Chapter 192: Arsenic in the Mouth, Doubts Abound
Cheng Qi glanced at Zhao Xiang indifferently, then turned around and started practicing calligraphy again.
This time, the handwriting was no longer childish and stiff, but rather as vigorous as a knife, which was totally inconsistent with his image in the outside world.
"Cheng Qi, don't play dumb."
Although Zhao Xiang looked a little calmer than when he was in Luzhou City, he was still a little impatient in his bones.
He stepped forward and snatched Cheng Qi's pen. The servant frowned and was about to go over, but was stopped by the expressionless Liu Que.
"Don't think that I will obey you just because you saved me. I've had enough!"
Zhao Xiang's eyes met Cheng Qi's gaze, and his fingers tightened, but he still did not throw the wolf hair brush in his hand away.
"They've already started, what are you still asking me to wait for? As long as I stand out, the Crown Prince and the Princess will surely fall!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Qi did not rush to speak. Instead, he looked Zhao Xiang up and down, then sneered.
"Just you? Or Liu Que alone? Where are the evidence? Where are the witnesses? If you leave the Cheng family's gate, you'll be hacked into two pieces of rotten meat before you can even walk three blocks."
When the Zhao family fell, the Crown Prince and the Princess' men chased and killed them. When Cheng Qi found them, Zhao Xiang was in such a mess... Tsk tsk tsk, Cheng Qi had to hold back his laughter for a long time.
Zhao Xiang paused and said, "Then we should do nothing? Don't forget that it was Liu Que who sent you the letter! Liu Que is mine!"
"If the title deed is thoroughly investigated, the Crown Prince will be held responsible. However, if the Princess is still alive, there's no guarantee he'll ever make a comeback. What are you hesitating about? Why...?"
Cheng Qi glanced at him sideways, his eyes were like a thick layer of ice, which made Zhao Xiang's back tremble. The rest of the words were stuck in his throat, unable to swallow or spit out.
"I will never stop you when it's your turn to play. What are you so anxious about?"
Cheng Qi looked Zhao Xiang up and down again. "Prime Minister Zhao sent you to Luzhou City because he wanted you to grow up and become more mature."
His expression gradually became one of disgust.
"What a pity! Zhao Zaisheng really doted on his son."
Although the Zhao family had been demoted to commoners, Xiao Qingji and Xiao Tong had slaughtered them to the point of leaving very few. Now, the only direct descendants of the Zhao family were the brother and sister Zhao Lan and Zhao Xiang. However, Zhao Lan's sister seemed to have attained immortality, unresponsive to everything. The only time she had left the palace in the past two years was to see Xiao Qingxu.
The late queen was a thorn in Zhao Lan's heart. This was a secret that everyone in the world tacitly acknowledged but dared not speak out loud.
And what about Zhao Xiang? Zhao Zhouxing, having a son in his old age, doted on him. Look at him now. He's clearly living under someone else's roof, having been saved by someone else's grace, yet he still dares to act so arrogantly and loudly. He's not even half as good as Empress Zhao was in her youth.
"......" Zhao Xiang understood his look, his face turned red, and then he sat down angrily.
"Whatever you want! If you miss a good opportunity, don't blame me for not reminding you!"
Cheng Qi rolled his eyes, "Do I need you to remind me?"
Zhao Xiang pursed his lips and glared at him.
"You are really good at hiding your shortcomings."
Cheng Qi picked up another brush and slowly drew a few strokes on the rice paper, ignoring him.
Zhao Xiang couldn't help but mutter, "Everyone in Kyoto knows that you're a lazy young man. If your father saw you like this, I'm afraid his jaw would drop."
Cheng Qi responded calmly: "Your father's jaw won't drop, don't worry."
Because Zhao Xiang's father was already dead.
Liu Que: “…”
Zhao Xiang: “…”
This guy's mouth must be smeared with arsenic.
Servant: “…”
The young master really didn't leave any good karma for himself.
"Young Master." A servant came in with an invitation in his hand and handed it to Cheng Qi.
Cheng Qi took it in his hand, took a look at it, and then handed it to the servant to keep.
Zhao Xiang saw a lotus pattern on the invitation and leaned over to take a look.
He glared at her, "You! How could you possibly have an invitation to the Xu family's Lotus Appreciation Banquet?!"
Cheng Qi looked at him speechlessly and with disgust.
"I'm not really a loser."
