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

As he said this, Hua Xiangrong could clearly feel his whole body trembling. Her eyes softened with tenderness, and she said softly, "Alright, let's get married. But you should think this through. I'm not someone with a clear identity now. I'm the leader of this stronghold, a bandit, you understand? I'm destined to be at odds with the government."

"If we really get married, you, my former henchman of the court, can't betray me. You'll be my husband, the bandit chief."

Hua Xiangrong spoke arrogantly, and Shangguan Hanque immediately said seriously, "The imperial court has nothing to do with my Shangguan family now. I want to marry you, no matter if you are a bandit or something."

All I know is that from the day we married, you, Hua Xiangrong, are my wife, and from this day forward, for all eternity, we are bound together in life and death, never to be separated.

Upon hearing this, Hua Xiangrong finally couldn't hold back any longer, and tears welled up in her eyes. She blinked hard, forcing the tears back into her eyes, and said, "Okay, you said it, let's get married. But we still have to wait until the girl comes back. I have to make her my bridesmaid."

"it is good."

The eldest princess's mansion.

Bai Jianan lay on the bed, his eyes glazed over. Beside him, Princess Murong Yan looked at him with a heavy expression, her eyes filled with deep self-reproach.

"Nan'er, I'm sorry, I've dragged you down."

Bai Jianan shook his head and said with a bitter smile, "What is Mother talking about? It has nothing to do with you. It's him. His heart is too cruel, so cruel that it hurts."

Murong Yan sighed, her eyes filled with pain and sorrow.

"Back then, I had already boarded his ship, but I never imagined that he would be even more ruthless than before. If I hadn't told him about your existence back then, perhaps none of this would have happened."

Bai Jianan's birth was not part of Murong Qianqiu's plan. It was just a coincidence that the Empress was determined to give birth to the child, even if it meant death, and the child was perfectly healthy.

Back then, Murong Yan was as innocent as a child. She was on good terms with the late Empress and stayed by her side when the Empress passed away. At that time, Emperor Murong Qianqiu, having secured his throne, was already moving among various concubines, and the one he visited most often was Sun Rouxiang's palace.

As a result, Sun Rouxiang controlled most of the palace, which led to Murong Qianqiu's indulgence.

The late empress was also kept under control, and even the critically ill Murong Qianqiu did not appear due to the power of the Sun family.

The late Empress was unaware of Murong Qianqiu's ruthlessness. She was a simple woman who only knew how to be a good wife and mother, so she never knew that she had become a burden to her husband. Even when she was abandoned, she still desperately gave birth to the child in her womb.

Murong Yan confirmed the birth of the child, who was Bai Jianan at the time.

When the child was born, the sound of crying that echoed throughout the palace startled everyone. Sun Rouxiang learned of this immediately and quickly sent people to deal with it. For the child's safety, Murong Yan had no choice but to escape from the palace with the child after the late empress asked for help.

And so, he met the Marquis of Qingyan, who had just been ennobled that year.

Subsequently, Murong Yan wanted to return to the palace to find Murong Qianqiu, but was told by Qingyan Hou, who had saved her, that news had spread from the palace that Princess Murong Yan had been attacked by assassins and had died.

At that time, she was at a loss, and it was Qingyan Marquis who helped her meet Murong Qianqiu.

After seeing the child, Murong Qianqiu initially did not believe it, but after a blood test to confirm kinship, she finally believed Murong Yan's story.

But at that time, the late empress had passed away, and the child in her womb was said to be stillborn. If the child were taken back now, even if it could stay in the palace, it would still be doomed.

Therefore, Murong Qianqiu made Murong Yan keep it a secret and not tell anyone. He only told her that the child was born from her affair with another man, and he even forced Murong Yan to destroy her virginity herself.

At that time, Murong Yan did hate Murong Qianqiu, but when she thought of the innocent child, she could only give in.

Subsequently, without knowing the truth, Qingyan Hou asked Murong Qianqiu to marry Murong Yan. Murong Qianqiu readily agreed, saying that the child was the child of Qingyan Hou and the Eldest Princess.

Marquis Qingyan truly loved Murong Yan, and he endured it even knowing that the child the young girl in front of him was born to her and another man.

The two quickly got married, and then took Bai Jianan back to their fiefdom. The two were very harmonious and developed feelings for each other. However, there was always a thorn in Qingyan Hou's heart.

The eldest daughter of the Murong family has never said who the child's biological father is. Why has Murong Yan been able to keep it a secret for more than 20 years? Every time Qingyan Hou tried to ask, he was met with Murong Yan's cold face and helpless silence.

In truth, Murong Yan was in real pain. Throughout her life, she had only ever known Qingyan Hou, and Bai Jianan was her own nephew whom she had raised. For Bai Jianan's safety, she dared not tell anyone about his true identity, not even her husband.

