The Elegant Dancing Years By Huo Li (火狸) | BL

Chapter 34 | Interrogation

"Emotional lure[1]." An Ruolan whispered these two words.

[1] She said 情牵 (qíng qiān) which literally translates to Love/Emotional/Affection Pull. The only word I could think of that made sense here is aphrodisiac but it isn't fully correct because of reasons you'll understand after reading further.

Just after listening to its name, everyone understood the effect of this medicine. Just when Qi Mingyue wanted to make fun of his Father, Ying Ran walked in. She solemnly said to Qi Xutian, "Your Majesty, this servant has seen it. Shadow Five was indeed poisoned but I have already resolved it for him. Fortunately, the poisoning wasn't deep and there was still time to cure it. This poison... has the same origin as the 'Emotional lure' I just heard."

In other words, the one who murdered the guards and let An Ruolan enter the Xuantian Palace was also the one who gave her the poisonous drug. But Ying Ran looked so serious, there seemed to be some other reasons.

Qi Mingyue had a thought in his mind and asked her, "Ying Ran knows what poison was put in the pastries?"

Yingran replied with certainty, "Soul lure[2]. If it is supplemented with Luo Tong, it can cause death in an instant. If there is no Luo Tong, long-term use can make people muddle-headed and lose their mind."

[2] She said 引魂 (yîn hún) which translates to 'lead the soul'. It can be understood as "lure/induce the soul" or simply soul lure.

An Ruolan heard her words and rushed towards Ying Ran. She shouted fiercely, "No, it's not! It's just Emotional Lure, it can only make people more emotional, how can it be deadly? Impossible! He said it was an emotional lure!"

Ying Ran looked at her coldly, "Emotional Lure is colourless and tasteless and it has the effect of stimulating lust. But if there is no love in the heart, how can it induce lust? If you are under the impression that it would make someone love you and induce lust, you're mistaken. It wouldn't work no matter who you give it to. He lied to you, there was Soul Lure in the pastries."

As soon as Ying Ran's words came out, An Ruolan stumbled back a few steps and fell on the bed. She shook her head and murmured to herself in disbelief, "Why did he deceive me? Why did he want me to murder His Majesty? He helped me. He wanted to help me save my life, so he taught me to do this. Was all of that a lie?"

She didn't believe that Ziqi - who entered the palace and became a concubine just for her, her Ziqi ge who accompanied her when she was a child - would actually hurt her so much.

"Let Mingyue guess. Whether it was poisoning me or the pastries, Han Ziqi taught you, but does consort mother know that both need Luo Tong as a guide?" At this time, he still called her 'consort mother', it wasn't known whether he did it to mock her or not, but Qi Xutian was displeased. The hand resting on his waist pinched lightly, although it didn't hurt, it still made Qi Mingyue stiffen. His Father was too--

Qi Xutian's eyes were slightly, almost imperceptibly, tinged with a smile. Where was MingEr's body sensitive? He was very clear about it.

On the other side, An Ruolan, who had just calmed down from the shock, listened to his question and looked surprised. "Luo Tong flower?" After a while, she replied stiffly, "How do you know? What if I don't know?" She didn't feel any guilt towards this strange star and naturally didn't have to give him a good face.

Seeing that she still seemed to be protecting Han Ziqi, Qi Mingyue shook his head. "Consort mother turned out to be so naive. You should know where there are Luo Tong flowers in the palace?" Seeing her contemplative expression, he continued, "Luo Tong is a rare item. Only the Empress' pavilion in the entire palace has them in full bloom. Ranxin Pavilion isn't far from you. If other people came to know that Father was poisoned and the poison is Luo Tong, whom do you think they will doubt? You, who frequently comes and goes to the Imperial Study to see him or the Empress who is not even allowed to leave her room?"