Qin Junxi was knowledgeable, skilled in Gu techniques, and had superb medical skills. She saved many seriously injured Qingyan soldiers, which Dongfang Heng greatly admired. Before they knew it, the two became good friends.
When Dongfang Heng arrived at the border of Qingyan and Southern Xinjiang, he heard that the Gu controller was a young man dressed in white. He vaguely guessed that the man was Qin Junxi. In order to prove his guess, he devised a plan and sent assassins to infiltrate the city of Southern Xinjiang.
The fact that the Gu Controller had laid an ambush all around and captured the Azure Flame Guards was within Dongfang Heng's expectations. His purpose was to meet the Gu Controller, so when Qin Junxi ordered the killing of the guards, Dongfang Heng entered the room openly, ready to explain to Qin Junxi.
Qin Junhao and Qin Ruoyan were Qin Junxi's biological siblings. They died tragically in Qingyan, which made Qin Junxi very angry. Dongfang Heng was Qin Junxi's good friend and knew that he was a reasonable person. He thought it would take a lot of effort to persuade him, but Qin Junxi believed him without hesitation after listening to his account of what happened.
Dongfang Heng was momentarily surprised, and subconsciously asked, "You trust me that much? Aren't you afraid I'm just making up a story to deceive you?"
Qin Junxi looked into Dongfang Heng's eyes and smiled gently: "The Dongfang Heng I know is an upright person. He will never deny what he has done. If you say that you did not kill Qin Junhao, then his death must have nothing to do with you."
“I had long guessed that Emperor Qingyan would send you to the border. I have been waiting here for your arrival. Prince of Southern Xinjiang, the princess cannot die in vain, and their blood cannot be shed in vain. Let us temporarily cease hostilities. I will go back to Qingyan with you to investigate the true cause of their deaths and report to my father. Then the two countries can coexist peacefully as before.”
"Has the Fourth Prince found out the truth?" The Emperor's sharp gaze swept over the shocked Dongfang Zhan and landed on Qin Junxi.
"We've found out." Qin Junxi looked up at Dongfang Zhan: "Brother Hao, Princess Ruoyan died at the hands of Qingyan Zhanwang, Dongfang Zhan..."
"Nonsense." Dongfang Zhan interrupted Qin Junxi sharply, his sharp eyes flashing with cold light: "Qin Ruoyan was killed by Dongfang Heng. Many people saw it. Don't even think about framing me..."
"After receiving the message from Brother Hao, Princess Ruoyan led her people to Qingyan. The first place she went was your Zhanwang Mansion. Do you dare say that you weren't the one who instructed Princess Ruoyan to use Gu to control the people and force the Qing Emperor and his ministers to force Prince An to commit suicide?" Qin Junxi looked at Dongfang Zhan calmly, his gentle eyes revealing an indescribable sharpness. Qin Ruoyan did indeed die at Dongfang Heng's hands, but she was pushed out to her death and used by someone. He wanted to find the mastermind behind it all and kill him to avenge Qin Ruoyan.
"If you want to condemn someone, you can always find a pretext." Dongfang Zhan snorted lightly, unconvinced. Qin Junhao and Qin Ruoyan were already dead, and Qin Junxi's one-sided account was nothing but speculation. No matter what they said, as long as he stuck to his guns and refused to admit it, they couldn't produce any evidence and wouldn't dare to do anything to him.
"Qin Ruoyan and Qin Junhao left Qingyan a few months ago. I haven't seen them since then, let alone talked about killing them. Fourth Prince, don't believe the slander of petty people."
"I know perfectly well who is a villain and who is a gentleman, so there's no need for Prince Zhan to instruct me." Qin Junxi smiled politely, but the smile was no longer as gentle as before; it turned cold and sharp.
Dongfang Zhan was unconvinced, sneering inwardly. He turned his head to look at the wide-open courtyard gate, a hint of doubt in his deep eyes. Strange, why has it been so quiet all this time?
"Is Prince Zhan looking for her?"
A crimson shadow flew over the guards and landed directly in front of Dongfang Zhan. The floor of the imperial study was covered with a thick carpet, but the shadow still made a loud thud when it hit the ground, causing everyone to close their eyes, not daring to look at her miserable state. The sound of her landing was really loud; she must have fallen terribly.
