Chapter 176: Ambiguity

The noble sons nearby, when had they ever seen such cruel methods?

Each one was trembling all over, no longer daring to clamor about submitting a memorial to impeach her.

Lin Qingyue said coldly: "Are you awake? If you are still not awake, this Princess can scrap another one of your legs!"

At this moment, Feng Ying looked at Lin Qingyue's face as if he had seen a living Yama.

"Spare, spare my life!"

"I want to know the origin of Yan Qiu'er. If you dare to have a single word of falsehood, this Princess will let you know what it means to be unable to live and unable to die!" As she spoke, she pressed down hard with her toe.

Feng Ying gasped in pain, seeing Lin Qingyue about to step down a second time.

Feng Ying hurriedly shouted: "I'll say, I'll say! Don't step, I beg you, don't step anymore!"

The guards of the Xuanjing Division were all shocked by Lin Qingyue's ruthless appearance at this moment:

"How did Deputy Envoy Lin seem to have changed into a different person? Hiss, the bone was crushed!"

"And it's the right hand; I guess this Libationer will never be able to hold a pen again."

"I actually think it's quite satisfying. Ptooey, serves him right!"

Under Lin Qingyue's violent oppression, Feng Ying confessed everything about Yan Qiu'er truthfully.

Yan Qiu'er was a concubine Feng Ying had married back a year ago.

She was originally an orphan, and just as she was selling herself to bury her father, she happened to meet Feng Ying, who was out, and he married her home as a concubine.

Because she was young and beautiful, Yan Qiu'er was very favored by Feng Ying after entering the mansion, and he even did not remarry a legal wife for her sake.

Therefore, although Yan Qiu'er was a concubine, she had the status of a mistress in the Feng family.

The manager of Tianxiang Lou was also a person promoted by Yan Qiu'er single-handedly.

About a month ago, Yan Qiu'er began to send corpses to the ice cellar of Tianxiang Lou one after another.

Although the manager was startled, he could only obey the master's orders and help cover it up.

"I thought it was just hiding a few corpses, I didn't know what kind of insects were being raised. I'm just a servant, taking money to do things for others, I don't know anything!"

The matter was of great importance, and Xie Shouzheng ordered everyone at Tianxiang Lou, including Feng Ying, to be detained in the Xuanjing Division, waiting for investigation.

To prevent Yan Qiu'er from escaping, Lin Qingyue took people to the Feng family without stopping, breaking in directly with the status of a Princess to arrest the criminal.

Unfortunately, she was still a step late, and Yan Qiu'er's whereabouts were unknown.

However, in the brazier in her room, half a page of an unburned letter was found.

Xie Shouzheng saw at a glance that it was the script of the Feng Kingdom.

Western Suburb Barracks of the Jingcheng.

They were currently accepting the Crown Prince's inspection, and incidentally showing the Feng Kingdom's prince the demeanor of the Qi Guo's soldiers.

Although the Central Plains dynasty was in a peaceful period and would not start a war at will.

But surface harmony did not mean forever. When necessary, the Qi Guo also needed to show its military strength to deter the other side.

At this moment, Dongfang Qi had changed from his usual scholarly attire into military armor, his posture upright and heroic.

He stood on the high inspection platform, and after the drill below ended, he said loudly: "Soldiers, you have worked hard!"

The three armies raised their swords and halberds, shouting in unison: "Guard our territory, no regrets even in death; protect our people, never defeated in a hundred battles!"

Prince Ling Zhen praised sincerely: "Indeed a tiger and wolf army, not bad, not bad..."

But in his heart, he was secretly calculating: if the Qi Guo's army and the Feng Kingdom's army were to clash, who would win?

Although the Qi and Feng kingdoms had maintained peace for many years, all the surface calm was to cover up the surging undercurrents.

Only when the national strength was strong enough could "peace" not be empty talk.

Dongfang Qi naturally understood this truth. The drill arranged today was to show the might of the Qi Guo's army without revealing all of his own side's bottom line.

When he spoke with Ling Zhen, there was both secret competition and the friendship of host and guest.

Even when eating, there were various exchanges of words, with their minds elsewhere, unable to taste the deliciousness of the food at all.

Dongfang Qi couldn't help but think of the few meals he had eaten at Lin Qingyue's house. Even though the chef at Lan Yuan was arranged by him, he didn't know why those meals were particularly relaxed and delicious.

Or perhaps it had nothing to do with the food, but who he was eating with?

After finishing the military talk, Prince Ling Zhen changed the subject and said: "By the way, Your Highness the Crown Prince. I have traveled all the way through your Qi Guo, and apart from Buddhism and Taoism, I have not seen any other sects."

Dongfang Qi said: "Our Qi Guo does not advocate that the people worship gods too much. Apart from Buddhism and Taoism, which have a long history and have been passed down to this day, we do not allow the private establishment of other sects among the people."

Ling Zhen asked again: "Has Your Highness heard of the Guiyuan Sect?"

Dongfang Qi shook his head: "Never."

Ling Zhen said: "The Guiyuan Sect was spread from the Guifang Kingdom in the Western Regions. Inside the sect, they only worship a 'Guiyuan Great God.' It is said that the Guifang Kingdom was originally the weakest of the 26 countries in the Western Regions, but since they started worshipping the Guiyuan Great God, their national strength has gradually increased. Now they have successively annexed seven countries in the Western Regions and even have the intention to invade the Central Plains."

Dongfang Qi was quite surprised to hear this: "Is this true?"

Ling Zhen nodded: "Naturally true! Our Feng Kingdom borders the Western Regions. A while ago, we discovered that there were already members of the Guiyuan Sect coming to our Feng Kingdom to preach, and they even opened branches."

"We have been on good terms with the Guifang Kingdom for many years, so it is not easy to take action on the surface, and we can only secretly purge them. So this time, I brought the news, hoping that Your Highness the Crown Prince will attach importance to it. The three countries of the Central Plains rely on each other and should be of one mind."

Dongfang Qi said: "It should be so. After today, I will also send people to thoroughly investigate the people to avoid invasion by foreign sects."

After the meal, Dongfang Qi and Ling Zhen rode out of the Western Suburb Barracks together and returned to the Jingcheng.

At this time, Ling Zhen said to Dongfang Qi: "Not far ahead is the Honglu Temple, Your Highness the Crown Prince need not send me further."

Dongfang Qi bowed: "Safe journey, First Prince. Tomorrow I will go to the Honglu Temple to meet you again."

When Lin Qingyue found Dongfang Qi in a hurry, she hurriedly jumped off her horse. She didn't care about the public eye or the separation of men and women, pulling him off the horse and holding his wrist to carefully check his physical condition.

Dongfang Qi had not seen Lin Qingyue for several days and had been looking for an opportunity to talk to her again.

Unexpectedly, she took the initiative to find him, and started touching him as soon as she came up.

Dongfang Qi blushed a little: "What are you doing?"

Lin Qingyue breathed a sigh of relief: "Fortunately, you are unharmed."

As she said this, her fingers were about to let go, but were grabbed back by him: "Explain yourself! In public, what is the meaning of this?"

It was only then that Lin Qingyue realized that she and Dongfang Qi were standing very close, almost sticking together, and her hand was also tightly held by him. She flicked it, but it didn't come loose.

The man who was once as gentle as jade was now in military armor, heroic and imposing, and the gentle breath he exhaled when speaking lingered in her ears, carrying a bit of ambiguous and dangerous aura. ===== CHAPTER 177 =====