"It's you?!"

"You're still alive?!"

Upon hearing this, Yi Shangyun turned to look at the face of the person who had just reached out from the darkness to help her.

But the person was wearing a veil, so it was impossible to see clearly or confirm their appearance.

So she quickly looked around and found that there was no one else besides the two of them, so she figured he was talking about her.

He paused for a moment, examined her carefully again, and finally pointed to his own nose, asking in confusion, "You...recognize me?"

Unexpectedly, the man only cautiously said, "This is not the place to talk. Come with me."

So, she was led by that person to a room in the far corner of the backyard.

Back inside, the man cautiously closed the door before lighting a candle and speaking to Yi Shangyun, "I am Lanxiang, do you remember me?"

"Lanxiang..."

Prompted by the voice, Yi Shangyun quickly searched her memory and finally slowly remembered.

He couldn't help but feel excited, and suddenly grabbed her hand, saying, "Lanxiang, it's you! What are you doing here?"

Fearing that someone would discover the festering sores on her body, Lanxiang, though equally surprised and excited, only cared about quickly pulling her hand away from Yishangyun's.

Despite her extremely fast speed, Yi Shangyun still carefully noticed an unusual ulcer on the back of her hand.

After pausing for a moment, he cautiously asked her, "Lanxiang, you..."

Lanxiang took two steps back and lied, saying, "I'm fine, I just accidentally hurt myself."

With such obvious symptoms, how could Yi Shangyun not see them? So he moved closer and closer to her.

"No, this isn't an external injury!"

Why do you wear a veil, afraid to show your true face to others?

What's wrong with you?

Yi Shangyun's eyes were fixed on her every move, and with each step forward, Lanxiang would take a step back.

As Yi Shangyun spoke, he was about to pull off her veil, but just as he was about to touch her, Lanxiang grabbed his hand and held it firmly in place.

Stop her from pleading, saying, "Please, don't look!"

But Yi Shangyun was really worried about her condition, so taking advantage of her unpreparedness, she suddenly used her other hand to completely remove the covering from her face.

Lanxiang then cried out in alarm, "No!"

At that moment, she hurriedly used her hands to cover her face as if by instinct, but unexpectedly, she ended up completely exposing her condition to Yi Shangyun.

Looking at the large and small, shocking nodules and ulcers on Lanxiang's neck, lips, wrists, and other parts of her body.

And the extreme panic in her eyes at that moment was simply unbelievable to Yi Shangyun, who stared at her with wide eyes.

But soon, she suppressed her boundless anger and comforted Lanxiang with heartache: "You must have suffered a lot these days!"

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang, who had always pretended to be strong on her own since falling ill, finally let down her guard, leaned on Yishangyun's shoulder, and cried bitterly, feeling both sad and happy.

"Waaaaah..."

"what do I do?"

"I don't want to die."

"Even the Imperial Physician Zhang is helpless against this. I think I'm doomed. I'm about to die!"

"Why did you take so long to arrive? I thought I'd never see you again in this lifetime!"

Seeing Lanxiang crying like a child in his arms, Yi Shangyun felt extremely sorry for her and gently stroked her back.

He encouraged her, saying, "What nonsense are you talking about? You keep saying 'death,' what death? Nobody dies. Don't be afraid, I'm here for you! Believe me, your illness isn't incurable. I can cure you, I definitely will!"

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang slowly stood up and asked with a hint of disbelief, "Is what you're saying true? Is there really any cure for my illness? Can you really cure me?"

Yi Shangyun reached out and tidied a few stray strands of hair at his temples, nodding with absolute certainty: "Trust me, I have a way!"

Upon hearing this, Lanxiang felt as if she had finally been pulled back from the brink of despair by someone.

After a while, he suddenly came to his senses and exclaimed, "Heaven has eyes; thankfully you are still alive."

He then scrutinized Yi Shangyun's attire and asked her with a puzzled look, "Now everyone in the capital knows that the Prince Qin's mansion is holding a funeral for you, and not long ago, the Prince Qin remarried the beloved daughter of Lu Xian, the dean of the Western Qin Academy. So why are you dressed like this in the palace? What's going on?"

Recalling the past, Yi Shangyun was momentarily at a loss for words, only saying, "This is a long story!"

Lanxiang pulled her over to sit down, poured her some hot tea, and said, "It's alright. There's no one else in this courtyard besides you and me. It's been so long since we last met, and I have so much to tell you!"

However, Yi Shangyun seemed hesitant upon hearing this, but ultimately nodded slightly and sat down.

While one side was pondering how to save people, the other side was plotting how to kill...

Having followed Yi Shangyun to investigate without success, Lu Tianjiao could only return to the Empress Dowager's Yong'an Palace dejectedly.

Upon entering the warm bedchamber, they saw the Empress Dowager holding her forehead, looking somewhat tired.

Lu Tianjiao then bowed to her and said with concern, "Your subject greets Your Majesty. It is getting late, Your Majesty, why don't you rest?"

