The mad princess forces love upon him, and the aloof imperial advisor trembles every night.

"Thank you, Father." Chu Qingyue chuckled, but the movement aggravated her wound, causing her to cough up a mouthful of black blood that splattered onto the white jade floor tiles, a shocking sight. "Father, the poison has now entered my heart meridian, and all my meridians are severed... If it weren't for the Imperial Preceptor's spiritual power that kept me alive, I would already be a corpse by now."

She slowly turned her head and looked outside the hall.

There, the Third Prince Chu Xuanjing was kneeling on the stone steps, his face as pale as paper.

"Third Imperial Brother." The voice was as gentle as a lover's whisper, yet it sent chills down the spines of everyone in the hall. "When you sent Zhou Qingchen to kill me... did you ever imagine that I would crawl back and beat this Dengwen Drum?"

Chu Xuanjing suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot: "Chu Qingyue! You've made a bloody accusation—"

"Zhou Qingchen has confessed everything." She interrupted with a smile, "Your sword, your bedmate... are waiting outside the palace in shackles for you to go to the Yellow Springs together."

She turned her gaze back and slammed each word onto the dragon throne: "Father, the evidence is overwhelming. Ten corpses of Nan Yue assassins, three thousand assassin prisoners, the ringleader Zhou Qingchen was captured on the spot, and the Third Prince Chu Xuanjing colluded with foreign enemies, raised a private army, and plotted a rebellion."

She paused, her phoenix eyes sweeping over the assembled civil and military officials:

"According to the laws of the Great Chu, those who plot rebellion shall have their entire family executed."

The hall was deathly silent.

Even their breathing could be heard clearly.

The Chu Emperor stared at her, at this daughter he had once least hoped for—this daughter whose birth mother had been sent to Beiming for a political marriage seven years ago. After a long while, he slowly said, "Someone, bring Zhou Qingchen."

When Zhou Qingchen was escorted into the main hall, the entire court was in an uproar.

The once gentle and handsome young master of the Zhou family was now covered in blood, his shackles so heavy he could barely straighten his back. Yet he still stood tall, his beautiful eyes fixed on Chu Xuanjing outside the hall.

The Chu Emperor asked in a deep voice, "Zhou Qingchen, who ordered you to collude with the assassins of Nanyue to ambush and kill the princess?"

Zhou Qingchen's Adam's apple bobbed.

He recalled those nights when Chu Xuanjing held him and whispered in his ear, "Aqing, if this matter succeeds, you will be the Empress when you ascend the throne."

He recalled the day they parted, when Chu Xuanjing held his hand, tears welling in his eyes: "If it doesn't work out... I'll die with you."

Zhou Qingchen closed her eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, he had made up his mind—he would take all the blame alone.

"Your Majesty—"

"Zhou Qingchen!"

An angry voice boomed through the hall.

Chu Xuanjing knelt outside the hall, pointing at Zhou Qingchen, his eyes bloodshot: "I trusted you so much, yet you've done such a heinous thing behind my back!"

A single sentence can decide life or death.

Zhou Qingchen trembled violently and slowly turned around.

Something shattered in those incredibly beautiful peach blossom eyes...

He looked at Chu Xuanjing, at the man who once said, "Ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers are not as good as your smile," and at the panic and weighing of options in Chu Xuanjing's eyes at this moment.

Chu Xuanjing avoided his gaze and continued, "Father, I am willing to take Zhou Qingchen away and interrogate her thoroughly. We will definitely find out who is behind this and give my sister an explanation!"

He was protecting himself.

Zhou Qingchen suddenly laughed, a laugh both poignant and desperate. It turned out that the so-called "living and dying together" was nothing more than sweet words uttered in the heat of passion.

It turns out that in his heart, she was ultimately no match for the position of prince.

He said, "Your Highness is right... It is I who have lost all conscience."

Chu Qingyue clicked her tongue softly on the bamboo couch.

What a moving and poignant drama!

"Does my third brother have a brain disorder?"

