The villain, Xiao Nanliang, caused the female lead excruciating pain.

The tranquilizer incense put Ning Hongyu into a deep sleep.

Su Qi followed Bai Luo at a distance.

Although he guessed the purpose of his visit to the palace, Su Qi still had to go along to ensure everything went smoothly and to find out how they planned to deal with him.

After all, if this gets out of hand, it could really kill you.

Soon, they secretly followed Bai Luo to Ying Muxue's palace.

Looking at the towering pillar of fortune, Su Qi couldn't help but twitch his lips.

Another female lead.

The world in this lousy book is a bit too much; it feels like you could run into a female lead just by walking down the street.

Su Qi mentally complained, not daring to get too close for fear of being discovered.

He took out the telescope given to him by Du Yunyi from his storage ring. This kind of spiritual artifact for surveillance is actually very easy to make, and his old mother has many spares.

Manipulate the surveillance puppet disguised as an insect to fly onto the roof beams of the palace.

With a slight adjustment of his gaze, Su Qi quickly spotted the two people having a conversation.

A woman, elegant and graceful with an air of superiority, sat cross-legged on a chair, one hand supporting her cheek on the armrest, her eyes closed as if resting.

He wore a black robe with gold dragon patterns, the gold embroidery thread shimmering in the candlelight.

Her jet-black hair was piled high in an elaborate and majestic updo, adorned with dazzling jewels.

His face was fair, his skin as delicate as mutton fat jade, yet he exuded an innate fortitude. His eyebrows were like distant mountains, their slightly upturned ends carrying a hint of sharpness and domineering power.

His eyes were long and deep, like still pools, conveying both authority and wisdom with every glance. His nose was straight, his lips were full and red, and a confident smile played at the corners of his mouth, as if he could control everything in the world.

Uh... wasn't it said that he was injured and about to die?

It seems like nothing's wrong.

Su Qi's intuition told him that something was definitely fishy going on.

"Well, have you gathered any evidence of the Empress Dowager's plot against Luo Ai? I've been feigning illness for so long, surely Minister Bai won't disappoint me?"

Ying Muxue slowly opened her eyes, appearing languid, yet still exuding a tremendous sense of oppression.

Especially that last, casual glance, gave Su Qi a very direct feeling that this was a woman with unpredictable moods.

One second she's all smiles and pleasantries towards you, the next she'll order someone to drag you away and behead you.

Moreover, her words contained a lot of information.

Su Qi had already roughly figured out what was going on.

Ying Muxue had long known that the Empress Dowager and Luo Ai, the governor of Jingzhou, were plotting something sinister, so she pretended to be seriously injured and on the verge of death, feigning weakness to lure the enemy out.

The public claim that Ning Hongyu needs treatment for a pure Yin constitution is just an act; Ning Hongyu is actually dispensable.

That's not quite right either; it can't be said that it's dispensable.

In retrospect, Ning Hongyu was merely bait, used to lure the Empress Dowager and Luo Ai.

No wonder Bai Luo couldn't find the Jingzhou governor even after Ning Hongyu had been captured for so long.

So you weren't investigating at all, but instead were collecting evidence of treason.

"Your Majesty, the matter has been settled, but what I came to the palace late at night to report is not this matter."

Despite Ying Muxue's invisible pressure, Bai Luo remained calm and composed, and explained the purpose of her late-night visit to the palace.

"Oh? An assassin?"

After hearing Bai Luo's words, Ying Muxue stopped tapping her hand, her eyes turning slightly cold.

"It seems that my mother really has no regard for the bond between mother and daughter."

Obviously, she misunderstood.

They thought Su Qi was an assassin hired by the Empress Dowager and Luo Ai.

"Your Majesty, for safety's sake..."

Bai Luo was interrupted by Ying Muxue as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Alright, I know what you want to say. Tomorrow I will have my stand-in represent me."

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

So it turns out they were just using a stand-in to replace Ying Muxue?

