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

Xiao Zong looked anxious. "What will it take for you to save her?"

Pu Hong took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket and poured out a pill. "A life for a life, it's a great deal!"

Upon hearing this, Su Zhi tried her best to stop them, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't make a sound. Her limbs felt like they were nailed to an iron plate; she couldn't even curl her fingers, let alone run over.

Her heart was breaking, her eyes welled up with tears, and she couldn't stop them from streaming down her face.

Xiao Zong, please don't do anything foolish!

"My lord, you mustn't!" Dou Zhao drew his sword and held it against Pu Hong's neck. "Treat the lady immediately, or I'll take your dog's life!"

Pu Hong shrugged. "Kill her if you want! But let me warn you, Su Zhi in this state won't make it to childbirth. To have a beauty by her side on the road to the underworld, she'll have no regrets in this life!"

"You!" Dou Zhao was furious.

"Dou Zhao, step back."

Xiao Zong picked up the pill from Pu Hong's hand and swallowed it without hesitation.

"Can it be saved now?"

"can!"

Pu Hong patted non-existent dust off his shoulders, winked provocatively at Dou Zhao, and got up to walk to the bedside.

As the long needle entered the acupoint, Su Zhi gradually warmed up, and her limbs returned to normal. Before long, she was able to see and speak again.

She pushed Pu Hong away and ran towards Xiao Zong. The words of cursing that were on the tip of her tongue turned into deep concern.

"How are you?"

Xiao Zong endured the excruciating pain in his internal organs, smiled, and shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Still showing off at a time like this, truly worthy of being Commander Xiao!" Pu Hong crossed his arms, his tone unfriendly. "Hey! If you don't draw the diagram soon, your husband might just die!"

Su Zhi wiped away her tears and was about to walk towards the table when Xiao Zong grabbed her.

"Dou Zhao, search his body!" After saying that, he said to his men outside the door, "Summon the physician."

"Yes."

Pu Hong was shocked. "Xiao Zong, I have more than a dozen kinds of medicine on me. Do you know which one is the antidote? Aren't you afraid of dying?"

Xiao Zong chuckled, "You're full of tricks. Even if Zhi'er draws the diagram for you, do you think you can get the antidote? If you can't get out of the Leopard Guard, everything you've done will be in vain. If you do get out of the Leopard Guard, will you still care about my life or death? Either way, we're going to die, so let's not waste each other's time."

"Xiao Zong, you're a madman!"

Su Zhi gripped Xiao Zong's arm, her mind a complete blank.

What should she do if something really happens to him?

Dou Zhao stripped Pu Hong down to his undergarments and found a bunch of bottles and jars.

At this moment, the doctor ran over with his medicine box, took Xiao Zong's pulse, and then knelt on the ground, searching for the antidote bottle by bottle.

Xiao Zong swallowed the blood in his throat and steadied his breathing.

"Dou Zhao, take the man away for questioning."

After giving his instructions, he saw that Su Zhi looked worried and feared that she might hurt herself or the baby, so he said softly, "I'll have someone send you back to your residence."

"I'm not going back, and you can't force me to leave!" Su Zhi said firmly.

“I know Pu Hong’s tricks. I took the antidote before I went to the Prince’s mansion, so I’m really fine. You’re pregnant, so you can’t be careless. Go back and get some sleep. I’ll come back to see you tonight.”

Su Zhi helped him sit down in a chair. "Don't try to persuade me. No matter what you say today, I won't leave."

He spoke as if nothing was wrong, but she dared not gamble. Whether it was a final farewell or a narrow escape, the important thing was that she could not leave at this moment!

Xiao Zong coughed twice, silently wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and said weakly and helplessly, "What a stubborn little mule! I hope our daughter can be more obedient and not cause me any more worry."

Su Zhi sat sideways on the blanket, her upper body resting on his lap. "So you absolutely can't get hurt. They still need your proper guidance. If you dare to abandon me and leave, I'll take them up onto the roof every day and make sure you... never have a moment's peace!"

Xiao Zong stroked her long hair and sighed, "I'm defeated by you."

Su Zhi let out a sob, her tears instantly soaking the man's clothes.

There was no further conversation between the two. Midway through, Xiao Zong coughed up blood and fainted. Su Zhi stayed by his side for half an hour when suddenly the physician exclaimed, "There's progress!"

Su Zhi immediately looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, "You found the antidote?"

The doctor wiped the sweat from his brow and said gravely, "The person who poisoned us must have been trying to escape, so they only prepared half of the antidote. This one is the antidote for the poisonous flower and herb; there should be another half, the antidote for the poisonous insect. I checked, and it's not there."

"Solve as much as you can."

Su Zhi took the pills, poured some tea, and had Xiao Zong take them. Afterward, she took the drawn map and went to the prison.

Pu Hong was beaten to the point of near death. When he saw her coming over, he spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, revealing a mouthful of stained silver teeth.

"Is he dead?"

Su Zhi raised her eyes, "Thanks to you, I'm almost in my grave. I know your target isn't him; all you've ever wanted is this map I have. Let's make a deal: I'll give you the map, and you give me the other half of the antidote."

Dou Zhao frowned. "Madam, the master will not agree!"

Su Zhi raised her hand and said in an unassailable tone, "The map is mine, and I can give it to whomever I want. Even if Xiao Zong is the commander, he can't control my decision. Besides, I only gave him the map; I didn't intend to let him go. Xiao Zong can't blame you."

Dou Zhao was speechless and stood to the side with his head down.

"Consort Liang and the Ninth Prince want to support Prince Jin, but they lack only two things: money and soldiers. The fact that you, a person from the Southern Frontier, can cooperate with them means that this blueprint refers to something related to both of these."

Su Zhi held the paper tube in her hand, sliding it over Pu Hong's wound, half-threatening and half-coaxing, "Actually, as long as I hand the map over to His Majesty, you will have no way to escape. But objects are inanimate, people are alive, and I don't want to see a lose-lose situation. Doctor Pu, what do you say?"

Pu Hong's chest trembled. "You're incredibly intelligent. I knew I was right about you! I agree to the deal, but on one condition."

"You want to leave Daqi?"

"……how do you know?"

"You're cunning and cold-blooded; you're incapable of genuinely cooperating with others. Now that you have the map, instead of thinking about how to escape, you're trying to share the spoils with others? You're not that stupid!"

"You truly understand me!"

"Leave the rest to me." Su Zhi unfolded the map. "Look carefully, I've done nothing to deceive you. Where is the antidote?"

"I didn't prepare the other half of the antidote." Seeing the other party put away the map, Pu Hong hurriedly said, "But I know the prescription!"

Su Zhi looked at Dou Zhao and said, "He said, you write it."

Dou Zhao brought over paper and pen, and Pu Hong wrote down the map details while reciting the prescription. After saying the last word, the map was also imprinted in his mind.

Su Zhi was worried that he might make a mistake while multitasking, so she had him review the prescription and asked him about the preparation method before letting Dou Zhao give the prescription to the doctor.

After leaving the prison, Su Zhi sent a memorial to the palace, reporting that Xiao Zong had been poisoned.

The medicinal herbs in the prescription are hard to find, but with the palace's support, this problem can be easily solved. On the other hand, with Xiao Zong critically ill and the Leopard Guard leaderless, they can be used to deceive Consort Liang and the Ninth Prince. For the map, they will definitely take the risk of breaking into the prison.

In this way, we might be able to capture Consort Liang, the Ninth Prince, and Pu Hong all at once!