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

Upon hearing this, Qiu Lingyu's face suddenly fell, and her voice was somewhat cold as she said in a flat tone, "Your Highness is too kind. It was just a chance encounter in the past, and I would never dare to use it to build a relationship with Your Highness. I am here today only to assist Your Highness with important political matters."

Murong Chuan's expression changed, and he looked at Qiu Lingyu with some confusion. He never expected that his goodwill would be rejected by someone, and the person who rejected him was someone he had been thinking about for several years.

Seeing that Qiu Lingyu was not giving him a good look, Murong Chuan felt uncomfortable. He wanted to ask what was wrong, but because of the different occasion, he could only awkwardly smile and say, "It's been a few years since we last met, and Ling'er's words have become more and more forceful. But it really hurts me to hear you say that. My longing for you is not just a little bit."

Qiu Lingyu smiled and said, "Lingyu also misses her little brother from back then, but now is not the time for reminiscing. Your Highness should prioritize official business."

Although Qiu Lingyu was smiling, the smile didn't reach her eyes, and her words of reminiscing were cold. Her beautiful eyes were simply looking calmly at Murong Chuan.

Upon hearing this, Murong Chuan's expression changed, and he smiled, "Alas! In the end, it seems that Ling'er is blaming me. Since that's the case, I will only discuss official business today, and we can leave the reminiscing for tomorrow."

As she spoke, Murong Chuan turned to Bai Jianan and said, "I am about to make my move. I wonder what the young master thinks?"

Bai Jianan sat in a chair, fanning himself in the cold weather. When Murong Chuan spoke to him, he glanced at him sideways, then closed his eyes and said, "Get to work, why all the nonsense? Are you here to find a wolf or to seduce my woman?"

After saying this, Murong Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly, and Heli Hong also paused, looking at Bai Jianan.

Bai Jianan sneered inwardly, but said on the surface, "Little sister Ling'er, little brother, tsk tsk, these are really nice terms of address. But Your Highness, you must remember this. Don't use these terms again in the future, otherwise people will think that my Ling'er has cheated on me."

Murong Chuan clenched his fist and said coldly, "Oh? What does the young master mean by this?"

Bai Jianan thanked him, then lifted his eyelids slightly and said, "What do you mean? You keep calling my woman 'Ling'er,' how am I supposed to put my face?"

After Bai Jianan finished speaking, Murong Chuan immediately looked at Qiu Lingyu, but he did not see any denial on her face. She remained calm and aloof as before. Could it be that what Bai Jianan said was true?

Murong Chuan felt somewhat uncomfortable, but could only snort coldly, "When old friends meet, they always chat about everyday things. Besides, we haven't seen each other for many years, so it's natural to be more cordial now that we've met. For the lion to stop us like this is rather heartless, isn't it?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Jianan chuckled and looked at Murong Chuan with a mocking tone, clicking his tongue and saying, "What do you mean by being unreasonable? Do you mean that I, the young master, should give you my woman so that you can be together day and night, being affectionate and loving? That would be my way of being reasonable."

"Your Highness, do you understand? The Ling'er before you is not the Ling'er you once knew. Now she is my concubine, Bai Jianan's concubine, and must abide by the Three Obediences and Four Virtues and be well-versed in the Precepts for Women!"

Heli Hong remained silent throughout, standing behind Bai Jianan, behaving like a proper wife. However, no one could see that when Bai Jianan spoke those words, her lowered eyes held a deep-seated hatred, and her hands clenched tightly in her sleeves, her knuckles turning white.

Murong Chuan couldn't utter a word. He glared at Bai Jianan with resentment, then abruptly threw up his sleeves and shouted, "Men, search him!"

Bai Jianan remained seated, showing no sign of displeasure, fanning himself with a powerful flourish, his face radiating contentment.

Naturally, they didn't find the wolf, but they did find two more corpses, also dressed in black, belonging to members of the Assassin's Guild.

Herri's red eyes finally changed. She looked at the mutilated corpse on the ground in silence. Murong Chuan squatted down, lifted the white cloth, took a look, frowned, covered his nose, and said, "Is this wolf really a wild wolf? Why does it specifically target the tenderest parts of a person's flesh?"

Bai Jianan also covered his nose, looking disgusted and angry, and said, "What do you care where it bites? What comes out anyway?"

Murong Chuan stood up, shook his head and said, "We searched the entire mansion but couldn't find any trace of it, not even footprints. Apart from the bloodstains next to the corpse, the rest of the place was very clean. I don't know if the wolf was smart enough to wipe its paws, or if the servants in your mansion are too clean."

Bai Jianan looked coldly at Murong Chuan and asked, "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing much. In short, there's definitely a traitor in the household. It's just that this person is clever, making it difficult to find out. So, if you want to find out whether this was done by Lang or someone seeking revenge and doing it on purpose, you'll have to investigate from within your own household. But I can't arrest everyone in your household, can I? Otherwise, you'll go to Father and say that I'm deliberately targeting you."

At this point, Murong Chuan suddenly gave a sarcastic smile and said, "Sometimes I really wonder, am I his son, or are you?"

