Chapter 182 The walls have ears
Shen Qingci gave a graceful bow to the Prime Minister's wife as she approached, her face bearing a perfectly timed, gentle, and warm smile.
"Greetings, Madam Prime Minister." She greeted her softly. "Has Madam made up her mind? Is she willing... to agree to the small condition I proposed yesterday?"
Looking at her nonchalant demeanor, the Prime Minister's wife felt a surge of anger rising in her chest!
She gripped the silk handkerchief tightly in her hand, forcing out a sentence through gritted teeth: "The Regent's Consort... this is going too far!"
"This is going too far?" Shen Qingci laughed upon hearing this. Her laughter was clear and melodious, yet it carried a chilling coldness. "I, the Princess Consort, merely asked Liu Ruolan to apologize for the mistakes she made. Is this what you call... going too far?"
“Then may I ask you, Madam,” her voice suddenly turned cold, “when Liu Ruolan plotted to harm the child in my womb, did she ever think of going too far? When she pushed me into the icy lake, intending to kill me, did she ever think of going too far?”
The Prime Minister's wife was speechless after hearing her words, and her well-maintained face turned a deep purplish-red!
She glared at Shen Qingci with deep resentment, said nothing more, and with a flick of her sleeve, strode quickly toward the Taiji Hall.
Shen Qingci watched her fleeing figure and raised her eyebrows slightly.
She leisurely boarded the carriage that had already been granted permission to be parked on the palace road.
As soon as the carriage curtain was lowered, she whispered into the air, "Yuanbao."
"princess!"
"This princess consort would like to hear what Emperor Yongming and the Prime Minister's wife have to say." A calculating glint flashed in her eyes. "Do you... have a way?"
Upon hearing this, Yuanbao's baby face instantly broke into a smug smile: "Your Highness is really... giving me a hard time. But thankfully," he patted his chest, "I am the all-powerful Yuanbao!"
After saying that, he led Shen Qingci down from the other side of the carriage.
After many twists and turns, the two entered a palace that had long been abandoned and unattended.
Yuanbao pushed open a dusty, hidden door, and a bottomless secret passage appeared before them.
After walking in the darkness for an unknown amount of time, Emperor Yongming's familiar voice could be faintly heard ahead.
Emperor Yongming's voice was filled with irritation and impatience: "...What the Regent's Consort said is not wrong. That day, I saw with my own eyes that the teacup and ink powder were found on the body of your Liu family's trusted ministers."
"She poured that cup of tea into Liu Wenyuan's hand, and Liu Wenyuan immediately showed the same symptoms as the Regent. Logically speaking, the poison they were both ingested should... be the same kind."
"Your Prime Minister... the antidote he has isn't working?"
The Prime Minister's wife's voice rang out immediately, filled with anxiety and grievance: "Your Majesty! As soon as I got back, I immediately fed the antidote to my husband! But... but my husband is still... unconscious!"
"I believe... that slut Shen Qingci must have secretly pulled some tricks again!"
"Oh?" Emperor Yongming's voice carried a hint of deeper meaning. "So, the poison on the Regent was indeed... administered by Prime Minister Liu?"
"..." The Prime Minister's wife clearly did not expect that Emperor Yongming would turn around and trick her at such a time!
She panicked for a moment, but reacted quickly, immediately kneeling down and sobbing, "Your Majesty, please see the truth! The Prime Minister... everything the Prime Minister did was for Your Majesty!"
"That Chu Jichen is a wolf in sheep's clothing, daring to imprison His Majesty! The Prime Minister... he was so worried about His Majesty's safety that he had no other choice but to... he came up with this desperate plan! It was all to save His Majesty from this predicament!"
"Is that so?" Emperor Yongming scoffed, his voice filled with undisguised disbelief.
The Prime Minister's wife seemed oblivious to what she was saying and continued to sob, "Your Majesty! I went to the Regent's Palace today and offered to exchange the antidote for the antidote with Shen Qingci, but she flatly refused! She even... even made such absurd and humiliating demands!"
"In my humble opinion, her confidence and fearlessness must mean that she already has a way to cure Chu Jichen's poison! She must even have an antidote for the poison in Master's body!"
"I understand." Emperor Yongming's voice was filled with exhaustion. "Shen Qingci has found a reclusive master with extraordinary medical skills. Just now, she came to me to request permission to take Chu Jichen away from the capital to seek medical treatment."
Upon hearing this, the Prime Minister's wife indeed became anxious!
"Your Majesty! You...you absolutely cannot let them go!"
She shrieked, "If Chu Jichen is truly cured of the poison and wakes up, but my master... remains unconscious! In that case, who in the court will be able to stand against him?! Your Majesty... you will truly be in danger!"
Emperor Yongming remained silent for a long time before slowly speaking: "I know about this matter. You may leave now. I... will consider it carefully."
After dismissing the Prime Minister's wife, Shen Qingci was about to signal Yuanbao to take her away when she suddenly heard a loud crashing and smashing sound coming from inside the hall!
Immediately following was Emperor Yongming's laughter, filled with madness and mockery!
"Heh heh... Hahaha! Do you all think I'm a fool?!"
"In this imperial court, there really isn't a single one who's easy to deal with! Even the women in the inner quarters are all ruthless when it comes to scheming!"
"Madam Prime Minister, Madam Prime Minister, you probably... don't know yet? I... have already found out!"
"I have discovered that your good husband, Liu Wenyuan, dared to secretly recruit soldiers while I was under house arrest by Chu Jichen! He even broke up a large number of troops into smaller units and quietly infiltrated the capital!"
"Even just days before his accident, those troops were still very active in the city!"
Emperor Yongming's voice was filled with a madness and rage born of betrayal:
"He thinks he can... seize my throne?"
"dream!"
He kicked over the gold incense burner beside him, sending incense ash flying and leaving a messy stain on his bright yellow dragon robe.
"I finally... finally managed to sit on this throne!" His eyes were bloodshot as he paced back and forth in the hall like a trapped beast, his voice filled with endless obsession and madness. "Anyone! No matter who it is! Anyone who dares to covet my throne, anyone who wants to pull me off this dragon throne, is... my mortal enemy!"
He stopped, panting heavily, a complex and indescribable emotion flashing in his eyes.
"Chu Jichen... Chu Jichen is a cripple!" he muttered to himself, as if trying to convince himself, or perhaps venting his frustration. "No matter how powerful he is, he's still a cripple! He can't sit on this dragon throne! At most... at most he can only be a regent!"
“But at least,” his voice suddenly rose, filled with hysteria, “his surname is Chu! He carries the blood of the Chu royal family!”
"But what about Liu Wenyuan? He's an outsider! A mere subject! How dare he... how dare he covet the Chu family's empire?"
"I will absolutely not allow it!" Emperor Yongming whirled around, slamming his fist into the dragon pillar beside him, roaring, "I will absolutely not allow it!"
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