"You mean... Liu Yong?" Shen Qingfeng said.
Speaking of Liu Yong, he was sort of an acquaintance of Xia Chuli. Back then when Princess Liuli was still alive, she had trouble adjusting to the climate and diet in the Central Plains, so her health was poor. King Xia Jie at that time still had some affection for her, so he summoned the imperial physicians to treat her, but to no avail. By chance, Princess Liuli took the medicine prescribed by Doctor Liu and felt much better. From then on, whenever she fell ill, her maids would go to Doctor Liu. Thanks to the princess's recommendation, Doctor Liu got a mid - level position in the Imperial Medical Bureau. However, Princess Liuli passed away early. After that, Doctor Liu never had another chance to shine, and he had held that position until now.
Shen Qingfeng thought for a while and said, "Do you want him to cover for you?"
Xia Chuli nodded. "My mother once did him a favor. All I'm asking is for him to help me with a little deception. He'll agree to such a small thing."
Shen Qingfeng thought again and said, "That's good. You can pretend to be poisoned and stay in the Eastern Palace sick. It'll be easier for me to arrange our actions this way."
Xia Chuli sat up straight, feigning surprise. "Qingfeng, have you found out something?" As soon as he said this, he suddenly seemed to remember something and quickly turned to look at Qi Mengmeng, who was still kneeling beside them.
Qi Mengmeng was startled and was about to leave when Shen Qingfeng stopped her. "Princess Consort, I think it's better for you to know about this."
Qi Mengmeng suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked at Shen Qingfeng nervously.
"Your father, Qi Shuhuan, received a robe some days ago. I'm not so ignorant as to not recognize that the robe was woven using the 'cut - weft' technique with the tribute silk, and it had exactly nine embroidered serpents on it." Shen Qingfeng stared at her and said word by word, "Princess Consort, do you know what this means?"
-
Xia Chuli watched Qi Mengmeng's trembling back as she left and nudged Shen Qingfeng. "Qingfeng, you scared her."
Shen Qingfeng lifted his robe and sat on the edge of the bed, not really caring. "I meant to scare her. She's not very firm - minded. Although she helped us this time, she might not be able to resist her father's instigation next time. Now that she knows her father has committed a crime punishable by the execution of nine generations of his family, she won't have the guts to help him if he asks her again."
Xia Chuli chuckled softly and lay on Shen Qingfeng's lap. "This is what you came to tell me when you entered the palace, right? Qingfeng, you've really found some crucial information. Just based on this, we can make that old rascal Qi Shuhuan doomed. Do you already have a plan?"
Shen Qingfeng nodded and told him his plan in detail.
Xia Chuli rested his chin on his hand, tilted his head and thought for a while, then said, "It's too lenient on them."
Shen Qingfeng was taken aback and looked down at him.
Xia Chuli sat up straight and pointed at the bloodstains on his brocade quilt. "He showed no mercy to me. If Qi Mengmeng hadn't told me about the poison today, I'd be half - dead lying here by now, and I'd never have a chance to inherit the throne."
"Although Qi Shuhuan has committed a heinous crime, don't forget that Father also hates me deeply." Xia Chuli continued, "He hates my bloodline. In order to prevent me from inheriting the throne, he's even willing to ignore the ancestral teachings of Li Xia. So, if we expose this matter, he might execute Qi Shuhuan and Li Yanqing, but whether he'll execute Xia Yonglin and Xia Yanhe is still uncertain."
Shen Qingfeng looked at him, stunned. He suddenly felt a very strange sensation on Xia Chuli's face, a feeling that was extremely familiar yet subconsciously seemed impossible. He paused and said, "A Li... What do you mean...?"
Xia Chuli looked at him, tilted his head and smiled, with a hint of innocence and purity, but uttered cruel words, "Wouldn't it be better to get rid of Xia Yonglin and Xia Yanhe together this time?"
Looking at the smile on Xia Chuli's face, Shen Qingfeng suddenly felt cold all over.
The sealed memories opened, and he seemed to hear the voice from his past life, the voice of that man with red - rimmed eyes who had become his nightmare.
I'm going to torture Xia Yonglin and Xia Yanhe to death. What do you think?
