Chapter 104: How Much Does He Value Male Virtue

In the study, Xiao Youlan's face was pale as he sat on the couch, his upper garment pulled down halfway to reveal a tight, sturdy upper body with well-proportioned muscles and smooth lines.

The wound was on his left abdomen, and there were still drops of blood on the floor that had not been cleaned up.

Imperial Physician Sun knelt before the couch, having treated his wound and currently wrapping it carefully with bandages.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, are you alright?"

Feihong was so anxious his eyes turned red, and he asked with a trembling voice.

Xiao Youlan raised his eyes, originally intending to answer him, but his gaze swept past him and landed directly on Nan Xueyin to the side.

His bloodless lips curled into a faint smile, and his voice was soft and slow: "Why have you returned? Didn't you go to see Wu Zhui?"

Feihong wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, "As soon as I heard Your Highness was injured, I came back."

Xiao Youlan said slowly: "I am fine."

Upon hearing this self-reference of "I," a sudden buzzing sound rang in Feihong's head.

The Crown Prince usually referred to himself as "this lone one" in front of them; only when speaking to Miss Nan did he use "I."

He realized belatedly that Xiao Youlan was not speaking to him.

Feihong felt very awkward.

Fortunately, neither Xiao Youlan nor Nan Xueyin paid much attention to him.

Nan Xueyin only asked: "Did Jiang Lian'er injure you?"

Xiao Youlan gave a hum of affirmation.

"Where is she?"

"Temporarily locked in the next room."

"Bring her over for interrogation," Nan Xueyin said concisely.

"Alright, that works," Xiao Youlan was very compliant, pausing for a moment, his voice weaker, "but, wait until my wound is bandaged and I have put my clothes back on."

Nan Xueyin could not help but glance at his exposed upper body again.

She had to admit that Xiao Youlan's physical form was far superior to Xiao Mingyu's; although Xiao Mingyu also had muscle definition, it was only because he was too thin, whereas Xiao Youlan was different—one could see the traces of training.

Imperial Physician Sun finished bandaging the wound, and with the help of an attendant, Xiao Youlan put his upper garment back on.

As he exerted force while dressing, his muscle lines became even more striking.

Nan Xueyin shifted her gaze away without a trace, thinking to herself, to insist on putting on clothes before being willing to be interrogated, just how much does he value male virtue?

"It is done. Feihong, go to the next room and bring Jiang Lian'er over."

Xiao Youlan ordered.

"Yes."

Soon, Jiang Lian'er was brought in under guard.

Her hands and feet were firmly bound, a cloth was stuffed in her mouth, and there was a very obvious red swelling on her forehead.

"She bumped into it herself after assassinating me; she likely wanted to commit suicide, but failed," Xiao Youlan explained.

Nan Xueyin hummed, walked forward, and removed the cloth from Jiang Lian'er's mouth.

Jiang Lian'er immediately tried to bite her tongue, but Nan Xueyin was one step faster and pinched her jaw.

She used force, making it difficult for Jiang Lian'er to close her teeth, her eyes wet and red with grievance.

"Is this the mission the Ninth Princess of Loulan Kingdom gave you?" Nan Xueyin asked.

Jiang Lian'er was startled and hurriedly shook her head.

But Nan Xueyin pinched harder, making it difficult for Jiang Lian'er to even turn her head.

"She had you incite the black panther to attack the Crown Prince at the birthday banquet, but you failed, so you followed the plan and begged the Crown Prince to let you stay in the Eastern Palace."

Nan Xueyin's tone was unhurried, stating the facts simply; she did not need Jiang Lian'er's answer, as it was more like she was slowly speaking out her inner deductions.

"This morning, you came outside my room and said those things to sow discord between me and the Crown Prince, hoping that next time you made a move, I would not intervene. It was also this morning that the Ninth Princess came to the Eastern Palace. Soon after, you made your move. It was because the Ninth Princess urged you, wasn't it? After stabbing the knife into the Crown Prince's body, you intended to commit suicide, so that there would be no evidence left."

In the past at the Duan Prince Mansion, when encountering assassins, they were basically handed over to Nan Xueyin or Wu Zhui for interrogation; having seen many people and dealt with many things, she had gained experience.

Regarding these events over the past few days, Nan Xueyin had pretended to be indifferent on the surface, but in reality, she had already understood the gist and inferred the general situation.

