Reborn to Become A Queen: The Real Heiress's Comeback

Zhan Lan glared at Dugu Yan, "Do not be rude!"

"The Young Master either stays at the mansion or resides next to Dugu Yan; I, the Princess, will never make things difficult for the Young Master."

"Firstly, Dugu Yan’s residence is near the mansion, and the people living nearby are mine, ensuring the Young Master’s safety.

"Secondly, the new emperor is soon to ascend the throne. To ensure the safety of the new emperor, no hostel in Ding’an City accommodates alien clans, even envoys are staying in the hostel, so please reconsider, Young Master."

Xue Yifeng did not want to trouble Zhan Lan further; he was already causing trouble for Zhan Lan, so he said apologetically, "Thank you, Princess. I, the Young Master, will live next to Miss Dugu."

Zhan Lan looked at Dugu Yan and warned, "Dugu Yan, Young Master Xue is my honored guest, you must not neglect him, or I will not forgive you!"

"Yes." Dugu Yan replied weakly.

She regretted deeply; that day after getting drunk, she impulsively ended up sleeping with him.

She blamed herself for acting out of bounds, blamed her impulsiveness.

She thought it was over, yet Xue Yifeng returned, and now had to live so close to her.

After Zhan Lan left, Xue Yifeng spoke coldly and lowered his voice to Dugu Yan, "If it weren’t for the lack of choice, I, the Young Master, would never want to live with you!"

"Hmph, I don’t fancy you either; I must have been blind to sleep with you." Dugu Yan was enraged by Xue Yifeng.

Xue Yifeng sneered, "You had the ability to sleep with me? If it weren’t for my poisonous insect’s mischief, you think you, a woman, could have done anything to me; you won’t succeed, don’t even think about it in the future!"

Although it was Dugu Yan who initially approached, he too couldn’t control himself afterward.

Dugu Yan laughed coldly, "Are you still thinking of the future? Your performance that night was so poor; once is enough!"

"You think too much, there will absolutely be no next time!" After saying this, Xue Yifeng left the living room.

Dugu Yan was so angry that her whole body hurt; she caught up, ready to argue with Xue Yifeng, only to see Zhan Lan looking back at her.

Dugu Yan, feeling cowardly, smiled at Xue Yifeng, "Young Master, please follow me."

Only after Zhan Lan withdrew her gaze did Dugu Yan collect the stiff smile on her face and return home with Xue Yifeng.

Upon entering the courtyard, memories of that absurd night flooded Xue Yifeng with shame, and he coldly asked, "Where am I staying, Young Master?"

Dugu Yan pointed to the adjoining courtyard, "You stay in that courtyard; the little servant just cleaned it up, you can move in."

"Also, I’ll be locking this small door; don’t come to my courtyard unless necessary." Dugu Yan pointed to the wooden door separating the two courtyards.

"Very well!" Xue Yifeng pushed open the door, entered the neighboring courtyard, and shut the door behind him.

Dugu Yan rolled her eyes, wondering if she was tipsy that night, thinking Xue Yifeng fit her aesthetic preferences.

...

Regent Prince Mansion.

Xiao Chen brought evidence gathered overnight, "Prince, Princess, in the Flower Demon case, Prince Xian, Prince Qi, and Marquis Lin Yuan are all suspects. The guards killed that day were Hidden Guards, and their identities can’t be traced."

Mu Yan reviewed the testimonies from the henchmen. The adversary’s methods were extremely cautious; besides the deceased Hidden Guards, those henchmen never had the chance to see the Flower Demon’s true appearance.

Zhan Lan also perused the statements, saying while reading, "The Flower Demon never personally appeared during each attack, yet each concluded with a flower placed on a woman’s body, such cruel methods..."

"Do any of the three have special fetishes?" Zhan Lan asked.

Xiao Chen nodded, "Si Yuzhang can’t procreate, Prince Xian is very cold towards his wife, and Prince Qi hasn’t married yet, frequently secretly visits Jiao Fangsi."

