Chapter 296 Body Contract
When Princess Pingning heard that the Duke of Qi had not returned home and only an empty carriage was left entering the mansion, she was shocked and immediately called the coachman to question him.

"What's going on? Where's the master?"

The groom said repeatedly:

"In the afternoon, the carriage passed by the gate of Prince Yong's mansion, and the gate suddenly opened. Prince Yong led a group of servants to surround it and insisted on welcoming you in for a drink and reminiscing about the past. You couldn't get away, so you had to follow them in."

"But who knew that we would have to wait until now."

The groom continued:
"I have been waiting at the corner gate, but I have not seen the Lord. I was getting worried. Suddenly, a servant came to Prince Yong's mansion and said that the Lord had drunk too much at the banquet and was unable to move. He asked me to come back and report. Please take care of yourself, Lord and Princess."

Upon hearing this, Princess Pingning immediately turned her head and looked at Qi Heng.

Needless to say, both of them knew that Prince Yong did this on purpose, intending to threaten their own family.

Obviously, after getting rid of Rong Feiyan, the obstacle, their family did not want to allow Princess Pingning to play along any longer, so they took direct action.

"This matter has nothing to do with you. Go to sleep."

Princess Pingning knew that she couldn't vent her anger on a mere groom, so she didn't have the energy to bring trouble to him and dismissed the servants around her.

"What a noble prince."

Qi Heng couldn't help but sneer and said:
“How dare you commit such a kidnapping crime under the Imperial City and in front of the Emperor’s eyes.”

"That's right, this is not the first time they have done this." Qi Heng then thought of Rong Feiyan who died because of him.

"Too deceiving!"

Princess Pingning also showed anger on her face. She stood up suddenly and said angrily:

"Not to mention that he has not yet entered the East Palace and sat on the throne of the Crown Prince. Even if he ascends to the throne in the future, there is no reason to kidnap someone like this!"

"Prepare the car!"

Princess Pingning shouted outside the house, then turned to Qi Heng beside her and said:

"You wait at home. Mother will go to the palace to see the emperor and report him to the emperor!"

"I'll go with my mother!" Qi Heng immediately stood up and said.

"no!"

Princess Pingning refused immediately:

"You are not feeling well, and there is a late spring cold outside at night. You can't stay here for long."

"This is about my father. As a son, how can I shirk my responsibility?"

"But the palace is under ban. I, your mother, have gone there at the risk of committing a crime. I must not drag you along with me..."

Seeing his mother's hesitation, Qi Heng immediately said:
"Even if I can't enter the palace, I can wait outside for you, mother, to come out."

Seeing Qi Heng's firm tone, Princess Pingning nodded helplessly:
"Then you wait outside the palace."

After discussing it, the mother and son did not hesitate and pushed the door open and walked out immediately.

Outside the palace gate.

Qi Heng watched his mother all the way into the imperial city.

He was anxious and could not wait to stay in the carriage. It was not a good idea to stay in front of the palace gate for long, so he just paced around the carriage.

Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the palace gate opened again.

However, the person who came was not the Princess Pingning that Qi Heng had been thinking about, but an eunuch.

Qi Heng thought that the man looked familiar and thought that he must be a confidant of Queen Cao.

Qi Heng was about to go up to him and ask him questions, but the eunuch just turned aside and gave Qi Heng a faint smile before continuing to walk out of the palace.

"I think mother has gone to see the Queen."

Although he was somewhat surprised at the eunuchs' "avoiding" attitude towards him, Qi Heng couldn't help but feel encouraged when he thought that it was the Queen who helped him.

"With the Queen's help, I think my father should be able to escape from Prince Yong's Palace safely."

But when the eunuch returned, Qi Heng did not see his father.

The eunuch looked at him inquiringly, but received no response at all. He just walked into the palace.

At that moment, Qi Heng just hoped that his father had returned home safely, but in the end, he waited and waited, but no one came to report the news from home.

Similarly, my mother was also in the palace and had not returned for a long time.

The longer time dragged on, the more uneasy Qi Heng's heart sank.

Because he knew in his heart that the longer it dragged on, the more difficult things would become.

Then he waited for a long while.

Qi Heng's clothes were covered with a heavy layer of night dew, and the palace gate was finally opened again.

But the person who came was still not Princess Pingning, but an eunuch whom Qi Heng was very familiar with, the eunuch closest to Empress Cao, Zhu Neijian.

From childhood to adulthood, every time Qi Heng followed his mother to the palace to see the queen, he could always see the eunuch Zhu next to Queen Cao.

Compared to the young eunuch just now, Zhu Neijian can better represent the Queen's face and act more appropriately.

