Chapter 194 The Drug of Feigned Death

When Xiao Xuanyou returned and learned of this, he was both amused and exasperated.

"If Zhi'er doesn't like Aunt Qingxuan's rigid teachings, I will simply prevent her from entering your Qingfang Palace in the future."

Jiang Zhi was breathless from his kisses as he held her in his arms. She grabbed his clothes with both hands and snorted, "No, why should I avoid her? I just hate her."

Xiao Xuanyou rarely saw her express her emotions so openly. Her half-coquettish and half-coquettish appearance made his heart feel like it was soaking in honey water, and every pore on his body opened up.

"How did she offend you? Should I go and call her over to apologize?"

Although she is the Empress Dowager's person and should be respected, Zhi'er should not be bullied.

Jiang Zhi shook her head. "What's the use of apologizing? I have a blood feud with her."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Xuanyou asked.

"When I was in the brothel, the Empress sent her to summon me to the palace."

What did she do to you?

Jiang Zhi deliberately exaggerated a bit, "She dislikes me, saying that I'm shameless and should have drowned myself to preserve my innocence long ago, how could I still be alive now."

"Nonsense!" Xiao Xuanyou knew that Aunt Qingxuan was indeed stern and conservative, but that was due to the etiquette and teachings she had received since childhood, and he respected her very much.

I never expected her to say something like that to Jiang Zhi.

"After I got back, I got angrier and angrier, so I took the abortion pills I had prepared beforehand and drank them..."

She did indeed make up her mind not to have the child in her womb only after meeting the Empress, so she wasn't exactly lying to him.

Xiao Xuanyou frowned, his impression of Aunt Qingxuan immediately soured.

"Don't worry, Zhi'er, I will send her to a manor in the suburbs and she will never be in your way again."

Jiang Zhi stopped him, saying, "I slapped her, and that's the end of it. Otherwise, if she goes to the Empress to complain, it will only make things difficult for you."

She has a great use for Qingxuan, how could she leave so easily?

Xiao Xuanyou almost thought he had misheard.

When had Jiang Zhi ever thought of him so carefully?

"Zhi'er, you are so good, how should I treat you?" Xiao Xuanyou couldn't help but sigh.

Jiang Zhi smiled and said, "Your Highness, there is no need to worry. If you want to treat me well, there is a very simple way right now."

Xiao Xuanyou asked in confusion, "What method?"

Could it be that she's trying to take this opportunity to ask to leave?

Unexpectedly, Jiang Zhi simply spread her hands out to him and said, "Give me some silver notes to spend, Your Highness."

Xiao Xuanyou had never heard of such a request before.

"Silver notes?"

“Yes, His Highness the Crown Prince won’t even do this?” Jiang Zhi looked at him in shock. “The Crown Princess also said she could help me buy the things I want from outside, but I thought it wouldn’t be right to ask her to pay for them.”

Xiao Xuanyou couldn't help but chuckle, "What do you want? Just tell the servants to go out and buy it. Why bother the Crown Princess?"

"A woman's little things, does Your Highness even need to question this?" Jiang Zhi's face immediately hardened. "Fine, I have no freedom here anyway, do as you say."

Xiao Xuanyou both loved and hated her.

How did he end up looking like a stingy, heartless man who wouldn't even give money?

He couldn't help but pinch her cheek. "I'm really afraid of you. But I don't have it with me today. I'll send someone to bring it to you tomorrow."

"Then thank you very much, Your Highness," Jiang Zhi said insincerely.

Sure enough, the next day, Xiao Xuanyou sent someone to deliver a thick stack of silver notes.

The two maids' expressions changed upon seeing so many silver notes.

This is the first time I've seen someone slap Aunt Qingxuan and not only escape punishment, but also receive such a large reward.

This made them think more highly of Jiang Zhi.

It seems that this lady holds a high position in the Crown Prince's heart.

After receiving the silver notes, Jiang Zhi went straight to Chengguang Palace to find Crown Princess Li Jinyan.

When Li Jinyan saw the silver note she handed over, she asked, "What do you mean by this?"

Jiang Zhi said to her, "I would like to ask the Crown Princess to bring something in for me."

“You know I can only bring you some ordinary things. You can keep this silver note for yourself,” Li Jinyan pushed the silver note back. “Just ask if you need anything.”

Jiang Zhi came here to send away the two maids, and Lan Ye only dared to wait outside the palace and would not go in.

She asked Li Jinyan to speak privately, and when they went to a more secluded inner room, she lowered her voice and said, "I would like to ask the Crown Princess to prepare a fake death medicine for me."

"What?" Li Jinyan asked in surprise, quickly realizing she had raised her voice. Suppressing her astonishment, she asked in a low voice, "What do you want this for?"

"Your Highness, you know I didn't enter the Eastern Palace voluntarily. I want to leave here," Jiang Zhi sighed.

Li Jinyan's expression turned serious and cold. "I will not help you with this matter. I will pretend I did not hear anything today. Please leave."

"Please let me finish what I have to say, Your Highness." Jiang Zhi had no other choice at the moment; Li Jinyan was her only lifeline.

"Do you know why the Crown Prince has been so busy these past few days?" she asked.

Li Jinyan's face stiffened.

She knew, of course.

Shen Ci'an led the Imperial Guards to turn the Prince Su's mansion upside down, Lu Yuan interrogated the assassins captured that day day and night, and Xie Qi led his men to search all over the capital, but still found nothing about Jiang Zhi's whereabouts.

They all realized that someone else had kidnapped Jiang Zhi, and they turned their attention to Xiao Xuanyou.

Although Xiao Xuanyou was the crown prince, he was somewhat powerless in the face of the joint questioning by several powerful ministers.

In addition, there's Xiao Yunheng—the real culprit who killed his sister.

She had already learned from the Crown Prince that the person who poisoned her at the palace banquet that day was Xiao Yunheng.

"So what? This is His Highness the Crown Prince's business, I won't interfere," she said coldly.

Jiang Zhi then asked, "Do you know that before your investiture ceremony, Xiao Yunheng came to see Shen Ci'an?"

Li Jinyan unconsciously curled her fingers. "What does the Crown Prince of Xiang want with Attendant Shen?"

"He knew what His Highness the Crown Prince thought of me and wanted to persuade Shen Ci'an to cooperate with him to bring down the Crown Prince."

Did he agree?

Jiang Zhi chuckled, "Of course I didn't agree, but I didn't refuse either. I just said I needed to think about it."

"But Crown Princess, if Shen Ci'an confirms that I am in the Eastern Palace, do you think he will be forced to side with Xiao Yunheng and join forces with him to deal with the Crown Prince?"

"And Lu Yuan and Xie Qi, you should know their abilities."

Li Jinyan's heart sank suddenly, and a trace of unease flashed in her eyes.

Xiao Yunheng was already greatly favored by the Emperor. Although he was not a prince, he was of royal blood and received all the treatment he was entitled to.

If Shen Ci'an and the other two cooperate with Xiao Yunheng, Xiao Xuanyou's already precarious situation will become even more difficult.