"Thanks to Xiao Wenjian for making some noise, Brother Wei was able to drink Xue Fei's lotus seed soup again." King Wu Li Qing scooped up a spoonful of lotus soup and brought it to his mouth, and said with a smile, "Brother Wei, you really need to treat yourself well." Thank you to him."
"Brother, you are joking." Li Xuefei looked at the handsome and handsome Prince Wu, her eyes full of admiration and admiration, "It doesn't matter if my little sister just makes soup for you every day. I'm afraid that Xuefei's cooking skills are not good, and my brother is very unhappy." I'm going to get bored soon."
Princess Bixiao was definitely not a gentle person, but the cousin in front of her who had cared for her since she was a child was even closer than her own brother.
What's more, Li Qing is not only handsome, but he is also a talented man with both civil and military skills. He can discuss ancient divine literature with the masters of Wen Dao Academy, and he can overpower all the young talents under the age of thirty in Daqian with a three-foot green peak. In addition, he has a gentle and generous temperament and is extremely kind and caring to his brothers and sisters. Even though he was born into a ruthless imperial family, he still won the respect and love of most of the royal children.
Of course, these people who love him do not include the crown prince and the second prince, the two brothers who are eyeing the throne.
Among all the female royal family members, "Princess Izumo" Li Yiru and "Princess Bixiao" Li Xuefei have the closest relationship with him.
"How can I get tired of it? Princess Bixiao's lotus seed soup is one of the best in the imperial capital." Although Li Qing holds a high position, he has an easy-going temperament. "I heard that the prime minister tried his best to ask for a bowl, but he failed to get it."
"Brother, please stop making fun of me." Li Xuefei blushed, "These are just rumors spread by people who don't know what they are talking about. How can we take it seriously?"
"Brother Wei feels that it is worthy of the name." Li Qing smiled and put the spoon into his mouth, "After just two sips, Brother Wei is already a little more confident about tomorrow's decisive battle."
"Xue Fei is here to wish the emperor a great victory." Li Xuefei smiled.
"Xue Fei, are you serious about the matter between you and Xiao Qingqing?" Li Qing put down the soup bowl, hesitated for a moment, and finally asked.
Li Xuefei was stunned for a moment, and said with a somewhat nervous look on her face: "Brother Emperor, Qingqing and I are in love, please support me."
"As a brother, I don't mean to oppose you two." Li Qing sighed and said slowly, "You don't know my temper."
Li Qing has an open-minded nature and is tolerant of the interests and hobbies of his younger brothers and sisters. He is completely opposite to the prince who always loves to teach others. Because of this, Li Yiru, who is passionate about food, and Li Xuefei, who dares to love and hate, both like to be close to him.
Hearing this, Li Xuefei breathed a long sigh of relief, but then heard Li Qing continue: "It's just that the Xiao family has been taking frequent actions recently and has repeatedly tried to provoke the royal family. After all, you are a descendant of the Li family. If the conflict between the Li and Xiao families intensifies in the future, I really don’t know how you should handle yourself when you are caught in the middle.”
"I believe in ruthlessness." Li Xuefei's beautiful eyes sparkled softly, "He will definitely handle it well."
"I hope this Second Young Master Xiao will not disappoint your affection." Li Qing knew that this cousin had a fiery temperament. Once he fell in love, he would devote himself wholeheartedly to her, making it difficult for him to extricate himself, so he stopped trying to dissuade her.
As long as I can suppress the next generation of the Xiao family, I think the royal family and the Xiao family can still maintain superficial harmony.
So he thought.
"No, Wu Qing is sincere to me..." Li Xuefei suddenly stopped in the middle of her words. She was surprised to see two streaks of blood seeping out from the left and right corners of Li Qing's mouth and slowly flowing down.
"What?" Li Qing saw her strange expression and felt something was wrong. He stretched out his hand to wipe the corner of her mouth, only to see that his hand was full of blood. Then his heart felt cramped. He swayed and couldn't stand still. He fell down with a "plop".
Behind him on the wooden chair.
"Brother Imperial!" Li Xuefei exclaimed, and when she was about to step forward to check, two figures suddenly flashed in front of her eyes, blocking her way.
"Xue Fei, what was put in this lotus seed soup?" Li Qing's face turned black, his forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and his whole body was trembling. He was a master of heavenly wheels, but he found it difficult to even speak.
With a "squeak" sound, the two attendants around him pulled out their swords and pointed them directly at Li Xuefei's delicate body: "How brave! How dare you murder the prince!"
"No, I didn't put anything else, this is just ordinary lotus seed soup!" Li Xuefei shook her head repeatedly, her face turned pale with fright.
"Take it!" An attendant exuded a monstrous force. Li Xuefei felt her whole body stiffen and lost the ability to move in an instant.
He is actually a heavenly wheel master!
Li Xuefei was panicked and aggrieved. Her tears couldn't stop falling. She bit her lip and said, "Brother, you must believe me. I really didn't poison you!"
"Qinglong, stop, stop!" Li Qing struggled to stop his guards, "How can my sister be so stupid? She drugged herself and delivered it herself?"
"But, Your Majesty!" the guard "Qinglong" said anxiously.
"Qinglong, go and ask for the imperial doctor." Li Qing's face became more and more ugly, "Baihu, ask someone to test this bowl of soup and see what kind of medicine is in it. It was probably Xuefei who sent the soup.
