Chapter 182 The Powerful Minister Returns to His Youth 36.

In his past life, Long Ran was known for his outrageous and unpredictable words. His words caused a stir throughout the entire cave, even surprising Yu Shiqing, who was clearly not expecting Long Ran to utter such a statement.

But... did Ye Zangxing conspire with Princess Yong to poison Prince Yong?

This may seem reasonable at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it is truly a fantasy.

Putting aside the character of Ye Zangxing and Princess Yong, just consider what Long Ran said in his previous life: after Prince Yong arrived in Cenzhou, his health deteriorated day by day. This means that the poisoning began after Prince Yong took up his fief. At that time, Ye Zangxing was already the "winner," sitting firmly in the court, with the reputation of a benevolent ruler. Why would he risk doing such a vicious thing to the "loser"?

Poisoning one's own brother, once discovered, could cause turmoil in the court and among the people, with the disadvantages far outweighing the advantages.

Moreover, Yu Shiqing actually knew a little about the matter concerning Prince Yong's health...

"How do you know when and where?" To confirm, Yu Shiqing did not immediately refute, but asked.

In his past life, Long Ran felt that he was guilty, so he smiled even wider: "You want to say that I have no evidence? Let me tell you, although nothing has happened yet, I have evidence and witnesses!"

"Ye Boyang has been drinking that 'spirit-tonifying soup' for the past two years, hasn't he? Zhao Rong and Ye Zangxing often act like they're doing him a favor, brewing the medicine for him without asking anyone else to do it, right? Go check the dregs! There's definitely aconite in it! An excessive amount of aconite! Doctor Rong said it himself, and I've also checked the pharmacopoeia; it's a poison!"

His gaze was like a thorn, piercing Yu Shiqing before turning to Prince Yong: "They want to poison you, Ye Boyang! After arriving in Cenzhou, one time I woke up and went to the kitchen to find something to eat, and I bumped into Zhao Rong there secretly instructing that you should have a larger dose of medicine!"

"If you don't believe me, you can ask your reborn daughter. In your previous life, after you arrived in Cenzhou, wasn't your health deteriorating day by day? If I hadn't posted notices and searched far and wide for famous doctors, and found Doctor Rong who was traveling in Cenzhou to treat your health, you wouldn't have survived to the Battle of Qingyang Lake!"

Yu Shiqing wanted to laugh more and more as he listened, and was about to speak when Prince Yong suddenly said, "So, I should thank you, thank that Doctor Rong?"

"Of course! Now get on your feet and loosen your grip..."

In his previous life, Long Ran thought that his solid evidence had finally persuaded Prince Yong, and he immediately started to tremble. However, before he could finish speaking, Prince Yong pushed aside the guards who were helping him, rushed over in one step, and punched him in the face.

"Ah—! You're insane, Ye Boyang!"

"Your Highness, please calm your anger; your health is paramount!"

The guards were startled. While carefully trying to stop him, they thought to themselves that this fool was even more formidable than a villain. He could make the gentle scholar slap him and the refined prince throw a punch. Even the most good-tempered person would want to kick him if they met him.

"Your Highness shouldn't get angry and harm your health over this person," Yu Shiqing also tried to stop him.

This was Ye Zangxing's fourth brother after all. He had already sent a message to Ye Zangxing that Bie Yongwang was fine when he was rescued, but in the blink of an eye he was so angry that he vomited blood. When Ye Zangxing arrived, he would have a hard time explaining it to him.

“This man is stubborn and refuses to listen to reason. He is simply convinced that what he knows is the truth,” Yu Shiqing said. “But the truth is not for him to decide. The real fool who is being deceived and used by villains and is even counting money for them is himself. He just refuses to accept it.”

"Nonsense... What evidence do you have!" In his previous life, Long Ran's mouth was slapped crooked, but his neck was still held high.

Before meeting Long Ran from his past life, even though he had talked with Afu and learned a lot from Princess Yong, Yu Shiqing still had some questions. But now, there was nothing he didn't understand.

“I have no evidence, only a story,” Yu Shiqing said.

In his past life, Long Ran sneered: "Haha, a story? A deceptive trick! Stop spreading rumors here..."

Yu Shiqing seemed not to hear him and continued, "The story is about a person from the future who, for some unknown reason, had his soul come to an ancient dynasty and possess a prince."

"As a person from a later era, he had studied the history of this dynasty and greatly admired and loved this prince. He believed that the prince should be the next emperor, not the sixth prince whom he disliked. But at first, perhaps he did not want to, or perhaps he was unable to, make any changes. So he could only sleep and wake up at times to watch the things the prince experienced inside the prince's body."

"In his eyes, all he could see was the prince going against his own brother, the prince's health deteriorating, his dejected departure for his fiefdom in Cenzhou, and the princess brewing poison as medicine, her brow furrowed with worry..."

"But little did he know that the prince had already vaguely sensed his presence and had begun to be wary of him, even going so far as to completely give up the throne and distance himself from his younger brother."

