Chapter 94: Spicy Pot (Twenty)
Leng Yue couldn't quite describe this feeling - it was as if she had punched him, yet he carefully cradled her hand, concernedly asking if it hurt.
"I'm not hesitating..." Leng Yue's throat felt blocked by something soft, her normally crisp voice inexplicably softening as she openly hesitated for a moment. "I just don't know if this is something I can tell you."
"You can."
Jing Yi's extremely decisive response genuinely stunned Leng Yue, making her roll her eyes emphatically. "How do you know you can when you don't even know what it's about..."
"Anything can be told."
Jing Yi smiled with complete openness, so openly that Leng Yue couldn't hesitate any longer.
Leng Yue gently set down the bowl in her hand, confirming once more that no one else was within earshot besides Jing Yi, before speaking with her usual crispness: "The Crown Prince has found Hua Mei's younger brother - it's Shenxiu."
Jing Yi only paused briefly before immediately following up: "And then?"
"Then," Leng Yue ultimately still hesitated before saying, "Shenxiu set his meditation room on fire and ran away. Before leaving, he wrote a letter to the Crown Prince saying that the head of their Imperial City Investigation Bureau would only reveal himself to pay respects to the new ruler after the coronation ceremony. The new ruler must possess the token passed down from the Late Emperor to command the Investigation Bureau, otherwise the Bureau would rebel against this new ruler."
When Jing Yi heard the words "Imperial City Investigation Bureau," he understood why Leng Yue had been hesitating.
Anything related to the Imperial City Investigation Bureau was confidential, especially top-secret information like succession protocols that even the Late Emperor might not have fully understood. Knowing such a matter was equivalent to placing one's neck on a blade's edge - staying perfectly still might be safe, but the slightest movement, even just a sneeze, would mean certain doom.
Leng Yue's hesitation wasn't because she considered him an outsider, but precisely because she still regarded him as family - the kind of family where his additional danger would multiply her worry tenfold.
This realization was enough to make him feel that the Imperial City Investigation Bureau was quite an endearing institution. No matter how mysterious or terrifying the Bureau might be, in their determination to stick with one person once chosen, Jing Yi felt rather akin to them.
Jing Yi carefully pondered the Imperial City Investigation Bureau's rigid yet respectable rule, then looked at Leng Yue who still seemed to have more to say. "What did the Crown Prince say?"
"He said Shenxiu told him this to frighten him on Xiao Zhao Ye's behalf, to make him back down and voluntarily step aside..." As she spoke, Leng Yue furrowed her brows slightly, revealing a hint of bewilderment, her voice losing some of its usual confidence. "Do you think Xiao Zhao Ye has already prepared everything, just like the Late Emperor did, with action awaiting only the right day?"
State affairs and criminal cases were ultimately two different matters. Even if she uncovered every expression Xiao Zhao Ye made while committing these unscrupulous acts, it would be useless against a fully prepared usurpation attempt.
This was like facing an opponent on the battlefield - even if you thoroughly investigated all the misdeeds of their ancestors for eight generations, what ultimately determined victory or defeat was still the steel blades in each side's hands.
After all, this wasn't the battlefield she was familiar with. With matters having reached this point, she truly didn't know what to do.Looking at Jing Yi, whose brow seemed to carry a trace of confusion, Leng Yue sighed in resignation. "Otherwise, why would he come every night just to order Uncle Qi to torment you like that? He doesn't force you to say anything, just watches for a while before leaving. Isn't that a complete waste of time?"
Whether Xiao Zhao Ye was prepared or not, Jing Yi hadn't been able to determine. His confusion had actually stemmed from Leng Yue's discouraged expression—after all, in all these years, he'd only ever seen her struggle or go frantic over official matters, never witnessed her lose heart over anything. But hearing her defeated sigh felt like being struck square in the head by the very jar she'd thrown down. With a mental clang, he suddenly understood.
"Xiao Zhao Ye isn't ready yet. He really is wasting his time."
Leng Yue stared blankly at Jing Yi, who had suddenly straightened up with sparkling eyes as if possessed. It took her a moment to remember to respond, "Huh?"
While Xiao Zhao Ye's unpreparedness was something to breathe easier about, Jing Yi's current state was clearly pumped up—like a master spotting their opponent's fatal weakness in a standoff, needing only to raise their sword for a single strike to end this heaven-defying battle.
Of course, Jing Yi didn't raise a sword. Instead, he did something that unsettled Leng Yue even more.
He threw the quilt wrapped around him to the floor, reached out to pick up the packet of Spirit Focusing Powder spread on the table, and dumped the entire contents into the bowl of chicken soup. Not content with that, he picked up a spoon and stirred it several times.
Watching him lift a spoonful of soup toward his mouth, Leng Yue suddenly snapped out of her daze. She grabbed his wrist, shaking the spoonful back into the bowl without a single drop remaining, creating a series of innocent clinking sounds.
Her phoenix eyes widened round. "What are you trying to do?"
At this distance where even breathing was clearly audible, Jing Yi needed only one glance to take in all the panic in those beautiful eyes. His heart stirred slightly, but he didn't pull away from her tight grip on his wrist. Instead, he smiled warmly and said lightly, "Sharpening my focus. Going out."
"Going out?" Leng Yue genuinely froze for a moment. "Where to?"
Her dumbfounded expression was utterly adorable. Jing Yi couldn't help letting his smile deepen. "Let's elope."
