Qin Jinzhi has returned to the capital!
As soon as this news broke, the young ladies and gentlemen of the capital exploded!
"How did that menace come back? Didn't His Majesty banish her to White Sparrow Temple to cultivate and reflect on her mistakes?" A young nobleman in luxurious robes frowned, his tone full of displeasure and confusion.
"What else could it be? It's simply because she has a powerful and influential grandfather!" A young lady in an elegant dress, sitting nearby, gently fanned herself, a hint of disdain and jealousy flashing in her eyes.
"Hmph, will Prime Minister Cui just let this go?" Another burly young man slammed his hand on the table, his voice filled with awe for Prime Minister Cui and dissatisfaction with Qin Jinzhi's return.
For a time, rumors spread throughout the capital.
Three years ago, Qin Jinzhi nearly drowned Prime Minister Cui's legitimate daughter in the Imperial Garden's lake.
The Emperor and his ministers, who had come to enjoy the cool air and discuss matters, witnessed it firsthand.
Prime Minister Cui, as the head of all officials, was highly influential; his every word and action could shake the court.
How could he easily let go of such public humiliation of his beloved daughter? He would surely seek an explanation to vent his anger!
However, Qin Jinzhi had a special status; even the current Emperor showed her three parts of deference.
To be precise, it was the Emperor giving face to her grandfather, Zhenbei Wang Qin Ye.
In the past, Qin Ye had fought alongside the Emperor to conquer the land.
He had blocked thirteen arrows for the Emperor.
Moreover, they were brothers who had grown up together, sharing everything since childhood.
These years, he had achieved illustrious military merits!
It could be said that half of Jin was conquered by his Qin Family.
Unfortunately, the battlefield is merciless.
All three of Qin Ye's sons and two grandsons died in battle.
His eldest son, Zhenbei Royal Heir, and his two sons died in battle a month after Qin Jinzhi was born.
The Royal Heir's wife, having just given birth, suddenly heard the tragic news of her husband and sons' deaths and soon followed them.
In the following two years, his second and third sons successively died for the country!
Qin Ye, now in his sixties, was still resisting foreign enemies at the border.
It could be said that Qin Jinzhi was the only remaining hope for Zhenbei Wang Qin Ye.
Out of gratitude for the Qin Family's loyalty, His Majesty bestowed the title of Princess upon Qin Jinzhi, brought her into the palace, and had her personally raised by the Emperor and Empress, showering her with affection.
As the sole descendant of the Zhenbei Royal Mansion, the Emperor showed extreme favoritism, directly giving her the name Jin Zhi, granting her a fief of three thousand households, and her own territory.
Just hearing the name, one knows it implies 'Golden Branch,' signifying extreme nobility!
During her years in the imperial palace, although Qin Jinzhi lacked the warmth of close family companionship, she received an unparalleled amount of indulgence and care.
It was precisely this unique favoritism that allowed a certain willfulness and unruliness to grow in her carefree life, making her conduct no less assertive than that of the princes and princesses; she lived a life of ultimate freedom and unrestraint.
At the same time, she was also tyrannical and lawless!
She dared to throw someone into the water in broad daylight, and even the Emperor could not turn a blind eye.
Qin Ye was still fighting on the frontier, so no matter how angry Prime Minister Cui was, he couldn't make His Majesty truly take her life.
Finally, the Emperor sent her to White Sparrow Temple for ascetic cultivation and atonement.
Three years later, Qin Ye soundly defeated Chu and exchanged his military merits for Qin Jinzhi's return to the capital.
On the day Qin Jinzhi returned to the capital, many young masters and ladies she had bullied gathered at the tavern in front of the city gate to watch the spectacle.
They wanted to see the once tyrannical Princess Jinzhi in her current miserable state.
White Sparrow Temple was a place of ascetic cultivation, and also a place of exile specifically for noble daughters from Families who had made mistakes.
Once one entered there, one shouldn't expect to come out unharmed.
Just as they were waiting to see how wretched Qin Jinzhi would be...
A majestic white horse, with four hooves kicking up dust and a long mane flying, charged into the city gate.
It was actually a Jade-Eyed Horse, a tribute from other smaller nations.
The horse's eyes had the luster and color of gemstones, and there was only one such horse in Jin.
The person on horseback was tall, dashing, and heroic.
Her long hair, tied up high with a jade crown made of priceless Nanshan jade, fluttered in the wind.
She wore a black riding hu-suit, and upon closer inspection, the fabric was Floating Light Brocade, a tribute from a vassal state, of which only three bolts could be produced annually.
When sunlight shone on the clothes, they shimmered, dazzling observers; it was said that this brocade could repel rain and was exceptionally precious.
Around her neck was a pure gold longevity lock necklace, crafted with auspicious symbols of fortune and prosperity.
There was no sign of a miserable state; she was simply overwhelmingly wealthy!
This single outfit alone was enough for a noble family's annual expenses.
At that moment, the street was in chaos, the sound of hooves and shouts of alarm intertwined into a cacophony.
