The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Nongcui was already weak from being beaten with a cane, and then Jing Anle stepped on her hand, causing her great pain. Even so, she still stubbornly insisted, "This servant... this servant is telling the truth!"

She was sweating profusely and extremely weak, yet she continued to argue.

Kou Shuran was initially worried that Nongcui would let something slip, but she was somewhat relieved after hearing this. However, she was about to be alarmed.

"very good!"

Jing Anle looked at Nongcui and knew that she had been strangled to death by Kou Shuran. She didn't say anything more, but gave Afang a wink. Afang immediately understood, picked up the hairpin from the ground and handed it to Jing Anle.

Jing Anle's actions puzzled everyone. A cold smile appeared on Jing Anle's lips. She moved with lightning speed, stabbing the hairpin into Nongcui's palm in an instant. A scream echoed throughout the banquet.

"Ah! Ah~"

Before everyone could react, the silver hairpin had already pierced through Nongcui's hand, causing it to bleed profusely. Nongcui couldn't bear it any longer and fainted.

Everyone was stunned by the scene. The pampered young ladies of the capital had never seen anything like it before. They were all dumbfounded, and the more timid ones even closed their eyes in fear.

Kou Shuran, in particular, stammered, "What...what are you doing...just because you're a princess, does that give you the right to abuse your power?"

Jing Anle chuckled at her silly antics; the curve of her lips, under the dim light, was quite beautiful.

"What are you laughing at!" Kou Shuran's voice was filled with confusion.

Before Jing Anle could speak, Xiao Heng interjected, "The county princess receives a salary from the Jing Kingdom; does she not know the laws of the Jing Kingdom?"

Others might find Jing Anle's actions vulgar and arbitrary, but they suited Xiao Heng's taste perfectly. In fact, he appreciated everything Jing Anle did.

Kou Shuran looked at Xiao Heng in disbelief. Jing Anle looked so cruel, so why did Xiao Heng like her?

Xiao Heng ignored these comments and continued, "The laws of Jing Kingdom are strict. Princesses born of the legitimate line enjoy the power of supervision and judgment. Princess Anle's actions just now were indeed an interrogation. How can this be considered private torture?"

Kou Shuran was speechless at Xiao Heng's words. Not wanting to lose face in front of Xiao Heng, she changed the subject and said, "I just feel sorry for this maid. She is ordered around and suffers physical pain."

"Pitiful? Why didn't the county princess stop the princess from beating the maid earlier? Now you feel sorry for this maid." Jing Anle retorted.

“Persecuting the princess and causing her to fall into the water is a capital offense!” Jing Anle said again, word by word.

"I……"

Kou Shuran was speechless for a moment. At this moment, Mu Ping, who had been gone for a long time, finally returned. No one noticed that Qin Xiuyuan also returned with her. He took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and sat down next to Xie Bailing.

"Brother Qin, where have you been?" Xie Bailing knew perfectly well that Qin Xiuyuan had followed Jing Anle's maid as she sneaked out, but he pretended not to know and asked deliberately.

"I had an upset stomach," Qin Xiuyuan said, trying to make up an excuse.

Mu Ping whispered something in Jing Anle's ear, and Jing Anle immediately understood and stared straight at Kou Shuran.

"Sister, what's wrong?" Jing Fengyao knew there must be something going on, so he asked.

Kou Shuran felt uneasy under the gaze and quickly moved to Princess Jianing's side. Princess Jianing also realized that things were about to escalate, so she quickly said, "It's getting late today, why don't you all go back to your residence first?"

Princess Jianing spoke politely, and of course she didn't want to escalate the matter and involve herself, but everyone understood what she meant: this was an internal conflict.

"Wait!" Jing Fengyao spoke first.

Princess Jianing's heart skipped a beat, and a rare fawning smile appeared on her face as she said to Jing Fengyao, "Everyone is tired, so why don't we let them go back first?"

"Auntie, have you forgotten that the murderer hasn't been found yet?"

Upon hearing this, Kou Shuran involuntarily tightened her grip on Princess Jianing's wrist, feeling extremely uneasy.

“Yes, Aunt, my maid has already investigated and I understand the situation. However, the real culprit is truly unexpected!” Jing Anle first stared at Princess Jianing, and then looked at Kou Shuran.

Kou Shuran was young, and at this moment her heart was already in turmoil, and her head was hanging low.

But Jing Anle had no intention of letting her go. She walked step by step to Kou Shuran and said, word by word, "The mastermind behind this is in this mansion, and he is among us."

Princess Jianing, fiercely protective of her daughter, spoke in an aggressive tone, "Princess!"

Perhaps realizing her lapse in composure, her expression changed again. "Princess, you mustn't speak recklessly without evidence."

As Jing Anle watched Princess Jianing's expression change from composure to ferocity, she couldn't help but laugh. With a flick of her sleeve, she calmly sat down in her seat, exuding nobility and aloofness, like a queen.

"Aunt, don't be anxious. I haven't even said who the murderer is yet. Why are you so agitated?" Jing Anle said with a light laugh.

Princess Jianing was speechless for a moment and could only look at Jing Anle with dissatisfaction.

"Mu Ping, you tell us."

"Yes."

Upon hearing Jing Anle speak, Mu Ping recounted everything in detail: "This servant just searched this servant's room and found a lot of treasures." As she spoke, she placed the jewelry on the ground.

"Treasure can buy people's hearts, but how can we know who the murderer is?" someone in the crowd asked.

“Indeed.” Mu Ping said, taking out a ruby ​​ring from the pile of jewelry. The ring shone even brighter under the light.

When Jing Fengyao saw the ring, he immediately realized what it meant. He snatched the ring, examined it closely, and then said in an icy tone, "Aunt, putting everything else aside, this gemstone ring is something only the Princess's Mansion possesses."

"This was a tribute from a vassal king that day, and Father Emperor personally bestowed this ring upon Aunt."

Jing Fengyao's words were practically a direct statement that Princess Jianing was the real culprit.

Everyone was stunned and didn't know what was going on, so they all started to speculate.

Princess Jianing was also stunned and couldn't help but look at Kou Shuran. But Kou Shuran was also confused. Although her mother had given her the ring, she treasured it and only wore it on important holidays. How could she have given it to a servant?

So Kou Shuran shook her head and pleaded, "No, Mother, I didn't do such a thing. This has nothing to do with me!"

Princess Jianing was just looking at her without asking anything, but Kou Shuran couldn't keep her mouth shut and started rambling incoherently.