Time Travel: Pampered by the Aloof Prince
Chapter 88: Find the Poisoner Within Three Days

Chapter 88: Chapter 88: Find the Poisoner Within Three Days

The room was deathly silent, with only the howling cold wind outside beating against the window.

Heifeng suppressed his breath and slowly approached the person on the bed.

Suddenly, his ears twitched.

Someone was behind him.

Heifeng’s gaze suddenly sharpened, and just as he was about to draw the Soft Sword from his waist, he was overwhelmed by a strange fragrance and fainted.

After Adi opened the window to clear out the sedatives, he finally lit a candle.

She removed the veil covering her nose and mouth and looked at Heifeng, who lay unconscious on the floor, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.

"Princess, it seems that he was the one who poisoned her."

Princess Lingya got up from the bed, her face pale from the poison.

"Adi, see who this man is?"

"Okay," Adi nodded, squatted down with the candle, turned the man on the floor over, and shone the candlelight on his face, "This man looks unfamiliar, I’ve never seen him before."

Princess Lingya looked down and, seeing the scar on his face and the sword on his body, guessed that this man must be an assassin.

"Since his identity is unknown, let’s hide him for now. I’ll investigate further when I enter the palace tomorrow."

Adi stood up, kicked Heifeng, then took out the rope already prepared and tightly tied up the man. She also stuffed a white cloth into his mouth and stuffed him forcefully into a chest.

There was hardly any place to hide someone in the hostel. To avoid raising any alarms, she could only stuff him under the bed first.

After doing all this, she wiped the sweat from her forehead, "Princess, what should we do when he wakes up tomorrow morning?"

Although he had been tied up, this man seemed to be skilled in martial arts - it wouldn’t be good if he were to escape.

Princess Lingya pressed the bellflower on her forehead and had Adi bring over a small box from the dressing table.

Inside were various poisons she had brought from Tulan.

She took out one, wrapped it in a handkerchief, and handed it to Adi, "Tomorrow morning, when he wakes up, threaten him with this poison first and see if we can extricate any information from him."

"If he says nothing, just kill him."

As she spoke, a trace of ruthlessness crossed her brow.

Adi took the handkerchief wrapped around the poison, then looked at her hesitantly, "Princess, about the medicine given by the State Preceptor, perhaps you shouldn’t take it yet."

"Why?" Princess Lingya frowned slightly, not understanding why she suddenly brought this up.

Adi pursed her lips and decided to express her suspicions, "I suspect there’s something wrong with the medicine from the State Preceptor."

Just as Princess Lingya was about to retort, she heard her continue, "Princess, you might not have noticed, but every time you take the medicine, you become a completely different person, as if the gentle and amiable princess had never existed."

She had wanted to say these words earlier, but due to her position, she couldn’t just speculate and stir up trouble between the State Preceptor and Princess.

Yet, after this poisoning incident, she vaguely sensed that someone was trying to harm the Princess.

Princess Lingya was silent for a while.

She knew that Adi wouldn’t deceive her, but why would the State Preceptor give her problematic medicine?

"Alright, I’ll listen to you," Princess Lingya sighed and said.

The candle was extinguished by the wind leaking through a crack in the window, and in the darkness, a pair of master and servant, full of thoughts, silently stared at each other for a while.

Adi remembered the times in Tulan when she and the Princess would hide in their room each night, whispering secrets.

But after coming to Dazhao, those peaceful, happy days were gone forever.

Neither of them knew what lay ahead on their path.

At the Prince An Residence, Li Ming’an watched the sky gradually turn pale, his unease growing stronger.

It was already this late, why hadn’t Heifeng returned?

He paced back and forth in the study, visibly agitated. But as day fully broke, there was still no sign of Heifeng.

A flicker of anxiety crossed his mind, and he furrowed his brow. Could it be that Heifeng had really disappeared?

After the morning court session, Li Tianze kept Li Mingjue, Li Ming’an, and the Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Qiu Lian, behind.

He looked somewhat weary, resting his head on his hand, and said to the three, "Yesterday, the Tulan Envoy suddenly entered the palace, claiming that Princess Lingya was poisoned. Fortunately, it was nothing serious, and she recovered after the Imperial Physician prescribed some medicine."

Li Ming’an, already feeling guilty, showed a flash of panic in his eyes at this news.

Mingjue frowned, a look of ignorance on his face, "Has the poisoner been found?"

Li Tianze looked toward Qiu Lian and raised his hand, signaling him to speak.

Qiu Lian bowed awkwardly and said, "Your Majesty, this matter was unexpected. I sent people to investigate at the hostel yesterday, but so far, we have found nothing unusual."

Hearing this, Li Ming’an let out a sigh of relief.

Li Tianze frowned and said, "Since this happened less than ten miles from the palace walls, in the hostel, how can I explain it to the Tulan Envoy and Princess Lingya if we can’t find the poisoner?"

Qiu Lian immediately knelt down, lowering his head, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I will find the poisoner as soon as possible!"

Li Tianze knew this was a difficult task for him, and so he turned to Li Mingjue and Li Ming’an, "This matter requires a Prince to represent me in calming the Tulan Envoy. What do you think?"

Li Ming’an hesitated.

This was a thankless task; whether or not he could capture the poisoner, there was little to gain.

Mingjue glanced at him and stepped forward to bow, "Your son wishes to share Your Majesty’s worries."

Li Tianze looked at him approvingly, "Very well, this task will be handled by you, my son."

He then turned to Qiu Lian, who was still kneeling solemnly, and spoke coldly, "Minister Qiu, you must find the poisoner within three days."

Qiu Lian knocked his head on the floor, his voice trembling, "Yes."

After departing Yangxin Hall, he looked utterly troubled.

Finding the poisoner in the capital city was not an easy task, and it was clear the Emperor was making things difficult for him!

Mingjue called to him, "Minister Qiu, I will accompany you to the hostel."

Qiu Lian hurriedly nodded, not daring to say anything.

On the way to the hostel, Mingjue casually asked, "Minister Qiu, how do you plan to find the poisoner?"

Qiu Lian wiped his face and sighed, "Replying to Your Highness, I am completely at a loss."

Mingjue knew he was generally indecisive and did not expect to hear anything useful from him, but merely responded indifferently, "There are still three days left, Minister Qiu. You need to put in more effort."

In the harem, Lingya had arrived early at the Empress’s palace.

Once the news of the poisoning reached the palace, the Empress suggested she move from the hostel to stay within the palace.

Thinking that it would be safer in the palace and might also appease the people from Tulan, Li Tianze agreed.

Lingya, having heard the Empress’s suggestion, shook her head, "Empress, I appreciate your kindness, but it would not be proper for me to refuse."

The Empress’s eyes twinkled, and she smiled, "What’s improper about it? Just relax, His Majesty has already agreed."

Just as Lingya was about to decline, Noble Consort An entered.

After hurriedly paying her respects to the Empress, she turned around, her tone affectionately saying to Princess Lingya, "Why doesn’t your Highness move and stay with me? It would give me someone to accompany."