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Xiao Luo neither nodded nor shook his head, simply watching Mei Ru in silence.
Mei Ru seemed to have heard something extremely funny, suddenly laughing nervously, "Your Majesty, should I laugh at your ruthlessness or your sentimentality? Previously, Mei Shuang was so infatuated that she wished to stand before you naked just to catch your eye, yet for Chu Xiruo, you wouldn’t even glance at her. Now, you are actually concerned for her life. I just don’t understand, Your Majesty, wouldn’t her death fulfill your wish? Back then, she hated Chu Xiruo so much that she wanted to eliminate her; now that she’s dead, it has relieved Chu Xiruo and alleviated your worries. Isn’t that killing two birds with one stone?"
Xiao Luo replied coldly, "You killed her merely because she discovered your secret. Now that the truth is out, why do you still need to take her life?"
"Yes, she discovered my secret, so I poisoned her and threatened her to keep her mouth shut. However, I was ultimately not at ease, so I forced her to take a memory-erasing drug to make her forget what she shouldn’t remember. Unfortunately, it was my first time preparing that drug, and its effect wasn’t as good as I imagined. Otherwise, how could it have failed right before the poison took effect? Do you think Yun Kong would know so much..."
"Her memory loss was your doing?" A hint of astonishment flashed in Xiao Luo's eyes. He had always thought that Mei Shuang lost her memory due to the deep impact from Deposed Empress Mei Shuang; he didn’t expect there was this incident as well.
He nodded, "But do you know that the current Mei Shuang is no longer the same as before? Therefore, there’s no need for you to go against her..."
Mei Ru stared at Xiao Luo with some confusion because Yun Kong had said the same thing. Now even the Emperor of the Great Qin Empire was saying this; she chuckled lightly, "What do you mean? Has she really become a different person?"
"She is not the same Mei Shuang as before; she possesses Mei Shuang's body but is completely another person in thought. After hearing your words, I thought I could find clarity; perhaps it is your actions that changed her..."
Mei Ru's light smile instantly froze. After the wedding, she had only seen Mei Shuang a few times. From their encounter in Heavenly Prison, she vaguely felt something was off about Mei Shuang's behavior and speech. During their time in Cold Palace, she had witnessed Mei Shuang's extraordinary intelligence but hadn’t expected it to have truly changed.
After a moment of silence, Mei Ru shook her head angrily and said, "Then she deserves to die! Because of her, the Jiu Rang Family of the Eastern Kingdom turned against me and caused my carefully crafted plans to be revealed step by step. Even Yun Kong—damn him—believed her words; let her suffer hellish pain now... Hahaha..."
Xiao Luo said solemnly, "She was only trying to protect herself... Moreover, the secrets she inadvertently revealed disrupted your plans. So do you think she's simple?"
Upon hearing "secrets," Mei Ru abruptly stopped laughing and trembled slightly. "Secrets? What secrets?"
"Not only did she predict the internal strife of the Eastern Kingdom, but she also knew the specific dates... She must also know about the rise and fall of the Eastern Kingdom..."
"What?! Who is she? How can she glimpse such secrets?" Mei Ru exclaimed in shock.
Xiao Luo shook his head. "I am not sure either. All I know is that she firmly believed only you could save her; that's why she hurried back to the capital today..."
Mei Ru lowered her gaze, thought for a moment, then raised her head and said firmly, "Your Majesty, may I ask you for one thing?"
In this season, the Heavenly Prison was suffocatingly silent. When Xiao Luo emerged from Heavenly Prison, he was already covered in a thin layer of sweat.
Lost in deep thought, he turned a corner and saw Li Gonggong's young attendant anxiously looking around, likely waiting for his return.
Sure enough, as soon as Xiao Luo appeared, the young attendant hurried over and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the person has returned..."
At the western corner of the Purple Dawn Palace, Xiao Luo spotted Li Gonggong pacing back and forth outside.
Upon seeing the Emperor arrive, Li Gonggong quickly ran over, drenched in sweat and wearing a worried expression. "Your Majesty, you have finally come! Please go inside and take a look!"
Li Gonggong was not usually so flustered, indicating that the situation was urgent. Xiao Luo quickened his pace and entered the palace.
The palace doors were tightly shut, and the attending Palace Maids had been sent outside. They exchanged glances, feeling embarrassed to hear sounds from within during the day. Some were even horrified; why did it sound like someone was in heat?
Even Xiao Luo, upon stepping inside and hearing the initial terrifying sounds, felt his eardrums tremble at the continuous cries. He furrowed his brow; what was going on? Was someone in heat?
After hastily entering, he saw Nangong Nuo and an unfamiliar young woman anxiously watching Mei Shuang, who was tossing and turning with her eyes closed on the bed. The sounds were coming from Mei Shuang, and they were becoming increasingly intense, making one's blood boil.
As those intense sounds continued, the black silk thread on her clear forehead began to move as if it were dancing.
This scene left everyone shocked; what on earth was happening?
Both Nangong Nuo and the young woman were at a loss regarding Mei Shuang's condition.
Lin Tian'er was on the verge of tears, her face flushed and eyes watery as she looked at Nangong Nuo, who was also sweating. "Your Highness, what should we do? If this continues, Lin Shoutong might not wake up..."
Nangong Nuo's complexion fluctuated between red and white, but he was at a loss for what to do.
