The eldest daughter's scheming, the crown prince's exclusive favor to the venomous concubi

Jian Yue thought for a moment and said, "Let's go and take a look."

She then walked ahead, with Chu Tian following silently behind her.

"Grandpa, please, please stop hitting him! He's just a child!"

"Bullshit, child? If this were my son, he'd be married and have kids by now. How can he be young? You stinking beggar, daring to steal my food, I'll beat you to death."

When Jianyue arrived, she saw a burly man beating a mother and son lying on the ground. The woman had gray hair and was quite old, while the other was a man who looked to be in his twenties. His face was covered in blood and dirt, and he was being beaten so badly that he could only cover his head and cower in the woman's arms.

The burly man continued to beat the man, while the soldiers standing by ignored him, merely watching coldly. Jian Yue frowned, and then heard a woman in the crowd say, "This is going to kill someone, aren't the soldiers going to do anything?"

A woman standing next to the woman chimed in, "Manage? How can we manage them? This mother and child have been here for a long time, begging for food and stealing food from the child in the corner."

The man was mentally challenged, and the old woman was blind. Anyone who saw them being robbed would be too heartless to report it to the authorities, so they would just turn a blind eye and let them beg for a living.

But who have we messed with now? They're from the Empress's maternal family, and these two were the ones who started the robbery. Even if we kill them, what then?

The two women said nothing more, but Jian Yue frowned and looked at the mother and son.

The old lady was covered in bruises from the beating, but she still held the person in her arms tightly. The person in her arms was desperately covering his head, and the veins on his hands were bulging. He didn't look like a stupid beggar at all.

The burly man, exhausted from beating the two men, looked at them on the ground and said coldly, "I told you not to steal, and you don't even know who I am. Men, hang them up and leave them to bake in the sun for three days."

The winter wind is cold, and there may even be summer snow. Even if the sun is strong, it's easy to freeze to death at night. Three days is like trying to kill these two people.

"One should show mercy when possible. Sir, you've already hit him, there's no need to be so ruthless!"

Upon hearing this, the burly man looked up and saw a stunningly beautiful young woman standing before him. His eyes lit up instantly, and he placed his hand on his chin, gazing at Jian Yue with lustful eyes.

"Hey! So, what's this chivalrous outing about—is it a good match for a beautiful lady? Does the beauty want me to let them go?"

Jian Yue nodded, looking at the people on the ground and said, "They have already learned their lesson and I believe they will not do such a thing again. Sir, please do a good deed and let them go. Anyway, you have nothing to lose, sir."

The burly man laughed, his eyes gleaming with lust. "You think you can just release them like that? You think there's no loss and there's no loss? What if I said the loss was huge? What do you want to do then? How about you help these two pay it off and spend a night with me? I'll agree to anything you want, how about that?"

Before he could even stop lewdly laughing after saying that, he felt a chill on his neck, followed by gasps from those around him. Chu Tianyi's sword was pressed against his neck, and he said coldly, "Watch your mouth, or I won't mind if blood splatters everywhere right now."

The burly man was startled, then trembled and roared, "Do you know who I am? How dare you treat me like this? What are you doing over there? Come and arrest this man with the sword!"

The patrolling guard, who had been watching the commotion for a while, wiped the cold sweat from his brow, hesitated for a moment, and then walked up to Chu Tianyi, saying, "Sir, fighting is not allowed in the capital city, you see..."

Chu Tian glanced at him coldly, and a chill ran down his spine, sending shivers down his spine. Cold sweat poured down his body. He was terrified, but after glancing at the burly man being pinned down, he didn't dare back down.

Jian Yue walked over to the two men who had been beaten, squatted down to examine them, and then stood up to look at the guard, saying, "You must know what the duties of the city patrol guards are, but now that someone is about to die, you are just standing by and watching the show. Aren't you afraid of being punished?"

Upon hearing this, the guard smiled and said quite naturally, "Miss, you may not know this, but this mother and son are habitual offenders here. They usually rob women and children of their food, and because they are disabled, they have not been reported."

We all knew this, and felt we couldn't let them do it, so we put the two of them in jail. But it was no use. They only stole things to fill their stomachs, and putting them in jail did just what they wanted.

They could only drive them out of the city, but somehow they managed to sneak back in with the crowd and wander around the city outskirts, openly and blatantly, dozens of times.

Later, we had no other choice but to watch. Now that they've been beaten, we figured it was a lesson to them. The capital isn't some small county town; it needs the rule of law too.

"Rule of law? Your rule of law is just watching the powerful beat people up? Just standing by and watching the show? Even if you want to teach them a lesson, you can't just beat them up like this, can you?"

