Chapter 16: A Clever Escape

Sheng Xiayan narrowed her eyes at Xie Nanzhou, her murderous intent unmistakable.

The original owner had been driven to death by Sheng Xiayi’s cruelty, and Xie Nanzhou was well aware of it. Yet he refused to believe that his idealized love could be so vicious. So he covered his eyes and ears, deceiving himself, blindly siding with Sheng Xiayi. Even if someone had to die, it should be someone else, for Sheng Xiayi appeared so delicate—how could she be at fault?

“Sheng Xiayan, shut your filthy mouth! Yi’er is gentle and fragile, nothing like a vicious woman like you! You must be jealous because I favor Xia Yi and not you, so you deliberately slander her! I’ve told you a hundred times, you can’t compare to Xia Yi. She’s the only one I want. Why can’t you just give up already?”

Xie Nanzhou’s voice rang out with passionate conviction.

Sheng Xiayan frowned as she looked at him. He looked decent enough, but compared to Xie Xunzhi, there was no comparison—he was shorter, less imposing.

Truly ordinary, yet so arrogant. The scoundrel was laughable.

Sheng Xiayan considered herself a fan of handsome men, but only the kind like Xie Xunzhi—those quietly confident in their charm. Xie Nanzhou was just a self-important fool, utterly ridiculous.

“Do you know that Yi’er fainted from guilt because she couldn’t stop you from running off to kill yourself? If the guards hadn’t rushed back in time, who knows what would have happened! After waking, she kept crying, begging the guards to find you! She even threatened to kill herself to join you!”

Xie Nanzhou’s anger grew with every word, his gaze toward Sheng Xiayan thickened with disgust and contempt. “I know, I’m the one at fault for loving Yi’er. But didn’t I break off our engagement for you? Later, Yi’er will be the elder and you the younger, and she won’t mind sharing one husband with you. She’s so magnanimous—why can’t you learn from her? I gave you such a golden opportunity, but you refuse it, choosing death instead. When you fail, you come to slander Yi’er.”

A sharp sting pierced Sheng Xiayan’s heart.

She knew these were the lingering emotions of the original owner.

The original owner had truly loved this faithless man to the point of ruin.

“Enough with your nonsense.” Sheng Xiayan snapped, her voice laced with venom. “If you open your filthy mouth one more time, I’ll tear it to shreds.”

Everyone stared at her in stunned silence.

The delicate Second Miss had gone mad? What was she saying? That was the Crown Prince in front of her!

“And you,” she said, turning to Sheng Xiayi, “if you fake cry one more time, I’ll tear your mouth to pieces too.”

Sheng Xiayan stepped toward Sheng Xiayi, the original owner's hatred surging like a tidal wave, the pain from her last moments flooding Sheng Xiayan’s mind. It was Sheng Xiayi’s cruel grin as she strangled the original owner’s neck, sneering cruelly: “You’ve always been prettier than me since childhood, everyone saw you first wherever we went. But from today on, that’s over. Because you’re going to die, and your man has been taken by me. Sheng Xiayan, you will never be better than me in this life!”

The pain gnawed deep into Sheng Xiayan’s bones, her eyes flashing with fierce resolve.

She narrowed her eyes at Sheng Xiayi, a bloodthirsty smile curling on her lips. Concealed within her sleeve, she drew out a slender, finely crafted poison needle soaked in chemical toxins, hidden beneath her long nails.

The needle was so fine that piercing and withdrawing it left no visible wound, but it caused relentless joint pain day and night, worsening at night, until death by agony.

A trace of suppressed cruelty flashed in Sheng Xiayi’s eyes as she was about to turn and feign fragility before Xie Nanzhou. Sheng Xiayan raised her hand and delivered a vicious slap to the back of her neck.

The needle pierced sharply into her neck.

“Ahhhhh!!!” Sheng Xiayi screamed in agony, the sharp sting spreading throughout her body. She writhed in pain, losing all reason and composure. In broad daylight, she erupted into a mad scream, even leaping wildly and banging her head against Xie Nanzhou’s, the scene grotesquely farcical.