Chapter 358: Doubting the Monarch

Chapter 358: Chapter 358: Doubting the Monarch

Shi Lan’s heart sank.

An incredible yet horrifyingly bold guess surfaced in her mind. Her feet froze in place, and she desperately grabbed Ye Ming’s hand as he was about to walk forward.

"Don’t... don’t go..."

Shi Lan’s throat was dry, and she struggled to force out the words.

"What’s wrong?"

Ye Ming stopped. After noticing something was wrong with Shi Lan, he immediately lowered his head to look at her intently. He saw that her face had turned a little pale, and the hand clutching his arm was unusually cold.

His eyes filled with worry. "Lanlan, what is it? Are you feeling unwell somewhere else? Dr. Ai didn’t inject you with some other random drug, did he?"

Shi Lan shook her head, took a deep breath, and tried her best to remain calm.

She glanced at the main hall, which was just ahead, then immediately pulled Ye Ming into his own palace next to it.

After a good while, Shi Lan finally managed to process her own guess. She organized her thoughts and said to him, "Ye Ming, you need to prepare yourself for this."

Hearing this, a chill ran down Ye Ming’s spine.

’Prepare for what?’

’Did Dr. Ai really inject Lanlan with some kind of strange drug? Something a check-up couldn’t detect, and now Lanlan has an incurable disease?’

In an instant, his face became even paler than Shi Lan’s, his lips drained of color. After a long moment, he managed to croak, "Okay."

’In any case, he was destined to have only Lanlan as his wife in this life. Even if Lanlan really did...’

’He would guard her ashes for the rest of his life. Once he fulfilled his duties as the heir, he would follow her.’

In that short span of time, Ye Ming had already planned out when he would die.

How could Shi Lan have known he would imagine so much? All she could see was the immense restraint in Ye Ming’s eyes. They were faintly bloodshot, and though not wet with tears, he looked as if he were on the verge of shattering.

She was at a loss for how to even begin.

She was afraid Ye Ming wouldn’t be able to handle the blow.

"Lanlan, just say it."

Seeing Shi Lan’s continued silence, Ye Ming’s thoughts grew even darker, but he still summoned the courage for her to say it.

’Maybe if she says it, there’s still a way to fix things.’

Seeing this, Shi Lan paused for a moment before finally revealing her suspicion. "It’s like this. Remember how I told you that after I was captured by Donald, I saw two mysterious people?"

"One of them was Dr. Ai. The other was also wearing a mask, just like Dr. Ai at the time. All I could tell was that he had black hair and green eyes."

"The other person... I, I think it was the Monarch."

Shi Lan got it all out in one breath. She truly felt much better after saying it.

To be honest, when she was imprisoned in the underground base, she had never suspected the Monarch. After all, as the Emperor of the Empire, why would he take the lead in committing such illegal and criminal acts?

Besides, she was the wife of the Monarch’s son, and the way that mysterious man looked at her was a bit strange.

It wasn’t until just now, after seeing Ye Ming’s eyes, that details she had previously overlooked began flooding her mind.

For instance, how the Monarch had unerringly gifted her a hairpin resembling Xiao Du at their first meeting, and how he hadn’t asked her to call him Father.

Of course, the real reason Shi Lan suspected the Monarch was because of Donald and Dr. Ai.

What kind of person could command a Prince’s subordinate?

And what kind of person would have the financial resources to build such a massive underground base and cultivate so many members of the Insect Clan?

Moreover, although her escape had been rushed, she could tell that some of the people in the underground base had the posture and movements of well-trained soldiers, cooperating with systematic efficiency.

In short, all of the above, combined with the fact that the Monarch also happened to have green eyes, led Shi Lan to this guess.

Ye Ming had thought Shi Lan was going to talk about herself; he had already tried his best to brace for impact. But the moment she opened her mouth, she dropped another heart-stopping, shocking piece of news.

He shook his head subconsciously, his eyes filled with panic. "Impossible. My father isn’t that kind of person."

Shi Lan understood his feelings, so she wasn’t annoyed by his firm denial. After all, no one would want to believe that the father they had always admired had suddenly become a villainous mastermind who had harmed their own wife.

She squeezed his hand tightly, giving it a reassuring pat. "Easy now, easy now."

Ye Ming’s reddened eyes looked to her for help as he gazed at her deeply. "Re-really?"

Although it was hard to believe, he also trusted Shi Lan.

When forced to choose between two people he deeply trusted, the scales in his heart would tip toward his wife. Besides, Shi Lan had no reason to lie to him about this.

Shi Lan had no proof either and could only say, "It’s just a guess, but I think the Monarch must have investigated me beforehand. Otherwise, why would he so coincidentally give me that little mushroom hairpin the first time we met? That little mushroom looks a lot like my spirit body."

However, her Xiao Du now had a green sprout on its head and vines growing from its body, while the Monarch’s gift was a simple mushroom carved from green jade.

It was just that green mushrooms weren’t a common sight on the Capital Star. She hadn’t thought much of it then, but in retrospect, it was far too much of a coincidence.

Ye Ming silently held her hand, his thoughts unreadable. After a good while, he said, "Okay, Lanlan. In that case, don’t tell my father yet. I’ll take my own men to that place you mentioned right now."

"Okay."

Shi Lan thought so too. As long as she was suspicious, it was best to avoid the Monarch.

She still didn’t dare to tell Ye Ming about the way the Monarch looked at her, mainly because she wasn’t even certain the mysterious man was him.

Ye Ming immediately sent a message to Leo, telling him to capture Dr. Ai as soon as possible.

He refused to believe that everyone in his research institute had betrayed him. He called two other trusted individuals to join Leo, and then he started organizing his own subordinates.

Leo was surprised by the message. He’d actually guessed that Dr. Ai had done something and that His Highness suspected him but lacked proof, which was why he had been assigned to watch him.

He hadn’t expected that only a few hours later, His Highness would change his mind and order an immediate capture.

Although Leo didn’t understand what His Highness could have discovered in the interim, he still obediently followed the order, charging into Dr. Ai’s office and then into his private lounge with the other two men.

He had personally seen Dr. Ai return to the lounge to sleep and had even heard footsteps from inside in the time since.

But after searching Dr. Ai’s lounge again, thoroughly this time, Leo couldn’t find any sign of him.

Even though he hadn’t dared to blink, his ears constantly trained on any movement outside, Dr. Ai had just vanished from inside the room??

Not only that, Dr. Ai’s office was significantly emptier. It looked like he had packed his bags and fled!!

Leo’s face fell. He found the research lab’s surveillance footage and checked it again, meticulously. He was able to confirm with absolute certainty that Dr. Ai had never exited the room; his figure was nowhere to be seen in the lab hallway from beginning to end.

And now, the man had simply vanished!

He quickly reported this to Ye Ming.