The most dissolute couple in the capital

The Zhou couple exchanged a glance, their hearts filled with joy!

The princess agreed?!

Li Chengjing looked fierce and menacing, pointing menacingly at the couple:

"Yes! It's you! Do you know that this girl was clumsy in the workshop a few days ago and spilled a bottle of 'Springtime Serenity in Snow' essential oil that I personally blended and prepared to present to my elder brother!"

As he spoke, he pulled a shard of glass from his sleeve. It was a prop that Cui Qingyi had specially prepared in advance. It was still covered with a pale golden liquid, and when you brought it close, you could smell an extremely precious fragrance.

Li Chengjing held the shard high, his face etched with heartbreak: "See that? See that?! There's only one piece left! I spent three months preparing it! Three months!"

For the Zhou couple and the onlookers, they had never seen such a crystal-clear object as glass before, and coupled with Li Chengjing's expression, it seemed quite believable.

Lee Seung-kyung announced fiercely:

"That essential oil contains three ounces of ambergris from the Western Regions, one pound of top-grade pearl powder from the South China Sea, the essence of the stamens of ninety-nine Tian Shan snow lotuses, plus a unique twelve-step distillation process. Including labor, raw materials, and losses… the cost is twenty thousand taels of silver."

He approached the Zhou couple: "Since you are my biological parents, why don't you settle this debt? Banknotes or cash?"

"Twenty...twenty thousand taels?!" The Zhou man's eyes rolled back, and he almost fainted on the spot.

His wife waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, impossible! We wouldn't have twenty thousand taels!"

"Nothing?" Li Chengjing crossed his arms and sneered. "Then what are we going to do? This glass bottle of essential oil was meant to be a tribute to my elder brother, and now that it's broken, what am I supposed to give him?"

The man surnamed Zhou snapped out of his daze: "What...what does this have to do with us! She spilled it herself!"

"Oh?" Cui Qingyi glanced at him dismissively. "Weren't you just claiming to be their biological parents? Shouldn't they bear responsibility for their daughter's terrible behavior, which stemmed from their failure to properly discipline her?"

The lawyer, sprawled on the ground trying to speak, was stepped on by Li Chengjing, who looked down at him and said, "Who hired you? If you're so capable, why don't you defend them? Come, come, tell me, in the laws of Da Ning, if children commit crimes, aren't the parents also liable? You're quite the talker, aren't you? Go ahead and talk."

The lawyer's lips trembled for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word.

The rudimentary laws he learned were only for bullying ordinary people; how could he dare to argue with the emperor's own brother?

Seeing that he remained silent, Li Chengjing turned to look at Liu Lu, a sinister smile playing on his lips: "Liu Lu."

Liu Lu immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said, "This servant is here."

"Go and invite Magistrate He of the Capital Prefecture," Li Chengjing said slowly. "Tell him that I have a debt dispute involving 20,000 taels of silver, and I need the government's assistance in enforcing it."

He paused, then added, "Oh, and tell Lord He that if these parents can't repay the money..."

"According to the laws of Da Ning, those who fail to repay their debts will have their entire family enslaved and exiled to the frontier to perform hard labor!"

"Thump!"

Mrs. Zhou collapsed to the ground, her face ashen.

She came to marry off her eldest son, but instead of getting the bride price, her whole family was exiled.

His man trembled violently: "No, no, no! Your Excellency, spare us! Your Highness, spare us! This has nothing to do with us! We deny it! We deny it!"

Mrs. Zhou also started wailing, "That birthmark is just my mistake! She's not my daughter! Absolutely not!"

"A hallucination?" Cui Qingyi's smile remained undiminished. "Just now you were swearing on the midwife's testimony. Now you're saying you were seeing things? This inconsistency—could it be that you're deliberately deceiving the Prince's Mansion to swindle innocent women?"

She turned to the onlookers, her tone earnest: "Neighbors, you've all seen it. These two first identified the girl working in my house as their daughter, then suddenly changed their story and said they were mistaken. Is this a search for a relative, or a kidnapping?"

The people looked at each other in bewilderment. Those who had just been saying "after all, they are their biological parents" now kept their mouths shut.

The man surnamed Zhou kowtowed repeatedly, pleading, "Your Highness, please understand! This humble subject has indeed admitted his mistake! I beg Your Highness to show mercy!"

Cui Qingyi looked at their ugly behavior and sneered inwardly.

