The day for Lu Yan to set out on the expedition was set for Chenshi (7 - 9 a.m.) three days later. In the morning, someone from the palace came specially. The imperial edict of King Xia Jie was written down and presented to the Marquis of Dingbei's Mansion.
Shen Qingfeng hid behind the layers of gauze curtains and watched Lu Yan respectfully receive the imperial edict. After Lu Yan got up, the little eunuch seemed to say something to Lu Yan. Then he craned his neck slightly towards the inside. Lu Yan took a step forward to block his view and said, "Thank you, father - in - law. Do you want this marquis to send a carriage to take you back to the palace?"
The little eunuch forced a smile, bowed and said, "Don't trouble the Marquis of Dingbei. This humble servant came with a carriage and will leave now."
"Then this marquis won't see you off."
The eunuch walked away with his body hunched. Lu Yan stood looking at his back for a while before closing the door. He lifted the curtain and came in, squeezing beside Shen Qingfeng.
"When will you go to the palace?" Lu Yan asked.
Shen Qingfeng thought for a while and said, "I'll go now."
Lu Yan was stunned. "It's only Maoshi (5 - 7 a.m.). There's no court session today. The palace gates may have just opened."
"Lu Yan." Shen Qingfeng looked at him with a somewhat solemn tone. "I always have a bad feeling."
Lu Yan looked at him and said, "I know. Even if that old man Qi wants to use Xing Zhiyuan to contain me, once we reach Liangcheng, it'll be my territory. He won't be able to stir up much trouble. By then, I'll lure him into making a minor mistake and then give him some benefits to pardon his sin. I can control this man."
Shen Qingfeng nodded and smiled. "That's a good idea. But what I'm mainly worried about is Li Yanqing."
Lu Yan said, "Are you still wondering why Qi Shuhuan would marry his son to that good - for - nothing Li Yanqing?"
"Yes." Shen Qingfeng frowned. He had never been able to figure this out. Li Yanqing had no real talent. He was just mediocre at leading troops. Except for controlling the military flag, there didn't seem to be anything that the Qi family could gain from him.
Was it to use Qi Siyu to strengthen the support of the military flag?
But there was no news of a rift between Li Yanqing and the Prince of Cheng. Moreover, the military flag had always been on the side of the Prince of Cheng. Qi Shuhuan didn't need to go through such trouble.
Was it just a simple marriage alliance?
With Qi Shuhuan's shrewdness, Shen Qingfeng didn't believe this assumption at all.
In this life, because of his rebirth, many things were different from the previous life. Maybe his presence as a variable had affected the entire future development. And the most important chess piece in his hand, the Listening Wind Pavilion, was still in the process of being established.
Shen Qingfeng frowned and thought for a while, then made a decision.
"Senior brother." Xu Ruhui's lazy and somewhat disdainful voice came from outside the door. "That guard of sister - in - law is here."
"Yu Shuang is here?" Shen Qingfeng's eyes lit up. According to the development of the previous life, he had arranged for Yu Shuang to treat Xiangcheng. Now that Yu Shuang was coming to him, it seemed that there was some good news about Xiangcheng?
"..." Xu Ruhui at the door suddenly fell silent. After a while, he seemed to scoff disdainfully, then said with gritted teeth, "Yes, it's him."
"?" Shen Qingfeng and Lu Yan looked at each other, not knowing what was wrong with Xu Ruhui today.
The two got out of bed. When Lu Yan pushed the door open, Xu Ruhui had already left, only leaving Yu Shuang standing at the door.
Shen Qingfeng said to Lu Yan, "Do you want to go and see your junior brother? He seems a bit strange today."
Lu Yan had watched Xu Ruhui grow up, so he felt it more clearly. He looked around the courtyard, then turned to look at Shen Qingfeng, hesitating to speak.
Shen Qingfeng sighed and said, "It's okay if you want to stay and listen to what we're going to say."
Lu Yan lowered his head and said in a slurred voice, "No, I promised you. I won't do that kind of thing anymore. I trust you."
