Chapter 124 Madness
When a fearless person goes berserk, it is quite terrifying.
If this person were still Li Xiaoxiao, no one would dare to imagine what she would do.
When the poisoned arrow pierced the sixth prince's body, he didn't even know what was happening until the empress screamed and rushed towards him.
Li Xiaoxiao easily dodged the Empress's embrace while carrying the Sixth Prince, lifting him up like a chick and casually tossing him in front of Imperial Physician Xiao: "Imperial Physician, now both of them are poisoned by the same poison. If this Sixth Prince obediently produces the antidote, then we can save both of them. If he can't..."
She paused, then said, "Then we'll both die together."
Her expression was remarkably calm, as if she were simply recounting what she had eaten that day.
Looking at Li Xiaoxiao's expressionless face, Pang Shi had only one thought in his mind: It's over, everything is over.
We all grow up eating grains, so why are some people so daring?
"Protect the Emperor! Quickly, protect the Emperor!"
A flurry of footsteps sounded, and Emperor Jian'an's guards rushed out from the shadows, firmly shielding the emperor and empress behind them. Then someone swung a sword at her.
With a push and a pull, Li Xiaoxiao snatched the knife from her hand. Then, with a kick, the guard's body flew up, crashed through the window of the front hall, and fell straight out into the courtyard.
She continued to attack with her knife, knocking the knives out of their hands one by one and then throwing them all away.
Liang Qisheng, trembling, stood in front of the Emperor and Empress: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, please leave here first. This servant has already sent someone to inform the Imperial Guards..."
Emperor Jian'an's steps were as if nailed to the ground, completely motionless. Less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she was the rustic village woman he described, vulgar and unbearable. But at this moment, she held a single sword, a formidable figure who could hold off ten thousand men.
He finally remembered that when the Crown Prince was being chased by assassins in Luzhou, he said he was saved by the young master of the Meng family. How could the young master of the Meng family, a mere scholar, possibly save someone from the assassins' blades?
So the person who saved them was here.
His carefully trained guards looked like three-year-old children in front of her.
Li Xiaoxiao repelled another guard, and she was getting annoyed. She didn't have time to play whack-a-mole here!
She suddenly held the knife to the sixth prince's neck and said coldly, "Aren't you going to hand over the antidote? Trying to stall for time? If you wear my young master down, even if you bring the antidote, I'll still finish you off with one stroke!"
The sixth prince was trembling all over; the smug look on his face had vanished without a trace. How could this be? How dare she stab him with a poisoned arrow? In front of his father and mother, no less?! Did she have a death wish?
No, the antidote cannot be taken out. If it is, everything he denied before will become a fact, and what his brother the Crown Prince said will become the truth. All the results of his hard work will vanish in the blink of an eye!
However, if he didn't take it out, he would definitely die here. He felt the intense killing intent emanating from her. The way she looked at him was like looking at a dead man. If Meng Guanqi really died here, she would really keep her word and make him pay with his life!
He had always considered himself invincible, capable of manipulating his brother without a trace. But when truly facing death, he panicked, he was truly panicked. He cried out, "Father, Mother, save me! Please save your son!"
The Empress, heartbroken and with tears streaming down her face, grabbed Emperor Jian'an's arm and pleaded desperately, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, please save Cheng Yao!"
Li Xiaoxiao shouted, "Give me the antidote! You might not die, but if I, Li Xiaoxiao, really want to kill someone, who can stop me here? Don't tell me you don't have it. You heartless little brat, believe me or not, I'll crush the fluorite and feed it to you!"
The sixth prince was filled with terror, and he could feel his body gradually becoming numb due to the poisoning...
His eyes darted around, one idea after another flashing through his mind. Was there any way to get rid of this terrifying woman in front of him? Was there?
Emperor Jian'an's face was ashen. He turned his gaze to the Crown Prince and then gestured to Pang Shi.
How could the guards' skills compare to Pang Shi's? If Pang Shi were to make a move, he could definitely hold Li Xiaoxiao back—
Suddenly, someone came running in, tumbling and shouting, "The antidote! The antidote has arrived! This servant has an antidote that can cure all poisons!"
