Report to the Empress and the Eldest Princess: They're using the system to poach your men.

In Chonghua Palace, beneath the soft gauze curtains, the Empress Dowager rested her head on the headboard.

"Xiao Tong, quickly check on the Empress Dowager's health. I feel something is wrong."

The person on the bed looked normal, but gave off a gloomy feeling, which made Shen Sangwan feel a little uneasy.

[Master, the system detected no abnormalities.]

"Look at yourself, does the Empress Dowager look like she's alright?"

[Master, the system shows that all measured values ​​are within the normal range.]

"But the Empress Dowager isn't that old, only in her early forties. She shouldn't have passed away so soon."

Xiao Tong waved his hand, indicating that he did not know the problem.

"My son has met his mother."

"Awan and the Empress have arrived. Get up quickly and come to my side."

His voice was weak, like that of an elderly person.

"It's all my fault, Mother Empress."

Wen Yuening tactfully sat down on a stool at the back, so as not to disturb Shen Sangwan's conversation with the Empress Dowager.

"I am getting old, and my health is not what it used to be."

"Your Majesty is in the prime of your life. I'm afraid you'll get angry if you say such things."

He grasped the other person's hands, which were resting on the brocade quilt, and spoke with a hint of anger in his voice.

"Alright, alright, I won't say anything more in the future... cough cough cough!"

The Empress Dowager's facial muscles trembled as she coughed, and Shen Sangwan gently stroked her back.

"Your Majesty, I notice that you do not look well. Did the imperial physician examine your pulse today?"

The Empress Dowager smiled gently. "Imperial Physician Qi came earlier to check on Ping An's pulse."

Shen Sangwan didn't want to press the matter further, so she gave up and changed the subject, "I wonder if Mother has summoned your son and the Empress here to give you important instructions?"

"The Empress's birthday is in a little over a month. I've been feeling unwell lately, so I'm afraid I'll have to trouble the Empress to personally oversee this birthday banquet."

Shen Sangwan suspected that the Empress Dowager was faking illness to relinquish power and eventually hand it over to the Empress.

Otherwise, how could someone who is perfectly healthy have the aura of twilight, and even Xiao Tong couldn't detect anything wrong with it?

Why not just hand over power openly and honestly? Why make such a fuss and cause her so much worry?

"If the Empress Dowager is unwell, she should rest and recuperate."

Wen Yuening got up from the stool, walked to the bed, knelt down and nodded, looking very respectful.

"Xiaotong, is it possible that if they use special local drugs to alter their vital signs, you won't be able to detect it?"

[Yes, the system can only detect health conditions under normal circumstances. If something is done against its will, it is highly likely that it will not be detected.]

[What a useless little brat, good for nothing but talking big.]

Xiao Tong looked as if she had been hit by a million points of damage. She pouted, put her hands on her hips, and pointed at Shen Sangwan with great dissatisfaction.

[Master, I've been telling you every day to grind the Empress's experience points more often, and to trigger quests every now and then. Completing those quests will allow me to level up faster, develop more features, and improve the existing ones!]

〖......〗

You really know how to squeeze in every opportunity to meet business targets.

"Mother, Yue Ning has only been in the palace for a short time, and she recently went to Wuzhou with me. If the palace banquet is not well organized, please do not blame her."

A strange glint flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, but she kept a straight face and teased, "Awan went to Wuzhou with the Empress and has started to protect her now. Is she afraid that I will bully her?"

"Yuening understands the Empress Dowager's good intentions. For this palace banquet, Yuening will supervise the Ministry of Rites to do its best."

The Empress Dowager nodded slightly, spoke with Shen Sangwan for a while, and then let the two leave Chonghua Palace.

It's quite an eye-opener to find that I have to worry about my own birthday.

"But speaking of which, it's the Empress's birthday, what kind of gift should I give her?"

Sending jade ornaments seems a bit too tacky. The Princess's treasures have already been given to Cen Luoxing and Wen Yuexi, and there don't seem to be any particularly rare or precious items left. Giving gifts is truly a headache.

On the return journey, the two remained silent, with only Shen Sangwan's inner monologue and Wen Yuening listening attentively.

Physician Li has already prescribed two new prescriptions and prepared the medicine. One prescription is to be decocted and taken orally, and the other is to be used as a medicinal bath.

After feeling much better, Shen Sangwan asked Shuyi to help her change her clothes before boarding the carriage back to her residence.

As they passed through the palace road leading to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, they happened to encounter Cen Qingyu leading the Imperial Guards on patrol.

"Your Highness, I have the honor of meeting you."

"Commander Cen doesn't have a day off today?"

Shen Sangwan remembered that the commander of the Imperial Guards had a three-day break on the first, tenth, and twentieth of each month. Today happened to be the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet hosted by Miss Cen, and she remembered the date very clearly.

Upon seeing Cen Qingyu, I couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"Your Highness, today is indeed my day off. His Majesty summoned me urgently for some business, so I had my day off rescheduled for the day after tomorrow. Today I am on duty as usual."

"Commander Cen, you've worked hard."

"It is all my duty, Your Highness. Thank you for your understanding."

After a brief conversation, Shen Sangwan continued towards the outside of the palace.

When she passed by Crescent Moon Shop, she had a craving for some pastries and candied fruit that Xiao Yan Yan liked.

The shop was doing brisk business, with long queues, so Shen Sangwan sat in the carriage and waited.

I glanced around and found a few books stacked at the back. I leaned on the low table and reached in to take one out.

She bent over and buried her head for a moment, and a silver arrow pierced the carriage wall where she had just been standing.

[Dig a trench—?]

Shen Sangwan couldn't hold back any longer and blurted out a curse.

"Seriously? In the capital city of Zhongdu, right under the emperor's nose, they dare to carry out such a blatant assassination?"

[Master, if you don't want to be riddled with arrows, quickly jump off the carriage! So many arrows are coming!]

Hearing Xiao Tong's urging, Shen Sangwan didn't dare to be careless. She pushed open the car door and rolled out as fast as she could.

"Whoosh~ Whoosh!"

About twenty arrows were shot at the carriage at the same time.

There are probably twenty or thirty people here.

Is the person behind this crazy?

People gathered around, but Shen Sangwan dared not squeeze into the crowd for fear of being accidentally injured, so she could only roll under the carriage.

"My lord, this isn't a solution. They're taking advantage of your reluctance to act rashly. This place isn't too far from the palace gates or the Princess's residence; setting off signal fireworks should be enough for the Imperial Guards and the palace's secret guards to see it."

"Xiaotong, do you want to look? It's raining now, how am I supposed to set off the signal fireworks?"

[There seems to be a waterproof version among the props, but I can't guarantee it will have the same effect as the signal flares you have.]

"Whoosh! Whoosh—"

"Damn, this is unbelievable."

The arrows were so sharp they seemed to spark as they scraped the ground, and Shen Sangwan was forced to slide out from under the carriage.

While dodging the hidden arrows, she quickly used her consciousness to find the system item, and then took out a firecracker about the size of a lighter from her pocket.

There is a string in the middle, which is pulled slightly towards the sky.

A loud "bang!" rang out, mixed with the screams and screams of the surrounding people fleeing.

"kill!"

Those hiding in the shadows, seeing the situation was turning against them, revealed themselves and rushed straight for Shen Sangwan's vital points.

The light rain was sometimes heavy and sometimes light, making it difficult to see the enemy's moves clearly.

Because she had changed her clothes, she hadn't put away the soft sword at her waist, and now she could only dodge with her bare hands.