The prince is fierce: Who dares to steal my woman?

He Qiongying frowned slightly, her tone revealing a hint of confusion and sternness: "Why didn't you save the Crown Prince? Are you afraid of death?"

Li Yuerui lowered her head, her hands tightly twisting the hem of her clothes.

He Qiongying continued, "After the Crown Prince's death, you opened the Xuanwu Gate and let He Jian's imperial guards in. Was it because you had a change of heart, or did you have another motive?"

After a moment of silence, Li Yuerui finally spoke, her voice filled with endless bitterness and self-reproach: "This sinful subject has his reasons. The situation that day was complicated. This sinful subject originally wanted to protect the Crown Prince and fight his way out of Xuanwu Gate, but he had no choice but to obey orders. In the end... in the end, he made a terrible mistake."

Upon hearing this, He Qiongying immediately shook Li Yuerui's shoulders forcefully: "Tell me quickly, whose orders are you taking?"

Li Yuerui lowered her head, unsure how to answer.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps broke the silence.

Yang Rong stepped across the threshold, and her gaze froze the moment it met Li Yuerui's.

After the Mianyue Tower was shut down, Yang Rong lost contact with Li Yuerui.

"Yinrui, what are you doing here?"

Yang Rong's voice carried a hint of surprise and confusion. She quickly stepped forward, her gaze shifting back and forth between Li Yuerui and He Qiongying.

Li Yuerui slowly raised her head, her fingers trembling slightly as she pointed at Yang Rong, her voice barely audible: "I...I was just following her orders."

These words struck He Qiongying like a thunderbolt.

She whirled around, grabbed Yang Rong by the collar, her angry eyes seeming to spit fire: "Who are you? Why didn't you let Li Yuerui save the Crown Prince?"

Yang Rong was startled by the sudden turn of events, but she quickly regained her composure and roughly guessed the identity of the woman in front of her. She grabbed He Qiongying's hand: "Let go!"

Just as the situation was about to spiral out of control, a calm and powerful voice rang out at the right time: "Your Highness, the beauty before you is none other than Yang Rong, the princess of the fallen kingdom of Qiuchi."

Xiao Jinyan strode in. He first bowed to He Qiongying, then turned to Yang Rong and introduced her, "Yang Rong, this is the Crown Princess. You probably bear some responsibility for her falling to such a state of ruin and death."

"Princess of the fallen kingdom of Qiuchi? You traitorous scoundrel, give me back my husband's life!"

He Qiongying's eyes burned with raging anger. She flashed forward like a ghost and approached Yang Rong, her slender hand suddenly grabbing Yang Rong's delicate neck.

Yang Rong's face instantly turned bright red, accompanied by violent struggle and resentment: "What does it have to do with me that your Liu family is killing each other? Back then, your Song cavalry trampled the mountains and rivers of Qiuchi and slaughtered countless royal children. I, Yang Rong, am an orphan of Qiuchi. I haven't even settled the score with you yet, but you are still so relentless!"

At this critical moment, Xiao Jinyan intervened decisively. With his agile movements, he gently pulled He Qiongying's clenched fists off Yang Rong's neck.

“Please calm down, Your Highness,” he said in a steady voice, trying to soothe He Qiongying’s almost out-of-control emotions. “Although Yang Rong fueled the flames, the real instigator was that tyrannical Emperor Liu Kun.”

Green Pearl, who was behind Xiao Jinyan, also stepped forward quickly, gently placing her soft hands on Yang Rong's shoulders and carefully supporting her.

"Princess, are you okay?"

Yang Rong touched her neck: "It's nothing!"

He Qiongying, still furious, said sternly, "This Yang Rong is despicable! She is clearly in cahoots with that tyrannical emperor Liu Kun; they are birds of a feather and should not be let off lightly!"

Yang Rong was also furious. She thought, "You, Xiao Jinyan! You tricked me into thinking I was going on a spring outing, and then you pulled this stunt! And that little bitch Yin Rui, she sold me out without hesitation. Did she learn this trick from Zi Xuan?"

Damn it, I'm not playing with you guys anymore...

"I'm tired," Yang Rong said softly, "I'm sorry I can't keep you company."

After saying that, she turned around resolutely, her long dress trailing on the ground like resolute wings.

“Yang Rong,” Xiao Jinyan spoke slowly, his voice firm and unwavering, “even now, don’t you realize where you went wrong?”

Yang Rong turned around, her face cold and proud, a pride and defiance that belonged to Princess Qiu Chi.

"As the princess of Qiuchi, am I wrong to seek revenge for my motherland?"

Xiao Jinyan's gaze was piercing as he stared directly into Yang Rong's fiery eyes: "Yang Rong, you are blinded by hatred, you are utterly stubborn!"

Yang Rong straightened her back again, facing Xiao Jinyan with an almost defiant attitude: "Xiao Jinyan, if you think I'm wrong, you can hand me over to Liu Kun, or even kill me with one blow. If I, Yang Rong, were to even blink an eye, I would be unworthy of the Qiu Chi royal bloodline!"

Xiao Jinyan sneered and said, "Yang Rong, I originally intended to place you under house arrest for a while, hoping you would sincerely repent. I didn't expect you to be so stubborn. It seems you've been living too comfortably before. I need to lock you up in jail to calm you down!"

Yang Rong scoffed, "Whatever!"

Seeing this, Green Pearl quickly put on a smile and stepped forward, saying, "Everyone, calm down and talk things out."

“Yang Rong,” Xiao Jinyan’s voice was low and hoarse, “do you have a younger sister who is the head maid in the palace?”

Upon hearing this, Yang Rong's heart tightened; she had never revealed any information about her sister to anyone.

"Xiao Jinyan, how...how did you know?"

Xiao Jinyan did not answer immediately, but his face looked extremely sad.

This silence stirred up ripples in Yang Rong's heart, and an ominous premonition loomed over her like dark clouds.

"My sister... what happened to her?"

Xiao Jinyan spoke slowly, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth, heavy and cold: "She's dead."

These three words struck Yang Rong like a bolt from the blue, instantly shattering her world. Her face turned deathly pale, her lips trembled, and she nearly collapsed: "How...how did she die?"

However, Xiao Jinyan fell silent again, his eyes vacant, as if unwilling to mention a painful past.

Green Pearl, standing to the side, choked with sobs as she said, "The Third Princess, in order to uphold the dignity of the Qiu Chi royal family, defied the traitor Liu Kun's order to strip her naked, and as a result... as a result, she was raped by Liu Kun. Unable to bear the humiliation, she chose to commit suicide."

Yang Rong felt a sudden darkness engulf her, as if the entire world had lost its color. Her fists clenched so tightly that her nails dug deep into her palms. The pain brought her back to her senses: "Liu Kun, you villain, I will tear you to pieces!"

Li Yuerui, standing to the side, had a complicated expression, a mixture of regret and helplessness. She sighed softly, "If the princess had listened to my advice and protected the crown prince as he fought his way out of Xuanwu Gate, this calamity would not have happened today."

Seeing this, Green Pearl said sternly, "Silver Bud, how can you be so rude? Are you blaming the princess?"

Li Yuerui gave a bitter smile: "The princess is stubborn and refuses to listen to advice. Are we just supposed to silently endure it and not even be able to say a word of justice?"