As expected, after the figure landed, it took her a long time to move slightly. She slowly raised her head, her forehead and nose were broken, and two streams of blood flowed from her nose, hanging below her nose. She looked very disheveled. Her lips were slightly purple, whether from the cold or the fall, it was hard to tell. Her face was covered in bruises, with hardly any good skin. Her eyes were tired, unfocused, and devoid of energy. She was completely different from the smart, beautiful, and shrewd woman she used to be.
"Youlan, what happened?" Prime Minister Li was the first to react, concealing the shock in his eyes, and bent down to help Li Youlan.
"Why does Prime Minister Li ask questions he already knows the answer to?" Dongfang Heng stepped forward, his obsidian-like eyes unfathomable. "You conspired with Prince Zhan to assassinate the emperor, and had Li Youlan lead troops to meet you outside. Now that she has failed and been captured by my men, Prime Minister Li can guess the fate of those who were there to meet you."
"This... how is this possible?" Prime Minister Li was so shocked that he couldn't speak. Youlan and her men were hiding in a very secluded place, ready to provide backup. How could Dongfang Heng have discovered them and wiped out all their guards?
"All of this is thanks to Miss Li!" Dongfang Heng's lips curled slightly, a half-smile playing on his lips.
Prime Minister Li looked at Li Youlan suspiciously. Had she secretly tipped off Dongfang Heng? No, no, no, he knew his granddaughter. Even if she wanted to curry favor with Dongfang Heng, she would never be careless about matters of life and death.
"Your Highness, Prime Minister Li's escort guards were extremely well hidden. My guards searched the area many times but couldn't find them. Unfortunately, Miss Li was poisoned by opium, and the poison would flare up every now and then. Just now, unfortunately, it was her turn to flare up, and she couldn't hold back. She screamed and ran out, naturally exposing the escort guards' location, and they were all wiped out by my men."
Dongfang Heng's casual words struck like a thunderbolt, leaving Prime Minister Li stunned for a long time. People suffer unbearable pain when poisoned, no wonder someone as skilled in martial arts as Youlan was captured by Dongfang Heng's guards. But, "Youlan was poisoned by poppies, how did that happen?"
Poppies are a very special thing. Li Youlan studied poisons every day. Prime Minister Li had heard her talk about them and knew how dangerous they were, but he never expected that she would become involved with this poison.
"Miss Li knows best why she is addicted to poppies. If Prime Minister Li asks her, he will know the answer. Prime Minister Li has been demoted to his hometown, yet he still dares to openly appear in the Imperial Study in the palace. His audacity is truly beyond compare."
Dongfang Heng's calm words carried a hint of sarcasm: "Prime Minister Li is bold and must be very resilient. When you see that person, you shouldn't lose your composure due to sadness or grief."
Prime Minister Li sneered inwardly. He had been in the court for a long time and had seen a lot of the world. There was no one in the world who could make him lose his composure at first sight. Wait, just now Dongfang Heng said that he lost his composure because he was sad and upset. Could that person be his relative?
Just then, two guards carried a man in. Calling him a man was an understatement, because he was covered in sword wounds and whip marks, with not a single unscathed spot. It was truly a pitiful sight. Moreover, the wounds had not been treated with medicine and were oozing pus. A foul stench filled the imperial study, making everyone want to cover their noses.
The crowd scrutinized the man's face for a long time before finally recognizing him: "This is... Li Fan!" It wasn't that they were blind; the man was badly injured, his face covered in horizontal and vertical lines, making him look like a scraggly cat. They looked at him carefully again and again, comparing the marks repeatedly for a long time before they could confirm it was him.
Prime Minister Li was startled and rubbed his eyes hard. He looked closely at the man. His face had a hard contour, and despite being seriously injured, he still had delicate eyebrows and eyes. It was none other than Li Fan.
"Fan'er, what's wrong with you? How did you become like this?" Prime Minister Li released Li Youlan, rushed to Li Fan, and shook him vigorously: "Fan'er, wake up, wake up!" Two crystal tears rolled from his slightly aged eyes, and his heart-wrenching cry was filled with desolation and loneliness, which moved everyone.
Concentrated on his concern for Li Fan, he failed to notice that Li Youlan had collapsed to the ground like a boneless snake. The flow from her nose was no longer blood or snot, her lips were extremely pale, and she was trembling as she tightly hugged her body. Her drug withdrawal was still ongoing.
"Dongfang Heng!" Prime Minister Li suddenly raised his head, his gaze like a sharp arrow, coldly shooting at Dongfang Heng: "Fan'er has already been exiled to the frontier to atone for his mistakes, yet you still refuse to let him go, torturing him to the point of wishing he were dead. Qingyan War God? I think you are simply a heartless beast!"
