Li Tianyun crawled backwards on his knees, wailing in his heart.
Seeing Li Tianyun's actions, Yuan Zhao angrily kicked him to the ground. "Master Li! What are you afraid of? What are you hiding from? Do you also think that I, a mere woman, am not worthy of the high position?!"
Hong Chaoyang and Shen Qingyin were on the roof, witnessing all of Yuan Zhao's strangeness.
Hong Chaoyang tugged at Shen Qingyin's sleeve and whispered, "What's wrong with Yuan Zhao? She seems different."
Shen Qingyin sighed. "This is her true self. You've read enough storybooks. Have you ever seen a truly innocent and kind person in the royal family?"
"If there were... they would probably be dead by now."
Hong Chaoyang was shocked and silently turned her head, continuing to watch Yuan Zhao.
Li Tianyun kowtowed repeatedly. "Your Highness, please see clearly. If I thought Your Highness was unworthy of the position, why would I spare no effort and give everything to help you ascend to power?"
"The moment I saw Your Highness, I knew you were no ordinary person. The Third Prince is cruel by nature and doesn't look like a wise and benevolent monarch. If the Great Zhou were to fall into his hands, it would surely be doomed. I'm extremely worried!"
"Your Highness, the person I will follow to the death is you!"
"Liar!!" Yuan Zhao kicked him again, right in the abdomen.
Li Tianyun grimaced in pain for a moment but quickly regained his composure. "Your Highness! Has someone been sowing discord between you and me? I am absolutely loyal to you. Otherwise, why would I bring Shen Qingyin and the others to you?!"
Yuan Zhao sneered, turned around, and slowly walked back into the shadows.
"Father knows about my poisoning."
This light - hearted sentence made Li Tianyun forget about his pain and collapse to the ground.
"Your Highness, what did you say... The Emperor knows?!"
Li Tianyun was instantly drenched in cold sweat. He scrambled to Yuan Zhao's side and tightly grabbed her skirt. "Your Highness, does the Emperor know... Please save me, Your Highness!"
Li Tianyun wanted to know if the Emperor knew that the poison he had taken was given by him.
If the Emperor knew, he was afraid he would be doomed!
Yuan Zhao was silent for a while and then coldly said, "Since you gave me the poison, there must be an antidote. Give me the antidote, and I'll spare your life."
This made Li Tianyun feel as if the sky was falling.
It was true that he had given the poison, but he didn't have the antidote.
The person who gave him the poison at the beginning only gave the poison with the intention of killing the Emperor. Why would they give him the antidote?
Moreover, what was wrong with the princess? Since she had done it and the Emperor knew but still let her out of the palace safely, it meant that the Emperor didn't pursue the matter. Judging from the amount of poison taken, the Emperor's life was probably not long. Wasn't this her chance to ascend to power? Why did she still ask him for the antidote?
But Li Tianyun didn't dare to ask directly. He just probed, "Your Highness, the fact that you can come out safely proves that the Emperor didn't blame you. Why don't you take this opportunity..."
He stopped halfway, the implication being obvious.
But Yuan Zhao didn't want to do such things anymore.
"Give me the antidote within three days. Otherwise, you'll be the mastermind behind the Third Prince's poisoning and the chief culprit of plotting to usurp the throne."
Li Tianyun instantly understood this sentence.
The princess wanted him to take the blame. On the surface, he was part of the Third Prince's faction. The princess could easily shift all the blame onto the Third Prince in front of the world.
No matter how one looked at it, the princess was the one hiding in the shadows. As long as the Emperor didn't blame her, she would never be affected.
In despair, Li Tianyun had no choice but to kowtow in resignation. "Your humble servant... receives the order..."
After the conversation, Li Tianyun was taken back to his mansion by An Yi.
Seeing this, Shen Qingyin quickly said to Hong Chaoyang beside her, "Chaoyang, follow Li Tianyun back and observe his every move carefully. I suspect that the origin of his poison is related to the Main Shrine. See who he contacts, but don't expose your identity. Don't let him notice that someone is monitoring him."
Hong Chaoyang knew the importance of this matter and nodded in agreement before turning away.
After Li Tianyun left, Yuan Zhao still stood in the shadows.
Shen Qingyin flipped down and came to Yuan Zhao's courtyard. The two stood facing each other.
Shen Qingyin was bathed in the moonlight. Yuan Zhao was startled at first but quickly calmed down.
She knew that Shen Qingyin lived in Li Tianyun's mansion. It was impossible for Shen Qingyin not to notice when An Yi took Li Tianyun away.
Shen Qingyin probably knew about the conversation just now.
So Yuan Zhao gave up the idea of hiding it from Shen Qingyin. She smiled self - deprecatingly. "You heard it all... right? Do you also think I'm that despicable and unfilial person?"
"You're a cultivator, aiming to do justice on behalf of heaven. I'm unfaithful and unfilial, a villain. So, Shen Qingyin... are you going to kill me?"
Yuan Zhao took a step forward. Half of her face was in the moonlight.
But she was expressionless, seemingly calm and composed, with only tranquility between her eyebrows.
After many things, Shen Qingyin knew that one couldn't just look at the surface. Moreover, she had known Yuan Zhao for some time.
She knew that Yuan Zhao's innocence and kindness were all an act, but the sincerity in her eyes and the way she handled things couldn't be faked.
Shen Qingyin knew that Yuan Zhao wasn't an extremely evil person.
Moreover, she couldn't kill Yuan Zhao. As a cultivator, after entering the Nine Desolate Continent, she was halfway on the path of immortality. If she deliberately intervened in mortal affairs, she would be involved in cause - and - effect relationships.
So, unless it was something special, Shen Qingyin didn't want to take action.
Just like what Han Ze did. He had planned for a long time but couldn't appear in person. Instead, he arranged many pawns, just not to be involved in cause - and - effect and be detected by the Heavenly Dao.
"Yuan Zhao, would you like to tell me your story?"
Yuan Zhao was stunned. She widened her almond eyes, looking less calculating and more innocent.
She stammered, "You... still... believe in me?"
Shen Qingyin stepped forward and took Yuan Zhao's hand, pulling her out of the shadows. The two were bathed in the moonlight together.
"You're my friend. Why wouldn't I believe you? Do you think you would deliberately deceive me?"
The emotions that Yuan Zhao had held back for a long time suddenly burst out when she heard the word "friend" from Shen Qingyin. Her tears fell like beads. She started with a soft sob and finally burst into loud cries, until she hung on Shen Qingyin's body, crying non - stop.
Shen Qingyin helplessly patted Yuan Zhao's back, as if comforting a child.
Fortunately, Shen Qingyin was strong enough. Otherwise, she really couldn't bear Yuan Zhao hanging on her like a koala.
After Yuan Zhao stopped crying, she raised her small face. With a red nose and red eyes, she intermittently told the story of many years ago.
Shen Qingyin had heard a bit about what happened to Queen Yuan just now and knew a lot.
But she didn't know that Yuan Zhao, who seemed to be extremely favored, actually had such a suffocating life behind the scenes.
It wasn't until Yuan Zhao pulled Shen Qingyin into her room and Shen Qingyin saw the walls full of Women's Rules and Instructions for Women that she truly understood why Yuan Zhao had taken such a desperate measure and poisoned the Emperor.