Chapter 305: Interlocking Traps

Baili Qingcang stood up abruptly and stepped down the stairs to walk to Baili Jinyi. “Is there any antidote?”

“Princess Zhaohua…” Chen Yun turned to look at Shen Ninghua and began in a questioning tone.

Shen Ninghua nodded. “Father Emperor, do you still have the Snow Lotus Pill I gave you? That was given to you by the Sixth Prince of the Great Yue Kingdom. Doctor Chen and I have been studying it for a long time, and only then did we manage to produce some Snow Lotus Pills, which can cure all kinds of poisons.”

When the Third Prince saw that the Crown Prince had been poisoned and vomited blood, he was so happy that he almost jumped up. It was difficult for him to suppress the excitement in his heart at this moment.

This poison was too timely. It would be best if the Crown Prince died right there and then. However, before his delight could settle down, Shen Ninghua’s words were like a bucket of cold water pouring over his head.

The Snow Lotus Pill that was gifted to the Emperor by Bu Jinglan, the Sixth Prince of the Great Yue Kingdom…

Baili Qingcang quickly ordered the chief eunuch to bring over a piece of Snow Lotus Pill and feed it to the Crown Prince.

“Dear Associate Chen, is he going to be okay?”

Reading the Crown Prince’s pulse for a while, Chen Yun nodded, “Your Majesty, the poison in the Crown Prince is the same as the poison in the Empress. Fortunately, the Crown Prince took the antidote in time and is fine now.”

When Baili Qingcang heard this, his eyebrows jumped. “Are you saying that the poison in the Crown Prince is the same as the poison in the Empress?”

“Yes, it is indeed the same kind of poison that was put into the wine.”

Turning to the palace maid who poured wine for the Crown Prince, Baili Qingcang demanded, “Hand over the wine jug in your hand to Dear Associate Chen to examine it.”

The horrified palace maid, whose face was as pale as a paper, slowly walked to Doctor Chen. She was so nervous that she almost tripped when she walked around the table. Then, she handed the wine jug to Doctor Chen, her hands trembling vigorously.

Chen Yun checked some wine and shook his head. “Your Majesty, there is no poison in the wine.”

“Oh? Does it mean that someone poisoned the glass?”

Chen Yun handed the wine jug to the palace maid next to him, and she quickly took it with both hands.

Suddenly, Chen Yun grabbed the palace maid’s wrist. “What did you apply on your nails?”

“N-Nothing.” The palace maid shivered nervously. Then, she suddenly pulled back her arm, turned around, and ran towards the gate of the palace.

“Stop her!” Baili Qingcang shouted coldly.

A man of sacrifice, who was hiding in the dark, grabbed the palace maid and threw her to the ground.

The surrounding officials quickly got up and knelt on the ground, not daring to raise their heads for fear of causing trouble. The Empress had just passed away, and now someone tried to poison the Crown Prince. Misfortunates happened one after another.

The indignant Baili Qingcang stepped on the palace maid’s fingers and glowered, “How dare you poison and kill the Crown Prince in front of us! Did you borrow guts from a god?!”

The palace maid’s fingers were broken, but she didn’t cry out in pain. Instead, she suddenly laughed and didn’t look frightened at all. “I am just trying to protect myself. But from the looks of it, I can’t even do that.”

“Protect yourself? You poisoned the Crown Prince! Did he want to kill you? Why would he kill a palace maid for no reason?”

“Your Majesty, how did you know it was for no reason?”

Baili Qingcang’s eyelids twitched. Thinking about how the Crown Prince was poisoned in the same way as the Empress, he squinted, and a chill rose in his heart for no reason. “What is the reason then?”

“Didn’t the poison in my hand explain everything?” The palace maid grinned coldly.

At this moment, Baili Jinyi woke up. Although he had consumed the Snow Lotus Pill, his face was still a little pale. His face was full of anger as he quickly walked in front of the palace maid and growled, “I don’t know you at all, and I have never thought of killing you. What is the reason for you to protect yourself?”

“Crown Prince, don’t push me too far! Do you really think I don’t dare to say it?”

Baili Jinyi kicked her. “You cheap slave! Fine, say it!”

“Pfft!” The palace maid spat out a mouthful of blood.

Witnessing the shocking sight, Baili Qingcang took two steps back and turned to look at the chief eunuch. “Go take a look.”

“Your Majesty, she is already dead.”

What?

The Crown Prince gasped in utter bewilderment. He just kicked her out of frustration and didn’t even use much strength. How did she die? “Father Emperor, I…”

Baili Qingcang raised his hand to stop him. “She’s just a maid. Guards, take her out of here.”

The Third Prince gritted his teeth in great dismay and almost broke his teeth. How could Father Emperor just take the palace maid away without investigating the matter? It seemed that he was determined to protect the Crown Prince! But why?! What did the Crown Prince do that Father Emperor wanted to protect him like this?

Baili Junyi looked sorrowful. “I’m sorry, royal brother. It’s all my fault. I wanted to show you my merits, but I didn’t expect such a terrible thing to happen.”

Baili Jinyi looked at him seriously, but he could only see the remorse on his face. He could not see through him at all. “It doesn’t matter. How can I blame this on you? Even I don’t understand what is going on.”

“Since you don’t understand, don’t worry about it. Who knows what she was up to?” Baili Junyi waved his hand. “Royal brother, you were poisoned just now. You should be fine, right? Today’s banquet is for you. If you leave, this banquet will be dull.”

Baili Jinyi originally wanted to use the excuse of not feeling well to leave, but thinking of the importance of this banquet, he could only nod to agree with Baili Junyi’s remark. “I’m fine. It’s all thanks to the precious and miraculous Snow Lotus Pill and Princess Zhaohua.”

