Emperor Kangping turned his eyes in alarm towards the door and shouted, "Someone come here, come here..."

His voice was so low that only he could hear it. A group of guards stood outside the door, but none of them heard his plea for help.

"Don't bother," Qiu Jie grabbed Chengjun Sword and held it in her arms, stumbling towards the door. "Lie down properly and let me do what I need to do."

She walked to the doorway, leaned against it to catch her breath for a moment, cleared her throat, and then opened the door and went out. Emperor Kangping heard her say outside the door, "For Your Majesty's safety, during the period of taking the medicine, no one except Eunuch Yang is allowed to enter and disturb Your Majesty."

The captain of the Imperial Guard said, "Without the goddess's instructions, I will not allow anyone to enter."

Emperor Kangping lay on his bed, turning his eyes to look at the doorway, hoping that Yang Yaozu would come in immediately.

Qiu Jie had just said that the poison she put in his tea wouldn't kill him, which gave him great hope. If Yang Yaozu came in and saved him, his first act would be to strip Qiu Jie of her title, retrieve the Chengjun sword, remove her mask to see who she really was, and then have the executioner cut her in half at the waist.

He stared intently at the doorway. After what seemed like an eternity, the door finally opened, and Yang Yaozu walked in with a smile, carrying a steaming medicine jar.

Emperor Kangping was overjoyed. At this point, he was completely unable to speak or move, only his eyes remained open. He quickly winked at Yang Yaozu.

Yang Yaozu didn't even notice, and placed the medicine pot on the table, saying, "Your Majesty, it's time to take your medicine. This servant is here to serve you."

He ladled out a bowl of strong medicinal soup, and first scooped a spoonful to Emperor Kangping, saying, "Your Majesty, let me drink a spoonful first to show you. I watched the whole process of making this medicine, and I guarantee there will be no problems."

After saying that, Yang Yaozu tilted his head back and drank the medicine.

Emperor Kangping was anxious. He wanted to speak now, to tell Yang Yaozu and Qiu Jie what they had done to him. Unfortunately, he couldn't speak; he could only open his mouth but no sound came out, and could only blink repeatedly.

When Yang Yaozu saw this, he thought that Emperor Kangping was opening his mouth wide and blinking hard because he wanted to drink the medicine. He quickly brought the medicine bowl to the bedside, sat down, scooped a spoonful and put it to Emperor Kangping's mouth.

Emperor Kangping wanted to shut up and not drink, but he couldn't close his mouth.

After swallowing a mouthful of bitter and spicy medicinal soup, he felt his throat was less tight, but his stomach started to burn as if countless knives were churning and cutting his stomach and intestines into pieces.

Large drops of sweat poured from his forehead. He opened his mouth to speak, but only managed two soft "ah" sounds.

Yang Yaozu quickly scooped another spoonful of medicine for him to drink, then picked up a towel and dabbed it on the corner of his mouth: "Your Majesty, what's wrong? You were able to speak yesterday!"

"Qiu...Qiu Jie..."

Emperor Kangping managed to utter the word with all his might. Before he could finish, he felt a sweet taste in his throat, and a mouthful of blood gushed out, staining a large area of ​​the bedding red.

In his final moments, he finally understood.

The medicine Qiu Jie gave him wouldn't kill him, but when mixed with the medicine Yang Yaozu brought, it became a deadly poison.