In the haze, Chu Jiangnan seemed to catch a faint fragrance.
This scent, originally very light, suddenly became rich from being faint.
The moment the fragrance wafted to his nose, a surge of blood churned in his chest.
Chu Jiangnan wanted to step forward, but before he could, his mouth suddenly opened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood!
The blood was black!
"Your Majesty!"
"This is bad, His Majesty has been poisoned! Who poisoned him?"
"It must be Chu Qianli, only Chu Qianli had the opportunity to poison His Majesty!"
"Chu Qianli not only assassinated the Grand Tutor but also attempted to poison His Majesty, she deserves to die!"
"Guards, issue an order immediately to arrest Chu Qianli. If there is any resistance, kill her without mercy!"
"No... it wasn't her..." These were the last few words Chu Jiangnan uttered before he lost consciousness.
The surroundings were noisy, and finally, he completely lost his strength and sank into darkness.
...
Chu Qianli and Lan Qing left the palace as dawn approached.
Lan Qing had been somewhat dazed and disoriented all the way.
The medicine Chu Qianli had given him was potent, and the pain was indeed unbearable.
In his daze, he forgot what he had experienced, only knowing that due to the intense pain, he had been grasping onto something.
Finally, amidst the agony, he passed out.
When he woke up, he faintly heard someone speaking.
"I heard His Majesty vomited blood last night and is still unconscious."
"...As Miss predicted, Miss is now a wanted criminal. Prince Yu has ordered her to be killed on sight."
"...Yes, but they have described the matter very disgracefully..."
Lan Qing found this voice unfamiliar.
Because it was unfamiliar, he felt a sense of unease.
He tightly gripped a stone beside him and realized they seemed to be in a cave.
No, he was in a cave.
Wind seeped in from the cave entrance, carrying a hint of coolness.
And the direction of the voice was the same as the breeze.
They were outside the cave.
Finally, he heard a familiar voice: "How disgracefully did they describe it?"
It was Chu Qianli's voice.
Lan Qing hadn't expected that one day he would find a sense of security in someone's voice.
The other person speaking was someone Lan Qing didn't know, it was Gan Shi Yi.
Shi Yi said, "They said... they said the Grand Tutor was involved with the Emperor's woman and also poisoned the Emperor."
"Utterly absurd!" Chu Qianli snorted coldly.
A sound of spitting blood suddenly came from inside the cave.
Chu Qianli's heart jolted, and she immediately turned and walked in, "Grand Tutor, how are you?"
"Lan Fan... wants to ruin my reputation..." Lan Qing gritted his teeth, his breathing too ragged, almost making him vomit blood again.
"Don't be angry. In your current state, the more you get angry, the more it harms your body, and the more it plays into their hands."
Chu Qianli helped him sit down on the tatami mat and pulled a blanket over him.
"Your eyes are not healed yet, and your internal energy has not recovered. Going out now will not only fail to prove your innocence but will also lead to your death under their scheme."
"Chu Qianli..."
"You haven't implicated me, and I haven't implicated you. It's come to this, and there's no point in saying these things, is there?"
Chu Qianli knew what he was about to say.
After knowing him for so long, this was the first time she had seen an expression of guilt on Lan Qing's face.
The seven emotions and six desires seemed to be increasingly appearing on his face.
"Shi Yi, since he's awake, quickly tell me what you heard outside."
What she cared about most now was another matter.
Although, she herself didn't know why she cared so much.
"How is His Majesty now?"