Du Shuo found two eunuchs to carry the garment and follow behind Gu Jiangli and the others.

Gu Jiangli glanced back, somewhat worried, and said, "Be careful, don't bump into anything."

The eunuchs carried the garment along with the hanger, barely managing to touch it.

Du Shuo thought Gu Jiangli was worried that they would damage the clothes, so he said cheerfully, "Your Majesty, don't worry, we servants are very careful and won't damage the clothes."

"That's not what I meant..." Gu Jiangli stopped mid-sentence.

She wasn't too concerned about whether the clothes were damaged or not. What was really bad was if these palace servants happened to see them and something went wrong.

But now is not the time to talk about these things.

"Alright, just be careful and try not to run into them."

She reminded them again, and the eunuchs carrying the clothes paid more attention, their movements becoming much more meticulous.

Gu Jiangli turned away and stopped talking; any further words would only annoy him.

She looked at the eunuch in front of the sedan chair and was surprised to find that he was a stranger.

She casually asked, "I've never seen this eunuch before. Is he new to Jing'an Palace?"

The eunuch turned around, his expression natural, showing no sign of nervousness at Gu Jiangli's sudden question. "Your Majesty, this servant is not a eunuch from Jing'an Palace. This servant works in Changxin Palace. This time, I was ordered by His Majesty to come and convey His Majesty's oral decree to Your Majesty. Therefore, it is normal that Your Majesty has never seen this servant before."

Changxin Hall was the closest palace to the imperial court, located behind it. After court, the emperor would stay there if he wanted to receive his officials privately or conduct official business in peace.

His words were so succinct that they lessened Gu Jiangli's doubts somewhat.

"I see. How should I address you, Father-in-law?"

"Your humble servant is Ma Guang. I fear my name may offend Your Majesty's ears. Please feel free to give me any instructions."

"Ma Guang," Gu Jiangli repeated, as if it were a name she had just picked out. "By the way, you mentioned earlier that His Majesty met with his ministers. I wonder which ministers His Majesty met with?"

"This...the matters His Majesty discussed with the officials are confidential, and this servant is unaware of them."

"I didn't ask you what they were talking about. I just asked, who was His Majesty talking to? When you were serving in the Changxin Palace and following His Majesty's orders, didn't you see those officials?"

"This servant... dares not look up too much."

Gu Jiangli's eyes darkened slightly, and with a wave of his hand, the sedan chair stopped.

“Ma Guang, don’t blame me for being suspicious, but it’s really hard to believe what you’re saying. Officials who go to Changxin Hall to see His Majesty must be announced first. Since you say that His Majesty summoned you to deliver an imperial edict, it proves that you must be one of His Majesty’s closest servants in Changxin Hall. Even if you don’t dare to look up at the faces of the officials, can’t you hear the names of those officials being announced?”

Ma Guang lowered his head, not daring to meet Gu Jiangli's gaze.

As soon as the sedan chair landed, Gu Jiangli stepped down first, as it was less safe to be in the sedan chair than on the ground.

"You're not a eunuch from Changxin Palace, are you?"

This is not a question, but an affirmative statement.

Ma Guang's body trembled, his face stiff and twitching, appearing even more terrifying and horrifying under the midday sun.

"Your Majesty, you are indeed not so easily fooled, but it's a bit too late for us to realize this now."

He raised his eyes, revealing his ferocious pupils, and in the blink of an eye, a dagger slid out from his sleeve and was firmly gripped in his hand.

Just then, three or five masked men in black flew out from behind the walls on both sides not far away, rushing straight towards Gu Jiangli.

It was as if they had been lying in ambush all along, waiting for Gu Jiangli to walk to a fixed position so they could take her down directly.

However, Gu Jiangli had seen through Ma Guang's identity beforehand, so when the sedan chair stopped, they had no choice but to run over from the front.

"Your Majesty, be careful!" Lotus shouted.

The cold glint of the dagger flashed past Gu Jiangli, and she retreated repeatedly. She was quickly shielded in Hehua's arms, with Hehua especially protecting her stomach.

Du Shuo didn't even care about the clothes; he and several eunuchs dropped their robes and rushed over.

Ma Guang alone could not possibly deal with so many of Gu Jiangli's people, but he had accomplices.

Those accomplices were clearly trained as well, and they quickly knocked down the palace servants carrying the sedan chair.

Gu Jiangli's heart was pounding, but she felt no fear.

She was more shocked than anything else. In broad daylight, in the palace, someone actually dared to commit such a blatant crime.

Aren't they afraid of dying?

Ma Guang's knife was already very close to him.

The lotus flower used its own body to shield her, determined to protect her from any harm.

Gu Jiangli was not worried because the emperor had given her a protective charm.

A gray figure leaped up from behind the wall, holding a strangely shaped crescent blade in his hand.

His steps were swift and his movements were crisp and decisive.

After several screams, the masked man in black collapsed to the ground, unable to move.

Ma Guang snapped out of his daze in surprise, only to see a man in gray clothes with a dark face standing behind him, holding a bloodstained crescent blade.

The next second, the crescent blade pierced his abdomen, and the pain made him vomit blood.

"Assassination in the palace can result in the execution of three generations of one's family."

Qi Jin tightened his grip, and Ma Guang's face was contorted in pain.

"Qi Jin, don't rush to kill him, I still have questions to ask."

Upon hearing this, Qi Jin immediately loosened his grip, turned to Ma Guang with an unusually fierce expression, and said, "Answer whatever I ask you!"

Supported by Hehua, Gu Jiangli leaned closer and asked impatiently, "Who sent you? Who wants to kill me? Is it someone from the harem or the previous dynasty?"

Ma Guang looked at her with resentment, without saying a word.

Soon, Gu Jiangli saw his back molars suddenly clench, and she shouted urgently, "Stop him! He's going to take poison!"

But it was too late when Qi Jin went to dislocate his jaw. The red blood that Ma Guang spat out turned blackish-purple, and soon his eyes closed, and he was lifeless.

Qi Jin drew his crescent blade, and Ma Guang's corpse quickly collapsed to the ground, limp and lifeless.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty, I was careless."

Not only was the rescue delayed, but it also failed to save Ma Guang's life in time.

Qi Jin suddenly seemed to remember something, turned around abruptly, and said, "I didn't kill them, so perhaps I can still get some information out of them..."

"No need. If the mission fails, they will inevitably seek death to avoid further torment."

Qi Jin ran to the men in black and removed their masks one by one to check them. Sure enough, each of them had black lips and was spitting out black blood; they were definitely dead.

Qi Jin clenched his teeth, his defiant spirit rising again. He couldn't help but kick one of the corpses hard, saying angrily, "Your Majesty, I will definitely find out where they came from and I won't let Your Majesty suffer today for nothing!"