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

Qiu Lingrong immediately fell silent, looking timidly at Chu Tianyi. Bai Jianan smiled and said, "The thief crying 'stop thief!' Another one of these kinds of acts? Is this the only trick your Qiu family knows? Aren't you tired of it?"

Chu Tianyi looked at Bai Jianan, who was also looking at him. He frowned, then turned to Emperor Murong Qianqiu and said, "Your Majesty, I came to the Central Plains on my father's orders to attend the wedding of the Marquis of Qingyan's heir. But now I am being harassed by a woman. I ask Your Majesty to give me an explanation."

The young prince from a different royal family was a figure of great importance, known not only to the ministers but also to the common people in the city.

Back then, when the king from a different surname was granted the title of king, he didn't leave on his own. He brought with him an army of 100,000 men bestowed by the emperor. The grand spectacle of that army is still widely talked about today.

But now, Murong Qianqiu frowned.

A king of a different surname may be loyal, but that doesn't mean his descendants will be willing to live as subjects. Therefore, his descendants must be guarded against, especially now, given Chu Tianyi's attitude. If he doesn't give an explanation, this matter may not be over today, and it will inevitably lead to someone's death.

He didn't care if someone in the Qiu family died, but the location couldn't be this Golden Palace, much less the welcoming banquet for the Marquis of Qingyan's heir.

He thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "Don't worry, Your Highness, I will give you an explanation."

As he spoke, he looked at Qiu Zhenzhou and said, "Qiu Qingjia, you have failed to educate your daughter properly. She has caused trouble for my ministers right here in the Golden Palace. May I ask, do you even respect me?"

Qiu Zhenzhou was immediately horrified and prostrated himself, saying, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. I dare not. It is my fault for failing to properly educate my daughter, which led her to commit such a grave mistake. I leave everything to Your Majesty's judgment."

Upon hearing this, Madam Sun also kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, my Rong'er is young and did not mean to offend the young prince. Please be lenient and spare my Rong'er!"

Sun's shameless plea for mercy amused Jian Yue, who couldn't help but chuckle, thinking that Qiu Zhenzhou had truly become and fallen because of Sun.

Chu Tian coldly said, "Young? You've already come of age, you know how to seduce men, are you still young?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Sun immediately turned to Chu Tianyi, kowtowing as she said, "Please, Your Highness, I beg you, Your Highness, I only have two daughters. Please, Your Highness, forgive my transgressions and spare Rong'er."

Chu Tianyi's expression remained unchanged: "You said it yourself, you have two daughters, losing one isn't a big deal."

The implication was clear: Qiu Lingrong had to die.

Sun's face turned deathly pale, while Qiu Lingrong stood there stunned.

Why? Why is this happening? All she wanted was to find a husband of equal social standing, was that wrong? Why should she die? And that hairpin, what's wrong with it being a gift from the emperor? She only wore it briefly, why punish me when I could just return it?

Qiu Lingrong looked up at Chu Tianyi, and suddenly felt a surge of sorrow. She staggered to her feet, ignoring the sharp blade at her throat. Her neck grazed the tip of the sword, leaving a bloody gash, but she did not stop.

Chu Tian frowned, and before Qiu Lingrong could grab his clothes, he took two steps back and moved out of her reach. He then spun his sword, drawing sparks on the ground, and said coldly, "If you come any closer, it will be your arm that gets severed."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Lingrong glanced at the marks on the ground and immediately went berserk, saying, "I'm about to die, what do I care about my arm? So what if I like you? How can you be so heartless?"

He Xinle was furious upon hearing this. He stepped forward and kicked Qiu Lingrong, sneering, "What heartless? Do you think you're saying that my little brother is someone you can just touch?"

"You think just because you like my little brother, he has to like you back? There are so many girls who like my little brother, how could he possibly like them all? Are all women in the Central Plains as shameless as you? You blame me when your advances are rejected? What a joke!"

After saying that, she looked up at Jian Yue and said, "Miss, come back to the Northwest with me! The people here are all bad, they always slander people, what's so good about a place like this?"

Jian Yue smiled and said, "If you don't like it, then go back. I'm from here, how can I leave my hometown and be far away from my family?"

Bai Jianan nodded solemnly and said with a smile, "My wife will naturally be with me. As for those who don't like me, just kill them."

Murong Chuan frowned and rebuked, "Nonsense! Killing people like this? Do you think you're bandits? This is under the Emperor's nose; the punishment must be determined according to the crime."

After saying that, he turned to Murong Qianqiu and said, "Father, although Qiu Lingrong made a mistake, it does not warrant death. If Father were to grant her death just because she offended the Prince of the Northwest, it would be unreasonable for everyone."

Upon hearing this, Bai Jianan raised an eyebrow and said, "Since offending the young prince is not a capital offense, shouldn't stealing imperial gifts be punished with death?"

Murong Chuan paused, frowned, and looked at Bai Jianan, saying, "Young Master should try to smooth things over. After all, even if the Qiu family is no longer related to you by marriage, they were still the parents of this Miss Shangguan for a period of time."

