Shocking! Five men are in love with the same woman!

When the people of the Second Prince's residence woke up in the morning and discovered that the Second Prince was missing, they hurriedly searched the entire residence, but to no avail.

The two concubines in the mansion recalled how the Second Prince had been living in fear and distraction these past few days, and a bad feeling suddenly arose in their hearts.

Perhaps our prince did something foolish out of momentary fear and despair.

Thinking of this, they hurriedly sent a message to the palace saying that the Second Prince, Prince An, had disappeared without a trace last night.

Such an important matter should be decided by His Majesty.

Upon receiving the news, Emperor Jingzhao immediately dispatched the Imperial Guards to search for the Second Prince's whereabouts.

Under Xiao Muyao's deliberate arrangement, the Imperial Guards finally found the Second Prince in the woods outside the city before noon.

The second prince had already been dead for some time.

Except for his face, which was completely unharmed, the rest of his body was a bloody mess, a truly gruesome sight.

The commander of the Imperial Guards, surnamed Fang, was a young man who was usually cold, taciturn, and indifferent. However, upon seeing the Second Prince's miserable state and death, his expression changed.

Not to mention everyone else.

They were panicked and terrified.

They were also anxious and worried about how His Majesty would treat them.

The future seems bleak.

Most importantly, the blood was used as ink in the woods above the Second Prince's body.

Eight shocking characters were boldly inscribed: "Acting on behalf of Heaven, to be cut into a thousand pieces."

After a moment's thought, Commander Fang realized that the Second Prince had been brutally murdered by someone who couldn't stand his indignation.

With so many people in the world, and the murderer being so skilled, it will probably be difficult to find him.

With things having come to this, he could only carefully carry the Second Prince's body back to the palace to report.

When Emperor Jingzhao lifted the white cloth and saw a bloody, mangled body, he was so disgusted that he almost vomited.

Then came a furious roar.

His eyes were bloodshot, and his expression was terrifying and gloomy.

He forced out a few words through gritted teeth: "Investigate! Investigate for me! Who dares to be so audacious!"

After uttering those words in extreme anger, he spat out another mouthful of blood and fainted.

Chaos erupted once again.

at the same time.

The tenth prince also received news that the second prince had been executed by being cut into a thousand pieces.

He had a gut feeling that this was definitely done by Lao Liu and his gang.

Because that was his damn gut feeling—it must have been them.

Therefore, his fear of Lao Liu and his wife reached its peak at this moment.

After receiving this news, the civil and military officials...

Some were indifferent, some were delighted, some sighed, and some were afraid.

No one was saddened or upset by this.

Thanks to Xiao Muyao's efforts, the people quickly learned about this matter.

They all cheered inwardly, feeling that God had been kind enough to let this villain die such a miserable death!

This made them clap their hands in delight and feel extremely happy!

The investigation into the Second Prince's death was ultimately handed over to the Shadow Division.

Isn't this a coincidence?

Let the murderer himself investigate the murderer.

Of course, it can't be found out. There will never be a result in this lifetime, and it can only be left unresolved.

Upon receiving the order, Lu Yanqing pretended to begin the investigation.

Let's start with the Second Prince's residence.

Then, the investigation will extend beyond the capital to examine any suspicious activity among the outsiders in the city.

They investigated vigorously for a long time, but of course, they found nothing.

But Emperor Jingzhao remained unconvinced, so Lu Yanqing had no choice but to continue the investigation.

It seems His Majesty is determined to get a result.

Fortunately, they had already arranged a plausible "culprit" to appear at the right time and give Emperor Jingzhao an explanation.

Emperor Jingzhao looked as if he had aged several years in recent days, and his whole being exuded a sense of vicissitude.

Thinking of the Fifth Princess who is still in the palace, I originally planned to keep her for a few more months before she got married.

However, firstly, she is in an awkward situation, and secondly, Emperor Jingzhao does not want to see her.

Because seeing her reminds me of Consort Shu and the Second Prince.

He recalled how the mother and son had deceived him for so many years, and the second prince's mangled corpse.

So he decided to marry her off immediately.

The candidate was a governor from the north.

