Chapter 687: Chapter 687: Killing to Strike at the Heart She couldn’t stay here long. If Lai Jiajia or Leng Yu Yan discovered her whereabouts, the consequences would be unimaginable. Thus, she couldn’t even return to Marquis Ningyuan’s Mansion. Thinking of this, Lai Manting tightly covered her face with a kerchief. She took a few steps on tiptoe, then turned back to look at the grand entrance of Prince Liang Mansion, her eyes seeming poisoned, as if wanting to penetrate the gate and reach directly to Ye Zhenyu and Zheng Liqi’s bridal chamber. Inside the Eastern Palace, Ye Yiheng had just laid Leng Yu Yan on the bed when he suddenly heard Ling Lang asking to see him outside. “Your Highness, the poisoning case involving the lotus leaf chicken has been resolved.” Ye Yiheng responded, “Let him in.” Miao Zhu immediately entered, “Your Highness?” “Attend to the Crown Princess Consort.” Latest content publıshed on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝙣𝙚𝙩 Ye Yiheng pulled a thin blanket over Leng Yu Yan, then promptly stepped out of the bedroom. Miao Zhu bowed and stepped forward, noticing her mistress’s face was flushed and her lips bore a slight smile, seeming not to drink because of troubles, she then eased her worries. As soon as Ye Yiheng went outside, Ling Lang quickly went up to him. “Your Highness, here is the situation…” Ye Yiheng raised his hand to interrupt him, speaking in an indifferent tone, “Go to the study.” Ling Lang nodded, and the two of them headed toward the smaller building. They had just crossed through the moon gate when they saw Song Guo alone kicking at the wall corner. Ye Yiheng glanced at him, moving forward on his own. Ling Lang couldn’t help but be curious about who had annoyed Song Guo, jokingly saying, “Mr. Song, with such kicks, you might just topple this wall of the small building.” Song Guo wasn’t in the mood for jests with Ling Lang, and hurried to catch up to Ye Yiheng, “Does Your Highness need anything from me?” “Not at the moment,” Ye Yiheng replied without stopping his steps, “You may attend to your matters.” Song Guo let out a long breath, “Yes, Your Highness,” then promptly turned and left the small building. Ling Lang found Song Guo’s behavior odd tonight, but he didn’t dwell on it, and quickened his pace to follow Ye Yiheng into the study. Ye Yiheng sat down behind the desk and gestured for Ling Lang to sit opposite him. Ling Lang thanked him and sat down, then said, “Earlier, Prince Qing had someone search for the girl from years ago, but they couldn’t find any leads for a long time. Prince Qing surely believes in Leng Song’s abilities, and if Leng Song can’t find her, she must be hard to find. Coinciding with Your Highness’s marriage to the Crown Princess Consort and the rumors of Your Highness having no hidden ailments, Prince Qing was extremely anxious.” “Prince Qing thought of the women Leng Song had previously searched for who resembled the girl from that year. After reviewing them, he chose one who looked the most similar.” “On the 9th of May, Prince Qing borrowed the name of the Eighth Prince to invite Your Highness, the Crown Princess Consort, the Ninth Princess, and Heir Lai to the East Suburb,” he explained, “The purpose was to sow discord between you and your brother, and it was then that Prince Qing mentioned the girl from the past to Your Highness.” “On the 11th of May, under the arrangement of Prince Qing, Your Highness went to the inn to see that woman. Simultaneously, Prince Qing sent a boy to deliver a note to the Crown Princess Consort, who then saw Your Highness meeting with that woman. Coincidentally, the Crown Princess Consort’s room overlooked the scene, but a tree obstructed her view of the woman’s face. I guess, on that day, the Crown Princess Consort’s heart must have shattered.” “On the 14th of May, Prince Qing schemed to have the Crown Princess Consort visit a small courtyard and saw Your Highness eating peaches with that woman, which caused her to weep under a tree. At that time, Your Highness seemed to hear a noise and came out of the small courtyard, but Prince Qing’s arrival prevented Your Highness from seeing the Crown Princess Consort.” “On the 18th and 19th of May, Prince Qing used his old arm injury as an excuse to have the Crown Princess Consort tend to him, making Your Highness jealous, mainly because Prince Qing wanted to tarnish