After seeing Princess Zhaoping off, the Empress Dowager leaned wearily against the soft couch.

A short while later, the Second Prince, Shang Nanjue, arrived.

"I thought you would never set foot in my Cining Palace again," the Empress Dowager joked, her wrinkled face smiling like a withered chrysanthemum.

"The Empress Dowager treats her grandson well, so he will definitely come often in the future. There's no reason for him not to come," Shang Nanjue replied with a forced smile.

The Empress Dowager learned from Shang Xize's lesson and took precautions to prevent Shangnan from following in Shang Xize's footsteps.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the Empress Dowager got straight to the point: "Now that you're here, go back and make preparations. The day after tomorrow, you will go with me to Jin'an Temple in the eastern suburbs to offer incense. Princess Chonghe and I will leave early in the morning. If you come again in the afternoon, you don't need to pay your respects to me. Just offer incense and walk around the area to calm your mind."

"Grandson understands," Shang Nanjue replied humbly.

Leaving Cixi Palace, we passed a quiet spot in the Imperial Garden.

Zhong Ding, the personal servant, checked that no one was around and couldn't help but ask Shang Nanjue curiously, "Your Highness, didn't you say you didn't want to get involved with Princess Chonghe's mess? Why did you agree to go to the Empress Dowager's incense offering?"

"This prince is just throwing out a brick to attract jade. If I don't go, how can the crown prince go?" Shang Nanjue was in a very good mood, twirling a string of glass Buddhist beads that the Empress Dowager had just given him. He said, "After what happened at the horse farm last time, Father Emperor has probably already decided to depose the crown prince. I will use Princess Chonghe to help Father Emperor and Empress Dowager again. When the road ahead is cleared, if I can also take in Princess Chonghe, this beautiful and divine physician, it would not be a bad thing. In the future, she can really become a great help to me."

Hearing Shang Nanjue speak with such confidence, Zhong Ding immediately flattered him, saying, "Your Highness is wise!"

Unbeknownst to them, the hunchbacked old eunuch sweeping the floor of Cixi Palace had been following them from a distance.

The old woman overheard Shang Nanjue and Zhong Ding's conversation, revealed a sinister and terrifying smile, and turned to go to Shang Beiyu's place.

After listening to the old eunuch's report.

Shang Beiyu smiled charmingly, her voice light and cheerful: "Since the Empress Dowager understands my heart so well, I really have to save her, otherwise she will die at the hands of this little guy."

The old eunuch was slightly surprised: "Princess Chonghe attacked the Empress Dowager? When did this happen?"

He stayed by the Empress Dowager's side every day, but he didn't notice anything unusual about her at all!

"The poison was given to the Empress Dowager by her when Shang Xize saw her at Cixi Palace last time. However, the poison she used was extremely slow-acting, and even I don't know what kind of medicine it was or what the symptoms would be," Shang Beiyu said leisurely, swirling a cup of hot tea in his hand and looking at the faint burn mark on the back of his hand.

The burn mark was deliberately created by him to commemorate his acquaintance with the young female bandit.

His smile was extremely alluring, like a bewitching enchantress from the demon realm: "If I don't take action, coupled with the matter of Shang Nanjue this time, the little guy will definitely be furious and may very well take drastic measures against the Empress Dowager."

"Then Your Majesty..." the old eunuch looked at Shang Beiyu for instructions.

"Naturally, it's to repay the Empress Dowager's kindness," Shang Beiyu said, glancing sideways at the old eunuch.

Even though the old eunuch wasn't interested in men, he was still stunned for a long time.

Ji Fengyao had just returned to her residence when a maid brought over an old nanny from the palace to deliver a message.

The old woman had very high cheekbones, and with her buck teeth, she had to tighten her face to cover her teeth, which made her look extremely harsh and mean.