Everything happened without warning; everyone could only watch helplessly, unable to even stop it.

Song Ting was also startled, and before she could react, she had already rushed forward—

Just before the Empress Dowager was about to crash into the incense table, he used his back to cushion the impact, and the Empress Dowager crashed straight into his chest.

He already had injuries on his back, and the impact reopened those wounds, causing him to suddenly feel dizzy from the pain and break out in a cold sweat.

When she looked up again, her gaze met that of Chu Huaixu outside the palace gate. The two looked at each other across the chaotic crowd.

Chu Huaixu's gaze was cold, causing Song Ting to instinctively tighten her grip, and his gaze grew even colder.

Then Chu Huaixu turned around again and left through the palace gate.

—She's angry again.

Song opened his mouth, then reluctantly turned his gaze away—the Empress Dowager in his arms had her eyes closed and her face ashen, barely breathing.

One of the concubines screamed, her face turning deathly pale, instantly inciting the others, whose screams rose and fell under the watchful gaze of the golden Buddha statue.

"Your Majesty!"

"Lord Song!"

"What's going on? What happened to the Empress Dowager?!"

"Summon the Imperial Physician—summon the Imperial Physician immediately…someone, summon the Imperial Physician…"

Several ministers finally reacted belatedly and gathered around.

Because of the pill that he had taken, Song Ting's intense pain subsided quickly. After a moment, he carefully squatted down and placed the Empress Dowager's head on his lap.

"Stand back!" A cold, sharp gaze swept over the crowd. "Guards!"

The Imperial Guards, who were already waiting outside the door, surrounded the entire hall in the blink of an eye at Song Ting's command.

The concubines were already quite frightened, and their reaction became even more intense upon seeing this. Several of the more timid ones burst into tears, huddling together and trembling.

Zhang Bingzhi was also terrified. The moment the Empress Dowager collapsed, the Grand Secretary Zhang instinctively tried to pull her up.

Unfortunately, his old arms and legs were too weak to move as fast as Song Ting's. Instead, he lost his footing and fell to the ground, unable to get up for a long time.

"Summon the Imperial Physician—Summon the Imperial Physician immediately—"

The Empress Dowager's symptoms resemble poisoning, and the toxins have already seeped into her meridians. She may not be able to wait for the imperial physicians to treat her.

Song Ting acted decisively, helping the Empress Dowager sit up and using his internal energy to expel the toxins attached to her meridians.

The Empress Dowager was covered in cold sweat, her tightly closed eyes darting around rapidly. Suddenly, she coughed and spat out a mouthful of dark red blood!

With that cough, she seemed to finally regain some consciousness, struggling to open her eyes and tightly gripping Song Ting's arm:

"Lord Song... Lord Song... save me! My heart is aching so much! I don't want to... I don't want to die..."

After saying just that, she couldn't hold on any longer and fainted again.

"Imperial Physician! The Imperial Physician is here!" Someone shouted. Song Ting looked up and saw Imperial Physician Zhang being carried by a guard as he ran towards them.

Song Ting's eyes darkened, her heart in turmoil.

The prayer ceremony had to be suspended due to the Empress Dowager's sudden fainting. Song ordered the Imperial Guards to put all the monks in the temple under guard.

The entire White Horse Temple was a no-go zone; not even a fly could escape.

In addition, Xiao Wu was ordered by him to ride back to Chang'an at full speed and inform the young emperor of the matter.

The prayer ceremony was interrupted, and the Empress Dowager's fate was unknown. This was a matter of great importance, and the Emperor absolutely had to know.

The chaotic situation in the temple was finally brought under control after an hour, but the Empress Dowager remained unconscious.

There were two imperial physicians accompanying the Empress Dowager this time. In addition to Zhang Chongyi, there was also He Bei, the apprentice of Chief Physician Wang. Both physicians were skilled in medicine, but they were at a loss when faced with the Empress Dowager's condition.

"...Her Majesty the Empress Dowager seems to have been poisoned, but we are incompetent and cannot make a diagnosis in a short time. We are afraid that we will need the Chief Physician Wang to make the diagnosis himself."

"Fortunately, the commander acted decisively and used his skills to expel most of the toxins from the Empress's body in time; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable," Zhang Chongyi said.

Zhang Bingzhi, having injured his leg, stood to the side on crutches, fuming with anger:

"Stop with the nonsense, just tell me, how is the Empress Dowager's health now, and when will she wake up?!"

Physician Zhang frowned, speechless: "This..."

He Bei simply lowered his head.

This means everyone is helpless in the face of this. Zhang Bingzhi was so angry that his face turned ashen.

"You don't know what kind of poison this is, when it entered Her Majesty's body, how to cure it, or when Her Majesty will wake up."

"Imperial Physician Zhang, Imperial Physician He, may I ask you, what exactly do you know?"

Zhang Bingzhi's fierce gaze frightened the two imperial physicians so much that their legs went weak, and they knelt on the ground with a thud, trembling and not daring to utter a word.

Seeing that he couldn't rely on them, Zhang Bingzhi turned his attention to Song Ting.

Since issuing those orders, the latter had remained silent, and Zhang Bingzhi was quite curious to know what he was thinking.

"Lord Song, the prayer ceremony is a matter of great importance, and it also involves the Empress Dowager's health. In addition, there was the previous incident of the palace being closed. If even the slightest word gets out, the consequences will be unimaginable."

"Now that things have come to this, Commander Song, do you have any brilliant ideas?"

Although the two had conflicts, Zhang Bingzhi also hoped that the prayer ceremony would not proceed smoothly so that he could suppress Song Ting, but this did not include the Empress Dowager's incident.

This was not part of his plan at all.

Song Ting stood to the side with her eyes down the whole time, only lifting her eyelids to meet Zhang Bingzhi's gaze when her name was called.

But soon, he turned his gaze away, his face darkening as he asked Zhang Chongyi:

"Given Your Majesty's current condition, is it permissible for you to return to Chang'an?"

Zhang Chongyi shook his head fiercely: "It's best not to. Although we can't be sure, this old minister and young friend He are inclined to believe that the Empress has been poisoned."

"To prevent the spread of toxins in the body, avoid jolting or bumping, otherwise the toxins may spread even faster."

"And once the toxin invades the heart, it will be too late to save him."

Song Ting was a martial artist, so he naturally understood this principle. Therefore, he was just asking casually, and Zhang Bingzhi overheard it.

Zhang Bingzhi was even more furious: "So, according to you, we can only wait for Chief Wang to come?"

The two nodded awkwardly.

The journey from Chang'an to Luoyang wasn't too far; it would only take two days by fast horse. However, the Empress Dowager's carriage took a full ten days to travel there.

No matter how quickly Dr. Wang tries to catch up, his age is a factor, and it will probably take him four or five days to get there.

Given the Empress Dowager's current condition, it's hard to say whether she can hold on for such a long period of time.

Furthermore, this was the best outcome they could foresee, assuming that Chief Physician Wang could cure the Empress Dowager's illness.

But what if Chief Wang is also at a loss for a time?

The consequences would be even more unimaginable.

Everyone involved knew the truth about the matter, but it was just not something they wanted to discuss openly.