Xie Jingxi was truly terrified, trembling from head to toe.
Unable to speak, he could only look at Ji Zizhao with pleading eyes.
His current appearance was truly, as he often described himself, like a lowly beast, humble to the dust.
The thought that such a person had caused the annihilation of the Ji family, leaving them all dead, filled Ji Zizhao with boundless hatred.
However, her reason compelled her to suppress her killing intent.
For someone like him, allowing him to live was the greatest punishment.
Ji Zizhao closed her eyes, pushed down the killing intent in her heart, and slowly withdrew her hand.
But as Xie Jingxi greedily inhaled fresh air, she raised her hand and slapped his handsome face.
"Slap—!"
While it didn't completely quell her rage, the sound was at least crisp.
Xie Jingxi was stunned by the blow.
He had never even been touched by his own father since childhood.
And now, he had been truly slapped by a woman he had always looked down upon.
The young eunuch, his consciousness gradually returning, saw his own prince being struck by Princess Ronghe as soon as he opened his eyes.
Faced with such a shocking scene, the young eunuch wished he could sleep for another few decades.
She dared to lay hands on a current imperial prince?
Was this Princess Ronghe too audacious!
When Han Jingyu rushed in with his men, he saw the silent Princess Ronghe and the Second Prince, who was still reeling from the reality of being slapped...
Xie Jingxi, bursting with anger, finally found an outlet. He looked at Han Jingyu, pointed at Ji Zizhao, and said, "What are you standing around for! Don't you see she intended to harm me? Hurry and arrest this person who intended to kill me and have her beheaded!"
Han Jingyu frowned in confusion and truthfully replied, "Your subordinate... indeed did not see Princess Ronghe harm His Highness the Second Prince."
Xie Jingxi: "..."
Just then, the Seventh Prince also entered, carrying the Tenth Prince.
Xie Jingxi quickly turned to the Seventh Prince and said, "Seventh Brother, you've come at the perfect time. This bitch from the Ji family tried to kill me. Just now, she attempted to assault me. Look at my face... it's all thanks to her!"
It had to be said that a clear, purplish handprint was indeed still imprinted on Xie Jingxi's cheek.
Of the two women who accompanied them, Ji Zixiu had been by Han Jingyu's side the entire time, making it impossible for her.
As for whether it was Ji Zizhao, a comparison of the handprint's size would suffice.
In the past, Xie Jingqi would have undoubtedly sided with his own brother.
But now...
"Princess Ronghe is so thin that a strong gust of wind could hang her on a tree; how could she possess such strength? His Highness the Second Brother must have inhaled too much stupefying incense and hallucinated."
Ji Zizhao was slightly surprised by Xie Jingqi's favoritism.
Although...
She did not need such favoritism.
However, this favoritism was fatal to Xie Jingxi.
Seeing that even his usually gullible Seventh Brother did not believe him, Xie Jingxi could only turn to the young eunuch huddled nearby, "You speak to me! Did you see Ji Zizhao trying to attack me just now?"
The young eunuch looked up in the direction of Ji Zizhao, and after a long pause, lowered his head again and said, "This servant just woke up and saw nothing..."
Xie Jingxi: "..."
He was truly furious to the point of exploding.
Ji Zixiu, seeing the Second Prince continuously targeting her elder sister, let out a cold snort, "It was my eldest sister who first noticed something was wrong, and it was my eldest sister who worked from the inside and outside to get everyone out of danger. Not only did no one thank her, but she is also slandered by His Highness the Second Prince like this. If His Highness the Second Prince truly feels wronged, he can ask us to return right now and directly petition the Emperor for a judgment!"
Xie Jingxi naturally dared not return.
If his father knew that everyone had to turn back because of him, then even if he were in the right, he would appear in the wrong.
His extreme unwillingness made Xie Jingxi clench his fists tightly.
Thinking that he had to suppress his pride and bow to Ji Zizhao during the day, and now he had to continue to endure...
Xie Jingxi was almost bursting with frustration!
But even if he couldn't hold back, he had to continue to do so.
The Tenth Prince voluntarily took Ji Zizhao's hand and said, "Fairy sister, I'm tired. Will you sit with me for a while?"
How could Ji Zizhao not know that the Tenth Prince was creating an escape for her? She smiled and nodded.
The Seventh Prince naturally would not linger either and turned to leave.
Han Jingyu, thinking he still had matters to report to the Seventh Prince, followed him out.
In the blink of an eye, the previously crowded room became completely deserted.
In the inn's first-floor hall, many corpses were now laid out, lengthwise and crosswise.
Han Jingyu originally felt the scene was too bloody and wanted to ask someone to escort Princess Ronghe to rest aside, but then he saw Lian Ju and Qing Zhu walk over together.
Qing Zhu said, "Miss, these people are indeed not from Yulin, but they are all death warriors."
Death warriors generally had poison in their mouths, and would commit suicide by poison once their mission failed.
Lian Ju frowned and said, "If this subordinate remembers correctly, the Tujue people are accustomed to using axes as their weapons."
Going by this logic, the perpetrators were the Tujue people.
However, Ji Zixiu could not understand, "If the princes were to have an accident here, the imperial court would surely investigate thoroughly. If it is truly found that this matter is related to the Tujue, then it would be completely impossible for the Tujue to seek peace with Yulin. If the Tujue never intended to seek peace, why would they propose terms to Yulin?"
This was very contradictory.
All of Ji Zizhao's understanding of this era came from the military handbooks her grandfather often brought back, so she could not offer a solution to this predicament.
"There is no need to make a fuss about this for now. Clean up this place, and under the cover of deep night, dispose of all these corpses. Tomorrow, we will continue our journey as if nothing had happened. This is the best course of action."
Since the Tujue's current intentions were unclear, Yulin had no need to proactively break ties.
After all, Luoyi was still in the hands of the Tujue. If the Tujue were to be cornered, it would only be the innocent commoners who would suffer.
Ji Zizhao thought it over carefully before looking at Han Jingyu, "What does Lieutenant General Han think?"
Han Jingyu: "..."
He seemed unable to do anything but nod.
In a short period, Princess Ronghe had not only thoroughly analyzed the situation before her but had also carefully weighed the pros and cons.
Such meticulousness...
Even he had to sigh in admiration.
He then looked at the two Ji sisters, their calm and composed demeanor in the face of the corpses.
How did the Ji family raise their daughters to be so steady and capable?
The Tenth Prince sat obediently to the side, and only after Ji Zizhao had finished discussing matters did he pitifully rub his eyes and ask, "Fairy sister, I'm sleepy."
The young eunuch accompanying the Tenth Prince immediately said, "This is not in accordance with the rules..."
Before the young eunuch could finish speaking, the Tenth Prince shot him a fierce glare.
He was waiting so long that his eyelids were almost closing, and now he was being told it was not in accordance with the rules?
Whoever dared to prevent him from being alone with his fairy sister, he would fight them to the death.
Ji Zizhao smiled helplessly, then instructed Ji Zixiu to continue, and left, holding the Tenth Prince's small hand.
Ji Zixiu, worried that the Seventh Prince, who had always been at odds with her elder sister, might say something, quickly looked over.
To her surprise, the Seventh Prince silently watched Ji Zizhao's departing back, saying nothing.
However, Ji Zixiu inadvertently noticed that the Seventh Prince's face also seemed a bit off.
Why was it also bruised?