Chapter 267: Her Surname is Xiao

Qiao Ruyan and her men hadn’t gone far. After arranging for the injured to return, she waited in a nearby teahouse. Only after confirming that Xiao Li had truly left did she head home.

Just as she reached the gate, she ran into her father, who was rushing out in a hurry.

Qiao Youcai’s face was a mask of fury. He accosted her immediately, "How could you let them go? They killed my guards and injured so many of my soldiers! It’s utter lawlessness! How could you just let them walk away? Do you take me, the governor, for a pushover?"

Qiao Ruyan’s expression was cold. "Father, they had over thirty guards, every single one a master of martial arts. We sent two hundred soldiers, yet we didn’t stand a chance. If they had truly wanted to kill Lanzhi, how could she possibly have escaped?"

’You’re not a pushover, you’re an idiot.’

Qiao Youcai’s rage faltered for a second. "Regardless, it’s a fact that they killed my guards and injured my soldiers. If I just let them go, where would that leave my dignity as governor?"

Qiao Ruyan didn’t want to argue with him about dignity. She simply had the coachman brought in and made him recount the events to Qiao Youcai.

A moment later, Qiao Youcai’s face was flushed with rage—this time, directed at Qiao LanZhi. He felt he had been deceived.

"How dare she twist the truth so brazenly! This is outrageous! She left with the guards in secret, never mentioned encountering bandits... I must teach her a harsh lesson."

Qiao Ruyan gave a scornful laugh. "Father, you can stop acting. If she left in secret, why were *your* guards escorting her?"

"You were the only one who knew Prince Wei gave me that Token. A few days ago, you insisted on taking it for a ’look.’ Where is it now?"

Qiao Youcai retorted guiltily, "It’s safe in my study, of course."

’He’s a lost cause.’

"Father, Qiao LanZhi has the Token and is running around proclaiming she’s the future Princess Wei. If Prince Wei finds out about this, do you think your position as governor will remain secure?"

Qiao LanZhi hadn’t dared to ask the governor for troops to deal with the bandits, not out of fear of her father, but out of fear that their little scheme would be exposed. She was afraid of being mocked, stopped, and then forced into marriage.

Seeing he had been completely exposed, Qiao Youcai dropped the act. "Ruyan, Lanzhi is your sister. You two should be looking out for each other. If she becomes Princess Wei, wouldn’t that be a tremendous blessing?"

’Wild fantasies and wishful thinking. That’s my father in a nutshell.’

That was Prince Wei they were talking about—the Empress’s only surviving brother from her seizure of power, the man who toured the realm with the authority to execute first and report later.

It wasn’t that she looked down on her own sister.

’But what does the daughter of a governor’s concubine—uneducated, deceitful, lazy, full of lies, arrogant, and willful, with nothing but a pretty face—have to offer to become Princess Wei?’

’If Prince Wei were some spoiled, lecherous dandy, perhaps Qiao LanZhi might have a chance of becoming a concubine. But he is an upstanding, just, and principled gentleman. How could just anyone be worthy of him?’

Qiao Ruyan came to a swift decision. "The sixth of next month is an auspicious day. Father, you should prepare to marry Lanzhi off."

Qiao Youcai started to object, but Qiao Ruyan fixed him with a cold, warning gaze. "Father, that noblewoman today was surrounded by top-tier martial arts experts. And... her surname is Xiao!"

"I can’t stop you if you want to join Lanzhi in this foolishness and throw away your position as governor, but you will not drag Mother and our brother down with you! And you certainly won’t harm Han Bin and me!"

Having said her piece, Qiao Ruyan ignored her father’s stony expression and turned to find her husband.

Han Bin was from the Capital City; he had even served in the Empress’s Mansion.

As Qiao Ruyan finished describing what she had seen, the color drained from Han Bin’s face. "You said the two main guards were likely General Rong and General Yang, and the elite guards were the Silver Armor Guards? Then that was... the Empress."

’His sister-in-law had been rescued by the Empress, only to repay that kindness with malice and try to have the Empress arrested.’

"We’re done for. Absolutely done for."

