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

Just when Lu Zhe thought he had the other person's neck in his grasp, a large white light suddenly appeared in front of him, making it impossible for him to see. A powerful killing intent forced him to leave Qiu Lingyu's side.

But when he looked back at Qiu Lingyu, he found that she was lying on the bed with her eyes closed, lifeless. There was a cut on her wrist, and a trace of blood was wrapped around the black iron ring on her middle finger.

With surprise in his eyes, Lu Zhe cautiously walked towards Qiu Lingyu. Just as he was about to investigate, the door was suddenly pushed open, and Murong Chuan stormed in with his men. But upon seeing Qiu Lingyu's appearance, he immediately went berserk.

"Yu'er, guards, grind this murderer to dust and scatter his ashes for me."

Lu Zhe tilted his head, a hint of helplessness in his eyes, and laughed, "Although I really don't want to admit that I killed this person, I really can't find any evidence that I didn't kill him. However, I don't intend to surrender here. Goodbye, Emperor of Yue. We'll meet again someday."

As Lu Zhe spoke, he instantly transformed into countless Gu worms and pounced on Murong Chuan. Murong Chuan was shocked and grabbed the guards beside him to shield him. He then quickly moved aside and went to Qiu Lingyu's bedside.

After slaughtering all the guards at the gate, the insect that Lu Zhe had transformed into quickly disappeared into the night.

Murong Chuan stood by the bed for a long time, dumbfounded, before swallowing hard and turning around to stare blankly at Qiu Lingyu.

Qiu Lingyu was completely unrecognizable from her previous appearance. Her face was ashen, and she was nothing but skin and bones, looking terrifying.

Murong Chuan walked stiffly to her side and squatted down. His hand trembled slightly as he raised it and covered her face, bit by bit. He seemed to be smiling, but an unspeakable anger was growing in his heart.

The guards who heard the commotion rushed over and saw Murong Chuan holding Qiu Lingyu's hand, placing it on his cheek, and speaking gently.

"Yu'er, I know you're just joking with me. You've already left me once, and you'll never leave me a second time. Yu'er, wake up. Once you wake up, I'll depose Yue Leyun and make you Empress. You'll be my only Empress from now on, and our child will be the only Crown Prince."

After saying that, he suddenly stood up and shouted, "Golden Armor Guards, listen to my command! The Empress has allowed a sorcerer to enter the palace and kill Consort Ling and the imperial heir. The Empress has been banished to the Cold Palace and will be executed on a chosen day. The Prime Minister has allowed his daughter to commit murder, which is an unforgivable crime. He is hereby dismissed from his post and thoroughly investigated in the Yaru Prison. All other members of the Prime Minister's faction are to be imprisoned and investigated after hearing this."

Upon receiving the order, the Golden Armor Guards acted swiftly. Yue Leyun was greedily eyeing the insect in her hand when she received the news. By the time she came to her senses, the Golden Armor Guards had already stormed into her palace, witnessing her actions. They immediately imprisoned her in the Cold Palace and reported the result to Murong Chuan. Subsequently, the Prime Minister and others were also imprisoned in the nightmare. Suddenly, the entire capital was as if it had fallen into the nightmare of the Shangguan family.

Yue Leyun never imagined she would end up like this. She was imprisoned, and to make matters worse, they even smeared her body with mugwort and sulfur, and tied her up tightly. Yue Leyun screamed like a madwoman: "Let me go! I am the Empress! What right do you have to arrest me? I want to see the Emperor!"

But no one paid any attention to her, letting her run wild like a mad dog. After they finished dealing with her, apart from the guards, she was left alone in the cold palace. Even her loyal maids, like Dingxiang, were imprisoned elsewhere.

Yue Leyun was imprisoned and sentenced to be burned at the stake. The execution took place in a crowded area of ​​the market, and Murong Chuan even escorted Prime Minister Yue and others to watch the execution.

On the day of Yue Leyun's execution, it was the first day she saw Murong Chuan after being imprisoned.

When she saw Murong Chuan sitting at the head of the table with a cold expression, she immediately struggled and cried out, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent!"

Unfortunately, Murong Chuan didn't even glance at her when he opened his eyes. He only waved his hand and said, "Nian," after she was escorted to the execution ground and tied to the gallows.

The eunuch beside him immediately proclaimed the imperial edict: "By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees that Empress Yue Leyun has violated the virtues of a woman, first by secretly harming the imperial heir, then by assassinating concubines, and further by using witchcraft to disrupt the inner palace. Her crimes are unforgivable. To prevent the rampant infestation of Gu worms on her body, she shall be executed by burning at the stake. This is the imperial decree."

Bound and hearing the imperial edict, Yue Leyun's eyes widened as she stared intently at Murong Chuan, shouting, "Your Majesty, I am innocent! I am innocent! Your Majesty, I did not harm them! Your Majesty, did you listen to that vile woman Qiu Lingyu? Your Majesty, she is a menace, trying to alienate Your Majesty from me! Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

Murong Chuan originally didn't want to pay attention to Yue Leyun, only wanting her to die quickly so that he could be buried with the two women he deeply loved. Upon hearing Yue Leyun's words, he immediately slammed his fist on the table and angrily said, "You say Yu'er harmed you, but would she sacrifice her own life to harm you? Yue Leyun, what are you still pretending for? You have committed a grave offense against the royal family, raising Gu worms to wreak havoc in the palace. Not to mention how many palace maids and eunuchs you have harmed, do you even know how many imperial heirs are left in the harem?"

