Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 366 Poisoned Wine
While Yan Ciwan was still in a daze, Yan Tingyu had already passed through her body.

"This humble servant greets Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Yan Ciwan turned around and saw Yan Tingyu gracefully bow to Crown Prince Li Cunxing, who was dressed in a bright yellow brocade robe. Li Cunxing reached out to help Yan Tingyu up, then held her hand and said gently, "I told you long ago that there is no need to be so formal at home. We can just get along like an ordinary couple."

Yan Tingyu smiled, her eyes filled with tenderness and affection.

"Having just gotten married, I haven't fully adapted to my new identity yet, so I want to learn more. It's not easy to learn outside, so I can only practice more at home. I hope Your Highness will be understanding."

Li Cunxing comforted him, saying, "Your manners are already very good. Just do what you usually do. Don't put too much pressure on yourself."

The two walked hand in hand to the table and sat down. The table was already laden with fine wine and delicacies.

The enticing aroma of food wafted over, but it couldn't attract Yan Ciwan's attention at all; she stared intently at Yan Tingyu and Li Cunxing.

Yan Tingyu dismissed all the palace maids and servants, leaving only her and Li Cunxing in the room.

"Your Highness, this is a fine wine I brought from Xizhou, called Crystal Amber. Please try it."

As Yan Tingyu spoke, she picked up the jade wine pot and slowly poured out the amber-colored wine. The crystal-clear wine fell into the glass, a truly delightful sight.

She placed the glass cup in front of Li Cunxing, her gaze filled with anticipation.

Li Cunxing picked up the glass, brought it to his lips and smelled it gently. Then he took a sip and said carefully, "This wine smells quite sweet, but it is sweet without being cloying. It is indeed a good wine."

Yan Tingyu picked up a piece of food for him with her chopsticks: "Drinking on an empty stomach is bad for your stomach, Your Highness, please eat some food."

"A-Ci is so considerate. I am so lucky to have married such a virtuous wife."

Upon hearing this, Yan Tingyu's hand holding the chopsticks trembled slightly.

She feigned nonchalance and said shyly, "It's not as exaggerated as Your Highness makes it out to be."

After finishing his meal, Li Cunxing took another sip of wine. Looking at the Crown Princess's shy expression, he laughed even more heartily: "I'm telling the truth. When Father Emperor first bestowed this marriage upon us, I was a little worried that we wouldn't get along. But on our wedding night, when I saw you with my own eyes, my heart finally settled down. Aci, to be honest, the moment I saw you, I had a different feeling for you. I always find myself wanting to be close to you. Do you feel the same way?"

Yan Tingyu could no longer maintain her expression, and her eyes suddenly turned red.

Seeing this, Li Cunxing panicked. He hurriedly put down the glass cup, reached out to touch Yan Tingyu's cheek, and asked, "Why are you crying? Did I say something wrong?"

Large tears rolled down Yan Tingyu's cheeks. She threw herself into Li Cunxing's arms, hugged him tightly, and cried as she spoke.

"You did nothing wrong, I was the one who was wrong. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

Li Cunxing wanted to ask her why she said that, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, and then he vomited blood.

Blood dripped onto Yan Tingyu's face, and her tears flowed even more profusely.

Li Cunxing turned his head to look at the glass on the table. At this moment, he realized that the wine was poisoned!

His body trembled with pain from the flare-up of the poison. He tried to push the woman in his arms away, but Yan Tingyu held him tightly and wouldn't let go. He couldn't push her away and could only call out in a hoarse voice, "Come..."

He had only managed to utter one word when Yan Tingyu covered his mouth. Yan Tingyu looked up at him, her eyes blurry with tears, and shook her head, saying, "Your Highness, please don't make a sound. Just leave quietly like this."

Li Cunxing stared at her with wide eyes, his gaze filled with disbelief.

He couldn't understand why she would poison him when he had always treated her so well.
Yan Tingyu understood his gaze, and she choked out, "Don't blame me. I did this for your own good. Rather than living under the accusations and insults of the world, it's better to die cleanly and decisively. Don't worry, I will come to see you soon. We will keep each other company on the road to the underworld."

Li Cunxing saw the despair in her eyes—

That kind of despair when you're driven to a dead end with no other choice but to die.

His heart trembled, but soon an even stronger pain struck him. The deadly threat of the poison made him use his last bit of strength to push Yan Tingyu away.

He grabbed the glass cup on the table and was about to smash it on the ground when Yan Tingyu pounced on him, grabbed his hand, and took the glass cup away.

Li Cunxing's nose also started bleeding, and he gritted his teeth and spat out two words.

"Vicious woman!"

Exhausted, the two words were as light as a feather falling to the ground, utterly weightless.

Yan Tingyu cupped his cheeks, kissed his brow, and said in the gentlest tone, "I know you are very good to me, and that's why I can't bear to leave you alone in this world to suffer. Your Highness, when we get to the underworld, I will tell you everything, and then you will understand my good intentions."

Li Cunxing tried to push her away, but he had no strength left. His limbs were gradually losing sensation due to the poison, and his internal organs felt like they were melting.

He slumped weakly against the back of the chair, blood trickling from the corners of his eyes and ears.

Yan Tingyu wiped away the bloodstains for him and said in a trembling voice, "Actually, my name is not Yan Ciwan. My real name is Yan Tingyu. I killed Yan Ciwan and took her identity."

Upon hearing this, Li Cunxing, who had been about to close his eyes, suddenly opened them slightly again.

He turned his eyes to look at Yan Tingyu, as if trying to confirm whether what she said was true or false.
Yan Tingyu continued, "I'm jealous of Yan Ciwan. We're both Father's daughters, so why has Father always favored her since we were little? I'm not happy about it."

Li Cunxing couldn't understand it. Was he really going to kill his own sister over such a trivial matter?!

Yan Tingyu smiled through her tears: "You and Yan Ciwan are both born to the principal wife, and you've received so much attention and favor from a young age. From the moment you were born, you were destined to be the pride of heaven, while I could only forever hide in the shadows and silently look up to you. This is my fate. I was almost ready to accept my fate, until..."

At this point, her expression became strange, a mixture of joy and sorrow.

"Until I learned the princess's secret, I never imagined that she would betray my father. My father loved her so much, he would give her the moon from the sky. They got everything I had ever dreamed of so easily, but they didn't cherish it. They are so despicable! I hate them!"

Li Cunxing's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but then he could no longer make a sound.

He slowly closed his eyes and breathed his last.

Yan Tingyu seemed oblivious, continuing to speak to herself, "I thought that as long as I killed Yan Ciwan, I would be Father's only daughter, and Father would love me as much as he loved Yan Ciwan. But no, I was wrong from the very beginning, I was wrong..."

At this point, she picked up the wine jug on the table and poured the remaining poisoned wine into her mouth.