Seeing Ji Li remain silent for a long while, Ji Muqing tugged at his sleeve.

“Elder Brother, you still haven’t said what you came to Prince Yi’s Manor for.”

He said, “The prince summoned me here, so I came to see you first.”

“I’m fine, you don’t need to worry. The physician said I’ll recover after resting for a few days. You don’t need to concern yourself with me. Since the prince is looking for you, go quickly.”

Ji Li nodded. “Alright, I’ll go now. If anything happens, just send someone to notify me. Don’t hide anything.”

“I know.”

Ji Li didn’t linger any longer and left.

Jing Yi had been waiting for him in the back courtyard early on.

“Did Division Secretary Ji go to see the princess consort?” Jing Yi asked knowingly.

Ji Li said, “The princess consort took a fall?”

“Yes, she fell last night when she got up in the night. At the time, this prince was sound asleep and didn’t notice. Fortunately it’s nothing serious—she’ll be fine after resting for a few days.”

“She really just fell?”

“Oh? Why does Division Secretary Ji ask this? Did the princess consort say she didn’t fall?”

“Not at all.”

Hehe.

Jing Yi had his calculations. He knew Ji Muqing’s personality—not only did she care about face, she was also extremely stubborn. When someone had actually tripped her, causing her to lose face and dignity, in order to preserve these things, she would naturally choose to lie.

Ji Li no longer dwelled on this matter and asked Jing Yi curiously, “Why has Your Highness summoned me here?”

Getting to the point.

Jing Yi lifted the teapot beside him and poured him a cup.

Then he said, “Does Division Secretary Ji know that Prince Rong is returning to the capital?”

What?

He was shocked. “How could Prince Rong possibly return to the capital? His Majesty has already issued an imperial edict sent to the imperial prefecture, requiring Prince Rong to investigate the disaster relief silver matter. Otherwise he cannot return to the capital.”

“But the news this prince received is indeed so. Before long, Prince Rong’s carriage should arrive outside the capital city gates.”

He didn’t mention the imperial edict that Emperor Qizhen had rewritten.

Ji Li pondered deeply. “Your Highness means that Prince Rong is returning to the capital without authorization?”

Jing Yi said, “Exactly. Although this prince also doesn’t know why he suddenly returned to the capital, Father Emperor gave a verbal decree and issued an imperial edict forbidding him from returning. Yet his actions clearly constitute defying the imperial decree.”

Defying an imperial decree warranted beheading!

Even princes were no exception.

Ji Li’s expression grew grave. “If this is true, we should immediately report it to His Majesty.”

But Jing Yi unhurriedly took a sip of tea and said, “Why is Division Secretary Ji in such a hurry?”

“This is a matter of defying an imperial decree—naturally I’m anxious.”

“Let me finish speaking, Division Secretary Ji.”

All ears!

Jing Yi analyzed: “You are the Division Secretary of the Ministry of War. The responsibility on your shoulders is to protect the safety inside and outside the imperial city, even inside and outside the capital. Prince Rong defying the decree to return to the capital is a grave crime. When a criminal returns to the capital, naturally it should be handled properly by you, Division Secretary Ji. But no matter what, he is still a prince. If this matter is reported, it will alarm the court and trouble His Majesty’s mind. Why is that necessary? It would be better for Division Secretary Ji to send people to intercept Prince Rong and his party outside the city and have him give up entering the capital and return to the imperial prefecture.”

How very kind of you!

And this chess move was indeed quite well planned.

Even someone as intelligent as Ji Li couldn’t find any point of rebuttal in his words.

Moreover, Ji Li had already understood Jing Yi’s meaning very clearly!

He was explicitly demanding that he take action.

Since that was the case—

He could only agree.

Ji Li said, “If Prince Rong truly defies the decree to return to the capital, as Division Secretary, with this responsibility, I will certainly do everything to prevent it.”

“Then I’ll leave it to Division Secretary Ji to handle.”

“Yes.”

Ji Li agreed and hurried back to the General’s Manor.

Ji Huan was waiting for him outside the gate.

“Elder Brother, what did Prince Yi say to you?”

Ji Li pulled him inside, dismissed others, and told him everything Jing Yi had said.

“What? Prince Rong returned to the capital? That’s impossible, isn’t it?”

“I believe it should be true.”

“But where did Prince Yi get this information?”

Ji Li said, “Don’t you understand yet?”

Understand what?

Ji Huan was a rough man—when it came to military campaigns, there was nothing to say, but if you asked him to use his brain, that truly was making things difficult for him.