Shen Ninghua looked at Prince An and Bu Jinglan in the VIP seats and smiled slightly.

“I have to thank the Sixth Prince of the Great Yue Kingdom. If it weren’t for the Snow Lotus he gave His Majesty, the consequences would have been serious. It’s just that it’s still a pity. If I had known earlier about the poison that Mother Empress took, she would have been fine with the Snow Lotus Pill around.”

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Baili Jinyi raised his head and felt his heart shivering as his gaze fell on Shen Ninghua’s face.

Shen Ninghua looked up at him with a smile on her lips. “Crown Prince, please don’t blame yourself. It’s understandable that you didn’t think of it in that kind of urgency.”

Baili Qingcang suddenly said, “Ninghua, did the Crown Prince know the effects of Snow Lotus Pill?”

Looking up with slight doubt in her eyes, Shen Ninghua explained, “Father Emperor, have you forgotten? When I brought Snow Lotus Pill into the Palace, the Crown Prince was also there, and I clearly stated its effect at that time. However, it’s normal that he couldn’t remember it since it was such a long time ago.”

The hall was eerily quiet, and only the sound of breathing that was deliberately lowered could be heard.

The Crown Prince knew about the miraculous effect of the Snow Lotus Pill, but he chose to keep quiet and watch his birth mother die. What did this say about him?

Uncertainty and gloominess hovered under Baili Qingcang’s face, and his domineering glare fell on the Crown Prince with a trace of unprecedented seriousness. Was it true? Did the Crown Prince really forget or deliberately forget? Was what Old Lady Feng said about the Zhao Family true?

Baili Jinyi’s gaze flickered anxiously. Feeling as if his heart had been pierced by that glare, he suddenly covered his chest and spat out another mouthful of blood, looking unprecedentedly desolate. “I forgot… I forgot…”

Chen Yun quickly went forward to check his pulse. “The Crown Prince as too sad and spat out a mouthful of blood out of grief. However, he has been in turmoil these days, and it’s good for him to spit out the blood. He’ll be fine after keeping up a good and healthy lifestyle.”

His statement had patched up the Crown Prince’s reputation a little. Since he was so sad that he vomited blood, it seemed that he must have really forgotten about the effect of the Snow Lotus Pill.

Baili Qingcang retracted his gaze and replied coldly, “Alright, I understand. Dear Associates, why do you stop? Are you not having a good time?”

In an instant, the hall became lively again. Everyone had smiles on their faces, but their smiles were even uglier than grimacing.

With a sneer, Baili Qingcang looked around, his eyes full of disdain. “Crown Prince, can you still hold on?”

“Yes, Father Emperor. I’m fine.”

“Well, that’s good. Let’s continue drinking. After all, you are the main star of today’s banquet.”

“Yes. Thank you, Father Emperor.”

Baili Jinyi sat back in his seat. They had changed the palace maid to tend to him, but he still felt a chill behind his back. What happened today was a trap, and it was a trap specially designed for him. However, he did not know who was the mastermind behind this…

Baili Junyi returned his seat and held Shen Ninghua’s hand. It seemed that this was the only way for him to be at ease. He turned his head slightly and lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear him. “Ninghua…”

Shen Ninghua looked at the sky outside. The sky had already darkened, and she could vaguely see guards in armor and holding spears outside. She held Baili Junyi’s hand back, and their fingers were interlocked.

Suddenly, a touch of red painted the dark sky. At first, it was very faint, but later it became thicker and thicker, faintly dyeing half of the sky.

“What’s going on?”

“Uh…”

Looking at the gate, Baili Qingcang demanded with a frown, “Go take a look at what’s going on!”

After about half ten minutes, the guard quickly ran back and reported, “Your Majesty, multiple fires broke out in the capital, and the Capital Guards are putting out the fires.”

“Fires? Where is the Governor of Capital Guards?”

Sun Ning quickly stood up. “I’m here.”

“Go and see what’s going on.”

“Yes. I’ll go right away.”

Baili Junyi looked at the princes’ seat opposite him. The Second Prince had been silent all this time. This was his usual outlook after returning from the battlefield, and there was nothing unusual about it. The Third Prince tried his best to restrain his expression, but the dissatisfaction and resentment were apparent. The Fourth Prince was indifferent, while the Sixth Prince looked depressed.

He wondered if any of them would maintain the current expression when the matter was exposed.

Everyone in the hall was distracted, but they did not take the sudden fires to heart. After all, the recent weather was hot and dry, and there would be fires from time to time.

At this moment, the Governor of Capital Guards walked in quickly, sweat drenching all over his face and body despite the fact that it was chilly and windy at night. “Your Majesty!”

“Where did the fires start? Did anyone get hurt?”

“Y-Your Majesty, the places that caught fire are Qunfang Loft in the east of the city, Wanhua Loft in the west, Zui Meng Xiang, and Chunyi Loft…”

Not apprehending the names of the buildings at first, Baili Qingcang gradually felt that something was off. “Why are the names of these places so strange?”

“Y-Your Majesty, these places are all… famous brothels in the city!” the Governor of Capital Guards asserted hesitantly.

“Are you saying that the places on fire are all brothels?”

“Yes!” “Did you catch the culprit?”

“No, but someone found a few ledgers.”

Baili Qingcang’s face darkened. “Bring them to me!”

The Governor of Capital Guards broke out in cold sweat. When he saw the eunuch handing over the ledgers, he finally knelt on the ground with a thump.

“Good! Good! You are truly my good officials! You are truly my great sons!”

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