The excruciating pain made Feng Liyan cry out for mercy, "Please, give me the antidote!"
Xing Yuan chuckled, her eyes alight with excitement. With a full measure of malice, she said, "Do you know what you've ingested? This is the most venomous and agonizing poison in the martial world, and what's more..."
Xing Yuan paused for dramatic effect, then added, "It has no antidote."
Despair instantly clouded Feng Liyan's eyes. He could clearly feel as if millions of ants and insects were gnawing at his internal organs. If this continued, he would die here soon.
Feng Liyan's eyes were filled with unwillingness. He was so close, after all his efforts, just a tiny step away from that position. How could he die like this?
Xing Yuan squatted on the ground, watching Feng Liyan's struggles gradually weaken, his gaze growing dim and lifeless. In his final moments, his eyes were fixed on his unfulfilled schemes.
A frantic voice suddenly echoed, "His Highness is under attack! Hurry up! If anything happens to His Highness, you will be buried with him."
A flicker of hope reappeared in Feng Liyan's eyes. Enduring the pain, he spat a threat at Xing Yuan, "Just you wait. No matter who you are, I will not let you go."
"You won't get the chance!" Xing Yuan whispered, pulling out a dagger and swiftly slitting Feng Liyan's throat. Once she confirmed he had breathed his last, she rushed out of the room.
"Assassin! Stop!"
As Xing Yuan emerged, she was spotted by the Imperial Guards, alerted by the hidden guards.
Xing Yuan calmly moved towards her pre-planned escape route. While the Imperial Guards were generally more skilled than ordinary individuals, they were still a considerable distance from true martial arts masters. Xing Yuan was aware of this, which was why she dared to retreat only as the pursuers neared the entrance.
Seeing that they couldn't catch her, the leader of the Imperial Guards grew anxious and decided not to leave any witnesses. It had been a long time, and the Second Prince's chances of survival were slim. If he let the assassin escape before his eyes, he wasn't sure if he could keep his official robes, but his life was certainly at stake.
The leader urgently shouted, "Quick, shoot! Life or death doesn't matter!"
The men obeyed, and a dense hail of arrows flew towards Xing Yuan's direction.
No matter how good Xing Yuan's Qinggong was, she couldn't dodge them all. Fortunately, she was not far from the courtyard wall. With a few scratches on her body, she successfully escaped the First Prince's mansion.
After evading her pursuers, Xing Yuan headed directly to the private residence that Feng Li Yu had told her about. After all, she was working for him, and borrowing a place to heal shouldn't be too much to ask. Besides, even if someone found this place, would they dare to search it?
Xing Yuan casually found a room, changed into comfortable clothes, and began to apply medicine to herself. Although her injuries were not severe, letting them fester would be a serious problem.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Guards discovered the body of the Second Prince, Feng Liyan. Panic filled their eyes. Seizing the opportunity in the chaos, several of them cleverly rushed to the front courtyard to inform their masters. The heavens of the Feng Yuan Dynasty were about to change!
Upon hearing the news, Feng Li Yu displayed a perfectly feigned shock, which eased the suspicions of those who thought he was responsible. As long as it wasn't the Third Prince, he would likely be the future Crown Prince.
With such an incident occurring on his wedding day, Feng Li Pan ordered his men to guard the Second Prince's body and then, with a grim expression, went to the palace to confess to the Emperor.
Others who received the news dared not leave and quietly stayed in a corner, none daring to cause trouble.
The Emperor was furious upon receiving the news. How dare someone be so audacious within the capital! After placing the First Prince, Feng Li Pan, under house arrest, he immediately ordered the Third Prince, Feng Li Yan, to lead the investigation, with the Dali Temple cooperating.
Feng Li Yan knew exactly who was responsible, but he naturally did not reveal it. Following standard procedure, he interrogated everyone who had been at the First Prince's mansion that day. Those with no suspicion were released, while those with some were temporarily detained.
News of such a major event spread throughout the capital the next day, with all sorts of rumors circulating, some even intentionally spread.
The Emperor naturally suspected Feng Li Yu, as he stood to gain the most from Feng Li Yan's death. Therefore, he frequently summoned Feng Li Yu to the palace to probe him. Feng Li Yu, having anticipated this, had prepared his responses.
Unable to find any fault, and considering Feng Li Yu was his only adult son, the Emperor pretended to trust him, saying, "A'yu, this is an insult to our royal family! No matter what, you must investigate this matter thoroughly and clearly!"
"Yes! Your son accepts this command!" Feng Li Yu replied respectfully.
Since Feng Li Yu dared to act, he had already found a scapegoat. After a perfunctory investigation, Feng Li Yu presented his prepared findings.
Feng Li Yu said respectfully, "Father, this is the result of my investigation."
The Emperor casually flipped through the memorial, his brow furrowing deeper with each page.
He then threw the memorial to the ground, his eyes cold, "Absurd. How could a Vice Minister of the Ministry of War possess such capability? A'yu, I may be old, but I am not blind. You don't need to hastily present a scapegoat."
"Your son would not dare!" Feng Li Yu immediately knelt on the ground, bowing respectfully.
"This is the result my son has found. That Vice Minister of the Ministry of War was once a commoner from the martial world. He entered officialdom solely for revenge."
"Years ago, Second Brother, under imperial command, went to Tiannan to clear out bandits and accidentally killed his entire family. He lay in wait for years, and when he finally struck, Second Brother was caught off guard, allowing him to succeed," Feng Li Yu reported his findings in detail.
This was indeed a fact, otherwise, the Emperor would have exposed the lie upon investigation. Furthermore, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War's family had produced many martial arts experts in the past, so his connections were plausible. He had repeatedly hired assassins to target the Second Prince, and there was concrete evidence of this.
The Emperor fell silent. He had some impression of this Vice Minister of the Ministry of War. He had joined the Second Prince's faction as soon as he appeared in court. If it was for revenge, it was quite reasonable. The only doubt was the origin of the expert.
"Third son! Bring the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War here. I wish to interrogate him personally," the Emperor said with a weary expression.
"Yes!" Feng Li Yu responded respectfully, and after bringing in the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, who was already beaten half to death, he wisely withdrew.
The Emperor said with authority, "If I recall correctly, your surname is Zhang, is it not?"
"The Emperor has a good memory. My lord, my surname is indeed Zhang," the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, seemingly knowing he had no way out, adopted a defiant attitude.
"If you confess truthfully, I can promise to spare your life." As for whether he would be turned into a human swine, he could not guarantee that.