啪! Song Yilan hadn't finished speaking when she received a solid slap across the face.

The one who struck her was Su Yan, a former member of the Dark Guards.

Trained from a young age with inhumane methods, surpassing even the disciples of the Xiao Sect, she possessed an even greater degree of ruthlessness.

That slap alone would be too much for even a robust man to endure, let alone a young lady like Song Yilan.

Song Yilan did possess some martial skills, but she was far from a match for someone like Su Yan, especially since she was currently affected by the Muscle-Weakening Powder.

Falling into Su Yan's hands was like being a fish on a chopping board.

"You vile thing, daring to offend the Crown Princess! It seems you're tired of living!"

Su Yan's sharp voice rang in her ears, while Song Yilan's ears were still ringing from the slap.

Hearing Su Yan's reprimand, she seemed to wake from a dream.

Her eyes widened, filled with disbelief and anger amidst the pain.

Staring blankly at Su Yan for a moment, she angrily retorted with resentment and shock, "You... dare to hit me!"

"Hitting you? Offending the Crown Princess is a crime punishable by the extermination of your nine generations! What are you, did you even look in the mirror?"

"Just a daughter of a Tusi, thinking you're a princess?"

"Let me tell you, even if a real princess dared to speak so recklessly, I would still hit her without hesitation!"

Su Yan appeared cold, but once she started speaking, it was like a machine gun, and she was extremely arrogant.

It had to be said, this demeanor was indeed like that of Xie Jin Yan's subordinates.

Yu Qingwu looked at Song Yilan's left cheek, which was swollen like a pig's head, and couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

However, she didn't stop Su Yan's actions.

She simply pulled up a stool and sat down calmly to the side, observing Song Yilan with a composed and leisurely air.

As for Song Yilan, she was completely dumbfounded.

She had lived in Qingzhou since she was a child, and her father was a Tusi, a local chieftain, who could be described as a regional hegemon, treated with deference even by the Emperor.

Therefore, Song Yilan had enjoyed princess-like treatment since she was young.

Although she didn't need to be as knowledgeable and skilled as the princesses in the imperial palace, she had considerable power.

As her father's most beloved youngest daughter, Song Yilan was naturally arrogant and unruly, and usually, no one could control her except for her eldest brother and father.

Naturally, she never took anyone else seriously, except for her beloved Shen Ke.

In addition, the flattery she received from those around her since childhood, as well as the various powers granted by her father, made her take it for granted that everyone should grovel at her feet.

Even the Crown Princess of the Wei Dynasty, especially a Crown Princess from a merchant family without any background, was someone she could easily manipulate in her eyes.

Originally, she planned to send her directly to the frontier, so that this woman would never be able to return in her life, and would no longer be able to pester Shen Ke. If that didn't work, she would simply kill her.

But at this moment, Song Yilan was stunned.

She looked at Yu Qingwu, who was calmly watching the show, and then at Su Yan, who had hit her. She was both disbelieving and angry, so she simply bypassed Su Yan and angrily said to Yu Qingwu, "You... you fox spirit! If you dare to harm me, my father will never let you go!"

"Oh, so if I let you go now, your father will let me go?" Yu Qingwu snorted coldly, looking at her indifferently. Before Song Yilan could speak again, she mocked, "Besides, Miss Song, it was you who first intended to harm me. I'm just retaliating."

"Even if your father goes to the imperial court, your Song family will be in the wrong."

"Moreover, your Song family dared to take in criminals like Shen Ke and Qin Yiliu, and even listened to their instigation to harm members of the royal family. What crime is that?"

What crime?

It was naturally a capital crime punishable by death.

But so what?

Her Song family was a Tusi family in Qingzhou, and the people of Qingzhou all obeyed the Song family's orders. The Song family also had elite troops comparable to the imperial court. Even if that were really the case, would the imperial court really dare to attack the Song family, to attack her?

Song Yilan thought to herself, the resentment in her eyes deepened, but her confidence became even stronger. She gritted her teeth and retorted to Yu Qingwu, "You fox spirit, don't even think about threatening me! My father said that our Song family has been in charge of Qingzhou for generations, and we are the actual rulers of Qingzhou. Our Song family has independent elite troops that far exceed the imperial court, as well as abundant food and military supplies. If we really fight, who knows who will be attacking whom! Besides, I don't think the imperial court would attack Qingzhou for a Crown Princess with a lowly background who has been abandoned by the Crown Prince."

"Oh, so you mean that Qingzhou belongs to your Song family? Is that what you mean?"

"Your Song family wants to seize land and become king? You want to rebel?"

Yu Qingwu's tone was light, and even carried a hint of a smile.

However, after hearing her words, Song Yilan was stunned.

Song Guan, who had been silent all along, also frowned immediately and quickly retorted, "You... don't talk nonsense, our Song family doesn't mean that at all!"

"Then what do you mean?"

"A Tusi actually possesses elite troops that far exceed the imperial court. Isn't that considered privately raising soldiers?"

Yu Qingwu smiled, slowly got up, and walked to Song Yilan.

Looking at her coldly, she said word by word, "Moreover, Miss Song keeps calling me a prostitute, calling me lowly. I am the Crown Princess of the dynasty, the Crown Princess personally appointed by the current Emperor! By insulting me like this, you are saying that the Emperor is blind and has no rules, aren't you?"

That's right, insulting the Crown Princess was not a big deal, but insulting the Emperor was another matter entirely.

It was said that the Qingzhou Tusi Song Yan had been entrenched for many years and was quite arrogant.

But if they really fought, they might not necessarily gain the upper hand.

It should be known that the imperial court had not taken action against Song Yan all these years. One reason was that most of the local people were from the Song clan, and their customs and beliefs were the same. If they fought, it would inevitably harm the people and be a waste of money.

Moreover, there was no justification for it.

But if a young daughter of the Song family dared to humiliate the Emperor of the Wei Dynasty, then it would be natural for the Wei Dynasty to deal with the Song family.

Song Yilan didn't understand this principle, but Song Guan did.

Hearing Yu Qingwu's words, his face turned white inch by inch.

His words also became much more polite, and he hurriedly retorted, trying to distance himself from Yu Qingwu, "You... don't slander us at will. We were just talking about you, we didn't criticize the current Emperor in the slightest."

"But I am the current Crown Princess, a member of the royal family, personally appointed and granted the imperial seal by the Emperor."

Yu Qingwu interrupted him again, smiled faintly, and turned her gaze back to Song Yilan, coldly saying, "Miss Song, I have no interest in your Shen Ke. Even if that kind of dirty man were brought before me, I would find him disgusting."

"Moreover, you said that I was abandoned and couldn't go on, so I came to find him again. Did Qin Yiliu tell you that? Did they also show you the letter I wrote to him?"