Wei Hanzhang suppressed his fear, fearing that he would hold back. In the chaos, several palace maids had been bitten by snakes and were screaming.

After a while, one of the guards was also caught. His clothes were thin in summer, and he was unstoppable with his sharp fangs. These snakes swam towards him from all directions, and some fell directly from the trees. It was weird and terrifying.

"Be careful!" Wei Hanzhang's elbow tightened and he was pulled aside by Chen Zishu. He saw a flash of green in front of his eyes. It turned out to be a green thing about three feet long falling vertically. He cut seven inches of it with a single slash of his knife, and the two halves of it squirmed in the grass.

Wei Hanzhang's arms were covered with goose bumps, and he said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you."

"This place is cool and shady, and there have been no human habitation for many years, so it's not uncommon to see snakes, but..." Chen Zishu looked at the increasing number of poisonous snakes with a serious expression. He looked back and said, "It's really strange that these snakes keep chasing people. It seems like they have identified a direction."

"What?" Wei Hanzhang reacted quickly and said in a hoarse voice, "You mean you're coming for me?"

"Girl, think about it. Do you have anything on you? Or have you come into contact with anything new today..." He held her wrist and walked quickly, and then said, "Don't talk about it for now. Run faster."

The guards cleared a path and told them to retreat first, while they stayed behind to block the snakes behind. However, any place with trees could not be ignored, as no one knew if more snakes would fall.

Wei Hansu on Mei Gu's back had fainted at some point, but fortunately, there were dense guards in the inner city, and after running for a while, they met a team of guards who came to rescue them. Wei Hansu felt relieved, and was about to sit on the ground due to exhaustion, but Chen Zishu grabbed his elbow and helped him up.

He was about to say something when he saw another green snake jumping out from the bushes at his feet! Wei Hanzhang could no longer control herself and screamed in shock. The green snake, which almost blended into the grass and was as thick as an adult man's wrist, was spitting out its tongue and rushing towards her.

The world was spinning around, and Chen Zishu rolled over while holding her to avoid the attack. Before he could recover from the shock, the snake spit out its dark red tongue again and headed towards them.

Chen Zishu pulled her behind him and stood in front of them.

Mei Gu came over here. Wei Hansu on her back seemed to be awakened by the scream. She was just dazed and wide-eyed when she saw the tall figure of the man in the black robe in front of her, "...Prince Chen."

Chen Zishu stood with his back to them, without looking back or making a sound, confronting the green snake.

Wei Hanzhang suppressed the fear in his heart. He always felt that the snake was looking at him, and his legs were shaking helplessly.

After a short standoff, the snake moved and pounced in front of him in an instant. Chen Zishu had already dropped the knife in his hand halfway, so he could only catch it with his bare hands. The snake's body was slippery, and the green snake quickly passed over him and pounced... Mei Gu? Mei Gu realized that the snake was coming for her, and hurriedly led the snake away.

At this moment, a cold arrow came through the air and hit the green snake right in the vital spot.

Before Wei Hanzhang could react, he saw Chen Zishu kneeling on one knee in front of him.

"To join His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Xiao Junzhan had arrived at some point, and he was followed by several court officials. His face was calm and unfathomable, and he was looking at this side without any ripples.

"...Bo Qian..." Wei Hanzhang's heart skipped a beat. She was already frightened and was about to throw herself into his arms, but his calm eyes kept her in place.

He stared at her steadily, then without saying a word he turned his gaze to Chen Zishu and said calmly, "What happened here?"

Chen Zishu clasped his fists and said, "The two young ladies Wei were visiting the back garden together and were attacked by poisonous snakes. This may not be an accident. Your Highness can ask someone to investigate."

Xiao Junzhan nodded slightly and asked, "Are there any injured?"

Chen Zishu answered. During this question and answer, Wei Hanzhang couldn't help but interrupt and said, "My seventh sister was bitten by a poisonous snake. Your Highness, could you please ask the imperial physician to come and treat her?"

Her sudden interruption startled Xiao Junzhan's tall figure. He looked at her again, as if he could no longer hold back and walked quickly towards her.

Chen Zishu took the order and left.

Wei Hanzhang escaped death, but her lover's attitude was cold. She felt a little wronged and wanted to be petty, but this was outside, and several court officials were still watching from a distance. Looking closely, even Wei Heng was worried in the crowd...

Xiao Junzhan glanced at Mei Gu who was carrying someone on her back, and said coldly, "Take the person back."

Mei Gu's face turned pale and she said "yes".

"Don't blame Aunt Mei. I was the one who asked her to carry Seventh Sister on her back." Afraid that this man would vent his anger on Aunt Mei, Wei Hanzhang was about to explain, but suddenly his knees tightened and he was picked up by the waist in front of so many people.

For a moment, she was unable to utter a word and buried her face in his arms.

When they returned to Qixiang Palace, several accompanying imperial doctors were already waiting inside.

One of them was the old doctor who had treated Rou Niang before. After bowing, Xiao Junzhan put the person on the bed and ordered, "Come and check her to see if she has been poisoned by snake venom."

Wei Hanzhang tugged at his sleeve: "My seventh sister..."

The voice disappeared in his lowered eyes.

It was a strange gaze, like that of a god who was high above and who would not be disobeyed.

Seeing the little girl's shrinking eyes, Xiao Junzhan tried to soften his gaze and said, "There are many imperial doctors accompanying us, so you don't need to worry about your seventh sister."

While the imperial physician was taking her pulse, he sat on the edge of the bed, holding her in his arms, protecting her carefully as if she were his most important treasure.

"From the pulse, it seems that the girl has not been bitten by a snake," the old doctor frowned and said, "but you seem to smell like insect powder."

Wei Hanzhang was stunned: "Insect-attracting powder?"

Xiao Junzhan acted decisively, picked her up from the bed, and went into the side room. He ordered the maid coldly, "Go get a set of clean clothes and help your girl change."

After running away, her clothes were already covered with dirt stains and spots of snake blood. Luzhu and Lulan held a new set of clothes and asked the imperial physician to check them first before going inside to change them for Wei Hanzhang.

Finally, the imperial physician confirmed that the blood-stained clothes were stained with a small amount of worm powder.

Wei Hanzhang was astonished: "I have worn this dress several times in the capital. It is not new. It has been kept in a box. No one else can touch it except my personal maid and a few aunts."

Xiao Junzhan's expression was frighteningly cold: "Then check them one by one."

He raised his voice and was about to give an order, but Wei Hanzhang suddenly had an idea, "Maybe it got on someone else's clothes."

She remembered that the person the green snake pounced on at the end was not her, but Mei Gu... or it could be Wei Hansu on Mei Gu's back.

The imperial physician took the order and went to Wei Hansu. After a while, he came back and reported: "The dress that the seventh young lady of the Wei family wore today was indeed filled with the scent of the insect powder."

(End of this chapter)