Hearing that the Emperor had arrived, Lin Tian'er hurriedly turned around and knelt down without even seeing clearly. "This humble girl Lin Tian'er pays her respects to His Majesty, long live the Emperor."
Xiao Luo ignored her and only asked Nangong Nuo, "What happened?"
Nangong Nuo looked frustrated. "She just entered the palace and fell ill again. What are we going to do?"
Xiao Luo stepped closer, looking at Mei Shuang, who was unconscious and drenched in sweat as if enduring hell. He thought to himself that it was indeed as Mei Ru had said; they were now at a critical juncture.
He took out a small pill from his wide sleeves and handed it to Lin Tian'er. "Give this to her."
Lin Tian'er took it with confusion and quickly dissolved it in water. With the help of a Palace Maid, she fed it to Mei Shuang.
It truly was a case of medicine curing the ailment; not long after taking it, Mei Shuang stopped struggling and opened her eyes.
Lin Tian'er widened her eyes in excitement. "Ah! Look, Lin Shoutong is awake..."
This scene left Nangong Nuo dumbfounded as well.
"It was given by Mei Ru; it can only be used once..." Xiao Luo said. Hearing Lin Tian'er's address, he frowned. "Lin Shoutong?"
Lin Tian'er suddenly wished she could slap herself; she had been too presumptuous in front of the Emperor. After all, this Lin Shoutong before her might become the Empress of this stern ruler!
She quickly knelt down again. "Your Majesty, I am at fault; I am used to calling her that and couldn't change my words."
"Your Majesty?" A weak voice came from the bed belonging to Mei Shuang.
In that moment, it felt as if she was being tortured in raging flames, soaked in icy water, and gnawed at by countless insects. In short, the sensation of being caught between ice and fire was akin to experiencing a purgatory, unbearable to the point of wishing for death.
Mei Shuang felt as if she had just been pulled from the water, her long hair drenched and spread across the bed. Her face was flushed, and it took her a while to open her dazed eyes and focus on her surroundings.
Damn it, everyone said this Poison was powerful, but she never expected it to be this intense. If she hadn't experienced it herself, she would have thought the terrifying descriptions of Poison's effects in books were mere stories.
"Confusion, lust, a foul taste in the mouth, followed by visual and auditory hallucinations, seeing ghostly figures..." She recalled a line from a book that seemed to describe her own feelings. Just after getting off the carriage, she felt as if she had entered hell on earth, surrounded by overlapping shadows and an overwhelming crowd. Walking through it felt like wandering through a ghost market; her body seemed beyond her control, drifting aimlessly until she spotted a strange man and was irresistibly drawn to him...
If this were a dream, it would be one that made her blush and her heart race. While enjoying that sensation, all her strength felt drained away. She thought that if she didn't wake up soon, she might just collapse from exhaustion.
No longer daring to reminisce, she struggled to get up but was stopped by Xiao Luo. "No rush, I have something to say to you..."
The night was dark as ink, shrouding the daytime clamor in silence. The entire Purple Dawn Palace was enveloped in tranquility.
In the Heavenly Prison, a few lanterns illuminated the cramped space.
Sitting in a corner of the wall, Mei Ru noticed the light but did not find it strange.
When Mei Shuang appeared, her gaze shifted to Mei Shuang.
Mei Shuang's long hair flowed down; she wore a white long shirt, still plain-faced but with slightly pale skin and a somewhat haggard appearance. It was evident that the effects of the Poison were still significant.
After sizing her up for a while, Mei Ru smirked slightly. "You seem well, sister..."
Looking at Mei Ru in plain clothes within the Heavenly Prison—so different from the Empress adorned with a phoenix crown and resplendent red palace attire—it was as if they were entirely different people.
Still in the same place with the same individuals, who would have thought that fate could turn so swiftly that their positions had changed in what felt like the blink of an eye?
"Thanks to you..." Mei Shuang said calmly, "I'm fine..."
Mei Ru got up from the ground, brushed off the grass from her clothes, and walked to the fence. She looked at Mei Shuang again and nodded, saying, "You really aren't the same sister as before. You used to never be this polite; you thought everything I did for you was just expected. However, saying this shows you still have a conscience, so that medicine wasn't given to you for nothing..."
"Speak up, what do you want from me?" Mei Shuang asked directly, not wanting to beat around the bush.
In the past, when Mei Ru called her sister with such familiarity in front of others, it felt warm, but now it sounded strange and made one uncomfortable.
Mei Ru's lips curled into a strange smile. "Aren't you here just to save your life?"
Mei Shuang nodded. "That's right. There are many kinds of poisons in the world; although they all take lives, their effects can be fast or slow, strong or weak, and none can be controlled by people. Only Poison is a living toxin that can be artificially controlled. I fear that this is the kind of poison in me?"
After saying this, the smile on Mei Ru's lips froze instantly. She widened her eyes in shock and even stuttered, "H-how do you know?"
This revelation not only surprised Mei Ru but also left Xiao Luo and Nangong Nuo outside with their eyes wide open in astonishment. Nangong Nuo's expression changed unpredictably; could it be that Mei Shuang already knew what poison she had been afflicted with?
Then they heard Mei Shuang's calm voice again. "Not only do I know that I have Poison, but I also know who taught it to you..."
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