"Your nose is really sharp." Huo Baichuan stepped out from behind the screen, without anyone with him.

Zhao Shu felt her face burning as she recalled hearing that he had died and then spitting out blood.

At this point, the key is to remain calm and composed, just like before, and that will be enough to get through the situation.

Even the most important matters can wait until another day! She refuses to discuss matters of the heart right now! Especially the matter of coming to the island, she doesn't want to know what kind of pressure he faced or what kind of determination he had to bring her to the island, she doesn't want to know!

I don't want to know why I coughed up blood, I really don't want to know, I refuse to think about it!

In Zhao Shu's mind, when two people are together, they must consider each other's feelings. If Huo Baichuan disregards her feelings and insists on bringing up that mouthful of blood, she will just pretend she doesn't know him anymore.

Huo Baichuan walked up to her with a half-smile, and then said something Zhao Shu was trying so hard to cover up: "I heard you coughed up blood."

"Well, I'm not feeling well." Zhao Shu seemed to have nothing better to do, and started fiddling with her teacup. The teacup lid made a crisp sound as it touched the teacup, which seemed to alleviate the urge to grit her teeth a little.

Huo Baichuan nodded, looking very concerned. "Doctor Peng said you were too anxious and your heart was agitated. Young people are just too impulsive."

"Yes, you are right. I will pay attention next time." Zhao Shu continued to maintain an extremely calm demeanor, no different from usual, even her eyes were firm and indifferent.

"Honey, you didn't just wake up today, did you?" He suddenly changed the subject, bringing his face close to Zhao Shu's, the two of them almost touching.

He'd done this kind of thing more than once or twice. Zhao Shu stepped back. "I only woke up today." She would never admit that she had woken up yesterday. If it weren't for the discomfort of lying in bed for so long, she would have wanted to stay in bed forever.

Huo Baichuan didn't expose him, but nodded, "You didn't have any dreams, did you?"

"I had a dream. I dreamt that there were ghosts floating around in my room." Zhao Shu mimicked his fake smile. "It was terrifying." She said through gritted teeth. If it weren't for this lunatic who would come to her room to lament his fate, would she have pretended to faint until today? Thinking about it, Zhao Shu got angry.

Huo Baichuan sat down, made himself a cup of tea, and took a sip. "Did that ghost say anything to you?" Like, "I couldn't bear to see you sad, so even though I knew it would ruin the plan and I might really die, I still wanted to bring you to the island."

Zhao Shu couldn't keep up the act any longer and kicked him, saying, "How long are you going to pretend to be dead?"

"I'll keep this up until the Crown Prince ascends the throne," he said casually.

"How so?" Although she guessed his purpose, it seemed a bit too long to pretend to be dead until the Crown Prince ascended the throne. Emperor Mingde was still in good health and would not die easily. Moreover, the world was in chaos, so Emperor Mingde could not just die. If he died, Dayong would instantly split into countless small pieces.

There are at least a dozen or twenty princes.

Huo Baichuan glanced at her. "Beg me, and I'll tell you."

"Childish." Zhao Shu rolled her eyes at him, but he calmly sipped his tea, acting as if he wouldn't speak unless asked.

Zhao Shu took a deep breath, then calmed her anger and looked at him with a fake smile, "I beg you, Uncle Huo, please tell me."

"That's more like it." He gave me a knowing look before saying, "When the Emperor investigated Empress Yide, I had already made up my mind that I would die once Yide returned to the palace."

"Yide was able to hide among the common people for so many years and stir up trouble in the court and the harem. It is clear that the person behind her is no ordinary person. Sure enough, a few days ago my people found a secret gunpowder workshop where they were secretly manufacturing fire lances and cannons, which incorporated advanced overseas technology. Their purpose was to kill me."

Zhao Shu knew all of this, and upon hearing this, she said, "Your life is really valuable."

“There’s no way around it, nobles are naturally more valuable.” He took Zhao Shu’s words as a compliment. “As long as I die, the Emperor’s reforms will be forced to a standstill, but how could the Emperor tolerate that? So, my death will only force the Emperor to compromise once again. Anyway, he has already wronged Yide before, so it’s no big deal if he wrongs her again.”

Emperor Mingde talked about reforming and innovating, but he never actually did anything. Most of the work was done by his court officials. To put it bluntly, he believed that if the reforms succeeded, he would be a wise and benevolent ruler of a prosperous era, and he would take the lion's share of the credit. If the reforms failed, the court officials would bear the blame, and he would be misled by sycophants.

There's no such thing as a free lunch. If he gets all the credit, leaving others to tread on thorns, no one with any sense can stand it.

"No man is any good," Zhao Shu retorted, rolling her eyes at him.

"So, your father isn't a good person either?" He suddenly changed his tone, reverting to his playboy persona.

Zhao Shu was furious. "Your father is no good either."

"Alright, I was just teasing you. Do you want to see the Emperor and Yide fight? You're quite clever, knowing how to feign illness."

The reforms were already halfway through. If they were to stop abruptly, the price Emperor Mingde would have to pay would be even greater. If he were to back down even slightly, he would be driven into an abyss by the powerful families, with no hope of redemption. It would be difficult for him not to take action.

Zhao Shu accepted his praise and said, "Of course I want to. Yi De has been scheming against the Emperor. The Emperor must have already found out. I really want to see his reaction."

However, this also proves that Emperor Mingde's feelings for Yide were deeper than his feelings for all the other women in the harem combined.

"Hurry up and pack your things to return to the capital. Yi De has been on her way for two days. We must get ahead of her. By the way, you still don't know how Yi De died, do you?" Huo Baichuan asked. He hadn't served in the court before and hadn't paid much attention to such matters, but now that he was an official, he had investigated quite a few things over the years.

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