The Reborn Princess Has Turned Evil

Chapter 319 Testing Qi Zhi

"Brother, you're up so early too?" A familiar voice came from behind.

"I was hungry, so I got up to find something to eat. Brother Qi, you've come at the perfect time. Let's have some breakfast together." Xiao Heng pointed to the breakfast that had just been delivered and was laid out on the table.

The person who came was Qi Zhi. He hadn't slept well last night, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, but they weren't noticeable unless you looked closely.

The two of them tacitly avoided mentioning Jing Rou's pregnancy from the previous day, but since Jing Anle had asked Xiao Heng to inquire about it, they had to come up with a solution.

According to Jing Anle, Consort Li's poisoning was probably related to Qi Zhi, but Qi Zhi wouldn't be so foolish as to do it himself.

While pouring tea for Qi Zhi, Xiao Heng casually remarked, "Brother Qi, such a big incident happened in the palace yesterday. Consort Li was poisoned, and His Majesty was furious. It seems that the harem is about to be thrown into turmoil."

Qi Zhi's expression remained unchanged. He picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and said, "Yes, I was startled at the time too."

Xiao Heng observed his expression. Qi Zhi's eyes were calm and unwavering. He continued, "I've heard that Consort Li is usually quite kind to people. I wonder who she offended?"

Qi Zhi put down his teacup and smiled slightly. "I was just watching from a distance at the time and didn't notice anything unusual. Perhaps it was just jealousy and rivalry in the harem, and someone was secretly causing trouble."

Xiao Heng pondered to himself, "Qi Zhi, a man from Qi, harming a concubine from Jing, there must be some twists and turns involved."

His eyes darted around, and he added, "Brother Qi is right, but the person who poisoned you is truly ruthless. The child is about to be born, and they had to do it at this crucial moment..."

Qi Zhi's eyes flickered for a moment, then returned to normal, and he simply said, "Human hearts are unpredictable."

Such vague words made Xiao Heng suspicious, but on the surface he remained calm and continued chatting with Qi Zhi.

Just then, the door creaked open, and Yelü Yuanxiu came out from the inner room.

"Oh? Brother Yelü is up too. Come and have a meal with us." Xiao Heng called out.

Yelü Yuanxiu and Qi Zhi had a fight last night. Although Qi Zhi apologized first, the atmosphere was still very awkward.

Yelü Yuanxiu glanced coldly at Qi Zhi and said in an unfriendly tone, "I have no appetite to dine with someone."

Yelü Yuanxiu was furious at the thought of being beaten by Qi Zhi.

Qi Zhi's expression changed slightly, but he still stood up with a forced smile: "Brother Yelü, I was impolite yesterday and offended you greatly. I hope you will be magnanimous and not hold it against me."

The apology was merely for Xiao Heng's benefit. He felt much better when he thought of the silver needle that had been inserted into Yelü Yuanxiu yesterday.

Yelü Yuanxiu snorted and walked straight to the window to sit down.

Seeing this, Xiao Heng quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Both of you are people I respect. Since you have both come to Jing Kingdom to study, it is fate that we have met. Let's not let yesterday's events ruin our harmony."

Qi Zhi invited Yelü Yuanxiu to sit down again, but Yelü Yuanxiu remained unmoved.

Xiao Heng glanced at Qi Zhi without showing any emotion. He was indeed a ruthless character, able to bend and stretch! Xiao Heng's mind raced. Perhaps Yelü Yuanxiu was a lock pick.

Xiao Heng smiled and said to Yelü Yuanxiu, "Brother Yelü, since Brother Qi has apologized so sincerely, let's fill our stomachs first so we can have the strength. I was just talking to Brother Qi about Consort Li's poisoning. Now that you're here, we can analyze it together."

Yelü Yuanxiu then slowly turned around and sat down at the table, but his eyes still held dissatisfaction with Qi Zhi.

"Now that Consort Li has been poisoned, I wonder if she is feeling any better?"

No sooner had Xiao Heng finished speaking than Yelü Yuanxiu suddenly shouted, "I don't know who is so audacious as to not only harm people but also trap us here!"

