The Side Character Wants to Lie Flat-Chapter 105: Wait and See

Li Ji spoke in a leisurely tone.

"I’ve already had Wang Bei investigate. Based on the clues we’ve found so far, the primary suspect is Li Zhaoyuan."

Hua Manman was stunned.

She clearly hadn’t expected Li Zhaoyuan to be involved.

Li Ji slowly recounted the clues from the investigation.

"Hua Jieyu fainted because she smelled the incense in her room.

Wang Bei carefully examined the incense burner in the room and found a trace of residual ash at the very bottom.

That ash comes from an extremely rare and precious incense called Mandala.

It’s very effective for treating insomnia, but an overdose will induce a coma.

Ten years ago, Mandala was among the tributes presented to the Great Zhou by Loulan of the Western Regions.

At that time, Lady Li was still quite favored, so the Saint gave a portion of the Mandala to her."

Hua Manman asked, "So you’re saying that within the entire Imperial Palace, only Li Zhaoyuan has Mandala?"

But Li Ji said, "Not exactly. I have some as well."

Hua Manman was stunned again.

This time, Li Ji didn’t keep her in suspense, explaining,

"I have suffered from insomnia for the past few years. After the Saint learned of this, he specially gifted all the remaining Mandala in the palace to me.

But I’ve never used it. The Mandala is still sealed away in the Prince Mansion’s storehouse."

’This is getting more and more complicated,’ Hua Manman thought. ’My poor brain can barely keep up.’

Li Ji said with a grin.

"Perhaps I was the one who ordered someone to drug your sister and send her to the Emperor’s bed."

Hua Manman denied it without a second thought.

"Impossible. You wouldn’t do such a thing. There’s no benefit to you in doing so."

But Li Ji said, "I have a peculiar temperament. I never care if there’s a benefit to my actions, only whether they please me.

For me, seeing others suffer brings me great joy."

Hua Manman was speechless.

Still, she shook her head, convinced that Prince Zhao could not have been responsible.

Li Ji looked into her eyes and heard no other voice in her mind.

In other words, she was speaking her true thoughts.

She truly, unshakably believed in him.

Li Ji’s gaze upon her grew deeper, more intense.

"Only I and Li Zhaoyuan have Mandala. If you are certain I am not the mastermind, then the only remaining suspect is Li Zhaoyuan."

Hua Manman still shook her head. "It couldn’t be her."

Li Ji asked with great interest.

"Why couldn’t it be her?"

Hua Manman explained, "You could tell from Li Zhaoyuan’s reaction yesterday. She was incredibly jealous about my sister ending up in the Emperor’s bed. She was even willing to harm my sister over it.

A woman as narrow-minded as her would never send another woman to the Emperor’s bed."

Li Ji said, "Perhaps that was just a facade she put on to create a smokescreen and clear her name."

Hua Manman analyzed the situation seriously.

"If she really wanted to avoid suspicion, she wouldn’t have used an extremely rare incense like Mandala in the first place.

There are many ways to drug someone, yet she chose the one method that would most easily expose her.

It defies all logic."

Li Ji raised an eyebrow. "According to you, could it be that someone is deliberately using Mandala to frame Li Zhaoyuan?"

Hua Manman hesitated.

’It looks like the mastermind is trying to frame Li Zhaoyuan,’ she thought, ’but the real target is actually Prince Zhao.’

’Everyone in the palace knows what kind of woman Li Zhaoyuan is; she’s not capable of drugging another woman and sending her to the Emperor’s bed.’

’It’s one or the other.’

’Once the suspicion on Li Zhaoyuan is reduced, the suspicion on Prince Zhao will skyrocket.’

Li Ji heard her inner thoughts and said with a grin.

"Say whatever you’re thinking. There’s no need to hide anything from me."

After a moment’s hesitation, Hua Manman voiced her suspicions.

She was very worried. "The Saint will surely investigate this thoroughly. Do you think he’ll suspect you?"

Even if the Emperor doted on Prince Zhao, he wouldn’t tolerate the prince plotting against him. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Once the Emperor grew suspicious of Prince Zhao, life would surely become very difficult for him.

But Li Ji, acting as if he hadn’t a care in the world, said leisurely,

"Who knows? The Saint’s mind is profound; it’s not for ordinary people to fathom."

’Hua Manman wanted to urge Prince Zhao to explain himself to the Emperor, but on second thought, she realized the whole affair was a confusing mess. It was better if he said nothing; trying to explain would likely only make him look guiltier.’

’It was better to let things take their course and see what happened.’

So she kept her mouth shut and went back to enjoying her breakfast.

Meanwhile, the Emperor had also discovered the involvement of the Mandala.

Suspicion was now focused on Li Zhaoyuan and Prince Zhao.

After listening to his subordinate’s report, the Emperor showed little reaction.

He looked at Hua Jieyu, who was kneeling beside him, and asked leisurely.

"Who do you think it was that set this trap for you, Li Zhaoyuan or Prince Zhao?"

Hua Qingqing raised her hands, and her wide sleeves slid down, revealing a small section of her slender, snow-white wrists.

She placed the refreshments brought by the maid on the table and said softly.

"If you ask me, I don’t think it was either of them."

The Emperor seemed to have become interested and asked with a smile, "What makes you say that?"

Hua Qingqing replied, "Because the clues are too obvious, they almost seem deliberate."

A look of appreciation appeared in the Emperor’s eyes.

’He liked intelligent women, especially those who were both intelligent and beautiful.’

’Coincidentally, Hua Qingqing was both.’

The Emperor asked, "Then who do you think was behind this?"

Faced with the monarch’s question, Hua Qingqing was a little nervous, but she still explained her analysis in full detail.

"Originally, I thought that person was targeting me.

But now that the Mandala has been found, I can be sure that person was not targeting me.

His real targets were actually Your Majesty and Prince Zhao.

He wants to sow discord and create a rift between Prince Zhao and Your Majesty."

The Emperor asked again, "Even if a conflict arose between myself and Prince Zhao, what benefit would that person gain?"

This time, Hua Qingqing couldn’t answer.

She blushed and said shyly.

"I am too slow-witted to figure out the reason."

The Emperor smiled faintly. His large hand gently caressed her delicate, beautiful cheek as he spoke in a warm voice.

"If you can’t figure it out, then don’t."

’He had originally suspected Hua Qingqing, thinking she had staged the whole thing herself.’

’But now that the Mandala had been discovered...’

’...all suspicion had been cleared from her name.’

’Mandala was not something an ordinary person could obtain. Given Hua Qingqing’s status and position, it would have been impossible for her to acquire it.’

’She, like him, had fallen into someone else’s trap.’

This shared circumstance made the Emperor feel a bit more pity for Hua Qingqing.

The Emperor said, "You’re all alone here in Yuqing Palace, and you don’t know many people. If you get bored, you can go see your younger sister. She happens to be injured, so you can go visit her."

A moved expression appeared on Hua Qingqing’s face. "Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty."

That afternoon, Hua Qingqing went to visit Hua Manman.

Prince Zhao sat nearby, staring at them with an unfriendly gaze.

Hua Qingqing was completely unfazed.

She was visiting her younger sister under imperial orders this time. Not even Prince Zhao could send her away.

...

Happy New Year, everyone!

It’s the New Year today, so please allow Guoli [the author] to be a little lazy. There’s only one Chapter for today.

Hides face and scurries away~