Help! The cunning and treacherous minister and I were reborn together!

Xiao Zong understood Su Zhi's thoughts after hearing only half of what she said.

If Xing'er were Xing'er, her words would naturally carry weight.

If she weren't, and a woman resembling Consort Zheng's personal maid suddenly appeared at Consort Zheng's funeral, spouting nonsense, everyone would only think she had been reincarnated.

For the sake of the stability of the country, His Majesty will not allow her to live. So, whether to live or die is up to Xing'er to decide!

The Brocade Palace.

Wei Xueyao sipped her fragrant tea, pondering how to eliminate the traitors around her.

Speak of the devil, and he appears; a personal maid walks in and places a small, exquisite box on the table.

"What is this?" she asked.

The palace maid bowed and said, "It's a gift from the Commander to Your Highness."

Wei Xueyao, without suspicion, opened the box, and a bloody eyeball came into view.

"what!"

She screamed, and the box slipped from her hand. It crashed to the ground, and the eyeballs inside popped out and rolled forward.

The palace maid knelt down, placed a handkerchief under her arm, picked up the soft bead, and presented it to her mistress.

Wei Xueyao was trembling when she saw the horrifying scene and refused to answer anything.

"Whose...whose is this...?"

"The commander said that Lord Wei is longing for his daughter and wants to see if the Empress is well. I suppose it must be Lord Wei!"

Wei Xueyao looked panicked. Xiao Zong had actually gouged out one of her father's eyes. Could it be—

He found out; she was the one who killed Zheng Xiangxiang!

How to do?

Will he kill her to avenge his childhood sweetheart?!

Wei Xueyao was terrified and scrambled onto the bed, screaming, "Don't kill me!"

Seeing that she wouldn't dare cause any trouble for the time being, the palace maid put down what she was holding and went out the door.

Several palace maids and eunuchs outside the door heard their mistress wailing and craned their necks to peek inside, but dared not enter. When the head maid came out, they all retreated back down the steps, waiting for her to reprimand them.

The palace maid glanced at everyone and said indifferently, "Her Majesty is unwell. Inform the Imperial Household Department to remove the plaque. Meals will be delivered to the corridor every day. Except for the cleaning maids, no one is allowed to enter the palace to disturb Her Majesty!"

Everyone quickly agreed, and after the other party finished speaking, they hurriedly slipped away.

The next day, Xu Muxin was summoned by the Empress Dowager and went to the palace to pay her respects.

Su Zhi disguised herself as Jiang Rou's maid, changed into palace maid's clothes in the Empress Dowager's palace, and went to Jiang Rou's bedroom openly. The eunuch had received instructions from his master early on, so he did not question her and let her in.

Jiang Rou felt like she had met a savior and asked Su Zhi how to send Xing'er out of the palace.

Su Zhi shook her head, "There's no need to send her out. My husband has already instructed the Imperial Household Department to register her. From now on, Xing'er will be a palace maid in your palace."

"How can this be allowed? The mastermind behind this wants to kill Xing'er. If you expose her to the public, won't you just be creating more trouble?"

"As long as the murderer doesn't show herself, we'll always be on the defensive. I'd love for her to make a move!"

"You want to use Xing'er as bait?"

“That’s only one aspect,” Su Zhi said. “Hiding someone is too difficult, so let her appear in front of everyone in a reasonable way. That way, you’ll have less trouble.”

Jiang Rou pondered, "What if the murderer realizes your intentions and stops?"

"It doesn't bother us! With Xing'er in our hands, the murderer should be the one who's afraid! If we can get clues about the murderer from Xing'er, we'll have gained something; if not, we won't lose anything!"

"I never knew you were so cunning!"

Su Zhi blinked, "To be able to snatch someone from the Eastern Depot, and to have someone that happens to be what my husband and I need, Your Majesty is no less capable!"

Jiang Rou smiled and said, "Alright, no need for mutual flattery. For this matter to succeed, we still need to persuade Xing'er."

Su Zhi stood up, "Please lead the way, Your Highness!"

The two went to the side hall and, through reason and persuasion, successfully convinced Xing'er to agree to their plan. However, the person behind the scenes refused to reveal a single word about the true culprit.

Su Zhi could tell that Xing'er was desperate to survive, perhaps because the murderer had done her a favor, which was why she was unwilling to reveal the man's background. Perhaps only when the murderer made his move would she understand that all kindness in this world eventually comes to an end.

Well then, there's no rush!

After finishing this matter, Su Zhi said goodbye to Jiang Rou, who grabbed her with a heavy expression and said that she had other things to tell her.

"what's up?"

Jiang Rou cleared everyone out of the room, then drew a corner map on a piece of paper.

"Madam is exceptionally intelligent; memorizing these things should be a piece of cake for her."

Su Zhi pointed to the lines on the paper, "Which mountain is this? And which river is this? You should at least tell me the name so I can remember it!"

"I can't tell you for now!" Jiang Rou said seriously, "I can't do my job for Xing'er for nothing. This is the reward I'm asking for!"

"..."

This reward is truly unique!

Su Zhi resignedly picked up the map, looked at it several times, and then memorized it.

After leaving the palace, she was still pondering the meaning of the map, completely distracted.

Xu Muxin waved her finger in front of her eyes, "What are you daydreaming about?"

Su Zhi snapped out of her reverie and shook her head. "It's nothing."

"You're pregnant, you shouldn't be thinking such things. Let Xiao Zong handle whatever he wants!"

Su Zhi lowered her eyes. She had never seen Xiao Zong so vulnerable last night. It was clear how much Zheng Xiangxiang's death had affected him. At this time, it was best not to bother him.

"I'm fine, but you, Yan Qiao or Feng Quan, which one will you choose?"

Xu Muxin pouted, crossed her arms, and leaned against the wall of the room. "Why are you bringing me up again?"

Those two men, one possessed her body, the other her heart. She was unwilling to compromise her heart by marrying someone she didn't love, yet she dared not take the plunge and stake her future on another man.

"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that Feng Quan doesn't love you, or..."

"Just as you thought, I'm afraid he's just resentful, afraid he only wants to get close to me out of pity. But if he gets close, I'm afraid he'll mind my past, dislike me, and hate me!"

Su Zhi pursed her lips tightly, and after a long while, she said, "There's something I've never told you."

Seeing her solemn expression, Xu Muxin sat up straight and asked, "What is it?"

"Actually, I have already lived two lives."

"what?"

Xu Muxin leaned over and touched her forehead, asking in confusion, "You don't have a fever!"

Su Zhi slapped her hand away, "I'm telling the truth, I'm not talking nonsense."

She recounted her past life in detail, leaving Xu Muxin stunned and unable to recover for a long time.

When Su Zhi told her that she was a concubine in her previous life, she almost burst out laughing, but after hearing the other party clearly state the location of each palace and the secrets of the palace, she could no longer laugh.

After a long pause, Xu Muxin blinked and asked in a dry voice, "Then who did I marry in my past life?"

"I only know that His Majesty has betrothed you to a man, but I don't really know who he is. I've only heard that his grandfather was once a close guard of the late emperor and even saved his life. He must be from a powerful and influential family."

"Isn't that... Yan Qiao?"

Su Zhi was surprised for a moment, and seeing the other person frown, she comforted her, "I'm not saying this to force you to make a choice, I just want to tell you to cherish the present and not leave yourself with regrets! After all, the past life and this life are not the same, and I never thought I would marry Xiao Zong."