The Command to Pamper the Husband - Chapter 167

“Alright, I understand. You may leave.”

After a long silence, just as Wang Liu began to wonder if Song Jin had fallen asleep, she suddenly spoke. Wang Liu hesitated for a moment, his lips moved as if to speak, but he ultimately said nothing. He bowed and left.

Once he was gone, Song Jin dragged her heavy body to the bed, wobbled, and lay down. She pulled the brocade quilt over herself, covering up. Staring at the dark canopy above her, she couldn’t sleep at all.

The Thousand Mechanism Poison was inflicted on her mother when she was injured in battle. Who could have approached her mother at that time? The Emperor, the Empress Dowager, the palace servants around her mother, and the military leaders.

Although her mother was a woman of the palace, she was also a general who led troops into battle. Since the Emperor had married her mother, he must have accepted her close relationships with the military leaders. When her mother was injured, and with so many casualties from the battle, the pain in her heart must have far outweighed the physical pain.

In such a situation, the Emperor, who deeply loved her mother, would have allowed military leaders to visit her mother often to keep her company. Were those people trustworthy?

Song Jin had a vague feeling that the military leaders her mother considered confidants were trustworthy. She trusted her mother’s character and abilities, even though she had only seen her in dreams. She just trusted her.

So, based on this feeling, the person who leaked the information back then was not from the military. If not from the military, but had the opportunity to know military secrets… The Minister of War, the Emperor, the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Study… Any of these people could have been involved.

However, her mother was poisoned with the Thousand Mechanism Poison when she returned to the capital for treatment after the battle, meaning the person who poisoned her mother was not from the enemy side but from their own.

Our own side…

Song Jin lay there, using her limited wisdom to piece together the relationships. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck her, and she sat up abruptly. She stared intently at the canopy in front of her.

Someone from our side poisoned her mother and leaked military intelligence. Could the person who poisoned her and the one who leaked the intelligence be the same? If so, the range of suspects narrowed again. Or rather, the target was locked.

The poison in her mother’s body, from what she saw in her dream, even if it wasn’t administered by the current Emperor, he was either aware of it or orchestrated it. The current Emperor was her father’s younger brother, born of the same mother.

If this brother was deeply scheming and had high trust from her father, it was possible her father and the Minister of War didn’t avoid him during their discussions. He could have learned about the Black Tiger Ridge battle report. If he deliberately leaked the report, it wasn’t to cause a defeat but to injure her mother. By injuring her mother, he found an opportunity to poison her.

Her mother was a Miao Territory native, possessing high spiritual power. Ordinary poisons couldn’t escape her notice. To successfully poison her, it had to be done when she was defenseless or utterly exhausted. With the heavy casualties and her own injuries from the battle, both conditions were met.

At that moment, a dose of poison…

Thinking of this, Song Jin’s hands gripped the brocade quilt tightly. She wanted to rush to the palace and kill that dog Emperor immediately. If she could think of these things, the Crown Prince, being so wise, must have thought of them too.

But why was the Crown Prince guiding or directing her to do these things? Why?

Song Jin only felt her head ache. Not being smart enough, thinking this much had used up all her brain cells. She had no energy left to analyze the Crown Prince. Rubbing her head that felt like it was about to explode, she lay down again.

Although the urge to kill the Emperor was strong, she couldn’t act yet. Much of the Great Yan Dynasty was conquered by her mother leading the army. Even if she wanted to avenge her mother, she couldn’t gamble with the land her mother fought for.

Killing the Emperor must be done smoothly, without shaking the government or giving enemy nations a chance to invade. That would dishonor the loyal souls buried at Black Tiger Ridge.

With her head feeling like it was about to explode, Song Jin finally fell asleep, although fitfully. She woke up with a start at first light. Jumping up, she poured herself a cup of water and drank it. With a clear head, she realized a flaw in her analysis from last night.

Gu poison arts weren’t something just anyone could use. Not everyone knew how to. The current Emperor, who was the Seventeenth Prince back then, couldn’t have had the opportunity to master Gu poison arts. So, there must have been a Gu Master by his side. Is this person still around?

“Wang Liu!”

At this thought, Song Jin immediately called out. Before her voice had even faded, Wang Liu entered, wrapped in cold air. Seeing Song Jin only in her inner garments, he stopped in the outer room and respectfully saluted in Shen Yue’s body, “Miss.”

“Investigate all the experts around the Emperor sixteen years ago—Taoist priests, monks, nuns, witches, everyone.”

After receiving this order, Wang Liu didn’t leave immediately but said, “Three years ago, I conducted an investigation for Master.”

Song Jin turned sharply to Wang Liu. “Go on.”

“Three years ago, before the Emperor ascended the throne, he had no experts around him, not even advisors. However, during the funeral rites for the late Emperor and Empress, a Master Deqing was recommended to the Emperor and participated in the national mourning.”

Master Deqing…

Song Jin felt this name sounded familiar. Where had she heard it?

Lu Zhan!

When investigating the golden case, Lu Zhan had mentioned it. At this realization, Song Jin immediately said, “Prepare to go to Deqing Temple.”

“Yes.”

Deqing Temple. The platform built with the gold sent by the Emperor had been completed, and Master Deqing had meditated on it for three days and three nights.

At the moment of dawn, as the rooster crowed, he suddenly opened his eyes. He had seen it. He had seen the bloodline left by the late Empress.

But…

The late Empress’s offspring should be a Princess. Why did he see a tall, burly man? He couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, but judging by his surroundings, he was quite wealthy. Moreover, this person was now in the capital.

Realizing this, Master Deqing almost fell off the platform. Ignoring his appearance, he immediately took a carriage to the palace. He must capture this man immediately.

From his observations on the platform, this man’s spiritual power was at least a hundred times stronger than the late Empress’s. If he let this man act, he would surely die.

After all, it was he who placed the Thousand Mechanism Poison in the late Empress’s body! Just thinking about the imminent danger made Master Deqing shiver. He wrapped himself tightly in his fox fur cloak as he sat in the carriage.