Chapter 4: His Royal Highness the Crown Prince

Sheng Xiayan narrowed her eyes at Xie Nanzhou, her killing intent laid bare.

Did Xie Nanzhou not know that the original owner had been tortured to death by Sheng Xiayi? He knew. He simply refused to believe that his "white moonlight" could be so vicious. Thus, he chose to cover his eyes and ears, living in self-deception and blindly siding with Sheng Xiayi. Even in death, it was others who deserved to die; how could someone as fragile as Sheng Xiayi ever be in the wrong?

"Sheng Xiayan, shut your filthy mouth! Yi'er is gentle and delicate, unlike a vicious woman like you! It must be that you are jealous of me preferring Xiayi over you, so you intentionally smear her name. I have told you a hundred times, you are nowhere near as good as Xiayi. I only want her, why can't you just give up and die?"

Xie Nanzhou launched into a passionate tirade.

Sheng Xiayan frowned as she looked at him. He looked decent enough on the surface, but compared to Xie Xunzhi, he was worlds apart—not even coming close in height.

Truly mediocre yet utterly confident; this pathetic man was a joke.

Sheng Xiayan prided herself on liking handsome men, but only those like Xie Xunzhi, who possessed inner strength and remained oblivious to their own appeal. Men like Xie Nanzhou, who were average but full of themselves, were nothing but laughable.

"Do you know that Yi'er was so consumed by guilt for failing to stop you from running off to commit suicide that she fainted? If I hadn't sent someone to rush back in time, who knows what would have happened to her! After she woke up, she kept crying and begging me to send people to find you! She even threatened to take her own life to join you!"

The more Xie Nanzhou spoke, the angrier he became, his gaze toward Sheng Xiayan filled with increasing disgust and disdain. "I know I have failed you by falling in love with Yi'er, but did I not refuse to break off our engagement? In the future, Yi'er will be the primary wife and you the secondary. She is even willing to share a husband with you. She is so magnanimous, why can't you learn from her? I gave you such a golden opportunity and you threw it away, insisting on seeking death, and now that you've failed, you come here to frame her."

A sharp pain pierced Sheng Xiayan’s heart.

She knew it was the lingering emotions of the original owner acting up. The poor girl had truly loved this heartless wretch with all her might.

"What a load of crap," Sheng Xiayan spat out, not bothering to mince words. "If you wag that vile tongue of yours one more time, I will tear it out."

The crowd stared at her in stunned silence.

Had the fragile Second Miss lost her mind? What was she saying? The person standing before her was the Crown Prince!

"And you, if you shed another fake tear, I’ll rip your mouth open, too." Sheng Xiayan walked toward Sheng Xiayi. The original owner's hatred surged like a tidal wave, and the agony of her final moments flooded into Sheng Xiayan’s mind. She saw Sheng Xiayi grinning cruelly as she tightened a noose around the original owner's neck, whispering venomously: "Since childhood, you were always more beautiful than me. Everywhere we went, people saw you first. But starting today, that won't happen. Because you are going to die, and your man has been stolen by me. Sheng Xiayan, you will never be better than me in this lifetime!"

The pain was bone-deep, and a fierce, ruthless light flashed in Sheng Xiayan's eyes.

She squinted at Sheng Xiayi, a bloodthirsty smile playing on her lips. Her hand hidden in her sleeve reached into her storage space, pulling out a fine needle coated with a chemical toxin, concealing it beneath her long fingernails.

The needle was so thin that once inserted and withdrawn, no wound would be visible to the naked eye. However, it would cause the victim to suffer excruciating pain in every joint, day and night, intensifying as darkness fell, until they were eventually tortured to death.

A flicker of suppressed malice crossed Sheng Xiayi’s eyes as she prepared to turn and feign fragility for Xie Nanzhou. Sheng Xiayan raised her hand and struck the back of her neck with a vicious blow.

The needle plunged deep into her skin.

"Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!" Sheng Xiayi shrieked in agony as the sharp, searing pain spread throughout her entire body. Having lost her sanity—and her carefully crafted facade—she began to scream like a madwoman in front of the crowd, even jumping in place and slamming her head into Xie Nanzhou. The scene was utterly grotesque.