Chapter 15 You betrayed me!
At that time, after seeing Li Xianyou's body, Li Mian was so emotional that he fainted.
When he woke up again, he was back in the Prime Minister's Mansion, and it was dark outside.
Li Xiaoci's eyes were red, and he was standing by the bed with a look of grief and anger on his face.
During the time when Li Mian was unconscious, he learned the whole story of Li Xianyou's death from the officials accompanying the imperial carriage.
"Who? Who killed Xian'er?" Li Mian grabbed his hand tightly and asked anxiously.
Li Xiaoci clenched his back teeth, his cheeks puffed out, and every word seemed to pop out from between his teeth, "Yes, it's Queen Chi!"
“…”
After listening to Li Xiaoci's resentful story, Li Mian was so angry that his beard began to tremble. He raised his hand and slammed the edge of the bed, "It's simply poisonous... cough cough..." He only cursed halfway when he started coughing violently.
Li Xiaoci patted his back for a long time before Li Mian came to his senses and calmed down a bit. However, his eyes were still cold and gloomy. "Since Queen Chi is unkind, don't blame us for being unjust!"
"Father, Queen Chi is so vicious and abominable. We must avenge Xian'er!"
"Of course. I just want to overthrow Queen Chi. The Crown Prince's attitude is crucial. I have to go to the palace immediately. The Crown Prince must know something about Xian'er's death."
"Okay, I'll go get the carriage ready."
Li Mian nodded, put on his clothes and got out of bed. When Li Xiaoci was ready, he got on the carriage and rushed to the palace.
And now, he was sitting in Mingde Hall, explaining to the prince why he was late.
Li Mian knew very well that the prince was definitely on their side.
Li Xianyou has been with the prince for so many years and knows his thoughts very well.
Although the crown prince is still young, it does not prevent him from being the legitimate Prince of Dayong and the only one qualified to inherit the throne.
With the support of the prince, dealing with Queen Chi is a piece of cake.
Sooner or later he would let Queen Chi know that there would be no good end to going against him!
Li Mian looked at Zhao Chun, his cloudy eyes filled with undisguised hatred. "Prince, I already know that Queen Chi murdered Xian'er. You're so anxious to summon me into the palace, is it because of this?"
Zhao Chun's eyes were dark, as if filled with sadness. After a pause, he stammered, "I am, this is a very important matter. I need to tell Prime Minister Li."
Seeing that he was so sad that he started to stutter, Li Mian was deeply moved. It turned out that the prince cared so much about Xian'er?
However, he had experienced many ups and downs, so he quickly controlled his emotions and said in a deep voice, "Please speak, Your Highness. I will do my best to share your worries."
Even if it meant killing the queen, he would support it wholeheartedly!
However, to his surprise, Zhao Chun avoided his sight and lowered his head.
Only then did Li Mian sense something was amiss. Rather than sadness, the prince seemed more like... fear? His lips trembled, and even his teeth chattered.
"I would like to honor my mother as the Empress Dowager of Heaven, and have her preside over my father's funeral and take charge of the government affairs... I ask Prime Minister Li to assist her wholeheartedly."
"What?" Li Mian jumped up from his seat in shock, his eyes widening. "Prince, do you know what you are saying?"
Zhao Chun suddenly raised his head, his tone extremely excited, "Of course I know!"
Li Mian was stunned. What had happened? Why would the Crown Prince suddenly turn to Queen Chi? This was impossible!
He couldn't accept it, "Your Highness, please forgive me for objecting!"
"The Empress is cruel and ruthless, and is definitely not a kind person. Xian'er gave her honest advice, but she had his eyes gouged out. How cruel! If she were to control the government, it would definitely bring disaster to the entire country! Do you want me to watch the foundation built by Rong Taizu be destroyed because of you?"
"Then don't look for me to be the emperor, go find someone else! Get out!" Zhao Chun stood up suddenly, grabbed the teacup and threw it on the ground.
There was a loud snap, and the room fell silent.
Li Mian was so angry that his face turned blue and his chest heaved.
Even the late emperor would not dare to be so angry with him. How could a young boy like him dare to yell at him? He really didn't know his place.
Do you know that without his support, you, Zhao Chun, can only be a puppet in the hands of Queen Chi!
Li Mian wanted to walk away, but he felt unwilling to do so.
No one expected that Zhao Chun would immediately change his attitude after Li Xianyou's death. What did Queen Chi do to him?
Li Mian took a deep breath and tried to suppress the anger in his heart. Just as he was about to speak, he heard footsteps outside the hall and a thin palace maid walked in.
"Your Highness, it's time to take your medicine."
When Zhao Chun heard this, his body trembled unnaturally.
Li Mian suddenly became suspicious. Is the prince really sick?
Looking at the palace maid, I saw that she was holding a mahogany tray with a green jade porcelain bowl on it, and the bowl contained dark brown potion.
Strangely, the palace maid's nails were short and deeply sunken into the flesh, with white spots all over the surface, making her look very ugly.
Shouldn't someone who is chosen to enter the palace to serve the prince have a perfect appearance?
But this thought only flashed through his mind. Li Mian frowned and asked in a deep voice, "Is the prince sick? What medicine is he taking?"
