However, Wu Caiwei was already accustomed to their unreasonableness. After all, in the eyes of the rich and powerful like the Emperor and Empress, the lives of commoners like them were not considered lives and could be easily taken.
When the whip struck his body, although Li Shengxu did not shout, he could feel the unbearable pain all over. He had forgotten how long it had been since he had experienced such torture, but he felt he could still endure it.
The Empress, standing before him, found it somewhat difficult to accept because it was different from what she had imagined. She had originally thought that when her whip landed on the other person, they would surely cry out loudly, which would make her feel better. She had a feeling that her son had not left her side but was closely following, watching his enemy suffer. She believed her son would be very happy, and perhaps would even visit her in her dreams. But to her surprise, the man gritted his teeth and persevered.
If it were anyone else, she would never have dirtied her hands. But this was her son's enemy, and she had to teach him a lesson to make herself feel better.
She, who had seen the whip in the Empress's hand, walked firmly towards Li Shengxu. Li Shengxu looked at her hateful gaze and said, "You must be the Empress. I also know why you are so eager to teach me a lesson. Anyway, I have already prepared myself to die. If you hadn't acted, I would have been out of time soon. The only thing to endure would be some pain." He had thought that with all his might, he could make the other person flinch by whipping him. Unfortunately, he was disappointed. It was as if he was not whipping anyone. She only left when she grew tired of whipping, not because she didn't want to add salt water to the whip, nor because she didn't want to use other tortures to teach him a lesson, but to leave herself an escape route. She wanted to see what Wu Caiwei would do next. If the other person paid no attention to Li Shengxu, or if her actions here never reached her ears, then she would unleash her full power tomorrow. But if the other person took action, she would have to reconsider.
Ren Wucaiwei had already guessed that someone might harm Old Li. But she hadn't expected the Empress to act so quickly. Her child was still lying in the coffin, and the funeral had not even taken place yet, yet the Empress was already impatient to punish him. Wu Caiwei couldn't help but feel indignant. She hadn't expected that with just a little trick from her, the other party would be so indifferent. She had deliberately followed the Third Prince into the palace that day, to the Empress's palace. She even wanted to bargain with her, to see if she would let Li Dongxu go. Her second most important goal was to understand that the Empress, having just suffered the loss of her son, would not let him go. Therefore, she wanted to make the Empress wary. She hadn't expected that after merely scaring her, she would go and whip Li Shengxu that very night. It seemed she wouldn't know her limits without feeling pain.
That day, as soon as Master Xu came out of the palace and was about to get into his carriage, a dirty child ran into him. Seeing that he had bumped into someone, the child quickly lowered his head and apologized. Master Xu was about to get angry when the child ran away in a flash. If it hadn't been at the palace gate, and if there hadn't been zombies in the palace, he would have taught the child a good lesson today. It was just that his official robe was ruined. Although it looked clean, he always felt a strange smell, and he prepared to burn the clothes when he got home, feeling extremely unlucky. However, the unlucky things were yet to come. As soon as he returned to his doorstep, he fainted. At first, everyone thought it was because he had knelt for too long in the palace recently and was too grief-stricken. After all, he was her own nephew, and losing such a pillar of support should be sad. But when Tai Yi arrived, he said that the person had been poisoned. However, they couldn't identify what kind of poison it was.
When the news reached the palace, the Empress's mind immediately conjured up the image of Wu Caiwei. But she had no evidence. She quickly begged the Emperor to send all the imperial physicians. The Emperor, upon receiving the news, was overjoyed inwardly, but he maintained a pretense of concern. Thus, he sent all the imperial physicians from the Tai Hospital. The physicians were at a loss for what to do, and they soon returned. As the Emperor had expected, the physicians shook their heads helplessly. This was the first time in their many years of practice that they had encountered such a strange poison.
The person's complexion was ruddy, and his breathing was normal, but he just lay on the bed motionless. If he hadn't refused to drink a single drop of water, they felt that Old Master could have lived for many more years.
The Empress's heart sank. Could it be that she really had to let Li Shengxu go as the other party had said? She had beaten him yesterday, and today her father was poisoned. She wanted to question Wu Caiwei about her strangeness, but she was afraid that the other party might use some bizarre method that would worsen her father's illness.
The Emperor was most delighted by his father-in-law's collapse. Perhaps the Emperor was even secretly pleased and had hidden him away. Thinking of this, the Empress felt a sense of helplessness. She had never imagined that the two people who had supported each other in their youth would have reached this point.
When the Empress knelt before the Emperor to beg for mercy for Li Shengxu, the Emperor's eyes widened involuntarily. This was something he had never dreamed of.
"He plunged a knife into our child's heart! He directly killed the Crown Prince! How can you still ask me to let him go?" the Emperor asked, looking at her with disbelief. He felt that the Empress today was not herself. Wasn't she the one who had been shouting for his death just a few days ago? How had she changed her mind today?
"He was merely acting under someone's orders. The mastermind is still alive and well. Our son is already dead. I've thought about it. The dead will never return. Even if you kill him, it will be of no avail. If my son could return, let alone let him go, I would even plead for everyone in the prison." The Empress's face was filled with sorrow, and it was not feigned, but her true inner thoughts. The Emperor only saw her pleading for Li Shengxu. He did not know that her heart was conflicted. In truth, she did not want to let him go. But if she didn't let him go, the other party wouldn't spare her father. She didn't want to lose her backing, nor did she want to lose her father.
"Can he be compared to the Second Prince? The Second Prince, regardless of anything, is of royal blood, my own son. And him? He is merely the son of a peasant. His death is insignificant." The Emperor felt that the Empress's brain had been waterlogged. How could she compare the Second Prince to that man?
"We have lived together for so many years, and we have gone through the most difficult times. Now, the only thing I ask of you is to let Li Shengxu go. If you don't even agree to this request, I don't know what the meaning of my following you so closely all these years is. To avenge your son, you killed the Second Prince. You don't agree to let him go, and you don't agree to let Li Shengxu go either. You have to agree to one of them! Choose one between these two?" The Empress looked up at him with teary eyes, feeling that her life had been too stifling. If she had known this would happen, she would never have chosen him back then.