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

She sat up in shock from her deathbed; the man she had been trying to steal from her was about to die?

"Xiaotong, you're kidding, right?"

[My lord, if you don't go to the palace soon, the person will truly be gone.]

What would happen if it were gone?

Xiao Tong stared at Shen Sangwan in disbelief. [Master, doesn't your conscience hurt?]

"If someone dies, does that mean this spacetime will also shatter, and then we'll die?"

Shen Sangwan was overjoyed. With the main character of the side quest gone and the world collapsing, she no longer needed to do missions to avoid punishment.

This happiness came a little too suddenly!

"Ugh, what's that? It itches...it's so itchy...it hurts and itches at the same time."

Before her joy lasted more than three seconds, Shen Sangwan felt as if countless ants were crawling and biting all over her body.

"No, no, no! I was wrong, I was wrong! I'll go save them, I'll go save them!"

"Shuyi! Shuyi! Quickly prepare the carriage, I need to go to the palace."

Before Shuyi, who had come from the East Garden, could report to Yuexin, she heard her Highness's urgent voice.

Then Shen Sangwan came out of the door in a very strange posture.

"This servant will immediately send someone to harness the carriage."

This made Shen Sangwan wonder if moving out of Weiyang Palace was a wise decision.

The Gou system frequently releases tasks related to Shen Yuchen and Wen Yuening.

Running back and forth like this is really annoying for her.

However, the thought of living in the palace might lead to getting involved in troubles from time to time, causing me unnecessary worries, made me feel that it was better to stay in the Princess's residence.

"Why is Your Highness entering the palace at this hour?"

Mo Feng had just finished handing over the matter of the Imperial Guards to Cen Qingyu when he encountered Shen Sangwan, who looked hurried, in the Taihe Hall.

Do you know where the Empress is?

"At this time, he should be in the Empress Dowager's palace, leading the concubines to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager."

Xiao Tong's urging voice grew more urgent, and Shen Sangwan dared not waste any time. "You must be careful with the disaster relief matters. If you find anything unusual, send a message immediately."

After a few words, he headed towards Chonghua Palace.

Before Mo Feng could even bow, the other person had already vanished from his sight.

"Physician Li, how is the condition?"

"Your Majesty, the Empress's wound was fatal to the heart, causing excessive blood loss. Although the bleeding has been stopped, I cannot guarantee whether Your Majesty will wake up."

The palace maids carried out basins of bloody water, almost bumping into Shen Sangwan who was coming towards them.

She lost her balance, and with a loud crash, the golden basin in the palace maid's hands fell to the ground, spilling blood everywhere.

"This servant deserves to die. I have offended Your Highness. Please forgive me."

"I was in a bit of a hurry. You can clean this up yourself."

"This servant thanks Your Highness."

The young palace maid picked up the golden basin that had fallen to the side and ran out.

After passing the front hall and stepping into the main hall, a large group of people were kneeling on the ground in the middle.

The newly appointed concubines and their maids who entered the palace together were surrounded by kneeling palace maids and eunuchs.

"Mother, what has happened here? I just came in and saw the palace maids carrying bloody water out. Is someone injured?"

The Empress Dowager was about to reprimand Physician Li when she heard Shen Sangwan's voice and looked up.

"Ah Wan, what brings you here?"

"My fourth brother came to my residence today and brought me a fine bow. I then remembered that the quiver that my father gave me was left in Weiyang Palace. Since I had nothing else to do today, I came to pay my respects to my mother and retrieve the quiver."

Although the excuse was clumsy, she couldn't find any other good excuses for the time being.

Shen Sangwan sat down next to the Empress Dowager quite consciously. "Aren't these His Majesty's newly acquired concubines? Why are they all kneeling here? Are they displeasing Mother?"

Cen Luoyan and Liang Shuyu, being imperial concubines, remained calm and composed, while the other concubines were pale-faced, kneeling on the ground with their heads bowed low, fearing that they would be implicated.

"Your Highness, it was Consort Yu's maid who attempted to assassinate the Empress Dowager today. Her Majesty the Empress took the blow for the Empress Dowager and is currently still unconscious."

Why would a fourth-rank palace maid risk her life to assassinate the Empress Dowager?

Yu Qinxue was huddled in a pile, kowtowing repeatedly on the ground. "Your Majesty, the Yu family truly has no intention of rebellion. I rescued that maid by chance three years ago when I accompanied my mother to a Buddhist temple to offer incense. Later, I saw that she was clever and quick-witted, so I kept her by my side to serve me. I truly do not know why she would do such a rebellious thing today. I beg Your Majesty to investigate."

Shen Sangwan's mind was about to explode from Xiao Tong's voice. She suddenly stood up and curtsied to the Empress Dowager, "Mother, I am not good at asking questions like this. I will go and see the Empress first."

The Empress Dowager nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

"Xiao Tong, which medicine should the Empress be given, the Vitality Pill or something else?"

[Master, the Empress has been poisoned by a Gu poison. Although the bleeding has stopped, the Gu worms have already entered her heart. The system's medicine... is probably powerless to help.]

Are you kidding me?

"Even the system's medicine can't save her, what am I supposed to do to save her?"

"Your Highness...the Empress...I'm afraid...she's not doing well."

"Damn it, these imperial physicians are always complaining about this or that. I don't know what's the point of keeping them around."

[Master, the system records that the Eldest Princess seized many antidotes to Gu poison during her attack on the Northern Witch Kingdom; there should be an antidote among them.]

Where are you?

[It should have been at the Imperial Medical Academy. Everything was entrusted to Physician Li and his team in order to determine the ingredients and produce more antidotes.]

"Ugh—Pfft~"

Wen Yuening began vomiting large amounts of black blood.

"Imperial Physician Li, I think the Empress's symptoms are similar to those of the soldiers who were poisoned by the Northern Witch Kingdom a few years ago. Please take a closer look."

This was the first time Shuyi had encountered such a situation, and she was extremely frightened, but she still gritted her teeth and stepped forward to clean up the filth for Wen Yuening.

After listening to Shen Sangwan's words, Physician Li carefully took her pulse and examined the vomited blood repeatedly.

“Your Highness, it is indeed a Gu poison, the most potent Golden Silkworm Gu, which kills without a trace. If Your Highness had not reminded me, I would have thought that Her Majesty the Empress was weak due to excessive blood loss.”

"Is there an antidote?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will go and fetch it right away."

For the first time, Physician Li felt relaxed and less stressed.

[Your Majesty, perhaps you should give the Empress a heart-protecting pill first. Her vital signs are already extremely low. I'm afraid that the old, frail imperial physician won't be able to get the antidote before the Empress passes away.]

Shen Sangwan, carrying Shuyi on her back, reached into her robes and took out a tiny red pill from the system.

"Shuyi, go and have someone prepare some food."

"Slave, go now."

After sending everyone away, Shen Sangwan deftly pinched Wen Yuening's chin, stuffed the heart-protecting pill into her mouth, closed her lips, and then shook it up and down.

[Master, can't you be a little gentler? This is, after all, your... future wife?]

"Hmm—? Wife?"