The more cowardly a person is, the more wild they are; I've driven the villainous minister craz

“I saw him drink the poisoned wine with my own eyes; he is surely going to die.”

"What a pity." A low, hoarse sigh filled with regret came from inside the carriage. "Send a message to the Prince, saying that the matter has been accomplished."

"Yes."

Before long, a carrier pigeon flew out of Huicheng County.

A whistle suddenly rang out from the woods on the outskirts of the city, and the carrier pigeons seemed to be bewitched as they flew into the woods.

Soon, the carrier pigeon landed on the treetop.

The white pigeon, with its tiny black eyes, curiously looked at the people below, cooed a few times, and flew towards the food plate in the person's hand.

The man took the opportunity to untie the message tube from the carrier pigeon's leg and quickly glanced at it.

……

Prince Chen's Palace.

Inside the warm room, Prince Chen, dressed in a magnificent purple robe, and Yun Shang, dressed in a plain white robe, sat facing each other, with a cup of tea on the tea table between them.

The tea had gone completely cold and stood out awkwardly from the other teacups around it.

At this moment, Prince Chen stared at the cup of cold tea, his expression turning cold. "It's the Drunken Dream Powder. After taking it, a person will die painlessly in their sleep. This poison is extremely rare, and I never expected to see it again."

Yun Shang smiled faintly, "The person behind this is quite kind to the students, willing to use such rare poison on them."

Seeing that he showed no sign of fear, Prince Chen couldn't help but frown and said, "You almost drank this cup of tea. There is no antidote for the Drunken Dream Powder. Even a divine physician could only temporarily alleviate its toxicity. You almost lost your life."

“I never intended to drink this tea,” Yun Shang said calmly, his brows furrowed with a chilling glint. “I originally planned to just pour it away, but I heard a faint noise on the roof, which, if I’m not mistaken, is from the person who poisoned it.”

"This is a good opportunity to follow the clues and find out who wants to harm me."

Prince Chen understood what he meant, but he was still somewhat displeased that he had put himself in danger. “If the other side fails with one plan, they will surely come up with another. We have plenty of opportunities to find out who is behind them. There is no need to put ourselves in danger.”

"The enemy is in the dark while we are in the light; there's no reason to guard against thieves for a thousand days."

“That is true…” Prince Chen frowned.

Yun Shang interrupted him, "Your Highness's plans are fraught with danger; this is just the beginning."

Upon hearing this, Prince Chen swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Indeed, as Yun Shang said, the poisoning is just the beginning.

Even so, Yun Shang's courage impressed him.

"Yun Shang," Prince Chen suddenly said, "as that person said, I am indeed the least likely of Father's sons to inherit the throne. You have chosen to assist me, do you truly not regret it?"

Prince Chen's words were both a genuine desire to know and a test.

Yun Shang picked up the teapot beside him and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Does Your Highness trust me?"

Prince Chen smiled slightly, "Of course I believe you. You were recommended by Mr. Xie and are someone I genuinely admire. I trust those I employ, and I will never doubt your loyalty."

Yun Shang smiled slightly and drank the tea in his cup in one gulp. "Your Highness can always believe in my loyalty, unless one day Your Highness forgets your original intentions and is no longer the person you are now."

What is Prince Chen like now?

He treated the virtuous and learned with respect and compassion, and in his eyes, there was no distinction between noble and lowly people. He treated all the people of the Great Zhao equally.

It is precisely because they share the same initial aspirations that they consider each other to be close friends.

Prince Chen agreed and raised his cup to him, saying, "I will never doubt you, sir."

Yun Shang raised his hand to clink glasses.

Just as the two finished talking, Mingwei's voice rang out from outside the door.

"Your Highness, the men we sent out have returned."

Prince Chen's expression darkened, and he put down his teacup. "Come in."

Mingwei led in a middle-aged man dressed as a craftsman. The man bowed respectfully to Prince Chen and presented a note with both hands. "Your Highness, I have copied the letter from the carrier pigeon's leg."

Mingwei took the letter and waved for him to leave.

Prince Chen glanced at the letter, a hint of mockery appearing in his eyes, along with an unsurprising sadness.

Yun Shang took in his expression and said calmly, "The person who wanted to poison me is the Emperor's third son, Prince Qi?"

Prince Chen paused, holding the note, and looked at him in surprise. "How did you guess?"

Yun Shang explained calmly, "Due to health reasons, the Prince is not favored by the Emperor. The other princes are arrogant and often disrespectful to the Prince. Among the princes, the Prince and Prince Qi have the closest relationship, and their deep brotherhood is well-known."

"Only if the one who made the move was the Prince of Qi would the prince have shown the expression he just now."

“‘Brotherly affection’? What a wonderful brotherly affection, hahaha.” Prince Chen clenched the note in his hand and laughed. “You’re right, the one who wants to harm you is him.”

"I've only had you as my advisor for a short time, and he's already trying to turn you against me. If that fails, he'll just take your life."

"I don't need such 'deeply affectionate' brothers."

Yun Shang did not respond. After Prince Chen calmed down a bit, he said, "Now that Your Highness has seen through Prince Qi's true colors, you might as well be patient for the time being and pretend you know nothing."

Prince Chen paused, "You mean..."

"Right now, the enemy is in the dark while we are in the light. It is inconvenient for Your Highness to act in the open. If we have the opportunity to become the side in the shadows, the benefits will only be greater."

"I understand." Prince Chen nodded after a moment's thought. "I will handle Prince Qi's side."

Yun Shang nodded. "Your Highness, please be careful in all matters."

Prince Chen responded and then said, "I have another matter that I need you to handle, and it cannot be done by anyone else."

Yun Shang raised his deep, dark eyes to meet his gaze.

……

On March 18th, the weather was clear and the sky was blue.

As Shen watched Yun Shang and Yu Wan's carriage disappear into the distance at Huidong Pass, she said to Old Man Feng beside her with a worried expression, "This is Yu Niang's first time traveling so far. I don't know why Yun Shang insisted on taking her with him."

"Didn't he say that this trip might take one or two months? If we don't bring Wan'er along, wouldn't that mean the young couple will be separated for two months in a row?"

Madam Shen looked puzzled. "So, what Elder Feng means is that Yun Shang couldn't bear to leave Yu Niang for so long, so he took her with him?"

Old Feng stroked his white beard and looked up. "Trust me, it must be like this."

"...So, you want me to come with you so you can use me as a cover?" Yu Wan looked up at Yun Shang, whose expression was cold and aloof.

With Elder Feng treating him, Yun Shang's complexion is much better than before.

Her lips, which were originally pale and bloodless, now had an alluring pink hue, the kind of pink that makes you want to kiss them.

In short, Yu Wan endured a lot of hardship.

With great difficulty, Yu Wan looked away from his lips and couldn't help but ask curiously, "So where are we going this time, and what are we going to do?"

Yu Wan was led out by Yun Shang in a daze, completely unaware of what was happening.

Only now did she belatedly realize that she seemed to have trusted Yun Shang too much.

She never imagined that Yun Shang would take the opportunity to kill her to silence her, taking advantage of Shen Shi and Yun Xi's absence to vent his anger.

She seemed to have stopped worrying about Yun Shang killing her in a long time.