The room was deathly silent. Ruan Changhong closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time before saying, "Actually, this is also my fault."
The next moment, Ji Wuyu's eyes gradually turned cold.
At this moment, he couldn't see at all how hard-working and dutiful Ruan Qing'an had been to Ruan Changhong when Ruan Qing'an was around. Only now did Ruan Changhong realize that Ruan Qing'an was holding the chain that controlled Ji Wuyu—otherwise, Ji Wuyu could have done even more ruthless things.
Despite the pressure, Ruan Changhong finally succumbed and explained, "Does Your Highness know why I was stripped of my military power and became the Marquis of Yongle?"
"When the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away."
Ji Wuyu replied coldly. Back then, Ruan Changhong was not just someone whose achievements overshadowed his master. This threat was always hanging over Ji Hao's head, ready to fall and kill him at any moment.
Most importantly, Ruan Changhong's power back then put Ji Hao in an awkward position where he wanted him dead, but was also afraid of dying together with him.
But Ruan Changhong said, "Because he couldn't control me, His Majesty came up with a compromise to threaten me again, and at that time... it was when Qing'an's mother was pregnant with her."
Upon hearing this, Ji Wuyu was taken aback: "I remember she was born with a deficiency."
Ruan Changhong couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Your Highness, I am a general who has fought on the battlefield, and my wife is also a heroine who has fought alongside me on the battlefield. How could Qing'an be so inherently deficient?"
"Does Your Excellency mean that this was done by the Emperor?"
"……right."
Having started the conversation, Ruan Changhong continued, "His Majesty poisoned my wife, causing her to die in childbirth. As for Qing'an, she was born weak because of the same poison."
"Not only that, the poison seems to have been introduced into Qing'an's body, but the only antidote is available to the royal family."
Ruan Changhong stopped there.
But for Ji Wuyu, this already made everything clear. Ji Hao didn't continue the game with Ruan Changhong at all. Instead, he directly overturned the chessboard and used Ruan Qing'an's life to blackmail Ruan Changhong into giving up his military power and becoming the Marquis of Yongle.
As for why Ruan Changhong wasn't dealt with directly, but instead made the Marquis of Yongle, it's because Ruan Changhong still had a reputation, and he also had many military achievements, so it was impossible to take action against him openly.
Thinking of this, Ji Wuyu suddenly said, "I learned from the veterans in the military camp that Qing'an also trained in the military camp for a period of time when he was young. What happened after that?"
"...And then."
Ruan Changhong pondered and said, "I wanted Qing'an's health to improve, and it did work at first. After training in the military camp, he didn't get sick as easily, but soon problems arose again."
"Qing'an's health deteriorated rapidly again. This time it was truly beyond medical help. The foundation of his body was already damaged, and he could not recover at all."
Upon hearing this, Ji Wuyu lowered his eyes and asked, "Is it possible that Qing'an's health deteriorated again because of poisoning, and Green Bamboo has been following her all this time?"
"impossible."
Ruan Changhong shook his head: "I have checked the ingredients of the herbal decoction."
Just then, the doctor who had been sent to check the medicine came in to report the results, and bowed to the two of them, saying, "My lord, His Highness the Ninth Prince."
"Is there a problem with that herbal medicine?"
"this……"
The doctor thought for a moment and said, "In essence, the prescription is indeed very nourishing and conditioning, but it is too much of a supplement, and some of the herbs are designed to target a specific condition."
Ruan Changhong naturally knew that the prescription was highly nourishing, but he didn't understand what was coming next, and a sense of unease crept into his heart: "What does that mean?"
The doctor explained, "Simply put, some medicinal herbs are indeed very effective, but for specific diseases or specific herbs, they can have the opposite effect, or even be fatal, ultimately due to conflicting medicinal properties."
"As for Miss's condition, it should be like this: the poison that has been stored for many years has been triggered and is difficult to remove. We need to find a way to cure it completely."
In other words, the life-saving medicine has become a deadly poison...
As Ruan Changhong gradually came to understand the meaning, he suddenly stood up. He paced back and forth in anger, while the doctor, seeing that the situation was not good, also left early, leaving only Ji Wuyu sitting in the same spot.
He looked down at Ruan Qing'an lying on the bed. Her pale face had never looked so bloodless, and her leaden gray eyes, which he had always liked, were now tightly closed. Just thinking about this made his rationality tighten.
He scoffed, "My father was quite shrewd when he was young. He really knew how to outmaneuver you, my lord."
"..."
Ruan Changhong didn't speak, but his expression was clearly unpleasant.
Ji Wuyu continued, "First, poisoning Qing'an's mother made you, Lord Marquis, wary, and you dared not act for Qing'an's sake."
"Secondly, we'll plant a pawn to make Qing'an's health deteriorate, but not to the point of death. This is to appease you, Lord Marquis, and prevent you from becoming completely enraged by Qing'an's death."
"At the same time, it also makes you, my lord, hesitant to act because of Qing'an's existence. My father is truly a master of manipulation."
Ruan Changhong trembled with rage: "I'm going to find him right now!"
"Don't act rashly. My men have checked Qing'an's room and can roughly deduce what happened. It's likely that Qing'an and Lüzhu had a conflict, or that Qing'an discovered something was wrong. After the medicine was spilled, Lüzhu used some kind of powder as a follow-up method to escape."
Ji Wuyu paused, then stood up: "I suspect something is amiss. I will go to Green Bamboo's place next. Please do me a favor, Lord Marquis."
"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness."
Ruan Changhong took a deep breath; this time, he was truly letting go.
Ji Wuyu also bowed slightly before turning and walking towards the secret passage of the Yongle Marquis's residence. He had to handle this matter properly—he couldn't bear to bully his Qing'an.
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