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

"Regarding the assassination plot by the Ming King, please allow me to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager and then personally go to A Ning to inquire about it."

As he spoke, he gave Wen Yuening a quick kiss on the cheek, like a child stealing a kiss from an adult; his sneaky manner was quite amusing.

Before Wen Yuening could react, Shen Sangwan "threw" her out and then quickly closed and locked the window.

When Wen Yuening came to her senses, she was already outside the window, her disheveled hair blowing freely in the autumn wind.

She raised her hand to touch her cheek, a slight smile playing on her lips.

Her Highness is becoming more and more adorable!

On the way back to Fengluan Palace, Wen Yuening's hand never left her right cheek.

When Qingque returned, she had already sent the person away and was now reporting back. Seeing the reddened cheeks, she thought her mistress had been slapped by someone.

Somewhat puzzled, she asked, "Your Majesty, your face—?"

He was stopped in his tracks by a glare from Wen Yuening.

"Has Your Highness been offended? Why is she not in her palace this early in the morning, and then she turns so angry after just one question?"

"Did I ask the wrong question?"

Wen Yuening, who was about to wash up, paused and turned around to look at Qingque with some surprise.

Is she able to hear the thoughts of people other than Shen Sangwan?

Surrounded by Wen Yuening, Qingque couldn't help but look down at herself.

"Why is Your Highness looking at me with such a strange gaze? Is there something unclean about me?"

Qingque looked herself up and down, but didn't find anything wrong with it.

"Oh no, does Her Majesty know I went drinking behind her back? I don't smell of alcohol!"

Wen Yuening had already planned to have everyone leave.

Who knew the other party would confess without being asked?

"Drinking?"

Qingque raised her sleeve and sniffed it, then sniffed her collar several times, but there was no smell!

She glanced at Wen Yuening again, then subconsciously took two steps back and said timidly, "Your Highness, I only drank one cup, no, just one sip. It was to send Qingluan off. I... I really didn't drink much."

"My lady's abilities are getting more and more impressive. I only had a small cup of wine, and a whole night has passed. How did she know?"

With her head down and brows furrowed, Qingque couldn't understand what was going on. Little did she know that her mistress had a cheat code.

"It took me two years of painstaking effort to heal your body. If you don't cherish it, you should leave me as soon as possible."

Qingque was startled by Wen Yuening's heavy tone and knelt down with a thud. "This servant knows her mistake. Please, Your Highness, do not send this servant away."

"I do not want this to happen again. If I find out that you have been drinking again, I will not let you off the hook."

"I've made note of this."

Qingque was a servant born into the Wen family. Because her mother was ill in the womb, her health was never very good. So Wen Yunhe assigned a useless person to monitor her every move.

Who knew that she would eventually cure him and gradually become his confidant, even Wen Yunhe is still kept in the dark.

"Go prepare breakfast."

"The slaves retire."

Qingque gave a slight curtsy and withdrew.

Chonghua Palace

The Empress Dowager was frightened by the fire yesterday and went to rest after returning to Chonghua Palace. She got up early this morning before dawn.

After inquiring about what happened yesterday, I learned that Shen Sangwan had been assassinated again, which also caused the princess to be injured. I almost couldn't catch my breath.

So she quickly instructed Granny Gu, who was beside her, to go to Weiyang Palace to deliver a message. She would not feel at ease until she saw with her own eyes that the other party was unharmed.

After seeing Wen Yuening off, Shen Sangwan asked someone to help her wash up, put on another set of wide-sleeved clothes, and headed towards Chonghua Palace.

"Your Majesty need not worry. This old servant has inquired and found that it was the Princess who took the blow for His Highness. His Highness only suffered some minor injuries."

“You don’t know her. Awan is a person who doesn’t like to talk much. She prefers to keep everything to herself and never speaks of it. She used to be very cold. Now that she has finally met Yuan An, she has become more lively. I’m afraid that if Yuan An doesn’t wake up, Awan will turn back into her old self.”

The Empress Dowager twirled her prayer beads, her face showing deep worry.

A palace maid outside the hall reported that the meal was ready, but Shen Sangwan was nowhere to be seen.

This made the Empress Dowager even more worried.

"Why don't I go and take a look?"

Seeing the Empress Dowager's anxious state, Granny Gu felt a little bad. Just as she was about to step out, a bright red figure appeared before her eyes.

If there were other suitable outfits available in Weiyang Palace, she really wouldn't want to wear this robe.

She wore a long, wide-sleeved crimson dress, covered with a thin gauze embroidered with gold, and tied at the waist with a dark red sash, from which hung a piece of blood jade that looked very delicate.

"Your Majesty, I have met you. I am in good health."

"Ah Wan, come here quickly so I can take a good look at you."

"Shuchun, go and summon Physician Qin, who is waiting outside, to give His Highness a proper pulse check."

While beckoning Shen Sangwan over, the Empress Dowager also instructed Shuchun behind her to fetch Physician Qin.

"Mother, I only have a scratch. I've already applied medicine, and it's nothing serious."

Shen Sangwan strode forward, walked up to the Empress Dowager, and grasped her hand. "If Mother does not believe me, you can touch your son and see if a piece of flesh is missing."

As he spoke, he began to rub the Empress Dowager's hand haphazardly against his arm.

The Empress Dowager was amused by Shen Sangwan's actions and poked her head with her hand.

"You, you, I really can't do anything with you."

"How badly is Yuan An injured?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the atmosphere became strange, and Shen Sangwan's face darkened slightly.

"The imperial physician said that if the fever can be reduced, there is a possibility that she will wake up. This morning, I touched Ayan's body and the fever has subsided. Whether she can wake up now depends entirely on fate."

The Empress Dowager could hear the desolation in Shen Sangwan's words and guessed that the chances of her waking up were probably not very high.

“Yuan’an is a good child. She took that sword for you. I believe that Buddha will protect kind-hearted people.”

Shen Sangwan then realized that the Empress Dowager, who did not believe in Buddhism, had now picked up Buddhist prayer beads and prayed for Buddha's protection.

She remembered that the other party didn't seem to have this item at yesterday's banquet.

It is unknown whether it was because of her battlefield exploits and the heavy bloodshed she had committed that the Empress Dowager developed a Buddhist mindset, or whether the assassination attempts she had made in just six months had caused the attackers to feel uneasy and wish to pray for her.

"Your subject also believes that Ayan will wake up. She promised your subject that she would watch your subject conquer the Northern Witch and accompany your subject to see all the mountains and rivers of Southern Jing."

"My mother once said that a child who lies is not a good child, and I believe that Ayan will not break her promise."

The Empress Dowager opened her mouth, remained silent for a moment, then closed it again, only continuing to stroke Shen Sangwan's head.

When Imperial Physician Qin entered, Shuyun followed behind him. "Your Majesty, Consort Yi has come to pay her respects and is currently waiting outside the hall."

Shen Sangwan raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that this was probably someone she had punished yesterday, and now she was here to find a backer to vent her anger on her behalf.

This is the first time I've encountered someone who doesn't understand the situation and is rushing headlong into suicide.