Shen Minghui looked at Shen Lixue's indifferent expression, and his throat tightened. This was his biological daughter, with his blood flowing in her veins, yet he had ignored her for over a decade: "Lixue, I misjudged people and was blinded, causing you to suffer so much injustice. I swear, from now on, I will treat you well and never let you be bullied in any way!"
Shen Lixue stared intently at Shen Minghui and sneered, "Prime Minister Shen, we have severed our father-daughter relationship. I am no longer your daughter, and I will never return to the Prime Minister's residence!"
Shen Minghui's old eyes instantly filled with tears: "You won't forgive me!"
“Some mistakes are unforgivable!” Shen Lixue’s tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation. The mistake she made fifteen years ago was only now being realized, and it was too late: “Prime Minister Shen, do you still want to use my blood as a medicinal ingredient? If not, I want to go back to the War Prince’s Mansion to rest!”
Shen Minghui's heart was filled with bitterness. The children he doted on were not his, and his own daughter refused to acknowledge him. His heart shattered into pieces, never to be pieced back together. His desolate smile was extremely tragic, as if he had aged more than ten years in an instant: "There will be no treatment tonight. Go back!"
"Farewell!" Shen Lixue turned around and strode out without looking back. Taking advantage of Lin Qingzhu's pregnancy, he was having an affair. If this caused a series of troubles, such a father did not deserve her sympathy.
Shen Caiyun glanced at Shen Minghui and then turned to leave. This father never saw her in his eyes or in his heart. Heh, she didn't need to stay and be disliked.
Shen Minghui slumped into a chair, watching Shen Lixue's departing figure. His eyes were lifeless and unfocused. Those who should have left, and those who shouldn't have left, had all left. Four women and one son had all left the Prime Minister's residence. The once bustling mansion had become cold and deserted, leaving him all alone. How could things have turned out like this...?
Shen Minghui felt a surge of blood rushing through his chest, his throat burning, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. Through his hazy vision, he saw Shen Lixue turn around and rush over quickly. A faint smile appeared on his lips. His daughter still cared about him, and he wanted to care for and cherish her. It should still be in time!
Seeing Shen Minghui coughing up blood and unconscious, Shen Lixue frowned and ordered the guards, "Go and fetch the Imperial Physician Wang."
When Physician Wang came to treat Shen Minghui, he was not in a position to participate in the family affairs of the Prime Minister's residence, so he did not come along. The guards hurriedly ran to Shen Minghui's room and invited him over.
Physician Wang entered the room, quickly put down the medicine, and hurried forward to take Shen Minghui's pulse. His gaze was grave: "He's been poisoned by a Gu!"
"Gu poison?" Shen Lixue frowned. "Can it be cured completely?"
Physician Wang shook his head and sighed heavily: "Unless we find the person who cast the Gu poison, it will be very difficult to eradicate it completely!"
"Imperial Physician Wang, Minister Lei is vomiting blood at the main gate and is unconscious. Please come quickly!" A guard rushed into the room and was startled when he saw Shen Minghui with the same symptoms: "The Prime Minister is also vomiting blood?"
Shen Lixue sneered. It seemed that Lei Hong's dagger was laced with Gu poison: "How could you have been poisoned by Gu for no reason? Who have Prime Minister Shen and Vice Minister Lei been in contact with recently?"
"The poison is extremely vicious and evil. Prime Minister Shen and Vice Minister Shen must have been poisoned not long ago!"
Shen Lixue smiled slightly and lowered her voice, saying, "Doctor Wang is saying that the person who cast the Gu poison is among those people from earlier!"
"This... I'm not entirely sure either!" Imperial Physician Wang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He couldn't help but feel that Princess Lixue was guiding his words.
Shen Lixue's eyes turned cold, and she said in a chilling voice, "Guards, intercept the Grand Commandant's carriage and bring all the people inside. They are suspected of using witchcraft!"
Before Grand Commandant Lei's carriage could even depart, the guards of the Prime Minister's residence intercepted him. Grand Commandant Lei frowned deeply, looked coldly at Lei Hong, and said in a low voice, "How did you get poisoned by Gu?"
Lei Hong had taken the antidote and was now fully conscious. His face was deathly pale, his eyes icy cold, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "It's all Shen Lixue's fault..."
After hearing the details, Grand Commandant Lei narrowed his sharp eyes: "Shen Minghui was also poisoned?"
“Yes!” Lei Hong nodded, a cold glint flashing in his gloomy eyes. It was Shen Lixue who stabbed Shen Minghui, it had nothing to do with him.
"Two ministers in the court have been poisoned by a curse. We must find a scapegoat to quell the incident, otherwise, the Emperor will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly!" Grand Commandant Lei's face was gloomy, and his eyes flashed with a sharp light.
"Who should we find as a scapegoat?" Lei Hong was slightly taken aback. Gu poison wasn't something that could be created just like that, and a scapegoat wasn't something that could be found just like that.
Commander Lei looked out of the carriage, a strange smile playing on his lips: "Far away, yet right before my eyes!"
