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

Hei Feng smiled upon hearing this and said, "Just as you guessed before, this is like a gamble. Back then, the Ironclad Soldier was forced into silence by the Shangguan family, causing the research results of that Gu Master in Miao territory to go to waste. He then harbored evil intentions and prepared to cultivate another Ironclad Soldier."

The emperor tacitly approved of this, and as a result, cases of missing persons gradually appeared in various places. Helpless, the armored soldiers once again came out of the mountains and secretly began to fight against the Gu Master's faction.

Later, things became very complicated. The two armored soldiers clashed repeatedly in the shadows, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. In the end, no one emerged victorious. During this struggle, the emperor was unfortunately infected with a Gu worm and died suddenly.

As he spoke, Hei Feng looked at Jian Yue and continued, "The emperor died suddenly without establishing a crown prince. At that time, the four adult princes each raised their own armies and became kings, intending to compete for the throne based on their own abilities. This event was known as the Rebellion of the Four Princes."

As Hei Feng narrated, Jian Yue's heart gradually became complicated, and her mood inexplicably began to feel heavy.

I had heard of the Rebellion of the Four Princes. Historical records state that the struggle between the four princes caused bloodshed in the capital, with countless civilians losing their lives. The capital was almost a dead city. In the end, it was the emperor's daughter, Princess Rongping, who could not bear to see it anymore. She knelt before General Shangguan's tomb and prayed that Shangguan Jian's sons would lead the army again to quell the war.

Finally, all four kings perished in battle, leaving the capital city leaderless. With the assistance of Princess Rongping, the fifth prince, who was not yet five years old at the time, was enthroned. The Shangguan family then served as regents, ushering in a new chapter for the Yue Kingdom.

Thinking of this, Jian Yue's eyes changed, and she looked at Hei Feng and said, "Shouldn't you be talking about the so-called Phoenix Maiden and Phoenix Goddess?"

Hei Feng nodded and said, "Princess Rongping also has a twin sister, Princess Rongsheng, who is timid and gentle by nature. Rongping has always protected her sister, but at some point, Rongping suddenly discovered that her sister was behaving abnormally."

She would frequently beat her servants, and the palace maids who served her would disappear every few days. Eventually, Rongping learned that Rongsheng was actually infected with Gu poison and had already been controlled by the Gu master.

After learning everything, Rongping found the Gu Master and ordered him to cure the poison. However, the Gu Master said there was no cure. Enraged, Princess Rongping wanted to kill the Gu Master, but someone informed Rongsheng, who arrived in time and took the Gu Master away.

Jian Yue asked, "After that, these two started fighting?"

"That's right. The Shangguan family followed Rongping's lead, while the Gu Master and Rong Sheng were of one mind with the enemy. The two sisters began to fight each other openly and secretly for twenty years. In the end, one of them died and the other was injured."

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue felt a pang of sympathy and continued to ask, "And then what happened? Was the problem of the armored soldiers being defeated resolved?"

Hei Feng shook his head and said, "The Gu Master escaped, but before he escaped, Rong Sheng put a Gu in his body. No one expected that Rong Sheng, who survived, would take advantage of the Gu Master's inattention and send the Gu he had nurtured with his own heart's blood into the Gu Master's body. In the end, the Gu Master escaped and saved his life, but forever lost the right to walk under the sun."

As Hei Feng spoke, he looked at Jian Yue and said, "In the end, Princess Rongping couldn't bear to harm her younger sister and died at her hands. Rong Sheng, on the day his sister died, suddenly regained his senses and wanted to kill the Gu Master to fulfill his sister's last wish."

Unfortunately, in order to avoid death, the Gu Master planted the same Gu worms as the armored soldiers in himself, eventually turning into a humanoid insect just like them.

In order to rebuild his power, the Gu Master began to go into the shadows and secretly continue to train new armored soldiers. Rong Sheng knew his plan and what he would do, so he took the blood-red coral left by his sister and went to find the person in charge of the armored soldiers once again.

The armored soldiers also realized the seriousness of the situation and knew that Rong Sheng had no choice at the time. Therefore, they began to cooperate. In the end, they destroyed all the Gu in the Gu Master's hands by self-destruction, as well as the Gu Master's recipe for refining Gu worms and all the materials for refining Gu in the Gu Master's hands.

Ironically, this was a stroke of luck for the capital. After all these things were destroyed, the Gu Master, enraged, severely damaged his body and lost the strength to refine Gu. Coupled with the difficulty in finding the necessary materials, he could only lie in hiding with his remaining subordinates.

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue continued, "So, the armored soldiers also went into hiding, waiting for the Gu Master's forces to reappear before launching another attack?"

"Do not."

Black Wind shook his head and said, "The armored soldier has not given up searching for the Gu Master. After all, the people he led are no different from the armored soldiers in our hands, and they still threaten the safety of the entire Yue Kingdom."

