Reborn, the daughter of the Marquisate went crazy

The room suddenly became quiet. The three people's eyes met, and in a flash they understood each other.

Jiang Zhong's face turned ashen, and veins on his forehead throbbed faintly. He slammed his palm on the table and shouted sternly, "Nonsense!"

He suddenly raised his head and said in a cold voice, "Yu'er, you personally take people and bring those two ignorant and rebellious sons into the mansion immediately!"

Soon, Jiang Lingfeng and Jiang Lingji knelt dejectedly on the bluestone slab outside the study, with a white-browed tiger lying beside them. Although the tiger was already dead, its bloody mouth was still open, its claws like hooks, and it exuded a terrifying murderous aura.

Jiang Zhong stood in the corridor with his hands behind his back. When he heard that the two men had actually carried the beast through the streets, circling three streets, he was immediately furious, his knuckles turning white. "Evil creature! Tell the truth!"

Jiang Lingfeng lowered his head even more, his voice as thin as a mosquito: "That day... That day, I overheard my grandfather instructing Uncle Cheng to send people to Lijia Village to investigate the tiger's tracks. We thought it was novel, so we secretly followed them."

Jiang Lingji's throat churned as he continued, "We lay in ambush in the woods outside the village for a day and a night. In the middle of the night, we heard screams coming from a house. We rushed over with our guns drawn, and sure enough, we saw a ferocious tiger."

He grew increasingly excited as he spoke, gesturing unconsciously. "That beast was over ten feet long, with sharp fangs. It could break a tree as thick as a bowl with a single claw! My second brother and I fought it for hundreds of rounds, until it gradually wore out. Finally, my grandson pierced its throat with a spear!"

Seeing his grandfather's face grow increasingly gloomy, Jiang Lingji lowered his voice, but still stiffened his neck as he spoke: "That villager was only frightened, not even a scratch. Now the whole village regards us as heroes and even says they'll erect a longevity tablet for us."

Seeing that Jiang Lingji still showed no remorse, Jiang Zhong's eyes shone even colder. He said in a deep voice, "Feng'er, tell me, where exactly did you go wrong?"

Jiang Lingfeng shuddered, beads of sweat oozing from his forehead. "Grandfather, your grandchildren shouldn't have left the house without permission. And they certainly shouldn't have carried the tiger's carcass through the streets, causing a commotion throughout the city."

Jiang Zhong snorted coldly and asked, "What else?"

The two brothers looked at each other, both bewildered.

Jiang Zhong turned his gaze towards Xie Qingli, who was standing quietly beside him. The stern expression on his face softened slightly. "Li'er, you go ahead and speak."

Xie Qingli smiled softly, "My two cousins, what makes Grandfather most angry is that you disregard your own safety. Although you are both very skilled, if you encounter such danger again next time, you should at least bring some capable guards with you to save the elders at home from worrying day and night."

Jiang Zhong nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Since you are so ignorant of the seriousness of the matter, I will punish you by making you copy the 'Nine Abyss Military Strategy' a hundred times and hand it in for inspection in three days."

The two brothers turned pale upon hearing this. This kind of literary punishment was a hundred times more difficult to endure than standing in horse stance for three days in the martial arts training ground.

Jiang Zhong stared at the now-dead white-browed tiger in the courtyard, his eyes gleaming. He had long believed Xie Qingli's dream prophecy, and now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he was even more convinced.

He suddenly turned around, took out a few yellowed military books from the bookshelf, and solemnly handed them to Xie Qingli: "Li'er, read these military books carefully before the Lantern Festival. If you have any questions, feel free to ask your elder brother for advice."

Xie Qingli took the heavy military manual, her eyes filled with confusion. "Grandfather, I'm just a girl, why do I need to study these military tactics?"

Jiang Zhong's strong palm gently stroked the top of her hair, and he said softly, "Li'er is extremely talented and has superb martial arts skills. Although she is a girl, a daughter of our Jiang family should not be a caged bird trapped in the backyard. Grandfather does not ask you to lead the troops to fight, but he asks that you can learn to protect yourself in this chaotic world."

