The daughter of the Marquis is too delicate, the abstinent prince pinches her waist and loves her

Chapter 190 Xiao'er is still alive
"Qing'er," Ye Jinchen called to her from another room.

Upon hearing the sound, Sheng Yunqing stepped into the room, where a drawer labeled "Beauty Pill" was opened in a wooden cabinet.

Ye Jinchen took out a piece of paper and a jade box.

As the box was opened, Sheng Yunqing's compass spun rapidly. She strode forward and saw neatly arranged round, dark red crystals inside.

Her fingertips touched it lightly, and she heard a familiar sound. A six-year-old boy laughed heartily, "Hua'er, shall we play hide-and-seek? Big sister, play with us!"

She trembled as she withdrew her hand and stepped back, bumping into the sandalwood table behind her.

Ye Jinchen frowned and looked at Sheng Yunqing, asking, "What's wrong? Why do you look so pale? What's this?"

Sheng Yunqing's eyes reddened, her trembling hand covered her mouth, and tears welled up in her eyes: "Xiao'er's blood..."

Ye Jinchen frowned. She was referring to Sheng Xiao, the former third young master of the Sheng family.

He looked down at the note in his hand, which contained the secret recipe for a beauty pill. As he gazed at the last line, his dark eyes darkened.

"Three qian of blood from the Sheng family's virgin children."

After searching for a while, the two found a thick stack of account books.

The last blood tribute was delivered yesterday.

Suddenly, Sheng Yunqing realized something, her eyes widened, and she looked at Ye Jinchen, saying, "So, Xiao'er isn't dead!"

Ye Jinchen nodded, folded the prescription and put it back in his collar, and gave a deep reply.

Sheng Yunqing felt both heartache and joy. She sniffed and said, "We must find Xiao'er."

Looking at the ledger in her hand, she saw that three coins of blood had been deposited into the bank every month for the past eight years. When she turned to the first page, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

"The blood of the Sheng family's virgin can nourish the female soul of the Sheng family within the Soul-Binding Silk. If this is done continuously day after day, it can be refined into a Gu King in ten years."

Her hands, clutching the account books, trembled violently, and her eyes were bloodshot: "They actually used my two younger siblings to nourish the Gu worms and control the Empress Dowager!"

Ye Jinchen raised his hand to cover her mouth, gritting his teeth as he said, "I will never let Duke Bai go. Don't alert him. Let's go out first."

Sheng Yunqing took a deep breath to calm herself down, gripped the ledger so tightly that her fingertips turned white, and nodded forcefully.

A quarter of an hour has passed in the Golden Palace.

Zhi Xing knelt in the hall, her long black hair loose, dressed in a plain dress, without any jewelry to adorn her, before being hastily pulled over.

Her expression was calm as she bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I greet you."

"Your Highness, is it true that the Duke of Bai accused you of using a false identity to murder Your Highness?"

Zhi Xing stiffened slightly, her lips pressed tightly together, and she remained silent.

"The Crown Prince has arrived!"

Accompanied by her father-in-law's high-pitched voice, Ye Jingnian walked over with a brisk pace and a gloomy expression.

He glanced at Duke Bai, his gaze settling on the maid's face. Upon closer inspection, he realized she seemed to be Bai Muling's maid.

He gave a barely perceptible hum, his expression softening slightly as he looked at Zhi Xing. He bowed to Ye Jinfeng and said, "Father." "Crown Prince, you've come at the perfect time."

Ye Jingnian nodded and said, "Father, I understand this matter. The Crown Princess killed the White Crown Princess for a reason."

"There's a reason for this?" Duke Bai clenched his fist and said, "Your Highness, even now, are you still going to protect this woman?"

“Duke Bai,” Ye Jingnian raised his voice, glancing at him, “she is still my Crown Princess. Please show some respect in your tone, Duke Bai.”

"Respect..." Duke Bai laughed a few times in anger, saying, "My daughter was unjustly killed, and Your Highness turned around and married her murderer to take her place! How can you expect me to show respect..."

Ye Jinfeng frowned and said, "Your Highness, as you say, did the Crown Princess really do such a thing?"

Zhi Xing's heart skipped a beat, and she gripped her skirt tightly.

"Yes."

Upon hearing this, Duke Bai frowned. How could he admit it so frankly and openly...?

Ye Jingnian clapped his hands, and an old man stepped forward, knelt before Ye Jinfeng, and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty. I am the coroner who examined the death of the Crown Princess Bai. During the examination of the Crown Princess's body, I discovered some suspicious circumstances..."

Ye Jinfeng's voice was deep and resonant. He raised his hand to support his chin and said, "Speak."

The coroner presented the record in his arms and said, "His Highness the Crown Prince had previously suspected that the Crown Princess Bai was having an affair... He came to me, and after a blood test, it was discovered that the child in the Crown Princess Bai's womb is not His Highness's bloodline..."

Zhi Xing was slightly stunned. The child who made her jealous to the point of losing control... wasn't His Highness?

"What?!" Ye Jinfeng slammed his fist on the table and stood up, glaring furiously at the coroner. "Is this true?!"

The coroner trembled violently and said, "Your Highness said that in order to save face for the Bai family, I should not say it."

"Absurd!" Duke Bai nearly fainted from anger again. He raised his finger, trembling, and pointed at Ye Jingnian, saying, "Ling'er... how could Ling'er do such a thing?!"

Ye Jingnian ignored him and instead said to Ye Jinfeng, "Father, Zhixing is loyal to me. That night, Bai Muling let it slip, and she was so angry that she accidentally..."

"Your Highness! Zhi Xing was murdered..."

"Duke!" Ye Jinfeng slammed his hand on the armrest, glaring at him fiercely. "The Crown Prince is the heir apparent. No matter how aggrieved you are, how can you be so rude to him!"

Duke Bai choked for a moment, then lowered his head to calm himself down. He bowed to Ye Jinfeng and Ye Jingnian and said, "Your Highness, even if there were reasons for it, isn't it enough to convict Zhixing of impersonating Miss Xie and murdering the Crown Princess?"

“If Duke Bai insists on this, even I cannot protect you.” Ye Jingnian sighed and said, “Yan Chuan, present this to Father Emperor.”

"Yes." Yan Chuan responded, presented the brocade box to the dragon table, opened the box, and inside were the chastity handkerchief and marriage certificate that had been used to blackmail Duke Bai in the past.

Ye Jing scoffed disdainfully, saying, "Father, Bai Muling did not bleed on her wedding night. She had already been having an affair with a scholar in the family when she was still unmarried..."

He glanced at the gloomy-faced Duke Bai and said, "Duke, do I need to explain in more detail?"

The Duke of Bai hurriedly kowtowed to Ye Jinfeng and said, "This is pure slander! Your Majesty, the Crown Princess has ulterior motives, and the Crown Prince has been deceived to this extent! I have already conducted a secret investigation and found that the Crown Princess has close ties with the Western Shu Kingdom. Someone saw Princess Qinxue and the Crown Princess talking in the streets and alleys. A few days ago, Princess Qinxue also visited the Crown Prince's residence."

The Duke of Bai's words were exquisite, and the old steward behind him presented him with a letter.

Ye Jingnian narrowed his phoenix eyes slightly. Was he going to cause a fight to the death?

Ye Jinfeng carefully read the contents of the letter, which was signed Mu Jiyue. It briefly explained how the two of them had used a curse on the Empress Dowager and successfully assassinated Bai Muling. Their next target was Ye Jingnian.