A strange feeling arose in Song Chaoyu's heart for some unknown reason.
If Tan Ye truly intended to kill the Consort, he wouldn't be saying such things now. Moreover, judging by his demeanor, he seemed genuinely unaware.
Evidently, Mu Changxi shared a similar sentiment.
He frowned slightly, casting a look of inquiry at Song Chaoyu.
Song Chaoyu nodded subtly, and Mu Changxi understood his meaning.
He stepped forward, staring at Tan Ye, and said, "Someone wants to kill her."
"What?!"
The last vestiges of Tan Ye's drunken haze seemed to vanish completely with Mu Changxi's words.
He stared intently at Mu Changxi, disbelief etched on his face, "Someone wants to kill her? Who? How is she now?!"
His anxious state did not appear to be feigned in the slightest.
Mu Changxi gazed into his eyes, searching for any flaw, but found none.
Song Chaoyu also stepped forward and asked Tan Ye, "Isn't it you?"
Tan Ye paused, then let out a bitter laugh, "How could it be me?"
He lowered his head, as if finally confronting his own inferiority at this age, "She is the Consort, and what am I? Even if I truly wanted to kill her, I would need the ability, wouldn't I? I don't think I could kill her."
"No."
Song Chaoyu shook his head at Tan Ye, "But you once said you would kill her. Because of her, your entire clan perished without survivors. Don't you hate her?"
"Hate."
Tan Ye nodded honestly, "I should say, I hated her intensely. But later, I learned that she wasn't responsible for that incident. She was also unaware, wasn't she? Besides... she has no reason to harm me. What could she gain from me?"
Regarding the past, Tan Ye seemed more clear-headed than anyone, "In the past, I lost too much and had no one to vent my anger on, which is why I said those things to Ashu. In truth, I knew that Ashu had nothing to do with any of it. Even without Ashu, even if I hadn't fallen in love with Ashu, it wouldn't have prevented those people from coveting the Tan family, would it?"
This Tan Ye not only surprised Song Chaoyu and Mu Changxi but also left Tan Xing in disbelief.
Tan Xing's eyes even held a look of astonished confusion as he stared at Tan Ye.
He murmured, "You know everything in your heart, yet you've pretended to be oblivious all these years. You are unfit to be a husband, let alone a father!"
For Tan Xing, perhaps this was the despair that made one feel even more powerless.
Song Chaoyu was almost certain that Tan Ye truly knew nothing about what had happened to the Consort!
Then, who could have harmed the Consort?
Song Chaoyu looked at Mu Changxi again, noticing his furrowed brow.
After all, Mu Changxi said to Tan Ye, "Then I can tell you now that he has been poisoned. And it's the 'Yuhan Poison' unique to your Tan family. As far as I know, you are probably the only remaining Tan family member who can still use the Yuhan Poison, aren't you?"
"No... How is this possible?!"
Upon hearing the words "Yuhan Poison," Tan Ye's body couldn't help but tremble.
Tan Xing also looked at Tan Ye and snorted, "The Yuhan Poison is a secret poison exclusive to the Tan family. You never even taught your own brother back then. The Tan clan is long gone, and now only you know the Yuhan Poison. Did you really not kill anyone?"
"I didn't! It wasn't me! This is impossible!"
Tan Ye shook his head repeatedly, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Tan Ye suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Mu Changxi's arm, "It's the Yuhan Poison, you haven't misidentified it, is it truly the Yuhan Poison?!"
"Yes."
Mu Changxi nodded slowly, "It is the Yuhan Poison. The Yuhan Poison, which only the Tan clan could produce, has reappeared in the world."
"How is this possible?!"
Tan Ye kept shaking his head, unwilling to believe it, "When the Tan clan was annihilated, the Yuhan Poison disappeared with them. No one could replicate the formula for the Yuhan Poison; it was a formula exclusive to the Tan clan! Moreover, a key ingredient in the Yuhan Poison is found only in the Taoyuan Territory. The entrance to that place has long been buried, and it's impossible for anyone to enter it!"
However, as he said this, a sudden shock flashed in Tan Ye's eyes.
Yes, even Song Chaoyu had the same thought, "So, if we go to the Taoyuan Territory now, we can find relevant evidence?"
"No! You can't go there, don't go there!"
His eyes were filled with extreme terror, "That place has turned into ruins, there's nothing left!"
"No!"
Seeing Tan Ye like this, Tan Xing couldn't help but step forward, pulling Tan Ye away from Mu Changxi, "No! Your expression is wrong! You must know something, right? You know where the Yuhan Poison came from, don't you?"
"Let go of me!"
However, a hint of fear appeared in Tan Ye's eyes, and he shook off Tan Xing's hand, "You're just a child, what do you understand?! Those people are not to be trifled with. You should all go back quickly! They are not to be trifled with!"
"What exactly is going on?"
This time, Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu finally understood.
He commanded Tan Ye, "Take us to the Taoyuan Territory. We want to know the truth. Or, tell us, who administered the Yuhan Poison?"
"It couldn't be him!"
Tan Ye kept shaking his head, even reaching out to grab his hair and squatting on the ground, in extreme pain, "It couldn't be him! What a sin, my life has truly been filled with sin! It couldn't be him, why would it be him?"
Clearly, in Tan Ye's heart, there was already a definite answer.
Anxiety also appeared in Mu Changxi's eyes.
At the same time, Tan Xing volunteered, nodding at Mu Changxi and Song Chaoyu, "Leave it to me, I'll make him talk."
Then he walked towards Tan Ye, his eyes revealing the hatred he had harbored for Tan Ye over the years, "Why aren't you telling the truth? Who are you protecting? Tan Ye, you're right, in this life, you've truly committed too many sins! You killed Mother, you killed Brother, you invited the wolf into the house. You deserve to be like this! The only thing you can do now is tell us the truth!"
He pulled Tan Ye up from the ground, "Perhaps only then can you atone even a little. On the road to the underworld, when you see Mother and Brother, you'll have something to explain!"
"Heh, hehe!"
Tan Ye suddenly laughed. He looked up at Tan Xing, his eyes filled with despair, "See your mother, see your brother? Little Xing, I have committed many sins in this life. Someone like me, am I still afraid to see your mother and your brother?"
"Then what about my mother?"
Mu Changxi also stared intently at Tan Ye, "Even now, you still deeply love my mother, don't you?"