The snow was still falling in the capital, and Xie Liwei gave himself another day off.

"Yuwen Wuji has taken his medicine." Xie Liwei received the news from the palace; they seemed to have been waiting for this news.

"Pills?" Song Yaozhu looked up and asked him.

"right."

After testing the waters for nearly half a year, Yuwen Wuji finally took the medicine.

"The more people gain, the more they fear losing. Not wanting to lose those things, they will do more outrageous things. Knowing the dangers of elixirs, they still unwisely hold onto a sliver of hope for them."

Xie Liwei lay on the chaise lounge and laughed, "I think it's best if I don't go out these next few days. I'm worried that he might make me test the medicine again."

Song Yaozhu was furious when she thought about it. Xie Liwei was her man, and the man who bullied her deserved to die!

Come to think of it, I haven't really caused him any trouble, and I've let him live too comfortably.

And the same goes for the Dowager Consort. Ever since I fell out with her, she hasn't contacted me again. I guess that incident really angered her.

On the other hand, King Xuan had been keeping an eye on Dongfang Shi. He received news that they had indeed gone out and met with some people, but the other party was too vigilant, and their people were able to find out nothing before the other party escaped.

"With such heavy snow, where do you want to go?" Song Yaozhu looked at the heavy snow outside the window and felt that this kind of snow was truly extraordinary. It seemed that this kind of snow could bury everything in the world.

"I'm not going anywhere. Let someone cook a pot of food tonight." Xie Liwei lazily turned over on the couch, feeling that this life was extremely comfortable.

With his father-in-law helping to take care of the two children, he and his wife could enjoy some time alone. The heavy snow seemed to have stopped time; they no longer needed to think about life-or-death matters or anything else.

The rare relaxation made him completely at ease, so much so that when he heard the news that "Dongfang Shi" had died while he was eating hot pot with his daughter that evening, he didn't even have time to react.

Seeing that Xie Liwei's expression was not right, Song Yaozhu waved her hand, signaling Fang Rao to leave first. The servants in the room also responded and withdrew.

The wet nurse took both children away, and Xie Liwei finally came to his senses, saying, "Dongfang Shi is dead."

"What!" Song Yaozhu was also extremely surprised; this news was too unexpected.

Dongfang Shi was poisoned in Dachen, stayed there to recover, and now he has died there. If the neighboring country takes this to heart, the two countries might very well go to war.

"Have you figured out the cause of Dongfang Shi's death?"

With the heavy snow these past two days, Dongfang Shi's frail body could easily catch a cold and die. If he dies of illness on his own, it won't have anything to do with the Great Chen Dynasty, right?

"I don't know yet. I've sent Fang Rao out to keep an eye on things."

Xie Lu also put down his chopsticks with considerable worry. He had been quite happy, but now he couldn't eat a single bite. With things on his mind, his stomach felt full, and he couldn't eat anything at all.

That night, many people in the capital city were sleepless.

Upon receiving the news, King Xuan immediately went to the palace. This matter was extremely serious; it could easily escalate into war between the two countries.

If a war really breaks out, we'll be worrying about food supplies, weapons, conscription, and all sorts of other things until our hair turns white.

Who doesn't want a peaceful life? Who wants war?

Yuwen Wuji originally intended to favor a concubine, but upon receiving the news, he lost all interest.

"Didn't you have someone keeping an eye on things? How could such a mistake happen!" Yuwen Wuji said angrily.

King Xuan thought to himself, "It's good that I have someone watching me, but I can't do anything about this guy who wants to die!"

"Your Majesty, I never expected him to die so suddenly..."

Yuwen Wuji wiped the sweat from his brow, took a sip of tea, and tried to calm his racing heart.

"No, Dongfang Shi absolutely cannot die in Dachen." His mind was a bit muddled, and it was really difficult for him to come up with a solution quickly.

“Your Majesty, it has already happened…” Prince Xuan sighed. He had already sent the imperial physician and the coroner to the post station to examine the body. Everyone in Donglin was under control. Apart from the people who had been monitoring Dongfang Shi, no one else would know that he was dead.

"Besides, this matter can't be kept secret." There are so many living people in the post station; they all know that Dongfang Shi is dead. Are we going to kill them all?

It's really unnecessary to have the people of Dachen buried with one person from Donglin.

"Then tell me, how should I explain this to Donglin?"

This was the Regent of Donglin. His death in Dachen was not something that could be resolved simply by sending silver. Moreover, Dachen purchased a considerable amount of iron ore from Donglin every year. Without Donglin's iron, Dachen would be in trouble again because of the iron problem.

"This..." King Xuan was also at a loss. He immediately turned to Li Wei and said, "Go and summon the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies!"

Li Wei glanced at the Emperor and immediately sent someone to do so.

Yuwen Wuji drank a few more sips of tea. He felt very hot and restless for some reason.

King Xuan rubbed his hands, wanting to say something, when suddenly his eyes widened as he looked at Yuwen Wuji and exclaimed, "Brother! You're bleeding from your nose!"

Yuwen Wuji then reached out and touched his philtrum, feeling a damp heat on his hand. Upon closer inspection, he saw that his hand was covered in a glaring scarlet color.

"Summon Imperial Physician!" King Xuan roared immediately, as if Yuwen Wuji was about to die at any moment.

Yuwen Wuji had experienced nosebleeds before, but he was startled by the grand display of Xuan Wang's actions and couldn't help but feel afraid. Could it be that this time his nosebleed was different from the previous ones?

The imperial physician arrived quickly, took Yuwen Wuji's pulse, and then inserted several acupuncture needles.

"His Majesty is just overwhelmed with anger; he will be fine if he stays calm."

King Xuan wiped his sweat with a handkerchief. "That's good, that's good. I was just making a fuss. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Yuwen Wuji waved his hand, "I know you care about me."

King Xuan breathed a sigh of relief. He had just made a big fuss, fearing that Yuwen Wuji would think he was trying to scare him to death.

After a flurry of activity, the imperial physicians withdrew, and the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies arrived despite the wind and snow. He had also heard the news of Dongfang Shi's death on his way here, and quickly sent someone to notify the imperial physicians who had treated Dongfang Shi.

The two men, dressed in frost, entered the main hall and bowed.

"Dismiss the formalities, my ministers. Tell me quickly, how should we deal with the Eastern Lin Kingdom?"

The imperial physician pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, the medicine I used for the prince was very mild. In theory, the prince should be able to live for another three to five years without any problem."

The implication is that the regent of the Eastern Lin Kingdom likely did not die of natural causes.