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

Chu Tianyi still remembers that when Chang Le went back to the city of the Uncrowned City in the Northwest when she was a child, she kicked each of the many little kids who called her "sister" without any politeness, not even sparing her half-year-old nephew.

As a result, Chang Le was blacklisted by the City of the Uncrowned and remains so to this day. But now, the guards are telling him that she has adopted a child, and that the child is rather strange.

Thinking it over, Chu Tian asked, "Have you found out whose child that is?"

The guard said, "The Qilin Pavilion has been making a lot of noise lately, and this child is very strange. I think it's highly likely."

Chu Tian was taken aback and said, "You mean, Chang Le accidentally picked up Bai Jianan's son?"

The guard nodded: "It's very likely. The young master of Qilin Pavilion has been missing for several days. There has been no news of him outside. When the princess found the child, some unidentified people followed him. As if they were wary of the princess, they did nothing while the child was with her."

Later, the princess returned to White Moon Village with the child. Those people then lingered around the village, seemingly looking for an opportunity. The child's appearance and age closely matched the information released by the Qilin Pavilion.

Upon hearing this, Chu Tian suddenly smiled: "What a coincidence! It seems my Great Northwest will forever owe the Qilin Pavilion a debt. I never imagined my daughter would save his son. How dare he confront the Qilin Pavilion but not the imperial court? Who exactly is this person?"

After saying that, Chu Tian's eyes changed, and he gripped the armrests of the dragon throne with both hands, asking, "The Empress has been staying in her palace these past few days without leaving. These things couldn't have been done by her. But if it wasn't her, then who was it?"

Upon hearing this, the guard said, "The assassination of the young master of the Qilin Pavilion doesn't seem like a spur-of-the-moment decision. It's more like a long-planned scheme. Otherwise, it would be too coincidental to know everything about the Qilin Pavilion's movements so clearly."

My subordinates suspect there's some internal strife within the Qilin Pavilion, that someone wants to change the pavilion's internal structure, and that's why they've targeted the young master of the Qilin Pavilion.

Chu Tian frowned: "How could the Qilin Pavilion be changed so easily? If this person had any sense, he wouldn't be so naive. This matter still needs to be investigated. Go and arrange to see who in the palace has been frequently out and about recently, and whether they have been in contact with anyone."

I already owe them so much, and I don't want to owe them anything more. Therefore, this matter absolutely must not be involved with me in any way.

"It's too late."

Just as he finished speaking, Bai Jianan's voice suddenly came. Chu Tian paused and looked towards the gate.

Bai Jianan walked step by step to Chu Tianyi, threw the letter in his hand on the table and said: "Your eldest son has really inherited He Xinle's ambition. The entire Northwest is not enough for the City of No Crowns to consume, the Yue Kingdom is not enough for He Xinle to live in, and he even wants to take over my Jianghu. Chu Tianyi, tell me, should I handle this matter or should you?"

Chu Tianyi picked up the letter, read it through, sighed, and asked, "What do you want?"

"What do I want? What do you think I want? My two children have been harmed and are covered in wounds. How do you expect this to be settled?"

Chu Tian remained silent. Bai Jianan exuded a murderous aura, and his guards stood guard in front of him warily. Bai Jianan sneered, "If I were to make a move, I could take down ten of you without batting an eye. What you should do now is go to your princess's place and see if my son is alright. Otherwise, I'm not sure if I might do something I can't even predict myself."

The guard glanced at Chu Tianyi, who sat down and waved his hand, saying, "Go ahead and protect that child. If you encounter any of Zhao Lin's men, make sure they don't get close to the child."

The guard nodded, glanced at Bai Jianan again, and quickly disappeared from their sight. Bai Jianan smiled and said, "Such a loyal subordinate, it seems you really dote on your daughter."

Chu Tian said, "Isn't it the same? It seems I can't beg you to let them off this time. Tell me, how do you want to deal with this?"

Bai Jianan coldly said, "Shouldn't this be your decision? Chu Tianyi, do you know why I've never been able to treat you as my enemy from beginning to end? It's because of your personality. You want to protect your people, but you always try to appear fair and just."

Why do I feel like the longer you've been emperor, the more indecisive you've become? You were less manly than when you used your entire army in the Northwest to secure He Xinle's life.

Chu Tian smiled wearily and said, "How many times in a lifetime can one get such an opportunity? I got it once, but I can't get it a second time. I remember Yueyue once said that you only get one chance. So this time, even if I traded the entire empire for it, I'm afraid you wouldn't agree! In that case, what am I still struggling for?"

As he spoke, he sighed helplessly and said with a bitter smile, "Tell me, am I a failure? Even now, I can't help her resolve her inner conflict, and even our children are plotting against her. I don't deserve to be a husband, let alone a father."

