She leaped into the air, and as expected, saw a fleeting figure ahead. She quickened her pace to catch up, striking at the person's back.
But before her palm could connect, the person turned around, revealing a face as handsome as jade. Startled, she realized it was Qi Yu Yuan. She retracted her hand and said awkwardly, "What a coincidence, Regent!"
Coincidence? Qi Yu Yuan didn't think so. He looked at her and said coldly, "Coincidence? Empress Xing Jiu intends to take this king's life."
"The Regent must be mistaken. If I wanted your life, you wouldn't be standing here now," Xue Xing Yue replied.
Qi Yu Yuan stared at her coldly, his gaze sharp enough to freeze ice.
However, he was not a witless individual. The moment Xue Xing Yue withdrew her palm, he knew she had mistaken him for someone else.
"May I ask who Empress Xing Jiu mistook this king for?"
Xue Xing Yue faltered, then said, "A young palace maid previously informed me that His Majesty wished to see me."
Qi Yu Yuan nodded. "Indeed." After all, he had been present at the time.
"But after walking for a while, the young palace maid disappeared, and a strange young eunuch inexplicably appeared. I found it suspicious and intended to question the young eunuch about the matter. Unexpectedly, the young eunuch was quite skilled, and he managed to escape." Although embarrassing, Xue Xing Yue still revealed this. She said this to inform Qi Yu Yuan that he was not the only one in the imperial palace.
As expected, upon hearing this, Qi Yu Yuan's gaze deepened. He said, "Someone who can escape from Empress Xing Jiu's grasp is clearly no ordinary person."
He was well aware of Xue Xing Yue's abilities; it was not easy for anyone to escape her. Yet, a mere young eunuch in the palace could so brazenly slip away from her. He felt that things were becoming complicated.
"I think so too, which is why I wanted to give the Regent a heads-up," Xue Xing Yue said.
"Please, Your Majesty, speak plainly."
Xue Xing Yue took a step forward and whispered in a voice only they could hear, "What the Regent desires, others also desire."
Qi Yu Yuan stiffened. He raised his eyes and met her clear gaze, as pure and yet as cold as the driven snow.
"Farewell!" With that, she turned to leave. After a few steps, she turned back. "Please treat His Majesty well, Regent. After all, His Majesty is your brother."
Qi Yu Yuan looked up at the figure that had already vanished, his gaze profound.
"Brother, was that sister just now?"
Qi Yu Yuan startled. Seeing Qi Yu Yuan approaching from not far away, he instinctively cupped his hand to his chin and coughed lightly, saying, "Empress Xing Jiu said she felt unwell and would visit His Majesty another day."
Qi Yu Yuan's small face shifted from excitement to disappointment. He said, "Alright! Then I shall send someone to visit sister."
"Very well." Qi Yu Yuan nodded.
"Then I will go back and prepare something to bring to sister."
Qi Yu Yuan nodded.
After Qi Yu Yuan left, he slowly lowered his hand. But midway, he brought it back up again. The faint, sweet fragrance made him instinctively want to inhale more deeply.
Soon, he realized his own odd behavior and quickly withdrew.
"Your Majesty." The young eunuch called out to Qi Yu Yuan, who was gazing absently in the direction Qi Yu Yuan had left.
Qi Yu Yuan came back to himself, his expression unreadable.
However, the hand curled within his imperial robe was tightly clenched. Why would his brother lie to him? Sister wasn't unwell; she had merely become unwell after speaking a few words with his brother.
What exactly had brother and sister said? Once suspicion took root, it grew like a seedling, spreading wildly. His heart told him he yearned to know the answer, to know everything.
"Go and investigate what exactly the Regent and Empress Xing Jiu spoke about," Qi Yu Yuan turned and said to the young eunuch beside him.
"Your servant obeys!" The young eunuch departed.
Xue Xing Yue returned to her palace but felt increasingly uneasy. She was certain the young eunuch was not Qi Yu Yuan's man.
Although Qi Yu Yuan was also a cunning individual, leading a young eunuch to him without any apparent reason, and especially seeing that Qi Yu Yuan's expression did not seem feigned, made her question it.
He was unaware of this. This was strange; who had sent the young eunuch to lead her where? And for what reason had she coincidentally met Qi Yu Yuan?
"Your Highness, do you require anything?" Wu Hen entered and saw Xue Xing Yue deep in thought, prompting her to ask with concern.
"Wu Hen, help me analyze this." She recounted the events to Wu Hen.
Wu Hen heard her and said, "Your Majesty, if Your Majesty were not feigning madness, then I would certainly believe someone deliberately orchestrated this to sow discord between Your Majesty and the Regent. In this way, whatever the Regent says, Your Majesty will believe it to be beneficial."
Xue Xing Yue nodded. "I considered that as well, but now that Qi Yu Yuan has been poisoned, this matter was clearly intentional. But what is the purpose? And who does the perpetrator want to witness this?"
Suddenly, Wu Hen stiffened. Xue Xing Yue also noticed Wu Hen's abnormality and asked, "Wu Hen, do you know something?"
Wu Hen's expression was somewhat amiss. Under her persistent questioning, Wu Hen finally revealed what she had seen at Qi Yu Yuan's place previously.
That night, Wu Hen had seen through a crack in the door, Qi Yu Yuan holding her handkerchief and pressing it tightly to his face, his expression filled with a hint of intoxication, clearly beyond ordinary emotion.
Upon hearing this, Xue Xing Yue felt a chill creep up her spine for reasons unknown.
In her heart, she had always viewed Qi Yu Yuan as a younger brother and had never considered things from another perspective. But she had forgotten that Qi Yu Yuan, as royalty, understood many things.