Did the Seventh Prince attend court today?

After court, Qin Tan took the initiative to go to the Imperial Study to see Emperor Wulong, saying that he had important matters to report.

Emperor Wulong thought he was going to talk about Meng Tianhong, but to his surprise, he said, "Your Majesty, etiquette cannot be disregarded. Since we are going to bring the Seventh Prince back to the palace, we should follow the rules. His identity should be verified first, and then the ancestral temple sacrifices should be performed. Only then will it be proper."

Emperor Wulong was greatly surprised, "Why are you suddenly so concerned about Xiao Qi's affairs?"

Instead of answering, Qin Tan asked, "Does Your Highness possess any token that can prove your identity?"

Clearly, he didn't intend to gossip with Emperor Wulong, lest the emperor make fun of him again.

Emperor Wulong: "...No."

Fearing Qin Tan might question You Lu's identity, he immediately added, "But I can confirm that Xiao Qi is indeed my lost seventh prince. Look how much that boy resembles me!"

Even the refined Qin Tan couldn't help but secretly roll her eyes, reminding him, "How could there not be? His Majesty has so many jade pendants and thumb rings, didn't you bestow one upon the little prince when he was born?"

Prime Minister Su immediately understood and snatched the white jade dragon-patterned pendant from Emperor Wulong's waist, saying, "Yes, yes, this is the jade pendant that His Majesty bestowed upon the young prince. The young prince used this token to recognize His Majesty back then, and this old minister can testify to it."

Xu Zheng: "..."

His Majesty wore this jade pendant just a month ago; it's too much of a lie to call it a token of love.

He had barely opened his mouth when the other three men all turned to look at him. Prime Minister Su raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does Lord Xu have any objections?"

Xu Zheng felt a chill run down his spine and said tactfully, "His Majesty always carries this jade pendant with him; it would be safer to replace it with a different one."

Emperor Wulong nodded in satisfaction, "That's more like it."

Qin Tan beckoned, and the four of them gathered together.

"We'll do this first... and then this..."

It must be said that Qin Tan was extremely knowledgeable about etiquette and rules; with him present, any potential point of contention was identified. The four of them discussed every detail regarding verifying identities, even crafting a seemingly perfect and touching story of family reunion. Even if You Lu wasn't truly Emperor Wulong's bloodline, they had already devised a plan.

At first, Xu Zheng was hesitant and felt that it was wrong to be deceitful. But then he thought that it was all for the sake of the young prince, and for the sake of the young prince, it was for the sake of Dayong. His resolve immediately hardened.

You Lu was completely unaware that Emperor Wulong and the other three were plotting something. After seeing off the eldest prince, he returned to his room and continued to study the methods of refining Gu poison.

As a secret art of the Southern Frontier, Gu refining is not easily passed on to outsiders. Although the book borrowed from Elder Chen mentions it, it is quite superficial, containing only a few extremely simple methods of Gu refining, and the Gu poison produced is also very weak. It is obviously impossible to use Gu worms of this level to fight poison with poison.

To truly master the art of Gu poison, one must delve deeper into its study.

Youlu thought of Meng Tianhong.

When he was researching Meng Tianhong's past, he discovered that Meng Tianhong knew how to refine Gu poisons, and he had planned to ask him if he didn't understand. Now was the perfect time.

He immediately tore off a piece of Xuan paper and wrote a line of words in a crooked manner: "My traitorous brother taught me how to make Gu poison."

After writing it, he didn't even sign it, and just asked the Pixiu to deliver the letter for him.

Pixiu is fast and can be easily detected, making it perfect for delivering messages.

The Pixiu put the letter in its mouth and huffed and puffed as it left the palace.

Meng Tianhong had been in a bad mood these past few days. Ever since he learned of his identity, Qin Tan had been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding him, and even wanted to share a room. He was anxious but helpless, and his temper was so bad that his lips were covered in blisters. Lu's letter just happened to be the last straw for him.

