Chapter 236: Waiting in the Dark

At this point, Rong Tieshan could no longer fail to grasp how serious the situation was.

He looked deeply at Yue Mingxuan and said, “Mingxuan, don’t worry. I will definitely find a way to clear your name.”

When Yue Mingxuan heard this, he shook his head. “Prince Rong, there are many people on my side who can help me. You should go and see Princess Xie off on her final journey.”

He had countless friends and allies who could lend him a hand, but from beginning to end, Xie Lianhua had wanted only one person and that person is Rong Tieshan.

Rong Tieshan said nothing.

He simply turned around and left in silence.

Yue Mingxuan placed the straw in his hands in a corner that looked relatively clean and quietly curled himself up there.

He had no idea what new schemes Imperial Consort Zhou might still have in store, so conserving his strength was the wisest course of action.

Time passed second by second, and before long, night fell.

The Gongsun Xing Yue Mingxuan was waiting for never appeared.

Instead, a palace attendant arrived, bringing a bowl of plain porridge and a few small side dishes.

Exhausted from the day’s events, Yue Mingxuan did not bother to be picky.

He quickly finished everything and obediently shrank back into the corner again.

Soon, the night passed.

Leaning against the wall, Yue Mingxuan fell asleep at some point without realizing it, yet Gongsun Xing still did not come.

When Yue Mingxuan woke up, he only felt soreness and aching all through his lower back.

After pressing several acupuncture points in succession, he finally felt a bit more comfortable.

Although there was some doubt in his heart, he was not anxious.

After all, analyzing poison required time, and he believed Gongsun Xing was capable of doing it.

At this moment, the Gongsun Xing whom Yue Mingxuan trusted was staring gloomily at a small bottle of liquid.

Xie Lianhua had been poisoned with several kinds of extremely toxic substances, yet he could not determine which one had been the fatal cause.

Wang Jian draped a robe over Gongsun Xing’s shoulders and said softly, “Two heads are better than one. Why don’t you go ask Mingxuan and see what he thinks?”

Gongsun Xing nodded.

He had originally been reluctant to go looking for Yue Mingxuan, because he knew Yue Mingxuan must be waiting for him to save him. Yet he himself could not even identify the lethal poison.

Tightening the robe around his body, he said to Wang Jian, “I’ll go and come back soon.”

Wang Jian nodded. “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.”

After waking up, Yue Mingxuan had been staring anxiously toward the entrance of the prison.

To his horror, he had discovered rats inside the cell and not just one.

Frightened out of his wits, he cried out repeatedly, wishing he could rush out immediately.

Of all things in the world, rats were what he feared most.

Anything else he could endure, but rats were absolutely unbearable.

When Gongsun Xing arrived, this was the scene he witnessed.

Seeing the expectation in Yue Mingxuan’s eyes, he said helplessly, “Mingxuan, I’m sorry. I still haven’t figured out the poison.”

Yue Mingxuan smiled faintly. “Because it’s a new compound poison formed by mixing several toxins together, it’s normal that you can’t make sense of it right away.”

Hearing this only deepened Gongsun Xing’s guilt. “Why don’t I go beg the emperor first and have you released? This place really isn’t fit for a human being to stay in.”

Yue Mingxuan shook his head. “The emperor won’t let me out.”

Before the truth was fully revealed, he had to remain in the prison.

This was an explanation to the other states, and also a statement of Beirong’s stance.

Gongsun Xing’s eyes dimmed slightly.

How could he not understand that Yue Mingxuan was now being kept here as a scapegoat?

What made it even more infuriating was that he had no solution at all.

As the young master of Silver Needle Sect, he could not even protect a single person, this thought weighed heavily on his heart.

Seeing the dark look on Gongsun Xing’s face, Yue Mingxuan knew that he was feeling deeply unsettled.

He tried his best to sound relaxed as he spoke. “Actually, staying here isn’t so bad. There’s nothing to do, and meals are provided three times a day… I’ll just treat it as coming here to experience a different kind of life.”

Hearing Yue Mingxuan say this only made Gongsun Xing’s expression grow worse. He said, “I can more or less guess what’s going on with you. These people scheme against one another endlessly, and you were bound to get dragged into that vortex as well.”

Seeing how clearly Gongsun Xing understood the situation, Yue Mingxuan spoke without thinking. “That’s exactly why I’ve always wanted to escape from this place.”

The words had barely left his mouth when he regretted them, silently reproaching himself for being too quick to speak.

Gongsun Xing felt a jolt in his heart when he heard this, and it only made him feel that Yue Mingxuan was even more extraordinary.

Leaving aside his status as a prince, just the title of Flower God of the Four Nations was enough to make people across the world fight desperately for it.

And yet here he was, wanting to abandon everything and flee.

The rest of his life could very well become one of hardship because of this choice, or he might be hunted relentlessly by the Beirong royal family and forced to live in hiding forever, never able to step into the light again.

At this thought, Gongsun Xing lowered his voice. “Mingxuan, I need to know your reason for wanting to do this.”

Although such an idea was shocking and unconventional, it was not something he could not accept.

Yue Mingxuan pondered for a moment before saying, “Life is precious, love is more precious still, but for the sake of freedom, both can be cast aside. I don’t want to be any prince, nor do I want to be any Flower God. I only want to live out my life plainly and quietly, without being dragged into those chaotic and senseless disputes.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep