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

Hua Xiangrong waited for Jian Yue's arrival on Riliang Mountain. According to the original plan, after she escaped, she would go to Riliang Mountain to meet her and then use another identity to go to Bai Jianan's side to help find the antidote for the Gu worms on Bai Jianan's body.

However, after waiting for three days, Jian Yue did not arrive. Just as she was about to go down the mountain to look for him, she saw Shangguan Han Que and Shangguan Ting, who looked travel-worn.

Upon seeing Hua Xiangrong, Shangguan Hanque was slightly taken aback at first, then his eyes lit up with joy as he rushed over, tightly embracing Hua Xiangrong in his arms, and choked out, "I knew you weren't dead."

He had seen Hua Xiangrong's true face before. Only now did he realize that he had heard that Hua Xiangrong, the owner of Lanyue Tower, had been skinned alive and bled to death. He never thought that if that were true, Hua Xiangrong's true face would be discovered.

Therefore, it was not Hua Xiangrong who died that day, but the human skin in Lanyue Tower was just a fake that Hua Xiangrong had removed and further processed.

Thinking of this, Shangguan Hanque's cold face finally showed some color. He believed that if Hua Xiangrong was alive, then Jian Yue must also be alive.

However, he looked left and right but couldn't see Jian Yue. Just as he was wondering, he heard Hua Xiangrong say, "Why are you here? Did Yueyue tell you I was here?"

Shangguan Hanque shook his head and said, "Yueyue only told me to come here to find Master Rong, but she never said that you were still alive. It was Yueyue who sent my grandfather and me here. The capital is in chaos."

As he spoke, he lowered his eyelids, his expression revealing his disappointment with the capital.

Shangguan Tingzheng found it strange. Hadn't his son just lost his beloved? Why was he now embracing a strange woman? Had he fallen in love with someone else? It was truly improper.

Before he could even get angry and rebuke her, Hua Xiangrong said, "Are you stupid? Master Rong, Master Rong, isn't that me, Hua Xiangrong? I'm telling you, blockhead, shouldn't you throw away your brain and get a new one? Or should I make you some pig brains to make up for it?"

The tone and voice of the voice startled Shangguan Ting for a moment, then he looked at Hua Xiangrong in surprise. Hua Xiangrong smiled and pushed Shangguan Hanque aside, then walked to Shangguan Ting's side and said with a smile, "What? Grandpa, you don't recognize me? But judging from your appearance, you can still tell who I am."

Shangguan Ting nodded and asked, "What exactly is going on?"

Hua Xiangrong shrugged, pointed to her face and said, "It's nothing. Actually, the skin I had before wasn't my real skin. This is what I look like now. Grandpa, take a good look. This is what your future granddaughter-in-law looks like. Don't mistake her for someone else in the future."

She spoke with a smile, and Shangguan Ting's old face immediately turned red. After a long while, he realized what she meant and sighed, "I have lived for so many years and have never been fooled by anyone's fake face. But I never thought I would be fooled by you, a junior. Good, good, you have surpassed your teacher. You should be my daughter-in-law."

Hua Xiangrong immediately beamed with joy, but then asked, "Since Yueyue asked you to come, why hasn't she come? We agreed that she would come to find me, but it's been three days and we haven't seen her at all."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Hanque said, "I was also puzzled. I thought Yueyue had really drowned, but later Zhang Baicheng told me that Yueyue asked my grandfather and me to leave the capital and go to Liangshan to find Master Rong. I felt that there was another hidden story behind this."

If Yueyue knew from the beginning that these things would happen and made arrangements for our escape, she should have made her own arrangements as well. But we haven't heard from her along the way; we thought she had gone up Riliang Mountain first and was waiting for us.

Hua Xiangrong asked first, then frowned and said, "Something must have happened. We agreed that she would meet up with me after she left the capital. Riliang Mountain is far from the capital, but given Yueyue's pace and familiarity with the mountain roads, it's definitely not too late, even after three days."

With that, she turned and walked up the mountain, saying, "Let's go back to the mountains first and discuss this further."

Riliang Mountain was a place personally established by Hua Xiangrong and Jian Yue. At that time, in order to have a way to retreat, no one except Jian Yue and Hua Xiangrong knew about it, not even Xiao Cui.

Fortunately, she was kept in the dark; otherwise, Riliangshan would surely have been exposed.

The people who were taken in and trained here were all orphans and beggars, and they had no relation to anyone else, so it was quite secluded. Even Jian Yue and Hua Xiangrong did not expect that this place would really become everyone's last resort.

Hua Xiangrong led Shangguan Ting and the other person to the mountain, and then told them about what she and Jian Yue had discussed. She then frowned and said, "This time, in addition to the Miao people's involvement, Murong Chuan was also behind the incident. The purpose is self-evident, so Yueyue and I were extremely careful, afraid of revealing even the slightest flaw."

After Yueyue was assassinated, I began to investigate the internal affairs of Qilin Pavilion. However, Murong Chuan's sudden intervention forced me to abandon my physical body and Lanyue Tower.

