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

Shangguan Hanque stopped, staring at Jian Yue with bloodshot eyes. The despair in his eyes was so profound that it was heartbreaking to see.

Jian Yue lowered her eyes and said, "I am ruthless. What if I wasn't? Could Sister Hua have come back to life? There is no medicine for regret in this world. If there were, I would hope that nothing would happen to her, that she would live, live well, and become my sister-in-law."

But I can't, brother. I'm not heartless. I have to live. I have to avenge her. I must devote all my energy to revenge. I can't let Sister Hua die in vain.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Hanque suddenly buried his face in his hands and burst into tears.

"Yueyue, I've only ever loved one woman in my life, and I only love her. What should I do? What should I do?"

Jian Yue paused for a moment, then said, "Of course it's to avenge her. Brother, you're not restricted in your movements, so you can go to Riliang Mountain and find Master Rong there. He's Sister Hua's junior brother."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Hanque looked up at Jian Yue and asked, "Riliang Mountain? Xiang Rong has never mentioned it."

“Of course we won’t mention it. Sister Hua and I have special identities, how could we implicate Master Rong? Brother, when you go to Riliang Mountain, don’t tell anyone, not even if Grandfather asks. This is the key to our entire plan.”

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Hanque frowned: "Yueyue, what are you going to do again? Don't do anything foolish. Xiangrong is already gone, and I don't want anything else to happen to you."

Jian Yue smiled and said, "What could possibly happen to me? I'm getting married tomorrow. With the Marquis of Qingyan's heir and the Princess as my backers, everything will be perfect."

"What did you say? Getting married tomorrow? How is that possible? Didn't we not even set a wedding date before?"

Shangguan Hanque frowned even more deeply, his tone filled with dissatisfaction. Jian Yue shrugged and said, "Who knows? Anyway, she'll get married sooner or later. If it's sooner, it's sooner. After all, their status is higher than ours."

Jian Yue smiled, but under Shangguan Hanque's gaze, her smile gradually faded. She lowered her eyes and said, "Brother, from now on, you'll be the only one taking care of Grandfather. You must take good care of yourself, and we'll keep in touch."

After a long pause, Shangguan Hanque finally said, "Is it because of the Shangguan family that you've been implicated?"

"What are you talking about? How can you call it implicating them? If we're talking about implicating them, it's me who implicated the Shangguan family. Brother, you have to understand, no matter who I am, I'm destined to be entangled with them, simply because my mother is Shangguan Linglong. She disappeared sixteen years ago, but she didn't die."

Shangguan Hanque remained silent. Indeed, this single reason was enough to prevent Jian Yue from escaping this enormous vortex.

However, without the legend passed down through generations of the Shangguan family, Shangguan Linglong would not have disappeared sixteen years ago. So, in the final analysis, it all comes down to the Shangguan family.

Thinking of this, Shangguan Hanque sighed, stood up and pulled Jian Yue up as well, saying in a hoarse voice, "I won't leave for now, I'll see you off tomorrow."

Jian Yue smiled, wanting to say no, but then she saw that Xiao Cui had already returned and was following behind Shangguan Ting.

Jian Yue immediately shut up and looked at Shangguan Hanque, saying, "Brother, the deceased is gone, you don't need to be sad. If you really can't bear it, leave the capital and rest for a few days to relieve your mood."

Shangguan Hanque shook his head, gave a bitter smile, and said, "Don't worry about me, Yueyue. I know what to do, it's just that I can't accept it right now. Your brother has finally fallen for someone like this."

As he spoke, his voice choked with emotion again. Just then, Shangguan Ting arrived beside him and, upon hearing this, immediately snorted coldly, "A seven-foot man should not be so weak. Spit it out."

Shangguan Hanque wiped Yin Hong's eyes, looked at Shangguan Ting and whispered, "Grandfather."

"Hmph, so you do know I'm your grandfather? You suddenly disappeared for several days, and when you came back, you didn't even pay your respects to me right away. Do you really think I'm your grandfather? I feel like you're treating this general's mansion as your temporary lodging."

Shangguan Ting's tone was unfriendly, and Shangguan Hanque could only suppress his emotions, lower his head, and remain silent. This stubborn look made Shangguan Ting's heart ache. He waved his hand helplessly and said, "Alright, alright, hurry up and go back to your room to reflect on your mistakes. Look at the state you are in now, how are you going to send your sister off tomorrow?"

After Shangguan Hanque finished speaking, he bowed to Shangguan Ting and turned to leave. Shangguan Ting could only shake his head and say to Jian Yue, "Your brother is just not as mature and steady as you."

Jian Yue smiled and shook her head, saying, "Brother is a man of strong feelings, and he's already old enough to be your maternal grandfather."

Shangguan Ting sighed and said, "Yes, it's also because your brother is unlucky. I like that girl very much too."

Jian Yue chuckled, and then Shangguan Ting looked at her and said, "The wedding date is so sudden, I didn't have much to prepare. These dowries were prepared for your mother back then, but unfortunately, they were never used. I've kept them all this time, and tomorrow they can finally be put to use."

