First annul the engagement, then sever ties with the empress; the empress reigns supreme.

Mu Lingche's gaze fell on Feng Wu's neck, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Of course, but I also hope that Princess Fengwu can uphold the virtues of a wife. Even if it is just a business relationship, I would not want to marry a fickle wife. Princess Fengwu, you'd better behave yourself."

Mu Lingche flicked his sleeves, abandoned Feng Wu, and walked ahead.

Feng Wu stared at Mu Lingche's back with a dark and unreadable gaze. After a few breaths, she chose to give in, readjusted her expression, and followed Mu Lingche's footsteps.

Before officially preparing for the wedding, Princess Fengwu had a frank and open talk with Mu Lingche. The two put aside their grudges and prejudices against each other, agreed to get married properly, and then cooperate to seize the throne together.

It was because of this conversation that Mu Lingche was willing to give Feng Wu face in public, and the two pretended to be affectionate.

These past few days, Feng Wu and Mu Lingche have been performing exceptionally well, but unexpectedly, their first attempt to attack Gu Junxi backfired.

Today, Mu Lingye accompanied Leng Xuanjue on a tour of the capital, where they witnessed the magnificent scenery of Dasheng. It was only during lunch with Leng Xuanjue that he learned that Gu Junxi had been summoned to the post station by Feng Wu.

"Your Highness, should we send someone to protect the Crown Princess?" Xuan Ying asked after reporting.

"I will personally go to fetch her." Mu Lingye had no appetite left. The capital of Dasheng was in chaos, and one had to be careful in everything one did at this time. Feng Wu was their mortal enemy before, and her sudden show of goodwill must have something fishy going on.

Mu Lingye was about to enter the private room when he greeted the official who was dining with Leng Xuanjue.

As soon as he turned around, he saw Leng Xuanjue with his arms crossed, staring at him menacingly. Seeing him look over, a smile returned to his face: "Is Ye Nu planning to abandon this prince and leave?"

These days, whenever no one is around or when no one is paying attention, Leng Xuanjue will call Mu Lingye "Night Slave".

It is both an insult and a provocation.

Mu Lingye glanced coldly at Leng Xuanjue, walked past him, and went straight into the private room.

In such cases, Mu Lingye would choose to ignore it.

He knew that if he couldn't help but attack Leng Xuanjue and lose his temper, he would have fallen into Leng Xuanjue's trap.

Many people in Dasheng and Yan knew that he and Leng Xuanjue were at odds. Leng Xuanjue had to die, but he couldn't die within Dasheng's borders, much less in the capital, otherwise he would be the prime suspect.

This is also what makes Emperor Sheng so disgusting.

After entering the private room, Mu Lingye quickly came out. He ignored Leng Xuanjue just like before.

“Interesting. This meal is unnecessary for Your Highness. Let’s return to the inn.” Leng Xuanjue stared intently at Mu Lingye’s retreating figure, then led his men to follow.

He had overheard Xuan Ying's conversation with Mu Lingye.

The grand wedding of Mu Lingche and Feng Wu hasn't arrived yet, so we can't witness the big spectacle; watching the smaller ones is fine, though. Besides, we're still in the planning stage with Mu Lingye.

The most skilled hunters need to have enough patience to wait for the right time before they can reap the rewards.

Moreover, he has completely grasped Mu Lingye's weakness, and Mu Lingye can no longer escape his grasp.

Leng Xuanjue's sinister eyes flickered slightly, and suddenly an idea struck him. He deliberately spoke silently, "Turn around!"

As soon as the silent words faded, Mu Lingye, who had already reached the entrance of the restaurant, suddenly stopped and turned around without any warning.

After he finished the action, he blinked in confusion.

"Your Highness, is there anything else you need to instruct me on?" Xuan Ying noticed Mu Lingye's movements, stopped, and turned around.

Mu Lingye's dark eyes flickered. With the groundwork laid by his sudden growing resistance to Gu Junxi earlier, he became more wary of his inexplicable behavior.

Mu Lingye subconsciously thought of the incurable disease he had. He felt that his sudden abnormality was probably related to that disease.

Mu Lingye had absolute faith in Su Xin's abilities. Gu Junxi's letter had already been sent; once Mr. Su Xin left the valley and came to the capital, his illness should no longer be a problem.

Mu Lingye glanced around discreetly, and to avoid alerting Xuan Ying, he shook his head as if he hadn't noticed anything: "It's nothing, let's go!"

