This has never been a matter of reasoning. If it were, things wouldn't have escalated to this point.
Now it's simply a matter of who the emperor will protect.
And Yi Qing was certain that the emperor would protect her. She was now in possession of the antidote for the Ruyi Cake. Even if the emperor didn't want to protect her, he had to.
The long princess was born with great power, but Yi Qing's irreplaceable ability also forced people to compromise.
"Humph! Compensate according to the purchase price?" The long princess snorted. "That garden was bestowed upon me by the emperor. Can silver solve this?"
"That's even easier," Yi Qing bowed. "Just ask the emperor to transfer the garden to me."
"Presumptuous!" The grand long princess scolded.
Yi Qing wasn't angry. "What does the emperor think?"
"It's not impossible, as long as you fulfill what you promised before," the emperor said as he started writing a document.
Previously, Yi Qing had sold him the antidote for the Ruyi Cake at an exorbitant price. Now he just happened to take this opportunity to save some silver.
The grand long princess was a bit puzzled and watched as Xiaodezi carried a tray and presented a document to Yi Qing.
Yi Qing gritted her teeth as she read the content. The emperor was taking advantage of the situation. As expected, none of the emperors were easy to deal with.
"Well?" The emperor was delighted to see Yi Qing's angry expression. Finally, he had won once.
"The emperor had better keep his promise," Yi Qing gritted her teeth and signed. She remembered this debt.
The emperor was happy to see Yi Qing's signature. "Sister, Lady Xiao has rendered meritorious service to our Great Jin. So, bestow that garden to Lady Xiao. This is for the sake of the Great Jin's national fortune. Sister won't mind, right?"
The grand long princess looked at the emperor in disbelief. She didn't know what deal the emperor had made with Yi Qing that he would make such a decision. "Your Majesty, don't let people criticize you for coveting your subject's wife!"
The emperor's previously proud face instantly turned cold. "Grand long princess, watch your words. The grand long princess has defied the law and wantonly smashed and looted the mansion of a first - rank imperial - conferred wife in the capital. Now she's spouting nonsense here. I think the grand long princess is getting old and a bit muddled. Someone, confine the grand long princess to the princess mansion. Without my order, she is not allowed to leave the princess mansion for a single step."
The grand long princess was fearless. "Your Majesty, people's words are terrifying. Your Majesty is so nervous. Then what I said is not unfounded. If Your Majesty really confines me to the princess mansion, I don't know what the people of the world will say about Your Majesty."
Her secret influence in the capital was not to be underestimated. If the emperor really made her unhappy, she would make the emperor unhappy too.
The emperor knew what this kind of threat meant. Fortunately, they already knew the grand long princess's trump card. Otherwise, if the grand long princess really had any evil intentions, he would be in a complete mess.
"The long princess is really fearless," the emperor lowered his voice and suppressed his anger at the same time. "I'm afraid I'll disappoint the long princess."
The long princess stared at the emperor. She didn't think the emperor could know what she had done. If he did, he definitely wouldn't have tolerated her for so long.
She was very clear that as long as her power was strong enough, even if the emperor knew about it in the end, he would be very afraid, and she could get out of it unscathed.
"Someone, I pity the long princess. Let the long princess stay in the Qinan Palace. The long princess likes to be in seclusion. Without my order, no one is allowed to disturb the long princess," the emperor changed his order.
"You dare to confine me in the palace," the grand long princess threatened. "Your court will surely be in chaos."
"Then I'll just wait," the emperor motioned for the palace servants to take the grand long princess away.
The grand long princess stood up gracefully, glanced at Yi Qing. She had never taken Yi Qing seriously before. Now she realized that she had underestimated Yi Qing.
"Once the cunning rabbit is dead, the hound is cooked; once the flying birds are gone, the good bow is put away," the grand long princess said and left.
The emperor watched the grand long princess's back and knew that deep down, the grand long princess actually looked down on him. He had once been an unfavored prince, living a life even worse than that of the favored palace servants.
And the long princess had always been a high - and - mighty long princess. If he hadn't come into power, the long princess might not even have known his name.
Just as Yi Qing was about to take her leave, she saw Xiao Jinghan walking out from behind a screen.
She was still thinking about how to explain it to Xiao Jinghan when she got home, but it turned out that Xiao Jinghan had been here all along.
"General—" Yi Qing immediately tried to ingratiate herself.
Xiao Jinghan walked over and protected Yi Qing behind him. "Your servant takes his leave."
"What do you mean?" The emperor looked at Xiao Jinghan. "You don't believe what she said, do you?"
"No."
"Then what?" The emperor thought there was nothing else.
"Making pills is very tiring," Xiao Jinghan said with a gloomy face.
He knew that Yi Qing liked to make money. She had finally got a big order, but now it was gone. She must be unhappy.
The emperor was speechless. "Do you know how much that garden is worth? In the end, it's me who loses out."
"Does the emperor need to calculate the price to see if he's losing money when bestowing something?" Xiao Jinghan retorted.
The emperor was left speechless. "Get out, get out, get out! You two get out quickly." He felt he couldn't reason with them.
"The house deed and land deed," Yi Qing reminded.
"I'll send someone to your mansion later," the emperor now felt bloated in the stomach and had a pain in his chest.
Only then did Yi Qing leave happily, and her steps were a bit lighter.
"Do you like that garden?" Xiao Jinghan looked at Yi Qing.
"It doesn't really matter whether it's the garden or not. The main thing is that the long princess has been locked up. We'll have a peaceful life from now on," Yi Qing was secretly happy. The long princess was locked up this time. She probably would never come out again.
There was a cold glint in Xiao Jinghan's eyes. The long princess dared to say such things about Yi Qing. He would make sure that there would be no more grand long princess in the Great Jin.
Yi Qing thought she could finally have a peaceful life, but early in the morning, Qin Qian came to the Xiao Mansion and asked Yi Qing to plead with the emperor to release the long princess.
"Yi Qing, my mother is a royal long princess. Her status is extremely noble. Your Xiao Mansion has only received a little favor from the emperor. One day when my mother is released, she will surely settle this score. You'd better atone for your sins now. I'll put in a good word for you then," Qin Qian threatened.
When Yi Qing first met Qin Qian, she didn't think Qin Qian was a fool. But now she wondered why she seemed so stupid.
"You mean you want me to plead with the emperor to release the long princess so that she can come and settle the score with me? Is it you who's crazy or me?" Yi Qing mocked.
"I'm giving you a chance to atone for your sins. If you don't cherish it, don't blame me for being rude later."
"If that really happens, don't stand on ceremony," Yi Qing said seriously. "Let me really experience the fear of being dominated by the long princess."
"You—" Qin Qian pointed at Yi Qing.
"Do you not want that finger anymore?" Xue Miao'er bravely stood in front of Yi Qing.
"You...," Qin Qian was about to scold.
Xiao Duo took out his whip and played with it. Usually, he thought going to school was quite boring. Now that there was no one for him to beat, he thought it was even more boring. He began to understand Sister Miao'er's loneliness.
"You... you all...," Qin Qian was so angry that her chest heaved. She didn't know what to say.