First annul the engagement, then sever ties with the empress; the empress reigns supreme.

"Don't meddle in other people's business, and remember who you are." The masked woman stared intently in the direction Gu Junxi and the others had left.

The masked woman appeared the moment Gu Junxi and Mu Lingxuan appeared together. She was the only audience member who witnessed the entire process.

Before she could even show herself, a large hand had already pressed down on her shoulder from behind, and a warning word reached her ears.

"Master, rest assured, I understand." Su Li turned to the side and bowed to Qing Yanzi.

"It's good that you understand. Let's go. It's time to deliver the medicinal herbs needed for the Emperor's alchemy tonight." Su Li walked away, and Qing Yanzi's hand missed its mark. He didn't care at this moment. He swept his whisk and walked straight ahead.

He had the air of a sage, but who would have thought that this seemingly otherworldly old man was not only dissolute in his private life but also wicked to the core?

Through her observation, Su Li figured it out. Gu Junxi had probably also been given a drug that could control people's minds, and she only knew of one such drug: Gu.

Her master was a master at manipulating Gu worms.

She suddenly understood why, on the day of her mother's wedding, when she saw someone drugging Mu Lingye, her master had stopped her from intervening, just as she had today.

It turns out that this medicine was given out by my master.

Yes, this medicine should have been given to that fool Zuo Chengfeng by Master at the beginning.

That day, Zuo Chengfeng got drunk and flirted with Mu Qingfu, so he lost the drug, which ended up being picked up by Mu Lingxuan. Later, Mu Lingxuan allied with Leng Xuanjue and together they drugged Gu Junxi and Mu Lingye.

Su Li carefully sorted things out and managed to straighten out the tangled mess.

Su Li blinked and glanced again in the direction Gu Junxi and the others had left.

"Aren't you going to follow?" Qingyanzi had already walked quite a distance when he turned back, his gaze sweeping across Su Li with a penetrating look.

Su Li understood that Qing Yanzi had seen through her little scheme.

It's not easy to live in this world; who doesn't only care about themselves?

Being a little selfish is not wrong.

Su Li pursed her lips, quickened her pace, and caught up with Qing Yanzi.

"Master, is this your newly recruited attendant?" Su Li was entering the palace with Qing Yanzi for the first time. The chief eunuch in charge of the alchemy room looked at the mask on Su Li's face.

Qingyanzi swept his whisk and said with a smile, "This is my disciple. From now on, she will be in charge of preparing medicinal herbs for the Emperor."

"I am Qingyu Zi, greetings, Father-in-law." Su Li bowed.

The head eunuch returned the greeting politely. Everyone in the palace knew how highly Emperor Sheng regarded Qingyanzi, so no one dared to be impolite to him. Even Qingyanzi's apprentices deserved respect.

Su Li made her official debut as she walked through the palace. She and Qing Yan entered the alchemy room that Emperor Sheng had specially prepared.

The alchemy room wasn't filled with the fragrance of elixirs; instead, it was permeated with a strange, unusual aroma.

Su Li and Qing Yanzi stayed in the alchemy room for more than an hour. When they came out, the palace banquet was almost over, and the ministers left the palace gates one after another to return to their residences.

Murong Yuan came to the underground palace with Mu Lingye and the others. When they parted, he discovered that Gu Junxi and Mu Lingye had disappeared without him.

Murong Yuan had already sent people to search, but there was still no news. He had no choice but to leave the palace alone. As he left the palace, he glanced casually and spotted that familiar figure in the crowd.

He wore a pure white robe over a light blue inner lining, and his long black hair was tied up with a wooden hairpin, giving him the appearance of a Taoist priest.

"Second miss."

Murong Yuan gave chase.

The figure didn't turn around when he heard his call; it disappeared around a corner.

In the completely dark palace, a palace lantern was lit every two meters, illuminating the surroundings. A fallen leaf swirled and fell to the ground, but the person they were looking for was nowhere to be seen.

