Taking her into his tent, he incurred the wrath of a powerful and mad minister, from which he could

Li Dan looked in the direction of the sound and, thinking it was some audacious troublemaker, immediately showed displeasure.

The clerk standing nearby immediately rebuked, "Who dares to spout such nonsense and disrespect the people who provide for Qingzhou! Step forward!"

The voice rang out again: "Make way, make way."

The crowd parted to the left and right, and a tall, upright figure slowly walked out. Dressed in brocade robes, holding a plain feather fan, with gentle and refined features, it was Fan Siyuan.

The clerk didn't recognize him as Zong Xian's trusted confidant and was about to reprimand him again when Li Dan suddenly stood up from behind his desk and raised his hand to stop the clerk.

He quickly straightened the black gauze hat on his head before putting on a warm smile.

"So it's Young Master Fan. May I ask what orders His Excellency the Grand Secretary has for you today?"

The arrogant and domineering air he had displayed just moments before had vanished without a trace.

Ji Mingyi stood quietly in place, looking at the young man in brocade robes in front of her and listening to his voice, a sense of familiarity inexplicably arose in her heart.

Fan Siyuan, fanning himself with a feather fan, smiled faintly at Li Dan: "I have no important business to ask of you, I just happened to be passing by and came to see what was going on. I just saw this young lady, and she looks somewhat familiar. I wonder if Lord Li could do me the favor of speaking with her privately for a few minutes?"

Li Dan was slightly taken aback, glanced at Ji Mingyi below the steps out of the corner of his eye, and immediately smiled and replied, "There's no inconvenience at all, Young Master Fan, please make yourself at home."

After saying this, he secretly gave the clerk a wink, and the clerk understood immediately and quickly went down to disperse the crowd of people who had gathered outside the yamen to watch the commotion.

Before long, everyone in the courtyard had left, and Scarface was forced to step aside, but he kept his eyes on Ji Mingyi's direction, worried that things might change.

Li Dan returned to the main seat in the hall, picked up his teacup, and slowly sipped his tea, waiting quietly for the two to finish their conversation.

...

Fan Siyuan walked slowly to Ji Mingyi and saw that her eyes were full of wariness. He lowered his voice and said, "Miss Ji, why did you have to suffer like this? You won't find justice here."

Mingyi already recognized him, and asked in a calm tone, "According to what you say, young master, what should I do?"

Fan Siyuan slowly walked around behind her, glanced at Li Dan who was sitting in the seat of honor observing the situation, and said softly, "You only need to mention the Second Master's name, and that corrupt official will definitely release you on the spot without saying a word. With me as your witness, the corrupt official will not doubt it."

"The Qingzhou dungeon is perpetually dark, teeming with snakes, insects, and rats; it's not a place a young lady like you could endure. Miss Ji, you don't want to go to jail, do you?"

Mingyi felt it wasn't that simple and asked, "What are your conditions? Or rather, what are your master's conditions?"

Fan Siyuan turned back to her, smiling gently, "There's only one condition—you obediently return to the capital with Second Master."

She knew it! He still wanted to trap her!

Mingyi clenched her fists, her face instantly turning cold. "I won't go back with him!"

Seeing that she wouldn't budge despite his persuasion, Fan Siyuan was truly puzzled. He closed his feather fan and gently tapped his palm: "You can't marry Xie Huaiyu anyway. What's wrong with being Second Master's woman?"

The second master had already given her a way out, but she was so ungrateful.

Mingyi feigned humility and sincerity: "I am but the daughter of a merchant, of humble origin. How could I be worthy of someone as high-ranking as Second Master? I would only make him laugh at me."

Who in the world would dare to ridicule Zong Xian? They would only envy her good fortune. Fan Siyuan wanted to speak again to persuade her.

Mingyi added, "Besides, I am a jinx to my husbands and relatives; all those close to me have met with bad ends. Second Master carries a grand ambition, and his every move concerns the fate of the Great Yong Kingdom. I absolutely cannot harm him."

Fan Siyuan: "..." What a sharp-tongued girl.

"Fine, since you're so unwilling, then so be it!"

Li Dan did not hear the conversation between the two clearly. When he saw Fan Siyuan turn to look at him, he quickly put down his teacup.