It turned out to be Shuangxi, the Sixth Prince's attendant. He was holding a porcelain bottle and ran over shouting, "The antidote is here! My master recently obtained a pill by chance. The person who delivered it claimed it could cure all poisons in the world. Although the poison on the arrow wasn't from our master, we still have the antidote!"
The sixth prince closed his eyes in despair.
That idiot.
Li Xiaoxiao didn't care what he said and immediately took the bottle. She broke off a piece and let Doctor Xiao smell it. Doctor Xiao glanced at Shuangxi and whispered, "It's usable."
Li Xiaoxiao immediately opened the medicine and said urgently, "I want water, give me a bowl of water!"
The Crown Princess immediately poured her a glass of water herself.
Emperor Jian'an and the Empress seemed to have been struck dumb, and were at a loss for words.
Li Xiaoxiao dissolved the pill in water and fed it to Meng Guanqi, but Meng Guanqi seemed to have already lost consciousness and couldn't swallow it at all.
Seeing that she couldn't feed him, Li Xiaoxiao simply took the medicine into her mouth, pinched open Meng Guanqi's chin, and passed it over to him.
The people present seemed to have long been numb, watching helplessly as she fed Meng Guanqi the medicine mouth-to-mouth in a shocking way.
She paid no attention to what was happening around her; her eyes and heart were only focused on the unconscious and deeply poisoned Meng Guanqi. Even when the Sixth Prince was taken away by Shuangxi, the arrow was removed, and he was given the antidote, she didn't even flinch.
Only Dean Xiao glanced at her with a look that was both appreciative and pitying. With the patient completely unconscious, this method of administering medication was clearly the most effective.
Seeing that the emperor and empress did not object, he personally administered acupuncture to Meng Guanqi again to urge the medicine to take effect.
Everyone at the scene seemed to be waiting, waiting for that handsome young man to be rescued.
After nearly an incense stick's time had passed, Meng Guanqi began to sweat profusely. Xiao Yuanzheng's brows relaxed: "Alright, it's effective. One more pill will neutralize the poison."
Li Xiaoxiao finally breathed a sigh of relief and took out a handkerchief to wipe Meng Guanqi's sweat.
The person was saved, but we still have to face the issues that need to be addressed.
She stood up, calmly walked to Emperor Jian'an, and knelt down directly.
Two knives were immediately placed against her neck, and someone came up and twisted her hands behind her back. She did not struggle.
Emperor Jian'an looked at her with a complicated expression. Just as he was about to say to take her away, Li Xiaoxiao spoke up, "What reason will Your Majesty use to arrest me?"
Emperor Jian'an angrily said, "You have shown no respect for the emperor and kidnapped and harmed a prince. Which of these crimes is not punishable by death?"
Li smiled and said, "But I also saved your son, and he is still the Crown Prince."
Emperor Jian'an's face immediately darkened. Li Xiaoxiao continued, "I not only saved your son, but I also saved your grandson, Li Ke. He didn't die. Both of us are equal. Can Your Majesty forgive my crime of disrespect?"
Emperor Jian'an was stunned, unable to move for a moment, as if struck by lightning. The Empress was also dumbfounded, no longer caring about her past conflict with her youngest son. She was both surprised and delighted: "You said you saved Ke'er?! When did this happen? Where is he now?"
The Sixth Prince has already surfaced, so Li Xiaoxiao isn't afraid of revealing Li Ke's whereabouts: "He's currently in Biyang County, staying at our house."
The Empress immediately looked at the Crown Prince: "Chengming, is what she said true?"
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess nodded in unison: "It's true."
This was truly the most unexpected good news for the Emperor and Empress. They had always thought that Li Ke had died in the fire at the imperial estate, and they were heartbroken because the Crown Prince had lost another son. But he was unexpectedly rescued.
But Emperor Jian'an quickly realized: "The capital is a thousand miles away from Biyang County. How did a child like Ke'er get there?"
Li Xiaoxiao said, "Naturally, I fled there to save my life. All my guards were dead." She glanced at the Sixth Prince, who was leaning against Shuangxi, without any politeness.
The sixth prince's face was deathly pale, and his back was soaked with what looked like sweat or blood.
Li Ke is still alive? How could he possibly be alive?
He made a mistake; he was too hasty and shouldn't have attacked him.