However, it was a blessing in disguise. I later discovered that the leader of the Qilin Pavilion's assassination wing was actually the Miao witch, and the sudden collapse of the Qilin Pavilion was due to her left wing.

Murong Chuan's trouble with Lan Yue Lou and Qi Lin Ge stemmed from this Miao witch. Later, my investigation revealed that the Miao people had sent witches into the Central Plains over a decade ago to infiltrate the region, all for the sake of Yue's rule.

As she spoke, her gaze shifted slightly, and she sneered, "Moreover, she has already achieved half of her goal, controlling quite a few members of the royal family."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Ting stood up with a worried expression and said, "So, the woman in red that the Emperor is protecting is the witch from the Miao region? And the Emperor is being controlled by someone else?"

Hua Xiangrong shook her head and laughed, "Grandpa, you're overthinking it. Your emperor is obviously an ambitious man. The Shangguan family has outstanding military achievements and is above the royal family. Do you think he can tolerate this double-edged sword?"

Shangguan Ting fell silent. Hua Xiangrong continued, "Actually, you should have already thought about the root cause, but you were still clinging to a sliver of hope. Unfortunately, your hope is gone. That old emperor probably already had the determination to get rid of you, but he was just afraid of that legendary iron-clad divine weapon."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Ting rubbed his temples and said, "I have naturally figured it out, but I am still unwilling. If my Shangguan family wanted to rebel earlier, why would we wait until we are in such a sorry state? My son commands 100,000 troops. Back then, I was a Grand Marshal with a million troops. Wasn't it because I was afraid of this kind of thing that I handed over my military power and retired to my hometown?"

Hua Xiangrong smiled and said helplessly, "This is the royal family. If he thinks you are a threat, then you are a threat. Even if you take your heart out, if he still thinks you are a threat, then you are still a threat, aren't you?"

Moreover, in the eyes of emperors, military power is something they feel secure with as long as there is no war. Therefore, to reclaim military power openly and legitimately means to ensure you have no chance of rising again.

As she spoke, she looked at Shangguan Hanque and said, "You silly boy, always putting on such a proper act, yet you don't know that your own emperor has already placed the guillotine on your neck. Luckily, it was Yueyue's commotion that caused this; otherwise, by the time you all understood, your heads and necks would probably already be separated."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Hanque frowned and said, "But Yueyue's whereabouts are currently unknown. What should we do?"

"What's the rush? That girl is incredibly lucky, especially with the help of the young prince from the Northwest. She probably won't die; she's just encountered some trouble."

Hua Xiangrong looked indifferent. After thinking for a moment, she said, "You all go and rest first. We can't rush things with Yueyue's matter. I'll send someone down the mountain to check it out. Once we've confirmed it, we'll find a solution."

Shangguan Ting nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"What's the trouble? We're all family, no need to be so polite."

Hua Xiangrong smiled calmly and had someone take Shangguan Ting to the back to rest, while Shangguan Hanque remained seated, his eyes fixed on Hua Xiangrong.

Seeing this, Hua Xiangrong smiled, crossed her legs, and raised an eyebrow, saying, "What are you looking at, you blockhead?"

"Look at you."

Without hesitation, Shangguan Hanque said, "I thought I would never see you again in this life, but I never thought that I would see you again. It's so good. I just want to see you a little longer."

Hua Xiangrong rolled her eyes and gritted her teeth as she looked at Shangguan Hanque, saying, "Heh, I said you're a blockhead and you really are a blockhead. What time is it? You're still sitting here watching? Shouldn't you be reunited with me after so long, holding me to ease the pain of longing?"

Shangguan Hanque was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening. He saw Hua Xiangrong had already stood up, smiling and opening her arms, saying, "Silly boy, aren't you coming?"

These words were like an aphrodisiac poison. Shangguan Hanque suddenly stood up and pounced on Hua Xiangrong. He was so engrossed in walking that he didn't even realize that the chair behind him had fallen to the ground.

He hugged Hua Xiangrong tightly, and tears welled up in his eyes, causing him to cry like a child.

Hua Xiangrong patted his back with a smile: "You're so unromantic. We've been apart for so long, let's just go to bed and take care of things. Why are you crying? You're such a spoilsport."

However, although she said it was disappointing, her eyes were full of smiles, and she hugged Shangguan Hanque back with both arms, without the slightest bit of annoyance.

Shangguan Hanque choked up and said, "Xiangrong, let's get married!"

Hua Xiangrong immediately laughed: "Now?"

"Yes, right now, I want to marry you. I want to hold you in my arms every night as I fall asleep. I want to look at you every moment. I want to hold you close and never leave your side. Xiangrong, marry me. I can't bear to be separated from you anymore. I can't take it, I really can't. I'll die."

Shangguan Hanque held Hua Xiangrong tightly. He truly could not bear to hear news of her accident again. Those days and nights had become a nightmare for him, and he did not want to experience them again.