Listening to her daughter's heartfelt words, the pregnant Lady Hou went on a killing spree.

Are you sure you didn't see it wrong?

"I'm sure I didn't see it wrong."

"Follow this line and investigate thoroughly for me. No one should be spared, whether they are princes, princesses, or concubines in the harem."

Zhou Heng knew that this matter had touched the emperor's sore spot.

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will absolutely not tolerate this."

The only people who could be associated with the Imperial Guards were members of the royal family.

Okay, that's really great.

The emperor had always thought that the entire Ming Dynasty and the palace were under his control, but tonight's palace banquet completely shattered his previous ideas. Everything he had done before was just wishful thinking.

Mingwang investigated the assassination site but found no useful information.

He happened to run into the Crown Prince and Prince Cheng, who arrived later. The three brothers had been fighting openly and secretly for the throne for many years.

There's a saying that goes something like this: the people who know you best are often your enemies.

The three knew very well that they were evenly matched, and although they fought fiercely in private, none of them could completely crush the other.

They didn't take the fourth prince seriously when he first returned to the palace, but the news of the unborn child of the Marquis of Anshun's womb came out at the palace banquet.

Furthermore, considering the strength that the fourth prince displayed when he left the palace, they now have to admit a fact: what might happen two years later is indeed true.

They can only continue to fight for the throne if they join forces to kill the fourth prince. If the fourth prince continues to develop, they may not even have the qualifications to fight for the throne, since the fourth prince knows that Xin Sheng will definitely take precautions.

The three of them boarded the Crown Prince's carriage with perfect coordination, and their respective guards stood watch around them, so no one could hear what they were saying.

"Brother, what do you say?"

"Let's hold back for now. Father is definitely keeping a close eye on everything during this period."

"Isn't the eldest brother afraid that the fourth brother will rise to power?"

King Cheng looked down on the Crown Prince's cowardly behavior, and coupled with what happened at the banquet today that made him lose face, it was no wonder that his tone was not pleasant.

"Second brother, I'm your eldest brother, what kind of attitude is this?"

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing again as usual, peacemaker Mingwang hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.

"Big brother, second brother, please stop arguing. I have a solution."

The two men turned to him and said simultaneously, "Speak."

After saying that, they glanced at each other again, and then turned their heads away.

"The fourth prince had a bad reputation when he was born, so the officials in the court and the common people are very wary of him. Why don't we make a fuss about his reputation?"

Both of them tacitly accepted the third brother's method, but they didn't want to admit it aloud.

The crown prince looked disdainful.

"The idea sounds promising, let's give it a try."

King Cheng had a sour face.

"Everyone does their own thing."

The Ming King still wore that fake smile.

"I'll listen to my two older brothers."

In truth, he looked down on the two of them. No wonder the daughter of the Marquis of Anshun said that the Crown Prince was stupid. In his opinion, the second son was not much smarter either.

Look at this, one is a hallucinogenic drug, and the other is a drug that prevents him from having children. If he hadn't spoken his true feelings, the second son would probably have been crippled in less than a year. It's such a pity.

I just don't know who did it.

Thinking of this, Ming Wang suddenly realized that if his second son had been harmed, could he also be harmed?

The thought immediately made him uneasy. He would have to investigate thoroughly when he got back, making sure his son didn't follow the same path as his second son.

When I woke up early in the morning, the events that had occurred at the palace banquet the previous night had already spread throughout the capital, along with the news that the Lady of Anshun had been assassinated.

The news reached Lin Yuxue's ears when she passed by the garden on her way to visit her mother and overheard two maids talking about it.

He felt a pang of regret. Why didn't the assassin kill that bitch Ji? Killing her would have ended everything.

"Young Miss, the First Madam of the Qingyang Prince's Mansion has sent you an invitation, asking you to go to the Qingyang Prince's Mansion."

Before she even reached her mother's courtyard, Lin Yuxue received an invitation from Ji Chunjiao.

Of course, Ji Yueru agreed to it; otherwise, the invitation wouldn't have reached her.

She's now eager for the two of them to get involved, so she'll have a reason to shift the blame for the dowry onto Ji Chunjiao.

Ji Chunjiao knew Lin Yuxue and knew that her older brother was close to her, but she didn't know anything more.

Thinking that she was about to get married, she wondered if calling her over was to help her with her dowry.

She doesn't need to go to the dowry shop; she can just have someone deliver the items to the Marquis's residence.

Lin Yuxue held the invitation, her mind wavering. She wanted to go, but she knew that the two sisters were not on good terms. If Madam Ji found out that she had gone to see her sister, would she take her anger out on her?

Thinking about her dowry when she got married, she could tell which was more important, and reluctantly declined the invitation.

"Go tell the person who came that I am busy embroidering my wedding dress and cannot go to see her first wife."

The maid didn't say much, and took the invitation to find the person who delivered it. The old woman from the Qingyang Marquis's residence was still waiting at the gatehouse to reply and go back to report.

"Please go back and tell your mistress that my young lady is busy embroidering her wedding dress and really has no time to visit."

The old woman who delivered the message didn't say much, and took the invitation back to the Qingyang Marquis's residence to see Ji Chunjiao.

"Madam, the eldest daughter of the Marquis of Anshun's mansion did not come. She said she was busy embroidering her wedding dress and did not have time."

Ji Chunjiao had a cold face. That idiot was as stupid as a pig.

"However, Madam, on my way to the Marquis of Anshun's residence, I heard the people on the street talking that the Marquis of Anshun's wife was assassinated last night on her way back from the palace banquet."

Ji Chunjiao immediately sat up straighter.

"Are you alright? How's the baby in your belly?"

The old woman, unaware of Ji Chunjiao's unusual behavior, answered truthfully, "I heard she was rescued. Lady Anshun is doing well now."

Ji Chunjiao came up with a good way to shift the blame.

"Go, have someone prepare a sedan chair; I'm going to the Marquis of Anshun's residence."

The old woman was greatly alarmed.

"Madam, you absolutely must not! The physician said you should rest quietly, otherwise..."

Chun Jiao raised her hand to interrupt the old woman who was about to say something.

"Stop talking. Although my sister has many misunderstandings about me, I am still the older sister. How can I argue with a younger sister?"

Knowing she was frightened, as her older sister, I naturally had to go and check on her. I should hurry down and prepare.

Princess Qingyang has not returned since she left Ji Chunjiao's courtyard that day, and she has made no comment on her second son living with Ji Chunjiao.

The servants in the mansion are very good at changing their tune depending on the situation. They don't fawn over Ji Chunjiao or her group, but they also dare not offend them.

The old woman had no choice but to send someone down to prepare and then quickly send a message to the young master.

Inside the Marquis of Anshun's residence, Ji Yueru got up early in the morning and began writing a letter of complaint. In the letter, she wrote about Gao Jin leaking the exam questions, but she did not specify which people Gao Jin had leaked them to. The investigation was the government's business.

"Chunhua, go find Mo Wen and have him throw this letter of complaint into the Kyoto government office. Be careful not to let anyone find out."