Who would have thought that after raising him for twenty years, this child would still end up in such a state? I really don't know if this is his biological father or a demon.

Now, for the sake of his own empire, he is betraying his own son, claiming it's for Bai Jianan's future. But who doesn't know what Murong Qianqiu's true intentions are?

Murong Yan looked at Bai Jianan and said, "Don't be too sad. The deceased is gone. It's just that the world is cruel, and that girl was too stubborn."

Murong Yan wanted to say that she was not good enough for anything. After all, in her opinion, with Jian Yue's quick wit and understanding, she shouldn't have ended up drowning. This only harmed herself and benefited others. If she only had this much ability, she was not worthy of Bai Jianan.

Seeing Bai Jianan's sadness, she changed her words. Bai Jianan shook his head and said, "It's my fault. Letting the Miao people infiltrate has led to my current situation."

Yueyue is proud and arrogant, and can't stand being wronged. I made promises but didn't keep them, so naturally she was sad and angry. I just wanted her to wait a little longer, to explain to her when I could control my body. But fate played a cruel trick on her. It wasn't that she didn't understand me; it was that she didn't have time to understand me.

At this moment, all I could see in my mind was the image of her falling into the water. Her lips were moving, and the smile in her eyes was mixed with tears. The intense pain made it hard to breathe.

Bai Jianan suddenly didn't want to talk to Murong Yan anymore. He rubbed his temples and said weakly, "I'm really fine, Mother, you can go out now!"

Murong Yan had no choice but to get up and say, "Alright, I'll go out first. You should rest well and recover before we can continue. Don't forget, even if you don't want that position, you have to live well for Yueyue's sake."

After Murong Yan finished speaking, she went out. Then, a dark figure came down from the beam and looked at Bai Jianan, saying, "Sorry, I'm late."

Bai Jianan didn't even lift his eyelids, and asked, "It is indeed late, everything is over."

Zang Feng said helplessly, "I was entangled with someone and couldn't get away. Otherwise, that kind of thing definitely wouldn't have happened that day."

On that day, he was in the crowd, witnessing Heli Hong's appearance, seeing Bai Jianan unable to speak due to the Gu worms, and seeing Jian Yue in a sorry and desperate state, ultimately being forced to fall into the water.

But there was nothing he could do. The moment Helihong appeared, he was entangled by a strange man in black. This man was highly skilled in martial arts, on par with him, but when he sparred with him, he showed no killing intent whatsoever. He just held him back, preventing him from going up to rescue him.

After that, he fought with the man in black for three days before finally shaking him off, and the first thing he did upon returning was to go to Bai Jianan.

Bai Jianan was in extremely poor condition. The Gu worms had already made his body much weaker than before, and now, with the shock of Jian Yue's death, he was as if he were dead, and even his words carried a hint of death.

Zang Feng frowned and said, "Is this all it takes for a woman? Have you forgotten the confident and ambitious you used to be?"

Bai Jianan didn't speak, just blinked, the image of Jian Yue falling into the water still lingering in his mind.

The image seemed frozen in his memory; whether his eyes were open or closed, Jian Yue's last smile never disappeared.

"wait for me."

"wait for me."

The same thing filled his ears; those two words were what Jian Yue had said to him when she fell into the water. It was spoken language, which he couldn't hear, but he could understand.

I can understand it; it's sign language, yes.

Bai Jianan suddenly stood up, his eyes wide open, and stared intently at Cang Feng, saying, "If this is my fate, should I set off firecrackers to celebrate? To celebrate that they have completely removed my weaknesses, and to celebrate that they have successfully put me on the path that a superior should take."

"Heh, Zang Feng, don't you think this is ridiculous? They did succeed. From now on, I, Bai Jianan, am nothing but a walking corpse; nothing will ever stand in my way again."

Zang Feng was somewhat confused about whether Bai Jianan's behavior was good or bad, but Bai Jianan was indeed much better than before. He even got up and went to the table, ate all the food that Murong Yan had brought in, and then closed his eyes and started to sleep. Soon after, he began to breathe soundly in his sleep.

This move really shocked Zang Feng, no less than when he first saw Hua Xiangrong change her skin. He couldn't understand whether Bai Jianan was overstimulated or had really come to terms with it.

But isn't this a bit too fast?

Shaking his head, Cang Feng turned and flew onto the roof beam, continuing his protective stance. He gazed at the starry sky, and in a daze, he recalled the scene when he met Bai Jianan back then.

The little child stood in front of him, pointed at his sword and said, "Your sword is incomplete."

He suddenly laughed. Indeed, his Heartless Sword Technique was incomplete. In fact, no one in Heartless Valley, including his father, had reached the pinnacle of mastery. This was because the practice of the Heartless Sword Technique required one to first be heartless, then compassionate, and finally, to cultivate heartlessness within compassion.