Transmigrated Female Official

Ziyan scrambled to his feet, dusted off his clothes, and checked himself over thoroughly, finding nothing amiss.

Although being suddenly knocked unconscious was utterly bizarre, this life-or-death news needed to be conveyed to Chu Qingluo as soon as possible. She had just narrowly escaped two dangerous situations, even losing Gongsun Yu's life in the process, and now the Eighth Princess and Long Kui were plotting against her again…

Zi Yan had only taken a few steps when he suddenly remembered Yu Fei's advice to him: "You are destined for a calamity, a truly terrible disaster."

Could this calamity refer to what we are about to face? If so, isn't this disaster coming far too soon?

He was now somewhat hesitant. After all, he had only been by the Empress's side for a little over a year, and he really didn't want to get into any trouble. On the other hand, Chu Qingluo had done him a great favor and considered him a friend, so he absolutely couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

If we were to report directly to the Empress without any evidence, we might end up being accused of slandering the princess... It seems that reminding Chu Qingluo is the only option.

After making up his mind, Zi Yan carefully looked around to make sure no one was there, then headed straight for Chu Qingluo's Guangrentang. Because he was worried that Chu Qingluo would leave the palace soon after court, he didn't dare to delay for a moment and practically ran all the way there.

When Zi Yan appeared at the entrance of the inner hall, drenched in sweat, Chu Qingluo was completely stunned. "Zi Yan...?!"

For Guangrentang, Ziyan was an extremely rare guest. Ever since he became the Empress's male attendant, he had deliberately maintained a distance from other women. Therefore, unless there was a truly urgent matter, he would never personally visit Guangrentang.

Seeing that a rare guest had arrived, Peony quickly and tactfully said, "I'll go pour some tea." After saying that, she went out the door.

Seeing that Ziyan's face looked terrible and he seemed to be in a real crisis, Chu Qingluo frowned and asked, "What happened?"

Lately, bad things have just been happening non-stop.

Ziyan was still panting and didn't have time to explain to her. He blurted out, "I overheard Princess Xile and Longkui's conversation. They want to harm you!"

Upon hearing this news, Chu Qingluo wasn't particularly shocked, but felt a chill run through her. She hadn't even figured out how to settle accounts with these two, yet they were already in a hurry, eager to strike first.

Seeing that Chu Qingluo remained silent, Zi Yan said urgently, "It's true! I heard it with my own ears, I swear!" He thought the news was too abrupt for her, so he quickly emphasized it again.

Chu Qingluo sighed softly and said, "How could I not believe you?"

"They said they'd use Gongsun Yu's information as bait to lure you to the outskirts of the city before making their move, so you must be very careful and don't trust anyone easily." Ziyan spoke quickly and continued, "Or you could just bring more guards with you... No, no, you should just pretend to be sick and stay home, not going anywhere!"

She gave him a grateful smile and said, "You know how powerful those two are. Even if I stay at home, I'm not necessarily completely safe."

Zi Yan felt that Chu Qingluo's analysis made a lot of sense, but he really couldn't think of any solutions. "You're still laughing?! In short, you're now a thorn in their side." After saying that, he remembered something and added, "I didn't hear their whole conversation, but it seemed to be about the Fifth Prince's assassination attempt on the Sixth Princess... Listening to it, I felt that they might be the real masterminds behind it all."

"Mm." Chu Qingluo nodded calmly and said, "I know."

"You knew?!" Zi Yan seemed quite surprised, after all, this case was closed with the Fifth Prince, the mastermind, paying for his crimes with his death, and now the whole country believed it was the Fifth Prince's doing. "...So that's why they insisted on targeting you?"

Zi Yan believed that Chu Qingluo was not being spared by the Eighth Princess and Long Kui because she knew the truth.

Chu Qinglu sneered and said, "To them, anyone who is an outsider who gets in their way must be eliminated..." She paused, stared at Ziyan's face, and asked seriously, "They didn't find out about you, did they?"

Ziyan: "I..."

"Tea's here!"

Just then, Peony came in carrying tea. She was still smiling and greeted Ziyan warmly, saying, "It's rare for Lord Ziyan to come all this way. Come, come, have a couple of sips of tea first."

The words were already out of her mouth when she suddenly realized the awkward atmosphere between them. There was an indescribable tension! So, she cleared her throat, put down her tea, and awkwardly retreated. "You two talk first, you two talk first."

At this moment, Zi Yan's face was even more pale than when he arrived, even turning somewhat green. "They seem to have discovered me..."

"What—?!" Chu Qingluo stood up abruptly, her blood rushing to her head with excitement.

If Ziyan had already been discovered by the Eighth Princess and Longkui, how could they possibly allow him to appear here unharmed?!

This is really wrong... This is so wrong!

Ziyan touched the back of his head where he had been hit and said, "I'm not really sure either..."

"Stop talking, hurry back to His Majesty's side," Chu Qingluo interrupted him.

In any case, having the Empress by his side is safer than being alone.

"Okay, then be careful." Ziyan was about to turn around when he suddenly felt a surge of heat rising from his stomach, forcing him to hold onto the table next to him for support.

"What's wrong?!" Chu Qingluo rushed to his side anxiously and reached out to support his arm.

"I...I feel like throwing up." Large beads of sweat rolled down his cheeks.

"I'll go get a spittoon."

Just as Chu Qingluo was about to leave, Ziyan spat out a mouthful of hot liquid...

But what he vomited was blood that was crimson with a hint of black!

Chu Qingluo couldn't believe her eyes, her voice filled with fear: "Ziyan...you...you..."

Vomiting blood?! Sick? Poisoned?

Chu Qingluo didn't have time to analyze the situation and shouted towards the door, "Shaoyao, quickly call the physician!"

The peony guarding the door was startled by the sudden shout. She quickly instructed He Qi to fetch the physician, while she rushed inside immediately. "What happened?"

Zi Yan was now completely exhausted, and his legs began to give way. With Chu Qingluo's help, he slowly sat down on the ground. His originally fair face had turned green, and his lips had become black.

"Ziyan has been poisoned!" Chu Qingluo was now 100% certain that his symptoms were clearly signs of poisoning.