He originally planned to wait until Dongfang Zhan ascended the throne and then use the pretext of a general amnesty to bring Li Fan back from the border, properly educate him, and have him succeed him as prime minister. He never expected that Li Fan would be tortured into this state. If he had known that Dongfang Heng was so ruthless, he would have risked his life to prevent Li Fan from leaving his side.
“Prime Minister Li, please take a close look at the wounds on your grandson’s body. They have been there for at least a month. It took me only a month to travel from Qingyan to the border. I arrived in half a month and returned in half a month. There was simply no extra time to travel to Xiliang and seriously injure your grandson at the Qingyan border.”
Hearing Dongfang Heng's cold words, which carried righteousness and authority, one couldn't help but feel convinced. Prime Minister Li immediately stopped his insults, lowered his head, and carefully observed Li Fan's body. Some of his wounds were festering, and some were rotting. His serious injuries had indeed lasted for more than ten days or half a month. In addition to these major injuries, there were many small wounds on his skin, all of which had formed very unsightly dark scabs, indicating that he had been beaten a lot at the border.
"What exactly happened?" Prime Minister Li asked in bewilderment. Before Li Fan was taken away, he had specifically instructed the officials to take good care of Li Fan and had secretly given them a lot of silver. Even though he had lost his official position and his words were no longer intimidating, Dongfang Zhan was standing right next to them at the time. Out of respect for Prince Zhan, they did not dare to be harsh on Li Fan. How could he have gotten so badly injured?
"Li Fan was found by me and the Fourth Prince on our way back to the capital. At the time, he was being beaten by a group of people. I arrested them all and learned the truth: Li Fan had forcibly taken a beautiful woman at the border. Unexpectedly, the woman's husband was the foreman of the field. When he was forcibly taking the woman, the foreman, who was returning home, saw him. Enraged, the foreman gathered several companions, who hung him up and beat him severely. Furthermore, they also..."
Dongfang Heng didn't say what came next, but everyone guessed it: Li Fan had forcibly taken the foreman's wife, so the foreman found someone to teach Li Fan a lesson in the same way. His weak and useless body must have been tormented quite a bit.
"Li Fan suffered greatly and could no longer stay on the frontier. Taking advantage of a moment of laxity in the guards, he escaped. The overseers quickly discovered this and followed his trail..."
The rest is history; everyone could guess that the overseer captured Li Fan, surrounded him, and gave him a severe beating. Fortunately, Dongfang Heng, who had just returned to the capital, witnessed this and saved him. Otherwise, Li Fan would have been beaten to death, and Prime Minister Li would never have been able to find him, let alone his body.
Li Fan is still breathing, but his internal organs have been injured and he hasn't been properly cared for. The bumpy journey to the capital only exacerbated his injuries, leaving him barely alive, with more breaths out than in.
How could this be? A deep sorrow filled Prime Minister Li's sharp eyes, and his tall body slowly collapsed to the ground. He loved Changsun Li Fan the most and doted on him. But he never expected that it was his pampering that fostered Li Fan's lecherous and flirtatious personality, indirectly ruining him.
He supported the Prince of Zhan to become emperor and helped him to force the emperor to abdicate and rebel, all so that the descendants of the Li family could become prime ministers and the Li family could become the strongest and largest noble family in the capital, lasting for a long time. But now, his most beloved grandson is dead and there is no successor. What use is it for him to work hard and gain more power?
Dongfang Zhan's gaze sharpened, and he reached out to grab Prime Minister Li, shaking him gently: "Grandpa, this must have been Dongfang Heng's deliberate attempt to provoke you. If you really lose your fighting spirit, then you've fallen into his trap."
Dongfang Zhan has not yet fully taken over Prime Minister Li's power in the capital. In some areas, he still needs Prime Minister Li's help. If Prime Minister Li falls, he will lose half of his power and will be unable to compete with Dongfang Heng.
Dongfang Heng easily crushed his grandfather's fighting spirit without firing a single shot. What a brilliant plan! However, he would never let Dongfang Heng have his way.
Dongfang Heng looked at Dongfang Zhan and smiled coldly. He had indeed saved Li Fan to wear down Prime Minister Li's fighting spirit. As he expected, Prime Minister Li was so demoralized that he lost his mind. Dealing with Dongfang Zhan would be much easier for him now.