Zhu Neijian left the palace, nodded to Qi Heng, and then said:
"Don't worry, young master. I just received instructions from the Queen Mother and am about to go to Prince Yong's Palace."

"It must be that my mother begged for it in there."

While Qi Heng felt a little more refreshed, he also felt mixed emotions.

Qi Heng felt extremely uncomfortable when he thought of his father being trapped in Prince Yong's Palace and his mother begging for help in the palace, while he could only watch as an outsider.

They were clearly all directed at me, but they didn't touch me at all. They only trapped the people and things around me, like a silk net connecting and tightening around me, making me feel suffocated and unable to breathe.

Unconsciously, the fists hidden by the long sleeves clenched tightly, revealing the pale bone marks.

After another period of helpless waiting, Qi Heng saw only Zhu Neijian coming back. His father was not with him, and he did not say a word of good news. He just walked into the palace in silence.

"Boom~!"

There was another dull sound of the palace gate closing.

Even the Queen cannot bring her father back!

Qi Heng felt his limbs become weak and he staggered involuntarily.

This time it didn't take long.

The palace gate opened again, and the person who came out was finally Princess Pingning.

Princess Pingning staggered out of the palace gate with lifeless eyes. Qi Heng immediately went to support her and asked urgently:

"Mother, is it not possible? I just saw ..."

"Woooo~!"

As soon as she touched her son's arm, Princess Pingning could no longer suppress the fear she had hidden in her heart in the palace, and she burst into tears and said:
"The emperor is seriously ill, and I can't see him, so I can only go to my mother to plead for mercy. However, I sent people to the Prince of Yong's Palace twice, but they were always evaded and sent back!"

"I was thinking about confronting Prince Yong face to face, but who would have thought that Prince Yong had planned everything out. He is currently offering sacrifices to Chengtian on behalf of Your Majesty and has sealed the sacrificial gates, so there is no way we can see him."

"We can't meet, and Princess Yong refuses to admit her guilt. Even if I have a mouth full of words, I can't explain it!"

Princess Pingning choked up, which only made Qi Heng feel even colder.

Prince Yong was able to prevent the Queen from fulfilling her duties fully. Obviously, the Queen had also determined that he was the Crown Prince, so she did not want to offend him any more.

What about my father?
Qi Heng was worried for a moment. Seeing his mother's grief, he comforted her repeatedly:

"Mother, let's go back home first." Duke Qi's Mansion.

After helping Princess Pingning to sleep, Qi Heng staggered out of the house. Looking at the bright moon in the sky, he felt even more sad.

"People outside the palace think that we can get whatever we want. When we look at the palace, we also think that the emperor is so powerful and majestic, and people from all over the world come to pay tribute to him. But we are all mortals, not gods. When the emperor has pain in his heart, we have pain in our hearts too."

"It is hard to describe the suffering, the pain is hard to stop. The three thousand stars in the Luo River do not shine alone on the bright moon."

"Prepare the car, prepare the car!"

Prince Yong's Palace.

"Young Master, is there anything urgent? Why are you visiting the mansion so late at night?" Qi Heng stood in the room motionless in the hall. At this time, Princess Yong walked in and asked with a smile on her face.

"Princess, you should know why I am here."

Qi Heng rarely broke the rules, staring at Princess Yong with his eyes wide open, and said:

"Please let my father go."

Princess Yong paused for a moment, then quickly replied with a smile:

Read the error-free version at 69shuba! 6=9+shu_ba is the first to publish this novel.

"What's this? I don't quite understand what you're saying."

Qi Heng suddenly pulled out a sharp dagger from his sleeve, pointed it at his neck, looked at Prince Yong who was shocked, then calmed down, and said sternly:

"Then let my corpse marry the county lady!"

Princess Yong's surprise flashed across her face, and then she glanced at Qi Heng with a hint of curiosity, and said with admiration:
"Everyone in Bianjing City said that the young master of the Qi family had the same temper as his father, who was submissive and easy to manipulate. I never thought that everyone was wrong. You still inherited your mother's arrogance in your bones."

Qi Heng, however, could not laugh at all and continued:

"I don't know how you covered up Rong Feiyan's death, but I, Qi Heng, am the son of a duke after all, and I have shown my face in front of the emperor. I don't believe you can cover up such a serious case!"

Princess Yong's face showed surprise only when Qi Heng suddenly took out the dagger.

When Qi Heng said this, Princess Yong still smiled and said:
"The young master is still too young. The reason why we invited the Duke to come to our house is not to use this opportunity to blackmail your family, but to clarify the matter face to face. There is no need to start a war and damage the harmony between the two families."

