I, the villainous eldest prince, will suppress everything!

"Sixth Brother, what should we do?"

The Fifth Prince grabbed the Sixth Prince's sleeve and asked anxiously.

Lu Shushu actually had Qin Li's jade thumb ring in her hand. No one would believe that there wasn't something going on between the two of them.

If Qin Li was able to give his most beloved jade thumb ring to Lu Shushu, then it truly was, as Pei Qingluan said, a token of their love.

After the imperial examinations conclude, Qin Li will bring Lu Shushu home to marry him.

They arrived too late, or rather, they shouldn't have come at all; they only brought shame upon themselves.

"Sixth Brother, shall we go?"

The fifth prince grabbed the sixth prince's sleeve, trying to pull him away.

Staying any longer would only bring him trouble, and he felt incredibly ashamed.

At the same time, she blamed Emperor Xuan in her heart, thinking, "How could someone so old steal a woman from his eldest son, Qin Li?"

I'm not afraid of being laughed at if word gets out.

Even his son looked down on Emperor Xuan.

"Let go!"

The sixth prince shouted and shook off the fifth prince's hand that was grabbing his sleeve.

He grabbed the Fifth Prince by the collar, glared at him, and shouted:

"Fifth brother, you'd better think this through!"

"We are here on imperial orders."

"If we cannot bring that Lu fellow back to the palace, you are surely aware of Father's temper."

"You're willing to be punished, but I'm not."

"What token of love? They can say it is, but I'll say it isn't."

After saying this, the Sixth Prince loosened the Fifth Prince's collar, flicked his sleeves, and said:

"Like I said before, I'll take responsibility for anything that happens."

Seeing that the Sixth Prince had said so, the Fifth Prince could not say anything more and had no choice but to retreat behind the Sixth Prince.

"Ahem!"

Coughing twice, the Sixth Prince surveyed the group of women before him.

In his opinion, these women were deliberately trying to cause trouble.

I've never heard of Qin Li wanting to marry Lu Shushu.

I reckon their visit today was at Qin Li's behest.

It wasn't Emperor Xuan who stole Qin Li's woman, but rather Qin Li who stole Emperor Xuan's.

Thinking of this, the Sixth Prince became even more determined to bring Lu Shushu back to the palace today, no matter what means he had to use!

"Aren't you going to get lost?"

Pei Qingluan glanced at the two of them again, her eyes full of disdain.

People in the capital seem to be a bit ungrateful.

If this had happened in Jiangnan, the other party would have been kicked out long ago.

The Sixth Prince sneered, "Get out? I think it's you, my sister-in-law, who should be the ones getting out. I'll count to three. If you disappear from my sight before I finish counting, I can pretend you were never here and let bygones be bygones. Otherwise, you will be punished for disobeying my imperial decree."

"Oh, you want to kill us?"

Pei Qingluan laughed in exasperation.

The sixth prince pretended not to hear and began counting down: "Three..."

As the Sixth Prince's voice rang out, the Imperial Guards present, as well as those surrounding the alleyway at the courtyard gate, slowly drew their long swords from their sheaths, each with an unfriendly gaze.

Pei Qingluan gradually suppressed her smile, knowing that the Sixth Prince was serious, and said, "Sister Zhenzhen, it's your turn!"

Bai Zhenzhen was taken aback and pointed at herself.

Pei Qingluan didn't turn to look at her, and continued, "Sister Xue'er is right. This time, I can't take all the limelight; you all have a share!"

Bai Zhenzhen then lowered her finger and nodded.

"two!"

boom!

With a loud bang, the sixth prince's countdown came to an abrupt end.

He stood there, stunned, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Because he had seen it with his own eyes, the girl in the loosely draped Taoist robe simply flicked her sleeve behind her back.

A sword aura, visible to the naked eye and several meters high, suddenly shot towards the courtyard gate.

Where the sword energy passed, a deep crack appeared in the ground.

The cracks are wide and deep enough to trap a person inside.

The entire earth was trembling slightly.

The courtyard gate and walls collapsed one after another.

The Imperial Guards suffered countless casualties in an instant, and screams filled the air.

No one expected Bai Zhenzhen's attack to be so powerful; even their own people hadn't anticipated it.

Swallowing hard, Pei Qingluan realized what was happening.

Thankfully, she has the self-awareness to know her place.

During this period of time, he did not spar with Bai Zhenzhen.

Otherwise, although Bai Zhenzhen wouldn't kill her, she would definitely lose miserably.

After realizing what was happening, Pei Qingluan stared at the Sixth Prince with a grin: "Keep counting! Why did you stop?"

His Adam's apple bobbed, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. The Sixth Prince finally realized what was happening.

He pointed at Pei Qingluan and the others, stammering, unable to speak, "You, you..."

Who would have thought that among this group of seemingly weak women, there was actually a top-notch expert.

With just a flick of her sleeve, dozens of imperial guards lost their lives at her hands.