"Who is so bold as to gallop a horse in the capital? Do they have a death wish?" Someone shouted indignantly.
"Shh! Keep your voice down! Do you know who that is? That's the Little Princess of the Zhenbei Royal Mansion! If she hears you say that, your life won't be safe!" The person next to him quickly whispered a warning.
"Wasn't she sent to White Sparrow Temple for cultivation? Why is she suddenly back?" Another person asked, full of confusion.
"What else could it be? It's all because she has an incredibly powerful grandfather!" The previous person pouted, his tone full of helplessness.
"Zhenbei Wang has spent his life fighting on the battlefield, achieving illustrious military feats; how could he raise such an unaccomplished granddaughter!" Someone couldn't help but complain in a low voice.
"Keep your voice down, don't let others hear you!" Another person quickly tugged at his sleeve, his eyes full of vigilance.
The white horse galloped down the street when suddenly a tripwire appeared ahead.
Just as it seemed both horse and rider would fall onto the street, the Jade-Eyed Horse made a soaring leap and cleared it.
The tripwire didn't even touch the horse's mane.
"Whoa!"
The person on the horse stopped and turned around, revealing a face of breathtaking beauty.
Delicate golden eyebrows slanted towards her temples, and her phoenix eyes sparkled with captivating charm.
Her features were very defined, possessing a heroic air like a woman with masculine traits.
She frowned, a hint of fierceness on her face.
However, a red tear mole at the corner of her eye added a touch of unique allure.
Below a high nose bridge was a thin mouth.
Sunlight spilled onto her face, making her beautiful to a startling degree!
But when her thin lips parted, the words that came out were chilling.
"Looking for death?"
Qin Jinzhi immediately spotted the servant boy hiding in the crowd, pulling the tripwire.
Her horse, Flowing Cloud, could evade tripwires on the battlefield; this was merely child's play.
Those few servant boys shivered at Qin Jinzhi's words!
Hadn't this person been sent to White Sparrow Temple for three years of punishment?
In all these years, no young lady who had made a mistake had ever emerged from there completely unharmed.
Even if granted a pardon by their master, they would soon perish after returning home.
One could imagine how terrifying White Sparrow Temple was.
But the Qin Jinzhi before them showed no sign of having endured any hardship!
Just a soft utterance from her brought back the image of the capital's little demon king!
"Qin Jinzhi, how do you still have the nerve to return to the capital? If I were you, I'd just die in White Sparrow Temple, to spare your grandfather the shame!"
On the second floor of a nearby tavern, a man appeared, laughing loudly as he was surrounded and walked out.
The retainers behind the man laughed unrestrainedly.
Qin Jinzhi looked up, narrowed her eyes, and said in a cold voice, "You did it?"
The man, dressed like a dissolute scion, said with a malicious expression, "Of course this Prince did it. What can you do to me?"
Qin Jinzhi said impatiently, "Yun Que, throw this idiot down for me."
Suddenly, a white figure appeared above the tavern, hanging upside down.
The figure was ghostly; no one on the street had even noticed her secretly following Qin Jinzhi!
Yun Que grabbed his collar and threw the man down from the second floor.
"Ah!!!"
The man immediately fell flat on his face, landing on the street on all fours.
Upstairs, a man in brocade robes said in horror, "Qin Jinzhi, you're insane! This is the Seventeenth Prince!"
Another retainer also said angrily, "Qin Jinzhi, do you think you're still the Princess Jinzhi of before? His Majesty has long since grown tired of you! If not for your grandfather's earnest pleas, how could you have returned to the capital! How dare you lay hands on a Prince!"
"The Seventeenth Prince's birth mother is the current Consort Shen; she won't let you off!"
A group of people rushed forward to help the Seventeenth Prince, "Seventeenth Prince! Are you alright! Quickly, protect His Highness!"
Yun Que lightly tapped her toes and appeared before Qin Jinzhi, shielding her from behind.
Qin Jinzhi looked at the utterly disheveled man on the ground and laughed, "So it's Cui Ying's dog."
The Seventeenth Prince had admired Prime Minister Cui's legitimate daughter, Cui Ying—the one she threw into the water—since childhood; he was Cui Ying's biggest sycophant.
Xiao Chuan stood up, enraged, "How dare you call this Prince a dog! Guards, pull out her tongue for me!"
There were two notorious scoundrels in the capital: one was Qin Jinzhi, and the other was the Seventeenth Prince, Xiao Chuan. Qin Jinzhi had the Emperor, Empress, and Zhenbei Wang behind her, while the Seventeenth Prince was the son of the current Consort Shen.
The two had been at odds since childhood, and Xiao Chuan had often instigated trouble, but he had never gotten the better of Qin Jinzhi.
Xiao Chuan said with a sinister grin, "I'm going to pull out your tongue and give it to Cui Ying as a birthday present!"
Qin Jinzhi looked at him as if he were an idiot and said, "Yun Que, knock out two of his teeth for me."