After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

"So it's Miss Lu." The palace maid subconsciously hid her foot: "I twisted my ankle by accident, it's nothing serious."

Before she could finish speaking, chaos erupted inside the hall. The palace maid panicked and tried to escape, but Lu Zhiyuan grabbed her sleeve: "You know something bad is going to happen in Mingguang Hall."

"I don't know, how could I possibly know that something bad was going to happen in this palace?" The palace maid tugged at her clothes, and seeing that Lu Zhiyuan refused to let go, she hardened her heart and pushed her forcefully.

Just then, a sharp arrow pierced the air and struck the palace maid in the back of the head. The maid's eyes widened, as if she was unwilling to accept it, and she fell straight forward.

Lu Zhiyuan wiped the blood from her face, thinking to herself that this was a trap set for her. She bent down and closed the palace maid's eyes. Reaching out, she pulled the arrow out of the maid's head.

It was completely black; no wonder it escaped her notice.

The arrowheads were made of bronze and soaked in a layer of black venom. Even if a palace maid managed to escape unscathed, she would still die from a graze wound inflicted by these arrows.

“This is no ordinary arrow; it’s different from the ones carried by the palace guards.” Xiao Yebai appeared behind Lu Zhiyuan. “Judging from A-Yuan’s expression, she seems to know what’s going on.”

"My arrows, or rather, the arrows I developed, need to be used with a special bow. They put a lot of effort into it, not only finding the craftsman who modified my hairpin, but also finding the design drawings for the bow and arrow. Unfortunately, drawings are static and cannot realistically depict the details, so the bow and arrows they made were only 90% similar."

"Ninety percent similar, where is the remaining ten percent?" The Crown Prince and Xie Yubai came out together, followed by the Emperor and Empress, as well as civil and military officials who craned their necks to watch the show.

"It's here on the arrow!" Lu Zhiyuan pointed to the arrowhead: "My arrowheads are coated with a special black lacquer, unlike this one, which was hastily soaked in a layer of black poison. Look, here, the blood-stained poison has already fallen off. Also, the patterns on the arrowheads are significant. Unused arrowheads have raised patterns, resembling the reliefs on the Nine-Dragon Wall. Used arrowheads are concave because during use, the special black lacquer and the poison encased beneath it all disappear."

The emperor realized: "So, your poison was embedded in the arrowhead, not coated on the outside?"

"Your Majesty is wise. If you do not believe me, you may send someone to my uncle's warehouse to get the new batch of bows and arrows. They should be ready and stored in my uncle's warehouse."

The Crown Prince added, "Since these are goods being transported to the border, the Ministry of War should have a record of them. Where is the Minister of War?"

A minister, reeking of alcohol, pushed his way out of the crowd: "Your Majesty, I am here! I greet Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, and Your Highness the Crown Prince. Your Majesty, this bow and arrow is indeed on record. In addition to the sample, there are also the relevant blueprints, which are kept in the Ministry of War's storeroom. Because this weapon is too powerful, at Miss Lu's instruction, I specially ordered craftsmen to make a fake one and display it outside. The real one is hidden in a secret room in the storeroom, guarded by special personnel. Even I cannot take it out at will."

The Emperor summoned the Minister of War to examine the arrow in Lu Zhiyuan's hand. The Minister of War let out a burp, rubbed his eyes, and tilted his head to observe it for a long time before finally speaking: "Your Majesty, this is a fake arrow that I ordered to be made. However, there is no poison on the fake arrow. Your Majesty, please look, this arrow also bears the insignia of our Ministry of War."

"So..." the prince drawled, "this arrow was stolen?"

"Your Majesty, please grant me permission to return. I will certainly investigate this matter thoroughly." The Minister of War wiped the sweat from his brow. "Um, allow me to add something: what Miss Lu said earlier is all true. The real arrowhead is coated with a layer of black lacquer specially made by Miss Lu, which she demonstrated to me in front of me. When the arrow is shot, the black lacquer on the arrowhead will react with the poison inside. Once the arrowhead is stained with blood, the black lacquer will completely peel off, and together with the poison, it will invade the internal organs of the person struck by the arrow."

"This poison is so potent. If it were to accidentally hit one of our soldiers, wouldn't they lose their lives in vain?" The Emperor frowned. "Every soldier of my Northern Liang is extremely precious. To die for the country is a worthy death. To die from accidental injury is a great pity. We must not use these kinds of arrows."

"Your Majesty—" The Minister of War discreetly wiped away a bead of sweat: "This poison has an antidote, and these bows and arrows are not for ordinary soldiers. They are assigned to the Northern Liang cavalry, personally trained by General Xie. The number of bows, arrows, and who is using them are all registered. To prevent accidental injury or death from poisoning, those selected to become cavalrymen will be given the antidote. One pill lasts for three years, ensuring that no soldier dies from this poison."

"One pill is enough for three years, have you tried it?" The Emperor sneered: "If you haven't tried it, don't just spout nonsense."

“The Minister hasn’t tried it, but Yuan’er has.” Lu Zhiyuan stepped forward: “Your Majesty, the poison on the arrows and the antidote given to the soldiers were both prepared by Yuan’er. Whether it’s the poison or the antidote, Yuan’er has personally tested them. Your Majesty can ask Physician Jiang; he was right there when Yuan’er tested the medicine.”

Imperial Physician Jiang stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I can vouch for Yuan’er that everything she just said is true.”

The Crown Prince also stepped forward: "Father, I have received a report from the border that General Chaoyun has formed a cavalry unit for Beiliang. The cavalry are equipped with bows and arrows developed by A Yuan that have great destructive power. Cavalry is different from infantry. They are usually at the forefront, and their arrows will not be aimed at our Beiliang soldiers."

Lu Zhiyuan added, "The poison on the arrow is disposable; it dissolves upon contact with blood, leaving no trace. Those who die from poisoning, no matter how gruesome their death, will all have a smile on their face. Your Majesty, please look; the palace maid who died from this arrow has only expressions of fear, disbelief, and resentment on her face."

The Emperor sighed, and the Crown Prince continued, "I believe the most important thing right now is to apprehend the perpetrator. Today's palace banquet was held under heavy security, making it difficult for ordinary thieves to enter. Where did this villain, armed with a bow and arrow and hiding in the shadows, come from? If that arrow had missed its mark, who would be lying outside the palace?"

All eyes turned to Lu Zhiyuan. Lu Zhiyuan shrugged and asked, "Is it possible that the assassin missed, and that's why this palace maid is the one lying here? Of course, the assassin could also have been trying to silence her. So, what exactly happened in Mingguang Palace just now?"

Liu Ying cautiously squeezed out of the crowd, her clothes stained with blood that smelled of alcohol, and there was an unusually obvious scratch on the back of her hand.

"Miss, that man is dead!" Liu Ying said. "He only ate one bite of fish."

"Fish? Is that the dish you just brought in?"

Liu Ying nodded: "Doctor Jiang said that dish is called sweet and sour fish chunks. It doesn't look like it, but it is indeed made with real fish meat."

The deceased lay on the ground, his face pale. His right hand was outstretched, pointing forward. His left hand was choking his neck, resembling someone strangling themselves in a horror movie.