The word "okay" had already rushed to Leng Yue's throat when she suddenly comprehended. Her face darkened as she decisively replaced it with another word: "Get lost."
"..."
With a dark expression, Leng Yue bent down to pick up the quilt from the floor and gently draped it over Jing Yi's slightly trembling shoulders. She shot an annoyed glare at this inexplicably enthusiastic man. "Stop causing trouble... If you really leave without a word, the charges will be confirmed. By then, even rolling in the moat won't wash you clean."
Jing Yi shrank into the quilt Leng Yue had draped over him, puffing his cheeks somewhat sulkily. "If we leave now, they won't discover it until evening. Believe me?"
Leng Yue wanted to say she didn't believe him, but before speaking, she thought it over and suddenly realized this might actually be believable.
Ever since Xiao Zhao Ye brought her from the Crown Prince Manor, she'd felt something wasn't quite right. Only now did she finally realize what it was.Whether it was Uncle Qi, who had spared no expense this morning in an attempt to keep her here only to end up empty-handed, or Xiao Zhao Ye, who had just gone to such extremes as risking frostbite to bring her over—both had demonstrated through concrete actions their determination to place her by Jing Yi’s side. Yet neither had told her exactly what they expected her to do after going to such lengths to position her beside him.
It had been quite some time since she entered the bedroom—long enough for her to nearly finish gnawing through a whole chicken—and yet not a single soul had come to eavesdrop. The freedom was so palpable that she had almost forgotten this was a courtyard where the prime suspect in the emperor’s assassination was being held under house arrest.
Seeing that Leng Yue remained silent for a moment, a flicker of understanding dawning in her expression, Jing Yi knew she had arrived at the right conclusion. A helpless smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he sighed softly. “We’ve all been deceived by Xiao Zhao Ye. His whole elaborate scheme was just to buy time.”
“Buy time for what?”
Jing Yi hesitated, his gaze shifting back to the bowl of chicken soup now thoroughly mixed with Spirit Focusing Powder. He stared at it deeply before turning his eyes to Leng Yue, his voice warmer than the soup itself, almost pleading. “If you trust me, let me drink this soup first before I explain. I don’t know how long it will take for the medicine to take effect, and any later might be too late.”
Jing Yi often resorted to playful tricks with her, but rarely did he speak to her with such heartfelt sincerity. Leng Yue had to admit that when he was earnest and sincere, he possessed an undeniable power that made it impossible to refuse. Unable to shake her head, she found herself nodding almost involuntarily.
It wasn’t until Jing Yi lifted the bowl to his lips that Leng Yue suddenly remembered what Jing Bai had told her. Her heart tightened, and she quickly stopped him again.
Afraid he might resent her for going back on her word, her face flushed with warmth as she stammered, “Your… your second brother didn’t specify the proper dosage for this medicine, but he said… he said it works by draining one’s vital energy to boost alertness. Overuse could exhaust you completely—it could be fatal.”
Jing Yi frowned slightly, hesitated for a moment, then set the bowl back on the table.
Just as Leng Yue felt a wave of relief, she noticed Jing Yi move beside her. Before she could react, she was pulled firmly into his familiar embrace.
The hug seemed to draw upon every ounce of Jing Yi’s strength. Though she couldn’t see his expression, Leng Yue could feel his intense focus the moment he held her tight—as if he were pouring a lifetime of embraces into this single moment.
“Jing Yi…”
Her pregnant body instinctively tensed at the sudden tightness, and she shifted slightly. To her surprise, that slight movement made Jing Yi release her immediately. He picked up the bowl again and, before she could stop him, downed the soup in one swift gulp.After drinking, Jing Yi calmly set down the bowl as if he had merely consumed a flavorful bowl of chicken soup. He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, and as his hand fell, that gentle spring rain-like smile returned to his lips. Blinking lightly, he continued from where he had left off, "Xiao Zhao Ye's elaborate performance on me made everyone aware of this matter believe that his entire focus was on exhausting every means to extract a confession from me... This way, he could secretly investigate those items he took from me without anyone noticing."
Leng Yue was momentarily dazed, only snapping out of her reverie from Jing Yi's earlier embrace. Frowning, she asked, "Why would he investigate those things?"
Jing Yi smiled wryly without a sound. "Because they were all items bestowed upon me by the Late Emperor during his lifetime."
"The Late Emperor bestowed them..." Before Leng Yue could finish her question, she suddenly understood and exclaimed in shock, "He thinks the token that commands the Imperial City Investigation Bureau was given to you by the Late Emperor?"
Jing Yi nodded somewhat helplessly. "Weren't you asking why the Late Emperor summoned me along when calling for his sons? Most likely, it was because of this... Xiao Zhao Ye probably only knows such a token exists but doesn't know what exactly it is. He also understands the function of the Imperial City Investigation Bureau. He knows that even if the Late Emperor left the token with me, he definitely wouldn't have told me what it actually was. So instead of questioning me, he took advantage of the evidence collection at my residence to have his subordinates discreetly take those items the Late Emperor gave me. He's now quietly investigating them at home... Once he figures out what the token actually is, it will be what you called the moment when everything is prepared."
Jing Yi's final words sent a chill down Leng Yue's spine. She hurriedly asked, "Then what exactly is this token?"
"I don't know... but perhaps you do."
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