29 Difficult to decide
"You're trying to sow discord?" His words couldn't be entirely trusted, nor could they be completely disbelieved. Since he knew I was with Yelü Hong, either his espionage was exceptionally effective, or he had ulterior motives. I couldn't rule out the possibility that Yelü Hong, while trying to get close to me, wouldn't give up on profiting from me. After all, he was a Khitan prince, a fact I understood, so naturally I wouldn't argue with him so much, as long as he was honest with me. "I gave him three cities; Fei Wu's worth is far more than that to me," Juexin said casually, fiddling with the prayer beads in his hand.
"Is it about your social standing, or about your royal family?"
"Feiwu is so clever. Of course, Feiwu's medical skills are invaluable to us, but to me, Feiwu is as elegant as a deity, which makes me have no choice but to capture you."
"Hmm? What method?" I looked at him with disdain, trying to see a lie in his eyes.
"Of course, I'll cast a wide net. Yelü Hong is simple-minded and all brawn and no brains. He's prone to wavering in his stance at crucial moments. Feiwu, wait for me. I'm going to expose his true colors in front of everyone, and then you'll obediently follow me."
"And then?" I stared at him intently. "To be your male concubine? Your Highness, you are the Emperor's most favored son, how could he allow you to keep a male concubine? And do you really think Fei Wu would share a husband with so many women?"
"Of course I can't let Fei Wu suffer. Fei Wu is too precious. My father has agreed that I can remain unmarried for life if my partner is Fei Wu."
I sneered inwardly. I don't know if you're too easily deceived, or if you think I'm too easily deceived. After obtaining all my medical skills, I'll only have one fate: either assassinated by the Emperor, or branded as a seductress and burned alive in public. With hundreds of thousands of Imperial Guards, no matter how popular I am in the martial arts world, I won't stand a chance against the Emperor's decree. Why would he agree to your request? If that old fox were so kind, he wouldn't be in his current position. Yelü Hong may not be particularly shrewd, but he's definitely not stupid. If he were so easily fooled, the Khitans would have no confidence in invading the Central Plains. A bunch of fools are playing their own games, thinking they have the other side completely under their control.
Rubbing my temples, I've never liked politics, and I don't want to get involved in this power struggle, because no matter which side wins, my fate won't be any better than it is today. It's either death or imprisonment. Even if they still pamper me, they won't be able to do whatever I want anymore. It's giving me a headache.
“I’ll wait until you expose Yelü Hong’s true colors before I say anything more,” I said slowly, looking at Juexin. “But until then, I still believe in Yelü Hong. And you’d better not hurt him, or I’ll start with you. Whether you’re the Nineteenth Prince or the Eighth Prince, it doesn’t matter.” I smiled wickedly, reaching out to stroke Juexin’s cheek. “How’s your Eighth Uncle doing lately?”
"Thanks to you, Eighth Prince Uncle has been neglecting state affairs lately, spending his days hiding in his mansion, either desperately seeking medical treatment or indulging in a large group of male concubines, reveling in song and dance day and night. Without his domineering uncle, Father Emperor is quite troubled." Juexin looked at me with a smile. "Feiwu is indeed a master of poisons. I'd really like to see him sometime."
"We'll see," I said, yawning. "I'm tired, so I won't see you off."
Watching Juexin leave, I immediately wrote a letter to Lianxi, who was far away in the borderlands. I included a sachet with it, wishing him safety. Whether my premonition was true or not, I hoped Juexin wouldn't target the innocent Lianxi again. I didn't understand what could be used against someone like Lianxi, so my expectations were just wishful thinking, not real, not real at all.
"You're back." I opened the door and saw Yelü Hong, who looked travel-worn, with several people following behind him.
"How are you doing?" He smiled, but seemed very tired.
"Okay, it's just that Ruoyao and the others are too busy and don't have time to play with me."
"I'm back, so I'll play with you."
"Hehe." I looked at him and locked the door. "I had a very important guest a few days ago, guess who it was?" I looked at him with a smile.
"Prince Juexin, I've heard about it." Sure enough, those servants were his spies. But why bother? What earth-shattering, awe-inspiring act could I possibly perform? Or would I rather stand against you?
"So guess what he told me?" I continued with a smile.
"I did take three cities from him, but I had no intention of using you," Yelü Hong shrugged. "That kid's just playing games; that's his business. My feelings for you are genuine."
“I know. I also know that the child is not mentally stable. But, promise me one thing, Hong.”
"What is it?"
"Don't hurt my friends. Because they are very important to me, friends are like brothers. You understand that, right? Just like you wouldn't want me to hurt your older brother either."
“I understand. What are you thinking? How could I hurt your friends? Why don’t you make a list and write down their names so I don’t make a mistake and accidentally hurt someone?”
"No need, my friends don't fight. You know who I am, no matter how many you have." I skipped around. "Is Jiangnan fun?"
"You're not angry anymore?" Yelü Hong looked at me with some surprise.
"angry?"
"I didn't tell you about Juexin's schemes and plots."
"What a joke! How could I fall for his trick? Besides, you're not involved like me, right? So it's better for me to know less than more." I shook my head, frowned, and looked at him.
"Jiangnan is not bad, but it's been quite chaotic lately. In particular, the Demonic Sect is causing all sorts of trouble, and then the Ice Spirit Sect of Tianshan issued an arrest warrant for the Central Plains, the Tang Clan of Sichuan also issued an arrest warrant, and then there's the Lan family of Yunnan."
"Hmm." I looked at him, knowing that this matter must be related to me.
"A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a person named Binghong."
"Hmm." Then she looked at him.
"Does Feiwu know him?"
"I met him once, a long time ago. I heard he was eighty years old back then. I don't know if he's still alive or not. Why is he wanted?"
"He poisoned the wives of the leaders of various sects, so everyone wanted to arrest him."
"Okay. Go on."
"Has Fei Wu ever heard of the Nine Red Covers?"
I shook my head. "And then?"
"It appears to be a very strong poison. The person poisoned does not show any symptoms."
"What kind of poison is that?"
"They just do some outrageous things."
"For example?"
"I don't know my own gender."
"..." I looked into his eyes; he wasn't lying.
"..." He looked into my eyes, as if asking a question.
"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter, hahaha, I'm dying of laughter!" I laughed so hard I rolled on the floor, my stomach churning. "How could there be such a strange poison? What's he doing? Providing entertainment for the world? Does he have some deep-seated hatred for these factions? Probably not, right? It's hilarious." I laughed until tears streamed down my face.
"I don't know, maybe he's someone who likes to fool around."
It's not that I like to fool around, but what would you think if I told you that many of these family members are his descendants, and that he has an inseparable and close relationship with them? Why did Binghong do this? Perhaps it was to lure out the child named Mo Fei. Having learned that Mo Fei wasn't dead, he couldn't wait any longer. And why is Yelü Hong so eager to find the antidote? Is it to win over the various factions, even though these three aren't prestigious sects and their strength isn't sufficient? But if they could monopolize the production of poisons in the Central Plains and then utilize it, then the Khitan's rule over the Central Plains would be just around the corner. The most potent poison is the one for which no one can provide an antidote, isn't it? Were you planning to use me from the beginning, or just using me as an afterthought?
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