If nothing went wrong, what she said was the true sequence of events.

Having said this, Nan Xueyin let go of Jiang Lian'er.

Jiang Lian'er no longer attempted to bite her tongue to commit suicide, shaking her head desperately: "No... no... everything has nothing to do with the Ninth Princess, it was my own..."

Her desperate denial only further confirmed Nan Xueyin's accuracy.

"You wanted to kill the Crown Prince yourself? What was the purpose? What was the motive? You had been to the Eastern Palace before; why didn't you make a move then?"

"I... I..."

Under Nan Xueyin's relentless pressure, Jiang Lian'er was on the verge of total collapse.

She choked for a long time, then gritted her teeth and said: "It was that day, I fell in love with the Crown Prince, but the Crown Prince only has you in his heart. I wasn't convinced, I was jealous, I was unwilling, s-so... I turned love into hate, I wanted to kill the Crown Prince!"

As she spoke, her tears fell incessantly: "It's true! If I have said even half a lie, I..."

"So eager to take the blame upon yourself," Nan Xueyin tilted her head, "what leverage does the Ninth Princess of Loulan Kingdom have over you?"

She slowly deduced, "Your favorite beast? Your sweetheart? Or..."

Nan Xueyin suddenly thought of something, her eyes brightening slightly.

At the same time, Xiao Youlan, who was sitting upright on the couch, also spoke softly.

The two said in unison: "Your father."

Jiang Lian'er bit her lip hard.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince!"

It was also at this moment that Shu Yu's boisterous voice came from outside the door.

"I've finished everything! Eh? Why are you all here? Did something happen? Hmm... the smell of blood, who is injured?"

As soon as he entered the door, Shu Yu saw Xiao Youlan and suddenly exclaimed, "Your Highness the Crown Prince! You are injured! Who did this?"

Seeing Nan Xueyin, he let out a "Wah!": "You're here too!"

Seeing Jiang Lian'er, he let out another "Wah!": "Miss Jiang, how did you end up in such a sorry state?"

Xiao Youlan said coldly, "Report first."

Only then did Shu Yu put on a serious expression and said, "I have arranged for people to keep an eye on all the envoys from the Western Regions, and today I summarized all the reports they brought back. They are basically all fine, except for the Loulan Kingdom."

He glanced at Jiang Lian'er again, "The Loulan Kingdom's envoys went to the Jiang Family, right after I sent Miss Jiang back and left. They stayed at the Jiang Family for a long time; there must have been a fight, but it eventually quieted down. When the Loulan Kingdom's envoys left, they took away a father and daughter, as well as that black leopard. Afterwards, the Jiang Family never opened their doors again."

Jiang Lian'er's face turned impossibly pale in an instant.

"Before returning to the Eastern Palace, I personally went to take a look at the inn where the Loulan Kingdom's envoys are staying; they are currently packing their bags, and it looks like they are in a hurry to leave."

Nan Xueyin thought to herself that because the assassination mission had already been issued, success would be best, but if it failed, there was nothing to be done; in short, they all had to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

She looked at Jiang Lian'er, "They are holding your father hostage, aren't they."

Without waiting for an answer, she added, "If you don't speak now, they will leave Fengdu. If I were them, I would definitely kill your father before leaving to eliminate any future trouble."

Jiang Lian'er was stunned, "Th-they..."

"Otherwise, did you really think they would keep their promise?" Nan Xueyin said in a teasing tone.

Shu Yu chimed in, "Exactly! How could you possibly trust a few foreigners instead of our Crown Prince? His Highness the Crown Prince is devoted to the people; if you have any grievances, tell His Highness the Crown Prince directly, and he will certainly stand up for you!"

Jiang Lian'er looked toward Xiao Youlan subconsciously.

The man, extremely handsome and elegant, sat there, his expression revealing compassion.

It was as if a god from the heavens were casting a soft-hearted glance down at the mortal world.

The final line of defense was breached, and the fear, anxiety, and grievances accumulated over these days all gushed out in an instant.

Jiang Lian'er's eyes turned completely red, and tears fell like rain, "They captured my father! They cut off my father's arm to force me to enter the palace and force me to kill! Th-they said if I didn't obey, they would cut off my father's other hand, and if I leaked even a bit of the mission, they would kill my father! I cannot watch my father get hurt; I—even if I die, I need him to live! I only have my father left!"