Shen Qingfeng was touched. He knew that Lu Yan still minded that he had blown up the tomb and that he had hidden some things from him. But Lu Yan was just like this. He loved and hated boldly, and his frankness was hard to let go of.
"A Yan..." Shen Qingfeng leaned in front of Lu Yan and rarely took the initiative to kiss his lips. "Thank you for believing in me. I'll give you an answer."
The death of the Lu family's army and the disappearance of your father's remains... I will definitely investigate all these clearly.
Lu Yan looked at him deeply. Just as he was about to lower his head to kiss him back, Shen Qingfeng dodged with a smile. "Aren't you going to check on your junior brother?"
Lu Yan pouted and reluctantly let him go.
Shen Qingfeng stroked Lu Yan's face and said, "I'll come back right after I go to the Bian Palace. Wait for me here."
Lu Yan squeezed his hand and quickly pecked his lips, then flashed onto the roof to look for Xu Ruhui.
Seeing Lu Yan's figure gradually fade away, Shen Qingfeng walked up to Yu Shuang and asked, "Is Xiangcheng awake?"
Yu Shuang shook his head and said, "Not yet. But besides the skin injuries, this subordinate also found a kind of poison on him."
Shen Qingfeng said, "What kind of poison?"
Yu Shuang looked a bit grim and said, "Plumbum and Silver Water."
Shen Qingfeng was stunned for a moment, then suddenly opened his eyes wide and trembled, "What did you say?!"
Shen Qingfeng knew the name of Plumbum and Silver Water.
Although it sounded like a rare and precious drink, it was actually a colorless and odorless poison from the Nanxiang Kingdom. This poison was so powerful that just a whiff could be fatal. It was no exaggeration to say that it was the most poisonous thing in the world. Moreover, this poison was not only deadly but also extremely rare. It was said that because of its extreme lethality, the method of making this poison had almost been lost. After the Marquis of Xinan, Chen Luo, annexed the Nanxiang Kingdom, this poison had completely disappeared.
In his previous life, even though Shen Qingfeng was in charge of the most powerful intelligence organization on the continent, he had only seen the name of Plumbum and Silver Water in books.
Shen Qingfeng clearly remembered that in his previous life, Yu Shuang had also said that there was a strange poison on Xiangcheng when he was treating him, but he couldn't tell what kind of poison it was.
So, in this life, Xiangcheng had been poisoned with a different kind of poison?
But how did this thing end up on Xiangcheng? Why was he still alive after being poisoned?
A series of questions exploded in Shen Qingfeng's mind. He grabbed Yu Shuang's shoulders and asked, "Are you sure, Yu Shuang?"
Yu Shuang pursed his lips and said, "My lord, although Plumbum and Silver Water is rarely seen, this poison comes from my hometown, the Nanxiang Kingdom. This subordinate was fortunate enough to have seen it once. There's no mistake."
"But Plumbum and Silver Water is a highly poisonous substance. Why is Xiangcheng still alive?"
Yu Shuang said, "My lord may not know that although Plumbum and Silver Water is highly poisonous, if a person's body is soaked in the silver water diluted a hundred times for a long - term, the person will be different from ordinary people. Generally speaking, after such body - nourishing, a person's thinking, physique, consciousness, etc. will be affected. But this is just what this subordinate has heard. This poison was originally a prohibited drug in Nanxiang. The theory of body - nourishing is only recorded in books. This subordinate has never seen a real example... No, Xiangcheng should be the first one this subordinate has seen."
Shen Qingfeng paused, as if struck by lightning. "You mean that Xiangcheng's crazy, unrecognizable, and ignorant state is because his body was once soaked in diluted Plumbum and Silver Water for a long time?"
Yu Shuang nodded and said, "Exactly."
"Then isn't this just like..." Shen Qingfeng paused, gritted his teeth and continued, "What's the difference between this and a Gu - controlled person?"
Yu Shuang was silent for a moment and said, "A Gu - controlled person completely loses their consciousness, but Plumbum and Silver Water won't. The person who undergoes body - nourishing will have their body fit with the Plumbum and Silver Water, and their blood will also carry the toxicity. The poisoner can choose to let them regain their senses and become normal, or choose to control them for a lifetime."