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

"Not busy at all. I've left all the finishing touches to Achen. I know you're very angry right now, but can you give me a chance to explain?"

This was the first time Shen Sangwan had acted like a wronged puppy in front of Wen Yuening.

She used to play the victim with Cen Yan, and now she's doing it to Wen Yuening.

Seeing that the other person's eyes were red, as if she had been crying, Shen Sangwan took Wen Yuening's hand and prepared to slap herself twice. "If A-Ning is angry, why don't you beat me up first to vent your anger?"

Wen Yuening stopped herself in time, her tone indifferent, "Your Highness, there's no need for this."

Seeing that the person was about to leave, Shen Sangwan stepped forward to block their path. Wen Yuening wanted to turn around and walk back, so she directly pinned the person against the palace wall.

"Ah Ning, besides Ah Chen, no one else knows about this. It's not that I don't want to tell you, or that I don't trust you, it's just that secrets don't stay hidden forever, so..."

"So Yue Ning can be manipulated by His Highness without any restraint, right?"

“A-Ning, why would you think that way? My original intention was not to involve you, and neither did Cen Yan.”

If Shen Yujing sees through the trap that Achen and I set, if Prime Minister Wen does not take advantage of the chaos with the Northern Witches, and if Mo Feng does not reveal his identity, Achen will not be able to truly hold power and make his mark in the court.

He originally intended to proceed gradually, but the enemy did not give him that opportunity. Rather than trying to stop the fire by adding more water, he decided to take drastic measures.

If Ah Chen and I succeed, that's fine, but what if we fail?

I can't drag someone into a fire pit just because you know martial arts.

If my plan with Ah Chen fails, you have enough people at your disposal to protect yourself. At least then, someone will be there to collect my corpse.

Upon hearing the words "collecting the corpse," Wen Yuening instinctively covered Shen Sangwan's mouth, her voice choked with sobs, shaking her head repeatedly, unable to utter a single word.

Not long ago, Shen Yujing also said something similar.

She was genuinely afraid that Shen Sangwan would repeat the path of her past life, be betrayed by her trusted confidants, and die a tragic death.

Shen Sangwan hugged the person at the right moment, pulling them into her arms and gently patting their back.

"Now I'm safe and sound, and I don't have to worry anymore. Once you've calmed down a bit, I'll tell you everything that happened, okay?"

Wen Yuening did not respond, but instead buried her face in the other person's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.

"Ah Ning—mmm~"

A metallic taste filled her throat, and Shen Sangwan vomited a mouthful of blood before losing consciousness.

"Your Highness!"

Wen Yuening, her face streaked with tears, was still somewhat dazed, only the bloodstains splattered on her armor reminding her of what had just happened.

I kept telling myself that I needed to calm down immediately, but the more I forced myself, the more anxious I became.

Realizing he couldn't take the pulse, he immediately picked the person up and quickened his pace to find the imperial physician.

After taking Shen Yujing away, Mo Xuan took the secret passage he had used when rescuing Ling Yuan, and left the imperial city along the moat. However, he did not expect that Mo Ran and his troops had been waiting for him for a long time.

Before Shen Sangwan entered the palace, the troops split into several groups and blocked the known roads leading out of the palace and the city.

"His Royal Highness Prince Ming!"

Having regained some of his senses, Shen Yujing lay on Mo Xuan's back, barely opening his eyes to look at Mo Ran.

She vomited two mouthfuls of blood before signaling Mo Xuan to put her down.

She took the opportunity to whisper something in his ear.

Although Mo Ran was close by, he couldn't hear clearly.

"Your Majesty, it is best not to struggle too much. I am merely following orders and have no desire to have the blood of the royal family on my hands."

"Cough-cough-"

He coughed several times, which aggravated the pain in his chest where he had been shot by an arrow. Shen Yujing endured the pain.

"You think you can capture me and take me back? Dream on!"

After saying that, Mo Xuan swiftly swallowed a black pill for both of them.

In just a moment, both of them stopped breathing.

Mo Ran tried to step forward to stop him, but it was too late.

"General, this..."

Mo Ran's subordinates looked at the two people who had fallen to the ground and glanced at Mo Ran with some concern.

"Take the body back. I failed to do what His Highness instructed, and I will go to receive my punishment. This has nothing to do with you."

"That's not what I meant."

Mo Ran raised his hand to stop him, and instead of continuing the argument, he mounted his horse and headed towards the imperial city.

The scene inside the palace was no better than that inside the Wing King's Palace. The ground was littered with the corpses of the Imperial Guards and Shen Yujing's private soldiers, and the bloodstains on the bluestone slabs seemed to have never been cleaned, as they were about to be stained red again.

The air was thick with the stench of blood. Shuyun was still clearing out the rebels mixed in with the Imperial Guards, while Xuzhi was killing all the remaining rebels. When Wen Yuening passed by the palace road outside Weiyang Palace, she was almost vomited from the smell of blood.

She hadn't seen so many corpses in a long time.

"Imperial Physician Li! Imperial Physician Li! His Highness has vomited blood and fallen into a coma. Please take her pulse and examine her immediately."

"My God..."

Physician Li was already depressed seeing the soldiers everywhere, poisoned and beyond saving. Now, seeing the Empress carrying the Princess coming to find him, he was so terrified that he wanted to disappear into the ground and run away as fast as he could.

Shen Yuchen did not go anywhere else, but temporarily chose Fuyu Pavilion as his "office".

He ordered all the court officials to be invited to Weiyang Palace.

Upon hearing the news of Shen Sangwan's injury, he immediately left the assembled ministers standing there and headed towards the main hall.

"Your Highness, His Highness is suffering a relapse of the Gu poison... It seems His Highness has not been taking his medicine or taking medicinal baths on time for many days. Now... this old minister is powerless to help..."

The previous medication only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. Now that the poison has entered the heart, even a miracle worker would find it difficult to save him.

Upon entering the hall, Shen Yucheng heard Physician Li's words and immediately grabbed him by the collar, forcefully shoving him aside. He angrily rebuked him, "Li Zongquan, you quack doctor, what nonsense are you spouting? My sister was perfectly fine just now."

The physician, Li, who had fallen to the ground, lay prostrate and humbled himself, not daring to utter a single word of rebuttal.

"Xiaotong, am I really beyond saving?"

[Under normal circumstances, that seems to be the case.]

Xiao Tong looked at Shen Sangwan, who was sitting opposite her and seemed completely transparent, with a serious expression.

The two of them had been staring at each other for quite some time.

Wen Yuening's previously depressed mood was suddenly reviveed when she heard Shen Sangwan and Xiaotong talking.

"Then—just wait to die!"

Xiao Tong had thought Shen Sangwan would ask what the "abnormal situation" would be like, but instead she was told "waiting to die".

This line of thinking caught him completely off guard.

He couldn't help but want to speak up, but since the other person didn't ask, he didn't want to abruptly say it directly.

He was so tormented he wanted to jump up and down.

[Master, don't you want to know what the other scenario would be like?]

In the end, he couldn't help but subtly hint at his intentions to Shen Sangwan.