On the way, someone tampered with me."
"Your Majesty, what should Princess Bixiao do with her?" Qinglong asked for instructions.
"Go and call Suzaku. She has good medical skills. Let her find a way to suppress the poison for me first. Before Suzaku comes, please ask Xue Fei to take care of me for a while." Li Qing was obviously deeply poisoned and was in so much pain that he couldn't even speak.
It was very reluctant, but the task was arranged in a very orderly manner, and there was no hint of blame in his tone for the cousin who sent the poisonous soup.
"Your Majesty, you must not do it!" Even the guard "White Tiger" was not calm now, "No matter who is the mastermind, the poison was sent by Princess Bixiao after all. The Prince is now ill, how can he be alone with her?
!”
"Why, you didn't even listen to what I said?" Li Qing's face darkened, and he spat out another mouthful of blood, "Go away, go away!"
"...Here!" Seeing Li Qing vomiting blood in a hurry, the Blue Dragon and White Tiger did not dare to provoke him any more, so they had to act as they were told.
When he passed by Li Xuefei, Qinglong gave her a vicious look, as if to say, if the prince has any shortcomings, I will ask you for it.
When the two guards left, Li Qing frowned. Unable to hold on any longer, he groaned and threw his entire upper body onto the wooden table.
"Brother Imperial, how are you?" Li Xuefei's tone was half worried and half wronged.
"Xue, Xuefei, don't worry, I can still hold on." Li Qing tried his best to smile, but failed. "You help me go to the bedroom and lie down."
Li Xuefei wiped her tears and helped Li Qing to walk towards the bedroom. Along the way, she could feel her cousin's body trembling and his steps staggering. He was as fragile as a toddler. He was not at all like the majestic, tall and omnipotent Prince Wu from before.
"Brother, I really didn't put any medicine in the soup." Li Xuefei helped Li Qing lie down, looking at her cousin's deathly pale face, her nose became sore, and she couldn't help but shed tears, "You must not have anything happen to you.
Ah, otherwise, little sister, I...I..."
"Xue Fei, did you meet anyone on the way here?" Li Qing breathed heavily, feeling that it was becoming more and more difficult to speak.
"No?" Li Xuefei carefully recalled the journey from Prince Li's Mansion to Prince Wu's Mansion, shook her head and said, "My little sister has never met anyone."
"Then when you were making soup in Fuzhong, were you ever approached by anyone?" Li Qing felt the pain in his body getting stronger and stronger, and the toxicity gradually became uncontrollable.
"My little sister is making soup by herself, and she has never..." Halfway through her words, Li Xuefei's expression changed drastically, as if she remembered something, "Could it be... No, no, he wouldn't do this to me."
"Who is he?" Li Qing's heart moved, and he vaguely guessed something.
Li Xuefei hesitated several times: "He...he..."
"Is it Xiao Qingqing?" Before he could finish his words, Li Qing vomited out a large mouthful of blood. He felt like his internal organs were about to be spit out. His body was in a mess and he was in unbearable pain.
"When I was making soup, he once opened the lid and smelled it." Li Xuefei hurriedly explained, "But he really just smelled it and didn't do anything else."
"Does he know that this is soup for his brother?" Li Qing can still stay awake, which shows his strong mind.
"..." Li Xuefei hesitated for a moment, her heart gradually became gloomy, she nodded slightly and said, "I know."
Li Qing closed his eyes, stopped talking, mobilized all his strength, and began to fight against the poison.
"No, he won't be ruthless..." Li Xuefei murmured to herself, but a strong sense of ominousness gradually enveloped her heart.
She knew very well that during the whole process, except for Xiao Qingwu, no one else had been close to this pot of lotus seed soup. Apart from her lover, there seemed to be no other possibility.
Seeing the pain on Li Qing's face, Li Xuefei touched his forehead and felt her hands were hot. Thinking that her brother, who had always loved her so much, might be poisoned by her lover, she felt miserable in her heart.
She took a piece of cloth and dipped it in water in the washbasin nearby. Just as she was about to put the wet cloth on Li Qing's forehead to cool him down, her right wrist was suddenly grabbed by someone.
Li Xuefei was startled, and looked up. What caught her eye was a woman in her early thirties. The woman's skin was slightly brown, she had willow eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, a pretty nose, and her pretty red lips were slightly open, revealing a mouth of snow-white lips.
She was wearing a fiery red outfit that could not hide her curvy figure. Her whole body exuded mature and hot feminine charm, which actually made Li Xuefei, a famous beauty in the imperial capital, feel a little ashamed of herself.
"You, are you...?" The woman in red just stood in front of her, which put great pressure on Princess Bixiao. She stammered and asked, her voice so soft that she could hardly hear her.
"My name is Zhuque." The voice of the woman in red was soft and sweet, but the look she looked at Li Xuefei was cold and emotionless, "Next, I want to heal the prince's wounds, and I ask the princess to avoid it."
Li Xuefei opened her mouth to say something, but in the end she just sighed softly and said faintly: "Sister Zhuque, please cure the emperor brother no matter what."
Looking at the princess' miserable expression, Zhuque's tone softened a bit: "Suzaku should try his best to do what is within his duty."
Standing outside the bedroom door, looking at the door slowly closing in front of her, Li Xuefei was heartbroken. She knew clearly that her beloved brother was suffering unimaginable pain, but she was powerless. She could only sincerely pray to God to open his eyes...