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

Bai Xiaowan wasn't idle either. While driving, she even had time to get up and look back, then called out into the car, "Hey Yueyue, who's this kid? Why is he so obedient? He actually caught up with us, and his kung fu isn't bad either."

Jian Yue smiled and said, "Not just good, it's exceptionally good. How could a child raised by Ku Mu Zhang be anything less than excellent?"

Bai Xiaowan was startled and abruptly pulled on the reins, lifting the curtain to say to Jian Yue, "What did you say? He's the son of Kumu Zhang? The Kumu Zhang who hugged that big bad Lu Zhe and died together?"

Jian Yue nodded: "What? Doesn't it seem like it? He was adopted by Ku Mu Zhang, from the age of three."

Bai Xiaowan exclaimed in surprise, "My goodness! If he's that person's son, how could he have ended up like this?"

Jian Yue shook her head and said, "It's probably something we don't know about, and it seems he doesn't remember any of us at all, which is why I need to know more."

The carriage suddenly stopped. Zhang Chaoyue had already caught up and overtaken the carriage, standing directly in front of it. Bai Xiaowan turned around, her eyes filled with a teasing smile, and said, "Yueyue, this kid has blocked the carriage. It seems we can't leave unless we force him."

Upon hearing this, the coachman suddenly reached out, looked up shakily, and said weakly with a pale face, "Ladies, if you're going to use force, can't you just give me the fare and let me get off? I don't want the carriage or the horse anymore, I really don't want them."

As he spoke, he covered his mouth and began to gag. Cheng Guyuan, who was standing nearby, quickly handed him a water pouch and patted his back, asking, "Are you alright?"

The driver shook his head weakly and said, "I'm fine, but if this continues, I'll be in trouble. Ladies, please have mercy! I have elderly parents and young children to support!"

Bai Xiaowan chuckled, and Jian Yue smiled slightly at the coachman before brushing Bai Xiaowan aside and getting off the carriage.

Bai Xiaowan shrugged and said regretfully, "There's no more fun."

Cheng Guyuan glared at her: "Sister Xiaowan, if you keep playing like this, I'm going to throw up."

Bai Xiaowan followed up with disdain: "That's because you haven't seen the world. Back in the day, when we went out to rob, I was the one who drove. It was so exciting."

Cheng Guyuan rubbed her temples helplessly and said, "But we're not robbers now. We've all reformed. If you keep acting so recklessly, you'll be arrested as a robber, which will cause a lot of trouble!"

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaowan nodded, resting her chin on her hand: "That's true! Oh well, never mind, just this once, don't do it again. It's just that I ran into a fellow professional and couldn't help myself."

Outside the car, Zhang Chaoyue remained silent, his eyes fixed on Jian Yue. Jian Yue got out of the car and walked step by step to him, saying, "Zhang Chaoyue, your name."

Zhang Chaoyue's hand trembled slightly as he asked, "Tell me, who is Kumu Zhang?"

Jian Yue shook her head and said, "We stopped the carriage ourselves. I've already done more than enough by telling you my name. As for who Ku Mu Zhang is, you have to tell me first why you're with a group of bandits."

Zhang Chaoyue shook his head, his eyes filled with confusion: "I don't know. I woke up in a cave, covered in blood. Later, I met them, beat them all down, and then stayed with them."

Jian Yue nodded and said, "Since that's the case, what good will it do you if you know?"

As Jian Yue spoke, she turned and went back to the car, saying as she walked, "Let's go."

Zhang Chaoyue stepped forward and shouted, "I want to know."

Jian Yue smiled and countered, "But you can't remember anything. You know, if he were here, he would never let anything happen to you. In his eyes, you are his treasure, his motivation to live. So, you can imagine that you are like this now, and he hasn't appeared. He must be dead. What good would it do you to know that?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chaoyue's pupils contracted, he staggered, then covered his head with both hands and knelt on the ground.

Seeing this, Bai Xiaowan jumped off the carriage and exclaimed, "Did it get a shock?"

Cheng Guyuan also got out of the car, took a look, and said, "Medical books record that if a person loses their memory because of certain events, as long as these events are magnified several times and presented to them, it can have a therapeutic effect."

Bai Xiaowan exclaimed, "No wonder she's the daughter of the imperial physician. She's amazing; she knows everything."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Guyuan smiled at first, then said dejectedly, "But I didn't learn any of my father's skills, and now I have no way to pass on his mantle."

Bai Xiaowan patted her shoulder and said, "Why think so much? Your father loves you so much, how could he let you learn such boring things? Girls should live happily. Thinking too much will cause wrinkles. Be careful that your family's crabapple tree doesn't suddenly bloom and leave you."

Cheng Guyuan blushed immediately and whispered, "Sister Xiaowan, he wouldn't do that."

Bai Xiaowan chuckled and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Oh, still shy? There's no one else here, what's there to be shy about?"

……

The coachman, who had just lifted the carriage curtain, shrank back timidly, then jumped off the carriage and slipped to the back to squat and enjoy the breeze.

