Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot

Meng Qianqian took Tan'er to the forest where Shangguan Ling was trapped.

Tan'er put her hands on her hips and looked up at Shangguan Ling, who was hanging like a silkworm cocoon: "Trickster, do you want me to save you?"

Shangguan Ling opened his mouth but couldn't make a sound.

"Tan'er."

Meng Qianqian spoke softly.

"Got it." Tan'er put on the silver thread gloves given to her by the Goddess, flew up, and swiftly tore apart the poisonous web.

Shangguan Ling fell to the ground with a thud.

Meng Qianqian fed him a Detoxification Pill, then performed the Ghost Gate Thirteen Needles, forcing the poison in his body to his left hand, and pricked his fingertip to let the poisoned blood flow out.

Color returned to Shangguan Ling's face, and the swelling in his throat subsided. He could finally speak: "You little girl... You could have used a knife to cut it, but you insisted on tearing it with your hands..."

Tan'er tilted her head: "I like it! I saved you, and you're still picky!"

With his previously numb body gradually regaining sensation, Shangguan Ling took a deep breath: "Almost suffocated... I almost suffocated..."

Meng Qianqian put away the silver needle: "Do not use any martial arts for the next three hours to prevent any residual poison from spreading through your meridians."

Shangguan Ling nodded while catching his breath: "Thank you, Young Madam... By the way, was the Young Madam unscathed? That horse was mad earlier, did it hit you anywhere?"

Meng Qianqian said: "I was not the one in the carriage."

Shangguan Ling was shocked: "Why did Shang Wuyou tell me the bride was you?"

Meng Qianqian curled her lips: "I told him to say that."

Since Shang Wuyou grew up with the two sisters, how could he not distinguish between their auras?

Xiao Rong'er thought she had used Shang Changle to threaten Shang Wuyou, but in fact, Shang Wuyou simply didn't care about Gongsun Ziyu.

But afterward, he immediately went to Shangguan Ling, and on the way, he met Meng Qianqian, who had been waiting for a long time.

After hearing the whole story, Shangguan Ling was in utmost admiration.

No wonder she could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Grand Commander; such wit was indeed beyond reach.

Remembering something, Shangguan Ling asked: "Did the Young Madam tell the Grand Commander the stand-in was Gongsun Ziyu?"

Meng Qianqian shook her head: "No."

Shangguan Ling's expression slightly changed: "Then he..."

Meng Qianqian said: "He can guess."

In his heart, Shangguan Ling felt as if he'd been shot with a thousand arrows.

Being with this young couple often made him feel like a fool.

Clearly, he was once the top investigator in the Capital City too!

Meng Qianqian bent her index finger, put it into her mouth, and whistled toward the sky.

The Hunting Eagle circled from high above, leading them to an abandoned winery, where they met Lu Yuan and Chen Long.

After a while, the Hunting Eagle also brought Ji Li and Si Snake over.

When they arrived, Chen Long was in a scuffle with Lu Yuan, to be precise, Chen Long was chasing Lu Yuan to cut him down.

Lu Yuan only defended without attacking: "Although you are my brother-in-law, if you keep hitting, be careful I'll fight back seriously."

Chen Long said coldly: "Today, either you die, or I do."

Tan'er sat on the threshold, with her fists under her cheeks, her eyes glowing green: Fight! Fight!

"Oh, the little girl is here too."

Ji Li glanced at Tan'er, walked to Meng Qianqian's side, and pointed with a folding fan at the two who were entangled in a fight, "What's wrong with these two?"

Si Snake also found it strange.

Meng Qianqian let out an "oh": "Probably, my brother feels that Lu Yuan deceived him."

Chen Long slashed at Lu Yuan: "You wouldn't let me lift the bridal veil, is it because you knew all along that person wasn't Little Nine?"

Ji Li looked at Meng Qianqian in shock: "Was it you in the carriage?"

Meng Qianqian said: "It was Gongsun Ziyu."

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow: "Let me clarify, I didn't know, I guessed."

Chen Long coldly interrogated: "When did you guess?"

Lu Yuan said casually: "When I got the hair ribbon."

Chen Long swung another sword.

Lu Yuan hurriedly dodged, looked at the three-foot crack on the ground: "Even telling the truth doesn't work?"

Chen Long continued: "In the carriage... that mechanism..."

Lu Yuan said: "Oh, I went in and checked. It really wasn't Little Nine, so I pretended there was a mechanism."

Chen Long gritted his teeth: "Pretended? You placed that mechanism?"

Lu Yuan: "Yes."

Chen Long's sword slashed even deeper.

Ji Li sighed: "Lu Yuan, this is your fault. Since you guessed the bride wasn't Little Yin Hu, you should have told everyone earlier. Did you know, we put a lot of effort into the bride-snatching? Had we known it was Gongsun Ziyu, we would have just put on an act."

Si Snake said: "Only then would the bride-snatching scenario be convincing enough."

Ji Li looked hurt at him: "Snake, you were also deceived, yet you're helping him speak?"

Si Snake replied calmly: "He was right to do so."

Ji Li sighed deeply: "Snake, do you even have emotions? As long as it's right, getting tricked doesn't matter?"

Si Snake: "It's a strategy."

Ji Li, overwhelmed, held his head: "Ugh, can't communicate with you anymore... who cares about right or wrong, being kept in the dark just feels bad... count me in!"

He also joined the ranks in attacking Lu Yuan.

Si Snake sought to understand the origin of the substitute bride from Meng Qianqian: "So, she actually had two objectives, to kill you, and then have Lu Yuan take Gongsun Liuying back."

Shangguan Ling was puzzled: "Why does it have to be so complicated? Wouldn't it be easier to kill you in the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion? Why go through all this trouble?"

Meng Qianqian said: "I am Zhaozhao's teacher, and I seized Gongsun Liuying's Phoenix Girl title. If I died in the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion, Your Majesty would surely investigate thoroughly. Only if I died from an assassination in the Crown Prince Mansion could the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion distance itself from involvement. That is one reason."

"The second is to make you confirm that the person in the bridal sedan was me, so you would strive to snatch the bride and take me away. If I'm not mistaken, Gongsun Liuying was nearby the cliff at the time, waiting for me to fall off before she would appear to replace me. By the time Lu Yuan reached the cliff, Xiao Rong'er had prepared eyewitnesses ready to emerge."

Shangguan Ling suddenly realized: "Oh, that explains everything, what a scheme! Xiao Rong'er isn't simple, but unfortunately, after all, her spouse betrayed her. There's truly a good show ahead."

After pausing, he curiously asked, "Young Madam, how did you convince Gongsun Yanming?"

Meng Qianqian said: "I told him that if I married into the Jin Prince Mansion, I would unite with Prince Jin and the Hu Family's entire force to oppose the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion. If Prince Jin were unwilling to cooperate with me, I would kill Lu Qi and confess to Your Majesty that the Pavilion Master of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion instructed me as a token for returning to the Crown Prince's side."

Shangguan Ling gave a thumbs up: "Brilliant."

Luckily, the Young Madam isn't an enemy, or who could contend with her?

"But why was the final choice Gongsun Ziyu and not Gongsun Liuying?"

Meng Qianqian looked in the direction of the Jin Prince Mansion: "Because Gongsun Liuying truly would have killed Lu Qi."