They weren't wrong; they were clearly scared!

"Since you've admitted your mistake..." Cui Qingyi waved to the person behind her.

Su Xin immediately handed over two documents and unfolded them.

Cui Qingyi said, "This is a 'Letter of Severance of Relationship.' It's written in black and white, clearly stating that Yingzhu—no, this woman—has absolutely no blood relation to either of you, and that you are forbidden from harassing her under any pretext in the future. Once signed, all past actions will be forgiven."

The Zhou family man felt as if he had been granted a pardon and got up to put his fingerprint on the document.

"Wait." Cui Qingyi pulled out a second document. "There's this too. A written statement of voluntary enslavement. Don't worry, it's not about selling you outright, but about selling your reputation these past two days. It states that you two admit to impersonating your own children and attempting to abduct them. This statement will be filed with the Jingzhao Yin's office. If you repeat this offense, the 20,000 taels debt will immediately take effect, plus the charge of fraud."

Mrs. Zhou hesitated for a moment.

Li Chengjing immediately waved his hand impatiently: "Liu Lu, go to the Prefect of the Capital—"

"Sign, sign, sign!" The Zhou man snatched the pen, his hand trembling like a sieve, and pressed his fingerprint on the paper in a crooked manner.

Mrs. Zhou pressed the button, her hands trembling.

Cui Qingyi carefully put away the documents and handed them to Suxin for safekeeping.

"Alright," she said indifferently, "get lost."

The Zhou couple scrambled away, and the liar had long since disappeared.

Li Chengjing caught up with her in a few strides, chuckling softly in her ear, "How was it? How was my performance? Was it fierce enough?"

Cui Qingyi glanced at him: "Not bad. Did you just make up that spice recipe on the spot?"

Li Chengjing puffed out his chest: "Of course! Although I'm not good at studying, intimidating people is an innate talent!"

Cui Qingyi: "..."

Yes, Your Highness.

Once inside the manor, Yingzhu had already emerged from the back room.

The little girl learned what had happened outside the village and cried uncontrollably.

"Your Highness! Your Highness! This servant...this servant could never repay you enough, even if I served you like a slave for the rest of my life!"

Cui Qingyi had Suxin help her up, then looked at her complexion and asked, "Have you eaten anything?"

Yingzhu nodded, wiping away her tears: "Sister Heye forced me to drink a bowl of porridge..."

"That's good," Cui Qingyi said. "From now on, you can focus on your work without worrying about them coming. That document is on file at the Jingzhao Yin's office. If they step into this estate again, the debt of 20,000 taels of silver will immediately take effect. With their wealth, they probably can't even afford the interest."

Yingzhu cried even harder, kowtowing and saying, "This servant...this servant wants to sign a death contract with the Prince's Mansion! With this contract, even if someone else comes to claim kinship, this servant will still be a member of the manor...no one can take this servant away..."

Cui Qingyi looked at her but did not immediately agree.

"Do you understand what a death contract means?" she asked. "Once you sign it, your life, death, honor, and disgrace will all be in the hands of your master. Are you sure?"

Yingzhu nodded emphatically: "This servant is certain! This servant is willing to serve the Princess, even at the cost of being a slave."

Cui Qingyi remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

Whether it's a death contract or not, it's just a matter of the master's word. Yingzhu's parents may have been instigated by others to cause trouble at the manor. As for whether Yingzhu herself has any problems, we can wait and see.

Yingzhu then realized what was happening and was about to kneel down and kowtow again.

Cui Qingyi helped her up: "Alright, alright, stop banging your head. The ground is cold, your legs will hurt if you kneel for too long."

Yingzhu burst into laughter through her tears, wiping them away as she stepped aside.

The orphaned girls from the village gathered in the distance, their eyes red-rimmed, their gazes towards Cui Qingyi filled with admiration and gratitude.

Granny Sun watched all this from the side, a hint of emotion in her eyes, and whispered, "Her Majesty is kind and benevolent."

Cui Qingyi waved her hand: "What's all this talk of benevolence and kindness? If they can work well, it will benefit the estate and the shop. If you see anyone else like that, send someone to the manor with a message."

Granny Sun led the girls in kowtowing again.

That evening, upon returning to the Liang Prince's residence, Cui Qingyi wrote a letter detailing the events leading up to and from the incident and sent it to the Prince of Yan.