It occurred to Su Mingyu that perhaps King Yu had specifically instructed his subordinate not to harm her. Also, the mystery of the Qingming poison in King Yu's possession was now solved.
Such a powerful and domineering poison couldn't have been easily obtained.
Su Mingyu couldn't help but let out a sneer. When King Yu had once come to her with the antidote for Qingming, she had even thought that maybe he wasn't that dangerous or cold - blooded. Otherwise, he wouldn't have pleaded with Tang Yan for the antidote on her behalf.
Now it seemed that he didn't need to plead with Tang Yan at all. He already had the antidote himself, but he had always pretended not to and thus won her sympathy.
Su Mingyu let out a cold snort. She really hadn't expected King Yu to be such a person. The saying “stooping to any means to achieve one's goal” was truly brought to the fullest in him.
“Master, what should we do now?” Follow Tang Yan?
After what had happened before, July didn't think following Tang Yan would be of any use. And there was no flaw in King Yu's scheme. Even when Gu Ruobai was with him, they couldn't get any valuable information from King Yu. Now that only she was left, July didn't think she had a reliable way.
Su Mingyu also sighed. “What's the use of following him? It's the emperor who wants to deal with Gu Ruobai now.”
“First, try to find out how Gu Ruobai is doing in the palace. Then we'll make a decision.” As she said this, Su Mingyu couldn't help but rub her forehead.
Seeing this, July could only nod. “Okay, I'll try to find out.”
“Be careful. Don't let King Yu find out.” After saying that, Su Mingyu carefully looked around. Not finding any suspicious people, she was relieved and shooed July away.
Xia Mian knew that Su Mingyu was going to meet July, but because Zhizhu was by her side, she didn't follow. Now seeing Su Mingyu come back, she quickly stepped forward and asked carefully.
Su Mingyu sighed. “He doesn't know how Gu Ruobai is either. We can only wait.”
Shortly after she finished speaking, a maid came up and whispered something in Su Mingyu's ear.
Su Mingyu frowned upon hearing this. “What is he here for?”
Although she was very reluctant, she still followed the maid out. Xia Mian keenly noticed something was wrong. She was just about to step forward to stop her when she received a refusal look from Su Mingyu.
Seeing this, Xia Mian had no choice but to watch helplessly as Su Mingyu left and walked towards King Yu not far away.
“I heard it was quite lively here today.” King Yu raised his eyebrows and looked at Su Mingyu, his eyes full of smiles.
Su Mingyu looked at him coldly. “Your goal has been achieved. I've begged everyone, but no one will tell me how Gu Ruobai is. Are you happy now?”
King Yu pretended to be deep and narrowed his eyes. “Actually, there's still one person you haven't begged.”
“Do you want me to beg you?” Su Mingyu immediately reacted. Her face darkened at once. “Impossible! I'll never beg you.”
As she said this, she turned around to leave. But at this moment, King Yu took out a jade pendant from his bosom. “Take a look at this before you go.”
The jade pendant, which was entirely green, looked horribly red in the setting sun, as if stained with blood. The powerful and vigorous character “Bai” on it indicated that this jade pendant had an owner.
The moment Su Mingyu saw the jade pendant, her eyes turned red. She glared at King Yu fiercely, and there was a hint of coldness in her voice. “What did you do to him?”
“I didn't do anything.” King Yu spread his hands. “You should ask, what did Father do to him?”
Saying this, King Yu casually threw the jade pendant in his hand to Su Mingyu as if he didn't care at all. “I went to the palace to see Father today. Such a big thing as the prince's rebellion has been without any movement. Aren't you curious?”
Su Mingyu's heart sank. She knew that King Yu wouldn't say anything good, but this was the only chance to find out about Gu Ruobai's situation, and she didn't want to give it up.
“What exactly do you want to say?” Su Mingyu looked at him coldly. “The emperor isn't stupid. Gu Ruobai already had his own army, so he had no need to raise another one. So although Gu Ruobai was caught red - handed, there were many doubts in the emperor's eyes.”
“Gu Ruobai was once his most valued son. Of course, he wouldn't easily convict him of the great crime of rebellion. So the emperor must still be investigating.”
When Su Mingyu said this, she was very confident because she believed that the emperor wasn't that stupid. Otherwise, King Yu wouldn't have bothered to frame Gu Ruobai so early.
“Clap, clap, clap.” After Su Mingyu finished speaking, King Yu applauded appreciatively. “I didn't expect that someone who rarely goes to court would know so much about the affairs in our court.”
Saying this, King Yu flicked his robe and sat down on a stool. “You're right. Father really doesn't believe that Gu Ruobai would rebel, so he has already sent people from the Ministry of Justice to investigate.”
Hearing this, Su Mingyu breathed a slight sigh of relief in her heart. But before she could fully relax, King Yu casually dropped another sentence that made Su Mingyu's breathing quicken with nervousness.
“The people from the Ministry of Justice always handle things flawlessly. They will soon find out about Tang Ziyan who has lived in King Yu's mansion for so long. Then, following Tang Ziyan, they will find that Tang Yan's existence is very strange, and they will investigate the matter of Tang Yan's rehabilitation again.”
King Yu said to himself, looking at Su Mingyu's increasingly ugly face with satisfaction. “After that, Tang Yan's floating mansion on the water will be discovered, and then Tang Yan's identity as a salt merchant and the existence of Mo Wenyuan, the scapegoat raised by Gu Ruobai.”
Saying this, King Yu raised his eyebrows and smiled at Su Mingyu. “Do you think Father may not mind his son secretly raising an army, but will he not mind his son secretly monopolizing the private salt trade of the whole country?”
“Without silver, the army raised can at most be just bodyguards with good physical fitness. But if Gu Ruobai has wealth comparable to that of a country, and then look at the strong and powerful soldiers he has raised, do you think our suspicious Father will think nothing of it?”
Hearing this, Su Mingyu couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat on her back. She looked at King Yu with a panicked look and asked in disbelief, “When did you find out about the relationship between Mo Wenyuan and Gu Ruobai?”
“Mo Wenyuan is known to be indifferent to any woman. He's a man who's extremely difficult to charm. But as soon as you went to the 'First Fragrance', you had a close relationship with him. Although you're good - looking, you're not so beautiful that people would forget everything.”
King Yu raised his eyebrows and looked at Su Mingyu. Seeing her pale face, he couldn't help but curl his lips, and a hint of pride flashed in his black eyes.