Qi Rufeng certainly couldn't allow Xie Lingqin to insult Li Qingyu, but she had just compared him and Li Qingyu to a couple, which made him quite happy.

However, glancing to the side at Li Qingyu's dazed look as she gazed at the Crown Prince, she felt deeply hurt.

"Sister Qin, what you said is quite right. Miss Li and Qi Rufeng are a really good couple."

Yu Qingyi, not wanting to cause trouble, put on an ingratiating act and echoed Xie Lingqin's words.

Li Qingyu was a smart woman. Today, she had made a mistake. She knew that at this time, it was more important to defend her innocence than to find fault with Xie Lingqin.

"Miss Xie, please rest assured. I will definitely report to the Emperor about the incident that happened to you and Young Master Xie today, and I will find out the truth and give you an explanation. Farewell."

Li Qingyu stood proudly, maintaining her refined and elegant demeanor even now—a quality ingrained in her from childhood and ingrained in her very being. With a wave of her hand, the Thunder Guards immediately followed her, dispersing like a receding tide.

Yuwen Yao scooped Xie Lingqin up in his arms and, with a leap, headed straight for the General's Mansion.

Upon seeing Xie Lingqin return safely, Cheqi and Zihe's tense faces visibly relaxed.

"You get some rest. I need to take care of some things, just in case."

Just as Yuwen Yao was about to leave after putting Xie Lingqin down, Xie Lingqin grabbed his sleeve and whispered, "I slapped Yuwen An a few times, don't you feel bad about it?"

"It hurts my heart, but I'm even more afraid of you being in pain."

Xie Lingqin smiled, loosening her grip on his sleeve. "His leg..."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yao's thick eyelashes trembled slightly. He sat down on the edge of the bed, then tightly grasped Xie Lingqin's hand. His lips parted slightly, and his voice deepened, "He and I are twins. I was born normal and exceptionally gifted, while he was born with intellectual disabilities, though physically healthy. However, this is a scandal within the royal family. The Emperor dislikes twins, and he dislikes him even more. When he was five, he was playing and saw something he shouldn't have, resulting in him being injured and losing his leg. It was a terrible ordeal at the time, but his mind has since recovered completely..."

Xie Lingqin was startled. "They say that every cloud has a silver lining, but in his case, something is amiss."

Yuwen Yao nodded, his eyes calm and his voice low. "The Emperor once believed that he had killed Yuwen An when he was three years old, but he was secretly rescued by the Empress Dowager. Later, even when he knew that Yuwen An had regained his intelligence, the Emperor did not acknowledge him. The royal family did not recognize him, and there was no mention of him in the historical records. Over time, his temperament became sometimes eccentric and sometimes gentle. I also named him."

"The Emperor killed his own son, this matter..." Xie Lingqin thought for a moment, seeing the Emperor's gentle face concealing a vicious and suspicious heart, and then shook her head sarcastically, "This matter is not surprising."

"The Emperor later carried out several more executions, but my mother and I managed to stop them all. So, this is one of the reasons why I dislike him. What he wants is an obedient son."

"I understand." Xie Lingqin nodded. "So, your initial motivation for learning medicine was also for him, right? All these years of practicing medicine were also for him. That time you were injured while practicing medicine, it was also because of him..."

"Um."

Yuwen Yao nodded, "Fortunately, my good father stopped executing him after the Prince Xian discovered this a few years ago. He is truly pitiful."

It's very pitiful.

No wonder she was so dependent on him, yet so hostile towards him in her words.

"The Empress Dowager has always felt sorry for him. To prevent him from causing trouble, we have sent people to guard him for many years. You also heard about his only friend outside the city, which is probably Xu Yiran."

"So, all these years, you've known that Xu Yiran had secretly observed Yuwen An."

Xie Lingqin was very puzzled, "Xu Yiran wanted to kill you. Today, he was trying to be the mantis stalking the cicada, but I ruined his plans. You're not unaware of his hostility towards you. If that's the case, after all these years, I don't believe you didn't have a chance to kill him. Why..."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Yao suddenly smiled and looked at Xie Lingqin, "Before I fell in love with you, neither of us would have bothered to kill the other. But after I fell in love with you, his desire to kill me is just as strong as my desire to kill him."

Xie Lingqin suddenly felt a little confused. These two men...

She had a feeling that she had become the prey.

However, let's not dwell on such a distressing matter.

"Yuwen An shouldn't destroy the antidote so easily. He must be hiding it somewhere. Don't worry, go to sleep early."

Xie Lingqin sighed softly, looked in Yuwen Yao's direction, and then withdrew her gaze. She seemed thoughtful, and after a moment, she sat up from the couch and instructed Zihe to brew a pot of tea and bring it in.

"Miss, today's events were extremely dangerous."

Tridacna followed Zihe in, looking at her with great concern.

Xie Lingqin looked at the giant clam, her gaze shifting slightly. After a moment, she exhaled and asked calmly, "You know how to use Gu poison?"

Tridacna was startled, but did not refute it. Instead, she lowered her head and said, "Yes, Miss."

"You once placed poisonous insects on my bed?"

"……yes."

Tridacna did not refute, but Zihe looked at Tridacna with shock and disbelief.

She had always been wary of giant clams, but after the young lady told her to rest assured about them, she finally let her guard down. Little did she know that she had actually placed a Gu worm on the young lady's bed.

And she was completely unaware of it.

"However, your Gu worms weren't meant to be used against me, but against the Crown Prince, are you right?"

Xie Lingqin continued.

Tridacna's face paled slightly. She pursed her lips gently, but remained neither humble nor arrogant. "Yes, Miss."

"Are you one of Xu Yiran's people?"

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