Zhao Xiang: “…”
This person must have grown up eating arsenic.
——
"So you are suspicious of the East Palace?"
On the other side, Shang Yuwan was still sitting on the locust wood stool, with fatigue and impatience showing between his brows.
"Your Excellency has searched Prince Qi's Mansion so many times, isn't it fair that the Eastern Palace should be searched again?"
She hated being looked at with scrutiny, and she would always unconsciously feel disgusted, and her words would inevitably be perfunctory. After interrogating her for so long, hadn't she heard anything unusual about the East Palace?
Cheng Xunzhi looked at Shang Yuwan deeply and immediately sent people to search the East Palace.
Before long, news came that Xiao Qingxu's private seal was found in an empty vase in the East Palace.
After Cheng Xunzhi received the news, his expression became more solemn and he stared at Shang Yuwan at the desk.
"His Royal Highness Prince Qi's private seal appeared in the East Palace. What do you want to say?"
"...What do you want to say?" Shang Yuwan's eyelids drooped slightly, and his brows knitted together. "Since you have found His Highness's private seal, why bother looking for me again? It's not like I'm the one keeping His Highness's private seal."
"Oh?" Cheng Xunzhi frowned. "So, you just said it carelessly?"
Shang Yuwan hummed and nodded.
The private seal had already been "searched" out, so what else did she need to explain? The rest could be left to Cheng Xunzhi, Yuan Ji, and the Grand Chamberlain to investigate along this line. Why should she waste her breath here? No one would know it was her instructions anyway, nor would anyone know it was Yuan Ji who put the private seal there—there were several people in the Eastern Palace who were Xiao Qingxu's confidants, and those few were well-informed, so they would naturally help Yuan Ji cover up.
Cheng Xunzhi asked more questions, but when he realized he couldn't get any useful information out of her, he let her go. However, he still sent more people to the Princess's Mansion to monitor Shang Yuwan.
He instinctively knew the land deed was a conspiracy, and Shang Yuwan, Xiao Qingxu, and Xiao Qingji must have known the inside story. Unfortunately, two of these three were royal relatives, and one was protected by the emperor from further investigation. They were no simple characters.
Cheng Xunzhi could only follow the current clues step by step, and could only keep an eye on the person for the time being and not act rashly.
It wasn't dinner time when Shang Yuwan returned to the princess's residence. She sat with Bailipu over tea. After taking a sip, she put the tea down and looked up at Xiao Qinggu and Shang Mingqi, who were still training hard.
Yue Zhu stood beside Xiao Qinggu, constantly correcting her movements.
Shang Yuwan secretly looked at Xiao Qinggu, wondering how many moves she could make against Yue Zhu in early June.
"Miss Shang." Bailipu, who was sitting on Shang Yuwan's right, suddenly said, "It must have been Heng'er who did it."
Xiao Qingxu's private seal mysteriously disappeared, but was immediately found in the Eastern Palace. Besides Yuan Ji, who had helped search the Eastern Palace the first time, who else could have put that thing in there?
Shang Yuwan sat upright, his expression calm. "Sir, why do you doubt Yuan Zhongcheng? You brought him up single-handedly. Although we're teacher and student on the surface, we're as close as grandparents and grandchildren. If he heard this, he'd be heartbroken for a while."
Baili Pu was silent for a moment, then said, "I just hope that you are all well."
Upon hearing this, Shang Yuwan turned to Bailipu.
He seemed afraid to look at her, and the posture of his neck looked a little stiff.
Bailipu...feeling guilty? Guilty?
Shang Yuwan's eyebrows changed slightly, and the corners of his eyes, which originally exuded a hint of coldness, softened.
"Thank you for your kindness, sir."
Bailipu heard the softness in her words and couldn't help but look over.
Shang Yuwan smiled at him, "We also hope that the master will be well."
Bailipu was startled, then immediately turned his head away and didn't look at Shang Yuwan.
A hint of deep thought flashed across Shang Yuwan's eyes.
Could it be that Bailipu's reaction meant that he recognized her?
But he had already tested her, and there was no trace of the human skin mask on her face, and Yuan Ji was not as eager for her as he was in his previous life - to be precise, by the time Yuan Ji was sure that he was worthy of Shang Yuwan, it was already too late, and Shang Yuwan had already set his sights on Xiao Qingxu.
Shang Yuwan was full of doubts.
How did Bailipu know her identity?
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