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue looked at Shangguan Ting. Shangguan Ting had aged; his temples were covered in layers of white hair, and his once straight back was now hunched over. However, because of the existence of this family, he still stood in his position, sheltering these younger generations from the wind and rain.

Jian Yue suddenly felt a pang of sadness and stepped forward to hug Shangguan Ting tightly, saying, "Grandfather, you must take good care of yourself. I will come back to see you."

Shangguan Ting smiled and patted her back affectionately, saying, "Silly child, getting married is a joyous occasion, why are you crying? You'll still be staying in the capital anyway, it's not like you won't see her again, it's alright, it's alright."

Jian Yue remained silent, unable to express her feelings at that moment. The thought of tomorrow filled her with a deep sorrow.

Shangguan Ting continued, "By the way, do you still have the seal that I gave you before?"

"I'm keeping it."

Jian Yue nodded. She did want to return the seal to the strange man in black, Hei Feng, but he left too quickly, so she had to leave it behind. Fortunately, she did.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Ting nodded with relief and said, "Keep it safe and keep it safe. It might come in handy in the future."

Jian Yue nodded, then asked, "Grandfather, what exactly is this seal for? Why did Mother sew it into her clothes back then?"

Shangguan Ting paused, then released Jian Yue. Jian Yue got up and walked towards the corridor, sighing as he walked: "This thing has always appeared in my Shangguan family. Every generation has someone holding it, and every generation disappears without a trace."

I don't know what it is. Back then, it was in your maternal grandmother's possession. Later, your maternal grandmother became seriously ill and passed away, and the thing disappeared along with her.

Then, when your mother was fifteen, this thing suddenly appeared on her coming-of-age ceremony dress, so I told your mother to hide it well. Unexpectedly, your mother sewed it inside her clothes and entrusted it to the Princess.

Jian Yue nodded, then asked, "What about those strange symbols and characters? Could they be secret codes unique to our Shangguan family?"

"No, this is the legend of our Shangguan family."

Shangguan Ting smiled and said, "I'm sure you're familiar with this legend."

Jian Yue nodded: "That story about the Ironclad Warrior?"

"Yes, but I don't know if this Ironclad Divine Weapon is real or fake. I'm not very clear about what happened back then. Your great-grandfather seemed to know a thing or two, but he never told me. I only found out some things by hearing rumors."

However, these symbols and characters were passed down to us by your great-grandfather, and I then passed them on to your mother and your uncle. Fortunately, your mother is exceptionally intelligent and learned these symbols, and she also successfully taught you. Otherwise, I can't even imagine what kind of life you would be living now.

As he spoke, he turned to Jian Yue and said, “Yueyue, you must remember that these written symbols are the only connection between the Shangguan family and the Ironclad Soldiers. So, no matter where you go, if you have children in the future, you must pass these down. Perhaps one day, the Ironclad Soldiers will appear and help you or your children through a calamity.”

The armored soldiers are real; they have appeared, and more than once. My mother met her end because of their indifference and coldness. Do you, Grandfather, still want to place your hopes on this cold-blooded and ruthless organization?

Jian Yue thought this to herself, but looking into Shangguan Ting's eyes, she couldn't bear to say this cruel reality. She just nodded and agreed.

Shangguan Ting then left, his steps heavy, which made Jian Yue feel sad once again.

Xiao Cui stood beside her and, seeing tears welling up in her eyes, stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "Miss, don't be sad."

Jian Yue shook her head and smiled, "I'm not sad. Why would I be sad? I'm just feeling heavy-hearted. Alright, go pack your things. You'll be leaving early tomorrow morning. There are only men in the mansion, so they can't touch my things. You'll have to work a little harder."

"Not at all, this is Xiao Cui's duty. Miss, you should go and rest first. Xiao Cui will pack up right away and make sure it won't delay tomorrow's business."

As Xiao Cui spoke, she turned around and started packing her things, while Jian Yue stared blankly at her back for a moment before a cold glint flashed in his eyes and the corners of his lips turned up.

That evening, as expected, another distinguished guest arrived at Jian Yue's room. Jian Yue lay on the bed fully clothed until he appeared, then sat up and said with a smile, "I never expected that a prince of a country would enjoy being a thief. It's truly astonishing."

Murong Chuan walked to Jian Yue's side with a gloomy face. Seeing Jian Yue smiling at him, he was immediately filled with anger. He stepped forward, grabbed Jian Yue's arm, and casually placed it on her face. With a quick movement, he tore off Jian Yue's mask, revealing the face he had been longing for.

He squinted and asked, "Why?"

Jian Yue was taken aback, then smiled without a trace of panic, and asked, "What does the Crown Prince mean? What do you mean by 'why'?"

"Why are you covering your face? Why are you pretending we're complete strangers? Why are you marrying that crooked-mouthed, slanted-eyed, good-for-nothing Bai Jianan? Why? Tell me why!"