"If the hairpin had been inserted even slightly more, the princess would have died on the spot!" the doctor said.
Xu Lingqing's body jolted suddenly, and she belatedly realized that her palms were covered in sticky sweat. She swallowed hard: "How dare she kill me in public?"
Xu Lingqing looked at Zhao Zhiyan with lingering fear: "Your Highness, the Crown Princess just can't tolerate us anymore."
Little did she know how bitter she felt when she saw Song Yue appear in front of everyone today, all of which belonged to her.
Song Yue used despicable and shameless means to steal all of this.
Zhao Zhiyan's face was gloomy. He could only comfort her and tell her to rest well and not to provoke Song Yue unless necessary.
"Your Highness, some things are beyond my control. She is the Crown Princess, surrounded by admirers, while I am just a fallen Eighth Prince's wife. She can crush me at any time if she wants to." Xu Lingqing hadn't expected Song Yue to be so volatile, showing no restraint whatsoever.
It would make you look bad in public.
“The Eighth Prince’s Mansion has an immunity token. As long as we behave ourselves, she has no reason to take action against the Eighth Prince’s Mansion,” Zhao Zhiyan said.
Large tears streamed down Xu Lingqing's face. She sniffed and leaned weakly against Zhao Zhiyan, saying, "Your Highness, you are all I have left."
Zhao Zhiyan suppressed his impatience and did not push the person away, but calmly sighed.
"Your Highness, Prince Qing and Prince Zhennan have arrived," the servant said.
Xu Lingqing quickly raised her head and distanced herself: "Your Highness, I am fine, please go."
"Um!"
In the study
Prince Qing berated the Crown Princess for her behavior that day, while Prince Zhennan sneered, "This girl has always been like this; it's not like we haven't seen her before, always so petty."
The group fell silent.
Zhao Zhiyan suddenly looked at the Prince of Zhennan and asked, "Have you dealt with the mole in your residence?"
The Prince of Zhennan's eyes darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "If it weren't for Your Highness's reminder, I would have almost been killed. How could I have so easily let this vile woman off!"
As he spoke, the Prince of Zhennan stood up and cupped his hands to Zhao Zhiyan, saying, "Thank you for your reminder, Eighth Prince, despite past grievances. I am ashamed!"
"I heard that she went to the palace a few days ago to visit the Empress Dowager and also went to Yikun Palace," Prince Qing asked.
The Prince of Zhennan nodded: "Yes."
He wanted to kill the man immediately, but Zhao Zhiyan said that keeping him alive would still be useful, so he had no choice but to keep him.
“Princess Liang Ying’s businesses are spread throughout Northern Chu, Southern Xinjiang, and even Eastern Japan. Today, the Crown Princess is showing such disrespect to the Princess, she must have offended her. When Princess Jia Hua was first made a princess, the Princess was already dissatisfied. Now, how can the Princess tolerate this humiliation?” said Prince Qing.
The Prince of Zhennan then said, "That old fox, Duke Shen, has risen to the rank of one of the Three Dukes by currying favor with Princess Jiahua. He's already rolling in money. This time, he's in charge of escorting her. We need to come up with a plan."
"I heard that the Crown Prince is going to hold a hunt in three days. Has he invited you all?" Zhao Zhiyan suddenly asked.
The two nodded.
As if they had thought of something, a cold glint flashed in their eyes.
“It’s not a big deal if a few people die on the hunting grounds, what do you two princes think?” Zhao Zhiyan said.
The two laughed in unison: "What the Eighth Prince said is absolutely right."
The day of the hunting feast arrived in the blink of an eye.
Not only men were invited, but also women.
Song Yue was among them.
"The Crown Princess is so valiant and spirited; if she were to take the stage, she would surely outshine all the other beauties." Princess Liang Ying smiled, but her eyes held a deep and undisguised hatred.
Song Yue wore a dark red dress today. She raised an eyebrow and said, "I'm afraid it's a bit inconvenient."
"Such a good opportunity, does the Crown Princess want to spoil the fun? I placed bets among the common people for today's hunt. If the Crown Princess refuses to participate, she will have to compensate me for my losses."
Princess Liang Ying said this with a smile.
Also present were Madam Yun and Madam Shangguan, who smiled and rolled up their sleeves, ready to mount their horses, looking eager to try.
"Your Highness, we've long heard of your heroic bearing and exceptional archery skills. You must show us your abilities, or we'll all be embarrassed," said Madam Shangguan.
Seeing this, Song Yue had no choice but to agree: "Alright."
"Then what is the stake?" Princess Liang Ying asked impatiently.
Song Yue smiled faintly and took out a jade pendant from her bosom. Princess Liang Ying clicked her tongue and said, "It's a rare treat, Crown Princess, don't be so stingy."
"This jade pendant represents twenty shops under my name in the capital. If the princess doesn't even care about this, I'm curious what the princess's bet is?"
Upon hearing that there were twenty shops, Princess Liang Ying's expression changed slightly.
She couldn't bow her head in front of everyone.
“The princess has businesses everywhere, so naturally she won’t be outdone by the crown princess,” someone jeered.
Princess Liang Ying said, "Then I'll compensate with twenty shops, but we have an agreement beforehand: life and death are preordained on the hunting grounds. If anything goes wrong, no one is allowed to hold us responsible, okay?"
Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed drastically.
"It's just a hunt, not a war, why make it so serious?" Madame Chiang said with a smile.
Princess Liang Ying said, "That's precisely why I said that. After all, the Crown Princess is delicate. If she were to bump or fall, and the matter were investigated, wouldn't we be wronged for nothing? Today, we should be fair and put aside our status."
"Alright!" Song Yue readily agreed: "Words are no proof. Let's sign and put our fingerprints on this. Once we're in the hunting grounds, our lives and deaths are irrelevant, and we won't be held accountable!"
Princess Liang Ying was thrilled that Song Yue agreed so readily, fearing that she might change her mind, so she added, "Each person can only bring one guard for protection."
"Can."
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