Zhan Lan recalled that Si Yuzhang’s infertility was due to Emperor Xuanwu’s long-term drugging, ensuring he would never have offspring.

The reason behind Prince Xian’s coldness towards his wife is unknown.

As for Prince Qi being lecherous, all three are suspects, yet the likelihood of each is currently indeterminable.

Si Yuzhang is only in his thirties; if masked, his height and build make him hard to identify.

"Anything else?" Mu Yan asked.

Xiao Chen glanced at Zhan Lan, feeling a bit embarrassed, "He only seeks girls who haven’t been involved in anything."

Mu Yan handed the testimony to Xiao Chen, "Mr. Xiao, you have been diligent enough in this matter; I will investigate further."

"Yes." Xiao Chen agreed verbally, yet in his heart, he wouldn’t easily abandon this case.

However, he understood that due to the three’s special status, Mu Yan couldn’t simply summon them for questioning. Solid evidence or a chance to catch them red-handed was necessary for arrest.

Zhan Lan was quite looking forward to capturing the Flower Demon, hoping it turned out to be one of the three.

To her, they were all part of the Si Family; losing one would mean fewer of them.

...

Soon came the day of the Crown Prince’s ascension, organized by the Ministry of Rites to perform sacrifices to Heaven and the ancestral deities.

Si Yun adopted the reign title Qingwu after ascending.

Inside the splendid Golden Throne Hall, Si Yun finally donned the dragon robe and sat upon the dragon throne, accepting the officials’ homage.

He weakly sat upon the dragon throne, glancing at Mu Yan seated lower right, with civil and military officials opposite, noticing the officials’ reverent gaze towards Mu Yan.

The Crown Prince understood that from this day forth, he was merely a puppet emperor, with Mu Yan holding actual power.

He realized his body wouldn’t last many years as an emperor.

Now, after ascending, he could only focus on one thing: ensuring offspring for himself as soon as possible.

During the ascension ceremony, officials paid homage, while Zhan Lan, as Prince Zhenbei, clad in official attire, stood in the front row.

Zhan Lan noticed Mu Yan’s gaze upon her, which would withdraw after meeting hers.

Aside from Mu Yan, the officials respectfully performed the three kneeling nine kowtows ritual to congratulate the new emperor’s ascension.

The Grand Eunuch shouted, "Fire whip, beat the drums, play music!"

Everyone exclaimed, "Long live the majesties, long live, forever!"

Emperor Qingwu, Si Yun, in a bright yellow dragon robe raised his hand, "Stand, everyone!"

Envoys from Western Rong, Beiyue, and Eastern Wei came to pay respects.

The envoys primarily wished to witness the famous Regent King and new emperor, and incidentally assess Nanjin’s national strength.

Zhan Lan’s gaze fell on the envoys presenting congratulatory gifts from the three states.

Western Rong’s dispatch included Eldest Prince Tuoba Xiong and current Main General Baili Jiang.

Western Rong’s Eldest Prince was Xue Lingling’s fiancé, tall and powerful.

And Baili Jiang, originally a Han person, surprisingly joined Western Rong and became their Main General.

Beiyue’s envoys were Great General Ye Xiuhan and Deputy General Ye Chongming.

Eastern Wei’s envoys were unknown to her, a middle-aged man and a twenty-something man.

Until the Grand Eunuch loudly announced their names, "Eastern Wei’s envoy Left General Xie Yuanzhang and Deputy General Fan Yao present."

Zhan Lan’s eyes brightened; Eastern Wei was the strongest among the four nations, always skillfully navigating between countries without conflict with the other three.

But such a country was inherently more dangerous.

Considering the division of Zhongzhou among the four, one could see their ambition was far from the surface-level observation.

Moreover, Zhan Lan suddenly noticed a fleeting surprise in Xie Yuanzhang’s eyes upon seeing Mu Yan.

Could he know Mu Yan?