He also heard his own voice suppressing the pain.
You've already cut out Xia Yonglin's tongue and crippled Xia Yanhe's legs. You've tortured them long enough. Give them a quick death...
A quick death? The man laughed wildly and grabbed his chin. Not enough, it's far from enough... What they've done to me, I'll take back a thousand - fold! I'll make them live a life worse than death! You can't stop me.
Shen Qingfeng felt himself being pulled into the whirlpool of memories. Countless gloomy memories filled his mind, making him nauseous. He tried to struggle, but he heard Xia Chuli's crazy laughter in his ears.
"Qingfeng?"
The memories suddenly stopped. Shen Qingfeng's eyes regained clarity. In front of him, Xia Chuli's young face was faintly filled with worry. "...... What's wrong with you, Qingfeng?"
Shen Qingfeng felt dizzy. He covered his head and gritted his teeth as he looked at Xia Chuli. But the nightmare was too intense, and his consciousness was still a bit muddled. It seemed that he hadn't fully woken up. Xia Chuli wanted to reach out and touch Shen Qingfeng's forehead, but Shen Qingfeng slapped his hand away. Xia Chuli was so frightened that he stood still, staring at him with wide eyes.
"Qingfeng...?"
Shen Qingfeng covered his head and looked at Xia Chuli's injured face. "I..."
Just as he was about to say something, there was a knock on the door. Xiao Qing's voice came in. "Your Highness, Doctor Liu is here."
Both of them in the room came back to their senses. Shen Qingfeng suddenly stood up as if he had been scalded by boiling water. He rushed directly to the door and then quickly pushed open the red wooden door. Xiao Qing and Doctor Liu standing at the door were both startled. They saw Shen Qingfeng lowering his head and saying, "Doctor Liu is here. Please come in quickly."
After saying that, he stepped aside. Without turning to look at Xia Chuli, he just said, "A Li, you talk to Doctor Liu first. I'll... I'll leave first." Then he was about to go.
"Qingfeng, what's wrong with you?" Xia Chuli threw off the quilt and ran to the door. He was flustered, his face full of anxiety. "Did I say something wrong? Or do you think what I did was wrong?"
Shen Qingfeng's face was pale. He pursed his lips and said nothing. He turned to look at Xia Chuli, trying to find a trace of the nightmare from his past life on his face, but he couldn't.
He both hated and feared Xia Chuli from his past life. Those painful memories had kept him awake at night and tortured him until his death. Even now, Shen Qingfeng still didn't understand what kind of mood he had been in when he drank the poisoned wine Xia Chuli had offered him in his past life. Was it relief? Hatred? Or some other emotion?
In his past life, Xia Chuli was forced to become like that. So in this life, he had tried his best to protect Xia Chuli and prevent him from getting hurt again. But just now, he had seen the shadow of his past - life self on Xia Chuli's face.
Was it a mistake? Or...
"Qingfeng, I had my reasons for saying that." Xia Chuli's voice became softer, like a docile rabbit. "You know how much Father hates me. He once locked me in the Cold Palace for three years without caring about me or my life. How could he possibly..."
Xia Chuli suddenly stopped here. He gritted his teeth, seemingly trying his best to control his emotions. "Qingfeng..."
Shen Qingfeng looked at him. After a long while, he suddenly sighed. "I don't blame you. What you said... is right. We'll discuss this matter later."
"Can we discuss it today?" Xia Chuli grabbed Shen Qingfeng's sleeve and looked at him with big, tear - filled eyes.
The Xia Chuli from his past life would never have had such an expression.
Shen Qingfeng gave a bitter smile and thought that maybe he was being too paranoid. He reached out and ruffled Xia Chuli's hair, saying softly, "Okay. You talk to Doctor Liu first. I... I'll go out to get some fresh air in the courtyard."
After saying that, Shen Qingfeng smiled at Xia Chuli and then turned around and left. Xia Chuli stood in the doorframe, watching Shen Qingfeng's figure disappear through the courtyard gate. His expression suddenly turned cold. He frowned and looked at Doctor Liu and Xiao Qing, who were sitting there uneasily, and said coldly, "Come in."