On her wedding night, she went into exile with her pharmacy arsenal

In the small Buddhist shrine in the back courtyard of Shi Mao's house, the smoke of sandalwood swirled and lingered, casting a faint misty shadow in the dim candlelight.

Shi Mao knelt on the prayer mat, his back slightly bent, holding a string of sandalwood prayer beads in his hand, and chanting scriptures softly.

The pharmacy closed later than usual today, and he felt as if a stone was pressing on his heart, making him feel uneasy. Even entering this small Buddhist hall, he found no peace of mind.

The small Buddhist shrine contained only a three-foot-tall jade Buddha statue. Fresh fruit was offered in front of the Buddha, and the flickering flames of two tallow candles illuminated the gentle features of the jade Buddha.

As he chanted the sutras, his eyelids gradually grew heavy, and before he knew it, he felt a bit sleepy.

The prayer beads slowed down, and he nearly fell over, his head bobbing slightly.

When he snapped back to his senses, he blinked his sore eyes. Once his vision cleared, he subconsciously looked up at the jade Buddha. That one glance sent a chill down his spine.

The jade Buddha, which originally had lowered eyes and a kind face, has changed its appearance at some point!

His brows furrowed sharply, his eyes widened, the corners of his eyes seemed to be filled with anger, and the corners of his mouth turned down, as if he were furious, or as if he was enduring great pain, revealing a bit of ferocity.

Shi Mao's body froze instantly, as if he were nailed to the prayer mat. The next second, he couldn't help but fall backward, and his prayer beads fell to the ground.

"It's not my fault, it's not my fault..." Shi Mao collapsed to the ground, his hands and feet were cold, his lips trembling, repeating the same thing over and over again.

"The employer made me do it, I had no choice, it's not my fault..."

Before he could finish speaking, a gust of cold wind suddenly slipped in through the cracks in the window of the Buddhist hall, carrying the night air from outside, and with a loud "bang," it blew open the half-closed wooden door of the Buddhist hall.

The candlelight flickered violently in the wind, the flame shrinking into a ball, and the light and shadow in the Buddhist hall instantly became flickering.

Two tall, dark figures walked in through the open door, their black robes trailing on the ground, damp with the coolness of the night dew.

As soon as they stepped inside, the wooden door was slammed shut by a sudden gust of wind, making a dull thud.

The candlelight still flickered, illuminating the faces of the two people who entered. They had blue faces and fangs, deep-set eyes, and a pair of eyes that shone with a cold, eerie light, making them quite terrifying.

Looking at those two faces, Shi Mao felt the hairs on his body stand on end, his teeth chattering and making soft "clucking" sounds.

He tried to shrink back, but his back was pressed against the leg of the altar table in the Buddhist hall, leaving him nowhere to retreat. He could only watch as the two dark figures approached step by step.

The dark figure on the left stopped, his voice icy, as if pulled from an ice cellar: "Are you Shi Mao?"

The voice carried an invisible pressure, and Shi Mao was so frightened that he didn't even have the strength to think.

He nodded subconsciously, forcing out a dry, hoarse word: "It's...it's me..."

The shadowy figure on the right raised his hand and pulled out a yellowed booklet from his pocket. He opened it, and the words on the booklet were an eerie dark red, like dried blood, which looked particularly chilling in the candlelight.

He flipped through a few pages, then looked up, his cold gaze locking onto Shi Mao, his tone full of accusation: "Shi Mao, tell me the truth, what evil deeds did you commit in this world?"

Shi Mao felt as if an invisible hand was gripping his heart, and he shook his head violently: "I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't..."

I'm just a doctor, practicing medicine at the He family's pharmacy, saving lives and healing the wounded, and I've never harmed anyone!

He verbally denied it, but inside he was panicking terribly.

The fact that pregnant women were being secretly given medication with added substances was suffocating him.

But he dared not admit it, fearing that if he did, he would suffer an irreversible fate.

Neither of the two figures spoke upon hearing this; they simply stared at him coldly.

A moment later, the dark figure on the left raised his hand and waved it towards the door.

The wooden door of the Buddhist hall was smashed open by a tremendous force, and something was thrown in, crashing onto the blue brick floor, rolling a few times, and stopping at Shi Mao's feet.

Shi Mao's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He looked down for a closer look, and what he saw made his soul almost fly away!

That's a person!

A person covered in blood!

The man's chest heaved weakly, his clothes were soaked in blood, his face was covered in blood and dust, and his hair was disheveled.

Shi Mao forced himself to calm down and took a closer look by the flickering candlelight.

He recognized that face all too well—it was Wang Liu, the shop assistant at the He family's pharmacy!

How did Wang Liu end up like this?

He was covered in blood, as if he had suffered a very serious injury. Could it be... could it be that everything he did had been discovered?

Fear instantly overwhelmed Shi Mao's reason. He wanted to open his mouth and scream, to call for help, but his throat felt as if something was blocking it, and he couldn't make a sound.

He felt a sudden darkness before his eyes, a buzzing sound in his head, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.

Seeing Shi Mao lying unconscious on the ground, the two grotesque figures with blue faces and fangs exchanged a glance and lowered their voices.

"What a coward! We hadn't even exchanged a few words, and he'd already passed out before we even had a proper interrogation." The shadowy figure on the left curled his lip, looking rather helpless.

The shadowy figure on the right sighed, pulled off the mask, revealing a handsome face underneath.

He was both amused and exasperated: "Who would have thought that the doctor at the He family's pharmacy would be such a coward? All our efforts in putting on this show have been for nothing."

Princess Mingzhao walked in from outside the door, her brows furrowed with coldness. Her gaze first swept over Shi Mao, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and then fell on the jade Buddha.

She couldn't help but sneer and mock: "After doing something wrong, you hide in this Buddhist hall chanting scriptures and praying to Buddha, thinking that you can erase the sins you have committed."

"That would make Buddha forgive him? How laughable!"

She turned to Mu Chen beside her and said calmly, "Wake him up. I have some questions to ask him."

Upon hearing this, Mu Chen raised his hand to reach for the medicine bottle at his waist, a medicine to wake Shi Mao from unconsciousness. He only needed to wave it under Shi Mao's nose to make him wake up.

But Mingzhao stopped him as soon as his hand touched the medicine bottle.

"What medicine?" Mingzhao's voice remained indifferent. "Wake me up with a slap."

Mu Chen paused, bowed, and replied, "Your subordinate obeys."

Upon hearing this, the two "ghost messengers" exchanged a glance, secretly thinking that the princess's decisive and efficient manner was becoming more and more like their own queen.

Outside Chongzhou City, several fast horses galloped towards them.

At this hour, the city gates were already tightly closed.

The lights on the city gate tower were dim, and several soldiers stood guard there, holding long spears, their eyes warily fixed on the city below.

Yin Ding reined in his horse and looked up at the tightly closed city gate.

"Your Highness, Your Highness, the city gates are closed. According to the rules, they will not open until dawn."

If we want to get into the city, we should find a place with fewer guards, use a grappling hook to scale the walls, and slip in unnoticed.

They could easily climb over the city wall by swinging ropes up the wall and using the momentum. It wasn't a difficult task for them.

Upon hearing this, Yan Ruyu shook her head and looked back at the old woman she had saved.

She sat on the horse, her face still pale. The bumpy ride had left her exhausted, and she was just barely holding on.

“We can breach the city walls, but she can’t,” Yan Ruyu whispered.

Huo Changhe nodded and added, "Ruyu is right."

At this moment, Su Shengsheng, who was behind, moved forward a little.

Her eyes lit up: "I have an idea, take a look at this."