So what if she's my sister-in-law? You seduced me first.

It had just rained, so the mountain road wasn't as smooth as the official road. The higher you went, the more difficult the road became.

Xie Yan abandoned his horse and strode through the night as if it were empty. The civil officials behind him were too exhausted to keep up and were panting heavily, leaning against tree trunks to catch their breath.

The moonlight was boundless, and as far as the eye could see, everything was as white as frost, and the bloodstains left on the road were clearly visible.

The further Xie Yan followed A Zhou, the heavier the weight in his heart became. Logically, she should have run towards the main road, so how could she have run up the mountain?

Upon hearing this question, A-Zhou hurriedly replied, "It was because Miss Qinghe injured her leg. In order to lure away the bandits, the Crown Princess deliberately chose a secluded place where she could hide to draw them away."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yan recalled her usual quiet and reserved demeanor. How could a woman who had always been sheltered in her boudoir have such audacity?

An indescribable emotion spread through his heart, and he quickened his pace.

"Here, Your Highness, here."

Upon hearing the guards' voices, Xie Yan leaped up a tall tree and, through the thick fog, saw a group of people on the high cliff.

The bad thoughts in his heart grew stronger and stronger, and he immediately leaped down from the tree and ran quickly towards that direction.

The officials behind him hurriedly followed, pulling up their official robes. When the governor of Jizhou caught up, he heard the guards' urgent and panicked voices.

"When we arrived, we saw people fighting. The Crown Princess accidentally lost her footing on the cliff and fell down."

The governor of Ji Province paused for a moment, as if he had thought of something. His eyes subconsciously turned to the frozen young master, and he silently shut his mouth and stepped back.

Xie Yan's face was ashen, and he couldn't quite describe the feeling in his heart. He was somewhat numb. He glanced at the bloodstains on the cliff edge, then at the bottomless clouds. After a long while, his voice was hoarse. "Let's go down and look for them first."

"Yes."

The soldiers hurriedly followed the path down the cliff, while the guards from the capital tied themselves with ropes and climbed the cliffs on both sides to search for the person at the bottom of the mountain.

"I want to see him alive or dead."

A slightly cold voice came from behind, and the Commandant of Mozhou City quickly responded, "Yes."

The rain stopped at some point. Xie Yan stood on the cliff for a long time, while the officials standing behind him were so tired that they had tents set up so they could wait inside.

But the man in front didn't move, his face was down, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

As dawn approached, there was still no movement below. Xie Yan, not wanting to wait any longer, grabbed the rope and went down the cliff to search.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, you mustn't! We don't know what's going on down there yet!" The prefect of Qingzhou City hurriedly stepped forward to stop him.

Xie Yan brushed the person's hand away and climbed down the rope.

The adults on the cliff looked at each other, not daring to rest any longer, and complained inwardly as they went down the path to search.

"My lord, do you think the Crown Prince might trace this back to us?"

Upon hearing the general's words behind him, the governor of Ji Province glanced sideways at him and said, "What does this have to do with us? How dare you spout such nonsense? Shut your big mouth."

"Yes, yes, yes."

The area below the cliff was densely forested, and the sounds of wild animals could be faintly heard. Xie Yan carefully searched the area where people had fallen from the cliff, and torches were lit throughout the dense forest, but he still could not find the body.

After an unknown amount of time, a guard's voice came from ahead, "Your Highness, he's here, he's here."

Xie Yan's heart skipped a beat, and he rushed over, where he saw the body being carried out by the crowd.

"It was found in a mountain stream. It was probably hanging on some dead tree branch and fell because it couldn't hold on any longer. The body was completely unrecognizable."

Xie Yan looked at that familiar figure, and the clothes and jewelry he had bought, and his body trembled so much that he almost couldn't stand up.

"Your Highness." A-Zhou was heartbroken and deeply regretted abandoning her and running away. If he could turn back time, he would never have abandoned the Crown Princess.

"Why is his face covered in blood? Did he encounter a wild animal?"

Perhaps he wasn't dead when he fell, but was bitten by wild animals in the mountains. Everyone thought this, but no one dared to say it. They just watched the man walk past, panting.

The prefect of Mozhou was terrified, sweating profusely. A man had died on his territory; his future career was sure to be difficult.

Xie Yan knelt on the ground, breathing heavily, and used one hand to examine the corpse on the ground. However, there was too much blood on the body. When he fell, he was scratched all over by the stone wall and dry branches, making it impossible to recognize the original face.

An inopportune moment flashed through his mind: the joy she had before her trip, now tragically dead at the foot of this cliff. He didn't know how he felt; his mind was suddenly blank, unable to process anything.

The wife he married was merely a pawn given to him by the sage to humiliate him, but what did that have to do with her? She was utterly innocent.

Now he's dead, just like that.

Having fought on the battlefield for so many years, this was the first time he had been dealt such a heavy blow. He couldn't accept that someone had died like that, and he collapsed to the ground beside the corpse, his face ashen.

"See? Your elder brother will think you're dead. News of your fall from the cliff will soon reach Kyoto. Before long, the Xie family will choose a new wife for your elder brother, and your existence will soon be forgotten by everyone."

On a hillside not far away, a carriage was parked in a secluded spot. Lifting the curtain revealed the scene of the people below the cliff.

Ning Yu watched the commotion and listened to the shameless words of the man behind her. Her eyes turned red, and her lips trembled as she was unable to speak.

She could sense that there were many guards outside the carriage, and the driver, Shadow Killer, was also highly skilled in martial arts. For her to break out of here was like trying to ascend to heaven.

"If it's a fake Ning Yu, the corpse will be found to be problematic sooner or later."

Xie Xun reclined on the couch, propping his head up with his hand. "Several people in the world know Xi Misha's art of disguise. No one knows your distinctive features better than I do."

Ning Yu's face showed a rare anger as she turned to look at his eyes, which were terribly red at the corners. "If it's a disguise, there will be flaws. The young master will find out sooner or later."

"Ning Yu!"

The warning in his voice made Ning Yu's heart sink instantly. She looked into his cold eyes, moved her lips, but couldn't say a word.

He suddenly pulled her back, with such force that it felt like he was going to snap her waist.

"Be good, I haven't settled the score with you for running away and lying to me yet."

Ning Yu's face stiffened. His warm hand touched the belt around her waist. He looked at her and said, "Then you'll see when your good husband discovers you're not dead."

"No, no, I don't want to be here—" She struggled to push him away, but he pinned her down on the couch and tore off her clothes. "Please, please don't be here—"

Xie Xun's eyes were bloodshot. He ran his long fingers through her hair, pulled her head up, and said, "Not here? Where should we go? On his bed?"

Ning Yu's face turned pale and trembled, but then she heard him say, "You were the one who seduced me in the first place. Now that your brother is back, you want to pretend nothing happened? Ning Yu, do you think I'm that easy to talk to?"

Her former obedience was a lie, and her promise to go with him was nothing but an act; she was a liar who never spoke the truth.

"We agreed on a three-month period. You were the one who broke your promise first. Why should I obediently listen to your manipulation, give up my status as the Crown Prince's wife, and become your mistress?"

Xie Xun used his knee to pry her legs apart. "You no longer need to be a mistress. You will cease to exist in this world."

What's the difference between being an unregistered resident and using someone else's identity and household registration? Aren't you both going to be kept under his control anyway?

His five fingers sank into her soft, white flesh. "Ah!" Her body tensed instantly, and tears welled up in the corners of her eyes.