If he had just waited a little longer, Fluorite could have taken his life. Everything had gone too smoothly, making him arrogant and complacent. He couldn't wait any longer! He only wanted to solidify the Crown Prince's ominous reputation and hasten his deposition. Who knew he would be saved?!
It's this woman again, the same woman who has saved the Crown Prince's life time and time again, and now she's saved Li Ke's life. What is her background? How did she know these gems were poisonous?
But he no longer has the energy to deal with this woman; he needs to quickly figure out how to get through this current predicament.
He immediately put on his usual obedient and endearing face, and said to the Empress in a pale and weak voice, "Mother, I'm in so much pain..."
The Empress was momentarily stunned. For the first time, she did not look directly into his eyes, but instead looked helplessly at Emperor Jian'an.
Emperor Jian'an had been emperor for over twenty years and had never been in such a predicament.
The current situation has put him in a very difficult position.
First, there's Li Xiaoxiao, who, despite having a knife to her neck, stands even straighter than him.
While she was indeed vulgar, rude, disrespectful, and disrespectful in front of the emperor, she even dared to pull out a poisoned arrow in front of him and the empress, directly stabbing the sixth prince to force him to give her the antidote. She was insubordinate and audacious. If it were any other time, Emperor Jian'an would have immediately ordered her to be dragged out and beaten to death on the spot.
But not only did she save the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, she also saved Li Ke. This was a tremendous achievement for both the country and the royal family. If he were to order the punishment of Li Xiaoxiao, wouldn't that be telling the world that no one is allowed to be kind to the Crown Prince? She clearly saved the Crown Prince's family, and instead of being rewarded, she was punished. Within three days, his desk would probably be covered with memorials impeaching him as the emperor for abusing the Crown Prince and spoiling his youngest son. If word got out, he would probably be condemned by everyone.
The best course of action is not only not to punish her, but to reward her handsomely; otherwise, how will he get past the censor? The father-son relationship with the Crown Prince, which he had finally managed to improve, will be tense again.
However, Emperor Jian'an was reluctant to reward her. Imperial honors could not be given without a legitimate reason. If she was rewarded, the court officials would immediately know what she had done, and the truth about Cheng Yao poisoning his brother's family would no longer be concealed.
If the plot to murder the crown prince is proven, what a serious crime that would be! Even if he and the empress were biased, neither the court officials nor the imperial family would let Cheng Yao off the hook.
The matter of the poison stone absolutely cannot be investigated. Currently, the Crown Prince and the Sixth Prince each have their own version of events, but since it is just a quarrel and there is no concrete evidence, it cannot be taken seriously.
He absolutely cannot bring this matter into the open. The best solution is to treat it as a family matter, a quarrel among family members. The wronged person needs to be comforted, and the naughty person needs to be disciplined, but that's all.
Having thought of this, Emperor Jian'an had already made up his mind. He raised his voice and said, "Liang Qisheng."
Liang Qisheng immediately stepped forward: "This servant is here."
Emperor Jian'an said, "Li Xiaoxiao has behaved improperly before the Emperor, showing no respect for His Majesty, and has also poisoned the imperial heir. According to the law, she should be executed. Take her to the Meridian Gate and behead her!"
Li Xiaoxiao stared wide-eyed at Emperor Jian'an in disbelief.
Is this old man so biased that he's practically beheading her? Does the Crown Prince's family have so little importance to him? Then why did he make him Crown Prince so early? Is it to serve as a tool for his beloved youngest son?
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess's expressions changed drastically, and they immediately knelt down to plead for Li Xiaoxiao: "Father, please forgive her. Li Xiaoxiao is not a member of the palace, and although she lacks manners, it was all because she was worried about the poisoned Young Master Meng. Her crime is not punishable by death, Father!"
Emperor Jian'an remained silent with a stern face, but his expression seemed to soften.
The Crown Prince kowtowed and said, "Moreover, Li Xiao has saved my life twice and even saved Ke'er's life. Yu'er is currently ill and weak. If he does not survive this year, Ke'er may very well be my only child. Father, I beg you to spare Li Xiao's life for my sake!"
The Crown Princess also lay on the ground, weeping uncontrollably.
Emperor Jian'an seemed to show a hint of reluctance on his face.
After many years as father and son, the Crown Prince could see clearly what Emperor Jian'an was planning at this moment with just one glance.
