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

Pei took her daughter's hand and returned to the Qingfeng Courtyard of the main house.

On the way, she warned her daughter, "The third wife and husband are narrow-minded. You were punished by the family law today and lost face. They will definitely retaliate against you. You should be careful in everything you do."

"I know. Don't worry, mother." Qi Wan nodded.

Pei looked at her daughter, who was not wearing any makeup. She had skin as white as snow, eyes and eyebrows as beautiful as paintings, and her every move revealed a steady demeanor. She exuded a noble temperament.

Pei looked at her daughter in front of her, feeling full of emotion and relief. She murmured to herself, "Awan is even more beautiful without makeup. My daughter has finally grown up."

The eldest daughter-in-law, Zheng, could not help but praise, "Yes, mother, my sister is so smart! Not only did she not let the third room couple succeed, but she also resolved the crisis. In the end, they were the ones who were punished. This is really gratifying!"

Pei chuckled a few times and ordered, "Don't talk about this outside."

"Yes, mother." Zheng answered respectfully, understanding what her mother-in-law meant.

An unmarried young lady set up a trap to have her third uncle and aunt punished by the family law, and no one dared to come to propose marriage in the future.

It makes people feel that marrying such a scheming woman home will definitely cause unrest in the husband's family.

The main hall of Qingfengyuan is spacious and bright, with elegant decoration.

Qi Lu sat on the main seat, and on either side of him sat his two sons, Qi Ze and Qi Yuan. The three of them focused their eyes on the door, their faces full of expectation and concern.

Qi Wan walked in with a smile on her face, her steps light and graceful, like a cheerful little bird. When she saw her father and brother sitting in the hall, she suddenly froze and stood at the door motionless.

Her eyes swept over them one by one, tears gradually welled up in her eyes, and her lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to say something but didn't know where to start.

Qi Lu looked at his daughter's red eyes, and his heart tightened. His voice was full of love: "Awan, what's wrong? Did you suffer any injustice?"

Qi Ze comforted him softly: "Sister, tell us if you have anything to say, don't keep it in your heart."

Qi Yuan stood there, clenching his fists tightly, with an anxious look on his face, as if he was ready to stand up for his sister at any time.

He asked anxiously, "Sister, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Qi Wan calmed himself down, put on a smile, and stepped forward to salute.

She smiled and asked, "Father, eldest brother, second brother, you are on duty now, why are you all here?"

"The servants in the house came to report the news..." Qi Yuan told his sister the reason.

It turned out that the eldest grandmother, Zheng, sent a few servants out, "Hurry up and send a letter to the master, the first master, and the second master, saying that the old lady wants to enforce the family rules on the eldest lady."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuan dropped the soldiers who were training and rushed to the palace from outside the city on horseback with his second son Qi Yuan.

Qi Ze threw down the account book in his hand and rode back from the Ministry of Revenue.

The three fathers and sons met outside the Qi residence. The second son, Qi Yuan, was furious and shouted, "How can a delicate young lady be punished by the family law? If you want to beat her, come and beat me."

The eldest brother Qi Ze waved his hand with a gloomy face, "Don't be too impulsive, second brother, wait and see what happens."

Qi Yuan asked: "What if she really uses family rules on her sister?"

Qi Ze said without hesitation: "At worst, we can just split up and go our separate ways."

"Yes, yes, she was unkind first." Qi Yuan agreed.

Qi Yu did not comment on what his two sons said. He got off the horse, threw the reins to the servant, and asked, "What happened at home?"

"My humble servant greets the sir and the two young masters." Butler Qi came out, bowed, and told them what had happened.

Qi Lu said coldly: "Just for a slave, you have to use family rules on the eldest daughter of the Qi family? She is afraid that Qi Wan's reputation will improve, right?"

The unmarried young lady was punished by the family law and her life was over.

If he had to choose between his stepmother and his daughter, Qi Lu would only choose his daughter.

He cursed inwardly: Screw filial piety, let her own son and daughter do the filial piety.

The three fathers and sons hurried to the second gate, and the gatekeeper came out and saluted, "Master, two young masters, the upper courtyard did not hit the eldest lady, it seems that the master lost his temper."

"With father here, Awan won't suffer any harm. Let's not go to the upper courtyard, but go back to Qingfeng Courtyard and wait." Qi Lu said.

Qi Yuan was worried, so he asked his two skilled followers to wait outside the two doors. "If you hear something wrong inside, rush in immediately and protect the young lady first."

"Yes, Second Master."

The father and his two sons returned to Qingfeng Courtyard to wait.

Hearing what her second brother said, Qi Wan's eyes became red again. Her father and brother would rather be called unfilial than not save her.

In her previous life, she was willful and wanted to marry into a wealthy family and become a princess or queen, which ended up harming her family.

How could I not do my best to protect my family in this life?

The family sat in the hall, drank a cup and relaxed for a while.

Qi Lu put down the teacup and asked, "Ah Wan, you have been kind to servants since you were a child. If it wasn't a big deal, you wouldn't have beaten her to death. You also threw her to the mountain to feed the wild dogs. What did she do?"

The wife whispered to her husband, "Lan Ting has a lover outside and is not a virgin. If it gets out, it will affect our daughter's reputation."

"Who is the man?" Qi Lu asked.

The question he asked was very crucial. If it were an ordinary person, the worst that could happen was that Lan Ting be married off to someone else. How could he possibly beat her to death?

Qi Wan waved his hand, and Zheng stood up and left with all the servants.

Qi Wan lowered her voice and said, "She is in love with the Third Prince."

