At the palace gate.

The emperor, dressed in a bright yellow dragon robe, walked towards Qin Wan and Qi Xiao with a worried expression.

"The Great General?"

"Why is the General's face so pale?"

"Where is the imperial physician?!"

"Hurry up and come over to take the general's pulse!"

As they spoke, someone brought over a chaise lounge, and Qi Xiao promptly put Qin Wan down. The imperial physician immediately stepped forward to take her pulse.

A group of imperial physicians surrounded Qin Wan...

While taking the pulse and administering acupuncture, the emperor stood aside, his face showing worry and urgency.

Feng Yurou stayed by the emperor's side, gently comforting him.

"Your Majesty, don't worry, the General is a lucky man and will surely be alright."

"As long as the General is well, I am willing to exchange ten years of my life for the General's safety."

Upon hearing this, Qi Xiao glanced over indifferently, a fleeting hint of mockery in his eyes.

The emperor's temples were graying, and his face was marked by the passage of time, with deep wrinkles.

Feng Yurou was in the prime of her life, with skin as white as snow and a face as beautiful as a flower. Standing there, she was like a peony in the human world, dazzling and radiant.

The two stood there, and if it weren't for the dragon and phoenix robes they wore clearly proclaiming their identities, one could easily mistake them for grandfather and grandson just by looking at their appearance.

"Your Majesty, the General is suffering from a severe poison and is unable to use his internal energy. If the poison cannot be completely eliminated within a month, the General's life may be in danger!"

The Imperial Physician stepped forward with a solemn expression to answer.

Upon hearing this, the emperor was so shocked that he stumbled back several steps, but Feng Yurou quickly caught him and comforted him in a soft voice.

"Your Majesty, please take care of your health!"

"Your Majesty, the Great General has fought on the battlefield and protected the people of our Great Xia, ensuring their peaceful and prosperous lives. He will surely be safe!"

"Buddha will surely protect the general!"

"Moreover, with the Imperial Physician in charge, I believe the General will definitely recover from this critical condition."

Upon hearing Feng Yurou's words, the kneeling imperial physician's face stiffened, turning extremely grim.

The medicine in the Great General's [medicine] is clearly a secret palace medicine...

It's obvious that His Majesty is targeting the Grand General...

But the Empress said something like this...

The Empress is trying to drag him down with her!

Upon hearing this, the Imperial Physician knelt down and kowtowed with a look of fear and trepidation, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, this humble subject will do everything in his power to save the General."

"However, the toxins in the general's body have already invaded his internal organs..."

"Your Majesty and Your Highness can only temporarily control the spread of this poison. As for any further spread... Your Majesty is helpless. I beg Your Majesty and Your Highness to gather talented individuals from all over the land to save the General from this perilous situation!"

"We beg Your Majesty and Your Majesty!"

Led by the Imperial Physician, and at his suggestion, the group of imperial physicians surrounding Qin Wan knelt down and begged.

We are all smart people.

The imperial physicians present all knew exactly what kind of poison Qin Wan had been given.

Now that we're at the palace gates and the people are watching, we have to shift the blame.

Otherwise, if something happens to the Grand General, His Majesty will surely push these imperial physicians out as a sacrifice to appease the people's anger!

Looking at the imperial physicians kneeling on the ground, the emperor was furious and glared at Feng Yurou beside him.

It's all her fault for being so talkative!

Seeing the reproach in the emperor's eyes, Feng Yurou pretended to be terrified and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I wish to pray for the Great General's well-being. If the Great General does not awaken, I will kneel in the Buddhist hall forever and never rise again!"

It has to be said, Feng Yurou is truly a skilled actress...

Under her leadership, the surrounding people began to speak up.

"Your Majesty, please save the General's life!"

"Your Majesty, please save the General!"

"Your Majesty is kind!"

"Long live the Empress!"

Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!

As they spoke, the people at the palace gate knelt down.

With no way to back down, the emperor was forced to immediately order the eunuchs and palace servants to prepare writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

An imperial edict is being drafted to recruit talented individuals from across the land. Anyone who can save General Qin Wan will receive a "divine favor"!

Upon the issuance of the imperial edict, the people present kowtowed in gratitude for the emperor's benevolence.

Just as the emperor's face turned extremely ugly and he was about to turn away, Qin Wan suddenly struggled to get up.

Her thin, frail body swayed, but Qi Xiao caught her just in time, preventing her from falling to the ground in front of everyone.

"General?"

Qi Xiao's worried voice rang out, drawing the attention of everyone around.

Qin Wan, trembling, knelt weakly before the emperor...

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for saving my life..."

After saying that, Qin Wan closed her eyes and collapsed weakly to the ground.

At the critical moment, Qi Xiao reacted quickly and pulled her into his arms.

"General!!!"

"General!!!"

Seeing Qin Wan collapse, the people's voices of worry rose and fell...

For a moment, the people forgot that the emperor was not to be offended and subconsciously stepped forward to try to get closer to Qin Wan, wanting to see how she was doing.

Upon seeing this, the Imperial Guards responsible for protecting the emperor's safety quickly drew their swords to prevent the civilians from approaching.

Upon seeing this, a hint of anger flashed in the emperor's eyes.

"What are you still kneeling for?"

"Hurry and save the General!"

"I command you to control the poison in the General's body!"

"If anything happens to the General, I will have the entire Imperial Hospital buried with him!"

After uttering such an extremely angry remark, the emperor stormed off, no longer bothering to continue his act of showing concern for Qin Wan.

Watching the emperor's departing figure, and then looking at the imperial physicians who were surrounding him with trepidation, Qi Xiao lowered his eyes to hide the fleeting smile in them.

Fun...

This woman is quite the actress...

No sooner had the emperor left than Feng Yurou rose with the help of palace maids. Looking at Qin Wan, who was surrounded by people in the crowd, Feng Yurou's eyes were filled with gloom.

So popular...

What if the world discovers that you have deceived them...?

Their most revered war goddess was actually a woman they despised…

A woman who should have stayed obediently in the inner quarters of her home is now ruling over all the men in the world...

And your identity as a phoenix maiden...

Qin Wan!

I'd like to see how you manage to turn things around!

In just a moment, Feng Yurou suppressed the murderous intent that flashed in her eyes.

"Someone come here!"

"Prepare the palanquin to escort the General to the palace!"

Feng Yurou waved her sleeve and gave the order.

Soon, palace servants carried the phoenix palanquin over. Qin Wan was lifted onto the palanquin by Qi Xiao, while Feng Yurou, the true empress, could only ride in another palanquin.

Because the people's eyes were still on her, Feng Yurou had to lower her eyes to hide the hatred that kept flashing in her eyes.

Qin Wan!

I will repay today's humiliation tenfold!

"Judging from the empress's reaction, she probably won't let you off the hook."

"The imperial physicians dare not touch the toxins in your body. The so-called recruitment of talented people from all over the world is nothing more than a delaying tactic by the emperor."

What are your plans next?

Inside the phoenix carriage, Qin Wan opened her eyes at some point, and Qi Xiao analyzed the current situation while asking her questions.