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The bees were so numerous, they formed a black shadow.

The maids and eunuchs were terrified and scattered in all directions, not even considering helping the Snow Concubine drive away the bees.

No matter where the Snow Concubine hid, the bees relentlessly chased and stung her.

After the bees had stung enough, Qin Xiao finally stepped forward with his men, drove away the bees, and then took the Snow Concubine to see the Master.

At that moment, the Snow Concubine was so scared she was beside herself, and when Qin Xiao saved her, she thought Xiao Jinyan had sent him, and she wept with joy.

"Guard Qin, quickly call for the Imperial Doctor, my face, those damn bees, how dare they sting my face?"

Qin Xiao responded coldly, "Let’s wait for the Imperial Doctor. The Master wants to see the Snow Concubine now, there’s an important matter."

Even without looking in a mirror, the Snow Concubine knew her face must be disfigured and she looked a total wreck; she couldn’t meet Xiao Jinyan in such a disheveled state.

"I can’t meet His Highness like this, tell His Highness I was stung by bees, I’ll see him once I’m better."

"That’s not for you to decide," instructed Qin Xiao, "Take her to the Master."

The Snow Concubine was being pushed by two guards, one on each side; as a weak woman, she couldn’t break free. She glared angrily at Qin Xiao, "How dare you, a mere guard, lay a hand on me, the Princess?"

Qin Xiao snorted, "How dare I not? With just one word from the Master, I would dare to kill you right now."

The Snow Concubine froze in fear at his words.

Qin Xiao did not waste words with her and led her to Hehuan Hall.

Xiao Jinyan stood under the porch, looking down at the Snow Concubine, seeing her once lovely face now covered in bumps, her hair unkempt, and her attire in disarray—where was the poise of a princess from another country?

Qin Xiao stepped forward and saluted with a fist, "Master, the Snow Concubine has been brought."

With the guards forcing her, the Snow Concubine was made to kneel on the ground. She pointed at Qin Xiao with angry tears, "Your Highness, you must stand up for your concubine. Qin Xiao dared to treat me like this!"

Xiao Jinyan, with evident disdain in his eyes, said, "Snow Concubine, you plotted against my offspring, and yet you want me to stand up for you? I wish I could execute you right now."

The Snow Concubine was startled, how could Xiao Jinyan know she wanted to harm the Crown Princess’s child?

She feigned calmness as she protested, "Your Highness, what do you mean by that? How could your concubine possibly seek to harm your offspring?"

Xiao Jinyan threw down the confession in front of the Snow Concubine, "See for yourself."

The Snow Concubine looked at the confession on the floor, took it up with confusion, and after reading it, her face turned pale in an instant—Shuiyao had betrayed her? Impossible.

She looked up sharply at Xiao Jinyan, "Your Highness, this confession must be false. How could your concubine be so vicious? It must be a deliberate frame-up."

"Still daring to quibble at death’s door?" Xiao Jinyan was not about to argue with her, and with an angry shout commanded, "Bring Shuiyao here!"

The guard brought Shuiyao forward.

Upon seeing Shuiyao, the Snow Concubine furiously yelled, "Shuiyao, how dare you slander me, the Princess? Who gave you the courage?"

Shuiyao, trembling, knelt on the ground, her voice shaky, "Princess, I dare not slander Your Highness."

The Snow Concubine snorted with triumph, "I thought you wouldn’t have the guts."

"Your Highness, I have not slandered the Princess, it was indeed the Princess who ordered me to poison the young masters. Without a hundred guts, I would not dare to harm the royal heirs," Shuiyao said, shakily, her body aching and itching as if countless insects were gnawing at her.

"What did you say?" The Snow Concubine, enraged, slapped her twice, "You, a lowly maid, dare to slander me, the Princess? Who gave you the courage?"

Xiao Jinyan angrily reprimanded, "Enough, Snow Concubine. With human and material evidence both here, you still deny it? The East Palace cannot accommodate a poisonous woman like you, a woman with a heart as venomous as a snake deserves to be cut a thousand times."

Upon hearing this, the Snow Concubine completely panicked. Remembering her backing, she attempted to regain her composure, "Your Highness, you can’t treat your concubine like this, I am a princess of a nation, behind me is Xueyue Country..."

Xiao Jinyan interrupted her coldly, "What of it if you are a princess from Xueyue? Once you entered Daxia, you must follow Daxia’s customs and rules, the palace’s laws and punishments. Daring to plot against the heir, it wouldn’t be excessive to kill you."

The Snow Concubine looked at the cold and ruthless Xiao Jinyan and retorted, "Your Highness, the Crown Princess’s children are unharmed, aren’t they? If they are unharmed, why punish me so severely? If Your Highness kills me, Xueyue Country will not easily forgive Daxia..."