Just as Xia Chuli had expected, Imperial Physician Liu still remembered the kindness Princess Liuli had shown him. He agreed to help Xia Chuli stage this show. Xia Chuli then filled him in on some details. After double - checking everything, they set the plan in motion.
After that, the Eastern Palace was in an uproar. The news that the Crown Prince had suddenly been poisoned spread like wildfire throughout the Bian Palace. This time, since Imperial Physician Liu was the first to discover it, Shen Qingfeng assigned him to be in charge of the Crown Prince's treatment.
For a while, the entire Eastern Palace was filled with the strong smell of Chinese herbal medicine. The people from the Imperial Hospital scurried around, boiling the medicine and sending it to the Crown Prince's bedroom. Little did they know that Imperial Physician Liu had poured all the medicine into the spittoon. Then he mixed in some chicken blood and asked the maids to take it out for disposal.
Shen Qingfeng had been staying by Xia Chuli's bedside. With people coming and going, he barely had a chance to talk to Xia Chuli. The matters they needed to discuss were put on hold for the time being.
Upon hearing the news, a group of senior officials from the Prime Minister's Mansion rushed to the Eastern Palace to visit the Crown Prince. But Shen Qingfeng turned them away, citing the Crown Prince's poor health. Then, those senior officials, in tears, rushed to the Mountain - River Hall and begged King Xia Jie to find the person behind the poisoning. Of course, Shen Qingfeng didn't have the time to deal with these things. He just secretly told Shen Shiqiu the truth about this matter and then went back to Xia Chuli's bedside to keep watch, as if waiting for something.
The people in the Eastern Palace were busy from afternoon until night. Finally, they welcomed their first “guest”.
Qi Yan, dressed in gorgeous clothes and accompanied by a group of maids, swaggered up to Xia Chuli's bedroom. She took out a dazzling imperial edict from her bosom, held it in front of her, and said, “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, receive the edict!”
After saying that, she glanced at Xia Chuli, who was lying in bed, covering his mouth and spitting blood, and then at Shen Qingfeng sitting beside him. Under Shen Qingfeng's cold stare, she slowly put the edict away and sneered, “Oh, I almost forgot that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been poisoned. In that case, don't get up. You might trip and lose your life, and then it'll be on me.”
Shen Qingfeng pursed his lips and stared at her in silence. Suddenly, Xia Chuli's coughing grew louder. He coughed so violently that his whole body shook. Shen Qingfeng quickly helped him catch his breath.
Qi Yan seemed quite satisfied with Xia Chuli's helplessness. She lifted her chin and unfurled the edict with a swish. Then she read aloud, “I, out of concern for the Crown Prince, have ordered an investigation into the poisoning incident. From this day on, the Crown Prince shall stay in the palace to recuperate. The affairs of the court shall be temporarily taken over by Prince Cheng. So it is decreed.”
After reading, Qi Yan snapped the edict shut and placed it on the table. She looked at Xia Chuli contemptuously and said, “Since the King has spoken, Your Highness the Crown Prince should take good care of yourself. As for the affairs of the court, His Highness Prince Cheng will handle them for you.”
Xia Chuli's coughing grew even worse. He covered his mouth with a blood - stained handkerchief and stared at Qi Yan with hatred in his eyes. But his hatred only made Qi Yan more arrogant. She was about to make a few more sarcastic remarks when Xia Chuli suddenly said hoarsely, “Since the Queen has delivered the edict, this place can't accommodate Your Excellency. If there's nothing else, Your Majesty the Queen should leave quickly.”
Upon hearing this, Qi Yan stamped her foot in anger and pointed at Xia Chuli's nose and scolded, “How dare you order me to leave?”
Xia Chuli's expression darkened. He said, “Does the Queen want to mooch food and lodging here?”
Qi Yan was so angry that she lost all her dignity. She shouted, “Crown Prince, don't think you're so great just because you have the title. You're a low - born Xirong person. Do you really think you can be the King of Lixia? Spitting blood like this is your retribution!”
