Chapter 800: Poisoned Kill
Li Yanyan was threatening her.
It was a threat born of absolute confidence.
She was certain Shen Xihe wouldn't dare strike.
Shen Xihe slowly stepped forward. Li Yanyan and her palace maid were both restrained by the Eastern Palace guards. She stood before the pinned Li Yanyan, looking down at her with lowered eyes. "You think I wouldn't dare?"
Her cool voice was flat and emotionless, chilling as autumn rain.
Li Yanyan seemed oblivious to Shen Xihe's dangerous tone. She showed no fear. "Would you?"
Threat first, provocation second. Shen Xihe raised her hand. Moyu picked up the dagger Li Yanyan had dropped and handed it to Shen Xihe.
Gripping the cold dagger hilt, she glanced down at it. It was an exquisite dagger, the kind anyone with modest means could afford—nothing special.
Her indifferent eyes met Li Yanyan's defiant, unyielding stare. Shen Xihe raised her hand, aiming the dagger at Li Yanyan's heart.
The moment Shen Xihe lifted her wrist, Li Yanyan showed no fear of death. Instead, a blazing light flickered in her gloomy eyes.
It was anticipation. Excitement. Eagerness!
In that instant, Shen Xihe's hand shifted. The dagger grazed Li Yanyan's shoulder as Shen Xihe threw it, leaving only a bloody scratch.
Li Yanyan froze momentarily, then raised her chin in angry disdain. "You're nothing special after all!"
Lowering her gaze, Shen Xihe smoothed her sleeves. "Do you know what the Third Prince said before he died?"
Li Yanyan stared in disbelief. "What? He left a message? What was it? No, you're lying! You couldn't know!"
Xiao Changtian had died at the hands of the Feathered Guard Army. Only Jing Wang and a few guards were present then; only Jing Wang had been close to him. Jing Wang was now imprisoned in the Celestial Prison of the Imperial Clan Court, awaiting judgment after the Crown Prince's funeral today!
Shen Xihe couldn't possibly have seen Jing Wang, and even if she had, he wouldn't have told her!
With a faint glance at Li Yanyan—now agitated, doubtful, hopeful, and hesitant—Shen Xihe said, "The Third Prince begged me to let you be buried together as husband and wife."
Li Yanyan instantly stilled. She looked thunderstruck. The words indeed sounded like they came from Xiao Changtian, but why would he beg Shen Xihe?
Unable to unravel the reason, Li Yanyan felt uncertain and torn, sinking into endless inner turmoil.
"You are unworthy of the Third Prince's unwavering devotion. He believed you held at least some genuine affection for him. All these years, he thought you were living a life worse than death, yearning to die but finding no escape. To free you, he gave his life, earning the reputation of dying while protecting the Emperor.
"And you—you could become the resolute woman who hanged herself for love, deeply devoted to her husband. The surrendered officials of Li Liang wouldn't feel uneasy, and His Majesty wouldn't vent his anger. This was perhaps the best way he could devise to release you.
"Unfortunately, he overestimated you.
"You are cowardly and weak. You love him in your heart but dare not admit it. Even after his death, with nothing left to live for, you still refuse to die for love. You want to die by my hand, so it won't be seen as your choice to follow him in death.
"Li Yanyan, you are truly contemptible.
"Do you know what would happen to the old followers of Li Liang if you entered the Eastern Palace today, provoked me, and died by my hand?"
Li Yanyan looked bewildered and resistant.
But Shen Xihe showed no mercy. "If I take your life, I can still walk away unscathed. I can ensure you die in the Eastern Palace, yet no one can hold me accountable."But if the surrendered officials of Li Liang were to find out, what would they think? Would they remain docile and law-abiding? Even if they were to rise up in resistance, it would only result in a more heroic death—for when the Son of Heaven is enraged, corpses will litter the land for miles.
"You still wish to be buried with the Third Prince? A fool's dream!"
If the remnants of Li Liang were to discover that Li Yanyan had been killed by her, and that the imperial family was shielding her, they would surely be thrown into panic and unrest. They would not sit idly by, waiting for death. Even if they knew it was as futile as an ant trying to shake a tree, they would still stir up trouble. How could the Youning Emperor tolerate this?
Li Yanyan trembled, her limbs turning cold as ice. She stood frozen in place, utterly disheartened and lost.
"Speak. Who sent you to cause trouble at the Eastern Palace?" Shen Xihe asked coldly.
Li Yanyan's mind was a tangled mess. In that moment, she could not calm herself to think carefully, unable to distinguish right from wrong or truth from falsehood. She felt deeply that she had fallen into a quagmire, surrounded by wolves and tigers on all sides, with no one wishing her well.
Shen Xihe, who had initially only suspected, gave Zhenzhu a meaningful glance.
After Zhenzhu silently withdrew, Shen Xihe said, "I will give you the time it takes for one incense stick to burn. Think carefully about how you will explain yourself."
Hearing this, the distraught Li Yanyan suddenly calmed down. She looked at the confident Shen Xihe and said, "If I refuse to explain, you will prevent me from being buried with Third Lang after death, is that right?"
"Whether you explain or not, I will find a way to uncover whatever I wish to know," Shen Xihe replied indifferently. "Do not attempt to bargain with me. You are not qualified."
Shen Xihe felt no remorse for Xiao Changtian's death. He had sacrificed himself for Li Yanyan—he had chosen this path of death himself. As for Xiao Changtian's desperate cooperation that day, Shen Xihe had not forced it. And what if he had refused to cooperate?
His time had been exhausted by Li Yanyan. By the time he received the news, it was already too late to inform the Emperor. And even if he had, what difference would it have made?
The arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released. At most, the Emperor could only alter the plan at the last moment, but he would not abandon it entirely. They, too, would have adapted to the circumstances.
Xiao Huayong was destined to "die while saving the Emperor," and no one could stop it.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha..." Li Yanyan laughed hysterically. When her laughter subsided, she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Shen Xihe, Crown Princess! Born noble, unwilling to yield to coercion. Since you are so confident, then find the answers yourself!"
With these words, Li Yanyan lunged toward the palace pillar, but before she could break free, she was seized by Ziyu, who personally restrained her this time.
Zhenzhu entered carrying a small porcelain vial. Shen Xihe rolled up her sleeve, took the vial, and stepped forward, stopping in front of Li Yanyan. She pinched Li Yanyan's mouth open and said, "If you wish to die, I will grant your wish."
As Li Yanyan struggled, Shen Xihe firmly gripped her chin and poured a cup of poisoned wine down her throat.
With a loud crash, Shen Xihe tossed the cup aside after finishing the deed. The pristine white porcelain shattered on the floor, eliciting a heart-wrenching scream from the palace maid Li Yanyan had brought with her.
"Carry her over here," Shen Xihe commanded, leading the way to an empty room where she had Li Yanyan placed on the bed.
Two of Li Yanyan's maids stayed by her side, while one had slipped away during the commotion of moving Li Yanyan. Shen Xihe did not order anyone to stop her.
Li Yanyan, accompanied by her two maids, gasped hoarsely in her throat before finally breathing her last.
Shen Xihe stood quietly in the outer chamber, gazing out the window. The blooming pomegranate flowers caught her eye, and for a moment, she seemed slightly dazed.That year, he exhausted every means to get close to her, presenting her with pomegranates—back then she hadn't yet pondered the symbolism of pomegranates representing fertility.
He calculated heavens and earth, deciphered human hearts, yet the longest scheme of his life turned out to be winning her affection.
Meeting him was her fortune.
One wonders whether meeting her was his!
(End of Chapter)
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