It turns out, they were the main characters.

Although her tone was very calm, for some reason, the whispers among the crowd subsided considerably when the eldest princess spoke.

Princess Yongning calmly said, "Didn't Marquis Ding confirm before that there was nothing wrong with the Aurora Crystal in my jade box? Why did the Imperial Guards discover just now that this crystal is a cursed crystal?"

"Mr. Ding Hou is a man of wide learning, did he not notice anything at the time?" She looked at Ding Hou in the opposite cell with her beautiful eyes and asked.

Ding Hou was taken aback, then lowered his head and said, "Your Highness, although I have seen the Aurora Crystal before, I did not know that it had a variant... I had heard of the Cursed Crystal before, but I had never seen it, so I did not recognize it..."

"It's more accurate to say that this person is far too treacherous and cunning, actually giving away the cursed crystal as an aurora crystal to frame us!"

Not far away, Zhu Cheng saw that everyone looked resentful after he finished speaking, and a hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.

But soon he noticed that the eldest princess was frowning and deep in thought, so he couldn't help but ask, "Your Highness, what are you thinking about?"

Princess Yongning glanced at Mu Zhian, who was meditating with his eyes closed not far away, and said calmly, "It's nothing. Before the truth comes out, we shouldn't doubt anyone."

As she said this, she couldn't help but glance at the boy in the prison a few more times.

At this moment, Princess Yongning had already guessed the man's identity. Lin Keyu's attitude towards him, as well as his words, actions, and temperament, were exactly the same as the person she knew.

At this moment, Mu Zhian opened his eyes and transmitted his voice with a hint of teasing: "Your Highness has been staring at me since just now... Could it be that you are thinking about how to find me and avenge the framing you committed today once you leave this place?"

Princess Yongning glanced at him with a faint smile and replied telepathically, "I believe you are innocent."

"How did the Imperial Guards find our location so accurately, and know so precisely what was in the jade box I was holding? This alone is enough to prove that this matter has little to do with you."

"Perhaps it's because I'm working on this from the inside?" Mu Zhian couldn't help but laugh.

Princess Yongning's lips curled into a faint smile: "With your status and position, if you really wanted to eliminate someone, would you need to resort to such despicable means, Young Master Mu?"

Mu Zhian was taken aback, then quickly felt a sense of defeat: "Was my disguise really that bad?"

He discovered that none of the women he knew were kind-hearted... Even Princess Yongning, who rarely left the palace, recognized his identity so quickly.

“It’s not that your disguise is bad, it’s just that no one in this world can imitate the temperament of Young Master Mu, so it’s easy to recognize him,” Princess Yongning chuckled.

"What kind of temperament?" Mu Zhian asked subconsciously.

“A charm that attracts women… or rather, an allure that draws women in,” Princess Yongning said.

Mu Zhian understood. The 'charm' that Princess Yongning mentioned that attracted women probably referred to the spiritual energy emanating from the combination of the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox and the Natural Furnace...

Even if he tries to restrain himself, he still exudes that kind of spiritual energy at all times.

"Who do you suspect is behind this?" Princess Yongning asked again when Mu Zhian remained silent.

"Would you believe me if I said he was one of your bodyguards?" Mu Zhian asked.

"You mean... Marquis Ding?"

Princess Yongning's eyes flickered, and she murmured to herself, "Why? He shouldn't have such a motive..."

“He didn’t have that motive, but there are others in the palace who do,” Mu Zhian said with a smile.

Princess Yongning was not an ignorant person, and naturally she vaguely guessed what was going on.

She frowned slightly and said, "The Crown Prince?"

"But I've never had any interaction with him before, so why would he do this to me for no reason..."

"Everyone in Dongzhou knows that the Great Qian Dynasty is about to change the throne, but there are also rumors that the position of Crown Prince will soon change hands... Among the several princesses and princes of the Great Qian Emperor, only the Fourth Prince can be considered a smart person."

Mu Zhian paused for a moment, then continued, "People used to say that if Princess Yongning of the Great Qian Dynasty hadn't been a woman, the position of Crown Prince would probably have belonged to the princess long ago."

"But this is ultimately a worldly perspective. In reality, if the princess were to inherit the throne, I doubt many cultivators would object."

