Qin Jinzhi felt her taste was truly excellent.
How could the Families cultivate someone so pure and foolish?
Who else was more suitable to marry her than Pei Jin'nian?
Pei Jin'nian looked at Qin Jinzhi's profile, which was so beautiful it made people lose themselves.
For some reason, he felt a chill.
The chill, starting from his soles and rising to his head, made him realize that the Qin Jinzhi who returned was not the same Qin Jinzhi he remembered.
It was as if he had never truly known Qin Jinzhi; she had never mentioned being led here, nor had Qin Jinzhi even asked why he was in the Imperial Palace!
Qin Jinzhi suddenly found it amusing, "They all say Pei Da Gongzi is talented and handsome, but isn't it a pity to have talent without a brain?"
Pei Jin'nian frowned and remained silent.
Qin Jinzhi lowered her head and met Pei Jin'nian's gaze, "However, I quite like your face. If you go to the Emperor later and request an imperial decree of marriage, I would naturally not bear to see my fiancé punished."
The bewildered look on Pei Jin'nian's face vanished, replaced by an even greater expression of disgust, "I will not marry you."
Qin Jinzhi didn't get angry. She turned around and sat on the chair Hong Gonggong had brought, lightly tapping her index finger.
"Beat him!"
From a young age, Pei Jin'nian had been trained to be the next family head.
He possessed exceptional talent from childhood; at thirteen, his painting of a 'Great Swan Spreading Its Wings' became renowned throughout the capital.
He was hailed as the most brilliant and talented individual of the younger generation.
After coming of age, he would be recommended to serve as an official in the court.
With the backing of the Families, becoming a Grand Secretary and Prime Minister was only a matter of time.
The Cui Family, one of the five great Families, saw Pei Jin'nian's boundless future prospects, which was why they arranged the engagement between Cui Ying and Pei Jin'nian.
Within his clan, even a minor bump would draw serious attention, so when the court rod struck him, he nearly fainted.
"Stop!"
Just as the second strike was about to fall, a sharp voice rang out.
A figure in luxurious attire rushed over, full of imposing presence.
The imperial guards carrying out the punishment immediately said upon seeing the newcomer, "Greetings, Ninth Princess!"
The newcomer was none other than the Ninth Princess, Xiao Yuanyi, Consort Shen's daughter.
With a round face and large eyes, she looked very endearing.
However, she was not a beauty; calling her 'cute' was a stretch.
She angrily rebuked, "Qin Jinzhi, you wretch! How dare you lay hands on Brother Pei!"
Qin Jinzhi sat on the chair, sipping the mung bean porridge Feiyan had brought, and smiled, "Ninth Princess, it's been a long time. Your courage has grown considerably. Leading away the imperial guards and allowing an outside man into the inner palace – is this how your Imperial Mother taught you?"
The Ninth Princess glared and said, "You're talking nonsense!"
But in her heart, she kept muttering, 'How did Qin Jinzhi know that she was the one who called Brother Pei over! And that she was the one who led the imperial guards away.'
Qin Jinzhi looked at the imperial guards who had stopped and said, "Keep beating him. You are not to stop without my command."
The Ninth Princess immediately roared, "Don't hit him! I'd like to see who dares to lay a hand on him!"
Qin Jinzhi called out, "Feiyan."
Feiyan immediately stepped forward, pulling a jade pendant from her sleeve and handing it over.
Qin Jinzhi held up the jade pendant. Everyone present, except the Ninth Princess, knelt to the ground.
"The Phoenix Pendant is here. Seeing the pendant is like seeing the Empress herself. Ninth Princess, are you not going to pay your respects?"
The Empress governed the inner palace, and all matters within the inner palace were decided by the Empress.
However, the Empress's imperial seal was very heavy and inconvenient to carry for sudden incidents.
So, the Emperor ordered artisans to create a pair of dragon and phoenix mandarin duck pendants.
The Empress's was the Phoenix Pendant, and the Emperor's was the Dragon Pendant.
Seeing them was like seeing the Emperor and Empress themselves.
She had asked Feiyan to go back for mung bean soup earlier, but it was actually to retrieve this.
The Ninth Princess's eyes widened in disbelief, "Impossible! How could the Empress give you the jade pendant representing her status! This must be stolen by you! Besides, why should I bow to that old woman! My Imperial Mother is the most distinguished woman in this palace!"