Zhang Chaoyue knelt on the ground for a long time before finally raising his head, his face covered in sweat, and looked at Jian Yue, asking, "Where is he?"

Jian Yue raised an eyebrow: "What did you remember?"

Zhang Chaoyue said, "The armored soldiers stormed in, and everyone died, including Yu Fangzhou and Liu Dong. My father protected me and we escaped. He put me, who was seriously injured, in a cave, told me to live well, and then left. Tell me, where is he? Is he dead?"

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue understood. Lu Zhe's ruthlessness was unmatched by others. Although the team that Hei Feng had secretly assembled was not large, it could eventually become a stumbling block for him. Therefore, Lu Zhe had taken the initiative to strike first.

Zhang Kumu hadn't expected Lu Zhe to pull such a stunt while he was looking for Jian Yue. By the time he arrived, he could only save the seriously injured Zhang Chaoyue. He knew that Hei Feng alone couldn't possibly defeat Lu Zhe, so he came.

Jian Yue sighed, got into the carriage, and said, "As you said, he really is dead. However, he died with the man behind the Ironclad Soldier. Together with Black Wind, he took away the source of evil. Now, you just need to listen to him and live a good life."

After he finished speaking, the carriage creaked and started moving. Zhang Chaoyue stood still, without saying a word or moving.

The coachman swayed over to his side, watched the carriage disappear into the distance, and sighed, "These rich girls are really hard to please. Luckily, they were generous, otherwise I would have really lost money. Hey young man, you don't look like a bad person. But you're going to that bandit's den to do shady business. You should find a good job, earn some money, and marry a wife so your father can rest in peace."

As the driver spoke, he scurried towards the nearest available car, pressing his hand to his chest as he ran, his eyes brimming with barely suppressed joy.

On the carriage, Bai Xiaowan drove while relentlessly condemning Jian Yue.

"You spendthrift, you're such a spendthrift! One hundred taels! You should know how hard it was for me to scrape together one hundred taels when I went down the mountain to rob people back in the day. And you just waved your hand and took it all away. Look at this broken cart and this broken horse, it's worth at most fifty taels."

"How could you be so wasteful? You need to think about it. We're not rich anymore, and we've reformed and stopped doing bad things. Our source of income has dried up. How can we afford to spend like this? You need to be more careful with your money, understand?"

Jian Yue smiled and said, "The driver's heart must have been shaken to the point of bursting the whole way. It's only right to give him some compensation. Besides, this carriage looks really sturdy. It must be made of the best materials. We'll take it. It will make our journey much more convenient. It's worth it."

Bai Xiaowan immediately retorted: "How can it not be a loss? Look at this horse, it's at least ten years old, it's old and worn out. It's only run a few steps and it's already panting like this. It can't even pull the cart. If you were to sell it, there would be no one to buy it. Asking for thirty taels would be overcharging it."

And this car, even the best wood is just ordinary poplar, how expensive can it be? It's already starting to creak after only a few days of driving, and with all the wind and sun on the road ahead, who knows what problems it might cause.”

Bai Xiaowan was still unwilling to give up; she wished she could chase after him, snatch back the hundred taels, and exchange the twenty taels in her arms for them.

Jian Yue shook her head helplessly and asked, "What's wrong with you today? You used to really enjoy helping the poor, didn't you? You're acting a bit strange."

Bai Xiaowan huffed and puffed, "What's so unusual? Do you think money grows on trees? The villagers have to eat, drink, dress, and prepare seeds for next year. There aren't many supplies left on the mountain, and some were burned for safety reasons because of the Gu worms."

The village doesn't have much money left to save, so where did you get the money to spend so extravagantly? Even if you had mountains of gold and silver, you'd squander it all eventually.

Upon hearing this, Jian Yue laughed and said, "Just because of that? But you've forgotten, I'm now the owner of those shops in Qilin Pavilion. With just a wave of my hand, I can take whatever money I want from them!"

Bai Xiaowan abruptly stopped in her tracks, then suddenly threw her head back and burst into wild laughter: "Hahaha, I'm actually so rich! With so much money, what do I have to fear?"

Jian Yue and Cheng Guyuan looked at each other and shook their heads helplessly. Cheng Guyuan whispered a reminder: "Sister Xiaowan, this money belongs to Sister Yue alone and has nothing to do with you."

Bai Xiaowan turned around fiercely and said, "What do you know? What's hers is hers, but all the food, drinks, lodging, and fun along the way have been reimbursed."

After saying that, she looked at Jian Yue and said fiercely, "If you dare not pay the bill, I'll never forgive you."

Jian Yue chuckled and said, "Of course I'll pay the bill. Isn't money meant to be spent? If we don't spend the money that's given to us, it would be a disservice to the person who gave us the money, wouldn't it?"

Jian Yue turned her head toward the back of the car with a smile, and Bai Xiaowan smiled as well, saying, "How long do you think these people are going to follow us?"