The new emperor's first decree upon ascending the throne was to forcibly take his cousin as his

Xie Chengyan was trapped in the Hall of State Affairs, and Emperor Chengxuan personally watched over him.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Eunuch Feng quickly went to the Ruan residence.

They gave the entire Ruan family a good talking-to.

"Prime Minister, rest assured, His Majesty has already warned His Highness that he will not come again. You can rest assured."

Ruan Boheng was naturally at ease, but the Crown Prince's men still surrounded the courtyard, not allowing anyone to enter.

Feng, the eunuch, stood outside the courtyard, and Cao Shen came to greet him.

"Eunuch Feng? What brings you here...?"

"By His Majesty's decree, the Imperial Guards may return to the palace."

Cao Shen paused. Back to the palace? Wasn't he supposed to be staying with Miss Ruan?

Eunuch Feng stepped forward and subtly pulled Cao Shen aside.

"Eunuch Cao," Feng said in a low voice, a smile on his face, but his words carried weight. "His Majesty has decreed that the Imperial Guards, who are supposed to protect the palace, have stayed at the Ruan family's residence for several days, which is already dereliction of duty. Furthermore, His Majesty will certainly not be willing to punish His Highness. If you don't go back, you subordinates will not have a good time."

Cao Shen's expression changed slightly, and his eyes flickered several times.

Caught between the Crown Prince and His Majesty, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Seeing his struggle, Eunuch Feng leaned closer and said earnestly, "His Highness is currently in the Council Hall, discussing state affairs with His Majesty. He will not be coming."

Cao Shen understood the implication in his words, but with His Highness not present, he dared not make a decision on his own.

Jiang Wantang suddenly appeared, her voice blunt: "Eunuch Cao, this is the Ruan family home. Even if it's the Crown Prince, isn't it a bit inappropriate for him to bring people to surround their house?"

Cao Shen also felt it was inappropriate, but His Highness didn't think so.

And this Miss Jiang, she really has become quite close to Miss Miaoyin.

His Highness's arrangements certainly played a part, but isn't it risky to leave such a person in the Eastern Palace and cause trouble?

Even the eunuch Feng, who was by His Majesty's side, came, but they still couldn't hold the line, so they had to summon the Imperial Guards to leave.

As soon as the person left, Madam Sun rushed in, "My dear daughter, how are you? Are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

"The Crown Prince didn't do anything to you, did he? You really scared your mother to death."

Seeing the people pouring in from outside, Ruan Xianrong also breathed a sigh of relief.

The method still works; no matter how powerful the crown prince is, he can't be more powerful than his father.

"Don't worry, Mother, I'm fine."

Xie Chengyan didn't mistreat her, but she had nightmares every night. As soon as she fell asleep, she would see Xie Chengyan staring at her menacingly, leaving bloody holes with each stab.

She also felt very heavy on her body, and she couldn't push it away. It was pressing down on her so much that she couldn't breathe, and she couldn't sleep well every night.

She had been living in fear and anxiety these past two days, and when she suddenly saw her parents, she felt an urge to cry for no reason.

"Mother, I want to eat meat."

"what?"

"You don't know, these past few days the Crown Prince has only been feeding me vegetables and plain porridge. I'm still hungry every day. I want to eat meat."

Sun burst into laughter through her tears, "Alright, let's eat meat today."

Ruan Boheng was relieved. "It's good that Niannian is alright, it's good that she's alright."

Ruan Zhaolin smiled and said, "I'll go tell the kitchen right now to make everything my sister likes today."

Upon hearing the news, Miaoyin rushed over, "Sister Ruan!"

"Let Miaoyin keep you company. Your brother is unreliable. Mom will go to the kitchen and make you sweet and sour fish."

Ruan Boheng didn't linger, leaving the sisters to talk.

"Sister Ruan, are you alright? Did the Crown Prince bully you?"

"Bully her? She'd probably be secretly delighted and think we're meddling." Jiang Wantang walked in, her tone unfriendly.

Miaoyin was displeased. "Sister Jiang, please don't say that."

Ruan Xianrong didn't care; what she cared about was that Jiang Wantang, the supporting actress, had arrived too early.

According to the normal timeline, it should have been after she had bullied Miaoyin a hundred and eighty times that the male and female protagonists developed feelings for each other with her help.

After Jiang Wantang appeared, she helped Miaoyin slap the face of this cannon fodder female supporting character, and finally brought about her demise.

The male and female leads haven't been together for very long yet.

Sigh, they're both supporting female characters, but one gets a peaceful end while the other doesn't.

Looking over, one can't help but see how different fates can be for two supporting actresses.

"It's alright, Miss Jiang is straightforward, I don't take it to heart."

She meant it sincerely, but Jiang Wantang interpreted her words as deliberately being magnanimous, telling Miaoyin that she was impolite.

Anger flared within him, and he gritted his teeth inwardly. "Fine, fine, this feud is now officially settled!"

She really is a two-faced green tea b*tch!

Ruan Zhaoyuan stood under the crabapple tree in the courtyard but did not go in.

He was afraid that if he went in, he wouldn't be able to resist killing her, and blood would splatter on the spot.

What a clever tactic! She managed to get her parents, elder sister, and elder brother to care about her, and even made His Highness disregard his reputation to take care of her.

He fooled everyone, but he won't be fooled again in this life.

My older sister is kind, and I can't see her true colors. Fortunately, I now have Sister Jiang.

In my memory, this Sister Jiang was kindred spirits to my sister in a past life, and helped her a lot. She was a person with real skills and genuine affection for my sister.

He could tell that Sister Jiang also disliked Ruan Xianrong.

If they can join forces, they will definitely be able to drive the people out of the Ruan family.

Little did they know, the one they claimed would harm them was currently lying in bed, listening to Miaoyin's ramblings.

"Sister Ruan, you didn't see how ugly His Highness the Crown Prince's face was when he took you away. I thought he was going to do something to you."

"Your parents have been very worried about you these past few days. They wanted to come into the courtyard to see you, but they were stopped by those people. Sister Ruan, the Crown Prince is not a good person. You should stay away from him in the future."

Ruan Xianrong asked in surprise, "I remember you said that the Crown Prince saved you when you were in the Northern Border, and you seemed to like him quite a bit, didn't you? Why do you say this?"

"When did I ever like him? I was just grateful to him for saving my life, but he just locked Sister Ruan in the courtyard like that, and..."

He even threatened her; how could she possibly like him!

Ruan Xianrong didn't mind; the relationship between the male and female leads was just beginning, so this was normal.

She seized the opportunity to express her sincerity, "Yes, don't worry, I will definitely stay far away from him in the future."

I will never make you jealous.

Hearing her promise, Miaoyin smiled.

She hated anyone who got close to Sister Ruan; such a good person, no one was good enough for her.