However, at some point, a children's song suddenly began circulating in the capital, telling the story of a phoenix and a dragon vying for the throne. This story grew increasingly popular, becoming more believable than historical fact.

Jian Yue frowned: "Is this a declaration of war?"

Hei Feng nodded, but Xing Ke took over the conversation, saying, "That's right, he declared war. Afterwards, he sneaked out to sea and arrived at my clan's territory, intending to have the clan leader tell him about the fate of the world so that he could defy destiny."

When the clan leader refused, his entire clan was slaughtered. Every single one of them died right under his nose, until only the clan leader remained. Then, they used their Gu worms to control him and imprison him completely in the clan's sacred ground.

Jian Yue asked curiously, "So, when the clan chief sent a message to your great-grandfather, it was also a conspiracy?"

Xingke's face paled even more. She suppressed the rage in her eyes and continued, word by word, "Yes, it was a conspiracy. The clan leader thought no one was watching him, so he secretly wrote a letter to his great-grandfather telling him not to go back. Who knew that the letter that arrived safely had been laced with Gu worms by that old man, the same Gu worms that were on the armored soldiers."

At the time, the grandfather showed no abnormalities. It was only after returning to the clan's territory to investigate without success that he suddenly discovered the abnormality in his body. He consulted the oracle about his life and death, and the divination told him that he would have no worries in his life, and that he would neither die nor be born.

My great-grandfather, for reasons unknown, emerged unscathed after being run over by a carriage during an accident. Only then did he understand why the divination had been so strange. Finally, after painstakingly studying the unusual symptoms, my grandfather realized he had been bewitched.

At this point, Xingke seemed to regain her composure. She took a deep breath and said, "My great-grandfather had no children of his own, so he adopted my grandfather and devoted himself to cultivating the clan's secret arts, all in order to find his father's killer one day."

It wasn't until he encountered the Iron Cavalry that he realized it was all a gamble, a conspiracy, orchestrated by the Gu Master.

Black Wind continued, "So, he's using other people's lives to declare war on us. He controls the entire game, leaving us nowhere to hide. But we can't be like them, indiscriminately killing innocent people. We can only be restrained by them and unable to fight back."

As Hei Feng spoke, he looked at Jian Yue with a hint of sadness in his eyes and said, "So, after you and your sister were chosen by him, there was no way out. You both have a kind of worm in you that will grow in the darkest part of your hearts. In the end, you will lose control of yourselves and fight to the death, resulting in mutual destruction."

He wants to get revenge on you for the loss he suffered at Rong Sheng's hands back then. So, no matter who wins or loses, neither of you will survive in the end.

Jian Yue's heart tightened suddenly. Her past life's actions flashed through her mind. Every step she took seemed to be led by someone. If she encountered even the slightest setback, she would fly into a rage and lose herself.

Could this all be the work of Gu worms?

Xingke looked at her and said, "You don't have any Gu worms in your body right now."

Jian Yue was taken aback, but Xing Ke continued, "That's why I told you your fate. Only later did I realize that your destiny and your ending were worlds apart. That's why I sent Black Wind to find you."

Jian Yue was a little confused. The conversation was strange and disjointed. She understood some parts but not many others. She looked up at Xing Ke, who then continued, "When you and your sister were born, the first person to appear beside you was not Qiu Zhennan, but that Gu Master."

Jian Yue suddenly raised her eyes, her gaze narrowing slightly. Hei Feng frowned and looked at Xing Ke, saying, "Xing Ke, we'll talk about this later."

No, let her speak.

Jian Yue stared at Xing Ke and continued, "Since we've already said everything today, let's say it all at once."

Xingke frowned slightly, glanced at Heifeng, and said, "When did you become so gentle?"

After saying that, Xingke continued to look at Jianyue and said, "Whether Qiu Zhennan really wronged your mother, we have no way of knowing, but we do know that before Qiu Zhennan arrived, your mother was taken away from the Qiu family by a Gu Master, and at that time we were trying to rescue your mother from the Qiu family."

"You are lying."

Jian Yue frowned and retorted, "My mother said that she was taken out of the Qiu family by Qiu Zhennan, and then Qiu Zhennan forced her to tell the secret about the armored soldiers. She refused to comply, which is why Qiu Zhenna abandoned her."

And you are the culprits who watched helplessly as my mother was taken back by the Qiu family and tortured for sixteen years. It is your inaction that led to this outcome.

After saying that, she looked at Black Wind and said, "Didn't you already admit it back then? Why is there another version now?"

Xingke suddenly smiled, his pale face filled with mockery.

"Black Wind's words were just to prevent you from being unable to withstand the blow and ruining our previous plans. The truth is that the Gu Master took your mother away right under our noses, and when we caught up, we found that your mother had already given birth to you, and the Gu Master was planting Gu on you."

It was too late to stop it. After doing all that, the Gu Master carried you away, leaving only your sister behind. Just as we were about to take your sister away to treat her, Qiu Zhennan arrived.

"So, he took my sister away and abandoned my mother?"