The Legend of Zhen Huan: Year after year, we share the spring breeze

In the light of the sky, the night spreads out like ink.

An Lingrong, her hair loose and wearing only a thin undershirt, stood on the second-floor terrace. The gentle drizzle wove a hazy web in the night, making a subtle yet dense sound.

Her gaze was quietly cast towards the Houhu Lake shrouded in darkness.

At this moment, everything was silent. The thick darkness ahead was like an endless abyss, swallowing up all the light and color, making it difficult to see anything clearly.

She could feel it—something was wrong.

But where has the situation reached?

No way to know.

She is not afraid of the harsh winds and frosts in front of her, but only afraid of unknown dangers.

She turned around and went back to the inner hall, came to the dressing table, took out a brocade box from the secret compartment at the bottom, and opened the lid.

A thumb-sized celadon bottle lay quietly in the box, next to it was an exquisite glass syringe.

The porcelain bottle contained the pufferfish toxin that Wei Lin had painstakingly found.

Once this poison enters the body, it can block the blood vessels in a moment, causing a person to die suddenly like a cardiac arrest. Even the most skilled doctors will only diagnose it as "sudden death" and will not be able to find any clues.

A cold light flashed in An Lingrong's eyes. She turned around and saw Shen Meizhuang standing behind her.

She quickly closed the lid, put away the murderous intent in her body, and said with a smile: "Sister, why are you awake?"

Shen Meizhuang slowly stepped forward and opened the brocade box again. Her voice was so low that it was almost swallowed by the sound of rain. "Has it come to this?"

An Lingrong grasped her cold hand, and a slight tremor could be felt where their palms touched.

She poured all her strength into the intertwined fingers: "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

"I'm not afraid—" Shen Meizhuang suddenly choked up, two tears rolling down, leaving dark stains on her moon-white nightgown. "I'm just…" She turned her face away abruptly, a whimper like a small animal escaping her throat. "I'm just worried about you."

An Lingrong bit her tongue tightly, suppressing the tears that surged in her eyes: "Sister, our good days are still to come."

Amidst the rain, the sound of drums rose higher and higher.

Shen Meizhuang suddenly pulled her into her arms. As their breathing intertwined, they could hear each other's heartbeats like drums.

When I woke up the next day, the sky was still terrifyingly gloomy.

The rainstorm did not stop, but became more violent. The strong wind carried the rain whips that lashed the window frames, making a heart-pounding crackling sound.

Houhu Lake is no longer as calm as it was yesterday. Turbid waves hit the shore one after another, splashing pale white foam.

The originally graceful lotus swayed violently in the strong wind, its delicate petals were torn to pieces, and the broken green leaves rolled up and sank into the water, then floated up with the waves.

An Lingrong closed her eyes slightly, sat cross-legged on the soft couch, placed her hands in a mudra under her navel to form an energy loop, and tried to adjust her breathing rhythm.

Soon, Xiao Shi hurriedly ran up to the second floor. Without even the time to greet him, he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, news just came from the Forbidden City that Concubine Duan... died suddenly!"

An Lingrong suddenly opened her eyes: "When did this happen?"

"Just this morning..." Xiao Shiyi lowered his voice, "It was said that he had a sudden heart attack. Doctor Wei got the news and immediately sent someone to tell the queen."

An Lingrong closed her eyes again.

The things that happened during these days are arranged one by one to form a complete story logic.

This Qi Yuebin is really calculating!

She hated Yongzheng so much, but she didn't dare to take action herself. She used Princess Wen Yi to tear off the emperor's disguise and let him see that the women in the harem had been deceiving him in various ways.

For Yongzheng, anyone who knows too many secrets and dares to deceive the emperor must not be allowed to continue to survive in this world.

They had too many things that could not be exposed to Yongzheng's eyes. Regardless of whether he could find evidence or not, they would be the first to bear the brunt.

That's why Qi Yuebin gave her the seal in advance.

This is equivalent to telling her clearly: Go ahead and rebel!

Kill someone with someone else's knife, not hesitating to sacrifice one's own life.

After figuring out the whole story, An Lingrong became much calmer.

She looked around but didn't see Shen Meizhuang.

"Where's my sister?"

Ju Qing replied, "The Queen went out in the rain before dawn and told you not to worry, she would be back soon."

Going out in this weather?

Upon hearing this, An Lingrong frowned slightly and looked towards the gate, feeling a little uneasy.

Half an hour later, a familiar figure finally appeared in the rain.

She hurried forward.

Shen Meizhuang's clothes were almost soaked, and water droplets kept dripping from her hair, gathering into a puddle on the ground along the corners of her clothes.

Juqing hurriedly helped her bathe and change clothes.

After they had finished packing, An Lingrong asked, "Sister, where have you been?"

"I went to see my father! He gave me this." Shen Meizhuang took out a yellow cloth bag. After untying it, there was a fist-sized gold seal with a tortoise shell and a few words engraved on the bottom: Seal of the Nine Gates Admiral.

An Lingrong gasped when she saw the golden seal: "Sister, this is..."

"With this, we can mobilize the troops of the nine gates of the capital." Shen Meizhuang said calmly, "I have already given the seal that Qi Yuebin gave you last time to Huan'er. She will use the Queen's Golden Seal to replace the guards around the emperor with the two of them in the next few days."

After saying this, Shen Meizhuang's eyes flashed with a desperate determination, "Rong'er, can this increase our chances of winning?"

This is the path Qi Yuebin wants them to take.

But if he really took this path, Hongxu would be like Yongzheng in the future, questioned by the world for his illegitimate position and subjected to criticism and accusations.

An Lingrong didn't answer, but turned to look out the window. The rain was getting heavier.

She walked slowly to the dressing table and took out the porcelain bottle and syringe.

Then remove the soft stopper of the porcelain bottle, put the needle in, hold the syringe tube with your index and middle fingers, push back with your thumb, and the transparent liquid will slowly rise in the glass tube.

An Lingrong's movements were extremely graceful, as if she was not preparing a deadly poison, but mixing the most exquisite rouge.

After absorbing the toxin, cover the needle with the prepared silver cap, wrap it with a plain white brocade handkerchief, and hide it in a secret pocket of the wide sleeve.

"Sister, I'm going to the Qinzheng Palace."

"Rong'er!"

Shen Meizhuang walked quickly forward and stroked her cheek with trembling fingertips.

Their eyes met, and thousands of words were condensed in this touch.

After a long while, Shen Meizhuang finally said in a hoarse voice, "I'll wait for you outside."

"Okay." An Lingrong raised the corners of her lips slightly, and a gentle ripple appeared in her eyes.

With those careful plans, even if we fail this time, we can still fight for a chance of survival.