He shook his head—he didn’t know!

Ji Li said, “For Prince Yi to know so precisely that Prince Rong is on the road back to the capital, one can imagine that from the moment Prince Rong left the capital, he has been secretly monitoring him all along.”

Oh!

So that’s how it is.

Ji Huan was still quite surprised. He leaned in and asked, “So Elder Brother, are you really not going to report this matter to His Majesty, and instead privately lead troops outside the city to intercept them?”

“Don’t forget, we’ve already boarded Prince Yi’s ship. We can’t get off.”

“What nonsense—do we two brothers have to sell our lives for him?”

If they didn’t sell their lives, what then? Should they let Jing Yi expose that scandalous matter about Ji Muqing?

He, Ji Li, couldn’t afford to lose that face!

The Ji family couldn’t afford to lose that face either!

“Ji Huan, you and I can only follow Prince Yi’s orders now. As for the reason, don’t ask. But this matter of leading troops to intercept—I’ll handle it. You don’t need to get involved in this affair.”

Ji Huan had always listened to his elder brother, so whatever Ji Li said was law.

“Mm, I understand.” He then asked, “By the way, did you go see Muqing? How is she?”

Speaking of Ji Muqing, Ji Li’s face filled with worry. “She fell last night and injured both her head and hand.”

“Injured?”

“Why are you shouting so loudly? It was her own carelessness. Don’t let Father know—spare the old man from worrying.”

“Understood.”

Ji Muqing took a fall?

That’s too strange, isn’t it?

Ji Huan definitely didn’t believe it in his heart.

“Thud!” A sound came from outside.

“Who’s there?”

Both brothers immediately became alert.

Ji Wanxin entered from outside, taking small steps. She bowed to her two elder brothers and said, “I heard that Elder Brother went to Prince Yi’s Manor. I imagine you went to see Elder Sister, so I came to ask how Elder Sister is doing.”

So it was her.

Ji Li said, “She’s fine, you don’t need to worry.”

“That’s good.” She beamed with joy.

Ji Li and Ji Huan didn’t think much of it, assuming she had just come to ask about Ji Muqing’s condition.

After leaving the room, Ji Wanxin looked back with meaningful eyes.

In truth, just now outside the door, she had heard their entire conversation.

“Prince Rong is returning to the capital?” she murmured softly to herself.

Defying the imperial decree to return!

Prince Yi was sending people to intercept him outside the city?

Her palm tightened as if she were contemplating something.

…

On the official road!

It had been several days since departing from Bingjing, and they would soon reach Jinjiang.

For the past few days, Ji Yunshu had been wondering whether she should go pick up Wei Yi when they reached Jinjiang.

This question had been troubling her all along.

She finally made a decision and said to Jingrong sitting across from her, “When we reach Jinjiang, let’s stop for a bit. I want to go see Wei Yi.”

Jingrong hadn’t told her that Wei Yi had already been captured by Jing Yi and taken to the capital. When Ji Yunshu said this, he paused slightly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“I said I want to go see Wei Yi.”

Jingrong nodded but tried to dissuade her. “If you go see him, you’ll naturally bring him along.”

“So what do you think?” Ji Yunshu asked him in return.

Jingrong thought for a moment and said, “When we left him in Jinjiang, we had already made our preparations. Now that things have developed to this point, if you hope Wei Yi can still be like before, this prince’s suggestion is to return directly to the capital.”

She remained silent.

Her gaze looked outside through the swaying curtain.

Her heart in turmoil…

She suddenly said, “I just want to go see him.”

Emphasizing it again!

Jingrong started, his eyes darkening. He quickly said, “You’d better not go. This prince worries you’ll waver at that time.”

“I won’t. I’m just a bit worried about him. I promised him I’d pick him up when returning to the capital. I don’t want to break my word.”

“Yunshu…”

He called her name with a grave expression.

Hmm?

Ji Yunshu looked at him and seemed to sense something from his expression. She quickly pressed, “Has something happened to Wei Yi?”

A woman’s intuition was just that sharp.

Jingrong’s eyes shifted as he said, “Wei Yi is not in Jinjiang right now.”

Huh?

“What do you mean he’s not in Jinjiang right now?”

He finally took out the letter that Uncle Fu had sent and handed it to Ji Yunshu, explaining, “This is what Uncle Fu sent to the imperial prefecture. At that time, we had already departed. Zuo Yao sent someone on fast horses to deliver it.”

That letter had been crumpled somewhat by Jingrong’s grip.

She took it and smoothed it out.

She read through the contents line by line.