Chapter 82 Lou Yi's Background
Inside the Prince's study, the doors and windows were tightly closed, and the atmosphere was heavy.
Lou Jin sat in the main seat, with Ye Xunyang standing beside him holding a gun, and Lou Yan sitting to the side. Wang Quan knelt below, seemingly respectful, but his eyes flickered uncertainly.
"Wang Quan," Lou Jin said calmly, "Feng Bao is dead."
Wang trembled, forcing himself to remain calm, and said, "Is that Eunuch Feng from Consort Xian's side? What a pity. I used to meet Eunuch Feng when I was on duty in the palace. How come..."
Lou Jin interrupted him, his gaze sharp: "Before he died, he mentioned your name."
Wang Quan's face turned pale, and he retorted, "Your Highness is wise! It must be that Feng Bao making baseless accusations! This old servant is utterly loyal to Your Highness, and heaven and earth can bear witness!"
"Loyalty?" Lou Jin sneered, slowly stood up, walked to him, and looked down at him.
"However, I have already found out who killed the messenger guard. That person has confessed everything in detail, including who gave the information."
Wang Quan's pupils suddenly contracted, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. He opened his mouth, wanting to argue.
Lou Jin didn't give him a chance, his voice suddenly turning sharp: "Wang Quan, do you still want to argue?"
Wang Quan knew he could no longer deny it.
His kneeling body tensed up suddenly, and the next moment, he sprang up like a trapped beast!
A dagger slid out from his sleeve, carrying a ruthless intent to perish together, and stabbed straight at Lou Jin's heart!
"Your Highness, be careful!" Ye Xunyang, who had been on high alert, didn't hesitate when he saw this and drew his spear.
The spear tip struck the blade of the dagger with perfect precision. The immense force not only deflected the dagger but also sent Wang Quan flying into the air before he crashed heavily to the ground with a thud. The dagger flew out of his hand.
Wang Quan lay on the ground, coughing violently, struggling to get up, but Ye Xunyang's gun tip was firmly pointed at his throat, rendering him unable to move.
It's over, it's all over.
Despair and a twisted sense of relief were intertwined on Wang Quan's face.
He stopped struggling, lay back, looked at the carved ceiling of the study, and suddenly let out a hoarse and sorrowful laugh.
"Heh...hahaha..." He laughed, but tears streamed down his face. "That's right...it was me...I did it all..."
His voice became ethereal, as if lost in distant memories, and he began to murmur.
"Qingyi and I are from the same town and we grew up together. Her family was poor, so she was sent to the palace as a maid at a young age to help support the family. The day she left, she cried her eyes out, saying that the palace was scary and she was afraid."
“I felt sorry for her. With my mediocre skills, I managed to get into the palace and become the lowest-ranking guard. I just wanted to be close to her so I could catch a glimpse of her occasionally and know that she was safe.”
"I thought that once she reached a certain age, she would be released from the palace, and then we could... But who would have thought that she would be chosen by the Emperor! Hahaha... At that moment, my heart felt like it had been ripped out. I gave up all hope and stopped looking for her. I just wanted to do my job properly. Perhaps it was good luck, but I was chosen by the Empress and went to work in Kunning Palace..."
His eyes turned pained and ferocious: "I thought I could live a peaceful life... until that day, when I saw with my own eyes the Empress punish her by making her kneel for an hour because of a small mistake. At that moment, I realized that I could never let her go."
“From then on, I secretly helped her. She was afraid of losing favor, so I helped her keep an eye on the movements of the palace. She wanted the prince to secure his position, so I helped her give birth to the fifth prince. She was jealous of the empress and was afraid that the empress would harm her and the prince, so I helped her poison the empress.”
He looked at Lou Jin with a complicated expression: "She has become a virtuous consort, and the fifth prince has grown up. But she is becoming more and more afraid, afraid of you, Your Highness Prince Jin. Your military achievements are too high and your prestige is too great. She is afraid that you will threaten her son's position. So, when she asked me to poison you, I did it."
Wang Quan completely gave up and blurted everything out: "Actually, that sachet was completely useless. I deliberately placed it there to distract you. What really poisoned you was every bowl of medicine I served you."
"I thought they would just let you die quietly like this, but who knew that the emperor would bestow a marriage upon you, and they wanted to use you to get rid of Lou Shang, which gave you the opportunity."
He then turned to look at Ye Xunyang, "I don't know what's wrong with the princess. A grown man like me insists on taking care of your daily life, leaving me with nowhere to use poison."
