In my previous life, I killed my whole family. In my next life, I killed the royal family.

Everyone from the third house got on the carriage and took the gifts prepared by the Qi family to visit the Yuan family.

Qi Fu looked annoyed, "Why do we have such bad luck lately?"

He just couldn't understand why, for more than ten years, the third branch had been able to get whatever it wanted in the Qi Mansion and had overshadowed the eldest branch.

Just when the people of the third house thought that they would soon go one step further, seize everything from the first house, and even be granted a title, their luck took a sharp turn for the worse.

In recent days, bad luck has befallen the third branch of the Qi family almost every day.

"Oh, what bad luck." Qi Fu sighed.

The third prince also had this idea.

He cursed more than once, "Ever since I took in that ugly vixen Ding Ling'er, I've been unlucky."

The third prince was bitten by the fox not only on his buttocks and legs, but also on his waist.

Not only that, he also lost a large amount of gold, silver, jewelry, and the dragon robe and throne that had never been seen in public.

These lost things were like a huge rock pressing on his heart, making him unable to sleep or eat.

Whenever he thought of this, he felt a wave of fear in his heart.

If these things were discovered, he would surely die. After much thought, he felt that there was only one solution - to ask his father to grant the marriage.

In this way, even if someone knew about the dragon robe later, he had already married Miss Qi, and he had the Qi family's heavy troops to protect him, and the prime minister's excuses, so he would be able to escape safely. If it really didn't work, with the Qi family's help, he could just kill his father and the crown prince and become emperor. Who could do anything to him?

So, the third prince endured the pain and walked all the way to the imperial study. On the way, he had already thought of a perfect argument and was convinced that he would be able to convince his father.

He received a warrant and went in to see the emperor.

"My son, I bow to my father."

"Third Prince, what brings you here?" asked the Emperor.

The emperor looked pale and thin, and spoke weakly.

The Third Prince bowed and talked about business first, "Father, I personally went to Jinling half a month ago to order summer and autumn and winter dragon robes."

"Next month, the summer clothes will be delivered to the capital first."

"Okay." The emperor nodded slightly, "A reward of 100 taels."

"Thank you, father." The third prince bowed respectfully.

He showed a grateful smile on his face, and said, "I am eighteen years old, and it is time to find a partner. I want to..."

The chief eunuch Yuan came in to report, "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Pei and Minister Xiao of the Ministry of Justice have urgent matters to discuss with you. They said a major case has occurred."

The emperor immediately announced, "Hurry and pass it on."

The third prince was interrupted and retreated to the side angrily. He decided to wait until the prime minister and the minister left before continuing to ask for the marriage.

Prime Minister Pei and Minister Xiao came in and bowed respectfully.

"I pay homage to Your Majesty."

"I've met the third prince."

"What big case?" the emperor asked hurriedly.

The Prime Minister signaled Minister Xiao to report the case.

Minister Xiao bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this morning, the Jingzhao government received a report that seven people were shot dead on the official road to the west, fifty miles from the capital."

"What?" The emperor was shocked. "Who is so bold? Who was killed?"

Since he came to power, he has never heard of such a major case.

Minister Xiao explained the case clearly:

In the morning, several people rode to the Jingzhao government office to receive a report that "seven bodies were lying outside the capital."

When the prefect, Lord Lu, heard about such a serious case, he hurried to the Ministry of Justice for help.

The Ministry of Justice, led by the Shangshu, officials and guards, and the messengers from the Jingzhao government, more than a hundred people, went out to investigate the case.

When we arrived at the scene, we saw that each body had several long arrows stuck in it. They were all shot to death with bows and arrows.

There are no markings on the long arrows.

Looking at the hexagonal shape of the arrow, it was used by the Imperial Guards ten years ago and has long been destroyed.

We asked around if anyone saw the attack, but everyone said no one saw it.

After Minister Xiao finished speaking, he paused and continued, "The deceased should have been in exile. I don't know why he suddenly appeared outside the capital."

When the Third Prince heard this, his body tensed up.

"He is Lan Jian, the son of Lan Tan." After Minister Xiao finished speaking, he glanced at the Third Prince and saw that his face had turned pale.

The emperor was shocked. "How could an exiled person be killed when he returned to the capital?"

Minister Xiao looked at the Third Prince and said, "This morning during the court session, I saw Steward Lan seeking to talk to the Third Prince, and he was thinking, 'Isn't his master in exile? Why is he in the capital?'"

"Butler Lan is dead too!"

The emperor looked at the third prince, frowned, and asked, "Why did he come to see you? Did you send someone to kill them?"

The Third Prince shook his head repeatedly and denied it on the spot, "Father, this is not what I did. I don't know who they killed for."

"What does Butler Lan want to see you about?" the emperor asked angrily.

It is problematic for a man who was exiled for corruption to come looking for the third prince.

The third prince was sweating profusely. He was quick-witted and found an excuse to defend himself, "Father, the Lan family's butler just happened to meet me and asked me a few questions. I told him to get out right away."

"I have no reason to kill them. Ten years ago, Lan Tan was exiled for corruption. I was only eight years old. It is impossible for him to embezzle money for me..."

The emperor thought about it and agreed with the third prince's statement.

Lan Tan was not bribed by the Third Prince, so he was not killed by the Third Prince.

The emperor suddenly thought of the prince, and suspicion arose in his heart: Lan Tan was exiled for ten years because of the prince's corruption. He sent his son to find the prince for an explanation, but the prince sent people to silence him.

The emperor's suspicion came from the fact that Lan Tan had always been close to the prince and had embezzled a huge amount of tax silver for the prince. Otherwise, Lan Tan would have been exiled or killed at that time.

The emperor said to the third prince, "Go down, I still need to discuss matters with the prime minister and the minister."

"Your son is leaving." The third prince bowed and stepped back.

The emperor frowned, and his thin face was full of dark clouds.

He thought: If this was done by the prince, he was too arrogant to openly execute Lan Jian and his seven servants.

Emperors all have a strong sense of crisis.

Whenever something big or small happens, the first thing we think about is whether it is directed at us.

He thought of the arrows that had been destroyed and no longer forged, and felt uneasy: Who had hidden those arrows? Did the prince hide them? What was he trying to do by hiding them? To rebel?

Being a prince is a pitiful thing.

Whenever there is any movement inside or outside, the first thing to be suspected is the noise.

If a stronger wind blows towards the emperor, people will suspect that it is magic used by the prince to harm the emperor and seize the throne.

The emperor suddenly remembered something and asked, "Prime Minister, I remember that Lan Tan's little daughter was bought as a slave by Qi Lu's daughter. Question her and maybe you will know the truth."

Prime Minister Pei said, "Your Majesty, we went to ask. Lan Tan's daughter, Lan Ting, was beaten to death by the Qi family the other day because of stealing things many times and leaving the house without permission."

……

The Third Prince slowly withdrew. After hearing the conversation between his father and the Prime Minister, he heaved a sigh of relief and secretly rejoiced in his heart, "Fortunately, the Qi family beat Lan Ting to death with a stick. Otherwise, if she was summoned for questioning, I'm afraid she would confess to me if she was tortured."

He regretted not being able to say it out loud and coax his father into issuing an imperial decree to grant the marriage.

He muttered, "I can only find another opportunity to ask Father for help."

"We need to find another way to make Miss Qi marry no one but me. That would be the best thing to do."