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

Jiang Qingyi was filled with resentment.

But recalling the chilling gaze Jiang Xuan Yan had cast upon her just now, she immediately dared not make any further rash moves.

The door was wide open, and Jiang Xuan Yan went in first. Seeing that no one was following behind, he immediately turned around and glanced behind him.

That one glance made everyone feel uneasy.

They had no choice but to follow, and when they saw the lump of white flesh in the room, the noble ladies screamed in fright and hurriedly covered their eyes.

Some of the more timid ones had already gone limp and fainted in the arms of their maids.

The young noblemen frowned in disgust, looking at the man lying on the ground in a strange, slovenly, and greasy position, as if he were some disgusting filth, and all turned their eyes away.

Jiang Xuan Yan scoffed coldly.

"Didn't you say Zhuzhu was here?"

The maid who had brought the others was suddenly called out, her body trembled violently, her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground.

"I... this servant..."

"Ha... Guards, drag him away and beat him to death with sticks."

The maid screamed in terror, desperately trying to grab Jiang Xuan Yan's leg. "No! I was wrong! I'm innocent! Your Majesty, spare me! I'll never do it again! I'm innocent! Waaah..."

Unfortunately, before she could even get close, Jiang Yi kicked her away, sending her crashing to the ground. She clutched her chest in pain and curled up on the ground like a shrimp, rolling around.

Even so, she kept insisting that she was innocent.

Jiang Xuan Yan raised his hand, signaling Jiang Yi to stop, and then said,

"You keep saying you're innocent, so I'll give you a chance. Tell me, where are you innocent?"

Jiang Qingyi was taken aback. When she saw the maid raise her head and look at her, a bad feeling welled up in her heart.

I instinctively stiffened my body and held my breath.

“Your Majesty, I am but a lowly maid. How could I dare to plot against my master? It was…it was the princess who forced me to do this. If I did not do as she said, I would be beaten to death.”

"Your Majesty, spare me! I really only wanted to live. It was the princess who wanted to harm Miss Shen, not me! Please, Your Majesty, see the truth."

The scene fell silent instantly.

Jiang Qingyi shook her head frantically, kneeling in front of Jiang Xuan Yan in a panic, vehemently denying everything.

"No, that's not the case."

"Ah Yan, we've depended on each other since we were little. You know me best. How could I possibly harm Miss Shen?"

As she spoke, she turned her head, her venomous eyes glaring fiercely at the weeping maid not far away, her finger poking at her from a distance.

"You lowly servant, how dare you betray your master for personal gain! Guards, beat this traitor to death!"

As soon as she finished speaking, no one paid any attention to her.

The maid suddenly crawled on her knees to Jiang Xuan Yan, and said excitedly...

"Your Majesty, I have evidence."

As she spoke, she quickly recounted exactly what Jiang Qingyi had instructed her, where she had bought the medicine, how much money she had spent, and who had given her that money.

Then, it was revealed that Jiang Qingyi had colluded with Prince Chen to frame Jiang Xuanyan years ago.

Every single incident is well-founded and supported by evidence.

The onlookers were utterly astonished. Jiang Qingyi's chest heaved violently with rage. Overwhelmed with anger, she couldn't think straight and yanked the hairpin out of her hand, plunging it fiercely into the maid's neck.

In an instant, blood gushed out.

Jiang Qingyi still seemed unsatisfied, so she pulled out the hairpin and stabbed him several more times.

He went completely mad, stabbing and cursing at the same time.

"You lowly servant, how dare you betray your master! Then go and die! Go and die!"

Jiang Qingyi appeared to be insane; her bright and dignified face was covered in splattered blood, and her small face was twisted and ferocious.

Everything happened almost in an instant.

By the time she came to her senses, the maid had already died, but her eyes were still open, staring straight at Jiang Xuan Yan.

It seems to be asking, "Wasn't it agreed that she would be spared as long as she told the truth? Why did she still die in the end?"

But she will never know the answer to that question.

Jiang Qingyi looked at her hands covered in blood, smelled the strong stench of blood in the air, and felt the sticky discomfort on her fingertips before she realized what she had done.

He immediately shook his head frantically.

"No, that's not true. I didn't do it. She... I didn't kill her. Get away from me, get away from me, waaaah..."

A deep pity flashed in Jiang Xuan Yan's eyes. He closed his eyes briefly, turned his head, and waved his hand as if reluctant to let go.

"Guards, escort the princess back to her residence. Also, issue an order that from this day forward, Princess Qingyi is confined to her residence and is not to step out of it without permission."

"Furthermore, if I hear even a whisper of what happened here today, you'll all lose your heads."

After speaking, he glanced at everyone, his eyes full of warning.

Those young masters and ladies had never seen such a bloody scene before. They were already terrified out of their wits. Upon hearing this, they all sighed inwardly, thinking that Princess Qingyi was truly favored. Even after committing such a vicious act, the Emperor had only ordered her to stay at home.

They all knelt on the ground, indicating that they would rather die than tell anyone.

Jiang Xuan Yan then lifted his foot and strode away.

The two best friends, who were hiding outside the other window, breathed a sigh of relief when everyone left.

This was Liu Zhiyi's first time killing someone, but fortunately, she had recovered in a short while. Strangely, she didn't feel as distressed as she had imagined.

Jiang Xuan Yan, however, was somewhat of a surprise.

"Forget about that," Liu Zhiyi said with a smile.

"I never expected him to kill that little maid in this way. That Jiang fellow is really heartless, exposing his childhood sweetheart's wickedness in public. No wonder people say that a man without ruthlessness is not a true man."

"Although it was just a trap in the end, at least she can't cause trouble for us anymore, so it's a good thing."

Shen Ningzhu nodded.

"So what do we do now?"

Liu Zhiyi's eyes darted around, and she said excitedly,

“This place is very close to our orchard. I think it’s still early, so why don’t we go for a stroll in the orchard, pick some fresh fruit to take home and eat, and then go to the nearby mountain to dig up some bamboo shoots so we can pickle them and keep them.”

"I'll marinate it myself, so you can add more when you eat snail rice noodles later."

"By the way, the shepherd's purse is so plump and tender this season, and so fresh. Let's take the maid with us and dig up a lot to take back. I'll make you some shepherd's purse sauce."

Upon hearing this, Shen Ningzhu subconsciously swallowed, and saliva involuntarily secreted from her mouth.

Yun'er and Xia'er came from poor backgrounds and were very familiar with these things. They immediately raised their hands and said that they would take care of this little matter.

Without further ado, the group quickly and cheerfully arrived at the carriage. Shen Ningzhu first took the hand of her maid and stepped onto the carriage using a footstool. However, as soon as she lifted the curtain, the smile on her face instantly froze.

He froze in place.