The reason given by Princess Qi was somewhat capricious, which was uncharacteristic of her.
How could Prince Qi agree? He sneered, “Li, have you truly gone mad? Yuaner is the eldest legitimate daughter of the Qi Prince Manor. You want her to accompany you to live among ancient Buddhas and oil lamps?”
Princess Qi stared at Prince Qi, suddenly laughing with undisguised mockery in her voice: “So, Your Highness does acknowledge that I haven’t gone mad.”
Prince Qi was taken aback, then replied angrily, “What’s the point of saying this now? So what if you’re not mad? Does that change the fact that you plotted against Princess Yan?”
“You—” Princess Qi was about to shout that it was Consort Xian who had instructed her, but she swallowed her words at the last moment.
As this man had said, what was the point of saying these things now?
Who was behind the plot against Princess Yan? Heaven knew, Earth knew, she knew, and how could this man not know?
It was merely a matter of throwing her out to cover up the affair.
“Alright, if there’s nothing left to pack, let’s go. Don’t keep Eunuch Pan waiting too long.”
Princess Qi remained unmoved.
Prince Qi, suppressing his anger, asked, “What exactly do you want?”
Princess Qi’s expression grew increasingly calm: “I said, I want our daughter to accompany me.”
“Li, you weren’t this muddleheaded before. Have you considered Yuaner’s future if she follows you?” Prince Qi gripped Princess Qi’s wrist, asking through gritted teeth.
Princess Qi let out a self-mocking laugh: “In my current state, I have no right to think that far ahead. I simply wish to have my daughter by my side, following my heart’s desire.”
“What if I don’t agree?” Prince Qi asked coldly.
Yuaner was the eldest legitimate daughter of the Qi Prince Manor. If she were to follow Li to the family temple, where would he put his face?
Princess Qi stared directly at Prince Qi, her calm facade unable to hide the determination in her eyes: “Then I won’t go to the family temple with Pan Hai. I’d rather die here!”
“You—”
Ignoring Prince Qi’s shock, Princess Qi laughed coldly: “I wonder what others would think if I were to truly die by hitting a pillar in the prince’s manor?”
Prince Qi’s face changed.
If Li were to die at this time, no one would believe it was suicide. He wouldn’t be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
As for His Majesty the Emperor—Prince Qi dared not think further.
Although His Majesty hadn’t delved deeply into today’s incident, he was very displeased with him. If Li were to die, he might completely lose favor with His Majesty…
For Prince Qi, Emperor Jingming’s favor was naturally more important than saving face.
He looked directly at Princess Qi and made a final attempt to persuade her: “Li, have you thought this through? If Yuaner stays with a mother of your reputation, she won’t have a good future.”
Princess Qi simply turned her head away, no longer looking at Prince Qi.
“Very well, pack up. I’ll send someone to call Yuaner right away.”
Princess Qi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, raising her hand to gently smooth her hair at the temples: “There’s nothing to pack. We can leave as soon as Yuaner arrives.”
Prince Qi, unwilling to look at Princess Qi any longer, turned to leave with his hands behind his back. Princess Qi’s voice came from behind him.
“I’ll leave my dowry in the prince’s manor. Let Yuaner come to retrieve it in the future.”
Prince Qi whirled around, his face ashen: “Li, don’t push it too far. Do you think I would covet your dowry?”
Princess Qi gave a cold laugh: “Your Highness speaks as if you’ve never used it before—”
“Enough!” Prince Qi shouted angrily and strode away.
Although the prince’s manor had considerable income, he had many people to win over, and the expenses in this area were bottomless. He had never actively asked for Li’s dowry, but when the manor faced deficits, Li had used it to fill the gaps—he was well aware of this.
Because of this, Prince Qi felt increasingly disgusted with Princess Qi, who had finally spoken plainly and wanted nothing more than to avoid her.
What he wanted to avoid was not just Princess Qi, but also the trampled dignity of a man.
Eunuch Pan had been waiting for quite some time, though his face showed no sign of impatience. In his heart, however, he cursed Prince Qi several times.
No wonder His Majesty didn’t favor him; he was so inefficient in handling matters.
Prince Qi finally arrived, hurriedly apologizing to Eunuch Pan: “I’ve kept Eunuch Pan waiting. There was a situation with my wife.”
Eunuch Pan quickly inquired about the circumstances.
Prince Qi smiled bitterly: “My wife insists on having our daughter accompany her, or she won’t leave. I tried to persuade her for a long time but to no avail. I had no choice but to send someone to call Yuaner…”
“I see.”
Yuaner was Prince Qi’s beloved daughter. Since Prince Qi had agreed to let his daughter go with Princess Qi, there was no need for him to say anything more.
After waiting a while longer, Eunuch Pan finally saw Princess Qi appear.
Accompanying Princess Qi was a young girl of eight or nine years old, who looked confused, seemingly unaware of what was happening.
Princess Qi, her face covered with a light veil, bowed respectfully to Eunuch Pan and said in a gentle voice: “I’ve kept Eunuch Pan waiting for so long. Let’s depart now.”
Soon, Princess Qi, holding Yuaner’s hand, boarded a carriage and gradually moved away from the Qi Prince Manor.
Yuaner lifted the carriage curtain to look back, but the road behind was empty, with no sign of her father.
Disappointed, Yuaner let the curtain fall and asked Princess Qi anxiously: “Mother, where are we going?”
Princess Qi gently stroked her daughter’s tender cheek and said softly: “We’re going to a quiet place.”