I became the tyrant's only belief.

Chapter 196 Unfair

On the bed, Wei Mingliang was tied up with silk strips. As he struggled and twisted, the bed shook slightly, making a series of creaking sounds.

Veins bulged on his forehead and neck, his peach blossom eyes were no longer clear, their eyes were bloodshot, his lips were swollen like intestines, and there were countless bloody wounds on them. The blood that flowed out soaked the clean cloth used to gag his mouth.

There were scratches all over his face, neck and hands, as if he had just rolled through a thorn bush.

Because his mouth was blocked, he could only make a mad beast-like "ho ho" sound from his throat, as if he would break free from his restraints and attack people in the next moment.

"All the doctors we invited are helpless. Sir, please save His Highness." Tuoba Yong anxiously grabbed Zhao Shiqi and shook him.

Zhao Shiqi was a weak scholar and also old, how could he withstand such shaking?

I was seeing stars and couldn't even speak.

"Let go of the sir!" The captain of the guards couldn't bear it anymore and snatched Zhao Shiqi away from Tuoba Yong.

Zhao Shiqi was so dizzy that he couldn't even stand. It took him a while to regain his strength to ask, "What did the doctor say?"

"The doctor said that His Highness was poisoned by the itching powder." Tuoba Yong said, "But after using the antidote, His Highness's symptoms not only did not improve, but became more severe, and he is not even conscious anymore."

Zhao Shiqi asked: "Who was the first to discover that His Highness was poisoned?"

"It's me." The beauty came over and bowed to Zhao Shiqi. "Since I entered the room to accompany His Highness, His Highness has only drunk a few glasses of wine and has not eaten anything else. Just now, Master Tuoba has given the wine pot and wine glass to the doctor for inspection, and they are both non-toxic."

Zhao Shiqi asked, "Where are the other things in the room?"

"We've checked it all, no poison." Tuoba Yong looked at Wei Mingliang, who was completely different from usual on the bed, and was extremely worried. "If this continues, His Highness will die of exhaustion. Sir, please think of a solution quickly."

"Don't worry." Zhao Shiqi looked at the chief guard, "Go and invite the princess here."

The captain of the guards took the order and ran away.

Zhao Shiqi looked at Tuoba Yong again and said, "There should be an expert in detoxification in the palace. Take the token of His Highness and go to the palace to ask for an audience with His Majesty. Then borrow a doctor who is good at detoxification."

"Okay." Tuoba Yong took the token and left, riding a fast horse to the palace.

When the Princess of Western Xia learned that Wei Mingliang had been poisoned, she hurried over, dressed in her clothes.

When she first saw Wei Mingliang's miserable condition, she almost couldn't recognize that the person lying on the bed was her handsome and elegant royal brother.

She was so scared that she took two steps back, tears welling up in her eyes, "Second brother, what happened? Where's the doctor?"

"Princess, don't worry. I have already asked Lord Tuoba to come to the palace to invite the imperial physician. Your Highness will be fine." Zhao Shiqi spoke to comfort her and motioned for her to talk to the side.

Princess Xixia followed him, glancing towards the bed from time to time. Tears had already fallen down her cheeks and she couldn't stop them.

Zhao Shiqi knew that this beautiful princess would cry when her emotions fluctuated too much, so he was not surprised and asked the maid to bring silk to wipe her tears.

Princess Xixia was shaking with tears, her voice choking with sobs: "Sir, what do you want to say to me?"

Zhao Shiqi said, "I would like to ask the princess to recall carefully what you have eaten and touched since entering the palace, especially the things that the princess has never eaten or touched."

Princess Xixia did not ask the reason, but just wiped her tears and recalled the past.

As she recalled the past, her emotions calmed down a little and her tears flowed less quickly.

She said, "Second brother didn't touch anything special. As for food... I sat next to Second brother, and I ate the same things. If the food was poisonous, I would do the same as Second brother."

Hearing this, Zhao Shiqi's brows twisted into a knot.

According to his speculation, Wei Mingliang was most likely poisoned in the palace, and it was possible that the person on the throne did it. After all, they had used this trick on Emperor Rende before, and because there was no evidence, Emperor Rende suffered a great loss.

