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

He pushed the doors aside with a sudden movement, and a strong stench of blood swept over them. Jian Yue frowned and stepped back, while Xiao Cui turned deathly pale and stood behind Jian Yue, trembling.

Murong Chuan smiled enigmatically, then turned to Jian Yue and said, "What are you afraid of? It's not like you've never seen a dead person before."

Jian Yue didn't move, but covered her lips and said, "What does Your Highness mean by this?"

"What could I possibly mean? I just want you to come with me and take a look. What? You don't want to?"

Jian Yue frowned, her tone displeased, and said bluntly, "Whether I'm willing or not, doesn't Your Highness know perfectly well? Asking now, don't you think it's pointless?"

At this moment, Jian Yue seemed to be covered in thorns, staring warily at Murong Chuan, as if she would resist if Murong Chuan forced her to move forward again.

Murong Chuan smiled and looked at the house, saying, "The person inside is now dead, and her death was gruesome. I wonder what kind of scenery the young master saw when he was lying on her bed."

"If you come over now, you can still see her outline, and you can imagine why your young master would fall for a courtesan. If you come any later, she'll probably be in deep trouble."

As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on Jian Yue, as if he wanted to see her loss of composure.

Jian Yue scoffed inwardly, but outwardly she was extremely restrained. Then, with a stubborn look, she looked at Murong Chuan and said, "I don't know what the Crown Prince's intention is. Jian Yue is just a woman. Even if I saw it, what could I do? At most, I would have nightmares for three days. Does this add any fun for the Crown Prince?"

Or is it that the Crown Prince wants to see me make a fool of myself, and is actually trying to get back at the Heir Apparent by attacking me? If that's the case, then the Crown Prince's methods are rather underhanded.

Given the young master's status, there seems to be no conflict between him and the crown prince. Yet, given how the crown prince treats his fiancée, I think even the eldest princess would be displeased with the crown prince if she knew!

Murong Chuan paused, looked at Jian Yue, and sneered, "Should I say you're naive or clever? Who else can truly understand the situation between me and the heir of Qingyan Marquis?"

You're quite adept at using your advantages, aren't you? Trying to use the Princess to pressure me? But you've miscalculated. The Princess will be leaving the capital in three days. Given the situation, it's probably uncertain whether the Marquis of Qingyan's heir will marry you.

"You think so highly of yourself now, aren't you afraid that unforeseen events might happen in the future, causing you to suffer setbacks and never recover?"

Jian Yue's hand tightened instantly, and she looked up at Murong Chuan. At this moment, Murong Chuan's eyes had already shifted away, staring at the room. Jian Yue bit her lip, looking like she was enduring something. After a long while, she walked towards Murong Chuan step by step.

Murong Chuan caught a glimpse of this and immediately smiled with a smug look.

Then, Jian Yue saw the scene inside the room, and Xiao Cui screamed and retreated hastily, crashing into the wall behind her, her face pale and her eyes wide open.

Inside the house, everything was in a mess, with blood and flesh scattered all over the floor.

On the floor just inside the house, there was a clump of fine hair, still attached to a bit of skin, lying quietly in front of Jian Yue.

Then, pieces of human skin appeared on the ground one after another, all stained with blood. Even more shockingly, a half-face skin with the scalp attached lay quietly on the ground, and that half-face skin was none other than Hua Xiangrong's appearance.

Looking ahead, the scene was no longer within her sight. Jian Yue suppressed the nausea in her throat and looked at the bed.

A mangled, bloodied body lay there in an extremely contorted position, eyes wide open and mouth agape, looking as if he had suffered a great shock and was in immense pain.

Her entire body was devoid of human skin, covered in blood, and the texture of the remaining flesh after the skinning was done could still be seen. Blood was still sizzling under the texture, clearly indicating that she had just been skinned.

"vomit!"

Xiao Cui couldn't take it anymore and fell to the ground, vomiting. While vomiting, she pressed her chest, her eyes glazed over, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably like a spinning top, completely lacking any self-control.

Jian Yue also took several steps back, staggered to her feet, and forced a smile that appeared to be one of strength on her lips as she squeezed out a few words.

"The Crown Prince is satisfied."

Her face was almost pale, her fists were clenched tightly, her fingertips were digging into her palms, and the pain and suppressed fear were spreading in her heart.

Even so, she still suppressed the fear in her eyes, along with her dissatisfaction and resentment towards Murong Chuan, staring intently at him as if she would pounce on him at any moment and bite off a piece of his flesh.

Upon seeing this, Murong Chuan suddenly burst into laughter and said, "Are you really that scared? You weren't like this when Qiu Lingrong died that day. You were as calm as if it had nothing to do with you. I thought you were exceptionally brave, but I didn't expect you to be just a paper tiger."

