“Stop the nonsense!” The leading constable was an unfamiliar face, and even when seeing Jiang Ruan, he was quite arrogant. With a wave of his hand, two bailiffs had already stepped forward to restrain Jiang Ruan. At this moment, Jiang Quan was not at the residence, and among the women who could make decisions, only Hong Ying remained. Hong Ying looked at the constable with difficulty: “Officer, this matter hasn’t been clarified yet.”

“Clarified?” The constable looked at Hong Ying with sarcasm: “Someone has accused the Jiang family’s legitimate daughter of harming her own grandmother. Now there’s both human and material evidence—whatever needs to be said can be said in prison!” He looked at Jiang Ruan with a smile: “Miss Jiang, my apologies.”

“Officer, your dedication is truly moving,” Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “But where is the official document?”

The constable seemed to have known Jiang Ruan would ask this. He smiled smugly and pulled out an arrest warrant from his bosom, waving it in front of Jiang Ruan. Black words on white paper, stamped with the official seal—it was genuine.

“Miss Jiang, can you see clearly now?”

Jiang Ruan’s gaze lightly swept over the Second Concubine and Jiang Dan to one side, saying indifferently: “I see clearly.”

“Then, please.”

“Miss!” Lian Qiao and Bai Zhi cried out urgently.

Jiang Ruan said: “You stay here.”

A flash of satisfaction passed through the Second Concubine’s eyes. Jiang Dan seemed frightened by the scene before her, only hiding behind the Second Concubine and refusing to speak. Jiang Susu merely put on a sorrowful appearance. Cai Que and Du Juan guarded Old Madam Jiang’s corpse, carefully wiping the blood from her lips.

The calmest person in the room seemed to be Jiang Ruan herself. She looked at the two soldiers behind her and said indifferently: “I can walk myself—no need for excessive courtesy.”

The incident of Jiang Ruan being arrested by constables for murdering Old Madam Jiang caused enormous waves in the Jiang residence. In Ruan Residence, Jin Er and Jin San looked serious. Jin San said: “I’ll follow to guard Miss Jiang in prison, you go find our master.”

Jin Er nodded and was about to leave when he saw Lu Zhu hurriedly running into the courtyard. She looked around somewhat bewildered and called softly: “Jin… Er?”

Jin Er paused, leaping down from the tree to land before Lu Zhu: “What is it?”

Lu Zhu couldn’t worry about Jin Er’s ghostly appearances being frightening now. She pulled out a letter from her bosom and handed it to Jin Er: “Miss instructed me to deliver this letter to His Lordship.”

Jin Er took the letter and nodded: “Alright, I understand.”

As he was about to leave, Lu Zhu called out: “Hey.” Jin Er turned back, and Lu Zhu looked at him hesitantly: “Everything before was my fault. This time Miss has been framed—please protect Miss once.”

Jin Er was slightly surprised. It was rare for Lu Zhu to humble herself and plead with him like this. She must be very loyal to Jiang Ruan. As a subordinate, he also appreciated loyal people. Jin Er smiled: “Even without you saying so, I would protect Miss Jiang. Be careful yourself.” With that, he leaped away without looking back.

Lu Zhu turned around to see Tianzhu emerging from the room, her expression somewhat icy: “We act tonight.”

…

News of Jiang Ruan being taken away by constables spread throughout the capital in the shortest time, causing great uproar. Originally, Princess Hong’an had enjoyed endless praise since returning to the capital, and with a war god brother, the people of the capital all liked her very much. Who knew such an incident would suddenly erupt—it was truly lamentable. There were also those who kicked others when they were down, saying they had long seen that Jiang Ruan was restless, that her bewitching appearance clearly showed a venomous heart. Now she wouldn’t even spare her own grandmother—truly vicious.

The center of discussion, Jiang Ruan, was now quietly leaning against the damp, cold wall of the prison cell, looking down at the dirty straw before her.

In fact, the evidence in the Second Concubine’s hands was probably insufficient for a conviction. Even with Cai Que as a witness, it wouldn’t be easy to bring her down. Jiang Dan wasn’t such a short-sighted person—there must be other complications involved.

The leading constable was called Li Qiang. The patrol office obtaining an arrest warrant for Jiang Ruan so quickly was due to instructions from Censorate Inspector Hu Qianqiu. And this Hu Qianqiu… A flash of coldness passed through Jiang Ruan’s eyes. The Second Concubine was originally a concubine-born daughter of the Minister of Personnel. In her youth, she had a childhood sweetheart cousin, who was none other than current Censorate Inspector Hu Qianqiu. However, back then Hu Qianqiu’s family background was inferior to the Second Concubine’s household, and the Minister of Personnel wanted to use the Second Concubine to befriend the Jiang family, so he forcibly severed this marriage connection.