"Ah." Everyone in the eldest house was surprised.

"Why would the Third Prince fall for a slave girl..." Several people looked at each other, and soon they had the answer in their minds.

The third prince's target is Qi Wan. He approaches Lan Ting, and the two have an affair, and he lets Lan Ting persuade Qi Wan.

"So vicious." Qi Lu gritted his teeth and said, "Well done."

Brother Qi Ze was a civil servant with a careful mind. He asked, "Sister, how did you know that she had an affair with the third prince?"

Qi Wan had already thought of her story, "Since my coming-of-age birthday, she has been out for a few days and every time she goes out, she stays out all night."

"Her relatives in the capital are all in the brothel. Could she stay there for a night? I doubt it."

"The day before yesterday, she was on duty, and in her dream she called out to the Third Prince, saying, 'Don't worry, Third Prince, I will definitely convince the young lady.'"

"Bitch!" Pei cursed angrily.

If my daughter was naive, she would definitely be fooled by her.

The fact that the Third Prince used such despicable means proves that he is not a good person.

Pei now suspected that every time her daughter proposed marriage, she was satisfied with the match, but when the engagement came, the horoscopes were always not compatible, and the horoscopes were returned, saying, "Your lady's fate is too noble, and my son is too tall to be a match for her." It was the Third Prince who was behind this.

She didn't dare to say this guess out loud, firstly because the other party was the prince, and secondly because she had no evidence.

Qi Lu whispered to his family, "The emperor is ill now, and the prince has always been at odds with our Qi family. If we side with the third prince, our Qi family will have no choice but to fight to the death."

Qi Ze shook his head, "Then we can only burn our boats and sacrifice the lives of all the people in the Qi family."

Qi Wan said in panic: "No, no, I don't want to be a princess. Our Qi family will not board any prince's ship."

In her previous life, she was naive and ignorant, and was used by someone who set up a trap for her. She insisted on becoming a princess and boarded a pirate ship with a whole family. In the end, the pirate became the emperor, and the entire Qi family was killed.

"Yeah." Qi Lu nodded. He was very happy that his daughter had such awareness.

"Now that we know the clues, let's continue the investigation." Qi Lu decided to find out whether the third prince had an affair with Lan Ting.

Qi Wan thought of another thing, "The Third Prince has also contacted Lan Ting's father and brother."

"I understand." Qi Lu said to his daughter gently, "Ah Wan, don't worry. Your father and brother will take care of everything. You just need to be happy."

"Okay, father." Qi Wan smiled.

Qi Lu curled his lips.

He is usually serious and only smiles when he sees his daughter.

He was strictly disciplined by his father since he was young. "How can a general command thousands of troops to kill the enemy if he smiles frivolously?"

"Remember, laughing is equivalent to suicide."

Qi Lu took his second son away, saying that they were going to the military camp.

Qi Wan sent his father and second brother away and said to his elder brother, "Brother, can you ask the Zongzheng Temple for a palace maid? I want to learn etiquette."

"This is not difficult."

"I want a maid named Wu Yi, whom I met once before."

"Okay, no problem." Qi Ze agreed readily.

Qi Wan smiled. She was going to meet Wu Yi, the palace maid who had been with her for several years and who died for her.

In this life, you must treat Wu Yi well and regard her as a family member.

Qi Ze didn't doubt his sister's words at all.

Because every year during the Chinese New Year, my sister and mother would go to the palace to pay New Year's greetings to the Empress and the Imperial Concubine, so it was normal to meet one or two palace maids who they got along with.

As soon as he left Qi Mansion, he went straight to Zongzheng Temple.

"Master Zongzheng, can I ask for a palace maid?"

"Master Qi, no problem."

"I want a maid named Wu Yi."

"Surname Wu?" Zong Zheng asked in astonishment, "It seems that there is no maid in the palace with the surname Wu."

The reason why he remembered it so clearly was because his wife's surname was Wu. If there was a palace maid with the surname Wu, his wife would definitely call her and ask where she was from to see if she was a member of her family.

"Please, Master Zongzheng, look through the roster."

Zong Zheng flipped through the list of all the palace maids and found that there was no palace maid named Wu Yi.

Qi Ze rubbed his brows and asked in confusion: "How strange, did I remember the name wrong? The maid's name is Wu Yi."

Zong Zheng also looked for Wu Yi's name, but still couldn't find it.

Qi Ze thanked Zong Zheng and asked his followers to go home and report to his sister.

The attendant came and said, "Miss, the master went to Zongzheng Temple. There is no maid named Wu Yi in the palace. I am afraid you remembered the name wrong."

Qi Wan's expectations sank, and she replied casually, "Maybe I remembered it wrong, let me think about it again."

"Why isn't Wu Yi in the palace?" Qi Wan was very puzzled.

Thinking about the years she had spent with Wu Yi, she once asked Wu Yi, "Where are you from and why are you in the palace?"

"You have such great skills, why do you work as a palace maid?"

Wu Yi said: "I am from Ghost Valley, ten miles away from Dongshan. Because I was hunted by my enemies, I entered the palace to be a maid."

"Outside the East Mountain, there is the Ghost Valley," Qi Wan muttered silently.

She was guessing, "Maybe Wu Yi hasn't been chased and fled to the palace yet. I have to find a chance to go and see her. If I can help her, she won't have to go to the palace."

Another thought flashed through Qi Wan's mind, "Did she come to the palace specifically to protect me? Why?"

She must find Wu Yi to resolve the doubts in her heart.