Bai Jianan said, "You are not worthy. He Xinle is insane and even his child has been tricked. If I had known this day would come, I would have given up the land of Yue Kingdom rather than give it to you."

Chu Tian shook his head: "Yes, it's all my fault. I hurt Xinyue and the child. I know that the knot in Xinyue's heart is actually my silence and inaction, but I still want to hold on to that little bit of hope in my heart."

Actually, no one understands better than me that from the moment I chose her, my heart already belonged only to her. Yet, I still treated that dream as real and wanted to keep it sealed in my heart forever.

Actually, if I had just explained things to her clearly, she wouldn't be like this now, driven to madness, and her child going astray for power—it's all my fault. If it weren't for Nianzhe, my daughter probably would have followed him down this path, never to return!

As he spoke, he looked at Bai Jianan and said, "Bai Jianan, now I finally know what I gave up to sit in this position. I really hope that everything at this moment is just a dream, and that I am still the prince of the Northwest who has never set foot in the Central Plains."

Bai Jianan sneered: "It's a pity that ambition cannot be stopped. When you entered the capital, you had already made your choice. You wanted Yueyue, and that was also a pretense. Otherwise, you wouldn't have ended up where you are today."

"Alright, enough nonsense. I'm here today to demand an explanation, not to listen to your ramblings. I've brought the evidence; how you handle it is up to you. But the Qilin Pavilion is pursuing the mastermind behind the tomb, and you owe me an explanation."

As Bai Jianan spoke, he turned and left, saying as he walked, "I just received a message that my eldest daughter has gone missing again. I'm afraid it was your eldest son who took action. If anything happens to my daughter, I will slaughter your entire Northwest to make her pay for it."

Shangguan Ruxing ran step by step, with people chasing closely behind her. She reported to Lu Nianzhe and the others that she was suddenly attacked by the stove on her way back. Helpless, she ran into the downtown area in an attempt to escape the pursuit. But she didn't know what those people were relying on to dare to commit violence in the street. In order to avoid harming innocent people, she had no choice but to fight with her back against the wall and lead them to the wilderness. As a result, she lost contact with the others.

After a day and a night of fleeing, she was completely exhausted, but the assassins behind her continued their pursuit. Finally, she was captured outside the capital city.

"You ran pretty fast, but little did you know, you've wandered into my territory."

The masked man cautiously approached Shangguan Ruxing. Exhausted and panting, Shangguan Ruxing gripped her long sword tightly and stared at the man coldly, saying, "So what if it's your territory? I've never been afraid. Since I can't avoid you and I can't beat you, then I can only die."

As she spoke, she twirled her longsword and, instead of fleeing, attacked the man.

The man licked his lips, dodging the sword as he lewdly said, "It is said that the Yue Kingdom once had the most beautiful woman in the world, named Shangguan Linglong. She is said to be the mother of the Lady of the Qilin Pavilion. Judging from your appearance today, the rumors must be true. It seems I am quite lucky today. I will let you enjoy yourself before you die."

Shangguan Ruxing blushed with embarrassment as she spoke, her sword still clapping in her hand, but her strength finally gave out, and she was pulled into the man's arms. Unwilling to give up, she lowered her head and bit the man's wrist. She bit off a chunk of flesh with too much force, causing the man to throw her to the ground in pain, spitting out blood.

Shangguan Ruxing spat out the blood in her mouth and spat the bits of flesh far away, sneering, "So the flesh of bad people is rotten, utterly disgusting."

The man had a piece of flesh bitten off, and blood was gushing from his hand. He covered his wound, walked to Shangguan Ruxing's side, and kicked her again, knocking her unconscious. He said, "You brat, you won't listen to reason, so you'll suffer the consequences."

Lu Nianzhe tracked Shangguan Ruxing to the vicinity of the capital city but lost track of her. He searched everywhere and saw bloodstains. He was immediately anxious. At this moment, a messenger hawk flew over and told him the whole story. Lu Nianzhe immediately smiled dangerously, shattered the letter, and headed towards the capital city.

The one who captured Shangguan Ruxing was none other than the Crown Prince Chu Zhaolin. He secretly took Shangguan Ruxing back to his villa in the capital. Just as he had finished bandaging his wounds and was preparing to enjoy her company, his servants suddenly came to report that the Emperor urgently summoned him to the palace, saying that the Empress was critically ill.

Chu Zhaolin was very surprised. He knew that his mother had gone mad, but it was unusual for her to be critically ill. After thinking about it, he felt something was amiss. However, if he did not go, it would be disobeying the imperial decree. At this time, he was still the Crown Prince.

After thinking for a while, he summoned someone and asked, "Have you found that kid?"

The man said, "That boy is with the princess. The people around the princess are secret guards personally trained by the emperor, so it's not easy for us to make a move."