The Dramatic Crown Princess Wants to Poison Me!

Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Stain

Huangfu Jingchen cast a cool glance at the two men, his gaze landing on Wang Qianshan’s face. His voice was clear and indifferent: ”You and this Princely Heir indeed are meeting for the first time, and we were previously unacquainted! However, ten days ago, this Princely Heir, while walking with a friend on the main street of Yuqing County, encountered your young daughter!”

The smile on Wang Qianshan’s face froze; how could he have forgotten this matter?

Looking at the princely heir before him, who was exceptionally good-looking, he was well aware of his daughter’s disposition. Seeing such a handsome young man, she would want to take him by force.

Could it be that his daughter had ruined his matters?

Huangfu Jingchen said indifferently: ”Your daughter was quite arrogant, riding a horse and brandishing a whip on the street, treating human life as trifling. My friend could not bear to see it and intervened. Your daughter then feigned sincerity in admitting fault, later using an apology as a pretext to deceive this Princely Heir and his friend into the villa. It turned out she had malicious intentions, intending to keep this Princely Heir as a male consort.”

Upon hearing this, not only did Wang Qianshan’s expression change but even Su Shijie’s face turned pale, and Yue Zhengrong’s eyes widened as he stared at Huangfu Jingchen, his mouth agape enough to fit an egg.

Their gazes towards Huangfu Jingchen were quite strange.

A young man being taken as a male consort, such a matter is disgraceful, a blot on one’s life, indeed! But the young man before them spoke of it with composure.

Is it that he doesn’t care? Or is he just oblivious?

Huangfu Jingchen paid no mind to their gazes and continued: ”In that villa, there were more than twenty male consorts captured by your daughter. This Princely Heir witnessed firsthand the means your daughter used to make those consorts obedient: the snake pit, the man-eating dogs, and the soldier-like wolves and tigers! Those kidnapped young men were just children from ordinary families. They had never seen such a spectacle, nor did they have the means to resist. Therefore, those who were obedient became your daughter’s consorts, and those who were not became meals for the poisonous snakes and vicious dogs! Wang Qianshan, allowing your daughter to commit evil, harm lives, secretly imprisoning them, you cannot shirk responsibility for this alone!”

Wang Qianshan’s eyes darted around. The people at Hua Cheng Villa had mostly been dealt with, not only dead without evidence, but the villa was also something extremely secret, belonging to him. He immediately cried his innocence to Su Shijie: ”Mr. Su, there is nothing of the sort, absolutely nothing! My daughter isn’t at any villa; she’s staying well at the Governor Mansion. I have no villa; I don’t know what this is about! Maybe Prince Jing has been deceived, please, Mr. Su, make a judgment for your subordinate!”

By this point, he didn’t even refer to himself as an official facing charges.

Su Shijie said: ”Prince Jing, you see, perhaps there is some misunderstanding here!”

Huangfu Jingchen nodded, turned his gaze to Su Shijie, and smiled placidly. The smile was like a spring breeze brushing over a hill, like spring rain nurturing the parched land, making people feel very comfortable. He spoke slowly: ”Mr. Su, are you skilled at appraising treasures?”

This seemingly out-of-the-blue remark left Su Shijie startled; he didn’t understand Huangfu Jingchen’s point, so he replied with a smile: ”Does Prince Jing have a treasure to take out?”

”Indeed!” Huangfu Jingchen’s lips curled slightly as he said, ”Earlier this year, this Princely Heir acquired a Moyu Pixiu statue, carved entirely from the finest black jade, two feet tall, used to ward off misfortune. When you have the time, Mr. Su, perhaps you’d appraise it?”

Su Shijie had been listening with a smile, but upon hearing this, his face turned ashen.

A Moyu Pixiu, four feet tall, carved from an entire piece of jade—wasn’t this the gift given to him by Wang Qianshan for his birthday? Wang Qianshan acted meticulously, having it carried to his residence in a box the day before his birthday, leaving no traces.

It was precisely because he was so careful that he accepted this generous gift.

The quality of the jade, the craftsmanship, all were top-notch. Conservatively estimated, its value was fifty thousand taels, enough to serve as a family heirloom.

This one casual remark from Prince Jing, how could it be considered random? It was clearly a warning to him! He was already aware of Wang Qianshan giving him that gift. Now, any protection or exoneration he offered would make him complicit with Wang Qianshan’s crimes.

Seeing Su Shijie, who was previously beaming and smoothly handling matters, suddenly change his expression, Yue Zhengrong was quite puzzled, asking, ”Has Mr. Su come down with a sudden illness?”

Seeing a hint of mockery in Yue Zhengrong’s eyes, Su Shijie knew the military general always looked down on his civil servant ways and was now catching an opportunity to watch his misfortune. But Su Shijie managed to force a smile and said, ”An old ailment, it’s nothing serious.”

Huangfu Jingchen turned to look at the young man: ”Yan Nan, has Jiang Ning arrived at the Capital City?”

The young man, Yan Nan, clasped his fists and said: ”Returning to the Princely Heir, on the return trip, the Prince was framed, and an attempt on his life was made; this is a grave matter. Three days ago, Jiang Ning rode at full speed toward the Capital City, and should be arriving soon!”

Wang Qianshan’s previously relaxed mood could now scarcely hold.

Did Prince Jing really pull this move?

Su Shijie was also greatly shaken.

Seeing the young man, so youthful, recounting the matter of nearly becoming a male consort, he initially thought him to be naive. But now it seemed, he was anything but! Simply indifferent, perhaps!

Forcibly taking the Princely Heir as a male consort, was Wang Qianshan’s daughter tired of living?

Although Yue Zhengrong was a military general, having risen to the rank of Inspector, overseeing military affairs in a county, he was not someone of mere brawn and simple mind. Noticing Su Shijie’s sudden change in expression and Wang Qianshan’s shifting attitude, he too cast a meaningful glance at Su Shijie.

He laughed: ”Old Su, we need to expedite this matter. If we haven’t clarified such an evident case before the officials from the Capital City arrive, they might deem us incompetent, affecting Lord Governor’s view.”

Su Shijie was inwardly vexed but knew he was speaking the truth.

The matter of Wang Qianshan, the pile of charges, and Ding Yichuan’s confession were already quite evident; all his defenses were untenable. Yet the subtleties lay in his current handling of the affair. If he maneuvered tactfully, made some slight adjustments, indeed Wang Qianshan’s punishment could be mitigated, even resulting in non-pursuit.

After all, deeply familiar with these proceedings, if he chose to intervene, the results, although not drastically different, could easily shift the emphasis. Yue Zhengrong, being a military man, even with shrewdness, lacked insight into the administrative subtleties.

However, now, Prince Jing had made dual preparations.

Disregarding the official complaint and the absurd deeds of Wang Qianshan, the mere fact that Prince Jing was almost made a male consort on his return journey by Wang Qianshan’s daughter was sufficient for serious repercussions for Wang Qianshan.

Having received fifty thousand taels, openly confessing might still provide an avenue for redemption.

Continuing to cover for Wang Qianshan would likely ensnare himself as well.