Xiao Heng glanced at Qi Zhi discreetly, but Qi Zhi's expression remained unchanged.

Such profound thoughts!

"Brother Yelü, don't be angry. We're just analyzing things, aren't we?" Xiao Heng said, trying to comfort him.

Just then, Xia Tingfu and Luo Wei also came out. They had always been on good terms and even arrived at roughly the same time.

Xia Tingfu glanced at the scene and saw that it was Xiao Heng, Yelü Yuanxiu, and Qi Zhi sitting together. He was momentarily doubtful whether the fight between Yelü Yuanxiu and Qi Zhi yesterday was true.

"Brother Xia, Brother Luo, you've come at the perfect time! Come and have some breakfast with us!" It was Xiao Heng who spoke again.

The two stood side by side, their tall figures and handsome faces a truly pleasing sight.

"Hmm? Why are there only the two of you? Where is Yin Ge'er?" Xiao Heng asked again.

“Oh, he’s still sleeping. He’s probably sleeping really soundly right now,” Lowe replied.

"Let him sleep a little longer. He's only been in Jing Kingdom for a short time and he's already encountered something like this. It's best not to disturb him." With that, Xia Tingfu pulled Luo Wei down to sit.

Five people were sitting at the table, all of them tall and imposing, making the previously spacious table suddenly feel cramped.

"I saw you two chatting so enthusiastically just now, I wonder what you were talking about?" Xia Tingfu asked, picking up a steamed bun.

Lovi, on the other hand, continued to drink his porridge without saying much.

Xiao Heng said, "We were just talking about Consort Li's poisoning. Since there are no outsiders here, let's chat about it together."

Xia Tingfu's eyes lit up, and he put down the steamed bun, saying, "This is a big deal. If we can find the person who poisoned us, we might be able to share His Majesty's burdens. I think this matter may be related to the competition for favor in the harem."

Sharing Emperor Jing's burdens is a great help to him, and if he needs Jing's assistance in the future, Emperor Jing will likely give him face.

Lovi nodded in agreement: "Brother Xia is absolutely right. Intrigue and backstabbing are not uncommon in the harem."

"Sigh!" Xiao Heng sighed deliberately, "It's a pity that we're locked up here now, and there's nothing we can do to help."

Yelü Yuanxiu snorted coldly: "Hmph, perhaps someone is deliberately stirring up trouble in the harem to achieve some ulterior motive." As he spoke, he glanced at Qi Zhi intentionally or unintentionally.

Xiao Heng observed everyone's reactions and continued, "In any case, the person who poisoned us must be meticulous. Everyone was in the palace yesterday; did you notice anything suspicious?"

Xia Tingfu stroked his chin and said, "It happened so suddenly that there wasn't time to observe so much."

Lovi also spoke up: "What we can think of, His Majesty has probably already figured out clearly, otherwise he wouldn't have arranged for us all to be here, not even the Empress Dowager..."

Yes, almost everyone in the harem is now trapped in Xuanyang Palace.

"But the most important thing now is to figure out the origin of the poison. If it's some kind of rare poison, wouldn't it be easier to identify the real culprit?"

Yelü Yuanxiu curled his lip, "What's so difficult about that?"

Everyone immediately looked at Yelü Yuanxiu.

"I didn't know Brother Yelü had such abilities?" Xiao Heng asked with some curiosity.

Xia Tingfu was somewhat skeptical. "We're talking about identifying poison now. If you have that ability, why didn't you treat Consort Li yesterday?" He was suspicious, after all, Yelü Yuanxiu had always given people the impression of being unreliable.

"Who said I could cure diseases?" Yelü Yuanxiu crossed his arms, his expression flippant.

"Then what did you mean by what you just said?" Lovi was also somewhat dissatisfied; this Yelü Yuanxiu was always causing trouble.

Seeing that no one believed him, Yelü Yuanxiu immediately stood up and said angrily, "Although I don't know how to cure diseases, I was raised by my maternal grandfather since I was a child. He studied various medical techniques and was good at antidoting all kinds of poisons. As long as you can name the poison, I can tell you its origin."

Everyone looked at each other, all seemingly disbelieving, except for Xiao Heng, who was deep in thought. He decided to test the waters.