Chapter 235: Imprisoned

Yue Mingxuan met Imperial Consort Zhou’s gaze directly, anger lacing his voice as he spoke. “When I left, she was perfectly fine. How is it that after just a few hours, something happened? This is far too coincidental… Someone is clearly using Princess Xie’s death to frame me.” As he spoke, he knelt heavily to the ground. “I beg Your Majesty to uphold justice for me and not allow me to suffer such an unjust accusation.”

With both sides holding firmly to their own accounts, the emperor found himself at a loss for a moment. He turned his head and asked the royal physician, “Have you determined what kind of poison Princess Xie was afflicted with?”

The royal physician replied, “The poison Princess Xie ingested is very unusual. It seems like a mixture of several poisons, yet it also resembles a single compound. The defining characteristic of this poison is that it has no known cure. Someone without a deep understanding of medicine would never have been able to produce it.”

“Your Majesty,” Imperial Consort Zhou said, putting on an expression of deep sorrow, “Yue Mingxuan is precisely someone well-versed in medical principles. If other nations learn that a princess was murdered while Beirong failed to severely punish the culprit, it would damage the dignity of the state.”

With every piece of evidence pointing toward Yue Mingxuan, the emperor, even if he wished to protect him, had no choice but to act impartially.

“Escort Prince Yue to the Royal Prison. No one is to visit him without an explicit order.”

Although he knew he had been set up, Yue Mingxuan remained remarkably calm at this moment.

Even if he was thrown into prison, there was still Gongsun Xing.

Gongsun Xing would surely be able to analyze the poison’s composition and clear his name of this injustice.

The Royal Prison of the Beirong imperial city was infamous for being easy to enter and nearly impossible to leave.

Those who were sent in usually come out either dead or with half their lives stripped away.

Although Yue Mingxuan had been thrown into the dungeon, he was fortunate in one respect: the emperor had personally issued an edict stating that his “guilt had yet to be determined and he was not to be mistreated.”

If not for those eight words serving as his shield, his situation would have been far more miserable.

With a helpless sigh, Yue Mingxuan gathered the scattered straw on the ground and pulled it together.

Although he had been spared physical torment for the time being, the wretched conditions of the place were impossible to ignore.

The environment was abysmal, and worse still, the insects had bred beneath the straw.

If it was not cleaned properly… just thinking about it made his scalp tingle with discomfort.

Just as he was grimacing and tidying up the straw pile, a familiar voice suddenly rang out, “Mingxuan, why are you here?”

When Yue Mingxuan turned around, he saw Rong Tieshan’s face filled with concern.

“Mm, I made a small mistake, so I was locked up here,” he replied lightly.

His casual tone stirred a trace of dissatisfaction in Rong Tieshan.

Yue Mingxuan was, after all, the Flower God of the Four Nations, yet he had been thrown into prison without even a proper inquiry.

That was far too excessive.

“Mingxuan, I’ll go see Father Emperor in a moment and have him release you.”

Yue Mingxuan shook his head. “Prince Rong, thank you for your kindness. But I don’t think that’s necessary. I believe that in the end, time will give me justice.”

Hearing this, a flicker of desolation passed through Rong Tieshan’s eyes.

He could not tell whether Yue Mingxuan truly did not care what others thought of him, or whether he genuinely believed that under the shadow of imperial authority, the final outcome would still be fair.

“Mingxuan, the prison is damp and cold…”

Even though he had been rejected by Yue Mingxuan countless times, he still could not help wanting to protect him.

“Thank you for your concern, Prince Rong. This prison is an inauspicious place, please return,” Yue Mingxuan interrupted him politely but firmly.

No matter what, Rong Tieshan was a man Xie Lianhua had once loved.

She had given up her life just to stand by his side.

Under those circumstances, what right did he have to accept any extra tenderness from him?

Being cut off so bluntly, a trace of awkwardness flashed across Rong Tieshan’s face.

Still, he forcibly suppressed the emotions rising within him.

After giving a slight nod, he turned around and left.

Yue Mingxuan watched his retreating figure and spoke softly, “Princess Xie is dead.”

Hearing Yue Mingxuan say that, Rong Tieshan froze. He turned back in disbelief and asked, “What did you say? How did Princess Xie die?”

Yue Mingxuan shook his head. “I only know that she died from poisoning, but as for who harmed her, I don’t know either… The last person she saw before she died was me.”

Only then did understanding dawn on Rong Tieshan. “So that’s why you were locked up here… They suspect you’re the culprit?”

Yue Mingxuan let out a bitter smile. “More or less.”

He could only hope that Gongsun Xing would uncover the source of the poison as soon as possible.

Sleeping on a straw mat crawling with insects was hardly a pleasant choice.

Although he had endured environments far worse than this back when he was in tropical rainforests with his comrades, as a man with lingering instincts from another life, he still felt an almost instinctive aversion to bugs.

Rong Tieshan who is shaken by one blow after another, grew visibly agitated. “I don’t believe you’re the murderer. What kind of killer would be that stupid?”

Yue Mingxuan tugged helplessly at the corner of his mouth. “But the fact is, I’m being held here as a suspect… so don’t waste your efforts. Aside from the emperor himself, I’m afraid no one can get me out.”

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