Upon hearing this, Xie Qingli immediately sat upright at the desk, opened a military book with his bare hands, and began to study it with a focused expression.

At the same time, Jiang Zhong no longer hesitated, but used thundering means to rectify the Jiang Mansion. Within a day, he had caught more than ten secret spies planted by various parties.

As dusk fell, Leng Shuang hurried through the corridors, a hint of joy flashing through her usually cold eyes. "Miss, His Highness has sent a gift. It's now in Tingyu Tower. Please come with me to take a look!"

Xie Qingli's fingertips paused as he turned the pages of the book, a glimmer of light flashing across his eyes: "He's back?"

Leng Shuang shook her head slightly: "Your Highness has a lot of work to do, and the journey is long. I'm afraid he won't be able to make it back even for New Year's Eve."

She pursed her lips slightly, and said in a lighter tone: "But the young lady will definitely be happy when she sees this gift."

Xie Tingyu, sitting on the other side of the table, frowned upon hearing this. Although he already knew of Li'er's alliance with the Crown Prince, such a generous gift seemed too intimate.

Thinking of this, he suddenly stood up, grabbed Xie Qingli's wrist, and said in a deep voice: "Men and women are different. How can you give and take things privately?"

Xie Qingli's ears felt slightly hot, and just as he was about to speak, Leng Shuang smiled and said, "Master, if you see this gift, I'm sure you will like it too. Why don't we go together?"

Xie Qingli's doubts grew even more. Leng Shuang had always been straightforward, but today she was keeping things in suspense. What exactly was the gift?

As the three of them stepped out of the room, Xie Tingyu suddenly saw a familiar figure flash past the courtyard. His face darkened, and he shouted sternly, "Lei Ting, you're not in the camp outside the city, so why are you here?"

The figure suddenly stopped, then turned, revealing a dark, handsome young man. He trotted over, saluted, and grinned, "Thank you, General. I heard that the two young generals of the Jiang family had hunted a tiger. Since it's my day off today, I came to see them."

His eyes were filled with envy. "That tiger was over ten feet long, so majestic! It's a shame I didn't get to see them fight it in person."

Seeing Xie Tingyu's uneasy expression, he scratched his head and said awkwardly, "General, are you going out?"

Xie Tingyu raised his eyes to look at the darkening sky, and finally said in a deep voice: "Forget it, I haven't taken you out for a walk since I returned to Beijing. Come with me today, and we will return to the camp early tomorrow morning."

Lei Ting's eyes lit up and he responded loudly, "Understood!"

Soon, they reached the back door of Tingyu Tower. Xie Qingli instructed the waiter to take Lei Ting for a look before heading to the dungeon with Xie Tingyu and Leng Shuang.

The stone steps were deep and dark, and the flickering torches on the wall stretched the three people's shadows, sometimes longer and sometimes shorter. As they turned the corner, they saw two figures standing in front of the prison door. They were Zou Ping and Han Jue, whom they had not seen for a long time.

"Master!" Xie Qingli couldn't hide his surprise. He took two steps forward, but his breath hitched when he saw Zou Ping's face clearly. However, after not seeing him for two months, his master had lost a lot of weight, and his eyes were full of unconcealable fatigue.

Zou Ping reached out and stroked her hair, his hoarse voice full of kindness: "In just a short time, your dear disciple has grown taller again!"

Han Jue suddenly coughed lightly and stepped aside to open the cell door. Everyone then saw a disheveled figure hanging in the middle of the dark cell, chained in the shape of a "big" (cross).

"Wow--"

Zou Xiaojiu stood aside, pinching his nose. Seeing everyone coming, he picked up the bucket and poured it on the man without saying a word, complaining, "This filthy thing still stinks after washing it three times!"

The cold water made the man tremble all over. He slowly raised his head, revealing a face covered in blood.

Xie Qingli's pupils suddenly shrank. The person in front of him was Song Zhaoxing who had mysteriously disappeared in the palace!