"You are Qi Shuo's daughter, Qi Surong?" the man asked.

"Exactly." As soon as the person said it, Qi Surong was sure that he was not a real sergeant. He respected the whole family, and no one knew her identity and would never ask this question again.

"I don't know what the big brother is doing to find the little girl?" Qi Surong sat on the straw mat and didn't get up.

"I am here today by the emperor's order to ask you a few questions."

Qi Surong's eyes flickered slightly, and her fingers couldn't help pinching her sleeves: "Imperial life? The little girl is just a commoner. I don't know if the emperor has any questions to ask the guilty girl?"

"You don't have to play stupid." The man hummed, "You got that thing from you, and you should have expected the consequences."

"Where did your lord say this? Please forgive me for being blunt and not understanding its meaning."

The man smiled and asked, "I heard that you were sentenced to prison for poisoning the young master of the Cao family?"

"Yes, but the sinner is wronged."

"Really? If Cao Xiang's eyes are really blind, your crime will never be washed away, right?"

Qi Surong suddenly looked up at him.

The man looked around for a week and said again, "Zhou Du sentenced you to five years, but do you know what it's like to be in prison? Do you think it's just like now, suffering a little bit of flesh and blood?"

Qi Surong was silent.

"Ordinary labor is nothing, but the dirty things that prisoners do in private, I'm afraid you can't imagine." The man said lightly, "Especially for a young and beautiful woman like you, let alone five years, it is five days. , it can also make your life worse than death."

Qi Surong bit her lip and said with a pale face, "If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and the guilty girl will definitely say anything."

Seeing her fear, the man sneered, took out a token from his arms, and said, "I am the emperor's personal guard. The thing you hid has already fallen into the emperor's hands, so you better tell the truth."

Qi Surong's face showed panic, and he bowed down and said: "The Qi family has already fallen, and there is no more support. Now I just want to be safe and away from the government. I also hope that the adults can report back to the emperor and ask the emperor to forgive the Qi family. All the guilt is borne by the guilty girl alone. Can."

"You alone?" the man mocked, "Can you afford it? Qi Shuo kept such an important secret letter privately, even if the emperor convicted him of a crime against him, it would not be an exaggeration."

"My lord, my father doesn't know about this." Qi Surong kept her body down and replied, "The letter has always been kept by the sinner."

"What?" The man looked straight at her with sharp eyes, "How could he not know such an important thing? You tell me the truth immediately."

"Yes." Qi Surong said slowly, "I don't know if you can remember that when the late emperor was alive, the sinner once played the violin for the late emperor in front of the emperor. She was fortunate to be praised by the late emperor and gave a pair of wishful beads. The letter was hidden in In the brocade box of wishful pearls."

"Is this true?"

"Don't dare to lie."

"You were only eight or nine years old at the time. Why did the late emperor give you the letter? Why didn't you give it to your father after you found it?"

"My lord, the things bestowed by the late emperor have always been kept by my father, and the sinners seldom touch." Qi Surong stabilized his mind and continued to make up his panic, "If my father is a careful person, he will soon be able to discover the existence of the letter, but He has never cared about treasures, and will only store them properly according to the rules. It was not until more than two years ago that the sinner accidentally remembered this while practicing the piano, and then asked for the pair of treasures from his father and found the letter. ."

"Two years ago? Why didn't you tell your father about it?"

Qi Surong sighed: "Sir, you should have heard of my father's temperament. He may have the courage to kill the enemy, but he does not know how to be an official. Over the years, I don't know how many dignitaries have offended. Qi's family has just been confiscated. If you participate in the power struggle, you are afraid that it will lead to the calamity of killing. Therefore, the guilty girl made her own decision and concealed the matter of the letter, only to hope that her family will live a safe life."

"Oh?" The man looked at her noncommittally, "Then why don't you just burn the letter?"

"The sinner also thought about burning it." Qi Surong said calmly, "But, after all, this thing was given by the late emperor. If it is used by someone who has a heart to criticize it in the future, the Qi family is afraid that the guilt will not escape the blame, so the woman who sinned was the only one. I will boldly leave it behind. I don't want to be careless and get the emperor. The sinner only asks the emperor's forgiveness, not to blame my family. "

"Hmph, ignorant women and children, also want to deceive the emperor?" The man stared at her coldly.

"The lord is right, the sinner is indeed ignorant." Qi Surong lowered her head and wept, her face depressed.

"Okay, since the emperor sent me here, he also intends to let you atone for your sins. After all, that letter is of great importance. The emperor has been looking for it, but he doesn't want to get an opportunity from you." The man said, "I And ask you, do you know who else holds the letter?"

Qi Surong shook his head: "The sinner doesn't know."

"It's really useless!" The man reprimanded, "You'd better keep your words in your stomach. If you leak any rumors, you will be at your own risk. As for what you said, I will check it myself."

"My lord, can you help the sinner to ask the emperor for mercy, and ask the emperor to forgive the sinner's family? The sinner promises that the Qi family will only be ordinary civilians in the future, and will never participate in any political affairs."

"Let's take a look." The man flicked his sleeves and strode out of the cell.

Qi Surong's eyes fell on his shoes, which were a pair of long boots with black bottom and gold silk embroidery. These embroidered boots were only worn by members of the royal family, and their identity was already revealed.

It's just that she didn't expect the emperor to come in person, presumably that secret decree did have a great influence on him. He doubted all his brothers, but he trusted the younger brother where his mother was. Even if he doubted the authenticity of the secret order, he could no longer trust him as much as before. Once trust cracks, suspicion only grows.

Among the several princes, only the eighth prince has the greatest power, the deepest foundation, and the most difficult to deal with. However, none of this has anything to do with the Qi family. The reason why she took the risk of tampering with the secret edict is not only to make a contribution to the future king, but also to get the Qi family out of the soon-to-be power struggle.