In her past life, Xin Jiuwei accidentally obtained a keepsake left by her mother and did the most foolish thing ever—

Because she blindly trusted Qi Huaiyu, she told him about it.

Knowing this secret is not a good thing, so the mother left a key to survival for the rest of the Xin family. If this key is used well, the best outcome would be like Qi Huaiyu in the previous life, who would rise to the highest position and achieve great success.

The key is—

"Back then, in order to make the Empress hesitate to act, the Emperor ordered Yao Niang to feed you a poison called the 'Tong Sheng Gu'."

"This Gu has a mother Gu, which is on you, while the child Gu was given to the Empress's biological son, the current Crown Prince."

The rain intensified, and the wind and rain carried raindrops in, but no one present moved.

Xin Jiuwei shivered from the cold, still feeling nervous, but her tone gradually calmed down as she narrated.

He could sense that the killing intent in Jueming's eyes was not as strong as before.

Instead, they began to scrutinize her more closely.

“You know quite a lot,” Jueming said calmly. “If what you say is true, then your mother is indeed resourceful.”

Xin Jiuwei said softly, "Mother is just thinking ahead for me."

The symbiotic Gu, despite its name, has the opposite effect. If one of the two people infected with the Gu is injured, the other will also be doubly eroded. If one dies, the other will also be unable to survive.

Therefore, even if the Empress knew Xiao Xun's whereabouts, she would not dare to act rashly.

The Gu that Xiao Xun was infected with was the mother Gu, which had an extra layer of poison compared to the child Gu. It had been buried in Xiao Xun's body, preventing him from practicing martial arts.

The emperor loved him and his mother, but also feared that he might harbor rebellious thoughts and harm the crown prince.

The person sitting on the supreme throne protects and guards against both sides, making them wary of each other and preventing either from making a move.

"There is only one person in the world who can cure this curse."

Xin Jiuwei straightened her back and threw out her last card.

"Over the years, you and the Empress's faction have been searching for that divine physician, but you have all been misled. The divine physician has neither gone to Danzhou nor is he in the Southern Frontier."

"Your Highness."

“My mother had been kind to a divine doctor before she got married, and I can find him.”

Xin Jiuwei took something out of her sleeve and presented it to Jueming.

"Jiuwei is willing to serve Your Highness, but she begs Your Highness to spare her life."

The thunder stopped, and the rain subsided.

Jueming watched the girl in front of him without showing any emotion.

What a frail and helpless noblewoman she was, she looked so pitiful, just as she had told him several times, that she was in a difficult situation and had nowhere to turn.

More than ten years ago, Yao Niang died after pouring her heart and soul into him. Before she died, she left him a letter, but the writer of the letter was someone else.

The woman who was loved by the emperor, but ultimately died in the deep palace from worry, left him with only one sentence.

"Dying is so easy, living is so difficult, and that's why we must live on."

When the lightning briefly illuminated Xin Jiuwei's face, Jueming thought that the woman who couldn't even protect her own child must have struggled like her.

Jueming stared at Xin Jiuwei for a long time.

Xin Jiuwei, who had calmed down a bit, couldn't help but get nervous again. Perhaps because of the cold, she trembled and her teeth chattered.

After a long while, she heard Jueming ask, "How can I trust you?"

Xin Jiuwei felt a chill run down her spine and clenched her hands tightly.

"Your Highness...can you give me a month?"

"Within a month, I will find a way to remove the curse for Your Highness."

Qingyuan didn't believe her. "You think we'll forgive you just because you said a few words? What if you run home and stay inside, or what if you don't even know the miracle doctor?"

“You were quite decisive when you tried to kill me just now,” Xin Jiuwei said, looking at him. “If I can’t produce the antidote in a month, then come to the Xin residence and kill me.”

She still held up both hands, holding what she wanted to show Jueming, until her hands were almost stiff.

Xin Jiuwei looked at Jueming again, "Your Highness, don't you trust me?"

For once, Jueming's brow twitched.

This seemingly useless young noblewoman was using reverse psychology on him.

Jueming was unusually interested and glanced at Qingyuan, who then took the things from Xin Jiuwei's hands.

"A very bad omen." Jueming unfolded the small fortune slip. "Miss Xin is always blessed with good fortune."

The second worst fortune slip that Xin Jiuwei drew in front of everyone that day was the same one she had drawn in front of Jueming. She left the fortune slip with her name on it, but she has not yet interpreted it.

"Drawing the worst possible lot twice in a row, how can I call that good luck?" Xin Jiuwei said. "At a time like this, does Your Highness still want to mock me?"

Jueming smiled faintly, “Why is it not considered good luck to draw the same fortune twice in a row?”

His smile quickly vanished, and he looked at her with a gaze that seemed to see through everything, as if he could read Xin Jiuwei's mind.

“You know perfectly well in your heart that I am not mocking you.”

Xin Jiuwei wondered: Could it be that Jueming's eyes, which were so large and unsettling to look directly at, were due to his long years of practice under the Buddha's guidance?

She mustered her courage to look into those eyes and said, "Since Your Highness says so, then I refuse to believe this is such an unlucky sign."

"Now I realize that the reason Master Jueming didn't help me interpret the divination slip is because today, my life and death are in the hands of Your Highness."

Spring and summer rains always come and go quickly; as we spoke, the rain gradually subsided.

Jueming suddenly felt a rare surge of curiosity, which prompted him to want to know what this young noblewoman, who was trembling with fear yet stubbornly holding her neck high, would do to protect herself.

The last drop of rain fell, knocking the crabapple blossoms off.

Xin Jiuwei heard Jueming say:

"Then let's set a limit of one month."