Prince Chen felt somewhat horrified and hurriedly put the small bottle back in its place, asking Lu Baichuan, "What are these things?"
Lu Baichuan replied, "These are some poisons prepared by my wife. I think Your Highness may use them."
Prince Chen raised an eyebrow and asked, "You mean you poisoned Daoping?"
Lu Baichuan shook his head: "It's His Majesty."
Prince Chen's face darkened instantly, and Lu Baichuan immediately knelt on the ground.
Do you know what you're saying?
Prince Chen's tone was heavy, and he seemed about to lose his temper.
Lu Baichuan said, “Your Highness, I dare to ask you to try! There is a kind of poison that will only make you feel unwell, but will not kill you. We can use this characteristic to make the Emperor think that Dao Ping Zhenren’s elixir is problematic, and thus lose trust in Dao Ping. This will also give us an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.”
Upon hearing his explanation, Prince Chen's expression softened slightly. He had thought that Lu Baichuan meant to poison the emperor directly, which would be a grave act of filial impiety.
Although the emperor disliked him, he was still his father, and he could not possibly have such an unfilial thought.
"Is it really harmless to the body?"
“My wife is a very skilled doctor. I can guarantee the safety of the medicines she concocts. I would give my life to vouch for them.”
Before coming, he had discussed this matter with He Jiuniang, wanting to ask her if she had such a poison, so that Prince Chen wouldn't feel too much psychological pressure using it.
He Jiuniang's answer at the time was: "No, I can match you with one for now."
Then the next morning I gave him the medicine and explained how to use and do it.
Prince Chen reached out to stop him: "No need, I trust you. It's just that this matter is somewhat risky, let me go and persuade my father first."
Lu Baichuan naturally nodded in agreement. In any case, he needed to give Prince Chen some time to consider.
Prince Chen trusted He Jiu Niang's medical skills; otherwise, Lin Yiping wouldn't have been so wary. Moreover, that Madam Lu was skilled in cooking, clothing design, medicine, and business; she was practically omnipotent and truly a capable person.
Lu Baichuan was his man, and his wife naturally sided with him. It would be a shame not to take advantage of such a position.
However, drugging the emperor was far too dangerous; one wrong move and he could be accused of treason, a charge he simply couldn't afford.
Lu Baichuan left temporarily, and Prince Chen asked Cheng Meng to take Lu Baichuan to meet the brothers under his command, so that it would be convenient when he needed to be ordered around in the future.
Meanwhile, Prince Chen hurriedly entered the palace to meet the Emperor.
The old emperor is obsessed with cultivating Taoism and has been going into seclusion lately, not attending court or seeing anyone. He follows a whole set of cultivation steps, and even the officials' threats of suicide have been useless. Prince Chen himself is somewhat lacking in confidence about this trip.
But how could he bring himself to poison his father if he didn't try it himself?
Standing at the entrance of the Emperor's Palace, Prince Chen took a deep breath, already prepared to be scolded.
"Go tell Father that I have discovered important matters related to Dao Ping Zhenren and request an audience with Father!"
The eunuch at the door respectfully acknowledged the order and went inside to report. Whether or not the emperor would see him depended on his mood.
The eunuch first said that Prince Chen was requesting an audience, but the old emperor refused without saying a word. Then he said that he had found out about Dao Ping Zhenren, and the old emperor subconsciously felt that Prince Chen was there to cause trouble, so he was even less willing to see him.
"I won't see him. Let him leave the palace whenever he has nothing to do, and pay attention to the people's hardships. Stop staring at me all the time, it's annoying."
The old emperor waved his hand impatiently, and the eunuch responded and turned to leave. Just as he reached the door, the old emperor said again, "Never mind, let him in."
Since it concerns Dao Ping Zhenren, the old emperor was worried that if he really didn't care, Prince Chen would take it upon himself to resolve it. Dao Ping Zhenren was quite capable, and he was determined to protect him.
The eunuch respectfully agreed and went to call Prince Chen in.
The palace outside was brightly lit, but the place where the old emperor was was only lit by a single candlestick. The space was large, so the light from the candlestick seemed insignificant, and the surroundings were dark, giving people a gloomy feeling.
"Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
Prince Chen knelt down to pay his respects, but the old emperor did not tell him to get up, making it clear that he should speak while kneeling.
"Third Prince, you should know what I care about and what I don't care about. In your daily life, whatever you do, as long as it benefits the people, I can ignore it, but don't think that I have really handed over all the power to you."
The emperor's voice echoed in the empty palace, sounding somewhat ethereal. His tone was calm, yet it carried a subtle threat and intimidation.
Prince Chen lowered his head and said, "Father is right. Your son dares not act on his own."
"You don't dare?"
The old emperor's tone became harsher: "You've already started investigating Dao Ping Zhenren, what else wouldn't you dare to do? Is my desire to live longer really that laughable in your eyes?"
The old emperor's anger had reached its peak. His eyes were fixed on Prince Chen with venomous intent, as if the person kneeling before him was not his son, but his mortal enemy.
“Father, I never thought of it that way! It’s not that I wanted to investigate Dao Ping Zhenren, but I came across Dao Ping Zhenren while investigating another case. I have already obtained enough evidence, both eyewitness accounts and other evidence!”
Prince Chen knew the old emperor was angry, but he still chose to stand his ground.
He brought all the evidence that Lu Baichuan had presented, hoping that the old emperor would reconsider his actions in the face of the evidence.
"What case? What evidence? Third brother, you're really getting more and more capable!"
The old emperor was so angry that his beard trembled; he thought this was utter nonsense.
"Master Daoping is just a Taoist priest. In this life, he only pursues immortality like I do. How could he be involved in any case?"
The old emperor clearly intended to protect Daoping, and his attitude was firm. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't have dared to say anything more.
Prince Chen hesitated for a moment, but then he thought that since he had already come all this way, it would be too useless to go back like this, so he still stubbornly said, "A case of missing children has occurred in Jingzhou. They are all three to five years old. My people found them in a Taoist temple outside the city."
The Taoist priests in the temple confessed that they captured the children to extract their heart's blood to refine elixirs. Furthermore, my men intercepted a letter that the temple was sending to the capital, which was clearly in contact with Daoping.
Not only children, but also some innocent young women perished. They were captured to have their blood drawn, and died from blood depletion. Even those who survived were sent to brothels to live a life of hardship. This is a massive bloodline, a conspiracy by the Eastern Court to invade our country. I implore Your Majesty to see the truth!
He finished speaking in one breath, and then took out a series of evidence from his pocket and handed it over. The emperor did not take it, but instead slammed his hand on the table.
"Absurd! Third brother, do you know what you're saying? How could such a thing happen in our peaceful and prosperous Northern Yan? You've gone too far with this charade to deal with Daoping!"
The old emperor pointed at Prince Chen, his eyes bloodshot.
Prince Chen looked at him with neither arrogance nor servility, and asked through gritted teeth, "Does Father truly not believe me, or is he intentionally covering for me? Father takes pills every day, haven't you noticed the strong smell of blood in them?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com