Yun Lintian was slightly surprised to see Zhou Ling'er bow her head. She was a dignified second princess, after all. It seemed she cared a lot about her mother. Otherwise, she wouldn't easily let go of her dignity like this.
Yun Lintian waved his hand and said. "This is a small matter. Please get up."
Zhou Ling'er straightened her body and said softly. "It might be a small matter to you, but it could change my mother's fate. No matter what happens in the future, Ling'er will definitely repay this gratitude."
"Alright." Yun Lintian didn't insist on this topic further. "I believe Second Princess is aware of what's coming next. While Zhou Junyi doesn't know that you got another pill, it's easy for him to guess it."
"Moreover, as long as the enemy continues to hide in the dark, your esteemed mother will always be in danger. Next time, they might come with a more ruthless mean."
Yun Lintian paused briefly and handed another box of the Soul Rejuvenating Pills to Zhou Ling'er. "Save this for the emergency. This is all I can do for you."
Zhou Ling'er grabbed the box tightly and said solemnly. "Thank you. I am fully aware of it. In fact, I have already gotten some clues about the enemy."
Ximen Wu was surprised and hurriedly asked. "Who is it, cousin?"
Zhou Ling'er glanced at Qin Mei and hesitated slightly.
"I can leave if you want." Qin Mei said with a faint smile.
Zhou Ling'er hurriedly said. "No, Fairy Qin. I didn't mean it."
She took a deep breath and said further. "The suspect is the National Teacher."
"What!?" Ximen Wu and Mu Qing were shocked.
The National Teacher, Zhao Shuimu, was the closest friend of the current Great Zhou Emperor. Everyone knew him for his righteous and benevolent personality. In the past, he would often preach to people for free.
It was hard to believe that someone like him had poisoned his friend's concubine.
"Are you sure, cousin?" Ximen Wu asked with a frown.
Zhou Ling'er said calmly. "Back then, my mother happened to see a strange man secretly enter the National Teacher's residence. She said that she had never seen this person before. And two days later, she was poisoned."
"But this doesn't seem to prove anything, right?" Ximen Wu frowned.
"Indeed," Zhou Ling'er didn't deny it. "However, a few days later, Father Emperor had invited a spirit doctor called Yao An over to see mother. He later said the National Teacher recommended this person to him."
"When my mother saw this Yao An, she immediately recognized him. He was the stranger who entered the National Teacher's residence that night."
Ximen Wu and Mu Qing were shocked. Without a doubt, this person was highly suspicious.
"My mother's condition has never improved since then." Zhou Ling'er said with a hint of anger in her eyes. It was as if she was certain that Yao An and Zhou Shuimu were the culprits.
"His name really is Yao An?" Qin Mei suddenly asked. "Well, I happened to know a swindle with the same name as his. This person always pretended to be a doctor, but in fact, he was collecting a woman's Yin essence."
The expressions of Zhou Ling'er and the others changed drastically upon hearing this.
"As for this, Zhao Shuimu. If I remember correctly, he is a disciple of the Fortune Gate that is proficient in divination art. This Fortune Gate is not a good thing, either. They always calculate people's fate to snatch their opportunities." Qin Mei said with a disdainful smile.
Zhou Ling'er's expression turned heavier. Her speculation was likely to be true now. If it was the case, not only her mother was in danger but also the entire Zhou Royal Clan.
Yun Lintian said in surprise. "So strong?"
Qin Mei curled her lips. "There are many divination arts out there, and some of them are specially made for this purpose… In the past, the Great Zhou Kingdom wasn't much inferior to the Great Xia Dynasty. However, it later constantly declined for some reason."
She turned to look at Zhou Ling'er with a meaningful smile. "As a royal descendant, you should know more about this than me."
Zhou Ling'er nodded heavily. "After Grandpa passed away, we couldn't produce another Divine Sovereign since. It has been like this for more than a thousand years."
She looked at Qin Mei and asked. "Fairy Qin means…?"
Qin Mei chuckled. "What else? Obviously, someone has manipulated this kingdom behind the scene. And to deal with the Great Zhou Kingdom thoroughly, the strong clans like the Ximen Clan and the Ye Clan needed to be cleaned up. I guess this is the reason they poisoned your mother."
"Once Concubine Ximen died, the connection between the Zhou Royal Clan and the Ximen Clan would be weakened and possibly turned against each other." Yun Lintian added.
Qin Mei smiled and said nothing.
"What a great scheme!" Ximen Wu's face turned gloomy.
The atmosphere in the room became heavy. Zhou Ling'er and the others felt as if there were gloomy clouds hovering above their heads, making them unable to see the sky clearly.
Yun Lintian thought momentarily and took a few divine-rank pills out before handing them to Ximen Wu. "Give these to Uncle Ximen. I can only help your clan this much."
Ximen Wu didn't refuse it, as he knew how important these pills were for his clan. "Thank you, Brother Lin. If we could survive this calamity, we would definitely repay this debt of gratitude."
Yun Lintian waved his hand dismissively. "Don't talk about repaying gratitude all day long. I have a small suggestion here."
"Please tell us," Ximen Wu quickly said.
"If there's no mistake, I will leave in a few days. Once I'm gone, Brother Ximen can visit President Zhi often. I'll tell him about it beforehand. During this period, you can also take the pills I gave you today out one after another. The goal is to create an illusion that you have a good relationship with the association," Yun Lintian explained.
"The enemies will definitely be more wary and don't dare to act rashly after knowing this. Although it's not a solution, it should be able to buy your clan some time."
Yun Lintian turned to Zhou Ling'er and said. "Second Princess should also visit President Zhi during this period before feeding the pill to your mother."
Zhou Ling'er's eyes shone with a glimmer of hope. "I understand."
Yun Lintian smiled and said. "All of you should leave first. Some people are waiting for me outside. I will handle them myself."