Chapter 176 “Vicious Means”

Ling Yue didn’t forget her first encounter with the prince. Those red eyes and disorderly breathing rhythm, that’s more like someone being poisoned or a victim of qigong deviation.

Note: qigong deviation means something has gone wrong in their spiritual or martial arts training

Same as a martialist, if an alchemist improperly trains in their spirit force, they too will go mad due to the imbalance of their body.

But her suspicion had no evidence to back it up. Not informing the queen, Ling Yue figured it’s best to wait until everything was settled. Ordering Little Squeak to go back with a letter, she will temporarily stay in the palace.

Early next morning, Ling Yue scoured the entire residence for signs of oddity in the place. Once her suspicion became confirmed, she then went to seek the queen.

Their first stop was the side hall where the sixth prince resided. Outside the building, she points at a bush full of white flowers. “Your highness, do you know who planted these Coagulating Roselle flowers?”

“It’s Consort Luo who gave them to me. For a while I had a small case of insomnia, therefore she had them brought over for me. According to her words, they are from her hometown and the fragrance is able to help with those who can’t sleep.” The queen already had the plants checked by a physician and was quite confident they are not poisonous.

“Is there a problem with these flowers?” The queen asks, confused over the reasoning of her question.

“The flower itself has no problem. Not only is the coagulating roselle capable of soothing the nerve, it’s properties can also help improve one’s spirit cultivation when turned into an incense stick. A wonderful product. Now that we are on the topic, don’t you think these flowers are great for his highness because he’s also a user of the spirit force?” Suddenly, her tone turned seething, “but if matched with venison, issues will arise.”

Ling Yue already went through the diet book for the sixth prince and found the boy was very fond of eating venison. This habit never changed from when he was a kid till now.

“What problem could there be? I and Hou Qi’s diet are all tested by experts before we partake, and I also have venison in my diet.” The Queen got quite the fright.

“But your queenship doesn’t practice the spirit force, of course there wouldn’t be a problem with you. When the roselle flower is mixed with venison, it will produce a chronic poison capable of causing hallucinations over a long period of use. If I’m not mistaken, his highness the sixth prince is a genius in using the spirit force. Due to advancing too quick, something must have gone wrong with his cultivation.” If Ling Yue didn’t have the codex in hand, she never would’ve learned about this fact.

Due to the addictive nature of using the roselle in training the spirit force, the user tends to become reliant on the stuff. Eventually, a barrier will be reached in their path and advancement will become next to impossible.

Aside from some of those other worldly sects out there, most people wouldn’t know about this secret training method. This meant Consort Luo had to have an extremely knowledgeable alchemist at her side, otherwise how can a mere mortal woman know about such vicious means.

“Luo Wanwan, how dare you do this to my son.” Struck by lightning, the queen never thought his son’s mental breakdown would be caused by that venomous woman.

Luo Wanwan was the maiden name of Consort Luo.

“If I read it right, his highness’s condition is at the last straw. If it continues for a bit longer, he will completely go insane and eventually perish due to his blood flowing in reverse.” Ling Yue also found this to be quite the play of fate. If Consort Luo didn’t scheme so hard, she wouldn’t have mistakenly entered the queen’s quarter, meaning the chance to save the sixth prince wouldn’t have occurred.

It must be said, that woman’s evil to the core. Aside from tricking Ling Yue into this part of the palace, she also secretly changed the prince’s diet to include tons of venison to ensure the boy would go crazy last night. What a masterfully orchestrated plan. If Ling Yue had died, it would mean Consort Luo would have the excuse to pin the blame on the queen. Then using the dowager’s wrath, the queen will be abolished.

Talk about killing two birds with one stone.

“Then can my son still be saved?” The biggest concern remains to be on the sixth prince and nothing else.

“We cannot rush it. First of all, we must clear the wing of these flowers, then I will use some medicines to purify the toxins in his body. However, that’s assuming the prince is willing to take my medicine first.” Tilting her head, she casts a glance at the side hall.

Barefooted inside the building, Xia Hou Qi continues his rampage of smashing everything and screaming with that animalistic roar.

When the sixth prince acts like that, let’s not mention taking the medicine, they be lucky if the delivery person comes out unscathed against that oppressive spirit force.

Just when things looked bleak, a sudden idea hit her in the head when Ling Yue saw those iron bars.

From last night till now in the morning, Xia Hou Qi’s been acting like a ravenous beast, smashing and destroying everything. He growled and reviled, but unlike before, no one responded.

Slowly, hunger overcomes him after nothing’s left for him to break. Curling against the dimmest corner of the hall, only this act only can give him the last ounce of security.

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Before he knew it, the day had become dark again.

For a moment, silence was all that remains in this place. Then came the sudden rustling sound of something flapping through the air. It’s a paper crane.

Seeing the unwelcomed intruder, Xia Hou Qi makes a cranky glare at the object and activates his spirit force. Slicing the thing in two, this should’ve ended it, but it did not. Once on the floor, something miraculous occurred: a tune started to play from the paper.

Finding the song familiar, like he heard it somewhere in his childhood, Hou Qi unconsciously closes his eye and started to remember. Someone sang this for him somewhere.

Then before long, the small amount of spirit force powering the paper crane was used and so ends the song.

Once again, the hall was plunged into silence.

By the next morning, this process repeats itself with another paper crane flying into the hall. Unlike last time though, Hou Qi didn’t attack the little thing.

Maybe under that unstable consciousness, his highness understands enough that the paper crane wouldn’t harm him.

“Xia Hou Qi, Xia Hou Qi.” Zooming around the prince’s head, the crane was like an annoying fly that simply won’t go away.

Annoyed, he slaps it away, “noisy… so noisy…” Under that long messy hair, a trace of impatience flickers across those black pupils.

“You must be bored being alone, let me chat with you?”

“Crazy… Chat… Haha.” Darkly chuckling, Xia Hou Qi would’ve creeped anyone out if they heard laugh. Then all of a sudden, he went silent and stopped talking. No matter what the paper crane did to bother him, no reaction came of it.

The entire palace knows I, Xia Hou Qi, is a madman, yet this paper crane wants to chat with me?

For the rest of the day, including the third, no food was sent to him. Instead, only water could be found nearby.

Despite being starved for several days, the boy’s strength didn’t weaken in the least, rather he’s growing better and better.

Unbeknownst to him, Ling Yue had secretly mixed in her medicine with the water.

And every day, the paper crane would persistently return to the hall at certain times of the day to chat with him. It’s always about something unimportant.

Then on the fifth day, things changed. The paper crane stopped coming. This pattern continued all the way to the eighth day…

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