Chapter 24

Luo Qinghan's lips barely tightened.

He should have known long ago that his mother empress never cared whether he was poisoned or not, and didn't care whether he was living well or poorly.

What she cared about was only the position of the crown prince.

Luo Qinghan lowered his eyes, hiding the changes in his emotions, and respectfully said, "Your son has already sent people to investigate. I believe there will be results soon."

Empress Qin looked at him coldly, "Can you have the results by tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"You were raised by this palace. You know how much effort I have put into you. Don't disappoint me, understand?"

"Your son understands."

"You may leave."

"Mother Empress, please rest well. Your son takes his leave."

The conversation between mother and son ended there.

Throughout the entire process, there wasn't a single ordinary greeting, cold and icy, making one feel as if they weren't a living person but an object.

Leaving the Pepper Room Palace, Luo Qinghan slowly exhaled, as if trying to expel all the cold air he had just inhaled.

He returned to the Eastern Palace and had his confidants called in.

Eunuch Chang reminded him softly, "Your Highness, you haven't had lunch yet. Would you like to eat first?"

"No need, I'm not hungry."

The position of the crown prince seemed glorious, but in reality, it was extremely risky.

As the heir, he should let more people see his talents, but he couldn't get too close to the court officials to avoid arousing his father's suspicions.

So, Luo Qinghan actually had very few people he could use. Besides the Grand Tutor, Grand Guardian, and Grand Protector who taught him, there were also the Lesser Tutor, Lesser Guardian, Lesser Protector, and the commander of the Jade麟Army, Zhao Xian, and the young prince Nie Changping.

The first seven were all on the same boat as the crown prince, sharing common interests and had to stand by the crown prince.

Only the young prince Nie Changping was different. He stood by the crown prince's side purely out of the friendship they had since childhood.

He and Luo Qinghan were very close friends.

To quickly uncover the truth of the poisoning, Luo Qinghan called them all to the Eastern Palace.

The Grand Tutor, due to his advanced age and poor health, often fell ill and rarely entered the palace recently. He didn't come today, but he sent his eldest son, which also showed his support for the crown prince.

A group of them discussed the matter in the study.

Upon learning that the Empress required the crown prince to have results by tomorrow, Nie Changping couldn't help but click his tongue.

"The Empress is truly as strict and demanding with Your Highness as ever."

The Grand Guardian said, "This shows that the Empress places great importance on Your Highness."

Nie Changping snorted, showing his disdain.

He had played with Luo Qinghan since childhood and knew Luo Qinghan's affairs well. The Empress Qin seemed to have high hopes for Luo Qinghan, but in reality, she just wanted to use Luo Qinghan to secure the position of the crown prince.

Luo Qinghan's birth mother had passed away when he was very young, and he was sent to the Pepper Room Palace to be raised by Empress Qin.

Empress Qin had suffered a miscarriage in her early years, which damaged her health, and she could no longer bear children. Coincidentally, Luo Qinghan had lost his birth mother and had no support in the palace, so he had to rely on her to survive. She did her best to cultivate Luo Qinghan and help him secure the position of the crown prince.

In short, they were just in a mutually exploitative relationship.

Luo Qinghan was listening to Zhao Xian's report.

"I have already investigated. The poison was not in the wine but in the wine cup. The wine cup was coated with poison, so the wine poured from the same wine jug was only toxic in your cup."

In other words, even if the First Prince hadn't come to pour wine for Luo Qinghan last night, as long as Luo Qinghan drank the wine, he would have been poisoned.

The First Prince's actions were purely a scapegoat.