Incense was burning in the elegant private room of the dining hall.

Mu Lingche was eating when a servant came to find him, and he had to leave temporarily.

Less than a quarter of an hour after Mu Lingche left, Feng Wu's clothes were soaked by her maid, so she left her seat to change. For a moment, only Gu Junxi and Long Yao remained in the private room.

It's such a coincidence that both of them had something to do and left one after the other. Anyone with a modicum of common sense should be wary of such a situation.

Gu Junxi was no longer a naive young girl; she had experienced similar framing several times before.

She glanced at the burning incense, then at Long Yao.

Long Yao was completely unsuspecting and was still enjoying his meal.

Long Yao's carefree and thoughtless behavior is very similar to Feng Yang's. Feng Yang developed that kind of personality because of the protection of his mother and Feng Wu.

Whether Long Yao in front of us is truly innocent or just pretending is still uncertain.

If he truly has no ulterior motives, then the Great Yu is far too ambitious to send such a prince to the Great Sheng.

"Prince Longyao, is this food to your liking?" Gu Junxi asked tentatively.

"Not bad." Long Yao didn't even look up. After taking a bite of the dish, she reached for another. Just as she was about to put it in her mouth, she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Gu Junxi was staring at her. Only then did she manage to look up and ask, "Why isn't the Crown Princess eating?"

Gu Junxi couldn't bear to see Long Yao's clueless and dazed expression. Feng Wu and Mu Lingche were clearly after her and Long Yao, so she couldn't just abandon Long Yao. If something happened to Long Yao, she would probably be implicated as well.

Regardless of whether Long Yao was feigning ignorance or genuinely naive, Gu Junxi directly pointed out: "Prince Long Yao, haven't you noticed that the fragrance in the private room is getting stronger and stronger?"

Reminded by Gu Junxi, Long Yao sniffed carefully and indeed found that the scent of incense was stronger than before.

He nodded, his face slightly flushed: "It is indeed a bit heavy, but the smell is quite nice. It's just that smelling it for too long makes me feel dizzy and a bit hot."

Long Yao tugged at his collar.

"How could an aphrodisiac incense not be hot?" Gu Junxi was speechless. She stood up, about to say something, when she heard the sound of a lock being shut outside.

Then Long Yao's movements as he pulled at her collar became more and more forceful. He stood up and swayed as he leaned against Gu Junxi, saying, "Your Highness, don't you feel really hot?"

Gu Junxi sidestepped, avoiding Long Yao's lunge, and Long Yao successfully fell to the ground. Gu Junxi gave herself a pill, and then saw Long Yao get up again and lean towards her.

In the courtyard not far from the dining hall, Feng Wu had already changed her clothes and walked through the long corridor to meet Mu Lingche, who had returned. The two walked side by side.

"Is there enough time?" Mu Lingche asked first.

Feng Wu chuckled confidently: "Enough. The Lover's Entanglement I created is extremely potent. Even if you take the antidote immediately after inhaling it, it will take a quarter of an hour to fully neutralize the effects. Anyway, we don't need anything to actually happen between Gu Junxi and Long Yao. As long as everyone sees Long Yao and Gu Junxi embracing, we can use that to our advantage and completely ruin Gu Junxi."

Destroying Gu Junxi would mean destroying Mu Lingye's right-hand man. To seize the throne, Mu Lingye must first be eliminated as an obstacle.

If it were a year or so ago, Crown Prince Mu Lingye would have been no threat. But now, with his own army and a firm foothold in the court, Mu Lingye is no longer to be underestimated.

When Feng Wu drugged Gu Junxi, she already knew that Gu Junxi was skilled in medicine and would be able to detoxify herself, so she didn't really want to capture Gu Junxi and Long Yao to reveal their identities.

She only needed Gu Junxi to have had some contact with Long Yao.

A man and a woman, both disheveled and with flirtatious expressions, were alone in a room, claiming nothing had happened and that they were completely innocent. Who would believe that?

Feng Wu understands people's hearts and is also good at spreading rumors.

Doing this was also a way of avenging Mu Lingye for plotting to push her towards Mu Lingche.

"In that case, let's go." Mu Lingche nodded and walked towards the dining hall with Feng Wu.

As soon as Mu Lingche and Feng Wu moved, the "witnesses" who had been arranged in advance—several maids carrying dishes and snacks—followed behind them.

They walked through several corridors and courtyards and were greeted by Mu Lingye and Leng Xuanjue, who arrived one after the other.