Poison and Secrets

"Master… these are the clothes that you need to wear tomorrow." Gregory gestured the group of servants to come inside Li Qiang's quarters. Each of them was holding some sort of fabric with different colors. He wondered if these people wanted him to look like a clown. "The king's servants delivered this so you can wear it to the event."

"Hmmm…" Li Qiang nodded while sipping his tea on his right. On his left hand was a book about philosophy and life. "When will he see me?" He purposely turned the book around, letting everyone see the title of the book that he was reading.

"Tonight. He will wait for you in the palace."

"All right. You can leave now." When Li Qiang sensed that Gregory is not moving, he raised his head and looked at him. "Why are you still here?"

"The… The Xi Clan's gifts just arrived. Would you like me to bring them here?"

"No. Give it to the soldiers."

"But… Master those women—"

"Are my gifts." Li Qiang finished his sentence. "I get to decide what I do with them." The Xi Clan are one of the few people Li Qiang had threatened before. The only reason why Li Qiang did not have them killed before was that they promised to give him anything that he wanted. The fact that the previous Li Qiang asked for an endless supply of women every time that he visits the capital made him want to puke his guts out. His face contorted at the thought of it. What a filthy man, he thought inwardly.

"Tell them to give me books instead." Li Qiang said after a few seconds of silence. "I am a changed man."

His words made Butler Gregory froze. He stood there like a statue as he looked at Li Qiang, gauging the seriousness of his words. "B — Books?" He inquired. "I think I did not hear…"

"You are right. Books. I want to read." Li Qiang said. "As I said… I am a changed man. I no longer require the services of women. I want books. Hundreds of books."

"What kind of books?"

"Anything. History, Math, Geography, Magic. I want to study." Li Qiang lifted his chin as he looked at the butler with pride. Inside, Li Qiang was cursing furiously. How could he lower himself like this? How could he act like a fool just to fool everyone around him?

He was weak.

The sentence left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was weak, and that was the reason why he was doing this. He was weak, he uttered inwardly. But not for long.

"Then — Then I will inform them of this matter." Butler Gregory immediately excused himself and left Li Qiang alone. He closed the doors behind him and immediately asked someone to deliver Li Qiang's orders to the Xi Family. He then went into his own quarter, he needed to tell the king of this new discovery.

"Tell him, the poison is showing its effects." The butler whispered at the man behind him. "The Duke is becoming crazy." His eyes were glued to the large painting in front of him.

"Are you certain?" the deep voice made the butler flinched. "Did you see it with your own eyes?"

He nodded in response. "All throughout the journey, he was reading books, diaries, and even staring at maps. He claimed that he is already a changed man. Yet… his actions were different. He is acting like an infant. Always asking questions to the maids. He did not even recognize some of the food that we served him. He was acting like a child. His preferences changed too. He wanted to eat various dishes and started drinking the cheapest wine."

"Good." The voice responded. "Can you confirm that he is not a threat to the king anymore?"

"Of course, he is not. He was never a threat to the king. He did not have magic or knowledge. Moreover, the poison would only make his brains shrink as time passed by. He would soon lose some of his memories, then his senses. After that… it would not take too long for him to die." The butler answered as he continued to stare at the painting. His neck was as still as a concrete post. He could not just turn around and look at the speaker. In fact, the butler does not have any idea what the speaker looked like.

It was always like this. The king gave him an order not to turn around. He told him not to look at the faces of his men or he will regret it.

"How about the women?"

"He already sent them out of the mansion. Their families are already furious. All the nobles hated the Duke right now. There Is no way that he could have some supporters. I can assure you… The Duke is not a threat to the King."

"Good. Very Good. Asked your knight to contact me if there is any progress."

A loud thud echoed inside his room, followed by the sound of his curtains fluttering. He immediately turned around and looked at the pouch on the table. It was his gold, his payment. He beamed and immediately closed the window that the man had opened when he left his room.

He then put the pouch on his secret vault.

Unbeknownst to them… the poison that they were talking about was already out of Li Qiang's system.

...........

Li Qiang narrowed his gaze at the glass flask in his hands. He held it against the fire and slowly shake the purple sticky liquid inside. "So this is a poison." He uttered to himself as he recalled the moment that he realized that this poison was in Li Qiang's body.

It was after his first meditation. After realizing that he can use Qi to enhance his body, he immediately used it to cleanse his blood. According to the books, he should have felt a lot of pain. He should have fainted, then woke up in a pool of dirty oil and other impurities from his body. Of course, this did not happen. Instead, his body released a fragrant purple sweat.

It took him days to finally get it out of his system. Li Qiang stared at the liquid and sigh. After reading a lot of books, he does not have any idea what kind of poison is this. Li Qiang shook his head and decide to hide the liquid. He then closed his windows as he started meditating. Tonight, he will talk to his brother and use his acting prowess to convince him that he had lost his sanity.

This is the only way to prevent the king from sending another assassin to kill him. This is the only way…

For now.

....

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