Women disguised as men went to the battlefield and the emperor bowed down in submission.

An hour later, Zhang Quan gave Lin Ruoshui the list of people who wanted to climb into his bed.

Shadow One returned shortly after to report back.

Xuanyuan Yu's fever subsided, and Physician Li left. Lin Ruoshui placed the list of patients who had been to her bedside on the desk and began to analyze it carefully.

Xuanyuan Yu changed his clothes and walked to Lin Ruoshui's side. Looking at Lin Ruoshui's serious profile, Xuanyuan Yu thought of that dream again.

Xuanyuan Yu felt he should listen to Physician Li's advice, otherwise he would be constantly teased by the woman in front of him. Even if she did nothing and just stood there quietly, his body and heart would involuntarily want to get closer.

Lin Ruoshui sensed Xuan Yuan Yu's familiar presence approaching and turned to look at him.

Lin Ruoshui's eyes were instantly captivated by those dark and deep eyes. She sensed that Xuan Yuan Yu was seriously poisoned, and she saw possessiveness in his gaze.

"Xuanyuan Yu, how about I bestow a marriage upon you right now?" Lin Ruoshui said solemnly.

"No need, I'm not interested in other women," Xuan Yuan Yu said expressionlessly.

"So who are you interested in?" Lin Ruoshui asked.

Xuan Yuan Yu pinched Lin Ruoshui's chin and asked playfully, "What do you think?"

"Stop fooling around, I'm a man." Lin Ruoshui was a little scared.

"Oh? A man? You really think of yourself as a man?" Xuan Yuan Yu pinched Lin Ruo Shui's baby-smooth face hard.

Lin Ruoshui's face was pinched, leaving Xuan Yuanyu's finger marks.

Xuanyuan Yu awkwardly rubbed her face, but he didn't expect her skin to be so delicate; the area he rubbed turned completely red.

Lin Ruoshui stared at Xuan Yuanyu, who was rubbing her face, and suddenly slapped him on the knee. Xuan Yuanyu turned around expressionlessly and remained motionless for a long time, seemingly enduring the pain.

Lin Ruoshui thought to herself, "This is how I should live! Anyone who dares to flirt with me must be dealt with severely."

The two of them had their own little bit of playful banter before getting down to business.

Lin Ruoshui handed a thick stack of papers to Xuan Yuanyu and said, "There are so many women who try to climb into my bed. For the past three years, someone has tried to climb into my bed almost every day. The one who has done it the most is the Empress. Her father also holds the highest position and the most power here. This time, it wasn't just the Empress who came to my palace to cause trouble. The concubines and their families who came earlier must have been involved, otherwise the Empress wouldn't have brought them along."

"The fact that this poisoning took three days and three nights proves that they definitely didn't just want you to favor the Empress. These people were probably waiting for the Emperor to be poisoned before taking their turn. They knew the opportunity was rare, and that the law wouldn't punish everyone. Even if the Emperor found out they were responsible, he wouldn't arrest them all. Taking action against them would be tantamount to taking action against the entire harem and all the Grand Councilors," Xuan Yuan Yu continued his analysis.

Lin Ruoshui said resentfully, "They're too naive. If they can't act together, can't we act one by one?"

Xuanyuan Yu said, "Oh? So you have a good idea?"

Lin Ruoshui blinked her beautiful eyes and said with a mischievous smile, "Therefore, the way a wise man governs others is to use their own methods against them."

Lin Ruoshui asked Zhang Quan to find the defense map of the capital, and she looked at it again and again.

Xuanyuan Yu asked, "What are you looking for?"

"I'm looking for the Duke of Dingguo's residence," Lin Ruoshui replied casually.

Xuanyuan Yu also bent down and started searching with him. One of them had just transmigrated and was completely unfamiliar with the capital, while the other had left home at a young age and was also not very familiar with the capital. The two of them searched seriously for a long time.

Lin Ruoshui rubbed her dry eyes and said, "This diagram doesn't seem detailed enough. You should make a more detailed diagram in the future. Like the diagram in the military books in your study, that's what you call detailed."

Xuanyuan Yu froze, recalling the military book in his study. It was a gift from his cousin Xuanyuan Ye when he was young. Xuanyuan Ye told him to study the military strategy carefully and memorize the contents. Xuanyuan Yu actually believed him. When he saw the illustrations tucked inside, he blushed. Those illustrations became his first textbook for understanding human affairs.

Xuanyuan Yu flicked Lin Ruoshui's head with his finger and asked, "You saw it?"

Lin Ruoshui said, "Of course I saw it. The person who drew it must be a master."

"Shameless!" Xuan Yuan Yu felt a surge of anger.

Lin Ruoshui said, "You didn't see it?"

Xuanyuan Yu was speechless at Lin Ruoshui's words. He had not only read and studied the material, but he had never put it into practice; he was still a novice. For so many years, he had been focused on building his career and had no interest in such things.

Xuanyuan Yu closed the map of the capital's defenses and said to Lin Ruoshui, "I will have someone draw a more detailed one."

Lin Ruoshui, with her soft, lotus-like arms and an air of righteous indignation, put her arm around Xuan Yuan Yu's shoulder and said, "Brother, thanks!"

Xuanyuan Yu said, "No need to thank me. We can exchange ideas about that picture sometime. Consider it a return gift from me."

Lin Ruoshui's eyes flashed like knives as she glared at Xuan Yuan Yu, feeling as if she were being teased.

Lin Ruoshui said, "Then there's no need to paint. I can't thank you with my life. Yingyi, come here!"

Yingyi appeared and knelt down. Lin Ruoshui asked, "Are you aware of the Duke of Dingguo's mansion?"