Upon hearing this, the Empress Dowager immediately raised her head and angrily said to him, "You haven't been able to find out a single piece of information. That mother and child are still alive and well. How can I sleep?!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Tianjiao quickly lowered his head, knelt down, and apologized to her: "It is all because your son is incompetent. Please punish me, Mother!"

The Empress Dowager was indeed angry, which showed that she still had some use to her, so she could only suppress her displeasure and continue to ask her: "I ask you, how is Consort Chun's health now? Is she any better?"

Lu Tianjiao replied, "There has been no improvement whatsoever. He is still unable to get out of bed, and I've heard it's unlikely he'll fully recover!"

The Empress Dowager thought for a moment and then asked her, "You have been married into the Prince's mansion for some time now. Have you found out whether the Prince of Qin has had any news of his protectors all these years?"

Lu Tianjiao's heart skipped a beat.

However, he quickly put on a look of distress and utter helplessness.

He shook his head again: "The Prince's mansion has always been very wary of outsiders, and the Prince's secret guards are layered upon layered within the mansion. I simply cannot get close, and to this day I have not found any information about the guardians!"

The Empress Dowager clenched her fists tightly, clearly having already tolerated her for a long time and was very dissatisfied with her inaction.

So he decided to give her a good talking-to, and with a slight tilt of his head, asked again, "Do you know where the King of Qin is?"

Lu Tianjiao shook his head: "Your Highness has urgent official business to attend to, but I do not know the specifics."

"It seems that from childhood to adulthood, you have truly never been favored by the King of Qin!" the Empress Dowager said, seemingly mockingly.

Lu Tianjiao lowered his head and remained silent. Although he was angry, he dared not say anything.

At this moment, the Empress Dowager suddenly exclaimed, "This time, the King of Qin will have no way to escape, he is doomed!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Tianjiao finally raised his head, looking worried: "What does Mother mean by that?"

The Empress Dowager calmly sipped her tea and continued, "The Emperor deliberately ordered the concealment of crucial military intelligence to force the Prince of Qin to submit and volunteer to personally investigate the enemy's situation at the front. Once he makes direct contact with the enemy, the Emperor will deliberately delay sending reinforcements. At that point, we can easily eliminate this thorn in our side, the Prince of Qin!"

Hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Lu Tianjiao stared wide-eyed, hardly believing his ears, repeatedly asking, "Using someone else to do the dirty work?! How could this be?"

Seeing the astonishment in Lu Tianjiao's eyes, the Empress Dowager said, "Those who think they are deeply affectionate and give and love unilaterally always end up with regrets! In the end, they only move themselves! If I were you, I would know to cut my losses in time and strive for the greatest benefit for the rest of my life. As a woman, you should first and foremost know how to love yourself!"

No matter what the Empress Dowager said, Lu Tianjiao refused to believe it, stubbornly refusing to accept the fact: "No, he's a warrior of unparalleled skill, a tiger that can conquer ten thousand miles. He's a war god who strikes fear into the hearts of the enemy on the battlefield. He'll be alright, he won't..."

The Empress Dowager's voice still echoed in my ears: "Now that the King of Qin is gone forever, the only person I can't tolerate is that wretched woman. She shouldn't have, she shouldn't have, she really shouldn't have come back to life."

"I've practically watched you grow up. I've been through it all; I know the pain of unrequited love. I sincerely hope that this entire Qin Prince's Mansion will be yours. I hope you won't let my efforts go to waste, and that you won't regret your decision today, no matter how long the rest of your life is ahead!"

At some point, Lu Tianjiao gradually began to take these words to heart.

Faced with the Empress Dowager's emotional appeal and reasoned explanation, coupled with the memory of her wholehearted dedication over the past decade, which had only resulted in Xuan Yuanhan's indifference and ruthlessness, she was deeply moved.

In Lu Tianjiao's heart, it seemed that he had finally made up his mind.

His eyes glazed over, and he asked coldly, "What does Mother Empress want me to do?"

At this moment, a maid came in, carrying a wooden tray. She approached Lu Tianjiao and then stopped.

Lu Tianjiao glanced at it, then asked, puzzled, "This is..."

The Empress Dowager appeared extremely calm at this moment: "It is said that on the Spirit Void Continent, there is a poison called Soul-Suppressing Powder. This poison is colorless and odorless, and it will not kill a person immediately, but it will make a person feel as if they are in a deep sleep twelve hours after taking it, and they will die in their sleep!"

Lu Tianjiao then slowly stood up and took out the small jade-colored porcelain bottle from the wooden tray held by the maid.

The Empress Dowager continued, "I finally managed to find this medicine, and there's only one bottle. I'll bestow it upon you today!"

Lu Tianjiao said coldly, "Thank you for the reward, Mother!"

At this point, the Empress Dowager yawned and said, "Alright, it seems I'm really getting old and can no longer keep vigil with you young people! It's too late tonight, so don't go back. Stay at Yong'an Palace!"

That night, thousands of lights shone, and the Milky Way glittered.

Lu Tianjiao held the small jade-colored porcelain bottle tightly in his hand, turning it over and over, tossing and turning, thinking about many things, and didn't sleep all night.

There was another person who also didn't sleep all night.