"I don't know either. The prince's health was not good to begin with. He was the first prince born in the palace after the chaos caused by the demon queen in the tenth year of Tianxi. At that time, the emperor had been clearing up the truth for a long time, but it still seemed to have left some harm, causing the prince to be born prematurely, with a weak constitution and damage to his heart and brain. The 'Spirit-Nourishing Soup' is a secret recipe of the palace, passed down from the medical sage. It is a divine prescription that combines poisons into medicine and is the most effective way to prolong life."

"However, no matter how good the remedy or how excellent the treatment, it can't withstand an internal 'hole'..."

The voice of Long Ran from his previous life gradually faded away at some point.

He seemed to vaguely realize something, and Yu Shiqing's next sentence directly pierced through the fog.

"You guided Long Ran and brought the Prince's body here, so you must know something, right?" Yu Shiqing didn't allow the former Long Ran to evade the question, lowering his eyes to look directly into his eyes. "The Prince's body is connected to his soul. As long as the body is damaged and becomes weaker, the Prince's soul will also become weak. In this way, the Long Ran inside the Prince's body can come out for a long time, and you will also have the opportunity to take advantage of the weakness and enter the Prince's body, right?"

Long Ran's gaze froze in his previous life.

"Entered the Prince's body?" Zhao Wei, standing to the side, was astonished and quickly stepped in front of the Prince to stop him. "What... what kind of monster is this?!"

"You're the ghost! Your whole family are ghosts! I was just reborn and woke up, but for some reason I was squeezed out of Ye Boyang's body and ended up in this body. I'll have to go back sooner or later!" Long Ran from the previous life shouted upon hearing this.

"You actually dared to try and possess the prince, you're courting death!" the guard said coldly, pressing down on Long Ran's head from his previous life.

“Whether it’s drinking that medicinal soup or bloodletting, and calling it a formation ritual, it’s all really just to weaken the prince’s body, right?” Yu Shiqing said. “But whether this will allow him to return is something you can only guess at, and you don’t really know.”

"It's definitely possible! It's definitely possible!" Long Ran from his previous life seemed to have great faith.

Yu Shiqing didn't waste any more words on this matter and continued, "You know that the Prince is in poor health, so you will stay out for longer. Then you should also know that you are the 'traitor' inside, right?"

"Wh-what?"

"The prince was born weak and relied on the 'Spirit-Nourishing Soup' to recuperate. Later, he gained an extra soul, meaning he had two souls in one body. No matter how powerful the remedy, it couldn't make up for such a deficiency. Once the prince passed his teens and twenties, he was no longer at the peak of his yang energy. His headaches became more and more frequent, and his body gradually weakened. You never thought it was because of you..."

"No, impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Long Ran's eyes widened suddenly. "I saw it with my own eyes, that was poison, Doctor Rong..."

"Doctor Rong? A man who poisoned my children, I'd rather die than trust him!" Prince Yong roared.

In his previous life, Long Ran was taken aback, seemingly unaware of the concept of poisoning one's children.

Yu Shiqing said at the right moment: "The Empress Dowager's rebellion has already been foreseen by someone. There is only one such person in the world, how can there be a second? Didn't Doctor Rong tell you? He noticed that the little princess was not right and directly poisoned her."

"Impossible!" Long Ran from his previous life retorted without hesitation.

“Nothing is impossible,” Yu Shiqing said, his gaze hardening. “In your previous life, you had only a superficial understanding of many things. After a few glances, you believed you were the only one who knew the truth. After arriving in Cenzhou, you were unaware that you were the one who caused the prince’s health to deteriorate, and you became suspicious and paranoid.”

"When you saw that the princess was adjusting her medication dosage according to the doctor's orders, you became suspicious of her, stripped her of her authority, and neglected her for several months."

"You don't trust even one imperial physician, and insist on seeking out famous doctors. As a result, you found the wicked empress and her rebellious party. You are so easily convinced that whatever Doctor Rong says is true. You no longer drink the 'Spirit-Nourishing Soup' and continue to take Doctor Rong's medicine on your own. No matter who tries to persuade you, you only receive indifference and demotion."

"You feel your health is getting better and better, but for some reason, the real Prince Yong doesn't appear as often. You may know what's going on, or you may not. In any case, you don't care anymore. You've been completely deceived and manipulated by Doctor Rong and the treacherous Empress and her cronies behind him."

"You want revenge, you want to rebel."

"The young prince tried to stop it, kneeling day and night, but you imprisoned him on the grounds of filial impiety. The princess and the young princess also seemed to have discovered something, so you imprisoned her as well, and took the opportunity to poison her, driving her insane..."

"I didn't drug her, that woman was just being unreasonable! I just kept her at home. You can't mess with a friend's wife. I treat Ye Boyang like a brother, I wouldn't even touch her, so how could I harm her!" Long Ran from the previous life angrily retorted.

