Emperor Yongye raised his hand, his finger pointing at Dongfang Cheng.
Both Dongfang Cheng and Prince Mu’s faces already showed joy.
"Pass it on to... Eldest Prince Dongfang Cheng."
As soon as these words came out, it was set in stone.
The Imperial Army outside, the princes, and the old officials all knelt down.
The Empress also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Li Qing, why aren’t you going to announce it to all the officials?"
Dongfang Cheng glared fiercely at Dugu Wu and Dongfang Yu, and the Dongfang Yu couple stood dumbfounded, especially Nalan Yan’er, who felt a bitter taste in her heart.
Li Qing sighed inwardly, about to step out.
"Empress, are you satisfied now?"
Emperor Yongye’s body, thin as kindling, reached out to the Empress.
The Empress’s lips were still smiling, but a hint of astonishment flashed in her eyes.
In the next moment, a surge of strength burst from within Emperor Yongye’s seemingly frail body, and he flung open the cloak on the Empress.
In the palace, a collective gasp echoed.
The tender, water-like face of the Empress also froze in an instant.
In her eyes, there was confusion, anger, and mostly disbelief.
Her exposed limbs and neck were wrinkled and rough like tree bark, repulsive to look at.
"Your Majesty... it failed? How is this possible?"
The Empress stood stupefied, looking at Emperor Yongye whose expression was clear and lucid.
The man was still the same man, the one she had accompanied for decades.
But in his eyes looking at her, there was only disgust and coldness, as if he were looking at a venomous snake.
"Do you wish to ask why your love poison has no effect on me?"
Emperor Yongye coughed lightly, he lifted his hand, and Li Qing hurriedly came forward to support Emperor Yongye.
"Impossible. The love poison cannot fail. It’s incurable."
The Empress ignored the shocked looks from everyone around, murmuring to herself.
Emperor Yongye had been poisoned for so long, already beyond remedy, only Heartbreak Grass mixed with her own Heart Blood could detoxify.
This was what "she" had told her.
It couldn’t be wrong.
"Do you want to know why I am able to detoxify? This time, I owe it to Princess Consort Wu."
Emperor Yongye also did not expect that the savior of himself and Great Chu would be Feng Bailing, who he always regarded with caution.
Everyone was taken aback, except for two persons.
The corner of Dugu Wu’s eye casually glanced at someone.
Dongfang Mosheng, who had been silent, also had a slight upward twist of the lips.
Her scent was very unique, as soon as she came in, they noticed it.
"Your Majesty speaks too gravely. We should also thank Master Hong for the previous poisoning of Your Majesty."
Even a little eunuch behind Li Qing spoke up.
The voice of the little eunuch was somewhat familiar.
Earlier, when Li Qing brought people in, everyone’s attention was only on Emperor Yongye who was on the verge of death, no one noticed the little eunuch who came in with Li Qing to hold the light.
Nalan Yan’er was also profoundly shocked.
Why would Feng Bailing be here?
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Feng Bailing confidently approached.
"Do you all remember, last time Hong Xuan was wrongly accused of poisoning Emperor with Heartbreak Grass. At the time, everyone wanted Hong Xuan dead, but in fact, Hong Xuan saved the Emperor once. If it wasn’t for the last incident, when Hong Xuan was manipulated, and Emperor took Heartbreak Grass ahead of time, the conspiracy of the Empress and Eldest Prince would have succeeded."
Upon learning that the Empress would make a desperate move, forcing Emperor Yongye to abdicate in favor of the Eldest Prince, Feng Bailing urgently sought out Li Qing.
Of course, Li Qing did not dare to agree to help Feng Bailing rashly; he only agreed to escort Feng Bailing into the Emperor’s sleeping chambers.
While Feng Bailing entered the sleeping chambers, she also secretly brought something with her.
As everyone was talking, she lit that thing.
Feng Bailing spoke and took out a candle.
"This candle may look ordinary, but I’ve replaced its wick with one made from Heartbreak Grass. When the candle was lit just now, the medicinal properties of the Heartbreak Grass were already released."
Upon hearing this, everyone’s face changed color.
"You all don’t need to worry, though Heartbreak Grass is highly toxic, everyone is healthy, and ingesting a bit of Heartbreak Grass won’t do harm, just take some detoxification medicine afterward. But for the Emperor, this bit of Heartbreak Grass is a lifesaver, helping him wake up from the effects of the love poison."
Feng Bailing said with a smile.
The use of the candle to bring out the properties of the Heartbreak Grass was inspired by aromatherapy candles.
"Impossible. Just with that bit of Heartbreak Grass, it’s not enough to free Emperor from the love poison."
The Empress became even calmer after being exposed.
She stood up with a calm demeanor.
She spent years carefully orchestrating this.
This was not the first time Orchid was planted, and over the years, she made the effects of the love poison on Emperor Yongye grow stronger.
"That bit of Heartbreak Grass indeed can’t free me from an incurable condition, but Empress, you probably didn’t expect that I was not deeply affected by the poisonous insect. Moreover, Dongfang Cheng thought he was being clever, adding Heartbreak Grass to the incense to poison me and frame Poison Dragon Villa, which made me realize earlier that you used a love poison on me."
Emperor Yongye stood up.
That time with Hong Xuan, although he was poisoned with Heartbreak Grass.
It made him aware, and the poison of the Heartbreak Grass also relieved the outbreak of the love poison.
"You realized back then that I wasn’t deeply affected by the poisonous insect?"
Emperor Yongye’s gaze was profound, looking towards Feng Bailing.
Feng Bailing nodded her head.
She just had suspicions at the time. After being poisoned with Heartbreak Grass, the blood one spits out should be black, but the blood Emperor Yongye spat was black with a trace of red, and later, it gradually turned bright red.
Feng Bailing later inquired with Li Mubei, who said that unless the poison from Heartbreak Grass had just been neutralized, otherwise, the blood would never turn from black to red.
Dugu Wu’s brows furrowed upon hearing this.
If Emperor Yongye wasn’t poisoned by Heartbreak Grass at that time, then Master Hong... A cold look surged in the depths of Dugu Wu’s eyes.
The so-called emperor’s power was nothing more than a trick that treated human lives with contempt.
However, Feng Bailing still didn’t understand something; anyone poisoned with the love poison, after years of being affected, was supposed to be beyond cure, but Emperor Yongye... this was precisely the point that Feng Bailing couldn’t understand, his resistance to the love poison seemed too strong.
After all, the Empress used the Wooden Holy Seal to cultivate the Orchid.
The Empress also looked towards Emperor Yongye.
She too didn’t understand where exactly had gone wrong.
"Empress Xiao Yingying colluded with the Eldest Prince to poison me, conspiring with a demon witch with the intention to usurp the throne, ordering Mr. Zhao to plot against the Imperial Heir, your licentious actions in the harem are unforgivable. You are stripped of your title, to be confined to the Cold Palace. Eldest Prince Dongfang Cheng committed high treason, a heinous crime, he shall be exiled to the border, never to return to Chu City."
Emperor Yongye’s voice was ice-cold.
Dongfang Cheng’s knees buckle, and he collapses to the ground.
A soft snort, the Empress actually laughed out loud, her laughter growing louder and louder until, in the end, she shook with laughter, and tears of laughter even streamed from her eyes.