Chapter 156

Cui Guogong stood out and recounted what had just happened, then added, "Actually, when the bet was made just now, I felt it was inappropriate and tried to persuade them. Unfortunately, they insisted on not backing down. Now, Prince Chaolan has been found. Although I don't know why you acted this way, she is a dignified Prince after all; you must give an explanation, right?"

"Big Brother!" As soon as Li Xiu saw Li Guogong, he seemed to have found his backbone and even tried to invert black and white, "Actually, that was just a joke; I didn't expect the Crown Prince to take it seriously."

Cui Guogong was very dissatisfied with this explanation: "We are all witnesses; it was clearly a gentleman's bet. How can you speak nonsense and treat it as a joke? The sons of noble aristocratic families have always honored their promises. But it's no wonder; Second Master Li, you are a son of a concubine after all, and cannot compare to the upbringing of a legitimate son."

"Cui Guogong, you!" Li Xiu was very angry. He had been raised at the knees of his legitimate mother since childhood, and no one in the Li family dared to mention his status as a son of a concubine. Now that he was pointed out in public by Cui Guogong, he was naturally both ashamed and annoyed.

Li Guogong gave a look to appease his brother, and only then did he speak:

"Our Guogong Mansion has been attacked by assassins many times before. For the safety of the family members in the mansion, we set up some traps and mechanisms. I suppose Prince Chaolan must have accidentally triggered a mechanism and was locked in the underground space. This was originally just a misunderstanding!"

"Another day, after I recover from my illness, I will personally visit to apologize. In the future, if Prince Chaolan comes to visit the Guogong Mansion, she can feel free to reveal her identity, and the entire Guogong Mansion will surely welcome her warmly; there will never be another accident!"

These words not only easily characterized Lin Qingyue's encounter with danger as an accident.

They even implied that she had caused the accident herself by hiding her identity and trespassing into the Guogong Mansion.

"As for that bet..."

He chuckled and continued, "A gentleman's agreement naturally cannot be broken. But as an elder brother, I cannot just watch my brother lose his life. How about using ten prosperous shops on the East Main Street as a 'copper redemption'?"

The laws of Qi have a provision: when nobles commit crimes, except for those who have committed heinous acts, they can generally pay money to offset their crimes, which is called "copper redemption."

This rule is obviously unfair to those at the bottom, but the nobles are the ones who make the laws, so they had long ago left a way out for themselves.

This move by Li Guogong not only saved Li Xiu but also avoided the reputation of being treacherous.

Sure enough, ginger is still spicier when it's old.

Dongfang Qi said, "Since it was Prince Chaolan who was frightened, whether she is willing to accept the copper redemption still requires asking for her opinion."

Lin Qingyue woke up at the perfect moment, supported her forehead, and said weakly, "This Prince just now, did I seem to hear 'copper redemption'?"

Li Guogong said, "Prince Chaolan did not hear wrong."

Thus, he repeated the previous proposal again. Fearing that Lin Qingyue would not agree, Li Guogong added, "Each of the prosperous shops on the East Main Street is worth more than fifty thousand coins, so ten of them would be five hundred thousand coins."

Lin Qingyue smiled so wide her teeth were showing: "Fine, deal!"

Dongfang Qi was so amused by her greedy appearance that he laughed secretly in his heart and raised his voice, "Someone, take the land deeds for the shops and help Prince Chaolan process the transfer!"

Process the transfer immediately? Was this a bit too urgent?

However, since the Crown Prince had already spoken, it could be considered as saving his brother's life. Thus, Li Guogong did not delay and ordered his steward to retrieve the land deeds and cooperate with the Crown Prince's men to process the transfer.

With the matter resolved, Li Guogong breathed a sigh of relief and began to pretend to be weak again: "This body is really uncooperative; I started feeling dizzy and blurred after being out for a while. I really cannot entertain guests; please, everyone, forgive me!"

This was a signal to send the guests away.

The Crown Prince rarely comes, but once he does, he causes so much trouble; Li Guogong was naturally unhappy in his heart.

But then he heard Dongfang Qi suddenly say, "By the way, what kind of treasure was the thing dug up just now? This Palace is truly curious; Second Master Li, why don't you open it and take a look?"

Only then did Li Xiu remember that he had been holding a wooden box in his hand the whole time. Being suddenly asked by the Crown Prince, he inexplicably felt a bad premonition.

Just as he was about to decline, the item in his hand was suddenly snatched away, and in the blink of an eye, it was in Lin Qingyue's hands.

She looked at it curiously: "This box looks very exquisite, but it's covered in quite a bit of dirt; where was it obtained?"

Dongfang Qi explained, "Just now, in order to save you, we shoveled up the Guogong Mansion's flower bed, and this thing was dug out from the soil."

Lin Qingyue looked innocent, her eyes full of curiosity: "Buried so secretly, could it be some rare treasure?"

While speaking, she deliberately let her hand slip, and the small wooden box fell to the ground.

"Bang!" The box shattered, and a blood-red precious jade rolled out from inside, rolling exactly to the feet of Cui Guogong.

This is, red jade!

Li Guogong's complexion changed instantly.

Cui Guogong picked up the red jade and clicked his tongue in wonder: "Is this some kind of jade? The color is bright red, the texture is transparent; it's truly beautiful!"

Dongfang Qi said indifferently, "Cui Guogong, you may not know that this is called red jade. It was originally pure, flawless white jade, sewn into the chest cavity of a young girl, and by nourishing the jade with blood, year after year, it can finally cultivate such a beautiful jade with a color like blood."

"Could this be the red jade from the Donglin Prefecture case?" Although Cui Guogong had never seen it before, the Donglin Prefecture case had caused a huge stir, so he had naturally heard of it.

The case was still under investigation, but that red jade had already been classified as an evil jade, and all of it had been confiscated and sealed, not allowed to circulate outside to avoid causing further tragedies.

Thus, at this moment, Cui Guogong suddenly felt that the jade in his hand had become a hot potato. Just as he was about to put it back on the ground, he suddenly discovered something.

"Eh, there are words carved on the bottom. It's a seal..." But when he saw the words carved on the seal clearly, his hand shook, and the red jade fell.

Dongfang Qi was quick-eyed and fast-handed, catching the jade. He took a closer look and also revealed a look of astonishment: "'Received from Heaven, may it last forever'? These are the words carved on the Imperial Seal; how could they be carved on..."

He was instantly furious and shouted, "Audacious Li family, privately carving the Imperial Seal is a crime of treason!"

Li Guogong fell directly from the sedan chair, shouting in a panic: "This is not something from the Li family! Framing, this must be framing! Your Highness the Crown Prince, please see clearly!"

Li Xiu also explained in a panic: "Our Li family has always been loyal and is a model for aristocratic families. It is absolutely impossible for us to do something so rebellious!"

Dongfang Qi's eyes turned cold, and the mildness he had when he was ignored by the Li family earlier vanished completely.

"The red jade was created by your Li family, and it was just dug out from the Li family under the eyes of everyone, and it was locked when it was unearthed. Afterward, it has been held in Second Master Li's hand the whole time, without passing through anyone else's hands. Who could frame you? Could it be that you staged this yourselves?"