Seeing that they hadn't prepared any special methods to deal with him, Su Qi breathed a sigh of relief.

However, something doesn't seem that simple.

Would Ye Feng let him off so easily?

Seeing Bai Luo leave the palace, Su Qi also quietly retreated.

……

The next day.

dong dong dong...

Ning Hongyu was awakened by a knock on the door.

"Who?"

His voice sounded somewhat languid.

“Miss Hongyu, Brother Bai is back. He asked me to inform you to get ready so you can go to the palace with him to meet the Emperor later.”

Has this moment finally arrived?

Ning Hongyu's heart sank slightly. She looked down at Su Qi, who was fast asleep in her arms, and pursed her lips.

She gently stroked that fair, delicate face, her voice somewhat heavy.

"Xiao Bao, I want to apologize to you in advance!"

Su Qi, who was pretending to be asleep, frowned, opened his eyes groggily, and looked blank and somewhat bewildered.

"Sister, what did you say?"

"It's time for you to get up!"

Ning Hongyu masked her inner turmoil with a smile and reached out to pinch Su Qi's nose.

The two quickly tidied themselves up and, led by a maid, arrived at the Bai residence's living room.

"Is this Miss Hongyu's younger brother?"

Upon seeing Su Qi, Bai Luo greeted him warmly and shook Su Qi's hand.

"Thank you so much. If it weren't for you rescuing Miss Hongyu, I wouldn't know how to explain myself to His Majesty."

"Ah? Protecting my sister is what I should do!" Su Qi seemed a little shy, as if she wasn't quite used to other people's enthusiasm.

"Come, come, I've had some food prepared. Let's sit down and eat while we talk. We'll be going to the palace to treat His Majesty, which will be a long battle. I'm afraid Miss Hongyu won't be able to hold on if she doesn't eat and drink her fill."

"You're too kind, Lord Bai." Ning Hongyu saw that Bai Luo was still holding Su Qi's hand, and a hint of displeasure flashed in her eyes. She stepped forward without making a sound, separated the two, and led Su Qi to the dining table to sit down.

"Wow, it smells so good."

Su Qi's eyes lit up as he scanned each dish, his intuition telling him there was something wrong with them.

Finally, his gaze settled on the wine jug.

This wine jug...

Su Qi discovered that he had actually met her before he transmigrated.

To be precise, I saw it in a short video.

This type of pot was specifically used for poisoning.

The interior has two different spaces, one for storing poisoned wine and the other for storing regular wine.

There is a small hole in the handle of the jug. If you plug this hole, you will pour out non-poisonous wine. Conversely, if you leave the hole open, you will pour out poisonous wine.

Su Qi casually swept his hand across the handle of the teapot and, sure enough, found the hole on it.

Tsk tsk tsk, they actually pulled this trick.

If I hadn't known beforehand, I might have actually fallen victim to it.

"Come, come, let us wish you a successful entry into the palace today."

Bai Luo picked up the wine pot and poured wine for each of them.

Su Qi noticed that when he poured himself wine, his thumb did not press the hole on the handle of the pot.

Suddenly, Su Qi had a good idea.

"Sister, you still need to treat that person, so let me drink it for you."

"Hey……"

Without saying a word, he picked up the wine glass in front of Ning Hongyu and downed it in one gulp, then picked up his own wine and drank it down in one gulp.

Seeing him drink the poisoned wine so readily, Bai Luo and Ye Feng exchanged a glance.

"Hahaha... I didn't expect Brother Feng to be such a good drinker. It's a pity I have other things to do today, otherwise Brother Feng and I would definitely drink until we're both drunk."

"Please excuse my poor attempt." Su Qi wiped his mouth sheepishly. No one saw that he used the act of wiping his mouth to secretly put a small white ball into his storage ring.

This small white sphere is actually a bone sphere made by Su Qi using the marrow extracted from corpse bones. Inside the bone sphere is the poisoned wine he just drank.