Li Qiang was the Second Concubine’s maternal family’s eldest nephew, and Hu Qianqiu was the Second Concubine’s former lover. Jiang Ruan’s current imprisonment must be their handiwork. Hu Qianqiu had held his position for many years, sitting steadily in the Censorate Inspector position, and indeed had some ability. She hadn’t expected he would stand up for the Second Concubine. The Second Concubine’s recent generosity toward the Jiang family servants probably came from a desire to perish together with her.

But no matter how foolish or infatuated Hu Qianqiu was, he shouldn’t risk losing his position for the Second Concubine. So the Second Concubine’s trump card definitely wasn’t the Censorate Inspector, but rather… she slightly curved her lips—Li Qiang.

Lu Zhu had investigated clearly. The Second Concubine had been selling jewelry and treasures recently. Hu Qianqiu naturally didn’t need the Second Concubine’s jewelry, but the Second Concubine’s maternal nephew, the incompetent Li Qiang, who had bought a small constable position through family connections and spent his days in brothels—a wastrel who had reportedly lost a large sum at gambling houses recently. People of the world, gamblers always had great courage, especially red-eyed gamblers.

The Second Concubine had promised Li Qiang a large sum—what did she want Li Qiang to do?

Night had fallen, and the prison cell became increasingly damp and cold. This particular cell seemed specially arranged—there weren’t even other prisoners around. It was empty and desolate, seemingly containing only her. The jailers had gone somewhere unknown.

Footsteps echoed from afar as a group of people walked in. The leading man wore coarse hemp clothing. Seeing Jiang Ruan’s appearance, he couldn’t help but pause, then narrowed his eyes: “The Princess’s courage is truly admirable.” It was Li Qiang.

Jiang Ruan smiled slightly: “Young Master Li flatters me.” In her previous life, what kind of prisons had she not seen? She had stayed in places even more sinister and cold than this. What was there to fear now?

Li Qiang’s eyes flashed slightly: “That the Princess actually knows this humble one is quite surprising.”

Jiang Ruan’s gaze fell on the several men behind Li Qiang—all burly, rough men whose gazes at her were brazen and lewd. One could tell at a glance what they intended.

“How much silver did the Second Concubine pay?” Jiang Ruan suddenly asked.

Li Qiang hadn’t expected her to ask this suddenly. He looked at Jiang Ruan somewhat warily, then suddenly smiled: “It doesn’t matter if I tell the Princess—thirty thousand taels of silver.”

Jiang Ruan nodded. Thirty thousand taels of silver—even when Jiang Li married, her entire dowry was only fifty thousand taels. For the Second Concubine to produce such a sum, she must have sold her entire fortune. Using her entire wealth to buy her life? The Second Concubine’s thinking was rather naive.

Seeing Jiang Ruan’s half-smiling expression, Li Qiang tensed and asked: “Does the Princess have something to say?”

“This Princess’s life is worth merely a few thousand taels of silver?” Jiang Ruan said indifferently: “Don’t you think that’s rather wasteful?”

“What does the Princess mean?” Li Qiang narrowed his eyes.

“One hundred thousand taels—I’ll buy this business from you,” Jiang Ruan said.

Li Qiang was shocked, as were the men behind him. They thought the rumors were true—this Jiang Ruan was so generous, she must have obtained many good things from the Empress Dowager’s side. It would be false to say they weren’t tempted. Li Qiang had just incurred a pile of debts recently. Though he knew accepting the Second Concubine’s business was dangerous, he also knew that being unable to repay debts was also a dead end. Now Jiang Ruan was offering one hundred thousand with just a word—how could Li Qiang not have his own calculations? His expression wavered as if he might change his mind, but one of the big men beside him suddenly coughed softly.

This sound suddenly awakened Li Qiang. He looked at Jiang Ruan with some anger and smiled coldly: “The Princess is truly clever, but this humble one is not a greedy person. This business of the Princess’s—this humble one really dare not take it.”

If it were ordinary people, such a change of heart wouldn’t matter much, as Li Qiang had no real affection for his aunt, the Second Concubine. But Jiang Ruan was Princess Hong’an. If not for really needing money this time, he wouldn’t dare act rashly against Jiang Ruan. What if Jiang Ruan later settled accounts with him safely? The imperial family certainly wouldn’t spare him. In such matters, only dead men tell no tales.

