Cai Ning made up her mind and got out of bed: "Xiao Yue, where is Granny Li?"

"Granny Li said that since you're sick, she's letting me stay here and take care of you today," Xiaoyue said with a smile.

Cai Ning raised her hand and gently rubbed her temples, nodding: "Have the assignments from the past few days come through yet?"

“Cai Ning, you’ll have to ask Granny Li yourself.”

"Okay, thank you, Xiaoyue." Caining finished dressing and went out. Granny Li was in the front yard watching the palace maids wash clothes.

Cai Ning appeared in the front courtyard, and the two palace maids who usually targeted her started gossiping again, their faces full of jealousy and meanness.

The voice was very low, and only the person next to him could hear it slightly. He glanced at the two of them and then focused on his work.

"Sigh, Cai Ning rests in her room every few days, while the servants are all around. She's treated like a precious treasure!"

"Who says otherwise! She really thinks she's some empress's personal maid! How utterly ignorant and shameless! Humph!"

"I really don't know why the lady-in-waiting chose her to wash the Empress and the young prince's new clothes. Is she even capable? If I were in her shoes, I'm sure I could have done this job perfectly!"

"I don't know what kind of incredible luck they had! It's so annoying!"

Cai Ning rolled her eyes in annoyance at the two of them chattering away. They were talking louder and louder, as if no one could hear them.

But she was preoccupied with the important matter of leaving the palace and didn't want to argue with the two. She walked up to Li Mama and gave a slight curtsy: "Greetings, Li Mama."

"Cai Ning, you've come at the right time. Come with me." Granny Li remained cold and expressionless.

A sense of relief flashed through Cai Ning's heart, as if everything was progressing. She quickly followed Granny Li into the main hall.

Cai Ning gazed at the magnificent, openwork gold-embroidered phoenix robe laid out on the table, along with the new clothes prepared for the soon-to-be-born prince. The fabric was soft and precious, and the needlework exquisite and sophisticated. Her eyes were filled with amazement!

"These are the Empress and the young prince's new clothes, so they need to be washed and cared for with extra care."

"Yes, Granny, I will do my best to handle this matter carefully."

Seeing her obedient appearance, Granny Li nodded and turned to leave.

As night fell, Liu Xinqi, dressed in black, appeared on the roof of the laundry department, his movements watched closely by the guards in the darkness. Cheng Er, having received the message, rushed over.

Where are they?

"I went into that palace maid's room."

"Surround the house, make sure no one escapes!" Cheng Er's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"yes!"

The guards began their operation. Inside the room, Cai Ning looked at the clothes on the table and sighed repeatedly. She gently touched the fine phoenix robe with her hand, wishing she could wear it!

Xiaoyue stood to the side, her eyes shining: "Caining, you'd better do your job well, or the Emperor and Empress will surely reward you!"

"I hope so! I also..." Before she could finish speaking, a man in black appeared before her, and Xiaoyue was knocked unconscious to the ground.

Liu Xinqi pulled down his mask: "It's me!"

"You! How did you get here? Weren't you imprisoned by the emperor?"

Liu Xinqi stepped forward and grabbed her hand: "Let's leave here first!" He then tried to drag her away.

Before the two could take two steps, they were surrounded by more than a dozen black-clad guards. It was difficult to go up to the sky, let alone down to the ground.

Cheng Er's expression was icy as he slowly stepped forward, scrutinizing the two men: "Hand over the antidote, and perhaps I can let you go."

"What antidote!" Cai Ning looked at Liu Xinqi beside her in confusion. What on earth had happened?

Liu Xinqi glanced at her, tightened his grip on her hand, and looked sharply at Cheng Er: "Prince Yuan is probably already dead, yet you still have the mind to meddle in other people's business."

"Hmph, enough nonsense. Tie them up."

Seeing the urgency of the situation, Cai Ning roughly understood from their fragmented conversation that Prince Yuan had been poisoned, and that it was Liu Xinqi who had done it. She had been punished to kneel in the snow before, and Prince Yuan had saved her life.

She felt a pang of pity: "Liu Xinqi, why don't you give him the antidote?"

"Do you think we can really leave just because we gave him the antidote?" Liu Xinqi thought Cai Ning's idea was too naive.

"The antidote." Cheng Er, too lazy to listen to their idle chatter, coldly uttered two words, clearly having lost his patience.

Cai Ning saw that the guards were getting ready to make a move, and the two of them were already surrounded completely, with no blind spots.

Enraged, she flung Liu Xinqi's hand away: "Just give them the antidote, or we'll both die!"

Liu Xinqi looked at her in disbelief: "You!"

With a single glance from Cheng Er, the guards stepped forward and immediately seized the two men. No matter how skilled Liu Xinqi was in martial arts, he would have no choice but to surrender when faced with more than a dozen guards.

"What if you give them the antidote? At least we won't die!" Cai Ning was terrified. As a modern person, she had witnessed the ruthlessness of the ancients and was extremely frightened.

Liu Xinqi kept his head down and remained silent. The two were taken away and imprisoned in the water dungeon. Cheng Er did not find any antidote on Liu Xinqi, and after a severe trial by torture, he still gained nothing.

Cai Ning was also tortured and was in so much pain that she was about to faint. She looked at Liu Xinqi, who was locked up in the next room covered in blood, and said weakly, "Just tell them the antidote, or we'll both be dead."

"Are you really her?" Liu Xinqi suddenly asked.

"Liu Xinqi, I'm already in this state, why would I need to lie to you? If you don't believe me, why did you come alone tonight?"

Liu Xinqi was speechless, his mind filled with confusion: "Then why do I feel that you are sometimes like two different people, especially when you are with Yang Mingyue..."

Cai Ning was speechless. If she told the truth, would she be considered crazy? She hesitated.

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