I have no idea what my father is worried about.

"Forget it." Jing Li was disappointed with his son who only knew how to eat. "I'll figure it out myself."

.

Inside the room, Qi Xuan sat down on the chair uncomfortably.

As the ruler of a country, he should always take the seat of honor wherever he went, but his former teacher had no intention of giving him that honor. Qin Zhao sat down at the main seat, and Ah Qi brought them two cups of tea before leaving the room.

The atmosphere is a bit heavy.

Qi Xuan touched the teacup, smiled bitterly, and began to make small talk: "Your son... is very cute."

"Thank you." Qin Zhao drank his tea calmly.

Qi Xuan: “…”

The atmosphere became even stranger.

Qi Xuan just wanted to cover his face.

Isn't it said that the Regent has become much gentler now that he has a husband and children? Why is he still so fierce?

He is really bad at communicating with this person, and has always been like this!

The little emperor hesitated for a while. After a while, Qin Zhao put down his teacup and said, "If you don't have anything to say, please go back."

"No, no, no, yes, I have something to say!" Qi Xuan was afraid of being kicked out, so he hurriedly said, "I came here to tell you something very important!"

Qin Zhao raised his eyebrows slightly.

In reality, Qin Zhao had always been quite nice to Qi Xuan. Although he was strict, he always stood by him. Perhaps it was because students naturally revere their teachers that Qi Xuan had been afraid of this man since childhood. Even after not seeing him for many years, the fear etched into his bones remained unchanged.

He swallowed, hardly daring to look the other person in the eye, and whispered, "That day in the temple, I didn't tell the whole truth..."

"I know you were poisoned."

Qin Zhao's eyes darkened.

"I... I only found out about it later. Believe me, I will never harm you, let alone poison you!" Qi Xuan said anxiously.

Qin Zhao closed his eyes and tried to keep his voice steady: "Tell me, what's going on?"

"Six years ago, you headed south to prepare for your retirement. Not long after leaving the capital, I discovered that my mother was secretly plotting to send troops to assassinate you." Qi Xuan said, "I rushed to find you after receiving the news and rescued you from the melee, but... I discovered that you were poisoned."

"You were unconscious, had no memories, and didn't recognize anyone. I didn't dare bring you back to the capital like that, so I had someone fake your death and secretly hid you near Jiangling, and found a few people to take care of you."

"But one day, you injured them during your illness and ran away."

"My men chased after you, but they only found traces of you falling off the cliff."

Qin Zhao frowned slightly and asked, "Why didn't you tell me the truth that day?"

Qi Xuan was silent.

Qin Zhao's tone became more serious: "Since the poisoning has nothing to do with you, why didn't you tell me directly that day?"

Qi Xuan shuddered, his voice trembling: "Poisoning...it's not unrelated to me."

Qin Zhao was startled.

“After returning to the capital, I had someone investigate the matter thoroughly, and later… traces of Shen Huan Powder were found in the incense you usually use.”

Incense.

As soon as these two words came out, Qin Zhao understood instantly.

The poisoner didn't just inject him with a large amount of Shen Huan Powder all at once; someone placed it in incense and let him inhale it daily. Day after day, year after year, the accumulation of many years eventually led to the poison taking effect.

What a deliberate plan.

Qin Zhao took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "Have you found out who poisoned me?"

"We've found out," Qi Xuan said. "A servant in your house admitted to poisoning after being tortured. He said he did it... on the orders of the Emperor."

With a crisp sound, the teacup fell to the ground and broke into pieces, spilling tea everywhere.