Chapter 73: Chapter 73: The Suspicious Crown Prince
"Dugu senior, I heard that you are now a guest official of the imperial family?"
"That's correct."
"Do you know anything about this Crown Prince of the empire?"
Dugu Bo scrutinized Su Cheng from top to bottom, somewhat skeptical of what he had just said. "I don't know much about Xue Qinghe. I'm only here as a guest official out of respect for Xue Xing."
Su Cheng glanced at him, hesitating. "That Xue Qinghe seems to be a master of poison. Does the Tian Dou Imperial Family also have expertise in this area?"
"What?!" Dugu Bo was taken aback, feeling a bit unnerved by Su Cheng's words. "What do you mean by that?"
"I have a good understanding of medicine," Su Cheng furrowed his brows, appearing puzzled. "Although His Royal Highness conceals it well, I detected a faint herbal scent on him when we last met. These herbs themselves are harmless, but when mixed in a certain sequence and proportion, they can form a slow-acting chronic poison."
His words sounded convincing, but in reality, he was just making it up.
Qian Renxue had been lurking in the Tian Dou Empire for so long, she was very careful about details and wouldn't expose such a loophole.
However, all of this didn't matter. Su Cheng's purpose was to induce Qian Renxue's political opponents to make more assumptions.
Moreover, not all of these words were baseless accusations; the use of poison was indeed a common method for Qian Renxue to eliminate dissenters over the years.
Even the second and third princes had died from the poison of their martial souls.
Following this line of inquiry further could unearth some useful information.
And once this matter spread out and was subtly guided, Qian Renxue's situation would definitely become much more difficult.
"By the way, I heard that the Crown Prince's behavior has changed significantly in recent years?"
Dugu Bo pondered for a moment before nodding. "It seems there's indeed been some change. I don't pay much attention to the affairs of the royal family, but Xue Xing has complained a few times."
"It seems there are many people who are more uncomfortable than I am," Su Cheng felt somewhat relieved to hear this.
He looked at Dugu Bo and said meaningfully, "I heard that the second and third princes of the empire died from poison?"
Dugu Bo's brows furrowed even tighter. "You, at your young age, know quite a lot. Are you already bored with life?"
Su Cheng ignored the sarcasm, continuing, "But what if this Crown Prince is not his son? How would he react then?"
"That's impossible!" Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. "Even if his physique and appearance can be disguised, how could he fake the inheritance martial soul of the royal family?"
"It's hard to say," Su Cheng chuckled, "soul masters have many methods."
"Do you have any evidence?" Dugu Bo asked skeptically.
"No," Su Cheng shook his head, "but he harbors ill intentions towards me, and I cannot remain passive."
"I say, couldn't you just avoid him, and I'll secretly protect you? You don't need to stir up trouble because of this, do you?" Dugu Bo suggested.
"Dugu senior, your relationship with Prince Xue Xing isn't very good, right? If Prince Xue Qinghe ascends to the throne in the future, Prince Xue Xing wouldn't have an easy time either, right?"
Su Cheng didn't respond to Dugu Bo's question, but instead shared his thoughts.
"Nobody wants to be on edge all the time, right? In fact, now is a good opportunity. I'm just offering some ideas.
"In recent years, Xue Qinghe's temperament has changed significantly, which will inevitably cause turmoil among his subordinates.
"You must understand, someone's personality change, regardless of whether it's beneficial in the long run, will inevitably cause considerable psychological pressure on others in the short term, providing many opportunities for manipulation.
"The person on the throne is always suspicious. If certain matters are discussed more, they may be taken as factual truths."
Dugu Bo's expression subtly changed as he stared at Su Cheng. "What do you intend to do?"
"I don't need to do anything. Just provide all these clues and speculations to Xue Beng, and he won't be able to resist taking action.
"I've seen him a few times in the academy; he still has ambitions and hasn't been completely frightened.
"Xue Qinghe currently has a solid foundation, but Xue Beng is different; he has no retreat. The longer it drags on, the more passive he'll become. If Xue Qinghe ascends to the throne, with the precedents of his two brothers, Xue Beng's life is already on a countdown."
Su Cheng looked at Dugu Bo, speaking solemnly, "Now, it depends on whether Prince Xue Xing has any other ideas."
Does Prince Xue Xing have any ideas?
Dugu Bo understood in his heart that Prince Xue Xing did have ideas.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have repeatedly probed him with his words.
Dugu Bo just didn't want to get involved in the royal family's disputes, but that didn't mean he was clueless.
"I see," Dugu Bo's emerald eyes flashed with a cold light, his face instantly darkening. "You've probably been waiting for me to come to you, haven't you? Was that bottle of potion deliberately given to Yan Yan to drink?"
His facial expression returned to the slightly stiff appearance it had when they first met, and his aura became unpredictable, exerting great pressure on Su Cheng.
"I should have thought of it earlier. With your medical skills, you probably noticed immediately that Yan Yan was poisoned, didn't you?"
Su Cheng smiled and neither denied nor admitted, showing no signs of fear or anxiety in the face of Dugu Bo's gaze and pressure.
"That's correct, because I am confident in curing Sister Yan and I know that Senior Dugu is someone who values grievances and grudges."
"Hmph! You're quite eloquent," Dugu Bo's anger subsided, his facial muscles relaxed once again. "At your young age, you have quite a lot of thoughts. I wonder if Xue Qinghe would regret showing hostility towards you earlier if he knew about your current thoughts."
"Regret?" Su Cheng inwardly sighed, 'What kind of regret? I regret a damn thing! If I had known that Qian Renxue would inexplicably show hostility towards me, I would have definitely kept my distance.'
He looked at Dugu Bo, "So, Senior, are you prepared to get involved now?"
"Since you can cure Yan Yan's poison and claim to be able to cure me, I naturally can't just stand by and watch."
As he said this, he also sighed, "Xue Xing is indeed under considerable pressure now. Perhaps what you said is true; the longer it goes on, the more passive he becomes. Are you sure there's a problem with Xue Qinghe?"
"At the very least, he is a master of poison, his identity is suspicious, and he is extremely skilled at disguising himself; these cannot be faked. To speak disrespectfully, Senior Dugu, your skills in poison are not as good as his."
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