The commotion quickly attracted the attention of the city guards, who rushed over from all directions.

During the imperial examinations, city guards patrolled the streets to prevent anyone from disrupting the examinations.

When the city guards arrived, they were also shocked by the sight before them.

What happened?

What exactly happened?

Has anyone come and told them?

Could it be that a battle between grandmasters has taken place here?

Otherwise, how could there be such a deep, long, and wide crack in the ground?

"Oh? My nephews' wives, what are you doing here?"

The leader of the city guards was none other than an acquaintance, Wang Bao.

Since Qin Li appointed him to replace Wang Hu, he had nothing better to do than stay idle in the camp outside the city. So he led his men into the city to take control of the city guards and was responsible for patrolling on weekdays.

Riding his horse over the collapsed courtyard wall and the cracks in the ground, Wang Bao arrived in the courtyard.

Upon seeing Wang Bao's arrival, Pei Qingluan and the other women bowed to him, saying, "Greetings, Uncle!"

Wang Bao waved his hand, dismounted, and came to their side: "What happened?"

Without giving the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince a chance to speak, Pei Qingluan embellished the story, emphasizing that the two princes had forcibly taken Lu Shushu into the palace, and that Lu Shushu, like them, was his nephew's wife.

Upon hearing this, Wang Bao immediately flew into a rage, grabbing the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince by the collar with one hand each, and glaring at them as he shouted:

"You two little brats, you've got some nerve! You dare to steal my nephew's wife!"

The two had long heard of Wang Bao's infamous reputation, which was no less than that of Wang Hu.

If you fall into his hands, you'll definitely suffer the consequences; being skinned alive would be the least of your worries.

The fifth prince was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he quickly begged for mercy:

"My lord, spare me! My lord, spare me! It's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding!"

The sixth prince quickly added, "Lord Guanwai, please understand. It's not that we want to take our elder brother's wife; it's that our father wants to take her."

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingluan and the other women couldn't help but laugh.

The Sixth Prince was so tough just now, how come he's become such a coward now?

They actually shifted all the blame onto Emperor Xuan; that's too fast.

"roll!"

Wang Bao threw the two men out of the courtyard and over the wall.

The surviving Imperial Guards quickly acted as human cushions to catch the two.

They were imperial guards; if they died, they died.

If anything were to happen to the princes, their entire clan would be in danger.

After catching the two princes, the group scrambled away from the Imperial Academy.

Pei Qingluan and Wang Bao exchanged a few words in private. Wang Bao nodded and quickly left with his men. Before leaving, he couldn't help but turn back and glance at Lu Shushu a few more times, after all, she was his nephew's wife.

After everyone left, the courtyard returned to calm, but it was a mess, making it difficult to even go out normally.

Xiao Xue'er seized the opportunity and stepped forward, saying:

"Sister Shushu, the damage to the courtyard was our fault. We will compensate you and find someone to repair it immediately. However, the repairs will take some time. How about we have Sister Shushu bring your uncle and aunt to stay at our Crown Prince's residence during this period?"

After saying that, Xiao Xue'er thought to herself how clever she was.

When Qin Li returns, he will definitely reward her handsomely.

Thinking of this, her legs went weak.

Pei Qingluan stepped forward and said, "Sister Shushu, let's be frank. If you and your uncle and aunt continue to stay here, His Majesty will not let you go. The only way for you now is to come back to the Crown Prince's residence with us..."

Before Pei Qingluan could finish speaking, Lu Shushu coldly interrupted, "Who wants to go back to the Crown Prince's residence with you!"

After saying that, Lu Shushu threw the jade thumb ring in her hand hard onto the ground.

However, the jade thumb ring did not break; it rolled a long way on the ground.

It finally stopped at the edge of the crack, almost rolling down.

Pointing outside, Lu Shushu's face was tense. "Go! Get out of here! I never want to see you again!"

Xiao Xue'er didn't know what was wrong with Lu Shushu. Just as she was about to step forward, Pei Qingluan pulled her back.

Pei Qingluan gestured for the girls to leave, "Let's go, let's go first!"

Before long, the women left the Imperial Academy and returned to their carriage.

"Sister Pei, should I have...?"

Inside the carriage, Bai Zhenzhen lowered her head and was the first to admit her mistake.

"It's not your problem."

Pei Qingluan reached out and patted the back of her hand to reassure her, "The reason Miss Lu sent us away is not because she blames us, but because she blames Qin Li for deceiving her."

"Zhenzhen, you did a great job today. If it weren't for your intervention, how could we have kept the prince and the Imperial Guard in check?"

"Oh, I see."

Bai Zhenzhen felt much better.

"Ugh!"

With a heavy sigh, Pei Qingluan said, "Miss Lu is a good girl. Blame Qin Li for all the tricks he could use!"

The girls all nodded in agreement with Pei Qingluan's statement that Qin Li liked to lie, because they had all been lied to before.

