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

The palace maid was frightened and dared not move, craning her neck: "I don't recognize her. That person was wearing the gray dress of a low-ranking palace maid from the hunting grounds, and her face was covered. I could hardly tell who she was."

"Is that so?" Gu Junxi put away the hairpin, pulled the palace maid around forcefully, and made her face him. She then placed her fingers on the palace maid's pulse.

The pulse was beating too fast, but other than that, there were no other signs of poisoning.

"You're lying. You weren't poisoned at all." Gu Junxi's sharp gaze swept over the palace maid again.

The palace maid shrank back, almost kneeling on the ground in fright.

Her face was pale, and she shook her head desperately: "Your Highness, this servant does not know. That person did indeed feed this servant a black pill. This servant is just a powerless and helpless palace maid in the hunting grounds. Even if you gave this servant a hundred lives, this servant would not dare to lie to you."

Gu Junxi observed coldly; the palace maid's fearful and uneasy appearance did not seem like she was lying.

There is another explanation for why the palace maid took the pills but showed no signs of poisoning.

That was a non-poisonous pill given to the palace maid, meant only to trick her into doing things for her.

To verify her suspicions, Gu Junxi continued to ask with a cold face, "Did she say when she would give you the antidote?"

The palace maid was dumbfounded.

A fool did someone else's job without even discussing the follow-up.

Wouldn't that make us completely at the mercy of others?

Gu Junxi released the palace maid and then stuffed a blood-replenishing pill, which had no side effects, into the maid's mouth, forcing her to swallow it, while threatening her.

"I have now given you the Seven-Day Severance Powder. If I find out you are not lying after seven days, I will have someone send you the medicine. Otherwise, you will have no choice but to go to hell to meet the King of Hell."

"Your Highness, please spare me! I really didn't lie." Upon hearing this, the palace maid collapsed to the ground, kowtowing and begging for mercy.

Gu Junxi ignored her and turned to leave Lan Yue Pavilion. After walking a distance, she turned back, but there was still no one else around Lan Yue Pavilion, only the palace maid sitting on the ground in a daze.

If the palace maid was not lying, then what happened to her today was an undeserved misfortune.

Gu Junxi thought that after seven days, once she was sure that the palace maid was not acting strangely, she would have someone send her some silver as compensation.

He turned and left again, his thoughts racing.

Gu Junxi thought it over and over. At this time, the only person who could hide their identity to remind her, and who was also a woman, was probably Su Li, who had been missing for a long time.

Su Li knew about Gu poison, and she also knew that someone had placed Gu poison on her and Mu Lingye. It was highly likely that the person controlling Su Li was a Gu poison master, and the Gu poison that afflicted her and Mu Lingye originated from him.

The fact that Su Li was able to find the palace maid who delivered the message means that she was at the hunting grounds today. From the time the palace maid delivered the message to the time she led her to the Lan Yue Pavilion, less than a quarter of an hour had passed, which strongly suggests that Su Li had not gone far and was still in the hunting grounds.

Thinking of this, Gu Junxi quickened her pace and returned to the square. At this time, Ning Hanshuang had already returned to her seat and was looking for her.

"Where have you been? You're pregnant, and there are too many people and gossips in this hunting ground. You can't just wander around." Ning Hanshuang's gaze fell on Gu Junxi, and she frowned.

Another daughter has gone missing; the only remaining daughter cannot be allowed to get hurt again.

Gu Junxi didn't have time to answer Ning Hanshuang's questions and went straight to the point: "Mother, Su Li may be at the hunting grounds right now. Your Uncle Qin Yue, please help us check all the exits carefully. We must not let Su Li out."

Qin Yue currently serves in the Imperial Guard, and although he is only a deputy general, he has extensive connections. Secretly having someone keep an eye on the exits isn't a violation of regulations, and it's not a difficult task for Qin Yue.

"Okay." Since it concerned Su Li, Ning Hanshuang dared not be negligent. After instructing Gu Junxi not to run around again, she hurriedly left.

Gu Junxi noticed that Emperor Sheng had taken notice of her. Not wanting to cause any further trouble, she quietly returned to her seat. She subtly looked around, trying to find the person hiding nearby who had placed the poison on her and Mu Lingye.

Apart from the younger generation who participated in the martial arts and horsemanship competitions, the remaining attendants were all senior nobles and ministers, and they did not appear to be anything unusual.

The Left Prime Minister even smiled at her when she looked over.

No suspicious person was found.

Gu Junxi silently withdrew her gaze, and the participants in the martial arts and horsemanship competition returned one after another. The winner was Leng Xuanjue, followed by the heir of the Yongchang Marquis of Dasheng, then the people from Dayu, and no one from Qin made it into the top five.

Mu Lingxuan ranked seventh.

The tenth and twentieth have both returned.

Based on their strength, Mu Lingye, Mu Qingfu, Zuo Chengfeng, and Long Yao, who should have been ranked at the top, have not yet returned.

Gu Junxi couldn't help but feel anxious. She stood up from her seat and walked to a spot near the exit to look around.

"Are you looking for your elder brother?" Mu Lingxuan walked to Gu Junxi's side and, unusually, addressed Mu Lingye as his elder brother when facing Gu Junxi.

Anything abnormal is suspicious, and Mu Lingxuan's attitude was very unusual.

Gu Junxi keenly sensed that something bad must have happened to Mu Lingye and the others during the martial arts and horsemanship competition.

Thinking that she still didn't know who had cast the spell on her and Mu Lingye, Gu Junxi calmed herself down and deliberately tried to get information out of them, saying coldly, "What do I want with him? As for Cousin Qingfu and Princess Longyao, why haven't they come out yet? Have you seen them?"

"The more you want to know something, the more you hide it. Xixi, are you trying to outsmart me, or have you really fallen out with your brother because of what happened last night?" Mu Lingxuan stared at Gu Junxi with his dark, deep eyes, his guard extremely high.

Having her thoughts read, Gu Junxi didn't linger with Mu Lingxuan. If Mu Lingxuan truly wanted to show off, the more indifferent she acted, the more it itch he would become, and sooner or later he would take the initiative to speak to her again.

Gu Junxi moved a few steps to the right of the pillar, distancing herself from Mu Lingxuan: "If Your Highness does not wish to speak, then so be it."

"Yes, I'll give you a surprise." Mu Lingxuan didn't object and readily agreed.

I won't take the bait.

Gu Junxi raised an eyebrow, convinced that what happened to Mu Lingye and the others during their riding practice must have been quite significant, otherwise Mu Lingxuan wouldn't have remained so calm.

After all, a strategy of first suppressing and then elevating the opponent is the best way to deliver the heaviest blow to her.

Gu Junxi's hands, which were curled up in her wide sleeves, clenched unconsciously.

One by one, all the participants in the martial arts and horsemanship competition have returned.

The people from the Dayu delegation began to get anxious, as did the Left Prime Minister. They repeatedly reported to Emperor Sheng, pleading with him to send someone to search for them.

Emperor Sheng agreed and was about to send men on horseback to search when the sound of hooves came from the exit.

Zuo Chengfeng and Mu Qingfu rode one horse together, while Mu Lingye and Long Yao rode another horse together, appearing in everyone's sight.

To be precise, Long Yao didn't actually ride with Mu Lingye; she was laid across the horse and brought back by Mu Lingye.

All four of them were covered in blood and looked disheveled.

Seeing this, without the Emperor's permission, guards stepped forward to help Zuo Chengfeng, Mu Qingfu, Mu Lingye, and Long Yao off their horses.