Although he had known before that Bai Qingyan held the letters he had written to the Second Prince, it was far from the shock of having Bai Qingyan recite the contents of his heart word for word without error.

The other letters didn’t matter much, but those passages repeatedly urging the Second Prince to force the palace and persuade the Emperor to abdicate—if those were to reach the Emperor, he truly would be unable to explain or defend himself.

Bai Qingyan stood up, adjusting her fox fur cloak to wrap herself tightly within it, revealing only her extremely clear and beautiful features. Though she appeared to be a delicate beauty, her eyes held the decisive resolve of someone who meant what they said: “Before sunset, if that white-haired old man doesn’t appear, the letter will certainly appear on the Crown Prince’s desk. My second sister and seventh sister… are already at the Crown Prince’s mansion at this moment. It depends on what the Left Chancellor chooses to do.”

Having said this, Bai Qingyan turned and walked outside.

Li Mao stared at Bai Qingyan’s retreating figure, wishing he could tear her to pieces, yet he had no choice but to bow his head and call out loudly: “Someone come!”

The steward who had been standing by the door holding Li Mao’s cloak immediately entered: “My Lord!”

“Prepare the carriage, we’re going to the Court of Justice prison!” Li Mao commanded loudly.

At the Court of Justice Prison.

Li Mingrui had been waiting for the old man to return and report, but instead, his father arrived.

Through the cell bars, Li Mingrui bowed to Li Mao: “Father…”

“Did you order the old man to kill that female guard beside Bai Qingyan?” Li Mao stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his fists clenched tightly, asking coldly.

With the old man nowhere to be seen and his father coming to question him, it seemed the old man had failed: “That female guard beside Bai Qingyan has such superior martial arts?”

“Are you mad?! This time, you framed Princess Zhenguo and have already enraged her! You still dare to kill someone close to her! Don’t you know we still have weakness in Princess Zhenguo’s hands, yet you attack her people! How did I instruct you?!” Li Mao gritted his teeth, lowering his voice to scold his son. “Didn’t I tell you not to provoke Princess Zhenguo!”

Li Mingrui’s expression turned ugly as he lowered his eyes: “Did Princess Zhenguo go threaten Father?”

Li Mao snorted coldly, standing with hands clasped behind his back, saying in a low voice: “Princess Zhenguo now wants the old man. If I can’t hand him over before sunset, she’ll take the heads of my entire clan! That letter is now at the Crown Prince’s mansion! Whether to hand it over or not depends entirely on Princess Zhenguo’s whim!”

Li Mingrui looked up in shock at Li Mao: “Father, could it be… You want to hand over the old man?! The old man acted on my orders! Moreover… the old man saved my life and Mother’s, and has taken care of me over these many years!”

“If we don’t hand over the old man, should we hand over the heads of the entire Li clan instead?”

The steward who had accompanied Li Mao to the prison coughed lightly, and only then did Li Mao realize this was inside the Court of Justice prison, where voices shouldn’t be too loud.

“Where is the old man?” Li Mao asked with a tense face.

“Father!” Li Mingrui was unwilling to hand over the old man. Not to mention that they had met by chance yet the old man had risked his life to save him, just the years of companionship with the old man who had forgotten his past had created feelings. The old man didn’t speak much, but would always accompany Li Mingrui when he was in low spirits. Li Mingrui had never forgotten these things.

“Where is the old man?!” Li Mao’s voice rose, his eyes full of murderous intent.

Li Mingrui’s expression turned ugly. He lifted his robe hem and knelt before Li Mao, kowtowing: “Father, I beg you to spare the old man’s life for the sake of how he once risked his life to save me and Mother, and how he has cared for me over these many years! If Father finds it difficult to plead with Princess Zhenguo, please find a way… to let me meet with Princess Zhenguo!”

“You can barely protect yourself, yet you still think of protecting others?!” Li Mao was angry at his lack of ambition, gripping the cell bars with both hands. “Mingrui, oh Mingrui! You are my eldest son. I have high hopes for you! Our Li family’s future… will still depend on you! I know you value relationships, but you must understand that those who accomplish great things must know how to make choices!”

Li Mingrui, kneeling on the ground, slowly clenched his hands.

“Tell me, where is the old man?” Li Mao crouched down, staring at his son. “Tell me and you can come out immediately!”

Li Mingrui didn’t know where the old man was, but he feared that if he said he didn’t know, his father might go search the Du residence in Jiuchuan Alley. If the old man was injured and currently at the Du residence, wouldn’t he be caught helplessly?

Li Mingrui gritted his teeth and kowtowed to Li Mao: “Father… I was the one who brought the old man back to the Li family. Since we must send the old man to Princess Zhenguo, I should be the one to deliver him!”

Looking at his son, Li Mao knew Li Mingrui intended to protect the old man. He sighed: “The entire Li clan versus an old man whose name we don’t even know—weigh which is more important, yourself! If in your heart the entire Li clan isn’t worth as much as one old man, I’ll accept it!”

Having said this, Li Mao stood up and instructed the steward: “Go tell the jailers that Lu Jin should have already received orders from above that Mingrui can be released.”

“Yes!” The steward hurried to speak with the jailers.

Li Mao also took a deep look at his son before turning to leave.

Coming out of prison, Li Mingrui, who usually was particular and liked cleanliness, couldn’t be bothered to change clothes. He leaped onto the fine horse the steward had prepared, grasped the reins, and was about to leave when the steward caught up and grabbed Li Mingrui’s reins: “Young Master, His Lordship has high expectations for you! You must not disappoint His Lordship!”

Li Mingrui gritted his teeth, said nothing, yanked the reins away, and rode off quickly toward Princess Zhenguo’s mansion.

After returning from the Li mansion, Shen Qingzhu had been restless, waiting for the Li family to send back her master Shen Baizhong. When she heard the gatekeeper report that Li Mingrui had come seeking an audience, Shen Qingzhu could no longer remain calm.

Her master, who had been dead for so many years, had suddenly appeared in the capital, yet seemed no longer to recognize her. How could Shen Qingzhu not be concerned?

Back then, her master’s wife had thought the master was dead, and within a year had fallen ill from longing and died from her severe illness.

Bai Qingyan raised her hand, signaling for Shen Qingzhu, whose arm was wrapped in fine cotton cloth, to sit down. She asked the gatekeeper woman who had come to report: “Did Li Mingrui come alone, or did he bring people?”

The woman quickly replied: “Reporting to Eldest Miss, he came alone.”

“Eldest Miss!” Shen Qingzhu turned to Bai Qingyan. “Is this Li Mingrui coming to negotiate some conditions?”

Bai Qingyan’s hand resting on the sandalwood small table tapped lightly, her gaze clear as she said: “Li Mingrui is perhaps different from Li Mao. He probably doesn’t want to hand over your master. Let’s go see first.”

If Li Mingrui didn’t act like his father Li Mao had back then, pushing out someone else to settle matters, Bai Qingyan would think more highly of Li Mingrui.

Bai Qingyan supported herself on the small table to stand up, put on her fur-trimmed cloak, to go to the front courtyard. Seeing Shen Qingzhu about to follow, Bai Qingyan turned to her and said: “Stay outside the door later, don’t go in. Concern leads to confusion, and Li Mingrui is a keen observer. He might notice something, which would be disadvantageous to your master instead.”

Shen Qingzhu clenched her fists and nodded: “Alright, I’ll listen to Eldest Miss.”