his image in the eyes of the Crown Princess Consort.” “As for the lotus leaf chicken, it was also something Prince Qing arranged after hearing the woman in the courtyard was particularly adept at preparing the dish, intending to further destabilize the fragile marital relation between Your Highness and the Crown Princess Consort.” “However, Prince Qing did not anticipate that the very same lotus leaf chicken sent to the Eastern Palace was being watched.” “Nor did he expect the Crown Princess Consort to be the girl from years ago.” Ye Yiheng raised his finger, “The exposure of the small courtyard is well known to me, we need not discuss it further; speak of the poisoning of the lotus leaf chicken.” Ling Lang nodded, “Previously Your Highness suspected another master behind the woman from the small courtyard. My investigation revealed, there was no one else behind her, only Prince Qing.” “As for the poisoning of the lotus leaf chicken, both Your Highness and Prince Qing had visited the small courtyard multiple times, and even Prince Xian knew of the courtyard, other princes thought Your Highness was keeping a mistress there. Coincidentally, the day the woman from the courtyard had food sent to the Eastern Palace, someone took the opportunity to drug the maid delivering it, knocking her unconscious for the duration of a cup of tea, during which the poison was added to the lotus leaf chicken.” “And the one who poisoned it was a staff member close to Prince Liang.” “After poisoning the dish, this person went to seek favor with Prince Liang, mentioning that if the assassination of Your Highness were successful, Prince Liang could be totally free of suspicion, as the blame could be pinned on Prince Qing. Thus, Prince Liang had been waiting for Your Highness to succumb to the poison, never expecting to hear instead that the woman in the courtyard had been killed.” “Prince Liang did not take this matter to heart because he was aligned with Prime Minister Zheng’s Mansion through marriage, merely waiting for a month after Your Highness’s grand wedding to have you stripped of the Crown Prince title.” “Prime Minister Zheng, a longtime official with many so-called disciples, will, according to my investigation, have these individuals petition the Emperor on the court to install Prince Liang as the new Crown Prince. Their petitions have already been drafted, just waiting for that day.” Ye Yiheng opened a glass bottle and took out two pieces of dried peach, tossing one to Ling Lang and popping the other into his mouth. Seeing Ling Lang’s skeptical look as he put the dried peach into his mouth, he asked him, “Is it tasty?” Ling Lang frowned slightly, replied earnestly, “It is tasty indeed, but Your Highness, we are currently discussing that many in the court are deliberating on appointing a new Crown Prince, how can you not be anxious?” With a smile playing on his lips, Ye Yiheng responded, “If it’s tasty, then it’s good; this dried peach was made by the Crown Princess Consort for me.” Ling Lang, having either been investigating or staying in his study for this period, naturally wasn’t aware that Leng Yu Yan had personally dried the peaches. Realizing that the Princely Heir still had the mood for such confections, he understood that his master had everything under control; hence, he rose to his feet and deeply bowed to Ye Yiheng, “Your Highness, it was I who was being impatient.” “Earlier, when Yanyan cured my eye ailment at Linqing Pavilion, I had discussed with her when to publicly reveal my restored sight,” Ye Yiheng said with a subtle smile, “Of course, it still depends on what reason the old man uses to try to depose me.” Ling Lang nodded repeatedly, then remembering the issue about the poisoned lotus leaf chicken, he asked, “Your Highness, what about the staff member of Prince Liang?” “Handled. Since he used Crane Crown Red in the lotus leaf chicken, let him swallow a bottle of Crane Crown Red.” Ye Yiheng said calmly and unruffled. Ling Lang couldn’t help but ask again, “And what about Prince Qing?” Ye Yiheng laughed, “He developed all these scheming plots because he adores Yanyan. I intend to keep him to let him understand that Yanyan is beyond his reach, and I want him to see that my marriage with Yanyan is blissful and will soon result in offspring.” For Ji Qingyu, this was akin to a sentence of execution beyond physical death.