Suddenly, the sorrow on his face turned into utter madness and absurd laughter:
"Hahaha... Your Highness, do you know what's the most ridiculous thing?"
"I poisoned you, I did all this willingly for her, I even thought the Fifth Prince was my child. I paved the way for him, cleared the obstacles for him, I thought I was risking my life for my family!"
He laughed until tears streamed down his face, his voice shrill: "But it wasn't until a few days ago that I accidentally learned... Lou Yi isn't my child at all! He's the bastard child of Consort Xian and Prince An!"
"Hahaha! I'm a complete joke! For a woman who never loved me, for someone else's bastard child, I betrayed the master who treated me well, my hands are stained with sin, I've lived most of my life, and in the end... what am I?"
The maniacal and desperate laughter echoed in the study, filled with endless irony and sorrow.
The group was deeply shocked upon hearing this unbelievable and chilling truth.
Who would have thought that behind this lay such a twisted, obsessive, ugly love-hate relationship!
Wang Quan, having laughed his fill, collapsed to the ground, as if his soul had been ripped away, staring blankly at Lou Jin:
"Your Highness, even if you don't kill me, I have no intention of living. My whole life has been a joke. Just give me a quick death..."
The study was deathly silent.
"Take him away and keep him under close surveillance!"
Lou Jin gave the order to Wu Shan, his voice icy: Wang Quan deserves to die, but he cannot die now; he is an important witness.
"Yes!" Wushan stepped forward and dragged Wang Quan, who was like a limp rag, away.
“Your Majesty,” Lou Jin turned to Lou Yan, his tone urgent, “the Consort Xian and Prince An may be waiting for an opportunity to support Lou Yi to ascend the throne. We must expose all of this before they make their move!”
Lou Yan's expression was solemn: "That's right! They haven't launched their attack yet, which means the time isn't right, or they're still preparing. This is our biggest advantage!"
"Your Majesty, take my token immediately and return to the main camp outside the capital. Gather elite troops and deploy them outside the city to create a deterrent! At the same time, secretly contact the generals who are loyal to Father and warn them to be alert to the city's defenses that Prince An may mobilize."
“Okay! I’ll go right away!” Lou Yan took the token without hesitation.
"And what about me?" Ye Xunyang asked immediately.
Lou Jin looked at him: "Xunyang, you come with me to the palace immediately! We must meet with the Emperor in person before Consort Xian and Prince An realize what's happening, and present Wang Quan's confession and Feng Bao's token! Once the Emperor knows the truth, their conspiracy will fall apart on its own!"
This is the most direct, but also the most dangerous method.
Without delay, Lou Jin and Ye Xunyang quickly changed into formal robes and, leading a small squad of elite guards, sped towards the palace. They had to see the emperor before the enemy could take any action.
The Imperial Palace, Ningxiang Hall.
Consort Xian was having a private discussion with Prince An, Lou Qin, in a secret room.
"Your Highness, why did Lou Jin suddenly return to the capital? And why did he go directly to the Prince's residence? Our plan..." Consort Xian's face showed a hint of unease. Wang Quan had not sent any news for a long time, which made her wary.
Prince An, Lou Qin, said with a grim expression, "The situation has changed. Our spies planted in Prince Jin's residence just risked their lives to deliver news that Lou Jin, upon returning to the residence, directly took control of Wang Quan! I'm afraid... Feng Bao and Wang Quan have already been exposed!"
"What?!" Consort Xian's face paled, and she stood up abruptly. "What do we do now? Our plan..."
"The plan must be moved forward!" Lou Qin's words were ruthless. "We can't wait until that old man is seriously ill! We must act immediately! You find a way to control the eunuchs around His Majesty, and we..."
Before he could finish speaking, his trusted palace maid rushed in in a panic, whispering, "Your Highness, Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! Prince Jin and Princess Ye have arrived outside the palace gates and are demanding an immediate audience with His Majesty!"
"They arrived so quickly!" Consort Xian was so shocked that she took a step back, her face turning deathly pale.
Lou Qin's pupils also contracted, but he quickly regained his composure, his eyes resolute: "We cannot let them see His Majesty! Otherwise, everything will be over!"
He looked at Consort Xian and said urgently, "Quickly! Go to His Majesty immediately and try to stall him. I'll go to the palace gates to stop them! No matter what, we can't let them enter the palace now!"
"Fine...fine!" Consort Xian forced herself to calm down, straightened her clothes, a ruthless glint flashed in her eyes, and hurriedly headed towards the Emperor's Hall of Diligent Governance.
Lou Qin composed himself, adopting a somber expression, and strode towards the palace gate.
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