Lei Ce's eyes flashed with murderous intent. "Killing a king is a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of one's family. You're still being stubborn even when you're about to die. Someone, play the pipa."
Fearing Qin Xue might not know what "playing the pipa" meant, he kindly explained, "Playing the pipa means stripping the victim of their upper clothing, fixing their limbs, and then using a sharp blade to repeatedly cut along their ribs, as if 'playing' a pipa. The victim will experience excruciating pain, often feeling as if all their bones have been dislocated, and sweating profusely..."
"No, no..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Xue screamed in terror, "I'll talk, I'll talk! I stole the medicine, but I only wanted to poison Eunuch Chen!"
Now that he's dead, I no longer need to be his wife, and I can leave the palace and return to Jiangnan. That soup was a gift for him.
She was terrified by Lei Ce's threat of exterminating nine generations of her family, so she chose to tell the truth. She felt that murdering Chen Banjun was understandable, and perhaps Prime Minister Li could save her life.
Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind, and she hurriedly said, "It's Eunuch Chen! It's Eunuch Chen who wants to kill His Majesty. He must know that the soup is poisoned and wants to use me to poison His Majesty."
If it is confirmed that Chen Banjun plotted to murder the emperor, then her poisoning of Chen Banjun would not be considered a serious crime.
Qin Xue's thoughts wandered aimlessly.
But then the Empress's voice rang out, "The food box you sent to Chen Banjun is the same one that I ordered to be sent to His Majesty."
After Chen Banjun received the food box, news came from the Prince Yun's residence that the Prince Yun was on a hunger strike. His Majesty was worried and sent Chen Banjun to the Prince Yun's residence to check on the situation.
The food boxes were left outside the Imperial Study. Since no one had ever brought food to Chen Banjun before, the young eunuch assumed all the food boxes were for His Majesty.
The Empress sighed, “His Majesty has mistakenly ingested poison, but poisoning the palace is a serious crime, and to harm His Majesty’s health is tantamount to treason.”
"Guards, seize Qin Xue, execute her by hanging herself with a white silk ribbon, and exterminate the entire Qin family of Jiangnan, including their three clans."
As she finished speaking, the emperor, who was being carried in a sedan chair, weakly said, "Lei Ce, I order you to go to Jiangnan in person."
This statement is tantamount to agreeing with the Empress's verdict against the Qin family.
Qin Xue's eyes turned bloodshot with fright. "No, I didn't commit treason..."
It was Wang Jingshuo who reminded me to kill Chen Banjun, it was Su Luoqing who developed the poison, and it was Chen Banjun who gave the soup to His Majesty. It has nothing to do with me; it was them who wanted to harm His Majesty.
But she didn't even have a chance to finish her sentence before she was dragged away.
By the time Li Heng learned of the news, the imperial court's urgent message regarding the Qin family's fate had already been sent to the garrison in Jiangnan and the prefectures of Jiangnan.
He wanted to notify the Qin family again, but it was too late.
"You bastard, you piece of trash!"
Li Heng angrily swept everything off the desk and onto the floor.
The Qin family was his money bag, which he had painstakingly cultivated for decades, but now it had been used to benefit the royal family for nothing.
"How could she be so foolish as to poison Chen Banjun?"
Even he wouldn't dare to act so rashly.
Li Shiling knelt on the ground, "Please calm down. Someone must have plotted against Qin Xue. Otherwise, how could she have obtained the poison and successfully administered it?"
Everyone in the palace is shrewd and clever, and Qin Xue is not exactly intelligent.
Li Hengruo never imagined this was a scheme; his position as prime minister was meaningless.
This game of chess probably started after Qin Xue entered the capital, and even if the player wasn't the emperor, the emperor was still involved.
Otherwise, who could have instructed Chen Banjun to marry a wife, and who would dare to make a fuss about the emperor's health?
He was unsure whether this was directed at him or only at the Qin family.
With the national treasury short of money and Qin Xue repeatedly flaunting her wealth, it's hard not to be tempted. If the emperor is only after the Qin family's money, it means he hasn't yet suspected Qin Xue.
If even he was starting to suspect, Li Heng pinched the bridge of his nose hard.
“You can no longer stay in the capital. Your father and the others also need to leave Dayuan in time.”
Li Shiling was shocked. "But where can we go? And what about Xiangyun?"
The Xiangyun he mentioned is his younger sister, Qin Xue's mother.
Li Heng remained silent.
Xiangyun is the matriarch of the Qin family and is on the emperor's kill list. How difficult it is to save her!
Li Shiling became anxious, "Uncle, Xiangyun is your only niece, you can't just abandon her!"
Seeing that Li Heng remained silent, he knelt down and stepped forward, grabbing his clothes. "Uncle, there are only a few of us left in the entire dynasty. Xiangyun can't die. Uncle, I beg you, please save her."
If Father knew that Xiangyun had an accident, he would surely be devastated. He has been frail since childhood and has been helping you all these years. He is your only younger brother, Uncle…”
He cried and pleaded in a low voice, and Li Heng thought of his younger brother, with whom he had depended on each other since childhood.
When the dynasty collapsed, he was only a few years old. He escaped with his toddler brother and has been hiding his identity in Da Yuan for years, living cautiously.
His rise to his current position is inseparable from the support of his younger brother...
Li Heng closed his eyes briefly before finally speaking, "You should head to Dongwu as soon as possible. I'll figure out a way to handle Xiangyun's matter."
When he opened his eyes again, a deep hatred flashed in them. "It's time to make a move on the Charity Hall."
Since the emperor and his son dared to plot against the Qin family, he retaliated by using Ye Zhen against the royal family.
Oh!
The future daughter-in-law of the royal family!
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