He was a scholar and had never killed a man, but he had been a part of that palace coup years ago.

He had seen the rivers of blood with his own eyes. He had seen how ruthlessly decisive the Empress could be.

The Empress was brilliant, but also merciless—a true killer who wouldn’t so much as blink.

Qiao Ruyan had only thought the woman was a person of high status, but she’d never imagined a level of nobility so extreme it was beyond her wildest thoughts.

’That aura, that bearing... you could tell at a glance she was no ordinary person. No wonder.’

Suppressing the shock in her heart, she quickly tried to comfort her husband. "It’s probably not that bad."

She recounted her conversation with the Empress for Han Bin, who was overjoyed to hear it.

"That means Your Majesty appreciates you."

When it came to this, Han Bin understood perfectly.

"Her Majesty cherishes talent and knows how to recognize and use it. She must have been exceedingly pleased with your conduct; otherwise, she would never have just departed."

Qiao Ruyan was both surprised and moved. "So Prince Wei wasn’t deceiving me back then."

Years ago, Prince Wei had intended for a different Deputy Governor to be appointed as the new governor. But after she had poured her own money and effort into cleaning up the mess left by the previous official, Prince Wei recommended her father for the post instead.

At the time, she’d assumed her family’s performance and financial contributions had simply pleased Prince Wei. Now, it seemed it was all because of what he had said.

She still remembered it to this day. When Prince Wei handed the governor’s official seal to her father, he had ignored her father’s fawning thanks and promises. Instead, he had turned to her, a smile in his eyes, and handed her a Token. He’d told her that if she ever found herself in trouble, she could seek help at the Wei Prince Mansion, and that if the opportunity arose, he would introduce her to Your Majesty.

’It wasn’t just polite talk. Prince Wei genuinely knew the Empress would take a liking to me.’

"This won’t do!"

Qiao Ruyan’s expression suddenly changed, startling Han Bin. "What is it?"

Qiao Ruyan rushed for the door, saying as she went, "Tomorrow—no, tonight. We’re marrying Qiao LanZhi off tonight."

The Empress’s lack of immediate reprisal was a sign of her magnanimity, but that didn’t absolve Qiao LanZhi of her wrongdoing.

The thought of Qiao LanZhi repaying the Empress’s kindness with malice, of her attempting to throw her weight around, made Qiao Ruyan feel as if a blade was hanging over the neck of every single person in the Qiao family.

They had been one step away from having their entire clan annihilated.

That menace Qiao LanZhi had to be married off. They couldn’t wait until next month. Qiao LanZhi didn’t deserve an auspicious wedding day. Delays are dangerous, and things could change. Tonight, Qiao LanZhi had to be sent to the family she was originally betrothed to.

Although Governor Qiao held a high rank, Mrs. Yang controlled the family’s finances. Qiao Ruyan was favored by Prince Wei and was involved in many political matters, and Han Bin was a Deputy Governor who had come from the Empress’s Mansion. In truth, Governor Qiao was not the one who had the final say in the Qiao family.

Qiao Ruyan gathered her parents, analyzed the pros and cons, and they decided to marry Qiao LanZhi off.

The moment Qiao Youcai heard it was the Empress, he shriveled up like a frightened quail. Mrs. Yang couldn’t even bear to look at her clueless husband. She would not let Qiao LanZhi endanger her own son and daughter, and she immediately ordered preparations to have the girl sent away that very night.

When Qiao LanZhi’s mother, the concubine, tried to cause a scene, Mrs. Yang had her locked up directly. She was given a choice: be poisoned, or shut up.

Qiao LanZhi refused to marry and tried to escape. Qiao Ruyan slapped her hard across the face. Without a word of explanation, she had the girl bound and taken out the door.

In the past, whenever Qiao LanZhi acted up and competed for their father’s affection, Qiao Ruyan, as the older sister who had matured early and disliked fawning over her father, couldn’t be bothered to stoop to her level.

But if Qiao LanZhi was going to bring disaster upon the entire family and drag down her mother and brother, she would show no tolerance.

’This menace can get the hell away. As of today, I no longer have a sister.’