She refused to marry.

The Princess's Residence.

The eldest princess sat on the fox fur carpet in the warm pavilion, her expression fierce but her heart weak.

He twirled the prayer beads in his hand, his gaze fixed on the woman below.

Su Wanwan knelt before the Princess, her hands being pressed into a copper basin filled with water, beneath which charcoal was burning.

Su Wanwan felt the temperature of the stove rise slowly.

The eldest princess wanted to boil her.

"Miss Su, how dare you..." The eldest princess was too lazy to even get angry.

"Having framed me time and again, now they're even eyeing the Imperial Seal?"

Su Wanwan knelt below the hall, her back feeling cold, but the temperature of her palms was rising higher and higher.

"This humble woman dares not."

"Dare not? Ha..." the eldest princess sneered. "I ask you, before the Crown Prince searched the residence, who told him there was an imperial seal inside?"

Su Wanwan didn't dare to speak.

The maid next to her added more charcoal to the fire.

The temperature of the furnace is getting higher and higher.

The princess leaned forward, her gaze fixed on Su Wanwan's face. "A young lady from a noble family, playing tricks on the royal family, betraying her own people. Not to mention you, even your entire Su family wouldn't be enough for me to vent my anger."

Su Wanwan raised her head and said, "Your Highness, if I were a traitor, I wouldn't be kneeling here today."

"Hmph, what, you think you can escape? You can't escape my grasp no matter where you are in the world."

The eldest princess sneered, leaning back on the couch, her fingers resting on the armrest. "Tell me, why are you kneeling here?"

Su Wanwan kowtowed, "Because Your Highness needs an explanation. The Crown Prince needs an explanation. Everyone in the court needs to see an explanation. But the late Emperor instructed that the imperial seal must not appear until the very last moment."

The princess's fingers tightened, stopping on the armrest, and she dismissed those around her.

She stared at Su Wanwan; how could Su Wanwan know such a huge secret within the palace?

After a moment's hesitation, the princess smiled, but only slightly upturned the corners of her mouth.

Just like Feng Chenjun.

"You seem to know a great deal about what's happening in the imperial court."

"I serve the Princess wholeheartedly. My only selfish wish is for my father to remain a pillar of the court. As long as Your Highness is here, my father will be here. Therefore, I have no selfish motives towards the Princess," Su Wanwan said, bowing her head.

"His Highness the Crown Prince already knew that Your Highness had hidden the Imperial Seal, but he did not know where it was. It was only a matter of time before the Crown Prince searched the mansion. Before this plan is implemented..."

"This humble woman has already offered a plan to Your Majesty. This plan will not only silence those in the court who have doubts, but will also shift the Crown Prince's suspicions about the Imperial Seal to Prince Changxin."

The eldest princess leaned forward again. "But that's not what I want to hear. What I want to hear is why you told the Crown Prince."

Su Wanwan tried her best to suppress the fear in her heart.

"Because the Shen family had already revealed the matter of the Imperial Seal to the Crown Prince." Su Wanwan raised her eyes to look at the Eldest Princess.

She was lying. Luckily, Feng Chenjun wasn't there, or she would have been exposed.

"You're so determined to eliminate the Shen family that you'd even reveal something like this."

"I am not trying to get rid of the Shen family. The Shen family has already informed His Highness the Crown Prince about the imperial seal."

The Crown Prince sought confirmation everywhere. Su Shen was the person the Eldest Princess interacted with most frequently. The Shen family said it happened, and the Su family also said it happened, so it must be true.

"Your methods of framing the Shen family are becoming increasingly sophisticated." The eldest princess slowly descended, chin held high.

"My lord pleaded for you before me, and I was willing to spare your life. But since you remain incorrigible, I will grant your wish."

Su Wanwan raised her eyes, "If Your Highness does not believe me, send someone to check the account books now. The Shen family has already taken away Your Highness's account books from all these years."

The princess stopped and looked at the old woman beside her.

The old woman understood immediately, went out for a while, and returned shortly after.

"Your Highness, the account books are missing."

The princess frowned and returned to her seat, taking a sip of tea.

"Why did the Crown Prince only take the account books and the imperial seal when he searched the mansion? And how did he know the location of the account books?" Su Wanwan felt a sharp pain in her hand as the scalding hot water rolled over her palm, making her tremble with pain.

The warm room was so quiet that you could hear the crackling of the charcoal fire.

This is actually a secret leaked by the Crown Prince's informant in the original story, and this person is probably still lurking in the mansion.

The eldest princess simply didn't realize it.

The eldest princess looked at her, at the tears in the corners of her eyes, at her trembling lips, at her clenched fingers.

Then, withdrawing her gaze and leaning back on the couch, she said, "Do you know what I hate most?"

Su Wanwan endured the excruciating pain and shook her head.

"What I hate most is not that someone harms me. It's that someone stands up for me."

She looked at Su Wanwan, her gaze still cold. "If you win the bet, I'll be fine. But what if you lose?"

Su Wanwan felt as if the nerves in her ten fingers were being roasted, beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, and her body began to tremble.

"This humble woman dares not gamble. If Your Highness is in trouble, how can the Su family fare any better?"

The princess picked up her teacup, took a sip, and then put it down.

She stood up, walked to Su Wanwan, and took her hand out of the scalding water. "The Grand Canal Magistrate has already come. He is willing to help me transport a batch of copper to the capital. In exchange for your life."

An unease welled up in Su Wanwan's heart.

copper.

Copper was used to cast coins.

Smuggling copper is tantamount to treason.

Her fingertips trembled from the pain.

The eldest princess wanted to use the Su family one last time before abandoning them.

She raised her head and looked at the eldest princess.

The eldest princess also looked at her, her gaze indifferent, as if she were examining a familiar object to see if it was still usable.

Su Wanwan walked out of the Princess's residence. Her father was already waiting outside. "Wanwan, get in the carriage."

Seeing her daughter's injury, she quickly took out some ointment and applied it to her.

Su Wanwan blew on her wound; it felt cool and much more comfortable.

"Father, why did you agree to the Princess's request?"

Su Hongxuan's face was full of kindness. "Silly child, what is more important than family? After this experience, your father has come to terms with it."

"Father, listen to me, don't do it now."

Su Hongxuan bandaged his daughter's hand.

"The princess has countless assassins and secret guards behind her. It's a miracle you're still alive after such a huge incident."

Su Hongxuan looked at his daughter; she had really grown up in the past few years.

"Father, if we are caught transporting copper ore, the punishment of implicating nine generations of our family would be too lenient." Su Wanwan raised her other hand.

"Feng Chenjun's ideas are generally foolproof." Su Hongxuan tied on the gauze.

"Is this what Lord Fengchen means?" Su Wanwan's almond-shaped eyes widened.

"Mm." Su Hongxuan nodded.

Su Wanwan's mind was in complete turmoil.

I felt that Lord Fengchen was truly cold-blooded and ruthless, without a shred of gratitude.