66: Chapter 66: The Prince Still Forgot This Sentence 66: Chapter 66: The Prince Still Forgot This Sentence Shen Xiheng knew the inside story but didn’t feel it was his place to speak further, so he kept his head down and ate, making himself as invisible as possible.
Song Ling had only heard rumors about how Prince Li had died from poison and then was resurrected, and that it was the Princess who had revived him.
His mind whirred quickly, and he felt that he had already guessed seventy to eighty percent of the truth.
Li Mingjue looked toward Qi Yu, who picked up her bowl and used it to shield her face completely, as if to say she couldn’t be seen.
She couldn’t explain how she had cured the poison.
After all, it was her family’s secret dical technique, sothing she couldn’t and shouldn’t speak about.
And she couldn’t fool Mo Qingshan with lies, so it was better to keep playing dumb.
Better to avoid trouble than to seek it out.
Mo Qingshan couldn’t snap out of it for a long ti; only when the pot of soup had gone cold did he take out a small bottle from his chest and toss it in front of Li Mingjue.
“This is the Qingfeng Pill from Tulan, able to detoxify hundreds of poisons.
You…
keep it for now.”
Although the poison had been cured, his disciple had faced many disasters, so it was best to keep it for safety.
“Sky Clearing Pill?” Qi Yu took the bottle of elixir in her hand and sniffed it carefully, finding the sll a bit strange.
It didn’t emit the usual modest scent of ordinary elixirs; this Sky Clearing Pill had a pungent, peculiar fragrance to it.
Mo Qingshan took a sip of wine and said indifferently, “This item was created from a secret formula of Tulan.
Though it’s an antidote, it’s also poisonous.”
“Using poison to fight poison,” mused Qi Yu silently as she closed and set down the bottle, pushing it back in front of Li Mingjue.
She herself had developed many elixirs, but none had slled as strange as this.
Moreover, she had heard from Li Mingjue before that besides poison-making, Tulan Kingdom’s greatest expertise lay in Witchcraft Technique, which could seize a person’s mind.
The concept sounded mystical, and while Qi Yu was curious, she also felt a faint fear.
Li Mingjue accepted the dicine and thanked Mo Qingshan, “Thank you, Master.”
Mo Qingshan, who had drunk a bit more by this point, was feeling tipsy and reverted to his usual frivolous deanor.
He said sowhat groggily, “I have co here for another reason.”
“What is it?” Li Mingjue quickly seized the opportunity to ask before his master could collapse.
Gathering his muddled thoughts, Mo Qingshan replied, “In a month, the Tulan Envoy will enter the capital city, bringing the Princess with him.”
After speaking, he collapsed onto the table.
Li Mingjue could only help his master to rest with the assistance of a guard.
Although Mo Qingshan’s statent was brief, it implied a wealth of information.
“The end of the year is near; it’s ti for the Tulan Envoy to enter the capital,” Shen Xiheng comnted quietly.
In recent years, there had been a facade of friendly relations between Tulan and Dazhao, but turbulent undercurrents ran deep beneath the seemingly calm surface.
Every year’s end, Tulan would co bearing tribute, and Dazhao would reciprocate with gifts.
But this year, why bring a Princess along?
The implicit depth behind it truly invited speculation.
Qi Yu knew very little about this mysterious country, but she had watched many palace dramas; there was an eighty percent chance they were proposing a royal marriage.
Shen Xiheng nodded, “Princess Lingya of Tulan just turned twenty-eight this year, the proper age for marriage.”
Qi Yu frowned, feeling that the matter was not so simple.
Shen Xiheng beca serious and kindly gave her a heads-up, “Tulan’s move this ti is likely aid at Prince Li.”
Song Ling agreed with him, “Although Dazhao has several Princes, only Prince Li and Prince Ming’an are currently in the capital city.”
The matter of Li Mingjue’s poisoning was already related to Tulan, and with Li Ming’an fanning the flas, Tulan was likely looking to collaborate with Li Ming’an to take control over him.
Qi Yu appeared calm and unaffected as she said, “Whether I marry or not is not for the Tulan Princess to decide.”
Tulan is a vassal of Dazhao, and even if they wanted their princess to beco the Prince Consort, Li Tianze would not agree.
However, Shen Xiheng was not as optimistic.
“In recent years, Tulan has continuously tried to break through Dazhao’s borders, but they have been repelled each ti.
His Majesty has turned a blind eye to these minor skirmishes.
But if we want long-term peace between the two nations, a marriage alliance seems to be the only solution now.”
Qi Yu felt that marriage alliances were unreliable, standing on walls that could collapse without a push, crumbling into ruins within minutes.
“For now, we can only take one step at a ti,” Shen Xiheng sighed deeply.
Seeing that Qi Yu had a troubled expression, he went to the back yard to play chess with Song Ling.
As evening approached, Qi Yu had little interest in drinking tea and planned to go back to her room to flip through storybooks.
But she had read the stories of those talented n and beautiful won many tis, and they were truly uninteresting.
They were nothing more than stories of heroes unable to surpass the challenge of a beauty or tales of devoted won and faithless n.
She let out a faint sigh, which Li Mingjue, just entering the room, heard clearly.
“What’s wrong today?” he asked.
He closed the door securely behind him, not letting a single breeze enter.
Qi Yu lay on her bed and tossed the storybook aside, “Nothing much, just feeling a bit bored, that’s all.”
Li Mingjue, seeing her expressionless face, naturally didn’t believe her.
He lifted his hand to touch the corner of her eye and suddenly asked, “Why have you been crying?”
Qi Yu looked startled, not knowing how he could tell.
At the ti, she had only reddened around the eyes and shed a single tear, was it that obvious?
“I’ve been wanting to ask, but just now, my master was here.” Li Mingjue said as he lightly brushed away the tear, seemingly trying to erase both the stain and her sorrow.
In the kitchen, when he first saw her, he had keenly noticed the faint tear streaks on her face.
But those traces were not conspicuous, and if it weren’t for the slight redness at the corner of her eyes, he doubted he would have noticed.
During their al at Tinglan Pavilion, his mind had constantly strayed to her emotions, and he saw that she was much more silent than usual.
Even now, his heart was still suspended, unable to settle down.
Normally, he was used to seeing her carefree deanor; this was the first ti he was confronted with her tears, and he was sowhat at a loss.
In the past, his cold words had scared away and made cry countless won who were interested in him.
He had always thought that the weeping and wailing of won was annoying and had no desire to comfort those pampered ladies from prominent families.
But this ti, he was truly panicked.
Qi Yu dodged slightly, “It’s nothing.”
But Li Mingjue refused to let her get her way, his fingers gliding down her cheek, gently pinching her chin, and forcing her face to straighten.
He looked at her intently, his voice soft, “Anything you desire, I can provide; those words were not ant to rely placate you.”
Qi Yu almost drowned in the depth of his gaze.
Prince Qi indeed had striking looks; when his peach-blossom eyes focused on soone, they held an extraordinary depth of affection.
Perhaps no woman in this world could escape his charm, and being an ordinary person, she naturally was no exception.
But he was Prince Qi, and he would one day be the king over all the land.
Whether it was having multiple wives and concubines or a harem, it was all normal, and perhaps she should never have given her heart away from the start.
“Prince, it’s best you forget that promise,” Qi Yu closed her eyes, no longer daring to look at him.
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