"That despicable little liar! He doesn't even know how to concoct poison, yet he dares to boast that he can help me detoxify!"

One second Meng Tianhong was leaning weakly against the headboard, looking sad and dejected, the next second he jumped up, crumpled the paper that fell from the sky into a ball, and stomped on it repeatedly.

He didn't even need to guess; he could tell who wrote it just by looking at the style.

Pixiu, perched on the roof beam, hesitated whether to go back and report to the boss to rewrite a letter and send it over. Just then, Meng Tianhong rolled up his sleeves, walked behind the desk, stepped onto a stool, and began writing a letter while cursing.

brave troops:……

This guy used to have a short temper.

In less than fifteen minutes, Meng Tianhong had written ten pages in a long, flowing style. He blew the ink to dry the letter, packed it away, and said angrily, "Where's the messenger? Take the letter back! Tell that little liar that if he tries anything again, I'll trade my life for his!"

It has a majestic and awe-inspiring presence.

Even though it knew he couldn't see it, the Pixiu was still scared. It tiptoed from the roof beam to the desk, carefully tiptoed to the envelope, and snatched the letter while Meng Tianhong was drinking water before running away.

The letter disappeared in the blink of an eye, which startled Meng Tianhong.

Although he wasn't a top-tier assassin, he considered himself quite capable. To be able to appear and disappear without a trace in front of him, was the messenger really human?

Pixiu ran all the way back to the palace, spat the letter out of its mouth, patted its chest and said weakly, "That was terrifying. That Meng Tianhong must have learned Sichuan opera face-changing; he changes his expression every second."

"Thank you for your hard work." Youlu patted its big head, disdainfully picked up the saliva-covered envelope, and took out a thick stack of replies from it.

It must be said that Meng Tianhong was truly generous, directly giving him a recipe for refining high-grade Gu worms, a recipe only found in the Southern Border Secret Manual. The letter clearly outlined everything from selecting Gu worms to the refining steps, including what materials were needed, when to add them, and what precautions to take. Following his recipe, even a complete novice could refine Gu poison.

"I didn't expect my spy brother to trust me so much, giving me such a good thing so readily." Youlu was overjoyed.

The Pixiu hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately just wanting to trade one for one with you.

With Meng Tianhong's recipe, the difficulty of refining Gu has been reduced to almost nothing; now all that's left is to wait for the materials.

In the afternoon, Emperor Wulong ordered another batch of poisonous insects to be sent over, all of them placed in cages woven from fine wire for people to choose from. Deer looked at them one by one, but they were all pitch black and ugly as hell, and still not one of them caught his eye.

The head eunuch who delivered the goods said, "These have all been screened through multiple layers; they are the most poisonous and vicious of each batch."

"Is this what you call vicious?" A deer approached a cage containing a venomous scorpion. The scorpion, which had been wagging its tail and pincers and acting all high and mighty, immediately shrank into a corner and became as quiet as if it were dead.

The chief eunuch wiped his sweat.

Youlu waved his hand, "Take them all away."

The head eunuch knew that he had once again failed to find someone he liked.

After the head eunuch left with the poisonous insects, Xiao Anzi, a junior eunuch serving in the palace, approached Youlu and said mysteriously, "This servant heard that the Duke of Zhenguo sent a jade-eyed ice toad to the Empress this morning. It's a very good thing, and His Highness might like it."

"The Jade-Eyed Ice Toad?" A deer perked up. "The name sounds quite cute."

He glanced at Xiao Anzi with a half-smile, "How do you know so much about what happens in the Empress's palace?"

Xiao Anzi said without changing his expression, "The Duke of Zhenguo sent people to escort him into the palace in a grand manner; everyone knows that."

You Lu nodded and chuckled, "So Consort Yi sent you to instigate me to steal the Empress's things, so that I would offend the Empress and the Duke of Zhenguo, is that it?"

Xiao Anzi's pupils contracted slightly. How could the Seventh Prince know?!