In the years of famine, I led a comfortable life with my husband

"As for the witness...it's naturally Lord Xiao's first wife, Jiang Qin." Xie Chengjin said word by word.

"Jiang Qin? Wasn't she kidnapped a long time ago? Have you found out where she is?" When the prince heard the name Jiang Qin, he would think of the day when Jiang Qin was kidnapped in public, and the prince's face became even uglier.

"That's right. Jiang Qin is in my house right now. Jiang Qin was innocent in the Zhizhi incident. She was only forced to come forward and confess the crime because of the threat from Marquis Xiao. Later, in order to calm Jiang Qin down, Marquis Xiao sent someone to take Jiang Qin away from the execution ground. She has been hiding in a villa outside Beijing ever since. I only found out about this by chance when I sent people to investigate Marquis Xiao's whereabouts a few days ago." Seeing that the prince was puzzled, Xie Chengjin quickly began to explain.

"In that case, bring Jiang Qin here tomorrow. It's time to end this farce." The prince rubbed his eyebrows and said to Xie Chengjin.

At the morning court the next day, Xie Chengjin entered the palace as usual, but this time, he brought Su Zhizhi and Jiang Qin with him.

Su Zhizhi and Jiang Qin stayed in the side hall of the Golden Throne Hall, while Xie Chengjin submitted a memorial in the Golden Throne Hall, accusing Lord Xiao of various evil deeds.

The Crown Prince took one look at it, his face gloomy. He slammed the memorial down in front of Marquis Xiao and said coldly, "Marquis Xiao, you are truly audacious. You've accepted bribes, disregarded human life, and even assassinated a court lady... Do you even respect me or the law?!"

Marquis Xiao felt sick all over and hurried to look at the memorial. His face turned pale in an instant, but Marquis Xiao's reaction was also very quick. "Your Highness, I have been wronged... Xie Chengjin, I have no grudge against you, why are you..."

Xie Chengjin sneered and interrupted Marquis Xiao before he could finish. "Marquis Xiao, there's no need to complain about your innocence. Even now, you still refuse to repent? And it's true. Marquis Xiao has been partying every night lately. I'm afraid you've long forgotten your wife, Jiang Qin, who you've hidden away in your villa outside the capital, right?!"

Hearing Xie Chengjin mention Jiang Qin, Lord Xiao's expression darkened completely. "Xie Chengjin, what are you talking about? Qin'er's whereabouts are still unknown. Even I don't know where she is. And now you're using Qin'er to provoke me?"

"Oh? Lord Xiao, do you really not know where Jiang Qin is now? Come to think of it, Lord Xiao is partying every night, how could he remember your first wife who became your scapegoat?" Xie Chengjin said to Lord Xiao with a sarcastic smile.

Lord Xiao was even more uneasy. He could no longer care about anything else. He stared at Xie Chengjin intently, "Where is Qin'er now? What did you do to her?"

Xie Chengjin smiled slightly, "Lord Xiao, don't worry. I'm not as cruel as you. Jiang Qin is doing very well now. Do you want to meet her?"

As soon as Xie Chengjin finished speaking, Su Zhizhi brought Jiang Qin out of the side hall, and the two of them stepped into the Golden Palace step by step.

Lord Xiao looked at the newcomer with disbelief in his eyes. He stretched out his hand and pointed at Jiang Qin, shaking, "No... No, no! Who are you? You're not Qin'er. Qin'er can't be here. You can't find her! You're not Qin'er. Don't even think about trying to trick me!"

Jiang Qin said nothing, simply moving closer to Marquis Xiao. As they walked, she smiled and said, "Marquis, look at me! How could I not be Qin'er? Didn't you come to see me a few days ago? Have you been so distracted by the beautiful concubines in the mansion these days? Or have you been drinking too much wine and women's wine that you don't even recognize Qin'er?"

Su Zhizhi just watched Jiang Qin's actions and came to Xie Chengjin's side without any intention of stopping her.

Xie Chengjin and Su Zhizhi smiled at each other, then stood aside to watch the show, quietly observing Jiang Qin's movements.

Jiang Qin approached Marquis Xiao with a smile, gently gathering his robe, just like an ordinary couple. Then Jiang Qin came to the center of the hall, knelt on the ground, and said to the prince, "Your Highness, your Highness, is greeted by your servant Jiang Qin."

"Jiang Qin, you escaped with your crime, and now you dare to come back?" The prince did not have a good face towards Jiang Qin.

"Your Highness, please understand that Madam Xie's incident had nothing to do with me. It was just that the Marquis disliked Madam Xie, so he sent assassins to kill her. Unexpectedly, the assassins were caught instead. The Marquis had no other choice but to trick me into taking the blame for him. Everything I said is true. I hope Your Highness will understand!" Jiang Qin fell to the ground after saying this.

"Oh? Is it true?" The prince looked at Lord Xiao who was standing beside him, but Lord Xiao was just staring at Jiang Qin and didn't notice the prince's gaze.

Jiang Qin then continued, "Also, the Marquis has committed many crimes over the years..."

Jiang Qin spilled the beans from a bamboo tube and told them everything she knew. The more she spoke, the happier she became, and the more excited she became.

"My Lord, you didn't expect that I would actually stand against you. If you want to blame anyone, it's your greed. Because of you, my Jiang family has fallen into decline and my parents have passed away. How can I not hate you? But what about you? You have a beautiful woman in your arms every day, so free and easy. Since you disregard our relationship as husband and wife, don't blame me." Jiang Qin looked at Lord Xiao with eyes full of joy.

"Someone come here and capture him for me!" Seeing that Marquis Xiao could not say anything, the prince simply waved his hand.

The next second, many imperial guards rushed in from outside the door and surrounded Jiang Qin and Marquis Xiao.

But just as the Imperial Guards were about to step forward, Lord Xiao seemed to have made up his mind. He pulled out a dagger from his sleeve, pulled Jiang Qin, who had no time to dodge, over, and placed the dagger across Jiang Qin's neck.

"Stay away from me!" Lord Xiao acted like a madman, taking Jiang Qin as a hostage and threatening everyone present.

The prince and the others didn't react, but Su Zhizhi was a little anxious, "What are you going to do?!"

Su Zhizhi stepped forward and tried to save Jiang Qin, but before Su Zhizhi could get close, Lord Xiao's dagger pressed down instantly.

"I said, stand back!" Lord Xiao no longer looked like a normal person.

"Jiang Qin, ah Jiang Qin, why do you treat me like this?" Lord Xiao roared softly in Jiang Qin's ear.

Jiang Qin trembled, took a deep breath, and calmed down. "My Lord, I didn't want to do this either. You forced me to do this..."

"I know I can't survive anymore. In that case, you should die with me!" Marquis Xiao instantly increased the strength of his hands.