Qu Qingxi understood why the Emperor favored the Crown Prince and wouldn't allow Ren Nuanyun, who had almost no background, to become the Crown Princess. Moreover, the Emperor had previously decreed that the marriage would take place in March of the new year, which was fast approaching, so it was understandable that the Emperor was anxious.
But what was the reason for the Xu family's situation?
Wouldn't it be better to wait until after the New Year to have more time and better prepared evidence?
Qu Qingxi couldn't understand it at all.
Looking at the time outside, it was almost noon, and He Liufeng still hadn't returned. He must be too busy with this matter to come back.
Qu Qingxi changed her clothes and, with Qingdai in tow, headed towards the Treasure Pavilion.
Leaving Qingdai on the second floor of the Treasure Pavilion, Qu Qingxi went up to the third floor alone and went to Chen Shuyan's room.
When Qu Qingxi arrived, Shen Shuyan was sitting at the table dealing with something. When he saw Qu Qingxi knock and come in, a smile appeared on Shen Shuyan's face.
"What brings you here today? Is there something you need?"
Qu Qingxi nodded, casually pulled up a chair, and sat down opposite Shen Shuyan. "Has something happened in the palace? Why is the Emperor suddenly in such a hurry to take action against the Xu family?"
Shen Shuyan first poured Qu Qingxi a cup of tea before slowly speaking, "His Majesty's health is not good, which is why he is in such a hurry."
"What? The Emperor's health is failing? What happened? Wasn't he perfectly healthy?" Qu Qingxi was astonished. What was going on?
"His Majesty's health deteriorated due to overwork in his early years. In recent years, his already poor health has been further compromised by poisoning. It is estimated that His Majesty will pass away in a few years."
Qu Qingxi frowned and remained silent. She understood that the person was overworked, but what about this slow-acting poison?
"This poison?" Qu Qingxi raised an eyebrow at Shen Shuyan. Judging from Shen Shuyan's expression, he clearly knew something about it.
"I ordered someone to administer the poison," Shen Shuyan readily admitted.
Qu Qingxi stared at Shen Shuyan for a while, then softly asked, "Is it because of what happened to General Shen back then?"
Shen Shuyan was slightly surprised that Qu Qingxi would mention General Shen. "What do you know?"
"What if I knew your true identity?" Qu Qingxi paused, then continued, "You are General Shen's grandson. The Emperor was involved in General Shen's affair, which is why you took action, right?"
Qu Qingxi's tone was very certain, as if she had known about this all along.
“Xiaoxi, you…” Now it was Shen Shuyan’s turn to be shocked.
“I’ve known about this for a long time. I know you are my uncle’s son. When the Shen family suffered this calamity, my grandfather and uncle tried to send you out. In order to keep this a secret, they sent you directly to Jiangnan.”
"How did you find out?" Shen Shuyan had always thought that only he knew about this matter. After all, Qu Qingxi only had two sources of information: Cuiwei Pavilion and Qinglan Pavilion.
However, the people from Cuiwei Pavilion will not find out about this matter, and the information from Qinglan Pavilion is also under their control. It is impossible for Qinglan Pavilion to have spread this information.
But how else did Qu Qingxi find out about this news?
"No one in this world will be kind to you for no reason. When we first met, you didn't know my true identity. You just admired me. Later, when you found out that I was Qu Lianhai's daughter, you knew my identity. That's why you helped me and built Qinglan Pavilion. Half of it was to give me more confidence, and the other half was to avenge the Shen family."
"As expected of my sister, she is indeed clever." Shen Shuyan smiled slowly, acknowledging that Qu Qingxi was right. After saying this, Shen Shuyan stared at Qu Qingxi for a while.
"Would you be willing to call me brother?"
“Brother,” Qu Qingxi said earnestly.
"That's great." Hearing Qu Qingxi call him brother, Shen Shuyan's eyes became slightly moist. "I thought I was the only one left in the Shen family bloodline. It's great that I have a younger sister."
"Is the Shen family's affair related to He Liufeng?" Qu Qingxi asked tentatively after Shen Shuyan had calmed down.
One of the reasons she initially suspected Shen Shuyan's identity was because he was really good to her. However, Qu Qingxi could also clearly sense that Shen Shuyan's feelings for her were not romantic.
Moreover, the surname Shen Shuyan was somewhat sensitive to Qu Qingxi. The surname Shen meant that it was the same as her maternal grandfather's surname. Qu Qingxi followed this clue and indeed found some leads.
However, she dared not make this public. Even though the Shen family's case had been overturned at that time, the late emperor had decreed that the entire Shen family be executed, leaving no bloodline behind.
If people were to find out that General Shen's grandson was still alive, wouldn't that be blatantly admitting that the events of that time were a charade against the late emperor? Disobeying an imperial edict is a capital offense.
When Qu Qingxi learned about this, it took her a long time to accept that she still had a relative in the world.
However, she never realized that Shen Shuyan was very concerned about things in the palace. If Shen Shuyan hadn't said that he had poisoned the emperor, and that the Shen family's affairs were related to the emperor, Qu Qingxi would still be completely unaware.
“He knew nothing about this matter, nor was he involved. He was just a child at the time, and I heard that although he was young, he respected his grandfather very much. This matter had nothing to do with him.”
Knowing what Qu Qingxi cared about, Shen Shuyan did not hide anything or hesitate at all.
Hearing this, Qu Qingxi breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, He Liufeng had nothing to do with this matter; otherwise, she really wouldn't know what to do.
"Do you only want the Emperor dead, or do you have some other purpose?"
"Of course, we only want the Emperor's life. The Shen family's affair was a joint effort between the Emperor, who was then the Crown Prince, and the Xu family. The specific reasons have not been investigated clearly, but they were the masterminds behind it all."
Later, when the emperor ascended the throne, he feigned to clear the Shen family's name, his real aim being to win over my grandfather's subordinates and the Shen family army. "Poor souls of the Shen family, now the emperor has used us and discarded us. To eliminate the Xu family, only the emperor himself remains."
As Shen Shuyan spoke, he lowered his eyes, a hint of sorrow flashing across them.
Qu Qingxi also lowered her eyes. Although she was just an outsider, she had heard about the Shen family's situation. It was truly lamentable that such a family, so loyal to the country, had ended up like this.
"So, the Emperor must have realized that something was wrong with his health, which is why he was in such a hurry to take action against the Xu family," Qu Qingxi said knowingly.
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