Li Qiang clapped his hands and slowly walked forward: “Tonight, I fear I must offend the Princess.” He stuck the torch he was holding into the stone beast’s mouth on the wall for illumination. In the firelight, Jiang Ruan sat quietly in the cell, her dress brilliant as fire, her features exquisite and bewitching, yet with a kind of cold, mocking indifference.

Li Qiang swallowed. He knew this Princess was born beautiful, but seeing her up close was even more heart-stirring. Jiang Ruan asked indifferently: “Young Master Li plans to kill and silence me?”

“Tomorrow morning, the people of the capital will know that the Princess committed suicide in prison out of guilt,” Li Qiang smiled rather lewdly: “But before that, the Princess can enjoy herself thoroughly.”

Kill her and then claim she committed suicide—did Li Qiang think everyone in the capital was foolish? She had originally thought the Second Concubine and Jiang Li were brainless, but it turned out the whole family was like this. However, she now understood that the Second Concubine hated her to the bone and had devised such a method to torment her. Not only could she lose her chastity before death, but it would also ruin her reputation.

Seeing Jiang Ruan’s unchanged expression, Li Qiang felt increasingly itchy. With a wave of his hand, he opened the cell door, and several strong men surrounded her. Li Qiang smiled: “Princess Hong’an, we’ll all be very comfortable.”

Jiang Ruan’s expression hardened. Before she could press the mechanism on her blood jade bracelet, she heard a “bang” sound. Sword light and blood splattered simultaneously, and the men before her all collapsed in an instant, leaving only Li Qiang.

The main door had been kicked open. A black-robed young man with pale gold qilin treading fire embroidered on his robe hem seemed ready to roar out from the brocade. Xiao Shao walked in and said coldly: “Seeking death.”

Seeing who had arrived, Li Qiang’s body trembled violently. He immediately felt only despair—the Second Concubine hadn’t mentioned that Jiang Ruan had any special relationship with Great Jin Dynasty’s Prince Jinying. Extremely frightened, his lower body became wet, and a foul smell immediately filled the prison cell. Li Qiang immediately knelt down and begged for mercy: “Your Lordship, please spare…” Before finishing his words, his throat constricted, blood spurted out, and he fell straight down.

Xiao Shao expressionlessly sheathed his dagger and stepped forward.

Jin San, hidden in the shadows, quietly withdrew. His master hadn’t waited for her to act but had personally come to rescue—staying here longer would be inconvenient.

After brief surprise, Jiang Ruan calmed down. She had thought Xiao Shao might come after seeing the letter’s contents, but hadn’t expected him to arrive so quickly. She inconspicuously lowered her left hand that had been covering the blood jade bracelet and said: “You’ll need to trouble yourself to clean this up later.”

Xiao Shao nodded, opened the cell door and walked in. Seeing the damp environment everywhere, he frowned and asked: “Is what was written in the letter true?”

“Naturally true,” Jiang Ruan said: “It shouldn’t have been used at this time, but… never mind, resolving it early is also good.”

What was in the letter was originally meant for future use, but the Second Concubine’s stupidity had forced her to bring it out early. This would inevitably alert others, but future matters could be handled as they came.

Xiao Shao pressed his lips together, coldness flashing in his eyes: “They wanted to kill you to silence you.” Not only that, but they also wanted to ruin Jiang Ruan’s chastity beforehand. Although he knew Jin Er and Jin San were protecting her, he still felt some worry upon hearing this news. Rushing over like this and thinking of the scene just now, a faint murderous aura arose around him.

Jiang Ruan seemed completely unaware. Since Xiao Shao’s Embroidered Uniform Guard had surely investigated the matter’s ins and outs, she spoke frankly: “The Second Concubine was instigated by Fourth Sister and originally planned to deal with me this way. The Minister of Personnel is not to be feared, but the Censorate Inspector is troublesome.” Hu Qianqiu had served as an official for many years, with connections both high and low, and the Emperor was still quite fond of this trusted minister. In her previous life, she had clearly dealt with matters related to the Jiang family, but had never encountered this Hu Qianqiu. In fact, Hu Qianqiu belonged to the Fifth Prince’s faction and originally had nothing to do with Xuan Li, but he turned out to be a romantic fool willing to take such risks for the Second Concubine.

“Leave this matter to me,” Xiao Shao said: “Don’t worry.”

Jiang Ruan paused slightly and looked at Xiao Shao. Xiao Shao was looking at her, his gaze containing undisguised concern. She said: “Alright.”