Now it is not impossible for a son to avenge his father.

But from what the princess said, it didn't seem to be the case. He thought about it and then asked, "Did you encounter any strange things on the way back to the inn?"

Princess Xixia shook her head, "Everything went well when I came back."

"That's strange." Zhao Shiqi paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. He felt that he might not have woken up yet and his mind was not clear, so he asked someone to bring him a cup of strong tea to wake him up.

Hearing this, Princess Xixia had an idea and exclaimed, "Ah."

Zhao Shiqi immediately turned to look at her: "Princess, have you thought of anything?"

"If you say that only the second prince ate something that was touched, there is indeed one thing." Princess Xixia pointed at the tea served by the maid, "A palace maid fed the second prince a cup of tea."

Zhao Shiqi's eyes lit up, feeling that he had grasped the key, and asked hurriedly: "Which palace maid?"

Princess Xixia said, "It's the palace maid that the Third Prince said kicked the Second Prince in public and wanted to commit suicide by hitting her head against a pillar."

This matter was too embarrassing, Wei Mingliang deliberately concealed it from Zhao Shiqi, and Zhao Shiqi knew nothing about it. He was about to ask in detail when he suddenly heard people exclaiming that Wei Mingliang had actually broken the straps.

He didn't bother to ask any more questions and ordered the guards to go forward and arrest the man.

The room was instantly in chaos.

On the other hand, things were not peaceful in the palace either.

Cai Baolin of Chengbitang suddenly fell ill and his whole body was covered with red rashes. His condition was horrifying, so he summoned the imperial physician to see him overnight.

The noise was so loud that even the queen was alarmed, and she brought people to visit.

Xiao Jingfan also received the news and went to Chengbi Hall.

When he arrived, Shufei and Chunzhaoyi, who had also received the news, had already arrived.

"Your Majesty, may you be well." Everyone knelt to greet him.

"Everyone, get up." Xiao Jingfan sat on the main seat and asked, "What's the situation?"

Empress Zhong, who came first, said, "Your Majesty, Cai Baolin's condition is somewhat critical. He has just been given a bowl of medicine, and Imperial Doctor Li is treating him inside."

As he was speaking, Doctor Li came out carrying a medicine box.

He was about to salute Xiao Jingfan, but Xiao Jingfan waved his hand to interrupt him, "No need to salute, what's the situation?"

Doctor Li bowed and said, "Your Majesty, Cai Baolin's life is no longer in danger. He only needs to apply medicine to the rash on his body, and he can't stop taking medicine. He will need to recuperate for about a month."

Xiao Jingfan frowned. He was fine when he was delivering the soup. How come he suddenly became like this?
He asked, "Why did Cai Baolin suddenly fall ill?"

"Your Majesty, Cai Baolin did not suffer from an emergency, but was poisoned." Doctor Li said, "I found oleander juice and a small amount of almond powder in the jade cream that Cai Baolin used. Oleander is highly toxic, and Cai Baolin is weak, so he got a rash all over his body."

Consort Chun was surprised and asked, "Only concubines and above have Jade Cream in their rations. How could Cai Baolin have it?"

"I heard from Cai Baolin that it was given to her by Lady Zhu when she visited her at Chengbi Hall," said Queen Zhong. "As for how Lady Zhu got the Jade Face Cream, I don't know."

Hearing this, Xiao Jingfan turned around and told Zhou Yuande: "Send the message to the beautiful lady."

*
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty be well and safe." Zhu Hanyu knelt down to salute. Her long black hair was loosely tied up with a sandalwood hairpin. A few strands of hair hung on the sides of her face, adding a bit of charm.

Xiao Jingfan motioned for Doctor Li to show her the Jade Beauty Cream, "Did you give this box of cream to Cai Baolin?"

Zhu Hanyu looked up and saw a scratch in the middle of the box, so she nodded and said, "This is a gift from me to Sister Cai."

Queen Zhong said, "Doctor Li found oleander juice in this box of jade cream. Cai Baolin developed a rash all over his body and nearly lost his life. How do you explain this?"