……

late at night!

The Imperial Palace.

The eunuchs and palace maids serving outside the hall all stood with their heads bowed.

Every time the Xuan Emperor roared in the palace, their bodies would visibly tremble.

boom!

With the sound of a teacup shattering on the ground, the eunuchs and palace maids finally succumbed to the pressure.

They all knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads.

Although Emperor Xuan's roar was not directed at them, but at the Fifth and Sixth Princes who had returned to the palace for training.

But we must know that when the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer as well.

The fifth and sixth princes might only get scolded, but it's them who will lose their heads.

Turning our gaze back to the hall, the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince stood one after the other, with the Sixth Prince positioned slightly closer, blocking most of the Fifth Prince's body.

He really did it; when something went wrong, he took responsibility.

However, when Emperor Xuan angrily smashed the teacup on the ground, both of them were startled.

"What should I say to you?"

"Useless! You two are utterly useless, even worse than useless!"

Emperor Xuan sat on the couch, pointing his finger at the two men and scolding, "Two grown men, leading a troop of imperial guards, and you can't even bring back a little girl? What use are you to me!"

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince and the Sixth Prince exchanged a glance and looked at each other in bewilderment.

Normally, they would have knelt down, kowtowed, and admitted their mistake.

But this time, neither of them knelt down.

Because this time, it wasn't their fault at all.

Lu Shushu had long been the woman Qin Li, their elder brother, had his eye on. Qin Li had even given Lu Shushu his jade thumb ring so that she could always carry it with her. Perhaps the two had already secretly pledged their lives to each other.

But Emperor Xuan, at such an advanced age, actually tried to steal a woman from his own son.

No wonder the Emperor only sent the two of them to bring people back today, but didn't give them any physical imperial edict.

When the Sixth Prince left in the morning, he was wondering why the Emperor Xuan was afraid that giving out an imperial edict would give others something to criticize!

"Father, please calm down. It's not that your son and fifth brother were negligent in bringing the person back; it's just that the other side has a master."

"With just a wave of his sleeve, the earth split open, so long and so wide that my fifth brother and I almost fell in. If we had fallen in, Father would never have seen my fifth brother and me again."

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince quickly echoed, even exaggeratedly stretching out his arm to describe the crack to Emperor Xuan.

The fifth prince sobbed, "Father, you don't know, thankfully my sixth brother and I hid in time, otherwise, we would have ended up like those imperial guards, missing arms or legs, bleeding profusely, it would have been terrible!"

"Is it really that amazing?"

Emperor Xuan clearly didn't believe it, because he had been fooled by these two people many times before.

Each time, these two people exaggerate, when in fact nothing has happened.

"It really exists!"

The Fifth Prince nodded quickly.

He still feels lingering fear whenever he thinks of that crack.

She really couldn't understand why a woman could be so powerful, perhaps even surpassing a grandmaster.

Upon hearing that it was true, Emperor Xuan was so angry that he disregarded his image, took off his shoes, and threw them at the Fifth Prince.

One second, the Fifth Prince was pretending to cry, and the next second, he quickly dodged to the side.

Upon seeing this, Emperor Xuan trembled with rage, even his lips were shaking.

good good!

This is what Lao Wu meant by "there is"!

He's so angry!

"Someone come here!"

A sharp shout.

Han Zhen, who had been waiting outside the hall, strode in and greeted the emperor with clasped hands, "Your Majesty!"

Sitting on the soft couch, Emperor Xuan, who had lost one shoe, pointed at the Fifth Prince and commanded, "Drag this rebellious son out and give him thirty lashes!"

"yes!"

Normally, Han Zhen might have pleaded for the Fifth Prince.

But Emperor Xuan is currently in a bad mood, and he won't risk offending him.

"Fifth Prince, please forgive me!"

After saying that, Han Zhen reached out and grabbed the Fifth Prince by the back of his collar, lifting him out like a chick.

The fifth prince struggled in Han Zhen's hands, begging for mercy.

But Emperor Xuan ignored him, his eyes fixed on the Sixth Prince.

The sixth prince lowered his head, knowing that the Emperor Xuan was watching him. His eyes flickered uncertainly, unsure of what the Emperor Xuan meant, and he dared not speak casually.

Soon, the sound of a board striking flesh came from outside the hall, along with the Fifth Prince's screams.

However, after only a few cries, the Fifth Prince fell silent, presumably having fainted from the pain.

How could the Fifth Prince, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, possibly withstand thirty strokes of the cane?

Not all princes are like the seventh prince, Qin Feng.

Tread!

Han Zhen walked in again, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince has fainted. Should we continue the attack?"

Emperor Xuan did not speak, but simply waved his hand.

He prioritizes punishment and doesn't want to kill the fifth brother yet.

Han Zhen nodded and left again.

After Han Zhen left, Emperor Xuan looked at the Sixth Prince and said, "Sixth Prince, you..."