Princess Yongning frowned slightly and transmitted her voice, "Is Young Master Mu making fun of me? There has never been a female emperor in the history of the Eastern Continent."

"Men can be emperors, so why can't women? Does Princess Yongning think women are inadequate? When will women truly stand up?" Mu Zhian said, his voice trembling with anger.

Yongning: "..."

“In fact, only the dynasties of the Eastern Continent are like this. The Medicine Emperor of Yuzhou, and even the Demon Queen of the Northern Continent, are all empresses. Has Your Highness ever seen anyone question this?” Mu Zhian quickly said seriously.

Seeing Yongning remain silent, Mu Zhian suddenly asked, "You're personally accompanying the troops this time, isn't that also because you have the idea of ​​becoming emperor?"

Yongning smiled faintly, "The Fourth Prince Ningping has several Void Returning Realm cultivators backing him up, not to mention the Crown Prince, whose power in the dynasty is the greatest... Young Master Mu, do you really think that even if a weak woman like me has such thoughts, I really have a way to compete with them for the throne?"

"If I were to inherit the throne in the future, I'm afraid I would be harassed by quite a few cultivators in the short term."

"What if I were to back you up?" Mu Zhian suddenly asked.

Princess Yongning was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Mu Zhian to say such a thing.

"We've barely met, so why would Young Master Mu be willing to help me?"

Mu Zhian said calmly, "The fortune of the Great Qian Dynasty will affect the entire Eastern Continent to a certain extent. In the past, the emperors of the Great Qian Dynasty were incompetent and foolish, but no one dared to take action against them. The main reason was that the national fortune was behind them. Taking action against them would be eroded by the national fortune, and no one was willing to suffer such erosion for no reason. Moreover, doing so would also damage the fortune of the Eastern Continent."

"The current crown prince is more adept at playing petty tricks. He may be a clever man, but such a person is suitable to be a strategist, not a wise ruler."

He paused here, staring intently into Yongning's eyes, and said earnestly, "I only wish to help Your Highness for the sake of all living beings; I have no other ulterior motives."

Princess Yongning's beautiful eyes gleamed with an unusual light. After remaining silent for an unknown period of time, she nodded demurely and said, "I will carefully consider what Young Master Mu said today."

Just then, an untimely, faint laugh reached Mu Zhian's ears: "I know you're thinking that if you ever get out of this prison, you'll definitely seek revenge on me, right?"

Mu Zhian snapped out of his thoughts and glanced at the owner of the voice.

Marquis Ding.

He was standing in front of the cell door, looking at Mu Zhian with a playful smile.

Although Mu Zhian and Princess Yongning used telepathy, their eyes met no less than ten times. Ding Hou, watching from the side, could naturally guess the general idea.

It's obvious that the boy has probably already complained to the princess.

But what the boy didn't know was that even if he complained, it would be useless.

The Imperial Guards are all my men now, what can you do to fight me?

The reason Ding Hou spoke now was because he had already heard footsteps coming from outside the prison door.

Ding Hou had to admit that the boy's mentality was indeed quite good.

If he hadn't already spoken to the commander of the Imperial Guards beforehand, he would probably be in a panic right now, being imprisoned in this place. But the young man seemed completely unaffected...

That makes sense, though. Once imprisoned in a restricted area, there's no way to save oneself except through despair.

But he was different.

"Your Highness, rest assured, I will definitely find a way to help you leave after I leave this place," Ding Hou transmitted to Princess Yongning.

His purpose this time was not entirely for Princess Yongning; his main goal was to purge the faction that opposed the Crown Prince… Princess Yongning was just a side matter.

Yongning raised her eyebrows slightly, gave Ding Hou a deep look, and remained silent.

Ding Hou frowned slightly as he watched this scene.

It seems that when that boy was complaining to the princess, he said bad things about her.

But none of that mattered, because soon he was unable to speak at all.

The Aurora Crystal given to Yongning was made by this young man, and he is the most suspicious person. No one would suspect Ding Hou.

...Perhaps he can even take this opportunity to gain credit for rescuing the princess.

Ding Hou raised his head and looked at the Imperial Guard commander outside the prison, who was as tall as an iron tower. He was about to speak and deliver the explanation he had prepared.