"Has Young Master Fan finished speaking with the young lady?" Li Dan planned to observe the other party's attitude before deciding whether to release Ji Mingyi.

Fan Siyuan then said, "I have mistaken you for someone else. The Prime Minister has other matters to attend to, so I will not disturb you any longer. I will take my leave now."

If Ji Mingyi doesn't suffer in prison, she'll never learn to bow her head and submit.

Fan Siyuan then strode away.

Seeing this, Scarface breathed a sigh of relief.

A hint of doubt flashed in Li Dan's eyes. Having served as an official for many years, he was well-versed in the ways of officialdom and would always think things through multiple times.

Young Master Fan's attitude was not what he said; it seemed more like the two sides had failed to reach an agreement and parted on bad terms.

As she pondered, Ji Mingyi, who was below the steps, bent down and knelt on the ground: "My lord, I have a young brother at home who has no one to take care of him. I beg you to have mercy and let my personal maid go. I am willing to bear all the blame on my own."

Li Dan already knew what to do, so he agreed to her request.

"Thank you, sir!"

Mingyi stood up, turned to Yuegui who was full of worry, and whispered, "Take good care of Mingzhe. Go back and wait for me. If... I can't go back, take him back to the capital and find Manager Fan."

Yuegui nodded through her tears, choking back sobs, "Miss will definitely be safe. This servant will bring the young master and wait for your return!"

Before they could say another word of advice, the constables stepped forward, roughly grabbed Mingyi by the shoulders, and took her away.

...

Fan Siyuan returned to the detached courtyard of the Li residence where guests were received. He poured himself a cup of tea, moistened his throat, and then said, "She absolutely refuses. She'd rather go to jail than come back."

He expressed his regret verbally, but his eyes betrayed his schadenfreude.

However, after meeting Mingyi just now, he suddenly understood why Zongxian was so fixated on a merchant's daughter.

Her stunning beauty and refined elegance are merely icing on the cake; what's truly remarkable is her rebellious spirit.

She is unyielding to both soft and hard approaches, intimidation is useless, and bribery is unmoved. While others fawn over her and bow to her power, she alone insists on going against the grain and is difficult to tame.

That's really strange.

Not to mention Zong Xian, even he couldn't help but feel intensely curious about Ji Mingyi, wondering how much longer she could hold on.

"By the way, do you know what reason she gave for rejecting me?" Fan Siyuan asked.

Zong Xian coldly raised his eyes.

"That girl said she was born with the curse of the Heavenly Fox Star and was afraid she would kill you."

Fan Siyuan stroked his chin, seemingly quite serious, "I don't think it's all a lie. The entire Ji family was wiped out, and even her youngest brother has been frail and sickly for years. Better safe than sorry, you really should stay away from her."

Upon hearing this, Zong Xian merely scoffed coldly, completely unconcerned: "The Ji family's misfortune stems from the rebellion of the Prince of Zhao years ago. In those chaotic times, countless people were implicated, not just the Ji family. You believe her nonsense?"

Fan Siyuan: "So that's how it is. She'd rather curse herself than go back to Beijing with you. Tsk tsk tsk."

Zong Xian gave him a cold shoulder: "Don't come here to be a nuisance."

"Fine, fine, I won't bother you."

Fan Siyuan looked up at Zong Xian and asked, "Li Dan has already thrown her into prison. Should we go and say hello to her so she can suffer less? Prison is not a place for delicate women."

Zong Xian sat upright in the armchair, a faint layer of cold melancholy between his brows: "What does it matter what she does? Let her be!"

Fan Siyuan raised an eyebrow: "Fine. Maybe you won't last a day before your bones give way."

Zong Xian: "Do I want her to bow her head?"

"Yes, yes, you don't care."

Fan Siyuan, too lazy to expose him, asked seriously, "When do you plan to take action against the Li residence tomorrow?"

A chill flashed across Zong Xian's narrow eyes. He then tossed the imperial edict to him and said coldly, "Go to the prefectures and garrisons to mobilize troops. Make your move tonight."

Fan Siyuan received the imperial edict steadily, and was speechless for a moment.

They said they wouldn't care about her, and even brought forward the day to close the net, clearly because they were afraid that things might go wrong if things dragged on and Ji Mingyi had an accident in prison.

Tsk, what a hypocrite.