Chu Qingyue's voice was filled with undisguised sarcasm: "Who in the entire Great Chu doesn't know that Zhou Qingchen is your plaything, the apple of your eye? The 'romantic affair' between the two of you at the Jieyou Pavilion a while ago is known to everyone."

She looked at the emperor, smiling broadly:

"Father, let Third Brother take him away for questioning? Wouldn't that be tantamount to finding Zhou Qingchen innocent?"

Chu Xuanjing's face turned pale.

The Emperor of Chu looked at Chu Qingyue: "Then what does Qingyue think we should do?"

"I report to Father Emperor," Chu Qingyue said slowly, a cold glint flashing in her phoenix eyes, "Zhou Qingchen should be imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison and tried by the three judicial departments—the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Ministry of Justice—all at once."

She paused, then added:

"After all... a major case of treason must be thoroughly investigated and understood."

Chu Qingyue thought to herself: Chu Xuanjing, since you want to spare his life, I will help you out—let him live so he can see with his own eyes how you abandon him.

The Chu Emperor remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: "Granted."

The officials who were called upon stepped forward in unison: "Your Majesty, we obey your decree."

As Zhou Qingchen was dragged away, she turned back and glanced at Chu Xuanjing one last time.

That one glance contained so much—love, despair, resentment, and relief.

Chu Xuanjing turned his face away, not daring to look. Only in this way could he protect Zhou Qingchen from being beheaded by his father. Once Zhou Qingchen arrived at the Heavenly Prison, he would send someone to abduct him and keep him by his side with the mask on.

After the court session ended, Chu Qingyue was left alone in the imperial study.

Amidst the fragrant aroma of ambergris, the Chu Emperor dismissed his attendants and, for the first time, took a serious look at his daughter.

She looks so much like Liang.

It wasn't about appearance—Liang Shi possessed a gentle, misty beauty reminiscent of the waters of Jiangnan, while Chu Qingyue's brows and eyes were sharp as knives. It was the stubbornness that emanated from her very bones, like a wild rose growing from a crack in a cliff, its roots firmly planted in its flesh, yet its flower blooming with thorns.

"Qingyue," he said, his voice hoarse, "I sent people to investigate... You suffered during those seven years in Beiming."

Chu Qingyue calmly returned the gaze, her eyes expressionless: "Thank you for your concern, Father."

"I will make it up to you." The Chu Emperor approached, bending down to look at the wound on her lower abdomen. "Gold and silver jewels, fiefdoms and estates, a lifetime of wealth and glory... whatever you want, I will give you."

"But some things—" His tone shifted abruptly, his eyes sharpening, "what I give you, you accept with gratitude. What I don't give you, you cannot take, much less... covet."

The air was stagnant.

Chu Qingyue smiled gently: "Your subject is foolish and does not understand the Emperor's profound meaning."

"Stupid?" The Chu Emperor laughed, a chilling laugh. "If you were truly stupid, how come in the three months since you returned, your eldest son has died suddenly, your sixth son has been assassinated, and the Pei family, which has dominated for a century, has been wiped out—every single one of these events has happened exactly as you wished?"

"Father, you flatter me." With each word she spoke, her smile deepened. "My eldest brother was struck by lightning; it was Heaven's mercy. My sixth brother was pierced through the heart by my fifth sister's sword; it was sibling rivalry. The Pei family is corrupt, lawless, and colluding with enemy states..."

She paused, then suddenly tilted her head, revealing a childlike, innocent expression:

"Weren't they all executed with immediate decree personally approved by Father Emperor in vermilion ink?"

"!!!"

The Chu Emperor's pupils contracted sharply, and he suddenly asked, "What is your relationship with the Imperial Advisor Si Chen?"

The problem came suddenly.

Chu Qingyue's fingers, resting on the armrest, gently twirled the intricate embroidery on her cuff.

In that instant, countless answers flashed through her mind—enemy? Benefactor? Accomplice who pushed her into hell? Or…

She closed her eyes, then opened them again.

Her husband will be revealed to the public sooner or later.

Her words were clear and distinct, as if tearing silk:

"He is my son-in-law."