"Amicable?"

Qi Heng's suppressed mood immediately became angry and he shouted:
"You mean by peace, do you mean forcibly tying my father to your house as a 'guest'?"

Princess Yong's expression flickered, and she explained with a slightly embarrassed look:

"My family has come to your house so many times, but it's like throwing a stone into a pond, without even a sound. Otherwise, how could we let you come to our house?"

"Some things can only be said face to face."

Princess Yong said, looking at Qi Heng and said:
"I know that with your personality, you should let your parents arrange your marriage, but the reason you are so stubborn now is simply because you are concerned about the concubine of the Sheng family."

Qi Heng was immediately shocked:
"What...what do you want to do?"

Princess Yong smiled lightly, adjusted her sleeves slightly, and said leisurely:
"You are right. Our family would not dare to put you or your father to death, but what about the Sheng family?"

"He is just a small fifth-rank official. Even though the world is still unsettled, as a prince, it should not be difficult for him to deal with the Sheng family."

Qi Heng immediately glared and said:
"Do you think that everything in the sky is already in your pocket?"

"What does this have to do with what's in the bag?" Princess Yong asked back immediately.

"No matter if this world belongs to my family or not, it is still more than enough to deal with the Sheng family, right?"

"Well, not really."

At this time, Princess Yong suddenly said to herself:

"The Yang family is related to the Sheng family by marriage, but that's a bit troublesome..."

"Yes, yes!"

Qi Heng was reminded by Princess Yong and immediately followed up:
"Yang's uncle has just joined the cabinet. If your family dares to take advantage of this opportunity to deal with the Sheng family, the Yang family will definitely help!"

Princess Yong did not refute, but nodded.

"Yes, you are absolutely right!"

However, Princess Yong's lips moved slightly, and she smiled. She looked at Qi Heng with sincerity and said:
“The Sheng family is difficult to move, but what about the concubine of the Sheng family?

Since she is not a direct descendant of the Sheng family, the Yang family would not risk their own fortunes for the next few decades just for a concubine's daughter, right?"

Seeing Qi Heng still holding the dagger against his neck, which seemed to be bleeding, Princess Yong said with a distressed look on her face:

"Young Master, please put down the weapon quickly."

"If you die, the girl from the Sheng family will also die. Not only her, but also your father and mother. The Qi family will be extinct from now on, and your parents will have to guard that empty house for the rest of their lives."

"I guess you can't bear it either?"

His parents, family, and Minglan were the things that Qi Heng valued most, but now, they were all used by Princess Yong as bargaining chips to threaten Qi Heng.

Qi Heng felt that he had been bound by layers of webs and could no longer struggle.

His hands fell limply, and the dagger fell to the ground with a thud.

"But why is it my home?" Qi Heng felt that he was powerless to resist, but still couldn't help asking.

“Just because my daughter likes it.”

Princess Yong glanced at Qi Heng briefly and said leisurely:

"If a family like you who only have empty titles can laugh in front of the palace and curse behind its back, what will happen to the world?

My daughter couldn't get what she wanted in the past, but if I can't get it now, I'd be unworthy of being a mother."

"Okay, okay!"

Qi Heng had tears in his eyes and laughed out loud at the absurdity of this world:

"What a loving mother and daughter! What a loving parent for their child!"

"Parents who love their children will make long-term plans for them. Princess, do you think this is a long-term plan?"

Princess Yong smiled indifferently and replied:
"My daughter can be happy and successful, and this is what I, as a mother, should consider for her."

"For one's own selfish desires, one can be so calculating. That's great!"

Qi Heng smiled miserably:
"It is ridiculous that God has punished the emperor and caused our country to fall into the hands of people like you!"

"Yuan Ruo, sign this marriage certificate!"

Princess Yong took out the wedding kit that she had prepared long ago and placed it on the table. She said calmly:

"Once the marriage certificate is signed, your father can return home immediately, and you don't have to worry about the girl from the Sheng family anymore."

"After all, my daughter is going to live with you."

The implication of this statement is nothing more than to keep using Minglan as a threat, so that Qi Heng would forget the current unhappiness and live a good life with Princess Jiacheng in the future.

Looking at the red paper marriage certificate placed on the table by Princess Yong, Qi Heng felt it was particularly dazzling.

The rich red color on the marriage certificate did not seem to be a festive backdrop, but rather more like the blood that Qi Heng should have shed but did not.

This is not a marriage certificate, but Qi Heng's personal contract.

With one stroke of the pen, he would be restrained from now on.

I can't break free, and I dare not break free.

But he had to choose.

(End of this chapter)