In order to exonerate his sixth brother, he actually threatened him with Li Xiaoxiao's life, forcing him to give up pursuing the responsibility of his sixth brother.
The Crown Prince saw this clearly and knew in his heart that the situation was hopeless. Although he was heartbroken, he had to put on a sorrowful expression: "I owe a great deal to Lady Li for my current position. If Your Majesty would be so kind as to pardon Lady Li, I am willing to let go of the matter concerning my sixth brother. I beg Your Majesty for mercy." The Crown Prince knelt down deeply, his forehead touching the floor, covering his face and the intense hatred on it.
Emperor Jian'an sighed and personally bent down to help the Crown Prince up: "I know you have been wronged, and the Crown Princess has also been wronged, but you know how to love your younger brother and plead for him, which is very good. Chengming, as the crown prince of a country, you must be able to endure what ordinary people cannot endure, you must have a broad mind and not be concerned about temporary gains and losses."
The Crown Prince, "moved with gratitude," said, "Your subject has learned a great deal."
Emperor Jian'an patted him on the shoulder: "It's just because your younger brother was naughty that the Crown Prince suffered. I will make it up to you."
After comforting the Crown Prince, he immediately hardened his expression again: "Cheng Yao, kneel down!"
Ignoring the pain in his back, the sixth prince immediately knelt down before Emperor Jian'an.
Emperor Jian'an said sternly, "Because of your mischievousness, your brother almost lost his family. From this day forward, you will be moved to Qinghe Palace to reflect on your mistakes in seclusion. You are not allowed to leave the palace without my decree. You must copy Buddhist scriptures for no less than two hours every day. All the stones in the palace must be thrown away. You are not allowed to carry any of them with you, lest you be ungrateful and give away stones to others and accidentally harm them!"
The sixth prince was overjoyed and immediately knelt down and cried, "Father, please forgive me! I will never dare to do it again. Please forgive me!"
Emperor Jian'an said, "Empress, after we return, transfer all the properties under his name in the two streets of Shunyifang to the Crown Prince as compensation for him."
The Empress obediently bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will obey your command."
Emperor Jian'an glanced at Li Xiaoxiao one last time: "Since the Crown Prince has pleaded for you, I will spare your life this time. If there's nothing else, you should leave the Eastern Palace as soon as possible."
Li Xiaoxiao sneered inwardly, but showed no emotion on her face. She bowed expressionlessly and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for sparing my life."
A ray of newly risen sunlight shone into the room.
Emperor Jian'an said solemnly, "It's already dawn before we know it. I still have to attend the morning court. Liang Qisheng, escort the Empress and the Sixth Prince back to the palace. Immediately have someone carry out the things I have instructed."
Liang Qisheng bowed and said, "Yes, Your servant obeys."
Liang Qisheng gave his godson Rengui a wink, and Rengui immediately stepped forward to take Emperor Jian'an's hand, announcing loudly, "Your Majesty, you are about to depart!"
After Emperor Jian'an left, the Empress looked reluctant and glanced at the Crown Prince, who calmly looked away.
The Empress felt a pang of pain in her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes. She said sadly, "Eunuch Liang, I must go back now. Find a sedan chair and take Cheng Yao back to my palace first. After Qinghe Palace is cleaned up, then lock him up there."
Liang Qisheng readily agreed and immediately sent people to bring over two sedan chairs. He helped the Empress and the Sixth Prince into the sedan chairs, and the group left the East Palace in a grand procession.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess bowed to the Empress to bid her farewell, but they did not make eye contact at all.
The Empress was secretly heartbroken, but she couldn't utter a single word.
The Emperor used the life of the person who saved the Crown Prince's life to force the Crown Prince to give up the pursuit of the Sixth Prince, hoping to keep the matter within his own family and prevent it from reaching the court. However, this truly wronged the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince has been investigating the assassin who framed him for so many years, and he must have a lot of evidence pointing to the Sixth Prince, but in order to save Li Xiaoxiao's life, he can no longer mention it.
How could his pain be lessened by losing the shops on several streets?
But apart from that, the Empress didn't know of any other way to save the Sixth Prince.
If the case were handed over to the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice for investigation, the charge of plotting to murder the crown prince would be enough to demote the sixth prince to a commoner and imprison him for life.