Ying replied, "Your subordinate understands."

Lin Ruoshui said, "Alright, we'll choose the Duke's Mansion as our first target. Yingyi, give the order to buy up all the aphrodisiacs in the capital. Put the aphrodisiacs in the Duke's clothes, hair, tea, rice bowl, and everything he can touch. Do this for three days straight. Can you manage that?"

Shadow One replied, "The one with the strongest stealth ability and the best lightness skill among the secret guards is Shadow Twenty-Eight. This task of poisoning can be given to him."

"Okay, it's settled then," Lin Ruoshui said, clapping her hands.

"Eunuch Zhang, do you know how old the Duke of Dingguo is?" Lin Ruoshui asked as soon as she thought of something.

“The Duke of Dingguo is fifty-three this year,” Zhang Gonggong replied.

"I wonder if she can handle this at her age," Lin Ruoshui muttered softly.

Suddenly, Lin Ruoshui felt dizzy, her heart was pounding, she had difficulty breathing, and her body felt like it was on fire. She grabbed Xuan Yuan Yu's arm and said, "It seems like the poison is taking effect."

Apart from Shadow One, all the other poisoned guards had already arrived at the brothel. Lin Ruoshui, enduring her discomfort, shouted, "Shadow One, take the imperial physician's medicine and go to the brothel quickly, immediately!"

Seeing Lin Ruoshui's pained expression, Yingyi frowned and said, "Yes!"

Lin Ruoshui looked at Xuan Yuanyu again and said, "Xuan Yuanyu, you should leave quickly too, or it might be too late once the medicine takes effect."

Xuanyuan Yu stared at Lin Ruoshui, whose face had turned from red to purple, and said coldly, "I don't need your help."

Just as Lin Ruoshui was about to move, her legs gave way and she fell into Xuan Yuanyu's arms.

Lin Ruoshui felt the clarity in her mind gradually fading, and the cold demon that wanted to devour everything was about to burst out of her body.

When Physician Li opened the door, he saw Lin Ruoshui lying in Xuan Yuan Yu's arms.

He rushed forward to take Lin Ruoshui's pulse, his lips pressed tightly together as he said, "The poison has taken effect. These are the pills I just prepared. After research with the imperial physicians, we have postponed the onset of the poison to a year later. It will all come out at once a year later. Your Majesty, will you take them or not?"

While speaking, Physician Li inserted silver needles into the Shangxing, Touwei, Shuaigu, and Yangbai acupoints on Lin Ruoshui's head to suppress the toxicity.

Lin Ruoshui was already out of her mind and was frantically tearing at Xuan Yuan Yu's clothes.

Xuanyuan Yu made the decision for Lin Ruoshui, saying, "Give the medicine to the Emperor."

Physician Li paused for a moment, then said, "Alright." He then put the red pill in his hand into Lin Ruoshui's mouth.

Lin Ruoshui simply held the medicine in her mouth without swallowing it. Xuan Yuanyu took a mouthful of cool water from the table and placed it on Lin Ruoshui's lips.

Lin Ruoshui felt the cool water slide down her throat, and a feeling of comfort spread to her limbs.

Just as Xuan Yuan Yu's icy lips were about to leave, Lin Ruo Shui wrapped her arms around his neck and murmured, "Don't go."

Xuanyuan Yu picked up Lin Ruoshui, returned her to the dragon bed, and gently laid her down...

Physician Li watched as Lin Ruoshui was carried away by Xuan Yuan Yu. He couldn't see the two of them return to the inner palace, but his hearing was sharp enough to hear everything clearly.

"Should we stop them?" Physician Li was conflicted. He felt as if he had lost something, but he didn't understand what it was.

……

A piercing scream echoed from the Empress's Phoenix Palace, a high-pitched and shrill sound carrying a heart-wrenching power that sent chills down the spines of all who heard it.

The queen's face was contorted with fear, her lips pressed tightly together, but the scream burst forth from deep within her throat, uncontrollable.

Granny Gui, kneeling on the ground, wanted to scream, but she didn't dare.

Because the Empress and Granny Gui had both lost their hair and become bald.

The other palace maids, whose hair was intact, dared not raise their heads or look again, fearing that the Empress would kill them to silence them.

The Empress rushed to the kneeling Gui Mama and cried, "Mama, what happened? My hair, and yours, where are they? How did they become like this? Who did this? Who is it?"

The Empress cried hysterically while shaking Granny Gui.

Even the usually calm and composed Granny Gui was completely bewildered. After the two of them hugged each other and cried, they regained their composure.

Granny Gui helped the Empress, who was kneeling on the ground, to her feet and ordered the palace maids to remove all the bronze mirrors from the Fengyi Palace.

Granny Gui had the Empress sit on the bed and began her speculation: "Your Majesty, this old servant bets that it must have been the Emperor who did it."

The Empress raised her head with tears in her eyes and looked at Granny Gui.

Granny Gui continued, "The Emperor must have angered the Empress and the other concubines earlier, so he pretended to lure you back to the palace before making his move."

"What the old lady says is quite right. Someone, go and inquire in the palaces of the other consorts and report back immediately." The Empress, with the idea that everyone should go bald together, ordered the palace maids to go and inquire.

The palace maids split up and carried out their tasks. Not long after, the reply came that several of the ladies who had participated in the operation that day had their heads shaved for no apparent reason.

The Empress snapped her fingernail and said bitterly, "It must have been the Emperor who did it. Who would have the face to step out of the palace now? The Emperor is so cruel!"

Granny Gui touched her bald head and cried out in her heart, "Why did the barber shave the head of this old woman like me? Is it because I beat Zhang Quan?"