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

Looking at his mangled body, Lu Nianzhe smiled slightly, took out some hemostatic powder from his pocket, and sprinkled it little by little on the broken parts of his shoulders and legs, saying, "Don't worry, you won't die. This is the best wound medicine from Qilin Pavilion. You can live for a long time."

He treated her as if she were his most beloved possession, his smile incredibly gentle, yet it terrified Chen Baxi, who was hiding nearby, and shocked Chang Le, who was also hiding to the side.

The wound medicine took effect instantly, and the blood in his limbs congealed in an instant. His eyes widened, and his mouth, having had his jaw dislocated, emitted a roar like that of a trapped beast.

Lu Nianzhe stood up gracefully, turned around, looked behind him and said, "What? Are you scared? If you're scared, you'd better leave as soon as possible."

Chang Le tensed up at what was said, clutching her clothes nervously. After hesitating for a while, she walked to Lu Nianzhe's side. Lu Nianzhe smiled and said, "I didn't expect it to be Your Highness the Princess."

Chang Le stood with her hands behind her back, somewhat nervous. She hadn't yet recovered from Lu Nianzhe's bloody performance. Now, facing Lu Nianzhe, every hair on her body trembled. After a long while, she finally managed to organize her thoughts and said, "Why are you so cruel? He's a human being."

Lu Nianzhe tilted his head, his face full of innocence: "Cruel? You should know that he was an assassin who was trying to kill me."

Upon hearing this, Chang Le retorted, "But you're alright, aren't you? Even if he's an assassin, you only need to hand him over to the authorities. There's no need to do something so cruel. What you're doing is illegal."

Lu Nianzhe couldn't help but chuckle, and said in a mocking tone, "Princess, you are so naive that it's laughable. Just because I'm alright, does that mean I can't abuse him? You should know that if I didn't have this kind of ability, I would be dead here by now, and all you see is my corpse. Can you then use my corpse to say that it was an accidental killing?"

Moreover, this so-called government office revealed its true colors to me on my very first day back. How can I still believe it can uphold justice for me? I advise the princess that some things are better left unattended than interfered with. Your so-called "shouldn't be" actions will harm many people.

After Lu Nianzhe finished speaking, he looked at Chen Baxi and said, "If you're not dead, then send the money to me cleanly."

Chen Baxi immediately shouted, "Alright, I'll send it over right away."

Lu Nianzhe turned and left, but Chang Le still followed, unwilling to give up, saying, "Killing is wrong. If he wanted to kill you, you should kill him too. Wouldn't the world be in chaos? What would be the point of having government offices? Especially someone like you, not only killing but also causing such suffering, such cruel methods are like..."

Lu Nianzhe suddenly stopped, startling Chang Le, who nearly bumped into his back. She slammed on the brakes and saw Lu Nianzhe turn around, looking at her with a cold smile: "What do you mean? A serial killer? Or a pervert? You say I killed someone? Then let me ask you, who did I kill? Did you see? That person isn't dead. I just dislocated his jaw to prevent him from committing suicide, and crippled his limbs to prevent him from escaping. If the princess wants to exercise her authority, she can simply go and take him away. Wouldn't that be much more legitimate than pestering me like this?"

Chang Le paused, then said, "But what you're doing to him now is crueler than killing him. You shouldn't be like this."

Lu Nianzhe blinked, his mockery clear in his eyes: "Princess, are you lecturing me? But before you lecture me, can you at least control yourself? A young woman, always trailing behind a man she's only known for a few days, is like a lowly woman. What right do you have to criticize others?"

Chang Le blushed from Lu Nianzhe's merciless sarcasm. She was furious and wanted to argue, but she was at a loss for words, so tears streamed down her face. Lu Nianzhe had no pity for her. He said, "So, Princess, go back to the palace where they treat you like a precious treasure and live your innocent life instead of always standing in front of others and spouting your self-righteous opinions."

As Lu Nianzhe spoke, he turned and left, but stopped after taking a few steps and looked at Chang Le again, saying, "Palace Master, when you return to the palace, please give my regards to your Empress Mother. Tell her that I will accept all the Empress's hospitality while I am here, so that the Empress can rest assured."

After he finished speaking, a wicked smile appeared on his lips before he left.

Chang Le stood there, stunned, tears streaming down her face.

Seeing Lu Nianzhe leave, Chen Baxi hurriedly chased after him. When he passed Chang Le, he stopped and sighed, "Princess, don't be sad. There are plenty of fish in the sea. Why look for someone here? I'm afraid the young master is not suitable for you."

After saying this, Chen Baxi shook his head and left. The yamen runner behind him looked left and right, then called out to Chen Baxi, "Master Chen, what should we do with this assassin?"

As Chen Baxi ran, he said, "Why don't you just carry it to your master? Why do you have to ask me about such a small thing? What kind of yamen runners are you? Hey, young master, wait for me!"