Especially regarding Yu'er, my daughter, the child in Yu'er's womb, and even Yu'er herself have all perished. And you still claim my Yu'er is accusing you? If she were accusing you, why would she disregard her own life?"

What? Qiu Lingyu is dead?

Yue Leyun didn't believe it. She desperately cried out, "No, Your Majesty, I didn't! It was Qiu Lingyu, it was her! She was born in the Northern Desert and is inherently a treacherous person. She must have used some means to fake her death. Yes, that's it! Your Majesty, you must believe me! You must believe me! I love you, and you love me. When we're together, that's true imperial love! Your Majesty, I..."

Murong Chuan, already impatient, glanced coldly at the executioner standing to the side and said, "Why aren't you lighting the fire? What's the point of leaving her here to spout nonsense?"

The executioner was startled and quickly threw the torch into the pile of firewood. Instantly, the firewood, doused with kerosene, burst into flames. Yue Leyun screamed in terror, and Prime Minister Yue, who was standing nearby, couldn't bear it any longer and fainted.

Murong Chuan coldly said, "Wake her up by splashing water, let him see. This is the good daughter he raised, my good empress. She killed the late empress, and now she has harmed my children and concubines. How can such a woman be worthy of being the empress?"

Prime Minister Yue was awakened by being splashed with water, and then forced to stand in front of the fire, watching helplessly as his daughter was burned to death. His eyes were bloodshot, and soon after, he suddenly died with blood flowing from all seven orifices.

When Prime Minister Yue died, just when everyone thought he had been scared to death, countless Gu worms suddenly rushed out of his body and slithered all over him. In no time, his entire body turned into bones. At the same time, Yue Leyun's body also emitted bursts of insect chirping. In front of everyone, the insects surged and tried to escape from the sea of ​​fire, but were once again forced back by the executioners guarding the perimeter. When the insect chirping stopped, Yue Leyun had been burned to ashes.

The insects that had emerged from Prime Minister Yue scattered in all directions. As everyone panicked and tried to escape, the insects seized the opportunity to devour the flesh and blood of the two men, and then rushed toward Murong Chuan, who was sitting on the high seat.

Murong Chuan's expression changed drastically, and he said coldly, "It's impossible to guard against them all. It seems that the Yue family still harbors rebellious intentions. Burn all these insects to death, conduct a thorough cleaning of the palace, and detain and examine everyone."

The poor people were terrified and fled in all directions. Most of the Yue family's retainers present suddenly bled from all seven orifices and died. Then, like Prime Minister Yue, they were eaten by insects until only their bones remained.

As the number of insects increased, Murong Chuan had nowhere to escape. At this critical moment, several people suddenly appeared and sprinkled a few handfuls of non-lethal powder. The insects suddenly began to violently mutilate themselves, and more than half of them disappeared in an instant. Then, bottles of kerosene were thrown over, and as soon as they hit the ground, torches were thrown over as well. The last of the insects were thus easily eliminated.

Murong Chuan stared intently at the newcomer, only to see that the newcomer had already turned around. Behind her, a man with a copper hammer and painted face walked out, looking up at Murong Chuan.

"Murong Chuan, it's been a long time."

"White Canaan? What are you doing here?"

Murong Chuan never expected Bai Jianan to appear at this time. He was at odds with this纨绔世子 (a spoiled young master), and now that he was the emperor, he was even less willing to see him.

Bai Jianan smiled and waved his fan, saying, "The emperor has been sitting on the throne for too long and has forgotten his duty. You have been in this position for so long, it is time for you to put it down. After all, this world cannot be left to useless people."

Murong Chuan suddenly stood up and said angrily, "Bai Jianan, do you know that speaking like this is a capital offense? Don't think that just because Father Emperor dotes on you, you can do whatever you want. He is dead, and now I am the Emperor."

Bai Jianan sneered, "Emperor? He's just someone who seized the throne by killing his father. What's so great about that? Do you think I wanted it? I just wanted to fulfill someone's wish, so I thought I should take this position from him."

As he spoke, he removed his mask and, under Murong Chuan's surprised gaze, said, "You don't recognize my face, so do you still remember the frail empress that your mother killed back then?"

As he spoke, he looked at the officials around him and said, "Back then, the Crown Prince's birth mother, Sun Rouxiang, killed the Empress. In order to protect the child left behind by the Empress, Princess Murong Yan took the child and fled the palace. In the end, with the cooperation of Marquis Qingyan, she raised the child."

He smiled and looked at the shocked Murong Chuan, saying, "Crown Prince, this throne was already intended to be passed to me before Father Emperor passed away. He made you Crown Prince only to put your birth mother at ease and to distract others so that I could grow up in peace."

"As the Crown Prince, although you were unaware of my existence, you sensed that your position was insecure. Therefore, you conspired with Sun Rouxiang to murder the Emperor, forged an imperial edict, and ultimately, with the support of Prime Minister Yue, became Emperor. But did you ever consider that Father Emperor had already been wary of you all along, and had left an imperial edict for me long ago?"