Murong Yuan slumped his shoulders and turned to see two palace maids passing by. He blocked their way: "I wonder if you two ladies have seen a very beautiful girl dressed in Taoist robes? No... her appearance is exactly the same as the Crown Princess's, the only difference is that the girl has a mole at the corner of her eye."

The two officials shook their heads after hearing Murong Yuan's description.

Murong Yuan had already suspected that seeing Su Li earlier was his imagination, and seeing the two palace maids shake their heads, he became even more disappointed. He was now certain that it had all been an illusion.

"Thank you," Murong Yuan said, then turned and left.

The two palace maids watched Murong Yuan's departing figure, shrugged in unison, and couldn't help but gossip in hushed tones.

"This gentleman is really handsome, no less so than our Crown Prince, but he doesn't seem very bright. If someone in the palace looked like the Crown Princess, it would have been known long ago. Why would he be the one coming to find him?"

"Yes. But I did hear that there is indeed someone who looks exactly like the Crown Princess, and that is the Crown Princess's twin sister. The second young lady of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion did not attend the banquet today. I heard that she has been missing recently. Do you think that gentleman just now was secretly in love with the second young lady of the Ningyuan Marquis's mansion? He was going crazy looking for her."

"possible."

The two palace maids answered each other's questions, and soon sorted things out.

As the two were engrossed in their discussion, they walked to a few large trees and suddenly saw a Taoist priest wearing a mask and a blue undershirt over a pure white robe standing behind the trees, staring intently at the path they had come from.

The two palace maids were startled. They politely patted themselves and quickly walked away.

Discussing someone important behind their back, especially if overheard by someone who doesn't know their background, is a major taboo; you'd better run away quickly.

The footsteps faded into the distance, but Su Li's gaze remained fixed on the direction Murong Yuan had left in. After a long while, she sighed and murmured to herself.

"Murong Yuan, you shouldn't have come looking for me. Now that you've escaped the darkness, why go back to it?"

Mu Qingfu's carriage had arrived at Prince Su's residence. The carriage curtain was pulled open, and Gu Junxi wanted to get off the carriage herself, but Mu Qingfu stopped her.

Mu Qingfu exaggeratedly grabbed Gu Junxi's hand and carefully landed on the ground step by step.

"There's no need to be so nervous. I'm only a little over a month pregnant, not close to giving birth." Gu Junxi was originally in a bad mood because of her health and Mu Lingye's matter, but she couldn't help but laugh when she saw Mu Qingfu's actions.

Mu Qingfu disagreed and continued to support Gu Junxi: "Even if you're not about to give birth, you still need to be careful. I've heard that in the first three months of pregnancy, the fetus isn't fully settled yet, so you still need to take extra care and can't be careless."

At this point, Mu Qingfu complained, "You too, you didn't tell us about such a big thing as your pregnancy. It's one thing to keep it from outsiders, but to keep it from us as well, do you not consider us family, or is it because Mother had a conflict with Auntie a few days ago and is holding a grudge against us?"

Mu Qingfu speaks her mind without holding back, and she never hesitates to speak her mind, never letting up even when she's right.

Ning Hanshuang hadn't even told Gu Junxi about her pregnancy yet. Considering that Wen Gu's death and Su Li's disappearance were already enough to worry Ning Hanshuang, she didn't want to tell her about the pregnancy and make her worry.

She knew that Mu Qingfu said this out of concern for her. So she simply smiled and let Mu Qingfu vent her anger.

Once inside Prince Su's residence, Mu Qingfu acted with the same fervor as Mu Lingye upon learning of Gu Junxi's pregnancy, having people prepare soft cushions and various nutritious bird's nest supplements for Gu Junxi.

This display of power made Gu Junxi wave her hands repeatedly. This isn't how you nourish your body; consuming all those bird's nest supplements can lead to over-nourishment and nosebleeds.

"Don't cause trouble." Ning Haitang glared at Mu Qingfu, then personally pulled Mu Qingfu away and helped Gu Junxi up herself: "Xixi, your aunt has some top-grade bird's nest and century-old ginseng hidden in her private stash. Your aunt will have the kitchen stew them in a bit."

Gu Junxi: ...