When Grand Commandant Lei, Lei Hong, and Lei Yarong were invited to the Prime Minister's residence's reception room, Shen Minghui had already been given acupuncture and woken up. His gloomy gaze swept coldly over Grand Commandant Lei's family: "Grand Commandant Lei, Physician Wang has diagnosed that I have been poisoned by Gu for half an hour. During this half hour, the people I have seen the most are from your Grand Commandant's residence. Please give me an explanation!"
With an icy expression, Grand Commandant Lei stepped forward and angrily said, "Prime Minister Shen, just because we outnumber you doesn't mean we can use Gu poison. Your two daughters, one is a princess of the War King's Mansion and the other is a noblewoman of the Crown Prince of Southern Xinjiang. They have contact with all sorts of people and have spent the most time with you, so they have a better chance of using Gu poison than we do!"
Shen Lixue smiled coldly: "Others may not know about our relationship with Prime Minister Shen, but Grand Commandant Lei certainly does. He is always on guard against us, so how could we find an opportunity to use the Gu? On the contrary, Miss Shen Yingxue and Young Master Shen Yelei are very close to Prime Minister Shen, and Madam Lei Yarong is Prime Minister Shen's bedmate. He is completely unguarded with them, so the chances of them successfully using the Gu are much greater than ours!"
Shen Lixue paused, then looked meaningfully at Lei Hong beside Grand Commandant Lei: "Just now I saw Vice Minister Lei patting Prime Minister Shen's shoulder..."
"I didn't use the Gu!" Lei Hong blurted out unconsciously, feeling guilty. "Shen Lixue, don't make false accusations. If I were the one who used the Gu, why would I be affected by it myself?"
Shen Lixue raised an eyebrow at Lei Hong: "Whether I'm making false accusations or not, I believe Minister Lei knows very well in his heart!"
"I swear to God, I didn't put the Gu poison on Shen Minghui!" Lei Hong raised his right hand and solemnly swore that the Gu poison on Shen Minghui was accidentally put on by Shen Lixue and had nothing to do with him.
"The poison can only be applied to the body through close contact. Caiyun and Lixue have never been close to Benxiang, so they wouldn't have used poison!" Shen Minghui suddenly spoke, his cold gaze lingering on Lei Shi and Lei Hong: "The two of you were the closest to me at the time..."
"I didn't use the Gu poison, I don't know anything about Gu!" Lei looked at Shen Minghui with schadenfreude, his eyes surging with wild joy and anger. He killed Azhi, but he was poisoned by Gu and won't live for more than a few days. This is called retribution, retribution!
“Madam and Minister Lei have been in contact with Prime Minister Shen. If Madam did not administer the poison to the Prime Minister, then it must have been Minister Lei!” Shen Lixue looked at Lei Hong with a half-smile.
Lei Hong's face turned ashen: "Shen Lixue, everything requires evidence. Please produce your evidence. Don't make baseless accusations without evidence!"
"The poison requires a special method to carry. The person who brings the poison to the Prime Minister's residence will have something special on them. Does Vice Minister Lei dare to have someone search them?"
Lei Hong's eyes narrowed, a hint of panic flashing in them. He had brought the poison with him, and he did indeed have a special item on him that he had forgotten to throw away. If it were found in front of everyone, Shen Minghui would not let him off the hook, and the Emperor would definitely suspect him about Minister Zhuang's matter. What should he do?
Seeing Lei Hong's shifty eyes and rapidly beating heart, Grand Commandant Lei cursed him inwardly for being spineless. Fortunately, he had made preparations in advance, otherwise Shen Lixue would have exposed the truth.
He subtly winked at the guards of the Grand Commandant's residence. The guards understood and came in with a piece of clothing: "Prime Minister Shen, Grand Commandant Lei, this was found on that man named Azhi!"
Lay the clothes flat on the ground. A small box, about the size of a matchbox, is sewn onto an inconspicuous corner of the garment. It is not noticeable, but an expert can tell at a glance that this small box is used to place a curse.
"This is impossible! Ah Zhi doesn't understand Gu, he really doesn't!" Lei Shi exclaimed in shock, her eyes filled with anger as she looked at Grand Commandant Lei. The man was already dead, so why were they still not letting him go?
“When I was beating Ah Zhi, he was completely naked and couldn’t hide the Gu. Besides, he was being beaten the whole time without touching me at all. On the contrary, Lei Ya Rong…” Shen Ming Hui raised an eyebrow at Lei Ya Rong: “You fought me the most fiercely. At that time, I also had wounds on my body, and the Gu entered my body when it came into contact with blood…”
"Stop spouting nonsense! I didn't use any poison to harm you!" Lei roared angrily, her eyes filled with disdain as she looked at Shen Minghui, thinking him a cowardly and incompetent fool.
"It really wasn't you?" Shen Minghui looked up, his sharp gaze lingering between Lei Hong and Lei Yarong, his eyes filled with darkness and turbulent undercurrents.
"Ya Rong, what's this?" Lei Hong suddenly reached out and picked up a piece of Lei Ya Rong's clothes. When he opened it, a small box appeared.
"Ya Rong, you...you really used a curse..." Lei Hong feigned surprise and backed away repeatedly.
"I didn't have it! This box isn't mine!" Lei Yarong exclaimed in shock. She grabbed the box from her clothes and threw it aside. The box fell to the ground, the lid broke off, and a plump Gu worm crawled out. The maids screamed and scattered in all directions.