Chapter 118.1 – Wolf Cub in Rabbit’s Clothing
Lu Qipei asked seriously, looking at Qi Yang without blinking.
Qi Yang was slightly surprised when she heard those words, and immediately felt amused again, “Why are you overthinking so much? People always change, and the me now is different from the one you used to know. So have you ever despised me?”
Lu Qipei naturally shook her head. She thought that Her Royal Highness The Princess was the best in all aspects, so what was there to despise?
Seeing this, Qi Yang said, “So that’s how it is. Besides, in our current situation, it’s actually a good thing that you could change like this.” After a slight pause, she said, “But you must hide it well on everyday life, and not let others know.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Qipei smiled slightly and solemnly nodded.
In fact, although Qi Yang was initially surprised by Lu Qipei’s ruthlessness in scheming at people’s hearts, after the initial surprise faded, it was not difficult to accept. To speak realistically, when Lu Qicheng pushed her to the limit back then, didn’t Lu Qipei quietly take his life? To put it even further, half of Xie Yuan’s blood also ran in her body, and perhaps in some way, things didn’t fall far from their tree.
But compared to Xie Yuan’s obsessiveness and ruthlessness, Lu Qipei, who was a woman and had been taught to be carefree and indifferent, naturally had less ambition. It’s not that she couldn’t be ruthless or lacked the means; she was just unwilling to take the initiative to do so.
Qi Yang thought that this was quite good. As long as there was a bottom line, she did not need to worry about the means. After thinking about these things, she suddenly looked at Lu Qipei and asked, “What happened today made me think, is there anything else that Ah Pei is hiding from me?”
There were indeed many things that Qi Yang did not ask about, and Lu Qipei did not take the initiative to mention them to her.
Lu Qipei blinked her eyes, looking at Qi Yang with a pure and innocent expression, “Your Highness has never asked about a lot things.”
Qi Yang naturally understood that this was an admission that she had hidden a lot of things, but she was somewhat dazzled by Lu Qipei’s innocent look. First, she raised her hand to cover Lu Qipei’s eyes that were trying to play innocent, then asked while pretending to be serious, “What important things are you hiding from me. Tell me everything.”
Lu Qipei blinked again, but this time her eyes were covered by Qi Yang’s hand, and she couldn’t convey any expression. But when she blinked her eyes, her long eyelashes brushed against Qi Yang’s palm, creating a slight itch that almost made Qi Yang unable to maintain her serious expression.
Fortunately, Lu Qipei did not intend to fool her way out of the topic with this. After thinking about it carefully, she said, “Let’s talk about something more recent. When His Majesty fell seriously ill before, both Your Majesty and I thought that there was something strange, so I sent someone to investigate. The royal physicians and the medicinal herbs are actually fine, but His Majesty was secretly given a drug that has properties that goes against the medicinal herbs used for treating cold and fever. So the more His Majesty took medicine for cold and fever, the worse his illness became.”
Qi Yang didn’t know this, and the hand covering Lu Qipei’s eyes trembled as she heard those words. Without any more playful thoughts like before, she quickly withdrew her hand and said seriously, “Is there a solution for that secret medicine? How is Royal Father now, will he have another episode?”
Lu Qipei turned serious when it came down to business and explained, “This kind of secret medicine usually comes from the palace. It’s usually used for hidden moves in the previous dynasty’s harem. I have never heard of an antidote, I only know that it has mutually restraining property with some commonly used medicines for fever and cold. After taking the fever and cold medicine for a long time, people would grow weaker without realizing it, and finally die without any evidence to find.”
Just like the Emperor before; his condition fluctuated from mild to severe, and his fever returned every night. Even the royal physicians couldn’t diagnose the abnormality.
Qi Yang knew and was accustomed to the cruelty of the royal harem’s competition, but it still felt terrifying to hear about this kind of thing that was used to take people’s lives. Especially when Lu Qipei said that she didn’t know about an antidote – her heart became even more tense, and she immediately thought about something. “So when His Majesty stopped taking the medicine, that was also something that you arranged?”
Lu Qipei had no choice but to say, “There’s no other way, I really couldn’t find an antidote. Plus, ordinary doctors wouldn’t be able to find this secret medicine, and I don’t have any medical skills to justify treating His Majesty. After a lot of consideration, I could only try cutting off the medicine first.”
The result of that attempt was surprisingly good, as the secret medicine itself seemed harmless. It only conflicted with the medicinal properties of the fever and cold medicine. However, no one knew how long the secret medicine’s effect would last. If it lasted forever, would the Emperor have to rely just on himself if he caught a cold again in the future?
But that wasn’t something that Lu Qipei needed to worry about. It wasn’t convenient for her to come forward and do something directly, but fortunately all she needed to do was to point out the suspicious points clearly.
Both the Emperor and the Crown Prince weren’t fools, and it was easier for them to investigate something than her. Maybe the Head Minister of the Court of Judicial Review had already found out about the secret medicine, or maybe even the person who prescribed it. Who knows, maybe the antidote had been found?
Thinking about how the Emperor’s condition had recovered, Qi Yang suppressed the panic in her heart. After thinking about it, she felt that this matter was no longer as big as she thought, and there was no need for them to worry anymore. Anyways, she could not do more compared to the Crown Prince and the Emperor himself.
Leaving aside this matter for the time being, Qi Yang calmed down and asked, “This is a recent event, but what about things even further back?’
Upon hearing this, Lu Qipei’s eyes flickered slightly, and she showed a rare hesitation when faced with Qi Yang’s question. The last time this situation happened was when Qi Yang asked her about her identity a few years ago. At that time, the two of them had conflicting identities, causing Lu Qipei to feel uneasy and hesitant.
So when Qi Yang saw Lu Qipei hesitating, she knew that she was hiding a big thing from her. At that moment, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly and she asked in a somewhat dangerous tone, “What, do you have something bigger you’re hiding from me?”
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