How could she just stand by and watch this happen?
The Emperor must have realized this, which is why he forced the Crown Prince to drop the pursuit of the Sixth Prince and taught him the magnanimity of a crown prince.
In the end, the emperor still outmaneuvered the honest and kind-hearted crown prince and his wife.
If he hadn't known they were kind-hearted, he wouldn't have used Li Xiaoxiao's life to force them to exchange. If it were someone as ruthless as the third prince, even if Li Xiaoxiao were torn apart by five horses, it wouldn't have affected his ability to spread the news about the sixth prince, and Emperor Jian'an's plan would have failed.
Ultimately, it was the couple who wronged the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess.
After this incident, will there still be genuine affection between them, father and son, brothers?
The Empress returned to Jinghe Palace in tears.
With the Emperor and Empress gone, even Chief Physician Xiao left, and the Eastern Palace finally regained its peace.
Li Xiaoxiao didn't know what expression to use when facing the Crown Prince and Crown Princess, but since Emperor Jian'an had spoken and told her not to stay in the Eastern Palace, she decided to leave.
He touched Meng Guanqi's forehead. Fortunately, he didn't have a fever, and the purplish discoloration on his face had faded quite a bit. Xiao Yuanzheng said that after taking another antidote pill tomorrow, the poison would be completely neutralized, and he would be able to return to normal once the wound on his back healed.
She decided to take him away to a place where he could recover properly, and return as soon as he was healed. The infighting among these powerful figures was exhausting, annoying, and disgusting; she just wanted to stay far away from them.
She bent down and carried Meng Guanqi on her back. Without looking at the Crown Prince and his wife, who were sitting in deep thought, she asked Pang Shi, "Can I just walk out like this, or do I need some kind of token?"
Pang Shi glanced at the Crown Prince, who was in a daze. The Crown Prince then came to his senses and said apologetically, "It is I who have implicated Young Master Meng, and also you. I will have Pang Shi escort you out."
Li Xiaoxiao nodded indifferently and then followed Pang Shi away.
She suddenly turned back as if she remembered something: "I'll let the young master recover from his injuries for a few days, and then I'll return to Biyang County. What are His Highness's arrangements for Aze? Should we send someone with me to go back and bring him back?"
The Crown Prince suddenly bowed solemnly to Li Xiaoxiao: "Miss Li, although it is a great injustice, I still have a request, and I hope you can grant it."
Li smiled and asked, "What request?"
The Crown Prince took a deep breath: "I would like to ask Miss Li to take care of Ke'er for me. Now is not a good time for him to return to the Eastern Palace."
Li Xiaoxiao was taken aback: "Why is that?"
The Emperor and Empress already know that Aze is still alive, and the Sixth Prince has been temporarily imprisoned. Would anyone dare to harm him?
The Crown Prince's face was grave: "The crisis at the Eastern Palace has not been resolved. On the surface, my sixth brother is imprisoned, but I do not believe that he alone could have driven me to such a point. Three years ago, when I was being hunted down, he was only twelve years old. The assassins in the Thunderclap Temple could not defeat you and chose to commit suicide. Every assassin needs more than ten or twenty years of training to be able to obey orders without hesitation, let alone commit suicide without hesitation. Even if my sixth brother is extremely intelligent and can command a large following, he could not have started training assassins from the age of a few. There must be someone backing him up."
“If I don’t find and defeat this person, my sixth brother will be able to make a comeback sooner or later. Ke’er is my only son. Who knows if he won’t be this person’s next target? So I beg you to help me protect Ke’er.”
He bowed deeply.
Li Xiaoxiao was furious. What kind of mess is this?!
She was angry, but also helpless. The Crown Prince's words forced her to throw Aze back into the East Palace, and she couldn't bear it. After all, she had gone through so much trouble to save his life. What if he was harmed as soon as he returned? Who would she complain to?
She could only force a smile and say, "We can't take care of her for long. My young lady will be getting married before the end of the year, and my young master will be participating in the imperial examinations next spring. We estimate we'll be back in November... It's only a matter of three to five months."
Three to five months... is enough time for him to get things done.
The Crown Prince bowed again and said, "I entrust this to Miss Li."
He did not mention the gift of thanks.
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