Chapter 312 Maybe I can try
Sandalwood incense was wafting in the Liuxia Palace. Behind the bright yellow gauze curtain, a woman was lying quietly on a rosewood carved couch.
She was covered with a thin brocade quilt, her black hair spread out on the pillow like a waterfall, her face was as white as jade, and her eyebrows were flat.
For more than ten years, Xie Zhen has been using South China Sea shark oil to care for her skin, and he also ordered the female doctor to apply ginseng dew on her face every day.
Even after sleeping for fifteen years, there are no obvious signs of aging on her face, and she still has the shadow of the most famous beauty in Nanzhao back then.
Manluo took a closer look and saw that Queen Jiang Qingyue had a straight nose, soft lips, and even the curve of her lips when she was asleep was exactly the same as Xiyan. No wonder the Xie Lan brothers were sure that Xiyan was their sister when they first saw her.
She couldn't help but tug at the corner of Xiyan's clothes: "Oh my God...you and her are simply cast in the same mold!"
Xiyan looked at the beauty on the couch, and suddenly a pang of sadness welled up in her heart.
She knew that this was the mother who had suffered a great disaster just to give birth to her.
Xie Zhen walked forward, sat beside the couch, and gently held his wife's hand:
"Yue'er, I have found our daughter. You must wake up quickly..."
Tears welled up in Xiyan's eyes. She took a step forward, gently brushing her mother's cool hand with her fingertips. She leaned over to the pillow, her voice trembling like a butterfly's wings:
"Mother, I am Xiyan, and also your Tian'er. I am back."
The only sound in the hall was the popping of candlelight. Jiang Jingyue's eyes were still lightly closed, and her long eyelashes cast a quiet shadow under her eyes, without any movement.
Xiyan could no longer hold back her tears and burst into tears in her mother's arms, her tears soaking the moon-white brocade.
Xie Zhen looked at the scene of his wife and daughter reuniting, his throat choked with sobs and he was unable to speak.
Xie Lan and Xie Zhan both knelt down in front of the couch and whispered:
"Mother..."
Queen Mother Wu was behind them, leaning on her cane and sighing.
When Xiyan calmed down a little, she suddenly raised her eyes, her tear-stained face showing determination:
"Father, was the Queen Mother poisoned?"
Xie Zhen's eyes flashed with surprise: "How did you know?"
"The person who poisoned him is the Tianqi national defense general, Xiao Beicheng?"
As soon as these words came out, Xie Zhan stood up:
"Is it him?"
Although Xie Lan didn't say anything, he clenched his fists.
Xie Zhen looked at his wife's closed eyes for a long time before speaking in a hoarse voice:
"That's right. Back then, your mother fell into a coma after giving birth to you. The Imperial Hospital couldn't find the cause and assumed it was postpartum weakness, coupled with the heartbreak she felt upon learning you were abandoned in the Black Water Lake. However, eight years ago, Xiao Bei, following Helian Cong's orders, attacked Nan Zhao..."
A hint of anger ignited in Xie Zhen's eyes:
"Eight years ago, Xiao Beicheng personally led an army of 200,000 to the border of Nanzhao. Before the battle began, I suddenly received a secret letter. Xiao Beicheng invited me to a private meeting at Tingyu Pavilion in Qizhou, claiming to discuss an important matter. I was about to decline, but Xiao Beicheng mentioned at the end of the letter that your mother's illness was caused by poisoning and that he must attend the appointment if she wanted the antidote. That's why I met him incognito."
He breathed a sigh of relief:
"It was raining heavily that day, and Xiao Beicheng sat alone in the pavilion, playing the zither. Upon seeing me arrive, he spoke frankly. It turned out that fifteen years ago, he had taken advantage of my southern tour to sneak into the palace and inject a deadly poison into your mother's pregnancy-preserving medicine. The poison was colorless and odorless, dissolving upon exposure to heat, and ordinary doctors were unable to detect it."
"He wants you to help him rebel?" Xie Lan suddenly spoke.
"Not bad." Xie Zhen sneered:
"He wants me to feign deliberation with him on the battlefield and hand over the land of Qizhou to him, so he can station the elite troops of Southern Zhao there. You know that the war eight years ago was caused by Qizhou. After all, no one wants to give up this crucial piece of land.
He said he had long been dissatisfied with the Tianqi Emperor, Helian Cong, and wanted to gather his own troops and wait for an opportunity to rebel. When he started the rebellion, I would send a hundred thousand troops to support him. After the rebellion was successful, I would cede three states as a token of gratitude. Most importantly, I would hand over the antidote to your mother's poison..."
Xie Zhan was listening intently and interrupted to ask, "Did you agree?"
Xie Zhen sighed:
"Yes. I knew it was a ruthless pact, but for the sake of your mother, I had no choice but to compromise. Therefore, the subsequent fighting on the battlefield was all bluffing, a show put on for the two countries to see. But the result was unexpected. The Tianqi Emperor Helian Cong was no ordinary man. He had already discovered that Xiao Beicheng was plotting rebellion, so he secretly sent Chu Shang to kill Xiao Beicheng with a poisoned arrow before the two armies fought. The matter of the antidote was left unresolved..."
Xi Yan smiled coldly, with a hint of solemnity on her face:
"It wasn't Xiao Beicheng who died, but he used a scapegoat to escape. He attempted to use his wife Su Xianrou's past relationship with Helian Cong to prevent the Xiao army from being transferred back to the capital. He then took advantage of Xiao Nanyan's eagerness to avenge his father and recruited court officials in the capital to plot a rebellion. He would then reap the benefits and watch Helian Cong's own son overthrow his father's empire."
Xie Zhen also had many spies in Tianqi, and he had a general idea of the changes in the situation in Tianqi. After hearing Xiyan's words, he sighed, his face full of loneliness:
"He was the one who poisoned your mother. I heard he died in the fire at Feiyun Temple. Perhaps no one in this world can detoxify your mother."
Before he finished speaking, a clear voice suddenly rang out from behind everyone:
"That may not be the case. Maybe I can give it a try?"
Everyone was startled and looked in the direction of the voice, only to see that the person who spoke was Manluo.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
