Chapter 322 I Didn’t Do It

Xiao Beiheng sat up suddenly and reached out to touch the bed in panic.

How could he sleep so defenselessly? If someone came to assassinate him, he would definitely die without even knowing it.

The thought of his life ending in such a scene made him even more panicked. It wasn't until his fingertips touched the hard, body-warm scabbard of the Yanque Sword and he gripped it tightly that he stopped trembling. He raised his head and looked around groggily.

The room was dark, but not pitch black. Moonlight slanted through the window lattice, casting white diamond-shaped grids on the polished varnished floor. A familiar room, a familiar layout of furniture, a familiar smell… He was indeed lying in his own bedroom, not in some unfamiliar place.

After calming himself, he raised the Yanque Sword upright, gripped the hilt with his right hand, and slowly drew it out. No matter how familiar the touch was, he still had to see the blade of the Yanque Sword with his own eyes before he could be completely reassured.

Yan Que let out a faint sword hum, and a sharp green light rushed out from the gap between blade and scabbard, casting a ray of light on his face. The light split his face in two, one half illuminated by the light, resembling a human. The other half, hidden in darkness, resembled a ghost.

After he used Yanque to block Ji Yunyan's astonishing attack, he never let Yanque leave his side, no matter where he went. This light gave him a greater sense of security than anyone else, whether it was his father, Emperor Qi Ming, his mother, Empress Wen, or his wife, Su Mo.

After putting Yan Que back into the scabbard, he noticed that Su Mo was not with him.

I clearly remember Su Mo helping him back to his room, so why didn't she sleep with him? It was so late, the moon was high, where had she gone instead of sleeping?

He got out of bed in the dark, pulled on an outer robe, held the Yanque sword, and walked towards the bedroom door.

Before she reached the door, it creaked softly and Su Mo walked in holding a dim light in her hand.

Xiao Beiheng subconsciously raised his hands in front of his eyes to block the light.

On days when he couldn't sleep, seeing light in the dark would sting his eyes. Now that he had just woken up, he was afraid that the sting would happen again.

"Beiheng, you're awake..." Su Mo said softly and walked into the house.

There was no joy in her tone. The light reflected her fair and delicate face. When the two passed by, Xiao Beiheng clearly saw the traces of tears on her face, as if she had just cried.

Xiao Beiheng thought Su Mo was worried about his health, so he rubbed his eyelids with his fingers and smiled, "Momo, what's wrong with you? You seem a little unhappy. Is it because I woke up again? I didn't have a nightmare."

This time he woke up not because of a nightmare, but because he didn't touch the Yanque Sword.

Su Mo placed the lamp on the table, turned around and said, "You have slept for a whole day."

"I slept for a whole day?" Xiao Beiheng turned his head and looked out the window in surprise. "I felt like I just closed my eyes for a while and slept for only half an hour."

"Then you..." Su Mo looked at Xiao Beiheng and sat down at the table, "How do you feel now?"

Xiao Beiheng stretched his shoulders, turned left and right, and said with a smile: "I feel much better now, but I'm a little hungry."

"I know you'll be hungry when you wake up, so the kitchen is always heating up food." Su Mo's expression was indifferent, the same as when she first entered the door, and her tone hadn't changed at all.

Xiao Beiheng was a little surprised. His spirits had recovered, so Su Mo should be happy.

"What's wrong with you?" He pulled over a chair and sat opposite Su Mo. "Tell me."

Su Mo raised her eyes and looked at him in surprise, biting her lips, tears in her eyes.

After a moment of silence, Su Mo finally spoke: "Bei Heng, why did you do that?"

Xiao Beiheng was stunned and asked, "What did I do?"

"You know exactly what you did," Su Mo said, tears rolling down her cheeks again. "Since you did it, why don't you dare admit it? Do you know how I've been through this day? I wanted to wake you up, but I also wanted you to sleep well..."

"Wait," Xiao Beiheng stood up and took two steps forward, standing in front of Su Mo, "Momo, tell me clearly, what exactly did I do?"

"Why did you want to kill my sister-in-law?" Su Mo also stood up, clenched her fists, and looked at him with tears in her eyes. "My sister-in-law has clearly promised us that my brother will not compete with you for the position of crown prince. Why did you want to kill my sister-in-law?"

Xiao Beiheng's eyes widened in disbelief. He raised his hands and placed them on Su Mo's shoulders, shaking them twice before asking, "Say it again, Shen Yuexi is dead? Are you sure?"

The news was so shocking that he felt it couldn't be true.

Su Mo sobbed, "It's true. News just came from Shengjing yesterday that my sister-in-law couldn't breathe a day after drinking the pregnancy-maintaining medicine given by my father. She suffocated to death. The doctor said that someone put Gelsemium poison in the medicine. Now the whole of Shengjing is in mourning. My eldest brother is so heartbroken that he fell ill in bed. He has sent an envoy to the capital to ask my father to hand over the person who poisoned him and cut him into pieces to avenge my sister-in-law..."