Upon hearing this, Bai Jianan paused for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, saying, "I wish I had an emperor as a father, but things are fine as they are now, my uncle is like a father to me. Alright, since you can't find anything out either, then hurry up and leave. I'll handle this myself."

Instead of getting angry, Murong Chuan laughed: "Throughout history, the only person I admire who can be so self-righteous in discarding someone after they've served their purpose is Bai Jianan."

"Why not be assertive? I feel perfectly justified in using it! I'm just curious that the Crown Prince would compare himself to a donkey, tsk tsk, what a habit..."

Murong Chuan was immediately enraged and coldly said, "Bai Jianan!"

Bai Jianan immediately rubbed his ears, pretending not to care, and said, "Why are you making so much noise? I'm not deaf."

Murong Chuan was so angry that he wanted to make a move, but Heli Hong suddenly stood up and stood in front of Bai Jianan, squinting at Murong Chuan and saying, "Your Highness."

At this moment, Qiu Lingyu, who had been observing silently, also stood up and said, "Your Highness, the young master spoke without thinking. I believe Your Highness understands this better than anyone else after all these years. I hope Your Highness will not take offense."

Heli Hong silenced Murong Chuan with just two words. Murong Chuan was wary of Heli Hong, and when he heard Qiu Lingyu speaking up for Bai Jianan, his face turned a deep shade of liver.

Upon seeing this, Bai Jianan was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and said, "What's going on? Hong'er, come back. How can a girl be so violent? You are the Crown Prince's consort, don't lose your dignity. Especially fighting with the Crown Prince, that's a serious crime."

Hearing this, Heli Hong stepped back. Bai Jianan stood up, walked to Murong Chuan's side, patted him on the shoulder and laughed: "You, after all these years, still can't control your emotions. How can this be?"

I merely spoke the truth, and you've already become enraged. At that rate, wouldn't a minister be dying every single day? No wonder the Emperor suspects you're incompetent and has begun grooming other princes.”

Murong Chuan's eyes flickered, and Bai Jianan continued with a sigh, "I'm just playing around in the capital; I'll leave sooner or later. What's the point of you competing with me? You'll only make yourself a laughingstock. You'd be better off cultivating your character and figuring out how to deal with your sharp tongue in court."

Murong Chuan remained silent for a moment, then coldly snorted and removed Bai Jianan's hand, saying, "Then there's no need for you to worry, Young Master. As long as you don't cause me any trouble while you're in the capital, I won't do anything."

After saying that, Murong Chuan glanced at Qiu Lingyu subtly, then turned and left. Bai Jianan watched her back for a while, then looked at Heli Hong and said, "It seems that he didn't do it."

Herihong was taken aback: "You were just questioning him?"

Bai Jianan turned around and said matter-of-factly, "Otherwise, why would I go to the palace to have him come? It would just be bad luck. But now it seems that he isn't. Although we are currently at odds, his surprise at the corpse just now was no less than yours or mine. If I rule him out, I have no clue whatsoever."

Heli Hong was silent for a moment after hearing this, then said, "Those who died were all top assassins from the Assassin's Pavilion. This is definitely a murder case targeting me. They want to use the deaths of these people to weaken my mental strength, make me fearful and terrified, and finally make me lose my ability to judge."

The person capable of doing all this must be someone who knows the Assassin's Guild well enough, and who has a grudge against me. But since arriving in the capital, I haven't made any enemies; my only enemy is the General's Mansion.

At this point, Heri Hong tentatively looked at Bai Jianan.

Bai Jianan looked at her curiously and asked, "The General's Mansion? What connection do you have with the General's Mansion? Wasn't the General's Mansion gone?"

At this point, Bai Jianan suddenly stood up, startling Heli Hong. Bai Jianan rubbed his head and frowned, saying, "Why is the General's Mansion wanted by the Emperor? Aren't the Shangguan family extremely loyal?"

As he spoke, he looked at Herihong and said, "I've forgotten so many things. Tell me about them."

Heli Hong was a little flustered, and after a long while, he forced a smile and said, "I was on a mission before, so how would I know? It was just a coincidence that I had a grudge against General Shangguan's mansion. As for why they were wanted by the Emperor, it is said that His Majesty was afraid of them."

Upon hearing this, Bai Jianan nodded in understanding and said, "That makes sense. With such a sharp blade hanging over his head, how could he possibly tolerate it, given his temperament? It's a pity that the Shangguan family is full of loyal and virtuous people. If they had used their talents wisely, would they still be afraid of the Northwest and the Northern Desert?"

Heli Hong didn't reply. After a pause, she looked at Bai Jianan and asked uncertainly, "You... really can't remember anything?"

Bai Jianan looked at Heli Hong without speaking, and Heli Hong immediately became nervous. Bai Jianan suddenly smiled and said with a playful look, "What should I remember? Hong'er, you seem very nervous? What are you afraid of?"

Heli Hong immediately shook his head and said, "No, it's nothing. I'm just a little nervous about what this person in the shadows might do."

"What are you doing? It's just a wolf eating people. If you do this, withdraw all your people and let me see what kind of people this wolf will eat next. I need to know what it's up to before I can make a move."