Even the crown prince is getting a marriage of convenience? Why are you in such a hurry to stop bein

Just as Seventeen was about to leave, Xiao Lie called him back.

"Shout for me, the young master has fainted." Meeting Seventeen's questioning gaze, Xiao Lie closed his eyes and collapsed onto the soft bed.

"Someone come here! The young master has fainted!" Seventeen shouted with great vigor, and the entire Duke Zhenguo's mansion became lively with his shout.

Old He was hurriedly pulled over to help Xiao Lie with his diagnosis and treatment.

Xiao Lie winked at Elder He secretly, and then slipped the pill he had hidden in his sleeve into Elder He's hand.

This was the pill the emperor forced him to take; he had pulled a trick of "switching the beams and pillars" in front of the emperor.

At that time, he took pills that resembled elixirs, which were prepared for him by Mr. He in advance.

The pill had very little harm to the body, almost negligible.

After putting away the pills, Old He deliberately raised his voice and said, "What did the young master secretly take? He seems to be much stronger, but he can't keep ruining his body like this. If he continues like this, he'll be completely drained sooner or later."

This commotion caused quite a stir, and naturally reached the emperor's ears.

As for how the emperor will deal with those alchemists, and whether he will continue to take elixirs, that depends on the emperor's decision.

Xiao Lie is currently racking his brains, still pondering another problem.

However, after thinking about it all night, I still couldn't figure it out.

News spread quickly that Xiao Lie's excessive indulgence had damaged his health, and he had fallen ill once again.

The next day, Gu Mingheng, along with Lin Yu and Shen Qingge, came to visit the sick.

"Brother Xiao, you weren't really forced to test the elixir for the emperor, were you?" No matter how secretive things were in the palace, some rumors still got out.

Don't underestimate the power of these centuries-old families.

Xiao Lie leaned back, coughing half-dead, and winked mischievously at the three of them.

He said softly, "I didn't actually eat it."

"However, when the emperor takes the elixir, it's as if he's gone mad. I even fell ill last night. This morning, just as dawn was breaking, he went to ask the alchemists for new elixirs and took them."

Shen Qingge has been having a headache these past few days because she's still preoccupied with managing the underground gambling den. "Brother Xiao, the Fifth Prince has recently recruited quite a few capable people, and some of them are quite formidable; they've even managed to track down the gambling den."

"Once they obtain concrete evidence and report it to the Emperor, we may find ourselves in a difficult situation."

The emperor was worried because he couldn't find any fault with Xiao Lie and couldn't deal with the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Shen Qingge was restless and couldn't eat or sleep.

Xiao Lie showed no sign of panic.

He was confident. "The three of you should quickly sort out which of our less important assets we were planning to abandon anyway, and deliberately send some information to his people about them."

"Furthermore, isn't the Fifth Prince diligently investigating which officials in the Six Ministries are colluding with me? Didn't we also find some rather useless people at the gambling den earlier?"

"It's time to expose those people and make them serve their only purpose."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingge pondered for a moment, then excitedly exclaimed, "As expected, it has to be the Crown Prince! I've been struggling with this for so long, and I never imagined that we could sacrifice a pawn to save the king!"

Compared to Gu Mingheng and Shen Qingge, Lin Yu was more worried about Xiao Lie.

Since the emperor has already chosen Xiao Lie as his test subject, he might be able to get away with it once or twice.

But this is not a long-term solution, and it will eventually be exposed.

The emperor's moods are unpredictable these days; if he were to fly into a rage and take Xiao Lie's life, then...

Lin Yuyan dared not say anything more after that.

Shen Qingge didn't take it seriously, "You're worrying unnecessarily. With Brother Xiao's intelligence, he knows how to be quick-witted and adaptable."

Even Gu Mingheng comforted Lin Yu, saying, "The bugle hasn't sounded yet, so let's not boost the morale of others and diminish our own."

"There's no need to be surrounded by enemies on all sides."

Xiao Lie saw the two of them talking non-stop.

He quickly exchanged glances with Lin Yu; the two of them hardly looked like people visiting someone in the hospital.

Lin Yu listened for a while, then stopped them, "You two, have some tea to soothe your throats."

Just then, a young eunuch arrived at the palace and immediately summoned Xiao Lie to the palace.

Xiao Lie had put on a good show, and Shen Qingge and the other two had to carry him out.

"Young Master Xiao, how come you've become so weak after just one day?" the eunuch asked, but still insisted on taking Xiao Lie into the palace.

After entering the palace, Yuan Ajiao accompanied the emperor.

Upon seeing him, the emperor looked at him expectantly.

De Shun carried a tray made of gold to him.

Xiao Lie looked closely and saw that it was another pill.

The emperor stared intently at him, waiting for Xiao Lie to pick up the pill and swallow it.

Xiao Lie moved his fingers, signaling to Yuan Ajiao to cover for him.

Yuan Ajiao nodded slightly to him, then leaned against the emperor's arm.

"Your Majesty, my maidservant overheard the Fifth Prince sending people to investigate Prince Xiao."

"It seems they also said they wanted to have someone kidnap the physician serving Prince Xiao."

The emperor felt a chill run down his spine, his aura turning grim.

He already suspected that the Fifth Prince was plotting a rebellion.

This time, the Fifth Prince wanted to kidnap the physician of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion. Wasn't he targeting him?

Is this rebellious son trying to find out what the elixir is made of?

Does the Fifth Prince also desire immortality?

The emperor sent Deshun to deliver an imperial edict: "I have weakened his power, yet he still doesn't know to behave himself."

"It seems that's not enough; we need to make him more sober."

"I'm not going to die anytime soon, so confine him to his residence and forbid him from receiving guests."

Even the food served at the Fifth Prince's residence was delivered by people sent by the Emperor.

The Fifth Prince is not allowed to make arrangements on his own.

While the emperor was raging, Xiao Lie pretended to take the elixir.

The emperor then remembered and asked him, "How do you feel?"

Xiao Lie's sickly appearance vanished, and he looked radiant.

He paced quickly around the main hall. "Your Majesty, I can now ride a horse and go hunting."

The emperor was overjoyed and bestowed upon Xiao Lie a great deal of gold and silver treasures, thus sending him away.

Xiao Lie then delivered the newly acquired pills to Elder He.

His men even managed to bribe a sorcerer, from whom they learned that the elixirs contained many potent drugs.

A small dose will have a short-term effect, making one energetic and vigorous, especially in bed.

If this continues for a long time, the body will become depleted, and at some point, it will be unable to withstand the stimulation and will faint.

Old He also noticed that the medicinal ingredients used in these pills were exactly the same as those described by the alchemist.

Xiao Lie gave the order, "Organize all the medicinal herbs that the alchemist and Elder He mentioned in the register."

"Also, go and inform that person in the palace, and tell her not to touch any elixirs, otherwise even if Hua Tuo were alive, he wouldn't be able to save her."

Seventeen looked troubled. "That woman might also be powerless to resist. If the Emperor really forces her to take it, can she possibly disobey the imperial decree?"