Jing Huarong picked up the cat and asked, "Miss Mu, have you seen this cat before?"

Mu Tiantian shook her head, "I've never seen it before."

Qi Tong explained the cat's origins to her: "This cat was originally found by Xin Liangmu, who intended to use it as a live host for cultivating Gu worms. After you found out, you took the cat, but the Empress Dowager discovered it soon after, and you conveniently gave it to her. It has been well cared for in the palace over the years."

Mu Tiantian glanced at Xin Liangmu. He looked refined and gentle, but the things he did were so perverted.

This kind of person should be turned into a puppet to experience the taste of poison.

The Empress Dowager invited the two to eat pastries newly developed by the Imperial Kitchen.

Mu Tiantian noticed something was wrong as soon as she picked up a piece.

Jing Huarong and Xin Liangmu chatted casually while eating, and seemed to be doing well.

Mu Tiantian had Qi Tong scan her.

As she suspected, the place had been cursed.

So Jing Huarong kept her in the palace and summoned Xin Liangmu just to poison her with a curse.

Seven Commanders: [Once this Gu worm enters the human brain, it will control the brain, not only making the person tell the truth, but also making them unconsciously obey commands.]

Therefore, Jing Huarong wants to completely control her.

Mu Tiantian ate the pastry without making a sound. She knew something about the Gu worms in this world and knew how to lure them out.

She could also use this opportunity to see what they were really up to.

Jing Huarong and Xin Liangmu both had different expressions when they saw her eat the pastry.

The three chatted casually for a few minutes before Mu Tiantian was sent back to the side hall.

Long Xinghuang had been waiting in the side hall, and when she appeared, he hurriedly asked, "What did the Empress Dowager say to you?"

"Nothing much, just some casual conversation, and I even had some pastries with the Imperial Advisor." Mu Tiantian told Long Xinghuang everything that had happened to her at Yongshou Palace.

To put it bluntly, it was also to make Long Xinghuang focus his attention on the Empress Dowager and Xin Liangmu.

Long Xinghuang knew that Xin Liangmu had been summoned to the palace by the Empress Dowager, and he also noticed that Xin Liangmu had been visiting the palace too frequently lately, which aroused his suspicions.

"Besides chatting about everyday matters, did the Empress Dowager also..." Long Xinghuang coughed lightly, "...talk about anything else?"

"No."

After Mu Tiantian finished speaking, Long Xinghuang felt a little disappointed. He secretly hoped that what the Empress Dowager said was true and that he should take her as a concubine.

Seeing that he was pursing his lips and not speaking as if he was thinking about something, Mu Tiantian assumed that his attention was on the Empress Dowager and breathed a sigh of relief when she stopped asking her about Lin Miao.

However, before she could relax completely, she saw Long Xinghuang take out her hairpin and suddenly say, "Lin Miao, shouldn't you explain this hairpin to me?"

"Your Majesty, my name is Mu Tiantian, and I am not..." Before Mu Tiantian could finish speaking, a calligraphy brush was pressed against her neck.

A hidden weapon, resembling a hairpin, appeared from the tip of the brush.

Qi Tong: [After you lost your hairpin, you made another one based on its design as a hidden weapon, mainly for self-defense when entering the palace. Later, Long Xinghuang discovered it and confiscated it.]

Mu Tiantian: [Why didn't you say so earlier!]

Qi Tong chuckled: "I just remembered, the main problem is that this world has many issues, so the information gathered is incomplete."

Mu Tiantian: [You always have so many excuses.]

Seeing that she remained silent, seemingly frightened, Long Xinghuang smiled slightly, put away his brush, and then took out the hairpin she had dropped before leaving the side hall. "These two types of hidden weapons are quite similar in their effects. I wonder how Miss Mu would explain them?"

"This hairpin was a gift from the prince, I..."

"Lin Miao, you're still lying to me even now!" Long Xinghuang lost his patience.

For some reason, he now feels very uncomfortable whenever he hears her mention Long Fantian.

He even felt that she and Long Fantian had been in cahoots from the very beginning.

This hairpin originally belonged to her, and then the two of them put on a show in front of him.

He thought that perhaps she was like Chunyu and Dongxue, who served Long Fantian, both a maid and a guard, and his subordinate.

He felt that she was sent by Long Fantian to monitor him.

At this moment, he actually hoped that reality was as he thought: that her engagement to Long Fantian was fake, and that she was just his subordinate.

“Your Majesty, I’ve heard people in the palace talk about Lin Miao. She’s been dead for so many years, and you’ve even cremated her body. Why get angry over someone who’s turned to ashes? It’s not good for your health,” Mu Tiantian explained. “I’ve never seen this calligraphy brush before, and I don’t know why they look so alike. I think the Prince must know about it. Why don’t you summon him to the palace…”

Seeing that she still refused to admit it, Long Xinghuang became furious. His anger overwhelmed him, and he began to cough violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood. He also experienced unbearable chest pain.

He clutched his chest, sweat beading on his forehead and his lips turning white, as if he were about to die at any moment.

Given his current condition, it's too late to call for help.

Mu Tiantian could only treat him first, using the same method as before: pressing acupoints and then transmitting true qi.

The poison in his body seemed to have worsened.

“You still say...you're not...Lin Miao…” Long Xinghuang said weakly.

"Your Majesty wants me to admit it? Fine, as long as you don't punish me, I'll admit it." In this situation, she no longer needed to shamelessly deny it, but the terms could still be negotiated.

"You have committed treason...you even dare to...cough...you even dare to bargain with me?" Long Xinghuang was extremely weak, but he still did not forget to show his imperial majesty.

“Your Majesty, I have now relieved the pain of the poison in your body. Moreover, this time the poisoning was very serious and life-threatening. I have done a good deed by saving Your Majesty. So, can this merit offset the demerit?” Mu Tiantian poured a glass of water for Long Xinghuang.

She grabbed his wrist and took his pulse.

Previously, we relied on 7-system scans to find out about his condition, but it's more accurate to have her examine him in person.

After learning about his physical condition, Mu Tiantian said seriously, "Have your poisoning flared up more and more frequently and more severely lately? And you haven't been abstaining from sex?"

Long Xinghuang was about to answer that it was indeed as she said when he heard her last question. A blush crept onto his pale face, and he could only relieve the embarrassment by coughing.

Mu Tiantian continued, "You've been drinking this special tonic for a long time without engaging in sexual activity, causing the effects of the medicine to linger in your body and conflict with the toxins in your system, which is why your body can't handle it."

According to historical records, the Empress Dowager suffered a stillbirth in her early years, which made her unable to have children. This caused her to harbor resentment, and she began to poison other pregnant concubines.

That year, only Long Xinghuang survived, while his mother died in childbirth due to severe poisoning.

Seeing that he was lucky, Jing Huarong took him in. Later, several of her concubines became pregnant, but in the end, they were either poisoned or died in childbirth.