The fact that Lu Nianzhe was assassinated could not be kept from Chu Tianyi, and someone also informed him that Lu Nianzhe had asked Chang Le to pass on a message to the Empress. He immediately understood what was going on, and could only slam his fist on the table and sigh.

Seeing this, the eunuch Fu'an asked, "Your Majesty, is something troubling you?"

Chu Tian shook his head, stood up, and asked, "What has the Empress been doing lately?"

Fu'an thought for a moment and said, "Her Majesty has only stayed in the palace these past few days and hasn't gone anywhere. Ah, on the day the Emperor sent the princess back to the palace, she went to see the princess."

Upon hearing this, Chu Tianyi smiled wryly and said, "As expected, she still can't let it go. Let's proceed to the Empress's place!"

Fu'an had no idea what Chu Tianyi was thinking, so he could only agree and prepare. Before long, he went to He Xinle's palace in a grand procession. At that moment, He Xinle was throwing a tantrum.

She smashed everything she could in the room, her eyes red-rimmed, looking as if she had been crying, yet also as if she hadn't. However, the ruthlessness in her eyes was undeniable. When Chu Tian entered, this was the first thing he saw about He Xinle's sinister expression.

He was silent for a moment, then waved his hand, signaling everyone in the room to leave. He then said to He Xinle, "How long are you going to keep this up? Do you really want me to rip my heart out and give it to you?"

He Xinle snapped out of her daze, looking at Chu Tianyi's sudden smile, as if he had never been angry at all, and said gently, "Brother Xiaoyi, you're here. Have you finished dealing with the official business?"

Chu Tian walked over to Shen Bin, helped her up, and the two sat down side by side on the bed before he said, "Xin Yue, my affair with Jian Yue has long been over, and she has never liked me from beginning to end. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

He Xinle's face darkened instantly: "What is Your Majesty saying? Why do you make it sound like I've done something heinous? Your habit of accusing people without asking questions is truly long-standing."

Chu Tianyi said, "Did I wrong you? If I really did wrong you, why did you lose your temper today? Wasn't it because you tried to assassinate Lu Nianzhe but failed, and Fan'er was challenged by him?"

He Xinle suddenly stood up and said angrily, "So what if he is? He's just a piece of trash from the Qilin Pavilion, yet the Emperor is protecting him like this. Is this the love the Emperor is talking about? I think you don't love me, but that married little slut who's always flirting with other women."

Chu Tianyi finally couldn't take it anymore and slapped He Xinle, angrily saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? We've only had a few years of peace, why do you have to cause trouble? Qilin Pavilion, do you really think we can stand up to you? Do you think what you're doing is helping me or harming me?"

He Xinle couldn't believe Chu Tianyi would hit her. After a moment of stunned silence, she suddenly burst into wild laughter amidst Chu Tianyi's questioning: "Haha, you hit me? You hit me because of her? Chu Tianyi, am I still your hair extension wife? How could you hit me?"

Chu Tianyi's eyes were calm: "I hit you so that you could see how good our lives are now. Your actions are ruining us and ruining Chang Le. Do you know that Chang Le has fallen in love with that boy? What you are doing is only causing Chang Le pain."

He Xinle was stunned: "What did you say? Chang Le likes that kid? How is that possible? How could my daughter like that bastard? No, no, absolutely not! Chang Le, I'm going to find Chang Le, I have to stop it."

He Xinle ran away as if he were insane, and Chu Tianyi followed closely behind. When He Xinle ran out of the palace, Chu Tianyi knocked him unconscious and held him in his arms.

"Go and summon the imperial physician to see what's wrong with the Empress."

He Xinle was placed under house arrest by Chu Tianyi. The imperial physician came to examine her and confirmed that she had indeed gone mad. Due to long-term repression and a life of suppression, she finally snapped after hearing something she couldn't accept.

When Chang Le learned that her mother had been placed under house arrest, she was furious and wanted to confront Chu Tianyi, but was stopped by her two older brothers. After learning that it was actually her mother who had sent Chu Tianyi, she fell silent and eventually returned to her palace in despair.

After staying for several days without any response regarding the assassin, Lu Nianzhe didn't bother to pursue the matter further. Chu Tianyi wouldn't allow anyone to continue the investigation, so he was happy to have some peace and quiet. He packed up and continued to track down the two troublemakers.

But when they were about two miles away from Baiyue Village, he stopped helplessly and said, "Come out."

Chang Le emerged furtively from behind the tree, slowly moving to stand before him. He turned around and said, "Princess, why do you always follow me? A cruel person like me is not suited to travel with a princess."

Upon hearing this, Chang Le felt guilty. After a long while, she lowered her head and bowed to Lu Nianzhe, saying, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pointed fingers at you without knowing the facts. I apologize for this and for the harm my mother caused you. I hope you won't blame my mother. She's just sick. If you're angry, take it out on me. I'll take the blame for my mother."