Xia Chuli coughed a few times and said, “Your Majesty the Queen, I'm still the Crown Prince and the heir to the throne of Lixia. Slandering the heir to the throne in front of him is punishable by having your tongue cut out according to the laws of Lixia!”
Qi Yan was startled and turned pale. She took a few steps back and was supported by the maids behind her. After the shock, she felt that she had lost face. She shouted at Xia Chuli again, “So what if you're the Crown Prince? You... just wait for me!”
Xia Chuli's eyes turned cold. “Arrest the Queen and cut out her tongue!”
As soon as Xia Chuli finished speaking, Shen Qingfeng understood. He suddenly stood up and walked towards Qi Yan. Qi Yan let out a scream and rushed out of the Eastern Palace. All the maids followed her.
“Humph,” Shen Qingfeng snorted and sat back down. “She's just a bully using the King's power. That woman is nothing but a joke.”
Xia Chuli waved away everyone in the palace. He threw away the blood - stained handkerchief and regained his normal expression. He snorted and said, “It's about time. Since it was Qi Yan who came, no one else will come after this.”
Shen Qingfeng nodded and said, “The poison Qi Shuhuan gave you. Imperial Physician Liu said you have to stay in bed for at least a month. Since you're staging this play, you'd better stay in bed these days.”
Xia Chuli lay on the bed and sighed. “Damn Qi Shuhuan. If I keep lying in bed like this, I'll turn into a useless person!”
Shen Qingfeng smiled. He was about to touch Xia Chuli's head, but his outstretched hand stopped in mid - air. Then he thought for a while and, where Xia Chuli couldn't see, put his hand back on his own thigh.
“Qingfeng, about the matter I wanted to discuss with you this afternoon, will you agree?” Xia Chuli turned his head and looked at Shen Qingfeng, his face full of pleading.
Shen Qingfeng cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “What you said makes sense, but we don't have to kill Xia Yonglin and Xia Yanhe.”
Xia Chuli was stunned. “Why?”
Shen Qingfeng said, “The situation in Qimen is currently stable. The Donghu tribe is resting in Liangcheng. Fengping is easy to defend but hard to attack. They won't launch an attack rashly in the short term. I've already contacted Lu Yan and asked him to find an opportunity to lead his troops secretly into Lige City to help you force the King to abdicate. Once the coup is successful, the throne will naturally be yours. At that time, you just need to exile them to a remote place.”
Xia Chuli propped his chin and thought for a while. “But forcing the King to abdicate is no different from rebellion. Once we're caught with evidence, whether it's Xia Yonglin or Xia Yanhe, if they raise an army to restore order, they'll be more justified than us. At that time, the common people won't support me.”
Shen Qingfeng said, “But Qi Shuhuan's nine - python robe is enough to stain their reputations. After you force the King to abdicate successfully, just exile them and strip them of their military and royal powers. They won't have a chance to rebel against you.”
“But what if the coup fails?” Xia Chuli suddenly asked.
“How could it fail...” Shen Qingfeng suddenly paused. Right, this Xia Chuli didn't know that their coup in the previous life had been successful. So it was normal for him to be skeptical about this plan.
Shen Qingfeng looked at him. “Then, A Li, what do you think we should do first?”
Xia Chuli said, “If the coup fails and Xia Yonglin and Xia Yanhe are still alive, Father will surely kill me. But if Xia Yonglin and Xia Yanhe are dead, even if I fail in the coup, he won't let me die, right?”
Xia Chuli propped himself up and sat up. He looked into Shen Qingfeng's eyes and said, “That nine - python robe was given to Qi Shuhuan by Li Yanqing, right?”
Shen Qingfeng nodded.
Xia Chuli said, “What if that nine - python robe was given to Qi Shuhuan by Xia Yonglin?”
Shen Qingfeng was shocked. He seemed to understand Xia Chuli's idea and murmured, “You mean, we're going to do a switch?”
Xia Chuli smiled and nodded. “This is just for Xia Yonglin. As for Xia Yanhe, he's not a smart man anyway. We can just set a trap for him. I'll be lying sick in bed, and you'll be staying with me all the time. If Father wants to suspect someone, he won't suspect us.”