Best friends dressed up in ancient times to become mistresses? You run, I run too!

"Yes, I was lying to you, but so what?"

"Breaking your promises and lying all the time—aren't these your specialties? Why is it so hard to accept now that it's your turn?"

When she lied to him, did she ever think about whether he could accept it?

She kept saying she loved him, constantly flirting with him, deceiving his feelings, and then discarding him like trash.

Now, what right does she have to be angry?

Shen Ningzhu was no longer able to hear a word. Her mind was filled with thoughts of how she had killed Xiaoyi, her own child, and many other people she had spent every day with.

Regret and pain almost overwhelmed her in an instant.

She kept muttering, almost frantically, "I need to find them, I need to find my child, I need to find Xiaoyi."

Shen Ningzhu scrambled to her feet and stumbled as she tried to run outside.

But he had only taken a couple of steps when Jiang Yi raised his hand to stop him.

"My lady, please calm down."

"Snapped--"

Shen Ningzhu slapped Jiang across the face, her eyes bloodshot and almost bleeding.

"Go away."

Jiang lowered his head, his body remaining perfectly still.

Shen Ningzhu turned around, quickly pulled out the hairpin from her hand, and pressed it against Jiang Xuanyan's neck with considerable force. The sharp hairpin instantly cut through his skin.

Bright red liquid gushed out.

Everyone was shocked and shouted for the emperor's protection, but Jiang Xuan Yan remained calm.

With lightning speed, the hairpin was in the other man's hand in the blink of an eye. The man smiled casually, his long, slender fingers toying with the hairpin, and said mockingly,

"You want to kill me? With a mere hairpin? Shen Ningzhu, after all these years, you're still so naive."

Shen Ningzhu's eyes were bloodshot. She pulled out another hairpin and, with all her might, stabbed it fiercely at the other person.

The man easily gripped her wrist, his usually calm eyes now swirling with unspoken emotions.

"Enough! If you dare to disrespect me again, don't blame me..."

"Snapped--"

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Ningzhu had already slapped him hard with her free hand.

The slap was so forceful that Jiang Xuan Yan's head was turned to the side, leaving a clear handprint on his fair face, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

The air seemed to freeze instantly, and only the faint sound of the wind could be heard.

Jiang Yi and the soldiers in the courtyard all lowered their heads as far as possible, pretending that they knew nothing.

Shen Ningzhu's devastating roar.

"Why wouldn't I dare? It's just death, isn't it? I've killed everyone around me, what face do I have to live?"

"But the one who deserves to die the most is you."

"I only regret that I wore two hairpins today, otherwise, that slap would have turned into a sharp blade piercing your throat, you dog of a man, I want you dead, I want you dead."

Jiang Xuanyan smiled.

Another one who's gnashing their teeth and wants him dead.

Sure enough, everyone in this world wants him dead.

But he refused to comply with their wishes. Not only that, he also wanted to kill all those who wanted him dead, so they would know who would die first.

"Hate me, the more you hate me, the more excited I get."

"Let me see how long it will take you to kill me."

After saying that, he carried Shen Ningzhu back to the house.

Jiang called a doctor to bandage him, but the doctor chased him away without even lifting his eyelids.

Inside the room, there were occasional clanging and banging sounds, as well as Shen Ningzhu's hysterical cursing.

At this moment, in Song Hanchuan's private residence

Liu Zhiyi trembled all over, anxiously waiting for news in the room. Finally, Song Hanchuan, Qingfeng, Chen Aniu, and Jinxiu Huanian arrived.

While Liu Zhiyi was excited, she glanced behind the group.

Seeing that Shen Ningzhu was nowhere to be seen, her face turned pale. But she also knew that Song Hanchuan had done his best.

"How did he say?"

Liu Zhiyi clenched her fists tightly, suppressing a sob, and said calmly.

Song Hanchuan stepped forward and gently took her trembling little hand in his. Feeling the coldness from the woman's fingertips, his heart ached.

He bent down, carried her into the house, gently placed her on the couch, then knelt at her feet, tilted his head slightly, and said softly.

"Xiaoyi, we have to go back to Beijing."

After a pause, he told Liu Zhiyi everything about the bet he made with Jiang Xuanyan.

Liu Zhiyi's face was full of sarcasm.

"He's really daring. Isn't he afraid that you'll switch the prince with a cat, usurp his kingdom, and then kill him later?"

Song Hanchuan gently squeezed her soft little hand.

“He trusts you, not me. How could someone who risked his life several times for Miss Shen hurt her child?”

There was one more thing that Song Hanchuan didn't say.

That is, Jiang Xuan Yan thought all of them, including the two children, were too much of a hindrance. Since he couldn't kill them, he would send them away so that he could have Shen Ning Zhu all to himself.

As a fellow man, he understood his obsession and possessiveness.

"Xiao Yi, from this day forward, Jinxiu Huanian is also our child. Don't worry, I will do my best to remove obstacles for them and help him secure his throne."

Liu Zhiyi was taken aback.

He was referring to the throne, not the position of crown prince.

Looking into Song Hanchuan's determined eyes, Liu Zhiyi's fear and unease gradually dissipated.

Yes, the throne.

Since that bastard is so inhuman and insists on forcibly seizing power and imprisoning Zhuzhu for life, then she, as his best friend, will go and take power for him.

When she and Jinxiu Huanian also reach the pinnacle of power and are able to trample Jiang Xuanyan underfoot, she'll see how he tries to seize power by force.

"When to set off?"

"Returning to Beijing is fine, but not according to the bet."

"I'm worried about Zhuzhu. Do you have a way to secretly send her a message so she knows we're all alive?"

Given Zhuzhu's personality, if she heard that they were all dead, she would feel extremely guilty and would fight like a trapped beast, even if she was covered in wounds, she would not stop.

Jiang Xuan Yan is a demon.

If he loses his patience, he will definitely kill Shen Ningzhu.

How could she possibly feel at ease returning to the capital under such circumstances?

Song Hanchuan frowned and gently shook his head.

"His Majesty has come prepared this time. The defenses around Miss Shen will be as solid as an iron barrel, and no one can get close to her at all."

"Besides, he's in a fit of anger right now. If we act rashly and things are exposed, then the advantageous situation we just managed to gain will be gone."

"You and I will die, and all the people around us will die."

“Xiao Yi, you have been away from the capital for three years and are unaware of what has happened during this time. In these three years, more than half of the aristocratic families in the capital have disappeared, and the Emperor… has gone mad.”

"He's capable of anything."

It was because of his madness that Song Hanchuan managed to stay in the capital for three years.

If he hadn't received news that Pei Yun Chu was about to return to the capital, and that things were getting out of control, he wouldn't have left the capital in such a hurry. Liu Zhiyi was shocked and even more worried about Shen Ningzhu's safety.