However, he then noticed that the commander of the Imperial Guards did not take another step forward after entering the prison, but instead kept his head bowed respectfully.

"Is this cell number three? This is the first time I've ever been to a place like this."

Just then, a clear and melodious girl's voice rang out in the prison.

The girl's hair was styled into two pigtails, swaying with each step. Her bright, beautiful eyes curiously surveyed her surroundings, displaying a mischievous and playful nature.

Judging from the status and position of the Imperial Guard Commander, it seems that only the higher-ups of the Forbidden Zone could command such respect from him.

Ye Siyu!

Ding Hou reacted almost instantly, nearly blurting it out.

Ye Siyu is the younger sister of the person behind the forbidden zone. Before setting off for the forbidden zone, Ding Hou had done his homework and naturally knew just how important her identity was in the forbidden zone.

But why would she be in a place like this...?

Before Ding Hou could figure out what was going on, Ye Siyu suddenly stopped and turned to look behind her with suspicion: "Huh? Lingxuan, didn't you say you weren't interested in places like this?"

Almost the instant she spoke, the whispers in the cell fell silent. The soldiers guarding the cell exchanged glances, both seeing surprise and excitement in each other's eyes.

Commander Ye Xiuyuan of the Imperial Guards almost blurted out, "Holy Maiden, what brings you here?!"

At this moment, Ye Xiuyuan had not yet realized the seriousness of the problem, only thinking that the Holy Maiden had been busy with the inheritance recently and wanted to relax tonight.

Ye Lingxuan glanced at him and said calmly, "I suddenly became interested in this case, so I came here to find out more about it. Don't worry about me, just do your thing."

As Ye Lingxuan finished speaking, she walked along the prison corridor on her own.

The innate spiritual body almost instantly sensed a certain aura. The girl suppressed her excitement and moved through the prison until finally stopping in front of a certain cell.

Then, she glanced at it casually.

But this glance caused Ye Lingxuan's gaze to freeze slightly as she stared at the boy in the prison.

Ye Xiuyuan followed Ye Lingxuan not far behind with his head down, then secretly exchanged a glance with Ding Hou, and then raised his hand in a bow and said: "Reporting to the Holy Maiden, I have roughly understood this matter. It was this little cultivator beside you who secretly plotted to find the cursed crystal in the forbidden area, and then gave it to Princess Yongning, intending to frame her... However, it cannot be ruled out that this person has other accomplices, so we still need to investigate further."

Ye Lingxuan withdrew her gaze and asked softly, "Is this matter confirmed?"

"Yes... the truth is almost certain, but the details of the incident still need to be investigated. In any case, this kid is definitely involved."

Ye Xiuyuan paused, then bowed respectfully and said, "Therefore, I will personally interrogate this person, and I believe the truth will soon come to light."

The girl in the gorgeous purple dress paused for a moment, then turned her head to look at Ye Xiuyuan with a puzzled expression.

"You mean, he found a cursed crystal in the forbidden zone and framed others for it, intending to wreak havoc on the Eastern Continent?"

Ye Xiuyuan hesitated for a moment, feeling a strange sense of unease, but since he had already spoken, he couldn't go back on his word. He immediately replied, "That's exactly right."

Ye Lingxuan looked thoughtful: "In that case, I'll interrogate this person myself."

"The Holy Maiden is of such high status, how could we trouble you to do such a thing?"

Ye Xiuyuan was taken aback, then quickly said, "Besides—"

Before he finished speaking, Ye Lingxuan turned to look at the commander of the Imperial Guard, her eyes flashing with a cold light: "Starting tomorrow, Ye Chiling, the squad leader of the Third Imperial Guard, will serve as the commander. After tonight, Ye Xiuyuan will be detained by the Chiling Army, and we will thoroughly investigate how many cultivators he colluded with during his tenure and how many spirit stones he embezzled."

Ye Xiuyuan's expression changed drastically, but he dared not speak out. He said in a low voice, "What did I do wrong? I hope the Holy Maiden will tell me!"

However, Ye Lingxuan ignored it. In that instant, the Lock of Desolation cut the chains on the prison and then took the boy away from the prison.