Helan Xue, the Crown Princess, wailing, was not deterred by her six-month pregnancy as she ran over, her belly protruding.
The face of Crown Prince Nangong Shi was hard to look at. He solemnly said to Saknu, "Isn’t Prince Saknu’s behaviour a little imprudent! Assaulting a guest of our country on the soil of our Great Jin, your actions clearly show you don’t regard us with respect."
Saknu sneered, coldly saying, "That mad woman made my woman nearly dead, life or death uncertain, and you refuse to send for an imperial physician to treat her, let it be. Instead, you allow your insane sister-in-law to torture her. You hardly regard me, Saknu, you treat me as if I were a sheep, don’t you?"
The prince responded, "An Le’s complexion is normal, not resembling one who is poisoned, which is what raised doubt in the first place. This whole affair was simply a misunderstanding. I will investigate carefully and surely provide Prince Saknu with a reasonable explanation. The Great Prince need not be impatient."
Saknu began to laugh a foreboding laugh. As his laughter subsided, his face grew more grim.
"There is no need for an investigation. You are determined to support your sister-in-law and naturally place all responsibility on my woman’s shoulders. Convey this message to that mad woman, Helana. If my wife recovers and all is well, then so be it. If anything happens to her, I, Saknu, swear I will make her pay with her life!"
Having said this, he strode to Cai Wei, carefully cradled her in his arms, and walked away...
The afternoon sunlight, filtered through the veil covering the window, shone into the brightest room of the hunting ground’s inn. Behind the Purple Sandalwood imperial desk embellished with mother of pearl and agate depicting fish playing with Cai Lian, Emperor Jin Ming sat in his casual attire upon a Sandalwood carved dragon chair, looking at the prince kneeling before him.
"Imperial Father, I have investigated the matter and it was caused by..."
Emperor Jin Ming interrupted him, his tone hostile.
"I don’t want to investigate whose fault it is, I just want to know how to solve this situation!"
At this point, Emperor Jin Ming was in turmoil, agitated. An Le was diagnosed with the poison of the Luo Anhua flower, lying there on the brink of death. The Luo Anhua flower, an exclave of the Xianbei Empire located on Luon Anhua Island, is a unique poison of the Xianbei Empire. Therefore, Saknu had decided that the crime was committed by Helana. In a violent rage, he made clear his fierce threats, vowing revenge if anything were to happen to An Le.
Saknu, with his brutal and ferocious nature akin to a wild beast, is backed by the powerful Liaodan Kingdom. If he wanted to kill Helana, he could surely do so.
Helana is the precious jewel of Xianbei’s king and queen. If she died in Great Jin, Great Jin would not be able to explain to Xianbei, which could potentially ignite conflict between the two nations and cause warfare.
Therefore, what Emperor Jin Ming most desired was a swift and peaceful resolution to the incident.
"Imperial father, in my opinion, our current strategy should be to appease Saknu’s feelings. As long as he does not stir trouble, I can handle the Helan situation myself!"
The Prince upon his knees proposed.
Prince Nangong Shi, aged twenty-nine, bears a striking resemblance to Emperor Jin Ming in both appearance and temperament. He is the child of his most loved consort, Jin Guifei, and therefore beloved by Emperor Jin Ming.
Upon hearing these words, Emperor Jin Ming looked troubled, "To appease Saknu, we would need An Le to wake up. Regrettably, she was poisoned with Luo Anhua, the world’s deadliest poison. It is colorless, tasteless, and does not leave visible suspecting symptoms on the victim. Until now, there is not a single person in the world who knows how to cure it. What course of action can be taken to awaken An Le?"
Emperor Jin Ming, who was already in his forties, had dedicated his heart to the Immortal Cultivation Technique, and had no interest in court politics. Consequently, he made the prince regent, while he continued to focus exclusively on his Cultivation. If the war broke out due to this incident, how could he continue down his path of Cultivation without any distraction?