Qin Jinzhi's lazy expression turned colder as she said, "Feiyan, the Ninth Princess is disrespectful to the Empress. Slap her!"
Feiyan immediately stepped forward upon hearing this, but the Ninth Princess grabbed Feiyan's hand and said, "You dog slave! How dare you touch me! I'll skin you alive!"
With that, she tried to push Feiyan to the ground, but couldn't. Instead, she herself stumbled.
Qin Jinzhi stood up, grabbed the Ninth Princess's hair, and mercilessly dragged her to the ground. She then squatted down, her gaze cold as she stared at the Ninth Princess on the ground: "For the past three years, have you been this presumptuous towards Imperial Grandmother in the Imperial Palace? If you don't want your tongue anymore, I don't mind getting rid of it for you."
The Ninth Princess glared at Qin Jinzhi, then said with a malicious expression, "You're nothing but a dog raised by Imperial Father out of pity. You actually think of yourself as a royal! You don't deserve it! You're just a little bastard with a mother who gave birth to you but didn't raise you. Your parents were killed by your bad luck, how do you still have the face to live!"
Qin Jinzhi, without changing her expression, said to the kneeling imperial guards, "Keep beating him. Don't stop until I say so!"
The Ninth Princess immediately exploded in rage, "I'd like to see who dares!"
The imperial guard bowed, "Apologies, Princess, this subordinate cannot defy an imperial order."
No matter how favored Consort Shen was, the Empress was the true mistress of the inner palace!
With that, he continued to strike Pei Jin'nian, one blow after another.
Pei Jin'nian immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
The Ninth Princess immediately got up and rushed forward, pushing the imperial guard who was carrying out the punishment, shouting, "You dare!"
The imperial guard dared not touch her and could only look at Qin Jinzhi for help.
Qin Jinzhi casually pushed, and the Ninth Princess fell to the ground again.
The Ninth Princess shrieked in pain, her voice filled with disbelief and rage: "Ah! Qin Jinzhi, you actually dared to push me! I'm going to tell Imperial Mother, and she'll have you thrown into the Imperial Laundry Bureau, and bestow you upon the old eunuchs there, so you can neither live nor die!"
Qin Jinzhi glanced at the person on the ground, "I've noticed that not only did you not inherit your Imperial Mother's looks, but your brain also didn't. However, this filthy heart is certainly inherited."
The Ninth Princess was most sensitive about people saying she hadn't inherited Consort Shen's beauty.
From a young age, the two had been at odds. Qin Jinzhi was just a wild child with no parents, so why could she be personally raised by Imperial Father, while even she could only see Imperial Father after a long time?
As they grew up, their looks matured, and Qin Jinzhi's face became even more beautiful, to the point of envy.
Consort Shen was once a stunning beauty, yet the Ninth Princess completely failed to inherit her beauty; her appearance could only be described as cute.
Moreover, no matter what Qin Jinzhi did, Imperial Father would always cover for her.
She grew increasingly jealous of Qin Jinzhi.
She had initially thought that Qin Jinzhi, being fostered in the Imperial Palace without support, would be easy to manipulate.
But the first time she brought people to teach Qin Jinzhi a lesson, she was beaten into a pig's head!
Qin Jinzhi never cared about her status as a princess. Even if it escalated to Imperial Father, he would only give a fifty-fifty judgment and smooth things over.
It was hard enough waiting for Qin Jinzhi to be driven out of the capital, and she didn't expect her to return after only three years!
Pei Jin'nian's muffled groans grew weaker with each passing moment.
Qin Jinzhi slowly said, "You can still change your mind now. Do you want to marry me? This is only twenty strikes; you won't be able to endure it."
The Ninth Princess was furious upon hearing this, "Qin Jinzhi, do you have no shame? You actually dare to use torture to force Brother Pei to marry you!"
Qin Jinzhi looked at her with amusement, "Why are you so angry? Do you also like Pei Jin'nian? Aren't you and Cui Ying best friends?"
The Ninth Princess reacted as if her tail had been stepped on, "I'll tear your mouth apart!"
With that, she recklessly started to wrestle with Qin Jinzhi.
Qin Jinzhi just didn't understand why some people, despite knowing they couldn't win, would frequently come seeking trouble.
For example, the Ninth Princess, and her brother Xiao Chuan.