“Afu saw it with his own eyes: you had someone take medicine and feed it to the princess…”

"That's what Dr. Rong said, Zhao Rong has a cold, I..." Long Ran paused halfway through his sentence. Dr. Rong, how come this is also Dr. Rong? His heart suddenly started beating very fast.

Could it be... could it be that he really...? No, it's impossible!

Even if Doctor Rong lied to him, Mr. Liang wouldn't... The two of them were at odds; although they were both members of the Liang faction, they secretly fought each other to the death. That was why he felt comfortable using them—the art of checks and balances in imperial politics...

In this life, he is inside Mr. Liang's body. He knows that Mr. Liang cannot deceive him!

"you……"

“It all started because of you,” Yu Shiqing interrupted him. “Your plan to amass military power and plot a rebellion was accidentally discovered by officials in Cenzhou and reported to the court. Xuan Shu initially didn’t believe it and was even selecting a special envoy to investigate first. However, you suddenly launched a large-scale attack and declared war on the court.”

"Whose terrible idea is this, from some good doctor or good gentleman?"

“What they wanted was never for Prince Yong, Prince Xuan Shu, or Prince Ding to ascend the throne, but rather to see you all weakened by internal strife, so they could reap the benefits, both to avenge the current emperor and to put their grandson, who came from who-knows-where, on the throne.”

"What they want is revenge against Emperor Tianxi, their own interests, not loyalty to you," Yu Shiqing said, each word icy and piercing. "You are just a knife in their hands, a dog in their eyes. Stop dreaming and take a good look at what you have done!"

"You keep saying you're doing this for the Prince, but because of you he's weakened and dying, burdened with infamy. His beloved wife was poisoned and went mad, and she and her young daughter jumped into a well to their deaths. His son was beheaded, his subordinates lost their families, and countless civilians suffered because of the war..."

“Long Ran, you are wrong,” Yu Shiqing’s voice was light and chilling, as if it came from hell, or as if it came from the heavens, “even being torn apart by five horses, or cut into a thousand pieces, would not be enough to atone for his sins!”

In his previous life, Long Ran stared blankly at Yu Shiqing, his body trembling involuntarily.

Inside the body of the Prince of Yong, in the illusory lake, Long Ran, who had not yet experienced a lifetime, clutched his head tightly, curled up on his knees, and let out a bewildered and painful cry. He could not believe that he had done or would do such things.

The cave fell silent for a moment.

After a moment, Yu Shiqing spoke again: "Although I have guessed a lot, there is still one thing I don't understand. You don't seem to be afraid of death, and you were very confident just now that returning to the body of the Prince of Souls was a sure thing. What is the reason for this?"

Upon hearing this, Long Ran's bloodshot eyes snapped back from their stiffness, trembled, and his lips trembled as he was about to speak. Just then, the middle-aged Taoist priest who had also been captured but seemed to have been forgotten suddenly looked up, opened his mouth, and spat out a poisoned arrow.

Having witnessed Mr. Rong's incident once before, the surrounding guards were already on guard and immediately stepped in to stop him.

Unexpectedly, this was just a feint. The middle-aged Taoist priest raised his hand and fired a second arrow at the same time, but instead of hitting Long Ran, he shot at a nearby rock.

Those around him were confused, but Yu Shiqing suddenly realized something and his expression changed immediately: "Oh no! Let's go! Get out of here right now!"

Before he finished speaking, a commotion was heard, and several figures flashed into the cave entrance, the leader of whom was none other than Ye Zangxing.

"Danzhi, Fourth Brother, I heard..."

"Xuan Shu, run!"

Yu Shiqing shouted, and the moment he turned his head, the earth suddenly shook, as if something had exploded in the mountains. Countless rocks crashed and rolled down inside the cave. Everyone was terrified and ran frantically out.

The guards rushed away with the dragon from his previous life, but unexpectedly, a huge rock in the air smashed into them, causing them to bleed profusely from the head. Almost at the same time, the Prince of Yong also suddenly staggered and fainted.

The middle-aged Taoist priest was startled at the sight, then burst into laughter: "The soul returns after death, it really is true! Sir, you sacrificed yourself to carry out such a great plan, truly righteous! You are truly a divine being!"

After laughing, he coughed up black blood, having bitten open the poison sac, and died.

"Protect the prince!"

"Run!"

"careful!"

The cave was perched on a cliff, the path was narrow and the rocks were crumbling, and screams and shouts rose one after another.

Amidst the landslide and earthquake, Yu Shiqing only had time to rush to Ye Zangxing's side and shield him from the scattering rocks.

“Danzhi…”

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder and back. A tremendous force struck him, causing Yu Shiqing to lose his balance. Everything went black before his eyes, and his last sight was of the vast, misty clouds below the cliff and the bottomless ravine.

The odds are against us.

Yu Shiqing thought.

Fortunately, at the moment he fell, he pushed Ye Zangxing away.