Seeing the emperor wake up, Su Yuanyuan let out a sigh of relief.
She straightened up, her face solemn. Lowering her voice, she said, "Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness. You're not ill; you've been poisoned."
Cang Xuan suddenly raised his head and looked at Su Yuanyuan. "Poisoned? What kind of poison?"
Then he turned to the emperor, his voice chilling. "Who poisoned you?! Who was so bold as to try to harm the Son of Heaven? Was it the Wang family or the Tong family?"
Su Yuanyuan didn't know that Cang Xuan had already lost his composure. His heart was filled with panic at not being able to control everything.
He was the chess - player, and the chess game of Shengjing should have been under his control. But why was the emperor poisoned? When was he poisoned? Who secretly gave the emperor the poison? Why did he know nothing about it?
The emperor looked at Cang Xuan and then at Su Yuanyuan, sighing. "Girl, you've only been studying medicine for a short time. What can you really tell? I'm not poisoned. I've just caught a cold. You two step back. Summon the imperial physicians."
Su Yuanyuan said anxiously, "Your Majesty, although I haven't studied medicine for long, my medical skills have been recognized by Shu, the 'Divine Physician of the Apricot Grove'. I'm absolutely sure I'm right. You've been poisoned!"
Seeing the emperor's reaction, Cang Xuan said angrily, "You know who poisoned him, don't you? At this moment, what are you still hiding? Who are you still protecting?"
The emperor started coughing again. Afraid that he would cough up blood, Su Yuanyuan quickly twirled a few silver needles and said, "Your Majesty, don't be anxious. You must avoid emotional agitation at this time, or the poison might attack your heart!"
The emperor insisted, "Summon the imperial physicians!"
Cang Xuan was so angry that he called the emperor by his name. "Xiao Ce!"
Su Yuanyuan looked at the father - son pair who were secretly confronting each other. She had never thought they were so similar before. They were both equally stubborn. Suddenly, she remembered something and said, "Your Majesty still owes Fubao two favors. Fubao now wants to use one of them to detoxify Your Majesty! Your Majesty, this was your promise. You can't refuse!"
The emperor let out a long sigh and closed his eyes.
He had never thought that his poisoning would be exposed so soon. In his plan, the full - blown outbreak of the poison was still some time away. But since things had come to this, he had to change his plan and move everything forward.
Opening his eyes again, he said, "I agree, but I can only allow one person to stay by my side. Fubao, you stay."
Cang Xuan was annoyed that the emperor still refused to back down even at this moment. But fortunately, he agreed to be detoxified. As long as he could be cured, Cang Xuan would be relieved. He had once wanted to kill his father to avenge his mother. But since he had rescued Shu Moyun, he found that he had many misunderstandings about the emperor before.
Especially now that he knew that the King of Qi was the son of Wang Shijiang, he naturally hoped that the emperor could live to find out everything clearly and comfort Shu Moyun.
Looking deeply at the emperor, Cang Xuan said, "Fine, I'll leave."
He turned around and strode away. Listening to the footsteps gradually fade until they could no longer be heard, the emperor let out a long sigh.
Su Yuanyuan said, "Your Majesty, let's start detoxifying you."
The emperor raised his hand to stop Su Yuanyuan. "Agreeing to let you stay is not for you to detoxify me. I have something for you to do."
Su Yuanyuan was stunned for a moment, her eyes widening slightly. She quickly reacted. "Does Your Majesty know about your own poisoning?"
"I know," the emperor said as he struggled to sit up. Su Yuanyuan quickly stepped forward to support him and propped up the pillow so that he could sit up.
"I poisoned myself."
After saying that, the emperor couldn't help but cough again. Seeing Su Yuanyuan's extremely shocked expression, he still had the mood to smile. "Well? Surprised?"
"Why, Your Majesty..." Su Yuanyuan was really extremely shocked. She never thought that the emperor had poisoned himself.
But why would he do this?
"I've already made up my mind. This is my fate and my destiny. I've long since lost the will to live. So you don't need to detoxify me. You just need to do one thing for me, which is to try your best to prevent the poison from flaring up too quickly until I see A Yun return to the palace and Yun Jian ascend the throne," the emperor said slowly.
"I know that the 'Divine Physician of the Apricot Grove' you brought back when you left the capital is her. I'm sure you must already know their identities. Since things have come to this point, I'm not afraid to let you know. I've done all this to pave the way for them. They must never have thought that when they coerced me to become the emperor back then, they would one day be outmaneuvered by me," the emperor said, smiling as if thinking of something. Then he started coughing again.
Su Yuanyuan immediately held the ends of the needles and gently twirled them to make him feel better.
She knew that the "they" he was referring to were the noble families that had supported him to become the crown prince back then. Among them were not only the Wang family but also the Lin, Xue, Tong, and Liu families... Three major noble families and four minor ones. None of them could escape.
Su Yuanyuan's timely silence pleased the emperor, and he continued talking on his own.
"I've suddenly fallen ill. I'm sure it must be in chaos outside. But with your father, Su Qing, and Commander Hu there, it should be under control. Now everyone is still in the square. Fubao, I want you to go out of this palace gate and tell the people outside that I've contracted a strange disease. This strange disease can only be cured if a close - relative cuts their hand and lets me drink their blood."
Su Yuanyuan's heart skipped a beat. A close - relative? Cutting their hand and letting out blood? She didn't understand his intention at all.
As if seeing her blank expression, the emperor kindly explained. "I'm lying to them. Their blood is useless to me. But I need this opportunity to expose their true identities."
Su Yuanyuan immediately understood. The emperor's intention was to let all the ministers know that neither the King of Qi nor the Kings of Jin, Huai, or Xuan was the emperor's son.
To save the emperor, a real son would have to cut his hand and let out blood. And Cang Xuan would then be able to restore his identity. The old case from twenty - one years ago would be reopened, and Shu Moyun would be vindicated of the frame - up she suffered back then!
This was the limit of what the emperor, as a husband and a father, could do for Shu Moyun and Cang Xuan. He might not have had great martial arts skills, nor the determination to have his way, nor a powerful maternal family to oppose the enemies who had broken up his family. He had bided his time, endured humiliation, and pretended to get along with the enemies. He had deceived everyone with his amiability, dullness, and obedience. But in fact, he had already secretly laid all the hidden pieces and was just waiting for the day to expose everything.
He was a master of the game, even better than Cang Xuan. After all, who would have thought that none of the four princes in the court was of royal blood? Probably not even Cang Xuan!
Looking at Su Yuanyuan's expression, the emperor knew that she had understood the whole plan. He couldn't help but praise, "You're a smart child. Since you've understood, then go."
Su Yuanyuan came back to her senses and said, "Your Majesty, please forgive me for not being able to follow your order."