You've Suffered

Xiao Qianyu quietly admired the Grand Princess's wretched state.

The Grand Princess struggled to lift her head, her face twisted into a hideous grimace. "Who? Who are you here to take away? Is it Xiao Qianchen? Father Emperor still can't bear to let him die, but what about me? I'm his daughter too!"

She was unwilling to accept it, furious and resentful. They had both been locked up in the Imperial Clan Court. If they were going to die, they should die together. What gave Xiao Qianchen the right to be released?

"How pitiful!" Xiao Qianyu looked down at her with pity, as though he weren't the one who had shoved her into hell. "A perfectly good princess is about to become a wandering ghost."

The Grand Princess glared at him through clenched teeth. Who do you think did this to me? Wasn't it you?

Xiao Qianyu raised his eyes. "Do you hate me?"

Her pupils blazed with hatred. "Shouldn't I? If it weren't for you, Father Emperor wouldn't have sentenced me to death."

Xiao Qianyu shook a finger at her. "You're wrong. I only asked that you be stripped of your title and demoted to a commoner. Father Emperor was the one who issued the decree condemning you to death. Think carefully. Isn't that right?" He kindly reminded her.

The Grand Princess's expression changed. She desperately tried to recall what had happened yesterday, then suddenly clenched the blanket in her fist. She remembered—Father Emperor. Father Emperor had been the one to call for her execution.

"Why?" The Grand Princess's face turned deathly pale.

Xiao Qianyu said nonchalantly, "He thought you'd disgraced him. He thought you'd been forsaken by the Heavenly Dao. He thought your continued existence would damage his imperial dignity. So don't hate the wrong person."

The Grand Princess collapsed onto the wooden plank as if all the strength had drained from her. Why was Father Emperor so cruel and cold-blooded? Had all his affection for her been false?

Was his reputation really more important than her life?

Suddenly, she raised her ashen face. "Then why is Xiao Qianchen allowed to live? What he did was far more vicious and inhuman than anything I did. What gives him the right?"

It wasn't fair.

Xiao Qianyu watched her rant for a while before speaking. "Who said Xiao Qianchen was allowed to live?"

The Grand Princess stared at him in shock. "Didn't you say you were here to take someone away?"

"But I never said I was here to take Xiao Qianchen."

The Grand Princess looked confused. "Then who?" Apart from her and the Third Prince, who else was in the Imperial Clan Court?

Xiao Qianyu announced cheerfully, "I'm here to take Prince Jiujiang's Heir's Consort. She's been released without charge." His dear, villainous mother.

"Prince Jiujiang's Heir's Consort—that harlot?" The Grand Princess found it ridiculous, and laughed.

A wicked woman who'd conspired against the royal family and dared to switch the Empress's legitimate son could be released, while she, a dignified princess, was sentenced to death just for killing a few lowly servants.

What kind of world was this? The Grand Princess wanted to cry, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her face.

Xiao Qianyu's lips curled slightly. "She's no harlot. I said she was innocent, so Father Emperor issued a decree restoring her good name. From now on, she'll continue to hold the honored position of Heir's Consort. Well, I only came to see how miserable you were. Now that I've seen it, I can leave at ease. We'll never meet again, alive or dead. Enjoy the rest of your life."

With that, he turned to leave.

"Crown Prince! Elder Brother!" The Grand Princess suddenly rolled off the plank and scrambled after him, grabbing at Xiao Qianyu. "Elder Brother, save me! I don't want to die! Please plead with Father Emperor for me, won't you? I'll never do it again!"

Xiao Qianyu stepped back so she couldn't reach him, and refused coldly. "No."

The Grand Princess looked up at him in despair, her face drenched with tears and snot. "All because I killed a few insignificant servants—and your personal eunuch?"

Xiao Qianyu nodded impassively. "That's all it took."

"You're so heartless." Her eyes were filled with venom and malice. "We're all children of the emperor, yet you're the freak. You value those lives that are as worthless as grass above everything else. You have no heart. I hate you. I've always hated you."

Xiao Qianyu blinked in confusion, as if to say, Who cares?

She laughed bitterly, then threw caution to the wind. "Do you know why no one pleaded for you when you were imprisoned? Everyone wanted you dead. Father Emperor and Mother Empress included. They stopped wanting you as Crown Prince long ago. Even without the matter of the true and false crown princes, Father Emperor would've found an excuse to depose you sooner or later. Hahaha, Xiao Qianyu, how pitiful you are! You pride yourself on being wise and benevolent, but aside from those lowly servants, no one in the entire palace likes you. You're pathetic."

"Do you think Father Emperor will be happy to have you back as Crown Prince? No. He'd rather see you dead. You killed me, and I'll be waiting to see what becomes of you. I hope you meet a miserable end," she cursed.

Xiao Qianyu's lips curled. "I've already seen how things turned out for you, but you won't live to see what becomes of me. I guarantee my future will be better than yours: I'll ascend to the throne, be remembered for generations, and win at life. That's my future." He was going to be the protagonist, after all.

Ignoring the Grand Princess's curses, Xiao Qianyu turned and left.

Still, her words had confirmed one thing: even before his identity was exposed, the original seemed to have been disliked by the royal family.

When he stepped out, Prince Gong was waiting outside. The Grand Princess's resentful curses could still be heard from within.

He smiled awkwardly and looked at Xiao Qianyu, silently asking, How did your talk with your sister go?