Warm medicine emits fragrance

"This time, I'm determined to make him bow his head," Yan Qi said coldly.

The Empress hesitated, then shook her head.

"You're getting more and more stubborn as you get older. Why are you arguing with a bunch of kids?"

Yan Qi turned to look at her and said, "Don't look at Fan Liuer. I'll play the bad cop here, and you'll play the good cop in secret. Those two will definitely become arrogant again."

The Queen turned her face away and muttered under her breath, "Wouldn't that make me seem heartless?"

"Anyway, you're not allowed to go see it. I'll have people watching you. Every time you go, I'll lock them up for another month."

Fan Liuer was confined in the Empress's palace for two days. No one came to see her during those two days; neither Yan Qiu nor the Empress came.

Fan Liuer felt a little uneasy. She couldn't quite see through Yan Qi's deep thoughts, but she knew Yan Qiu and the Empress quite well, so it was impossible for them to completely ignore her and Li Chenbi.

unless...

Yan Qi gave the order that no one was allowed to come and see her.

The situation was more serious than Fan Liuer had thought, and she began to panic.

She calculated the time; the day after tomorrow was Yan Qi's coronation ceremony. Once he ascended the throne and became the true emperor, and his status changed, would he start settling scores with her and Li Chenbi?

I wonder how Li Chenbi is doing.

Will they torture him?

His injury hasn't healed yet, and I don't know if they've changed his dressings on time.

What should we do about his fever? How can he take his medicine without her decoction?

If it were just Li Chenbi's injuries, Fan Liuer wouldn't be so anxious. But Fan Liuer knew how painful Li Chenbi's fever was. The thought that he might have spent the last two days in pain made her restless.

Reaching the door, she pounded on it with both hands and shouted, "I want to see the Emperor!"

"I have something important to report!"

She shouted for half an hour until her voice was hoarse, but no one paid any attention to her.

This must be Yanqiu's order; no matter how much she makes a fuss, he is not allowed to interfere.

To get their attention, the only option was to use drastic measures: "I possess what the Emperor desires, a mandate from Heaven, destined for eternal prosperity!"

The palace servants were so frightened by her words that they immediately went to report to Yan Qi.

Yan Qi snorted coldly upon hearing this, "This Fan Liuer is more cunning than she seems. What tricks is she up to now?"

"Fine, bring her over here. I want to see how she's going to fabricate this nonsense."

Fan Liuer was brought before Yan Qi. As soon as she entered the room, she immediately knelt down. "Your Majesty, I know that Li Chenbi and I have made a grave mistake this time. I do not ask for your forgiveness, but I have something that Your Majesty desires. I wish to exchange this for the peace between Li Chenbi and me."

Yan Qi sneered, "I thought you were quite shrewd before, but now it seems you're just plain stupid. You're still playing coy, are you afraid I won't kill you both?"

"Do you know what you just said? Are you trying to say that the Imperial Seal of the State, lost for hundreds of years, is in your possession?"

Fan Liuer remained lying on the ground without raising her head, but raised her voice and answered loudly, "Yes, it is indeed in my hands."

Yan Qi was so angry at these words that he laughed. "Fan Liuer, I underestimated you. You are just as bold as Li Chenbi, and you still dare to make up such a lie."

Fan Liuer looked up at Yan Qi, her eyes showing nervousness but her expression serious. "Your Majesty, I'm not lying to you. Do you remember the tomb from the previous dynasty that was discovered in Xingzhou?"

"That Imperial Seal of the State was something I found in the tomb."

Upon hearing this, Yan Qi frowned slightly, staring at Fan Liuer, trying to discern whether her words were true or false.

Fan Liuer did not avoid his gaze, staring straight at him, and continued, "However, at the time I did not know that it was the Imperial Seal of the State. That seal was given to me by my savior on his deathbed."

Fan Liuer told Yan Qi Wei Nian's story, from their first meeting, Wei Nian's background, what they did, and how Wei Nian left the jade seal to her on the second level of the tomb.

"I wasn't greedy for treasure. At the time, I didn't recognize it as an imperial seal. I only thought it was a memento left to me by Wei Nian, so I selfishly kept it. It was only after I got home and Li Chenbi found it that he told me it was an imperial seal."

Yan Qi knew about what happened in that tomb. When Qi Weiming reported this, he truthfully told him everything that the cult members inside had done.

He was familiar with the name Wei Nian. Qi Weiming said that he was the only one among the cult members who had come to his senses. He betrayed his sect in order to help them wipe out the cult and eventually died in his tomb.

Yan Qi was unaware of Wei Nian's story, and it was only through Fan Liuer's words that he learned of this hidden tale.

He looked Fan Liuer up and down; her expression didn't seem to be lying.

Besides, at a time like this, he figured she wouldn't dare lie to him.

"You mean, the imperial seal is now in your possession? In Kyoto?"

Fan Liuer faced Yan Qi's scrutiny directly, without flinching or bowing her head. "I can't tell you this yet. You have to promise to spare me and Li Chenbi before I'll tell you."

Enraged by these words, Yan Qi pointed at her and said, "Fan Liuer, you're still trying to bargain with me? Do you know that hiding the imperial seal is a capital offense? I could chop off your head right now."

Fan Liuer swallowed hard and spoke under pressure: "If you don't promise to spare me and Li Chenbi, we will still die. Anyway, we can't escape death, so I can't care about anything else."

"Your Majesty, I am just a commoner with little knowledge and experience. Please don't take offense at my words."

"I wouldn't dare," Fan Liuer replied.

Yan Qi glanced at Fan Liuer. He hadn't originally intended to kill Fan Liuer and Li Chenbi; he just wanted to scare them and teach them a lesson.

Unexpectedly, a pleasant surprise was revealed.

"Even if what you say is true, Fan Liuer, why are you holding onto this imperial seal for so long without handing it over?" His tone had turned much colder, and his eyes had become sharper.

Fan Liuer immediately said, "Your Majesty, I have only intended to use this imperial seal to exchange for a reward from Your Majesty. I have no other intentions."

"I've offered you rewards several times, but you've refused each time. Do you think I'd believe that?"

Fan Liuer knew that every answer she gave was crucial. If she answered poorly, it would not only fail to dispel Yan Qi's suspicions about her and Li Chenbi, but would also backfire.

"Your Majesty, the rewards you give are nothing more than money and the like. You know that Li Chenbi is rich, but I am not short of money. What I want is a reward that is more valuable than those."

After saying that, before Yan Qi could speak, she continued, "Your Majesty, I am not being greedy. To be honest, this is related to my relationship with Li Chenbi. If you are willing to listen, I can tell you everything about how Li Chenbi and I met."

"After you hear this, you'll know I wasn't lying to you."