Sheng Li turned his gaze back to Ying Lili who was staring at him for a long time. "How dare you let yourself get into this state?" Sheng Li demanded an answer from Ying Lili. "You are the wife of the Crown Prince whom everyone fears. Whoever did this to you, I will make sure to punish them most mercilessly." Sheng Li's voice roared.
"Your highness, you are still favoring this woman who is from Juyan. She asked for the deadliest poison for you from her uncle. If you do not believe us, then you shall ask the King of Juyan. We cannot let such treacherous people live among us because she can kill anyone of us," the Law and Justice Minister proclaimed in exasperation.
"I do not believe anyone here except a few and be respectful towards the Crown Princess," Sheng Li's tone was threatening. "I know you all ministers pressured the Imperial Father when I was in that state. Father, do not believe the King of Juyan. It was my mistake to let him stay alive, and all this happened. I request you to pass an order to not involve any minister in the investigation of my poisoning. I will find the culprit myself," Sheng Li pronounced as he brought his both hands ahead till the shoulder, joined them, and bowed his head.
"I permit you. This order will be passed," Han Wenji announced. "Indeed, the ministers were in a hurry in deciding so, the investigation shall be done carefully. The bureaucracy is important, that's why I needed to decide. Crown Prince, I will talk to you later," saying that Han Wenji walked away followed by the Empress.
Sheng Li put his hands down and turned to Ying Lili. He bent on his knees; his right hand was on his right knee while the left knee was touching the ground. "You disappointed me. I thought you were smart, but you proved me wrong," Sheng Li whispered and then got up from the ground.
"Release her and send her to the Zhenzhu Inn," Sheng Li ordered Xiao Zhan and walked away. Xiao Zhan bowed his head as the Crown Prince walked away followed by Han Nianzu and Lei Wanxi. The other princes too walked away from there. Xue Yu-Yan huffed seeing that the Crown Princess would not get punished.
A soldier freed Ying Lili's hands from the shackles, and she stood up from the ground. Hu Jingguo came to Ying Lili. "Crown Princess, forgive me for being late," Hu Jingguo asserted. Ying Lili gave him a faint smile. "Thank you for reaching here at the right time," Ying Lili expressed her gratitude.
"I did my duty, your highness. Luckily, I was not far away else it would have been a problem," Hu Jingguo stated. "Master gave me the antidote a year ago and even passed me his knowledge of this antidote," Hu Jingguo proclaimed. Ying Lili nodded, listening to him. "Father told me about that," Ying Lili stated.
"Your highness, do you not want the Crown Prince to know about this? He is misunderstanding you," Xiao Zhan intervened between the conversation of Ying Lili and Hu Jingguo.
"I will tell the Crown Prince myself. I am grateful to General Xiao as well for agreeing with my plan. Without your help, I could not help the Crown Prince," Ying Lili pronounced and gave a tiny smile to him.
Ying Lili turned her gaze back at Hu Jingguo and looked at his face and hands. "You are still not healed. Because of me, you had to suffer so much," Ying Lili asserted.
"Thanks to these injuries, I could not go beyond the borders. Prince Wanxi reached me in time, and the Crown Prince got the antidote," Hu Jingguo replied to Ying Lili.
"Your highness, you shall take rest. You could not sleep last night." Xiao Zhan expressed his concern and turned to look at the two maidservants there. "Take the Crown Princess safely," Xiao Zhan commanded them. They came forward and took the Crown Princess to Zhenzhu Inn.
"Come with me, Hu Jingguo," General Xiao said, and they left from there.
Once Ying Lili reached her chamber, she felt good. She sat on the bed when Court Lady Xu came running inside. She stopped right in front of the Crown Princess and bowed her head. "Your highness, I was scared after hearing the judgment of his majesty. I am so happy to see you safe," Court Lady Xu had tears in her eyes as she was speaking to the Crown Princess.
"Thanks to the Crown Prince I am safe. Court Lady Xu, prepare a hot bath for me. I want to have a relaxing bath." Ying Lili touched her shoulders.
"Yes, your highness," Court Lady Xu bowing her head stepped backward and left the chamber. "Never have I felt this scared in my life, which I faced last night. Luckily, the winds were with me else things could have worsened," Ying Lili muttered and recalled what happened the previous night.
"Your highness, if the Prime Minister had done this then he would have killed the maidservant by now. Why would he let her stay alive?" Lei Wanxi questioned, and knitted his brows.
"Brother Wanxi, I had thought the same, but he will not do this. He will try to give me punishment before the Crown Prince will wake up. He will bring the maidservant in the court and make sure she will give the statement against me. That would be the most solid evidence against me and I cannot escape that.
This is a game of chess where every pawn is being used against me so, I shall let my opponent think he is winning the game," Ying Lili with a smirk stated.
"Your highness, we are not understanding what you are trying to do but we will do whatever you will say," Han Nianzu showed support.
"I am getting what her highness is trying to say. The Prime Minister is treacherous and he will not leave a single point of escape for the Crown Princess," Xiao Zhan opined. Ying Lili nodded and further opened her mouth to speak.
"Now, the most important thing - the Antidote. If my uncle is with them, then I think they have killed the master as well. But there is one person who knows about the antidote," Ying Lili stated. The two princes looked at each other.
"Who?" Xiao Zhan amusingly asked.
"My childhood friend, Hu Jingguo," Ying Lili answered with a smile. They all were shocked to learn that.
"Your highness, if you would have told about this earlier then you would not have been punished and accused like this," Lei Wanxi affirmed.
Ying Lili smiled upon hearing the words of Lei Wanxi. "Brother Wanxi, such things cannot be told openly. If I had told this there, the Prime Minister would harm Hu Jingguo and I cannot take that risk. Furthermore, the Prime Minister will come up with some convincing arguments against me. I cannot risk the lives of three people," Ying Lili stated.
"But Sister Lili, there is risk associated with this. This is about the life of…"
"The Crown Prince," Ying Lili completed the words of Lei Wanxi. "I can take the risk for my life because I know only Sheng Li can save me from whatever punishment is waiting for me ahead. Make sure to bring Hu Jingguo safely and soundly to the Palace. Sheng Li told me yesterday that Hu Jingguo had crossed the capital borders, which are not that far. No one shall know about this plan, not even his majesty. Now, we will go with whatever the Prime Minister has planned for me," Ying Lili pronounced.
"Your highness, I know about Hu Jingguo's whereabouts. He is at the guesthouse, which is on the border. He will travel from there in the morning," Xiao Zhan informed the Crown Princess.
"Brother Nianzu will go there and bring him here," Lei Wanxi asserted and smiled when they all heard the sounds of boots.
Immediately, General Xiao changed the topic and spoke. "Your highness, someone secretly went to your resting chamber as well to put the tiny bottle of poison there. Let's search for that as well."
"I am looking into that, General Xiao," they were surprised to hear the voice of Jian Guozhi. Ying Lili smiled as she came out of her thoughts.