Bai Jianan smiled and said, "Does the Crown Prince want to discuss feelings with me? But just now the Crown Prince was saying that everything should be done with the interests of the country and the face of the Emperor in mind."

"And this eldest daughter of the Qiu family is merely the daughter of a minister, yet she dared to offer herself to the young prince in the imperial palace, her clothes disheveled. Is this an insult to the Northwest, or an insult to the Emperor? This is a matter I, the young master, cannot say; naturally, it is up to the Emperor to decide."

He rubbed his nose, but when he put his hand down, he realized he was wearing a mask. So he simply put his hand down, put it behind his back, and staggered back to his seat. Then he waved to Jian Yue, signaling her to come over.

But Jian Yue seemed not to hear, and retreated behind Shangguan Ting. Bai Jianan glared at him, but before he could say anything, Shangguan Ting stared at him with his tiger-like eyes. He immediately quieted down, touched his nose which he couldn't reach, and leaned back listlessly, feeling like he had no will to live.

Murong Chuan blushed after being spoken to by Bai Jianan, unsure how to continue. He had thought that the Qiu family was still working for him, and if he could protect them, that would be good.

But right now, the Qiu family has become the target of everyone's criticism. If they don't produce something, they won't be able to extricate themselves today, and they may even arouse the emperor's suspicion.

After much deliberation, Murong Chuan stepped back and gave Qiu Zhenzhou a look.

Qiu Zhenzhou lowered his eyes, having already made his decision. When he looked up again, his eyes had returned to the image of Lord Qiu, who loved the people like his own children and was fair and just.

"Your Majesty, it is my fault for failing to properly educate my daughter, which has led to this situation. I am guilty and beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Upon hearing this, Madam Sun turned to look at Qiu Zhenzhou and found that he was not looking at her and did not even pay attention to the glances she sent. She immediately felt something was wrong. The next moment, she saw Murong Qianqiu speak.

"In that case, imprison this woman in the imperial prison and execute her in three days. Qiu Zhenzhou will be demoted one rank and fined half a year. He will stay at home for three months to reflect on his mistakes and will return to court after the New Year."

Qiu Zhenzhou closed his eyes and kowtowed to express his gratitude.

"Thank you Lord for your grace."

Upon hearing this, Madam Sun collapsed to the ground. Qiu Lingrong, however, suddenly stood up and laughed maniacally, "Hahaha, my father doesn't want me anymore, my father doesn't want me anymore, then I should die."

As she spoke, she suddenly burst into tears: "But I don't want to die, I don't want to die, sixth sister, sixth sister, please save me, please save me! My father gave you all his best jewelry. Don't you like gold? I have it, I have a lot of it, I'll give it all to you. Please don't let me die, please don't let me die!"

As she spoke, she crawled to Jian Yue's side and hugged Jian Yue's leg tightly. Jian Yue looked down at her, and the pleading in her eyes seemed genuine at that moment.

But can we really believe it?

Jian Yue remained silent. Seeing this, Qiu Lingrong suddenly laughed again, pulled out another hairpin from her hair, and stabbed it straight into Jian Yue's thigh. Shangguan Hanque noticed immediately, kicked Qiu Lingrong away, and used his other hand to catch Jian Yue, who was falling backward due to inertia. He looked at Qiu Lingrong and said coldly, "How dare you."

Qiu Lingxiu rose in pain, smiling at Jian Yue with eyes full of resentment. She screamed wildly, "Why? Why did you come back? I was the one who should have been betrothed to the Marquis of Qingyan. Why did you come back? You stole my position, and now you want to take my life over a broken hairpin? Qiu Lingxiu, I'm going to kill you."

She said she was going to pounce on him again, but the next moment, she stood still.

Before everyone's eyes, Bai Jianan held a long sword and pierced Qiu Lingrong's heart with one stroke. Qiu Lingrong stared wide-eyed at her own heart, her ears filled with Bai Jianan's cold and chilling voice.

"The person I'm going to marry is you? You don't deserve it! You want to hurt my princess? Then you might as well die first."

The voice, like a soul-reaping messenger from the deepest hell, imprinted every word into her mind. Her vision gradually blurred, her whole body felt cold, and finally, unwillingly, she fell to the ground, dying with her eyes wide open.

Jian Yue stepped forward, paused in front of Qiu Lingrong for a long while, reached out and covered her eyes, and sighed, "You originally had three days to live. Isn't it good to be alive?"

Bai Jianan stepped forward, grabbed Jian Yue and pulled her up, coldly saying, "Why do you pity someone like that? This ridiculous welcome banquet is meaningless and just adds to the chaos. Let's go back."

As he spoke, he tried to pull Jian Yue away, but Murong Qianqiu immediately stood up anxiously and said, "Where are you going? The welcoming banquet hasn't even started yet, why are you leaving? This person is already dead anyway, what are you still making a fuss about? Sit back down for me."

Shangguan Ting stepped forward and said, "Young Master, I will not stop you from leaving, but you should let go of my Jian Yue's hand. Although you are engaged, you are not married yet. Jian Yue is still my granddaughter, and we must follow her back to the General's Mansion."