"Lv Chi, are you listening?"
Liu Ying noticed Lv Chi was not paying attention and was looking at the golden teacup he had retrieved from Shen Ruihua."Brother Lv!" Liu ying called louder.
All attention turned to him as he jolted back into consciousness.
"I... I was just looking at the cup. I was wondering - if the tea was served in both cups - what if the poison had already been placed in the cup beforehand?" he deduced looking into the cup.
"That makes sense", Fu Jiu looked like he had just discovered something.
He opened his medical box and brought out a medicinal probe. He took the cup from Lv Chi and scraped the bottom. There was nothing. He checked the next cup. There was still nothing. Everyone watched patiently. He picked the last cup and scraped it carefully. A small speck of colorless residue was seen. He took it out and showed them.
"Is it.....?" Liu ying asked.
Fu Jiu brought it close to his nose and smelled it.
He looked up at them eagerly as he held it up, "it's indeed Fire root"
[Channing Palace]
Lingxi was seated with Sang Xue'er in the garden pavilion with Qin Yan standing behind her as usual.
"Qin Yan, can you give Sister a break? No one's coming to kidnap her, especially not me", Sang Xue'er teased.
Qin Yan paid no attention to her and Lingxi smiled, "there is no need to tease him. It's not your style"
"I just think it's impressive to remain exactly the same since childhood", Sang Xue'er said but there was more meaning to her words.
"Aren't we all the same?" Lingxi asked.
However, whether they really had remained the same or had changed, they knew the answer.
There was a short pause and Sang Xue'er broke it.
"You seem rather brighter than before. It seems His Highness has taken good care of you", she said.
"Is it very obvious?" Lingxi asked.
"You almost died. He is your love-struck husband, I would expect nothing else", Sang Xue'er said.
Lingxi thought about her words for a minute, "Love-struck? I never knew Xue'er was one to judge someone based on a first encounter only"
"I also never knew Sister would make such a ruthless move against the empress. I wonder what Her Highness had done to get on your bad side"
"She wanted to frame me so I decided to frame her in return. All is fair in love and war", Lingxi answered and took a sip of her wine.
"A fair weather with wine, flowers and a beauty. Why didn't grandaunt invite me?" they heard a familiar voice.
They turned to see He Xuan holding his fan as usual with a cheerful smile on his face.
"You're here", Lingxi said without a hint of surprise. He walked up to their table.
"I was so worried about grandaunt yesterday and wanted to stay by your side to tend to you but granduncle chased me out. Left with no other option, I had to leave. When I heard you had regained consciousness, I wanted to rush over to check on you but some official reports about Nanning were sent to me to review. I had no choice but to attend to my duties before coming", he said in a chivalrous tone.
Lingxi refused to answer him.
"Your highness, Prince Ning, is famed for being lazy and indifferent to his duties. I wonder what responsibilities could have kept you busy", Sang Xue'er said looking at him.
"Your Grace shouldn't believe mere rumors", He Xuan replied.
Sang Xue'er turned to face him properly, "so Your Highness is saying the officials are lying?"
"There are many jealous people who love tarnishing my good reputation", He Xuan smiled.
He did not seem the least offended or embarrassed.
Sang Xue'er stared back at him with growing interest while Lingxi fixed her attention on the book she was holding titled - "The Wanderer's Chronicles'
[Yanxue Hall]
He Yan was busy practicing his calligraphy but he kept messing it up. He kept aside the eleventh paper he had practiced.
Li Min picked up and studied it, "your highness seems to be worried"
He Yan sighed as he practiced one more time and still made a mistake.
He set his brush down, "I'm thinking about Mother"
Li Min expected that response, "what about Mother?"
"I understand Mother can be a bit ruthless at times but she would not directly attack anyone like that, especially the Grand Consort", he said.
He knew his mother's plans were better than this.
"What do you think?" he asked Li Min.
Li Min did not answer but instead sat next to him and picked up the brush. She set down a fresh paper and began writing the character, 'Sheng'.
"I think she was in haste and those in haste always tend to make wrong decisions", she answered.
He Yan studied her for a minute. He held her hand and turned her. Li Min did not seem to understand why.
"Min'er, I know things haven't been exactly great for you but....." he wanted to say but couldn't find the right words.
"But what?" she asked.
She wanted to know what he wanted to say. He Yan struggled to find the right words but couldn't and only ended up with two.
"You've changed"
"I've changed? How?" Li Min asked.
"You weren't like this before", He Yan answered.
"How was I before?" Li Min asked.
He Yan thought for a minute as he looked into her eyes.
"You were sweet, thoughtful, carefree and proud", He Yan recalled the Li Min he had fell in love with in the past.
"Then, what am I now like?" Li Min asked.
"You are much quieter now and indifferent. You no longer have the same bright smile as before. Back then, you would complain at every little thing but now, you don't seem to care about anything", he said.
He felt he was losing the one he loved.
"Your highness is overthinking", Li Min said as she put her attention back on what she was writing but her hand no longer wanted to write.
She couldn't bring herself to write for a moment and the brush hung and drops of ink stained the paper ruining the character she had already written. Her eyes moistened for a bit but she looked up as if to stop them from falling and took a breath.
"Your highness, look at this character", she said, "it was perfect a moment ago but the ink drops from the brush has ruined it. It can never be the same again"
She picked the paper and placed it at the corner of the table, "to avoid getting even more damaged than it already is, it must stay away from ink otherwise it would become worse"
He Yan watched and understood every word.
He held her shoulder and turned her to face him, "but you're not that character. You are my Min'er"
"Your Min'er cannot just pretend everything is fine. She has chosen to live quietly"
"Why?"
"Because that's the only way she can live peacefully", she replied, "back then, I was immature and behaved childishly because my father had my back. Now that my father is gone, it is only natural to grow up"
"But I'm here too. I have your back. You can do whatever you want, I'll protect you. I don't want you to grow up, not this way", He Yan said.
He wanted to see the brighter Li Min back.
"If your highness wants to protect me, you must have the ability first. After the case, you'll head for the frontier. You should do your best and gain a foothold. Then, you'll be able to protect me", she said.
He Yan pulled her into his arms, "I promise"
He closed his eyes as he held her head on his chest.
[Channing Palace]
Lingxi was eating lunch quietly with He Yu who was constantly serving her.
"He Yu, don't you want to eat anything?" she asked setting her chopsticks down.
He Yu had barely eaten anything since lunch was served.
"You've always eaten light. Eating too little is not good for the body. You're already frail", she said looking a bit worried.
He Yu smiled looking happy because Lingxi was worried about him.
"His Highness hardly eats anything. In the past, he would go a whole day without eating. It was only after Your Highness married into Channing Palace that he had started eating little", Chi Yun explained.
He was, of course, not just a guard but a wingman now. He Yu was impressed by his words. He tried to hide the gleam in his eyes but couldn't. Lingxi, on the other hand, felt more worried.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, He Yu quietly slid the rice bowl across the table until it stopped in front of her, "if Zhizhi is so worried, how about feeding me? I may eat more then"
Lingxi stared at him for a minute. He eyes looked innocent and she was, of course, not deceived by his act.
However, she decided to indulge him. She picked the rice bowl and began feeding him.
Chi Yun looked very pleased with himself.