Ren Nuanyun lowered her head, a fierce glint in her eyes. No, she was the first one to arrive here, she was the female lead here, no one else could be above her, no one at all.
I must find a way to get rid of Qu Qingxi. I absolutely cannot let Qu Qingxi affect my affairs anymore. From the very beginning, my attempts to deal with Qu Qingxi have not gone smoothly. It seems that anything related to Qu Qingxi will not succeed and will cause many problems.
Qu Qingxi absolutely cannot stay any longer.
The Crown Prince's face turned pale and then red as He Liufeng reprimanded him in front of so many people, but since he was ultimately in the wrong, he couldn't find the words to refute it.
Seeing the Crown Prince speechless after being reprimanded by He Liufeng, Qu Qingxi chuckled inwardly. Sure enough, He Liufeng was still needed to discipline the Crown Prince.
If she were to take action, she naturally wouldn't be able to say anything harsh to the Crown Prince, but He Liufeng is different.
In terms of relationship, He Liufeng is the Crown Prince's uncle and an elder; in terms of status, He Qi'an is the Crown Prince, while He Liufeng is a prince with a title. Although his status is not much higher than the Crown Prince's, it is definitely not lower.
Furthermore, it is widely known that the emperor favors his younger brother over the crown prince.
While He Liufeng was still lecturing the Crown Prince, Qu Qingxi remembered something and, taking advantage of everyone's inattention, quickly glanced at the changes in everyone's eyes.
Lai Fu stared blankly at everything in front of him, while Ren Nuanyun glared at Qu Qingxi with resentment, her eyes full of calculation. When Qu Qingxi looked over, Ren Nuanyun lowered her head and remained silent, her fierce expression gone.
When Qu Qingxi looked at the Emperor, she saw him staring intently at the Crown Prince, a hint of heartache flashing in his eyes, which quickly disappeared. His hand on the desk clenched and unclenched.
Fearing the Emperor would notice, Qu Qingxi quickly averted her gaze and lowered her eyes to stare at the floor of the Imperial Study.
Feeling sorry for him? Does the Emperor feel sorry for the Crown Prince?
Subconscious reactions are the hardest to fake, so the Emperor's concern for the Crown Prince just now was genuine. That means that the previous claim that the Emperor did not favor the Crown Prince was false.
Is this all just an act?
Qu Qingxi was shocked by her own guess. If that were really the case, then the Emperor would be terrifying.
On the surface, she dotes on her younger brother the most, but she poisoned him when he was still a child. On the surface, she hates the crown prince, but in reality, she favors him.
Qu Qingxi narrowed her eyes slightly. This matter cannot be concluded yet. It needs to be investigated thoroughly. If she was mistaken, that's fine. But if this is the truth, how would He Liufeng feel when he finds out?
Qu Qingxi and He Liufeng couldn't figure out the answer to this question as they rode in the carriage back to the Prince's Mansion.
"What are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought." He Liufeng raised his hand and waved it in front of Qu Qingxi's eyes, asking suspiciously. He had noticed that Qu Qingxi seemed to have something on her mind ever since they came out of the Imperial Study.
"I wasn't thinking about anything." Qu Qingxi looked up at He Liufeng and, upon closer inspection, noticed that He Liufeng's features did bear a resemblance to the Emperor's.
However, they are different. He Liufeng's eyebrows and eyes are more refined and handsome, while the emperor's eyebrows and eyes always carry a trace of imperial calculation and profundity.
"Do you feel wronged today? Do you think His Majesty's punishment of the Crown Prince and Ren Nuanyun was too lenient?" Qu Qingxi's expression changed as soon as she came out of the Imperial Study, so she was unhappy with His Majesty's punishment today.
"That's not it." Qu Qingxi frowned. Just now in the Imperial Study, the Crown Prince was punished with half a year of service, and Ren Nuanyun was sent back to the Marquis of Dingguo's residence by the Emperor. She was to stay in her own courtyard and not go out until March of next year. At the same time, the Marquis of Dingguo was punished with two years of service, and the Empress was also asked to find a governess from the palace to teach Ren Nuanyun manners.
This punishment wasn't too severe, but it wasn't insignificant either. Qu Qingxi couldn't say whether she was satisfied or dissatisfied. After all, she had to deal with the person who offended her herself; she couldn't rely on others.
Seeing He Liufeng staring at her with a puzzled look, Qu Qingxi put the question in her mind aside and smiled.
"Does Your Majesty really think that the jade pendant was a setup?" Qu Qingxi changed the subject. That jade pendant was something Qu Qingxi had racked her brains to choose. If it had no effect at all, wouldn't it be a waste of Qu Qingxi's efforts?
"His Majesty has always been suspicious, and this matter will not be easily dismissed. His Majesty will definitely investigate this matter personally. As for whether Xu Xingfeng did this, we still need to look at those butterflies."
He Liufeng scoffed lightly, "The Emperor doesn't even trust his own brother, let alone anyone else."
"By the way, why did those butterflies fly towards the Emperor today?" After noticing that her body was covered in medicinal powder, Qu Qingxi personally prepared medicine, and the two of them took a bath to remove the powder.
Qu Qingxi initially thought the butterflies wouldn't land on her or He Liufeng, but she never expected them to land on the Emperor. The Crown Prince and Ren Nuanyun's astonished expressions were laughable; they probably never imagined things would turn out this way.
"What tricks did you play?" Qu Qingxi stared at He Liufeng with amusement. This move was too amazing, catching everyone on the scene off guard, even the emperor was taken aback.
"Yes, news came from the Crown Prince's residence that last night, the Crown Prince and Ren Nuanyun were discussing something in the study, and he happened to overhear about the powder and butterflies."
He Liufeng did not hide anything and admitted that he was the one who did it. Ever since he heard the news and thought about Qu Qingxi asking him to take a bath, he had a plan in mind.
"That's a great idea. What do you think? If Xu Xingfeng also had that smell, wouldn't the Emperor be even more suspicious of the Xu family?"
Qu Qingxi raised her eyes slightly, a wicked smile flashing in them.
“He will have this smell on him.” Looking at the cunning Qu Qingxi, He Liufeng also smiled. The powder on Xu Xingfeng’s body was sprinkled on at the same time as the Emperor’s. He had prepared this surprise in advance, and now it was just a matter of whether the Emperor would like it or not.
"Your Highness is wise." Qu Qingxi understood He Liufeng's meaning and couldn't help but praise him.
As soon as the two returned to the mansion, Qingdai hurried over.
Seeing Qingdai's appearance, Qu Qingxi thought something had happened to Qingzhu again. "What's wrong? What happened?"
"Your Highness, Your Highness, the matter concerning Ren Nuanyun that day has been investigated. On the day Ren Nuanyun went to Lingci Temple, the bandits claimed that the Princess had sent them. However, after careful investigation, it was discovered that the abortion drug they gave Ren Nuanyun was actually given to the bandits by her maid Chunxin, who disguised herself as a servant."
Qingdai said angrily, she never expected things to turn out this way.
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