Jian Yue smiled weakly and said coldly, "You said it yourself, it's a paper tiger, but even if it's made of paper, it's still a tiger, isn't it? It can still put on a show in front of people."

I just don't understand why the Crown Prince insisted on making me see this scene. Even if the young master and I are not destined to be together and cannot become husband and wife, then it has nothing to do with the Crown Prince!

"I don't understand why the Crown Prince treats me this way. What have I done to offend him? Is it simply because he mistook me for someone else and then punished me for it?"

As she spoke, her gaze shifted to Murong Chuan, who paused for a moment before waving his hand. Several people following behind them came out and went into the house.

The men wrapped up the body in the room and carried it out. The scraps of skin on the ground were also swept up. Murong Chuancai then said, "We have already determined who this person is. However, what I am more curious about is that, apart from this dead person, I have not captured any of the people here."

As he spoke, his gaze sharpened as he looked at Jian Yue with a probing look in his eyes.

"Your sudden arrival here today is undeniably suspicious. But as you yourself said, the young master visited here a few days ago and was entangled with the women here."

Therefore, I now have to suspect that this rebel's hideout is connected to the heir of the Marquis of Qingyan, and that this woman's death is also related to him. And you, perhaps, are the key figure in all of this.

Jian Yue smiled sarcastically and asked, "Is the Crown Prince trying to frame me?"

"Slander? Did I? It's just a speculation based on how things have developed. If you think it's wrong, you can bring it up and discuss it with me. If what you say makes sense, I will naturally change my mind."

Jian Yue shook her head and chuckled: "Do you think the Crown Prince would believe me? If he doesn't, what's the point of me saying this? I have always acted uprightly and without fault, but I just happened to come here today and was caught red-handed by the Crown Prince. If you knew what was happening here and was part of the plan, why would you come here when the Crown Prince is here?"

Could it be that in the Crown Prince's eyes, Jian Yue is merely a foolish and unworthy person? If so, then what is the Crown Prince still afraid of?

Murong Chuan looked at Jian Yue, her incessant chatter was so captivating that it was impossible to look away. Her focused and earnest manner reminded one of their first meeting.

After a long silence, Murong Chuan finally spoke, "Why aren't you her?"

Jian Yue raised an eyebrow: "Who? Has the Crown Prince thought of his confidante again?"

Murong Chuan was taken aback for a moment, then suddenly smiled, turned around and walked towards the stairs, saying, "Let's go back. That's enough for today. See you tomorrow."

Tomorrow? Could it be that he has also been invited to the banquet hosted by the prime minister's daughter?

Jian Yue frowned slightly, glanced at Xiao Cui who was still lying on the ground, dazed and confused, and said coldly, "Alright, get up and go back."

Xiao Cui got up in response, but didn't say anything for a long time. She followed Jian Yue with her head down, and remained so all the way back to the General's Mansion. Jian Yue looked at her and told her to go back and rest. Xiao Cui really didn't say a word and ran back to her room, never to come out again.

Jian Yue watched her leave and said to Zhang Baicheng behind her, "When Xiao Cui comes over later, if she wants to come in, tell her I'm asleep and no one is allowed in."

Zhang Baicheng was puzzled, but seeing Jian Yue's expression, he nodded without asking anything.

Jian Yue then went back to her room and closed the door.

Afterwards, instead of resting, she changed her clothes, disguised herself as another person, and left through the window. When she passed the guards by the window, she said the same words as Zhang Baicheng to them before jumping over the wall and leaving.

The walls of the Qiu residence were not as high as those of the General's residence, and Jian Yue easily jumped over them, evading the night patrol guards, and ran to the courtyard where she used to live.

The yard was overgrown with weeds, as if no one had cleaned it for a long time, but judging from the marks on the ground, it seemed that people still lived there.

Following the trail, Jian Yue quickly found the person.

Xiao Rou and Xiao Tao had always lived in this courtyard. Because of Jian Yue, they were even less favored by the young ladies and mistresses of the mansion. They seemed to have been forgotten and were left with only their lives, barely surviving in this courtyard.

At this moment, Xiao Rou was sitting in the room with her back to the door, doing something unknown, while Xiao Tao was standing beside her, looking at her with a cold face.

The two seemed to have started arguing about something, and suddenly they started fighting. Then, Xiao Rou stabbed Xiao Tao in the chest with a pair of scissors. Xiao Rou then went crazy and stabbed her several more times. Instantly, Xiao Tao died with her mouth open and her eyes wide open.

Then, Xiaorou stared blankly at Xiaotao, who was dead on the ground, and then quickly grabbed a bed sheet, wrapped Xiaotao up tightly, and dragged her toward the door.