Although this man is nearly thirty years old, he was married once before. His wife passed away due to illness, leaving behind a son and a daughter, who are now about ten years old.

But he is still a young talent.

With his steady personality and resourcefulness, he should be able to keep the Fifth Princess under control, preventing her from causing trouble and ensuring she lives out the rest of her life peacefully.

So, seven days later, the Fifth Princess was to leave the capital for a distant marriage, and perhaps she would never be able to return to the capital.

The night before the Fifth Princess was to leave the capital for her distant marriage, she secretly left the palace and went to Prince Rui's residence to see Lingyan.

Lingyan naturally knew why she had come to see her.

When the Fifth Princess stepped into the hall and saw the stunningly beautiful woman sitting above her.

She immediately knelt down before her without hesitation and pleaded, "Sixth Sister-in-law, please give me the antidote. I am about to get married and cannot keep my husband away forever. But I suffer from physical torture for an hour every day and will turn into an old woman. I don't want my husband to find out and despise me, so I beg you, Sixth Sister-in-law, to give me the antidote."

After saying that, she banged her head on the ground, making a very loud noise.

That shows great sincerity.

Lingyan replied lazily, "Oh dear, why do you have to go to such lengths? I'm a kind person, of course I'll give you the antidote!"

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Princess looked up at her in disbelief.

I can't believe she was so agreeable and easy to talk to.

She had a feeling that something was wrong.

Is she really such a kind and easy-going person?

Seeing that she didn't believe her, Lingyan gestured for Yunmeng to present the antidote.

Seeing the antidote before her, the Fifth Princess was unsure whether she should take it.

She hesitated, mainly because things had gone too smoothly, and she felt there was a trap involved.

Seeing that she was still unwilling to admit defeat, Lingyan said with a half-smile, "What? Are you afraid I would lie to you?"

Seeing her expression, the Fifth Princess was startled.

What is there for her to scheme against now? She's just a fish on the chopping block.

She had no room to resist at all.

Without further hesitation, she grabbed the antidote and swallowed it easily.

Lingyan smiled with great pleasure upon seeing this.

Then he said, "What you just took was indeed the antidote."

The Fifth Princess was overjoyed upon hearing this.

But the next moment she was filled with despair.

Lingyan continued with a smile, "It's both an antidote and a poison, but a different kind of poison. This poison doesn't usually take effect; it only takes effect when you have evil thoughts and want to do bad things. When it takes effect, the pain is unbearable, worse than death, so you must never do bad things."

Upon hearing this, the Fifth Princess asked in despair, "Why? I have been very obedient during this time, and I have hardly ever left the palace. Besides, I am now all alone and have lost all protection. Why would you still poison me and control me?"

Ling Yan smiled and said, "Why? Of course, it's because you know our secret! You know I have such a big weakness, how could I not control you? If you were me, I probably wouldn't be so at ease either, and would definitely make the same choice as me, so please understand."

The Fifth Princess then understood.

That's true, no one would be at ease with such a huge weakness.

She was already being merciful by not killing her; what more could she possibly want?

So she immediately replied, "I understand, I definitely won't tell anyone."

I'm afraid it's not that you don't want to say it, it's that you're afraid to say it.

But she didn't say anything to expose it, since she already knew perfectly well what was going on.

So she concluded, "As long as you don't do anything bad, this poison won't take effect. But besides that, I've added other poisons, but don't worry, none of them will kill you."

She spoke in the most indifferent tone and with the most harmless expression, words that terrified the Fifth Princess.

This made her angry and furious, yet she dared not express any dissatisfaction or refusal.

They could only passively accept and comply, feeling resentful.

After she staggered out of Prince Rui's mansion, feeling utterly dejected and hopeless.

Ling Yan thought to herself: Death is often the simplest thing; living a life of constant anxiety and fear is the most painful and torturous.

So how could she let her get away with it so easily?

Don't be fooled by her current docile appearance, which seems to indicate she has genuinely repented.

But old habits die hard.

Believe it or not, once she completely cures the poison, she'll go back to causing trouble.

Besides, even if she truly repents, can all the things she did in the past be wiped clean?

Should she forgive her for this?

Is she such a compassionate person?

So let her suffer this endless torment for the rest of her life.