Chapter 127: Forced to Pretend Not to Know
'Damn! Did he notice something wrong?!'
Seeing the old man's meaningful gaze, Qian Renxue suddenly felt uneasy. She quickly comforted herself in her mind: Impossible! He absolutely cannot see through my disguise!
This was a spirit bone ability inherited from the Angel God's legacy. Even a Titled Douluo shouldn't be able to detect any flaws.
Yet, no matter how much she reassured herself, a sense of unease still lingered in Qian Renxue's heart. Did he truly not see through it, or had he noticed but chosen to stay silent?
Without revealing any emotions, the three of them walked into the imperial chambers.
Inside, they saw Emperor Xue Ye half lying against the headboard of his bed.
He was a middle aged man with relatively handsome features, but his pale complexion and dark circles under his eyes made him look like someone utterly exhausted from overindulgence.
"Your Majesty, we have brought Medicine King, Your Eminence." The middle aged nobleman stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for your trouble, Your Eminence."
Emperor Xue Ye not only looked weak he was genuinely weak. Even his voice was frail and lacking energy, as if he could faint at any moment.
"It is a physician's duty, Your Majesty. No need for such courtesy."
Sun Zhongjing shook his head slightly and began carefully examining Emperor Xue Ye.
Of course, this was all for show.
As a top tier physician, his mastery of "Observation, Inquiry, Listening, and Pulse Diagnosis" was already at its peak.
From the moment he first saw Emperor Xue Ye, he already understood everything about the emperor's condition.
Without a doubt he was poisoned.
However, this poison was extremely well hidden, a slow acting venom that made it seem as if the victim was simply aging faster and growing weaker due to declining health.
To make matters worse, it was a compound poison a mix of multiple toxins.
This kind of "composite poison" was one of the most difficult types to detect and cure. To neutralize it, one first had to identify its exact components.
Such layered poisons were almost impossible to cure unless one had access to the original formula.
For most people, this would be an unsolvable case.
But for Sun Zhongjing?
A trivial matter.
If he wished, he could instantly formulate thousands of different antidotes that would all be effective.
When it came to toxicology, no one in the world could surpass him the true Plague God.
After maintaining a thoughtful expression for a moment, Sun Zhongjing finally withdrew his gaze.
"Your Eminence, may I ask what illness does His Majesty have?" The middle aged noble couldn't help but inquire.
"Your Eminence, can you cure my royal father?" Qian Renxue still acting as Crown Prince Xue Qinghe also spoke with genuine concern, completely concealing the fact that she was the one who had poisoned him.
"Illness?"
"His Majesty is not ill he has been poisoned."
Sun Zhongjing shook his head. "I am merely wondering… who could have poisoned the emperor of an entire nation?"
"What?! Poisoned?!"
Both the middle aged noble and Qian Renxue gasped simultaneously.
Of course, the noble was genuinely shocked but Qian Renxue was only pretending.
"Someone poisoned me?!"
Hearing this diagnosis, Emperor Xue Ye's expression darkened instantly.
So that explains it!
He had been wondering why his health had deteriorated so rapidly in recent years. He constantly felt weaker, got sick more frequently, and aged much faster than normal.
But if it was poison, then everything made sense.
Who could have done this?
At that moment, Emperor Xue Ye's gaze subtly shifted toward "Crown Prince Xue Qinghe."
Deep inside, he had already marked his son as a prime suspect.
This wasn't the first poisoning case within the imperial family.
In the past, Emperor Xue Ye had four sons.
Xue Qinghe, the eldest, had always been decent but unremarkable. Neither his intelligence nor his cultivation talent were particularly outstanding.
Among his children, the emperor had always favored his second son the most.
That boy had been a brilliant and exceptional talent perhaps not the strongest in terms of cultivation, but unmatched in wisdom and strategy.
And for an emperor, wisdom was far more valuable than brute strength.
The Heaven Dou Imperial Family's martial spirits were not particularly powerful, so rather than focusing on personal strength, the ability to govern wisely, outmaneuver rivals, and maintain political stability was far more important.
Thus, Emperor Xue Ye had strongly considered making his second son the crown prince.
But then, at just twelve years old, the second prince mysteriously died.
The following year, the third prince another gifted child in soul cultivation also died at the age of eleven.
From four sons, only two remained.
Sensing something was off, Emperor Xue Ye ordered a secret investigation into his children's deaths.
The results were alarming.
Both princes had been poisoned, and not by ordinary poison they had been killed by a toxin linked to a soul master's martial spirit.
A poisonous martial spirit!
Someone had orchestrated these deaths.
But who?
Emperor Xue Ye's instincts led him to suspect his eldest son, Xue Qinghe.
Even though there was no concrete evidence, the logic was simple who stood to benefit the most?
With the two most promising princes dead, and the youngest prince still too immature, there was only one logical successor left.
The greatest beneficiary of these convenient deaths was Xue Qinghe.
Of course, there was always the possibility that a foreign enemy was responsible some external faction trying to weaken the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
But if that were the case, why spare the eldest prince?
If their goal was to cripple the empire by eliminating promising heirs, then why leave Xue Qinghe alive?
It didn't make sense.
For years, Emperor Xue Ye had kept these suspicions buried deep within his heart.
He had no proof.
Without solid evidence, he couldn't act on mere speculation.
What if he were wrong?
And more importantly…
If he removed Xue Qinghe, who would be left to inherit the throne?
His youngest son?
A useless, rebellious fool despised by both the nobility and the people?
That was not an option.
Thus, Emperor Xue Ye had no choice but to pretend not to know the truth.
Even if he suspected Xue Qinghe of killing his brothers, he had to ignore it because at this point, there was no other choice.
He had to name him crown prince.
He had to secure the empire's future.
Even if it meant handing it to the one who had orchestrated these murders…
He could only play along.
(End of Chapter)
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