Chapter 69: Casting One's Lot

  Chapter 69: Casting One's Lot

  Chao Sheng Zhang Er couldn't make head or tail of it.

  Looking at Qiu Yan, she had a pleading expression on her face.

  Look at Aunt Li, she is very calm.

  Qiu Yan was pitiful and sorrowful, but Li Gu Gu remained unmoved. Chao Sheng could only watch with a mixture of sadness and concern, sitting on the wall to observe.

  If this were an RPG, the two people in front of her had a much higher palace struggle index than she did. As for Li Gugu, it goes without saying that after many years of training in the palace, she has become a seasoned veteran who is immune to all poisons. Qiu Shan also has a lot of city government and is not someone who can be compared to.

  The autumn night was filled with sorrow and grief, but Li's aunt didn't show any emotion, and Chao Sheng also remained silent. It was clear that if they didn't reveal some truth today, it would be impossible to move forward.

  She wiped her face clean and sat down beside him before Li Auntie finally looked at her properly.

  He stood by the door with half his attention on what was going on inside and the other half watching the commotion outside.

  Qiu Yan spoke in a low voice, and Li Gu Gu could probably hear clearly, but some of the words were not as clear to Chao Sheng. On such a windy day, even if someone was standing outside eavesdropping, they probably wouldn't be able to hear much.

  Qiu Yan was very pleased this time, and directly admitted: "Last time in the row of meat, I put laxatives down, it was Chen's aunt who ordered me to do so, and the medicine was also sent in with the things she sent."

  "Is it? You're quite clear about what medicine it is."

  Aunt Li's words sounded like she was praising her, and Autumn Ink's forehead was sweating profusely.

  "I... I took it but didn't dare use it, tried it out first."

  "Aren't you afraid it's poison and you'll end up poisoning yourself?"

  Qiu Yan's bitter smile: "If it were poison, and it poisoned the princess and the prince, I'm afraid everyone in the Yiqiu Palace would not be able to escape."

  Actually, Qiū Shàn and the person behind him didn't have a very close relationship either.

  There was no trust between them. Then Aunt Chen sent someone with medicine, and Autumn Ink didn't dare to use it directly either.

  She's afraid of losing herself in the process.

  She should understand better than anyone else that the people behind her don't care about the life or death of a small pawn like her.

  "Go on."

  "My aunt kept a close eye on the kitchen, and Chao Sheng was also cautious. The medicine had been in my hands for several days before I found an opportunity to add it to the jar of braised pork that had already been prepared. Originally, I thought it would definitely work, because every time Chao Sheng made the braised pork, she would leave it like that and only take it out and stir-fry it when they were going to eat it. But then she came to me secretly and told me that Chao Sheng hadn't used the braised pork from that jar, but had made another one instead. At the time, I felt something was off, afraid of being discovered... There's no wall in this world that doesn't leak wind, and my aunt has always been clever... I knew early on that it wouldn't be hidden."

  "You... and Aunt Chen, why are you against Chao Sheng? What has she done to offend you?"

  Qiu Shan shook his head, and his expression was indeed very puzzled: "I don't know either, Aunt Chen didn't tell me the reason, she just said that...she's a troublemaker, it's best to get rid of her as soon as possible." Probably feeling that he wasn't showing enough sincerity, Qiu Shan added another sentence: "But I guess, before Chao Sheng was only in Huanyi Alley and Yunxia Palace, probably has something to do with the affairs of Yunxia Palace."

  Li Aunt didn't ask Qiu An further, but the real mastermind behind her back who made several turns was actually the Empress.

  Qiu Yan would certainly not say it on his own initiative.

  Some things are better left unsaid; once they're exposed, the speaker dare not speak and the listener dare not ask further.

  In the end, Chao Sheng, Li Gugu, and Qiu Yan were all at the bottom of the imperial court. Those above them could kill them as easily as pinching an ant to death.

  "Haven't you thought of taking action again?"

  Qiu Yan hastily shook his head: "No, really no. Since Huang's sister was driven out, I knew things were bad, day and night worrying... Chen's aunt's side must also know that things didn't work out, but she didn't send anyone over again... until now there is no news."

  Auntie Li hummed and said: "You're so flustered?"

  "Eldest Auntie, I really have no choice. If Eldest Aunt Chen instructs me to do so, how dare I disobey?"

  "So you dare not listen to her and come here now?"

  Qiu Yan's face was filled with anxiety: "I used to think I was meticulous, but now I realize I'm nothing. Auntie, please be magnanimous and let me off this one time..."

  "You let me off, wait for me to recover and then turn around and bite us back to death?" Aunt Li blew the tea foam on the rim of her bowl and said lightly: "I'm not that stupid, I won't fall for your few words."

  "Auntie..."

  "You've said it all, Aunt Chen lets you do things, you don't dare not to do them, can't not do them. So this time I let you off, next time she tells you to do something with your hands and feet, will you dare not listen to her?"

  "Auntie, believe me this time, I can swear..."

  "No matter how good it sounds, it's worthless. Aunt Li shook her head: "What's the use of swearing? I can also come up with a few. If you want to think about it, it's easy. I have something to ask for your help, if you succeed..."

  Qiu Shan's face turned even uglier, with a grayish-green tint showing through his pale complexion.

  If she said just now, her words were sincere and her tone was anxious.