"Beating them wasn't enough; they even hung them up! In this weather, aren't they just trying to freeze and starve them to death? And they say it so grandly, it's an insult to the laws of the capital."

Jian Yue snorted coldly. Chu Tianyi was already getting impatient. He moved his sword and immediately left a bloody mark on the burly man's neck. The burly man, who was about to speak, swallowed the harsh words on his lips and said fearfully, "Sir, spare me! Spare me! Please don't move! Please don't move! My neck isn't made of copper or iron. You can easily leave a hole in it if you're not careful. Please, please don't move!"

The man chickened out, and the patrolling guards got a little anxious. They looked at Chu Tian and said coldly, "Insolence! Your act of wielding a sword and committing violence has violated the laws of the capital. If you kill someone, you will definitely face charges of murder."

I was only trying to reason with you to minimize the damage and prevent you from facing endless legal trouble. If you insist on this course of action, I can't persuade you any further. At most, there will be two more prisoners in the cell. One person can't fight four. I advise you not to do anything foolish.

The guards spoke with great courage, for the enemy's killing intent was too strong, as if they had walked through a sea of ​​blood. These city guards had not seen much of the world. As soon as Chu Tian made his move, they understood that even if the entire team perished here today, the enemy would not lose a single hair.

But no matter what, this is still their own territory, so they still have to intimidate people with their imposing manner.

He puffed out his chest, not daring to look in Chu Tianyi's direction, but glared fiercely at Jian Yue. Anyway, the two of them were in cahoots, and this one looked much kinder and was a woman, so she was easy to bully.

Jian Yue smiled, walked up to the guard, looked at him for a moment, and asked, "What's your name?"

The guard was taken aback: "Why are you asking this?"

Jian Yue laughed and said, "Nothing much, just remember which team you're on and who you work for. When the time comes, tell Shangguan Hanque and he'll send you some good stuff."

Upon hearing this, the guard was startled, then looked at Jian Yue in disbelief and said, "Are you trying to scare me? Do you think I'm a three-year-old child? Do you think just anyone can see Lord Shangguan?"

Jian Yue shrugged: "Why would I scare you? Shangguan Hanque is my cousin. I can see him whenever I want. Why would I scare you?"

And also, the person you're talking about so arrogantly right now is a distinguished guest from the capital. Even the Emperor has to show him respect. He's much higher in status than Shangguan Hanque.

"Tsk tsk, you're quite something! A mere nobody like you actually offended such a powerful figure for the sake of a nobody in the Empress's family. The Emperor himself would probably chop off your head if he found out."

The guard was already utterly astonished by the first half of the sentence, and upon hearing the second half, he felt as if he was about to wet his pants in fear.

He didn't want to believe it, but Jian Yue remained calm, as if she wasn't afraid of being investigated at all, and even seemed to be looking forward to him investigating.

Just then, something even worse happened. Shangguan Hanque was already standing behind Jian Yue. The guard's eyes were on Shangguan Hanque walking over with a gloomy face. He glanced at him, then walked over to Jian Yue and asked with concern, "Yueyue, are you alright?"

Jian Yue shook her head: "It's nothing, I just saw some bad things and was thinking of meddling in them."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Hanque glanced at the two people on the ground, frowned, and turned to Jian Yue, the minor official. The official, having recovered his senses, was so frightened that he sat down on the ground, his eyes wide with fear as he stared at Shangguan Hanque. After a long while, he suddenly got up, knelt down, and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "My lord, spare my life! My lord, spare my life! I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness. I offended Miss. Please, General, spare my life and punish me leniently."

Shangguan Hanque ignored him and instead looked at Chu Tianyi, cupping his fists and saying, "Young Prince, thank you for protecting my sister. I am extremely grateful."

Chu Tianyi sheathed his sword, wiped the blood off the blade, and returned it to its original sheath. He nodded and said, "It's nothing."

Shangguan Hanque nodded to him, then turned to look at the patrolling soldiers who had all lowered their heads and shrunk to one side because of Shangguan Hanque's arrival.

"What is the purpose of patrolling the city? Is it to watch the powerful and wealthy oppress the weak and common people? Is this how you soldiers are? Are you at ease with the people's money then?"

"General."

The kneeling clerk kowtowed and whispered obsequiously, "Those two people who were beaten were beggars, or criminals who have been robbing food at the north gate for a long time."

Shangguan Hanque immediately looked at the clerk and said coldly, "Why didn't you tell me sooner that there was someone like this at the North Gate? What are you good for?"

After saying that, he looked at the man whose throat had almost been slit and said, "Robbing is a crime, and one should naturally accept the punishment of the law. How can you abuse your power? Do you think they are all servants in your backyard? You can kill them at will?"