Pei Jin'nian could never understand why such a beautiful, flawless face could hide a heart of vipers.
Vicious, ruthless, extravagant, and absurd were all his personal evaluations of Qin Jinzhi.
He also couldn't understand why he, who so detested her, would become her beloved.
Simply because the Cui Family's legitimate daughter was betrothed to him, she would try to drown someone in a pond.
Pei Jin'nian looked at Qin Jinzhi with extreme disgust, "You committed a grave error and were expelled from the capital. Zhenbei Wang used his lifetime of merits just to get you back. Yet, the moment you return, you commit evil again. How can you be so unrepentant? How can you face Zhenbei Wang's painstaking efforts? What great offense did this maid commit that you treat her so cruelly?"
Qin Jinzhi truly wanted to burst out laughing. This Pei Jin'nian was still so foolish.
So foolish that he was still righteously trying to save others, completely unaware that he had trespassed into the Empress's bedchamber.
However, heaven knows, the blood on Shen Liuying's face wasn't from her hitting her.
Li Momo immediately stepped forward, "How dare you! Who are you, to trespass into the Empress's bedchamber!"
Pei Jin'nian was stunned. He had never been to the Imperial Palace before and thought this small garden was merely a place for palace servants to cool off, not realizing it was the Empress's bedchamber.
Pei Jin'nian bowed and said, "Momma, please don't be offended. I am Pei Jin'nian. This is my first time entering the Imperial Palace, and I've inadvertently intruded upon the Empress's bedchamber. I beg your forgiveness."
Li Momo still reprimanded, "The Empress's garden has always been patrolled by Imperial Guards. How is it that no one stopped you!"
Pei Jin'nian looked puzzled, "When I arrived just now, I didn't see any Imperial Guards."
Qin Jinzhi smiled. Someone must have led them away.
Li Momo's brows furrowed tightly, "The Imperial Guards' patrol concerns the Empress's safety. I will report this to the Empress immediately. These Imperial Guards are derelict in their duty, and they will surely be punished for malfeasance! You, leave quickly, or you will be punished along with them!"
Pei Jin'nian stood rooted to the spot, seemingly struggling with his thoughts for a few seconds.
Li Momo waited for him and said, "Why are you still not leaving!"
Pei Jin'nian took a deep breath, "Since both Mommas are people from the Empress's palace, how can you aid and abet evil! Allowing Qin Jinzhi to run rampant in this Imperial Palace, disregarding human life!"
Mama Zhao also stepped forward and reprimanded, "Presumptuous! Not only have you trespassed into the Imperial Palace, but you also dare to call the Princess by her given name!"
Li Momo, standing nearby, angrily said, "These useless people are derelict in their duty, they didn't even know someone trespassed! I'm going to get someone right now!"
With that, she quickly left the small garden.
Qin Jinzhi looked at his righteous appearance and laughed, "Pei Da Gongzi, you want to punish me in the Imperial Palace? Have you lost your mind?"
Pei Jin'nian, of course, knew that Qin Jinzhi was so lawless because she was relying on the influence of the two most esteemed people in the world, but his face showed no fear, "Even the Son of Heaven is subject to the same laws as commoners. Although I am but a commoner, I must speak truthfully and impartially! You abuse your power, commit evil deeds. I think three years of arduous cultivation at White Sparrow Temple was too lenient."
See, this is the confidence of the great Families.
With no official position, they dared to challenge the imperial family.
It's truly too interesting!
Qin Jinzhi still said with a smile, "Lenient? How is it not lenient? An evil person like me should be locked in prison and subjected to all sorts of torture."
Pei Jin'nian flicked his sleeve, "It's good that you know."
Qin Jinzhi looked at Pei Jin'nian's righteous face, her smile unwavering, "Since Pei Da Gongzi says he is speaking impartially, then let's handle this officially. I am a Princess of the third rank, personally conferred by His Majesty. Even your father, upon seeing this Princess, must respectfully perform a kowtow. You, with no official position, dare to speak so defiantly?"
"Mama Zhao, what is the punishment for disrespecting a Princess?"
Mama Zhao loudly replied, "Thirty strokes of the rod!"
Qin Jinzhi then said, "What is the punishment for an unsummoned male trespassing into the Empress's bedchamber?"
"Eighty strokes of the rod!"
Pei Jin'nian looked at Qin Jinzhi in disbelief, unable to comprehend how the person before him, without even a change in expression, had suddenly turned hostile.
A hundred strokes of the rod, and a person would be beaten to death!
Pei Jin'nian frowned and said, "You dare to use private torture!"