The maid placed the tray on the table beside Zhao Chun before turning and bowing. "Your Excellency, the Crown Prince has been having nightmares every night lately and can't fall asleep. The Imperial Physician said it's due to excessive fright, so he prescribed a tranquilizing medicine."
After hearing this, Li Mian couldn't help but turn around and look at Zhao Chun. No wonder the prince looked so frightened. Was he scared by Queen Chi?
Just because you are afraid of Queen Chi, you don’t dare to go against her?
What a hopeless person!
Li Mian was very disappointed. He had thought he could join forces with the prince to overthrow Queen Chi, but it turned out that she was a waste. It seemed that he had to find a way out on his own.
He snorted coldly, "Then please have a good rest, Your Highness. I will take my leave first." He flicked his long sleeves and walked out of the palace quickly.
However, what Li Mian didn't know was that just after he left, Zhao Chun seemed to have his bones pulled out, his body went limp, and he collapsed directly to the ground.
Crisp applause rang out in the silent Mingde Hall.
A man came out from behind the screen and said, "Yes, the prince did a great job."
Judging from her description, she was wearing a dark blue uniform and had a stern look on her face. She was obviously Queen Chi.
Behind her, there was another person. This person was half a head shorter than her, with a slightly round face and amber eyes that flickered with suspicion. It was Zhao Mingyue.
The palace maid carrying the medicine seemed to have anticipated the appearance of the two people and stood there without moving.
Strangely, when Zhao Chun saw these two people, he was like seeing a ghost, and his face turned as pale as paper.
She covered her mouth with both hands and said in a trembling voice, "I, I did everything you said, don't pull out my tongue!"
————
"Ah, mother, sister, why are you here?"
Time went back to a quarter of an hour ago. Zhao Chun panicked when he saw Chi Li and Zhao Mingyue suddenly appear at the door.
Chi Li looked at him coldly, "Why, you really don't want to see me? Yes, after all, in your eyes, I am the vicious stepmother who wants to harm you."
Zhao Chun's face turned pale instantly.
In the past, he relied on the emperor's favor to act arbitrarily and speak without restraint, never worrying about the consequences.
But now the emperor is dead, and Li Xianyou is also dead. No matter how stupid he is and how much he hates Queen Chi, he knows to control his temper in front of her.
She immediately said in a soft and flattering voice, "Mother, those words were taught to me by Li Xianyou. I was deceived by him. In fact, I respect you very much in my heart."
Anyway, Li Xianyou is already dead, and there is no evidence.
Chi Li raised her eyebrows. She didn't expect that Zhao Chun, at such a young age, was so skilled at shifting the blame.
She looked at him calmly and said coldly, "Lie."
Seeing Chi Lie was unmoved, Zhao Chun couldn't help but curse in his heart, but his face was full of anxiety, "Mother, I didn't! Everything I said is true!"
Chi Li glanced him up and down, then suddenly smiled and asked, "Prince, do you know what happened to those who deceived me in the past?"
Zhao Chun was stunned. "What, what's the outcome?"
Chi Qi said softly with a smile, "I've pulled out their tongues. From now on, they can no longer lie."
Zhao Chun looked at the smile on her lips and felt a chill run down his spine. He couldn't even speak clearly. "Pull out... Pull out your tongue..."
Chi Li put away her smile, looked at him and said, "Prince, since you said you didn't lie to me, then tell me, what is that thing in your hand? Isn't it the imperial edict deposing the empress?"
When he said the last sentence, his tone suddenly turned cold.
Zhao Chun was startled, his legs went weak and he almost fell to the ground.
How could she know that this was the decree to depose the empress? This is impossible! No, I must not let this decree fall into her hands!
He clenched his hand holding the imperial edict and quickly hid it behind his back.
However, someone was faster than him. He flashed in front of him, grabbed the edict tightly, and pulled it out with force.
As soon as Zhao Chun saw the man's face, he immediately understood why Chi Qi came here at this time, and he became furious.
"Ling Qiong! It's you, you betrayed me!"
Ling Qiong's eyes flickered slightly, and she whispered, "Your Highness, I'm sorry." She exerted force with her hand and snatched the imperial edict away.
Zhao Chun slumped to the ground, his heart furious. He immediately started cursing, "Lingqiong, you bitch, you ungrateful traitor! You actually passed on information to the Queen behind my back! I think you don't want to live anymore!"
Lingqiong's expression froze, and her hand holding the imperial edict began to tremble.
Zhao Chun was pleased with himself. This bitch was indeed afraid of him. He stretched out his hand towards her and said, "Help me up and give me the imperial edict!"
Unexpectedly, Ling Qiong's expression changed and her eyes suddenly darkened. Her hands were shaking not because of fear, but because of anger.
Because of the uncontrollable hatred.
Zhao Chun was stunned by her gaze and subconsciously retracted his outstretched hand. When he realized what was happening, he felt even more annoyed. Why should he be afraid of a servant?
But he was too scared to give orders to Lingqiong anymore. Instead, he got up from the ground in shame.
Ling Qiong lowered her eyes to hide the murderous intent surging in them.
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