My stepsister tried to steal the prince's hand in marriage, but little did she know I had been

The Wei family.

Wei Wei sat in the armchair and slowly took a sip of tea.

In stark contrast to his calm and composed demeanor was his second daughter, Wei Xiaoxiao, standing beside him.

Wei Xiaoxiao's face was full of impatience, and her tone was even more nasty: "Father, if we don't find a way to leave soon, I'm afraid we'll die here like Zhou Yan."

“The men you sent out before were useless; they couldn’t even hurt Zhou Yan.” As Wei Xiaoxiao said this, a ruthless glint flashed across her face. “In the end, it’s because you’re not ruthless enough.”

Upon hearing this, Wei Wei's expression gradually darkened.

He glanced at Wei Xiaoxiao and lowered his voice, saying, "Haven't you heard? Prince Jing has arrived!"

"Prince Jing brought so many imperial physicians and medicinal herbs; Yongcheng is saved!"

"What are you worried about?" Wei Wei gritted his teeth and said, "If people find out how presumptuous you are, who will dare to associate with the Wei family?"

“Xiaoxiao, you are my most beloved daughter. How could I bear to see you trapped here with me?” Wei Wei’s voice softened considerably as he said this. “I had thought of many ways before, but Zhou Yan saw through them all.”

"Back then, Zhou Yan didn't dare to break ties with me in order to maintain morale, which is why he endured all those things," Wei Wei warned. "The current Prince Jing is not Zhou Yan. Prince Jing is seriously ill, and with a single, casual remark, he could take the lives of our entire family!"

Wei Wei's repeated warnings not only failed to convince Wei Xiaoxiao, but instead fueled her anger.

Wei Xiaoxiao stared coldly at Wei Wei, and after a long while, she said, "Father, but once Prince Jing arrives, Zhou Yan will definitely tell him everything that happened before. At that time, will we still have a good ending?"

"Why not take this opportunity to escape?" Wei Xiaoxiao noticed the change in Wei Wei's eyes and added, "The people who are supposed to meet us are already outside the city. We just need to leave through this secret passage, and all the difficulties will be resolved."

“Even though Prince Jing wields immense power, His Majesty doesn’t listen to him in everything. Our Wei family has connections in the capital.” Wei Xiaoxiao finished her last sentence with malice. “Besides, he might not even make it back alive.”

"Shut up!" Wei Wei was tempted, but still terrified by his second daughter's words. "Be careful, the walls may be listening!"

"This is all our Wei family's territory, what are we afraid of?" Wei Xiaoxiao said disdainfully. "Father, you are too honest, which is why Zhou Yan has trapped you in the city for so long. If you had listened to me earlier and dug the secret passage sooner, you wouldn't have ended up like this."

Wei Wei's eyes changed; in fact, he was indeed moved by Wei Xiaoxiao's words.

Plague is such a terrifying thing that only a few people have survived throughout history. The Imperial Medical Academy claims to have a prescription for treating plague, but who knows its true effectiveness? The last plague was hundreds of years ago.

Thinking of this, Wei Wei felt a surge of excitement.

Seeing this, Wei Xiaoxiao pressed her advantage, saying, "Even if we escape Yongcheng and are discovered later, they won't be able to convict us."

"Father, please listen to me this once!"

Every word Wei Xiaoxiao said resonated deeply with Wei Wei.

After a moment, Wei Wei's eyes flickered, and he opened his mouth to agree.

But just then, he heard a deafening sound of horses' hooves, followed by a sentence that terrified him.

"Master! Something terrible has happened! Prince Jing's personal guards have surrounded our Wei family!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Wei raised his fingers tremblingly: "What are you saying?"

"The Prince Jing's personal guards have arrived!" The servant who came to report said in a trembling voice, "Now all those guards are holding knives and standing outside our mansion! We servants wanted to speak to the commander in charge of the troops, but before we could say a word, an arrow was shot in."

"The commander said that from this day forward, no member of the Wei family shall step out of the Wei family compound!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Wei's expression changed.

Wei Wei's face was extremely ugly, while Wei Xiaoxiao's eyes darted around rapidly.

As Wei Wei was about to leave, Wei Xiaoxiao said, "Father, isn't this the perfect time?"

"Don't hesitate!" Wei Xiaoxiao said. "They're still standing outside the door now, but in the next moment, they might be standing inside! We might all lose our heads!"

With each word Wei Xiaoxiao uttered, Wei Wei's heart wavered.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's do as you say and leave now!"

“We can leave, but we can’t take so many people.” Wei Xiaoxiao frowned. “We should pack light.”

“I know.” Once Wei Wei made up his mind, he acted faster than anyone else. “I had your mother prepare some things beforehand, just in case, and now they come in handy.”

Thinking of this, his gaze fell on Wei Xiaoxiao: "Xiaoxiao, is it really as you say outside? Is someone waiting for you?"

"Don't you trust your daughter's words?" Wei Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes. "I've already made all the preparations. If Father hadn't hesitated so much, we would have left Yongcheng long ago."

“From the moment I learned of the plague, I sent people outside the city.” Wei Xiaoxiao’s eyes were sharp. “They were there to meet us.”

Wei Wei still trusts his daughter's abilities.

Therefore, after receiving a definite answer from Wei Xiaoxiao, he nodded and immediately gave the instructions.

Si Qing stood outside the Wei family's residence on horseback.

From the initial panic caused by his arrival with his troops to the current complete silence, it all seems rather abnormal.

Si Qing frowned, rode his horse around the Wei family's residence, and suddenly a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Arrest Wei Wei first," Si Qing ordered. "The Wei family is acting strangely."

When Si Qing arrived at the inner courtyard of the Wei family with his men, Wei Wei and Wei Xiaoxiao were carrying their luggage and preparing to leave.

Seeing the way the two of them were behaving, and the dark doorway behind Wei Wei, what else was unclear?

Si Qing sneered: "So you wanted to escape."

"What a pity," Si Qing sighed. "I could have spared your lives, but now it seems... your whole family's lives are going to be lost here."

"Why should I?" Upon hearing this, Wei Xiaoxiao's eyes turned bloodshot, and she was about to flee from here!

She stared intently at Si Qing, her eyes shifting: "We didn't do anything!"

“We just wanted to visit relatives in Longzhou, is that wrong?” Wei Xiaoxiao said, becoming increasingly resentful.

Upon hearing this, Si Qing sneered: "Visiting relatives?"

“I think visiting relatives is a pretense, and fleeing is the real reason!” Si Qing’s words shattered Wei Xiaoxiao’s pretense.