave again, only to hear Pei Qingluan's voice behind him:

"Second Uncle, hurry back and think carefully about what kind of dowry to prepare for me."