Chapter 178 Husband and Wife United
Yuanbao and Yelan accepted the order and immediately led a group of guards to search the entire main courtyard from top to bottom, even prying up the stone bricks and knocking them three times to ensure that there was no more hidden danger.
Shen Qingci slowly turned around and looked at the man on the bed, whose eyes were still closed, as if he were really unconscious.
In front of outsiders, she could accompany him and make the whole act seem flawless.
but……
She hoped that in this Regent's Palace, in the bedroom that belonged only to the two of them, he... could no longer pretend.
After all, this is his home.
After Yuanbao and Yelan had thoroughly cleaned the main courtyard and laid down the net again, Shen Qingci gave the order:
"From this moment on, Your Highness will be personally cared for by me, Your Highness. No one other than me is allowed to approach the main courtyard's sleeping quarters without permission!"
"This princess will stay here without leaving for a moment. Until... the prince wakes up!"
"Yes!" Yuanbao and Yelan bowed and accepted the order. Then, they led all the guards and quietly retreated, leaving this small space entirely to the two of them.
Shen Qingci walked to the bedside and slowly sat down.
She reached out and gently grasped Chu Jichen's still icy hand, her fingertips lightly squeezing his palm.
“Your Highness,” she lowered her head, lowering her voice to a whisper, as if in a lover’s ear, “the courtyard has been cleaned up and is absolutely safe.”
"You... can 'wake up' now."
On the bed, the person's long eyelashes trembled almost imperceptibly.
A moment later, he indeed slowly opened his deep, abyss-like phoenix eyes.
"Qingqing..." His voice was hoarse, carrying a hint of weakness from recovering from a serious illness.
Seeing his appearance, Shen Qingci's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally settled down completely.
She let out a long sigh of relief, her voice filled with a mixture of fear and relief that she herself was unaware of: "The prince was really... scared me to death in the palace just now."
"Thank goodness... thank goodness it was just a fake, thank goodness the prince is alright."
However, looking at his face, which was still completely devoid of color, Shen Qingci couldn't help but furrow her brows tightly.
"But your complexion..."
Looking at the undisguised worry in her eyes, Chu Jichen slowly curled a pale smile onto his lips.
"That old fox Liu Wenyuan is meticulous and cunning. Since he has already decided to kill, how could he not make thorough preparations?"
He coughed lightly twice. "He immediately summoned the imperial physicians to treat me. If I had only pretended to be poisoned, how could I... have fooled him?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci's eyes widened in astonishment: "So... the poisoning is true?!"
"Yes." Chu Jichen nodded, his voice carrying a hint of barely perceptible fatigue. "The poisoning is real, and it's also true that Liu Wenyuan ordered someone to poison him."
“But…” A calculating glint flashed in his eyes, “I intercepted the information a step ahead. I knew what kind of drug they wanted to use and where they planned to strike.”
"So I asked Physician Li to prepare a poison for me overnight... with similar symptoms and a pulse that was almost indistinguishable from the real thing. It looked extremely dangerous, but... it was not fatal."
"The poison that Liu Wenyuan administered and the poison that I received will only show obvious differences in the subsequent symptoms."
“Fortunately…” He looked at her, his eyes filled with lingering fear and relief, “Fortunately, Qingqing, you acted decisively, not only poisoning Liu Wenyuan immediately, but also bringing me… out of that den of dragons and tigers.”
"Otherwise, if we stay any longer, they might see through our disguise."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci quickly asked, "Then... does Physician Li himself have an antidote for the poison he concocted?"
"have."
"That's good! That's good!" Shen Qingci finally felt completely relieved.
Chu Jichen looked at her like that, but a hint of interest appeared in his eyes.
"Then... Qingqing, what about you?" he asked with a half-smile. "The poison you gave Liu Wenyuan, was it really... the same kind that I was poisoned with?"
Shen Qingci's lips slowly curled up, her smile filled with wicked pleasure.
"Of course...not entirely."
“That was something I specifically asked Physician Li for.” A chilling glint flashed in her eyes. “Physician Li said that in addition to the poison you were given, there was another poison added. It was a miraculous formula that he had obtained by chance many years ago, which he then modified himself. Its properties… are extremely vicious.”
"I simply put the poison into the teacup and ink powder that were found on those two officials."
"Then, taking the opportunity... he poured it all into Liu Wenyuan."
Shen Qingci smiled, but her eyes were icy cold: "At the time, I didn't know that the prince's poisoning was fake, and I was already furious. I only thought that if there was really no cure, then... I could only exchange poison for life, and use Liu Wenyuan's life to exchange for the prince's antidote."
“But now it seems,” she looked at Chu Jichen, her eyes crinkling, “that since Your Highness doesn’t need Liu Wenyuan’s antidote, then… that’s perfect.”
"Now, the one who should be anxious, the one who should be begging us, is... Liu Wenyuan."
Shen Qingci's gaze turned icy cold in an instant.
“Once Liu Wenyuan is sent back to the Prime Minister’s residence,” her voice was filled with a cold satisfaction, “neither the doctors in his household nor the famous physicians he hired at great expense will be able to diagnose what kind of strange poison he has been poisoned with.”
"Even if... even if he is given the antidote to the poison he gave you, and there is still no improvement... those around him will naturally be more anxious than us."
Looking at her composed and confident demeanor, Chu Jichen's eyes were filled with undisguised smiles and doting affection.
Shen Qingci seemed to remember something and continued, "By the way, just now in the palace, I informed Emperor Yongming about Liu Wenyuan's secret recruitment of soldiers and the fact that he had broken up his troops into smaller units and secretly infiltrated the capital."
Upon hearing this, Chu Jichen raised his eyebrows slightly.
Shen Qingci continued, a calculating glint in his eyes: "Emperor Yongming is by nature suspicious and most wary of ministers who hold military power. Upon hearing of this matter, he will certainly send people to investigate secretly."
"This...is our opportunity."
“We can take this opportunity to manipulate things a little, fabricate some evidence, and make Emperor Yongming believe that this matter is true.”
“At that time,” a cruel yet excited smile slowly curved her lips, “he will then develop a complete suspicion and fear of Liu Wenyuan.”
"At that time, we will only need to sit here and quietly... watch them fall apart and fight like dogs."
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