When Huo Xingchen drove Huo Jiwen and the other man out of the Duke's mansion, Qingyou also led the Dragon Guards into the palace.

The emperor looked at the medicinal herbs and medicine bottles in the box, his face turning grim.

However, what he was most concerned about was the matter of the soul leaving the body and possessing it.

After dismissing the guards, he asked, "Daoist Master, is there anything wrong with that Shi Lingqiao?"

Qingyou nodded, "She is indeed a person whose soul has left her body and is possessed."

"He's also had some extraordinary experiences, and is skilled in concocting medicines and poisons." (M.cascoo.net)

The emperor frowned. "Then how should we deal with people like this?"

He asked, "Just kill them?"

Qingyou knew that the original owner of this body harbored a great deal of resentment towards Shi Lingqiao, and that letting Shi Lingqiao die like this would be too easy for her.

What is the most painful thing for someone who has been reborn?

Naturally, he thought he would be great after being reborn and live the life he had always longed for, but in the end, he was not as good as before he was reborn, and even struggled to survive.

This is the greatest revenge and punishment for Shi Lingqiao.

"I have examined her carefully, and she is not yet destined to die."

"So if we kill her directly, we're afraid she might possess someone else. If that person is of high status, and she attacks His Majesty and the Crown Prince, it will be even more difficult to guard against."

"Therefore, I suggest that we keep her around and have someone monitor her, so that she has no more opportunities to cause trouble."

The emperor now has great faith in Daoist Qingfeng. "Alright, then I'll have someone keep an eye on Shi Lingqiao."

He thought for a moment and then asked, "Taoist Master, can you tell when her life is about to end?"

He was still not entirely at ease keeping such a menace around.

Qingyou raised her hand and counted on her fingers, "Ten years. Once ten years have passed, if she dies, she won't possess anyone else."

Ten years is enough time for Shi Lingqiao to suffer.

The emperor's expression changed from gloomy to sunny. "Very well, I will let her live for another ten years."

The two exchanged a few more words, and then Qingyou said she was going into seclusion and left.

She did not take with her the items that were found in Shi Lingqiao's darkroom.

The emperor then ordered the imperial physicians to take it over for study.

Then the emperor learned that the Duke of Zhenguo had ruthlessly driven Huo Jiwen and his wife out of the Duke's mansion and had asked the clan head to remove Huo Jiwen from the clan.

The emperor not only did not object to this, but actually approved of it.

Nephew and fourth son are both beasts who can harm their own parents.

It's common knowledge that the younger sister was poisoned, so it's normal for Huo Jiwen and his wife to be exposed.

But the emperor didn't want the royal family to lose face by letting everyone know that his own son had murdered his father.

Therefore, the matter of the Fourth Prince and Consort Hui poisoning him was not revealed.

Instead, she had her secret guards use poison and spices concocted by Shi Ling to directly apply to Consort Hui and the Fourth Prince.

Soon, Consort Hui suddenly developed a high fever, which recurred for several days, and the imperial physicians were helpless and could not save her.

The poison she was given was the same kind that the prince was given.

The fourth prince was given a slow-acting poison, which would not cause him to die until one or two years later.

Clearly, the emperor wanted his own son to experience that feeling firsthand.

However, the Fourth Prince himself was unaware of this. He panicked when he heard that Huo Jiwen and Shi Lingqiao had been kicked out.

Then the emperor summoned him to the palace and severely reprimanded him for his affair with Shi Lingqiao, instructing him not to associate with Shi Lingqiao again, or he would be demoted to a commoner.

The fourth prince originally intended to help Huo Jiwen and Shi Lingqiao, but after being scolded, he dared not do so anymore.

If his aunt and uncle could be so ruthless as to remove Huo Jiwen from the Duke's mansion, then his own father would definitely be just as ruthless.

If he is demoted to a commoner, how can he compete for the throne?

Then Consort Hui suddenly died of a high fever, which startled the Fourth Prince again.

He roughly guessed that his mother's drugging of his father might have been discovered, and then she took the blame and exonerated him.

He also discovered that his father became even colder towards him after his mother's death.

The fourth prince breathed a sigh of relief, but only dared to complain in his heart. He dared not make any more moves and became obedient.

On the other side.

Huo Jiwen never expected that his father would actually do it. Not only did he throw him out of the Duke's mansion, but he also had his clan expelled from the family that very day.

Those who were removed from the list were ineligible to participate in the imperial examinations, military examinations, join the army, or serve as officials.

This means that he not only lost his position as the heir to the Duke's mansion, but also lost all future prospects.

After being kicked out of the Duke's mansion, the two had all their jewelry and jade pendants removed by the guards, so they had no money to stay at an inn.

Shi Lingqiao had no choice but to bring Huo Jiwen back to the Shi family.

The Shi family never expected the two to be so bold as to poison the Duchess.

At the same time, he became wary of the two, fearing that he might displease them and poison them as well.

However, since the business of Shi Family Pharmacy still depends on Shi Lingqiao, although they were wary of the two and resentful, they still politely let them stay.

A few days later, Huo Jiwen was still in a daze, unable to believe that his parents were really so heartless.

So he went to the Duke's mansion to ask to see his parents.

Neither Huo Xingchen nor Qingyou saw him, and they didn't even bother to make sarcastic remarks or scold him.

The more this happened, the more distressed and panicked Huo Jiwen became.

He actually hoped his mother would come out and ridicule him, instead of ignoring him as she was doing now.

Unable to see his parents or return home, the Shi family's attitude towards Huo Jiwen gradually became less polite.

Huo Jiwen went out twice, but when he encountered people he knew before, they either avoided him like the plague or directly mocked him, saying he deserved it.

As a result, Huo Jiwen no longer wanted to go out and began to enjoy drinking heavily.

Only in this way could he numb himself, as if he were still the son of a noble princess and the heir to the Duke's mansion.

Not long after, the Shi family's pharmacies and drugstores began to run into trouble one after another. They not only lost a lot of money, but the shops were also suppressed and forced to close down, leading to bankruptcy.

There's no need to guess who did it; who else could it be but the Duke's mansion?

But instead of sympathizing with the Shi family's plight, people were all cursing them.

The Shi family's pharmacy is indeed problematic. They secretly hired people to test medicines on Shi Lingqiao. In the past two years, no fewer than twenty people have died because of this.

Some people even live a life worse than death because they try various poisons.

Fortunately, because they were discovered, Master Qingfeng stepped in and cured the survivors of the drug trial.

The cooking of the Shi family and Shi Lingqiao crossed everyone's line, so they became like rats crossing the street, hated by everyone.

The Shi family ran into trouble; they lost all their money in compensation, and even their current residence was confiscated by the government.

The Shi family showed no mercy to Huo Jiwen and Shi Lingqiao, harboring only resentment and even pointing fingers at them, calling them jinxes.

Huo Jiwen had never been insulted like this by someone of such low status whom he had always looked down upon, and on impulse, he went to beat up the Shi family.

Instead, he was pinned to the ground and beaten by more than a dozen men from the Shi family.

Then the Shi family sold off their last assets and returned to their hometown with the whole family, but deliberately did not take Huo Jiwen and Shi Lingqiao with them.