Xiao Beiheng let go of Su Mo, stumbled back two steps, sat down on the chair, and said in a panic:

"That's impossible. I didn't do that."

Su Mo took out her handkerchief and wiped her tears, saying, "Do you still want to deny it?"

"I have nothing to deny. I didn't do it." Xiao Beiheng shook his head. "I really didn't do it, Momo."

Su Mo became increasingly sad. She turned around and leaned over the table, crying, "You poisoned my eldest brother before, and you poisoned Xiao Kai... You've done it so many times. You've always lied to me, and you're still lying to me now."

Xiao Beiheng defended himself, "Xiao Kai is an enemy, and he has the Yanque Sword. How can we deal with him if we don't poison him? But it was Lin Kui who poisoned my brother, not me."

"Isn't Lin Kui your subordinate?" Su Mo raised her head but didn't look back at him. "You were the prince of Qi at that time, of noble status. Of course, you couldn't do such a despicable thing with your own hands. You let Lin Kui do it for you, and you let the rebel generals of the Jingzhou army do it for you. Now you even start to use the queen mother... the queen mother is such a gentle and kind person."

"What do I have to say so that you will believe me?" Xiao Beiheng stood up angrily and paced around the room irritably. "I didn't do it, I didn't do it. Since my elder brother said that he would not compete with me for the crown prince, why would I kill Shen Yuexi?"

"Keep your voice down," Su Mo quickly stood up and turned to him, "Don't let the servants hear it."

Xiao Beiheng raised his head in silence. After a while, he lowered his voice and said, "I haven't been able to sleep well these days, so how can I have the energy to do these things? Besides, my mother won't pass by Anzhou when she goes to Shengjing..."

"Isn't Lin Kui in the capital?" Su Mo asked, "Did you ask Lin Kui to do it?"

"I really didn't do it!" Xiao Beiheng couldn't hold back any longer. He strode to Su Mo, grabbed her wrist and lifted it up. "Momo, you really don't believe me, huh?"

Su Mo's face showed pain, and she said, "Haven't you always wanted to kill my elder brother and sister-in-law?"

Xiao Beiheng snorted angrily, slamming her hand away and saying, "At that time, I didn't know about their relationship with Father, but now I know. If I had any intentions of harming them, would I have gone to Shengjing to celebrate Qixi Festival with them? Besides, since my elder brother is willing to give up the throne of Crown Prince to me, I have even less reason to kill Shen Yuexi."

Su Mo rubbed her wrist which was hurt by being squeezed and whispered, "Are you telling the truth?"

Xiao Beiheng was at a loss whether to laugh or cry, and almost wanted to kneel down to Su Mo again: "Momo, you can't just say I lied before and then you won't believe anything I say next time, right? How could I lie to you about such a big thing?"

Seeing him deny it again and again, Su Mo believed it. She asked, "Then who poisoned him?"

Xiao Beiheng shook his head and said, "Momo, it's not important who poisoned me. No matter who did it, this plan is too insidious."

After recovering from his shock, he was able to think calmly again. After pondering the consequences for a while, he began to panic.

"What's so insidious about it?" Su Mo asked with concern when she saw that he was serious.

"Everyone knows that Xiao Zhuo and I are competing for the position of Crown Prince. Shen Yuexi was Xiao Zhuo's right-hand man, and now that she's been poisoned, I'm definitely the first person to be suspected." Xiao Beiheng paced back and forth uneasily. "This is pushing me into the fire pit. If the emperor also thinks I did it... do you think he will still let me be the Crown Prince?"

Su Mo also looked nervous and came over and asked, "Then what should we do?"

"I have to hurry to the capital to meet with father," Xiao Beiheng put down the Yanque Sword and went to get his clothes. "Momo, help me get dressed. I'm going now to tell father that I'm not the murderer. After I find the murderer, I'll personally take him to my eldest brother... I have to prove my innocence... I really shouldn't have slept this day."

After just one day of sleep, such a big thing happened, enough to create a huge wave.

Seeing his anxiety, Su Mo quickly took his clothes and helped him get dressed. Xiao Beiheng went to wash up. Su Mo went out and called the maid Xiaoxiang over, saying, "Tell someone to quickly prepare the carriage. Prince Ping wants to leave for the capital overnight. Oh, and... prepare some food for the carriage. Prince Ping hasn't eaten yet... Forget it, I'll go with Prince Ping."

Xiaoxiang received the order and was about to leave when a maid hurried over and said, "Prince Ping, Princess Ping, the Queen's motorcade has entered the city and is heading towards Prince Ping's mansion."

After hearing this, Xiao Beiheng and Su Mo looked at each other in surprise.

Why did Queen Wen suddenly come here in the middle of the night?