The power dynamics within the harem are such that today's allies are tomorrow's enemies; in short, no one is anyone's friend.
Hao Shumei and the Empress are allies, while the Empress and Consort De are temporary partners. Consort De and Consort Ning have reached some kind of consensus, and on the surface, Hao Shumei, Consort Yi, and Consort Ning are in the same faction.
It was a very complicated situation. Yi De revealed the information to Consort Ning, but then made changes.
Consort Ning's confidant in Weiyang Palace learned that the Empress wanted to send Sun Yun into the palace to compete for the Emperor's favor, thereby securing the Crown Prince's position. Upon receiving this news, Consort Ning was immediately uneasy. If Yi De was overthrown, Zhao Bi would still have Hao Shumei's help, but if Sun Yun came, the Empress's power would definitely increase significantly, which was definitely not what she wanted to see.
After all, Sun Yun's abilities and appearance are both exceptional, and she must stop this from happening!
Of course, she had no doubt about the truth of the matter, because as a woman herself, she believed that Yide did not want Sun Yun to enter the palace. Sun Yun was beautiful, resourceful, and a close friend of Zhao Shu. She had also grown up in the presence of the Empress Dowager. If this woman entered the palace, who would be her match?
But how could she ruin Sun Yun? She couldn't think of a way right away.
Her head maid, Huanzi, asked, "Your Highness, what should we do?"
"Wait, wait for the right opportunity!"
She wasn't that stupid; instead of being radical and creating conditions where none existed, she was very patient, patiently waiting.
Meanwhile, a thousand miles away outside Yuecheng, Xiao Guozi found the village's ancestral hall and placed Huo Baichuan behind the memorial tablet in a narrow space with hanging banners on both sides. Zhao Shu asked him to stay and take care of Huo Baichuan, while she herself left the ancestral hall and sneaked into the back mountain to gather herbs.
Fortunately, the village was small, and it was the busiest day of the day, so there were only elderly people and children in the village. She avoided populated areas and quickly entered the mountains.
Thanks to her time in the modern world, she and Ajiu were used to being wild and weren't afraid to go into the mountains. However, the medicinal herbs were not easy to find. After searching for more than three hours on the mountain, it was almost evening before she finally found all the herbs she needed.
One good thing about this external injury is that, unlike intractable diseases that require extremely rare medicinal materials, external injuries are relatively easy to treat, especially since Huo Baichuan did not injure any internal organs.
Following the path back, Xiao Guozi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her. He had been muttering in front of the memorial tablet for as long as Zhao Shu had been gone. It seemed that the deceased in the ancestral hall heard his prayers, because Zhao Shu had returned to the ancestral hall safely.
"Princess, are you alright?"
"It's alright. Find a place to decoct the medicine later, and try to get some food. I haven't eaten all day, and I'm starving." She rubbed her lower back, feeling that she wasn't old yet, but her back was already aching.
When Ajiu used to complain of back pain, the old hospital director would often say, "Don't talk nonsense, you're so young, you don't have a back..."
Xiao Guozi took a glutinous rice cake from the offering table. "Princess, would you mind making do with this?" The glutinous rice cake was too hard for him to hand over, and there was only a small piece.
Zhao Shu glanced at him, then checked Huo Baichuan's condition. His pulse had weakened considerably. "Who did this? Luckily, they didn't cut your face."
Xiao Guozi: ... He didn't know why he wanted to laugh, but he held it in.
Although it was late summer and early autumn, the days were still long. As evening approached, the afterglow lingered on the ground, refusing to dissipate. Zhao Shu, gazing at the scattered rays of light on the ground, rested her chin on her hand, sat in front of Huo Baichuan, patiently waiting for nightfall.
Suddenly, her sleeve was tugged. She turned around sharply and found that Huo Baichuan had woken up, but his eyes were not open. His lips were dry and pale, and cold sweat was dripping from his forehead. "Water..." he said with difficulty.
"Water?" Oh no, she forgot to bring her brain with her when she went out, and didn't remember to fetch some water. Now she has no water.
Huo Baichuan seemed to have lost all his strength and remained silent for a long time.
"Little Guo, hurry and go find some water."
This was nothing to Xiao Guozi, and he quickly left the ancestral hall.
But whether it was fate or just bad luck, as soon as Xiao Guozi left, he heard someone outside saying, "Sir, sir, what are you doing? This is the village ancestral hall, outsiders are not allowed to enter."
Zhao Shu was so frightened that she shrank back behind the memorial tablet. It was dark inside, but Huo Baichuan's white clothes were too eye-catching. She immediately tore off his clothes and hid them in her arms, but the inside was still white. She was so angry that she wanted to poke his wound to vent her anger. She looked around but couldn't find a piece of cloth.
She looked down at herself; her clothes were a dull gray linen garment, inconspicuous in the darkness. She quickly took off her clothes and covered Huo Baichuan with them, but he was tall and the clothes were too short.
"Get out of the way!" It was **'s voice, extremely impolite, leaving no room for compromise.
Zhao Shu frantically covered her head, leaving her lower body exposed; she covered her head again, but her upper body remained clearly visible. Just then, with a 'creak,' the door opened.
'Thank God!' she murmured, covering Huo Baichuan's lower body and chest with the clothes, while the area above his shoulders remained white.
"Sir, what are you looking for?" As she spoke, she heard countless footsteps approaching. Zhao Shu bent down and covered Huo Baichuan's white robe with her body. At the same time, she let her hair down and covered Huo Baichuan's face with it. She gently covered his mouth with her hand to prevent him from speaking suddenly.
The footsteps slowly approached, and soon turned to the left of the memorial tablet. If you lifted the hanging banner and let the light shine through, you would definitely be able to find Zhao Shu and the other person if you looked carefully.
"Sir, sir, you can't offend our ancestors, sir... The ancestral tablets of our Wu'an Village have been enshrined here for generations. Offending our ancestors will bring divine retribution." The almost pleading voice made them stop in their tracks.
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