In the hall, Xie Yan looked at Chen Tingfeng who walked in and wondered, "Why are we meeting here today? Can't we go to your courtyard like before?"
No, we can't.
Chen Tingfeng evaded the question and asked, "What are you here for?"
"To pay New Year greetings," Xie Yan was distracted and said with a grin, "You're my sworn brother. I've got to visit you during festivals."
Chen Tingfeng raised his eyebrows: "You came empty - handed?"
As he said this, he sat down on a chair and looked at Xie Yan leisurely.
Xie Yan sat beside him and hissed, "How could I? I've brought gifts for you."
He looked at Fuyun beside him. Fuyun quickly presented two boxes respectfully. He pointed at them and said, "This is the tribute wine. I know your father loves it, so I brought some for you. That one is the Luozi Eyebrow Pencil. All the concubines in the palace like to use it. It's just right for you to give it to your mother and cousin. I originally wanted to give you some tea, but unfortunately, the pre - rain Longjing tea from Suzhou and Hangzhou hasn't grown yet, so I'll owe it to you for now."
"Still owing?" Chen Tingfeng asked.
Xie Yan looked at him in surprise: "Why have you become such a miser after a few days' absence? It's good enough that I'm giving you gifts. I'll definitely give you the tea later."
Chen Tingfeng reluctantly agreed: "I'll remember. If there's no pre - rain Longjing later, I'll go to your palace to find you."
Xie Yan didn't feel offended. He still wore that smiling look: "It seems I've given the right gifts."
In previous years, Chen Tingfeng always showed a non -chalant attitude towards the gifts he gave. Sometimes he would even decline them when there were too many. Who would have thought that he would change this year and accept the gifts so readily.
Chen Tingfeng took a sip of tea and said slowly, "New year, new look. Your gifts are just what we need to add to the joy."
The Luozi Eyebrow Pencil could be divided into two parts, one for his mother and the other for Zhenzhen. This gift was really hitting the spot for him.
Xie Yan didn't suspect anything and just assumed that Chen Tingfeng was in a good mood today.
After they joked with each other for a while, Xie Yan got down to business.
"My men secretly saw Xie Guang go to Concubine Li's place several times," he said, "He's becoming less and less discreet."
Chen Tingfeng's face remained calm: "Maybe he thinks the emperor doesn't have many days left."
The emperor indulged in pleasure and didn't take good care of his body. The damage to his health had never been recovered. Moreover, he took the elixir every day. As the saying goes, every medicine has its toxicity. When the toxins in his body accumulated to a certain level, his life would come to an end.
Xie Yan pondered for a moment and whispered, "Actually, I've always wanted to ask you a question. Did you... tamper with that elixir?"
Chen Tingfeng looked a bit surprised: "Poisoning is a capital crime. How dare I do such a thing?"
Xie Yan stared at him for two seconds and said meaningfully, "Even if you don't do it, someone else will."
He had never checked that elixir. Firstly, it was for the emperor. Whether it was poison or antidote didn't matter to him. If it was poison, it would be even better. Secondly, this elixir was arranged by Chen Tingfeng, so he naturally trusted him.
But now, seeing Chen Tingfeng's pretentious reaction, he began to understand that there must be something wrong with this elixir.
"Is it... Xie Guang who poisoned it?" he asked.
Chen Tingfeng picked up the teacup to cover the smile on his lips: "I don't know."
Xie Yan rolled his eyes and lazily slumped in the chair with his feet up: "You're still pretending with me?"
When Chen Tingfeng presented the elixir, he bribed Imperial Physician Liu. Xie Guang must know that Imperial Physician Liu was working for him. He was such a suspicious person. The poison he had previously put on the emperor had disappeared silently. How could he not suspect them?
But this was exactly what Chen Tingfeng wanted him to suspect.
"We could bribe Imperial Physician Liu, so could Xie Guang... So, he really poisoned it!" Xie Yan murmured and slowly frowned, "But when did he do it? We didn't even know."
"The poison may not have been put by him," Chen Tingfeng said indifferently, "Don't forget, he has an accomplice now."
Xie Yan was suddenly stunned.
When the old emperor was ill in bed, it was the queen who served him. How could the queen and Xie Guang miss such a once - in - a - lifetime opportunity to take action?
He suddenly looked at Chen Tingfeng: "You were guiding them to poison him back then?"
Xie Yan hissed. Only then did he realize how terrifying it was. He took a deep breath: "Fortunately, we grew up together. We're natural allies. Otherwise, with Chen Tingfeng's scheming and means, who in the court could compete with him? I'm afraid anyone who came would be calculated to death by him."
Chen Tingfeng glanced at him indifferently: "Are you afraid that I'll do something to you?"
Xie Yan snorted: "Don't scare me. You won't do anything to me."
No matter how intelligent and mysterious Chen Tingfeng was, he was still a normal person, a person with flesh and blood, who valued love and loyalty. Once someone was classified as one of his "own people", he would firmly protect them.
Just as Fu Zhen once said, he was actually a cold - faced but warm - hearted person.
"Back then, Xie Guang took a risky move and poisoned the old emperor with a strong poison in an attempt to control him. Later, we foiled his plan, and he was severely punished by the old emperor. So, is he now going to use the method of boiling a frog in warm water to slowly exhaust the old emperor?" Xie Yan thought thoughtfully.
Chen Tingfeng neither nodded nor shook his head. He just said, "This strategy may not have been thought up by him."
There was no doubt that Xie Guang was a radical person. Such a person liked to do stupid things that would lead to mutual destruction. It was more likely that this strategy was thought up by the queen rather than Xie Guang.
The queen had lived in the deep palace for a long time. She liked to play dirty tricks and knew very well how painful it was to be tortured slowly.
She hoped that the old emperor would decline little by little without even noticing. Every time she saw him still going for pleasure with his broken body, she would feel happy and want to laugh.
Xie Yan obviously also thought of this. He lowered his eyes: "I thought she was a fool when she used such a low - level method in the matter of Ji Lian'er. Now it seems that she's a bit better than Xie Guang."
"If Zhenzhen hadn't noticed something wrong that day, she might have succeeded," Chen Tingfeng glanced at him and said in a deep voice.
Ji Lian'er's scheme wasn't very good, but she didn't need to design it to be too good either. Ji Lian'er was a crazy person. Who knew what a crazy person would do? She just casually provoked. If it succeeded, Xie Yan's reputation would be ruined, and even Concubine Rou could be eliminated. If it failed, it would be just like now. The old emperor didn't want to investigate in detail. Just let Ji Lian'er die, and the case could be closed. How convenient.
Xie Yan pursed his lips, and his expression dimmed a bit: "Yes, thanks to Zhenzhen..."
Chen Tingfeng's eyebrows wrinkled instantly.
He endured it and changed the topic: "So what should we do next?"
Xie Yan came back to his senses: "What to do? Do nothing. Let's see who can outlast the other."
Once the old emperor died, Xie Guang would surely stage a mutiny. At that time, the two of them would surely fight. But Xie Yan was sure that he would win.
Chen Tingfeng rubbed his temples: "He's the eldest son. If his background is made public, he'll be the legitimate eldest son. It would be justifiable for him to ascend the throne. If you compete with him then, you'll be at a disadvantage. Even if you win, your reputation will be ruined. Isn't there a better way?"