He could feel Jiang Ruan’s attitude slowly changing, from initial distance to gradual trust. Perhaps Jiang Ruan herself hadn’t noticed this detail. Xiao Shao’s mood inexplicably improved. Looking around, he said: “Tonight… endure it, tomorrow I’ll take you out.”

Jiang Ruan pondered: “You be careful too.”

A flash of amusement passed through Xiao Shao’s eyes. After thinking, he squatted before her and pulled out a small whistle-like object from his bosom, handing it to Jiang Ruan: “Embroidered Uniform Guards lurk everywhere. If there’s danger, use this whistle—nearby Embroidered Uniform Guards will all come.”

It should be his personal token. Before Jiang Ruan could speak, Xiao Shao had already stood up and instructed the Embroidered Uniform Guards to clean up the corpses on the ground. Jiang Ruan put the whistle in her sleeve, her eyes darkening as she fell into thought.

…

At the General’s residence.

Zhao Guang had just returned from court when he learned of this matter and nearly went directly to ransack the Minister’s residence. With great difficulty, everyone persuaded him down. Li Shi naturally cried anxiously: “How could Ruan’er be imprisoned when she was fine? Saying she murdered Old Madam Jiang—I don’t believe it. She must have been slandered.”

All Zhao family men were brave and martial, but Zhao family women were all beautiful and gentle. When Li Shi shed tears like this, Zhao Guang became anxious. Zhao Yuanping consoled: “Mother, don’t worry. Third Uncle has already gone to the prison to see what exactly happened.”

“The Jiang family people—we should have brought Ruan’er and Xinzhi back even if it meant death,” Li Shi regretted deeply: “They’re just a pack of wolves. No, I can’t rest easy with Ruan’er raised in that residence.”

Zhao Yulong said quietly: “That depends on whether she’s willing to come back.”

“Yulong.” Zhao Yuanping gave his son a warning look, and only then did Zhao Yulong fall silent. Regarding this cousin, Zhao Yulong only retained the impression that she was quite indifferent toward the Zhao family. But his grandparents and the whole family still doted on her terribly. Zhao Yulong pursed his lips.

Zhao Feizhou looked at Zhao Yuanping: “Second Uncle, when can Sister Ruan be released?”

Zhao Guang also stared at Zhao Yuanping. Zhao Yuanping said helplessly: “We must first understand what exactly happened. With Third Brother there, things in prison can be managed. But the Censorate Inspector issuing documents so quickly is rather strange.” He stroked his chin thoughtfully: “Father, you go to the palace once and find His Majesty first. His Majesty will temporarily spare Ruan’er out of consideration for our family. Big Brother and I will go see that Censorate Inspector. Eldest Nephew, you deploy some people from the guards to inquire at the Jiang residence entrance. Ruan’er wouldn’t be in trouble for no reason—she must have offended someone. Mother should wait for news at the residence with Sister-in-law and the others, so we can respond if there are any problems.”

After such arrangements, the General’s residence finally returned to calm.

…

Xiao Shao had just left the prison, leaving several shadow guards to handle the corpses in the cell. Just as he descended the steps, his footsteps suddenly paused, his eyes flashing with cold starlight.

Footsteps came from the left. Zhao Yuanfeng walked over while looking Xiao Shao up and down, his tone mocking: “Prince Xiao moves quite quickly.”

Xiao Shao glanced at him and continued walking forward. Zhao Yuanfeng reached out to block him. Though Zhao Yuanfeng was older than Xiao Shao, facing this young man who commanded hundreds of thousands of Embroidered Uniform Guards at such a young age still felt somewhat intimidating. Displeased with Xiao Shao’s attitude, and having always been a lawless character, Zhao Yuanfeng said: “Prince Xiao seems to be getting too close to Ruan girl.”

Xiao Shao stopped: “What can you do?”

Zhao Yuanfeng choked, nearly fainting from anger at Xiao Shao’s blunt words. He was at least the Third Young Master of the Zhao family and the renowned Jade-faced Little General. Now, with Xiao Shao’s words, he seemed completely incompetent.

Xiao Shao pulled out a letter from his bosom and threw it to him. Zhao Yuanfeng caught it and, regardless of Xiao Shao’s rudeness, read through it quickly. His expression changed several times before asking: “You want to submit this letter to…”

“The Censorate,” Xiao Shao said indifferently: “Hu Qianqiu concealed personal matters. He needn’t continue as Censorate Inspector.”

“Prince Xiao, the Censorate will be completely reshuffled now,” Zhao Yuanfeng probed: “I’m afraid… it won’t be that easy.”

“Perfect for cleansing,” Xiao Shao said calmly, but Zhao Yuanfeng inexplicably shivered, feeling somewhat cold.