Upon hearing Song Xizhi's words, Pei Yunyi's heart skipped a beat.
His expression turned serious as he looked at Song Xizhi.
"The Empress Dowager? You mean there's something wrong with the Empress Dowager?"
Song Xizhi nodded: "I can't guarantee whether the assassination attempt was related to the Empress Dowager, but the eunuchs in the Empress Dowager's palace did lead me on a detour."
"Not only that, they also really wanted to get involved with me. He Jingyan wanted to pretend to be a loving couple with me in front of everyone, while the Empress Dowager repeatedly wanted to recognize me as her goddaughter."
"I really don't understand what they want to do."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yunyi's eyes darkened: "Whatever they want to do, their target is definitely you. You can't risk your life anymore."
Song Xizhi also understood this principle.
But if she were to leave He Jingyan's side now, firstly, she would not have a legitimate reason, and secondly, it would make He Jingyan begin to suspect her.
Third, we will never know what their purpose is.
So Song Xizhi changed the subject: "Do you know why I've come here today?"
Upon hearing Song Xizhi's words, Pei Yunyi's brows furrowed even more, but he still patiently followed Song Xizhi's lead and inquired:
"So what do you want to do?"
"There's something wrong with the back garden that the Empress Dowager led me to."
"In the garden, I not only encountered two inexplicable assassination attempts, but even Prince Ning's men and my own guards were inexplicably drugged."
"The surroundings were clearly open and there was no opportunity to administer the drug, but I don't know what the drug was or how it was administered."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yunyi immediately understood what Song Xizhi wanted to do.
He put one hand on Song Xizhi's waist and used his light-footed skills to carry her away: "Then let's reenact what happened that day."
Pei Yunyi led her into the palace with practiced ease, and the two landed in the garden.
The back garden, shrouded in night, was completely silent, devoid of light and sound—exactly the same scene as the day of the assassination attempt.
Pei Yunyi lit a tinderbox and asked Song Xizhi first, "When did you start feeling dizzy?"
Song Xizhi pondered for a moment and walked to the scene of the incident: "Actually, I had a vague feeling about it when I left Huaqing Palace, but I didn't pay attention to it at the time."
"When we arrived at the garden and the assassins began their attack, I felt dizzy and also noticed that neither Siqin nor the people around Prince Ning could stand firm."
Pei Yunyi frowned as he thought about it: "In other words, someone administered sleeping pills as soon as we left the palace, and after the assassins appeared, someone gradually increased the dosage of the sleeping pills."
"That person has always been by your side; he is either someone from Prince Ning's faction or someone from the Empress Dowager's faction."
Song Xizhi pondered carefully: "I don't think it could be someone from Prince Ning's faction, because Prince Ning almost lost his life during that assassination attempt."
"If that's the case, then it can only be the Empress Dowager's people, namely the eunuch who led me on a detour."
Then Pei Yunyi continued, "Before and after the assassin appeared, did he show any unusual behavior?"
Song Xizhi closed his eyes tightly, trying hard to recall all the details of that time.
"It was right here that we saw the assassin."
"The eunuch in front screamed first and blocked Prince Ning's way, and Prince Ning immediately blocked my way as well."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yunyi frowned, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping himself.
But in the end, he did not interrupt Song Xizhi and let her continue.
"Prince Ning said not to be afraid, that we were still in the palace and neither we nor they had any weapons. But the next moment, I watched helplessly as the assassin brandished his long sword and slashed down at the leading eunuch."
Pei Yunyi's lips twitched suddenly.
Song Xi recalled the events bit by bit, as if he had truly returned to that day: "The little eunuch screamed because he was blocking the Prince of Ning's way, so the Prince of Ning's guards quickly snatched the lantern from his hand and used the lantern's wooden handle to block the assassin's sword."
"In that instant, the wooden handle was split in two, and the red candle spilled out like blood."
After saying this, Song Xizhi paused for a moment.
Pei Yunyi also became serious at this moment: "Red Candle?"
"Do you think this sleeping potion was hidden in the red candle? As the candle burned, it gradually made the people around it unconscious. The actions of the Prince Ning's guards caused the red candle to tip over, which accelerated the effect of the sleeping potion."
Song Xizhi nodded with a deep look in his eyes: "Next is the battle between the two sides. Prince Ning wanted to go out and call for reinforcements, but his legs were completely weak. So everything can only be decided by that red candle."
After Song Xizhi finished speaking, he took the tinderbox from Pei Yunyi and carefully searched the ground.
"This imperial garden has a road paved with bluestone bricks. Since the Huaqing Palace has been built for a long time and is located in the suburbs with abundant vegetation, the red candles may seep into the ground."
Pei Yunyi's slender, bony fingers gently caressed the dark green stone bricks, pausing slightly when he touched a slightly loose tile.
"I've got it."
He used his internal force to remove the stone brick, and Song Xizhi then discovered the solidified liquid from the red candle on the edge of the brick.
She took off the hairpin from her hair, gently scooped out some candle wax, held it to her nose and fanned it lightly, then felt a chill run down her spine.
"There's something wrong with the candle! There's something wrong with the candle!"
"This candle contains a large amount of sleeping potion, which will cause people to become weak and incapacitated after inhaling it, rendering the guards unable to fight..."
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