Daoyuan's sincere expression didn't seem like he was lying.

Gu Jiangli was now somewhat puzzled.

Could there really be some monks with ill intentions in the temple?

As she was thinking this, she glanced over and saw Dao Cheng with his head down, blinking repeatedly.

The hands hidden under the sleeves were still trembling slightly.

His guilty conscience was practically written all over his face.

Gu Jiangli basically understood, and instead of making things difficult for Yuan, she said:

“I know that monks do not lie, so I naturally believe Master Daoyuan’s words. What about Master Daocheng? Has he found any suspicious people in the temple?”

Dao Cheng suddenly looked up, and his trembling pupils clearly showed that his heart was about to jump out of his chest.

"Of course...of course not, there are naturally no outsiders in the temple."

He is lying.

Having been in the entertainment industry for so many years, Gu Jiangli couldn't possibly hide such a simplistic performance from her.

In other words, Dao Cheng hid someone in the temple without Dao Yuan's knowledge, and this person happened to be someone who wanted to kill His Majesty and her.

What is Daoyuan's stance?

Was he unaware of the person's murderous intent towards His Majesty, or was he in cahoots with that person, plotting together the attack?

Testing it isn't difficult either.

"Since both of you have said so, then I will believe you."

Gu Jiangli, with her pregnant belly, walked to the table, picked up a bowl of white porridge that had been delivered that morning, and handed it to Daocheng.

“Master Daocheng, this morning when I was eating porridge, I felt that there was an odd smell, but His Majesty tasted it and said there was none. Why don’t you try it, Master Daocheng, and tell me whether my pregnancy has caused a change in taste, or if there is something wrong with this porridge?”

Dao Cheng reached out and tremblingly took the bowl.

But he hesitated for a long time and didn't put a spoonful into his mouth.

Gu Jiangli's eyes turned cold.

He knew there was something wrong with the porridge!

The emperor watched for a long time before finally losing his temper and kicking Daocheng to the ground.

"You scoundrel, murdering the reigning emperor is a capital offense punishable by death, extending to the extermination of nine generations of your family! Do you want all the monks in the temple to be buried with you?!"

Dao Cheng let out a cry, got up from the ground and knelt down, fine beads of cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! What...what murder? How could this humble monk murder the Emperor!"

Dao Cheng was so frightened that his legs trembled, and Dao Yuan, who was standing to the side, hurriedly stepped forward to plead for him.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, is there some misunderstanding? Although Daocheng is impulsive, he is devoted to Buddhism and has absolutely no intention of harming anyone."

Gu Jiangli replied coldly:

“Master Daoyuan, there’s no need to speak up for him. The porridge contained poison. If it weren’t for the coincidence, before His Majesty and I had even eaten the porridge, Physician Sun would have discovered the poison. I’m afraid what’s in front of you now would be our corpses.”

Daoyuan was shocked: "What?! Poison?"

Dao Cheng also raised his head in surprise, staring incredulously at the only remaining bowl of white porridge on the table.

The world is full of deadly poisons; even a tiny bit, like a fingernail, is enough to kill a person.

How could there be poison in this Buddhist sanctuary?

Gu Jiangli continued, "If Dao Cheng didn't know there was something wrong with the porridge from the beginning, why did he hesitate for so long and dare not eat it when I just let him taste it?"

"With such a harmful intention, which violates Buddhist principles, would Master Daoyuan possibly plead for his forgiveness?"

Daoyuan glanced nervously at Daocheng kneeling on the ground, then at the still-angry emperor, and finally shook his head with a long sigh:

"What a tragedy, what a tragedy!"

Seeing that Daoyuan had nothing to say, Daocheng began to actively defend himself:

"Your Majesty, spare my life! This humble monk truly did not know it was poison!"

"She...she clearly said...it was croton powder! Eating it would only cause frequent trips to the toilet, it wouldn't kill anyone!"

"Your Majesty, this humble monk was deceived and manipulated. This humble monk truly had no intention of murdering you or the Empress!"

He kowtowed three times on the ground.

Who is this 'she' you're talking about?

Dao Cheng was so frightened that he dared not hide anything and hurriedly said:

"It was a woman named Du Wenxiu. She came to the temple to offer incense half a month ago and then stayed there..."

Daoyuan suddenly spoke up: "That woman? Didn't she go down the mountain two days ago?"

“She…she didn’t leave. She cried to me, saying that her family had fallen on hard times and she had nowhere to go. She begged me to let her stay temporarily. I…I couldn’t bear it, so I let her stay in the woodshed in the backyard.”

Daoyuan sighed again: "Daocheng, you can't judge people well. I told you long ago that that woman is not pure of heart and is very cunning. She came to this temple not because she is sincere in her faith, but because she harbors evil intentions. But you didn't listen to my good advice and associated with her too much. You are only harming yourself and others."

Dao Cheng knew he was in the wrong and dared not argue.

Gu Jiangli frowned. Du Xiuwen, she had never heard of this person's name before.

But the emperor's expression was strange, and he said in a low voice:

"Where's the woodshed? Lead the way."

————

On the way to the woodshed, Gu Jiangli whispered to the emperor:

"Your Majesty, do you know this Du Xiuwen?"

The emperor said in a low voice, "I'm not sure, we'll have to see for ourselves."

Gu Jiangli didn't ask any more questions.

The group arrived at the woodshed and waited at the door, with Dao Cheng going in first.

Gu Jiangli, the emperor, and a group of guards stood outside the door listening to their conversation inside.

The woman spoke first: "You've arrived. I just saw Physician Sun rushing into their room. It seems the plan has succeeded."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!