  It's completely hopeless now.

  Tide Sheng let himself harden his heart ---

  But she still turned her head over.

  She understands all the reasons.

  It's just... she thought, she still needs a little more time to get used to it.

  In this face-to-face confrontation, there is no room for weakness.

  Giving the enemy a way out is equivalent to digging one's own grave.

  If she sympathizes with others in autumn, who will sympathize with her?

  Besides, will Qiū Yuàn really change his ways if Aunt Li lets him off this time? Will he stop at that?

  It's impossible, Chao Sheng understands.

  Qiu Yan basically can't be his own master.

  She has to do whatever the person behind her tells her to do.

  No matter how innocent and helpless she defends herself, when it's time to take action, she won't show any mercy.

  Although Chao Sheng didn't know how Li Auntie had dealt with Qiu Yan, the snake had struck at her weak point, forcing her to lower her head and beg for mercy, or else she would never pass this test.

  Auntie Li also lowered her voice, and Chao Sheng turned his head to take a glance.

  Auntie Li instructed Qiu Shan to do something, although Chao Sheng couldn't hear very clearly, but she could guess the general idea.

  Just like joining the Liangshan Po, in order for Auntie Li to trust Qiu Shan, this time sparing her, Qiu Shan had to hand over a letter of surrender.

  Lip service is useless, it must be demonstrated with actual actions. She wants to break off relations with the person behind her back and get on Li Aunt's boat.

  What you think in your heart is unimportant, what you say with your mouth is even more unimportant.

  It's crucial that Aunt Li made her do this, and once she started, there was no turning back. Even if she had second thoughts or felt resentful, she had to see it through to the end.

  So Qiu Zhen was so desperate and struggling.

  She has no way out, but she can only move forward, and this road given by Aunt Li is probably also a dead end.

  It's like, if you stick your head out, it's a knife; and if you pull your head back in, it's also a knife.

  "Let me think for a moment, Auntie..." said Qiu Yan with a muffled voice.

  Auntie Li smiled and said: "I know, you can go back and think about it. However, during the New Year's days, the queen is also ill..."

  This is a threat.

  Akane nodded silently.

  Watching Autumn leave like a wandering soul, Chao Sheng couldn't help but ask out of curiosity: "Auntie... what's wrong with her?"

  Auntie Li gave her a glance, pulled out the green onion from her hair, adjusted the wick of the lamp, and said slowly: "Speaking of adding medicine, she's still a bit short on experience. Adding medicine isn't such a simple thing..."

  Tide was born orally and mentally, looking at Aunt Li with a respectful gaze: "These days I've been watching you being quiet, and I thought you'd endured this matter..."

  "Endure?" Aunt Li laughed: "If all the things in the world could be endured, then I would really want to endure. Your days in the palace are not long, but they're not short either. Endurance is necessary, but not everything needs to be endured. When others have already put a knife to your throat, do you still want to endure? That's not endurance, that's foolishness. When you swallow your anger and humiliation and the other party doesn't let you off, if you continue to endure, it's just waiting for death."

  Chao Sheng nodded silently.

  Yes.

  Would the person behind Qiu Yan's back show mercy and let her off because she didn't make a fuss or resist?

  Obviously not.

  Aunt Li said decisively, "The miscarriage of Empress An was definitely manipulated by the Empress Dowager behind the scenes, but she pinned the blame on Concubine Xian and Concubine Gui. Although you didn't know about it at the time, you were serving beside Empress An, so others wouldn't believe that you didn't know anything. They wanted to get rid of you as a living witness. Didn't you say something like...

  "Older sister at the end of the year."

  "That's right, that year-end must have also died for this reason, but she was closer to An Fei, and I'm afraid she knew something about the inside story, so even that night didn't pass, and she was hastily silenced."

  The tide nodded slowly.

  "Anfei suddenly regained favor, which was not a normal thing to begin with." Li Gugu picked at her fingernails with a hairpin, picking and speaking: "If the Emperor were really so nostalgic and sentimental, then Cheng Mei Ren and Liu Fei wouldn't have died under unclear circumstances back then."

  Chao Sheng suddenly remembered: "Right. On the day of An Fei's birthday, the Emperor suddenly came, and later Niang Niang regained favor for no reason... Before that, the Empress had also sent over gifts."

  The Empress Dowager nodded: "The Queen must have made an effort in this matter. An Consort has her own advantages, gentle and soft, with some heart calculations, but she is not ruthless enough. In the palace, this point is very important, doing things thoroughly, not only can't achieve the goal, sometimes it will also backfire."

  Chao Sheng thought for a moment: "Can Qiu Mo agree?"

  The person behind her has such great power that she abandoned the other side and defected to this side - the disparity in strength between the two sides is too great, it's simply a difference of heaven and earth, even an idiot knows which side is stronger.

  Auntie Li exerted force with her hand, and the hairpin on her head knocked against her fingernail, making a "crack" sound.

  "She doesn't have much time left." Aunt Li said: "Otherwise, just wait until you go to Rong'antang."

  Rong An Tang

  Chao Sheng shut his mouth.

  That place is completely inconsistent with its name, but it's a place that is neither glorious nor peaceful.

  It's hopeless to expect her to fight against Autumn alone, or else she might not even have skin left on her bones.

  But Aunt Li won't make a move unless it's a fatal blow.

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  Wishing you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.

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