Qin Jinzhi looked at Pei Jin'nian's changed expression and couldn't help but laugh,
"Pei Da Gongzi keeps saying 'even the Son of Heaven is subject to the same laws as commoners', but did you never consider that disrespecting the imperial family is also a serious crime?"
At this moment, Li Momo arrived with the Imperial Guards from the palace, "Quickly, seize this scoundrel!"
Without a word, the Imperial Guards apprehended Pei Jin'nian.
Qin Jinzhi said to the two Mommas, "Li Momo, Mama Zhao, take Sister Liuying back and take good care of her."
"Yes."
The two quickly dragged the palace maid on the ground away.
Then Qin Jinzhi said to the Imperial Guards, "Take the person to the front of Qin Zheng Hall."
"Yes!"
Pei Jin'nian had no official position, so he could only have entered the Imperial Palace with his father, Pei Hong.
Pei Hong was the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, responsible for the appointment and transfer of court officials.
The imperial examination had just concluded, so he was likely delivering the list of appointments and dismissals to His Majesty. His Majesty would be reviewing memorials in Qin Zheng Hall in the afternoon, and meeting with Minister Pei would also likely be there.
Pei Jin'nian never expected that Qin Jinzhi would actually dare to use torture in the Imperial Palace, and even mobilize the Imperial Guards!
"Qin Jinzhi, I am the legitimate son of the Pei Family. If you lay a hand on me, the Pei Family will certainly not let this rest!"
Qin Jinzhi strolled leisurely to the side, "The Pei Family, a great aristocratic Family, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, indeed has profound foundations. It's just that I don't know when these Families began to lord over imperial power!"
Pei Jin'nian immediately shut his mouth. The founding of Jin would not have been possible without the support of the Families, and almost all high-ranking officials in the court came from the five great Families. It's just that in recent years, the relationship between the Families and the imperial family has been very delicate. If the charge of 'disregarding imperial power' were to be placed on his head, the Pei Family might suffer an undeserved calamity.
Arriving at the front of Qin Zheng Hall, Hong Gonggong at the entrance immediately ran over, "Oh, Princess, why have you come!"
Qin Jinzhi recognized the person and smiled, "Hong Gonggong, you've been promoted in these past three years, serving at Qin Zheng Hall now."
Hong Gonggong quickly smiled, "Princess, you truly flatter this servant. Thanks to His Majesty's appreciation, little Hongzi has this immense fortune to serve His Majesty."
He looked at Pei Jin'nian and asked, "This is...?"
"A scoundrel who trespassed into the Imperial Palace. I'm here to oversee the punishment and, incidentally, deliver some mung bean soup to His Majesty to cool off."
Hong Gonggong looked at Qin Jinzhi's empty hands, and his face twitched.
"Then this servant will get a chair for the Princess."
He then directed a nearby young eunuch to fetch a chair.
Qin Jinzhi looked at Pei Jin'nian, who had already been pressed onto a stool and was staring intently at her.
She bent down and said with a chuckle:
"What? Didn't expect me to act?"
"You wouldn't think that because I was interested in you, and I didn't bother with many things before, I would tolerate you openly disrespecting me, would you?"
"I represent the imperial family. What is the renowned Pei Da Gongzi of the capital thinking in his head?"
Pei Jin'nian shivered. Before Qin Jinzhi left the capital, she often sought opportunities to meet him.
He would also often reprimand her for things he disapproved of.
But she had always just smiled, looking at him meaningfully.
Pei Jin'nian suddenly realized he was wrong. Qin Jinzhi had the capital to be willful, even more capital to be reckless than him.
She was raised personally by the Emperor and Empress, her favor no less than their own children. Her Grandfather Emperor was Zhenbei Wang, who commanded a million soldiers. He prided himself on having the backing of a great Family, and thus, the arrogance of a Family.
He didn't put these peers in his eyes.
Before Qin Jinzhi left the capital, Pei Jin'nian often spoke out on behalf of those she bullied.
But Qin Jinzhi had never bothered to retaliate, which made him forget her noble status!
Jin Zhi, Jin Zhi—how much love must there have been for His Majesty to personally bestow such a name.
Raised by the Emperor and Empress since childhood, she could even directly call them Grandfather Emperor and Imperial Grandmother. Such a person, though vicious, truly had the capital to be willful and domineering!
Such a Qin Jinzhi was too dangerous!
Qin Jinzhi saw Pei Jin'nian's changed expression and knew he understood her meaning.
She smiled and said, "Pei Da Gongzi is indeed intelligent. What do you think, when you become a bloody mess in a moment, will the fool who led you here come to save you?"