In the palace, in front of the imperial study.

Hua Yuan Zhaogan stood where he was, watching Gu Changsu and the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo both go in after being summoned, his mind full of questions.

As she was thinking, a familiar figure walked out of the imperial study.

After not seeing him for a few days, Prime Minister Hua seemed to have aged a bit.

Prime Minister Hua had already walked in front of her and lowered his voice to scold her: "You evil creature! You caused such a disaster, and you dared to just walk away!"

Hua Yuanzhao blinked and looked at the person in front of him in surprise, feeling a strange warmth in his heart.

—— Was it her original adoptive father who asked for a trial in the palace?

But didn’t Hua Mu always want her to die?

Prime Minister Hua glanced around and said in a low voice, "If you still have a conscience, you should quickly make this matter right."

Hua Yuanzhao rarely had a good face towards him: "Don't worry, father, I will be able to solve this matter smoothly."

Prime Minister Hua nodded and said in a cold voice: "It's best if you can think this way."

Hua Yuanzhao was about to ask him to help contact the families whose daughters were poisoned when he heard Prime Minister Hua say, "Going crazy and dying in front of the emperor may not be as effective as dying on the street, but it will work."

Hua Yuanzhao felt as if he had been splashed with a basin of cold water in winter, feeling cold from head to toe.

She looked at Prime Minister Hua in astonishment, and the warmth that had just emerged in her heart disappeared completely.

"What did you say?"

Was this to make her go crazy here and then die?

"The Prime Minister's Mansion must not be tainted by any stain!" Prime Minister Hua said bluntly.

Even though he had seen his true face long ago, Hua Yuanzhao still felt chilled.

After this emotion, she felt ridiculous again. For such a brief moment just now, she actually thought that this thing would protect her!

As they were talking, the palace maid came forward to invite Hua Yuanzhao in.

Hua Yuanzhao pursed his lips, gritted his teeth and walked into the imperial study, without looking at him again from beginning to end.

"You--" Prime Minister Hua hesitated to speak and followed her with a dark face.

Hua Yuanzhao prepared a lot of words, but after paying his respects, the emperor sitting behind the table only asked: "Can you really make an antidote?"

"Yes." Hua Yuanzhao responded without hesitation.

"In that case, I will give you one hour." The emperor said calmly: "If you can't come up with the antidote within one hour, it will be a crime of deceiving the emperor..."

He paused and asked meaningfully, "Do you understand?"

"I understand." Hua Yuanzhao took a deep breath and kowtowed again: "But I cannot be disturbed when I am preparing medicine. Please allow me to prepare medicine alone."

Gu Changsu said anxiously: "Father, Hua Yuanzhao is cunning by nature. If he just escaped under the pretext of preparing medicine, then-"

"Then is it okay for me to look after her?" Gu Ci turned sideways, opened his folding fan and smiled casually.

Hua Yuanzhao had been keeping his head down, and when he suddenly heard Gu Ci's voice, he looked over in surprise.

Why is he here?

Gu Ci winked at her, then put away the fan in his hand and saluted the emperor.

"Brother, I am willing to prepare medicine for Miss Hua. Please allow me."

The emperor looked at Gu Ci tiredly, nodded in agreement, and ignored Gu Changsu's protest.

Everything that happened in the imperial study went so smoothly that it was unbelievable. Hua Yuanzhao still felt strange when he was taken to the empty room by the palace servants.

She looked at Gu Ci secretly, full of doubts and wanting to ask something but not knowing how to start.

"Don't worry, I won't peek." Gu Ci thought she was worried about the prescription being leaked, so he said with a smile.

He looked around the room, found a soft stool to sit on, and then took out a handkerchief to cover his eyes.

"In this case, Miss Hua can be relieved?"

Hua Yuanzhao blushed in embarrassment: "There's no need to be like this..."

As she said this, she lit the incense she had taken out from the space.

Gu Ci smelled the aroma of the medicine and was surprised: "Has it already started? Does that mean you can really make an antidote?"

"Yes, it's basically figured out." Hua Yuanzhao said vaguely. He stared at Gu Ci until he fainted, then he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

"I just need someone to help me test the medicine." Hua Yuanzhao muttered to himself, and released the unconscious palace maid from the research institute.

She tied the maid to a chair and injected her with the potion again.

As soon as the palace maid opened her eyes, she fed her the prepared medicine.

After struggling for more than half an hour, the maid asked with a pale face: "Who are you..."

"It's right this time." Hua Yuanzhao nodded with satisfaction and lowered his head to write down the recipe in a small notebook.

"Your Majesty..." The maid didn't get an answer. She looked down and saw Gu Ci, and cried out in a low voice.

Gu Ci, leaning on the chair, looked at Su Xing and subconsciously reached out to pull off the scarf from his eyes. His face darkened when he saw the palace maid.

"This is..." Gu Ci figured it out in an instant and sneered, "Hua Yuanzhao, you are so cunning!"

Hua Yuanzhao was writing a recipe when he was suddenly called. He was so startled that his hands shook and he looked over blankly.

Why did Gu Ci wake up so early?

She looked at Gu Ci, then at the palace maid who was still tied to the chair, and stood there guiltily.

"What then..."

Hua Yuanzhao was speechless. For some time, Gu Ci had been calling her Miss Hua. Suddenly he called her by her full name. He must have been very angry.

She quickly pretended to be confused: "Are you feeling unwell? Something went wrong when dispensing the medicine and you fainted."

Gu Ci almost laughed out of anger. Did this person think he was a fool? How could he even tell such a clumsy lie?

He thought that blindfolding himself was sincere enough, but this person actually used a drug to knock him out.

"Forget it, I'll just assume this is an accident." Gu Ci said coldly: "If there's a next time -"

"Absolutely not!" Hua Yuanzhao quickly assured.

As she spoke, she quickly reached out to untie the maid: "Don't be afraid, you have been drugged, I have no choice but to tie you up!"

It's killing me! Gu Ci woke up. Should she send this little girl back to the institute like this?

There is someone guarding outside the house! How is she going to explain this sudden appearance of someone else?

Could it be that this palace maid hid here after being drugged?

The maid had just regained her freedom when she knelt down on the ground, trembling, with her head down and not daring to look at Gu Ci.

Hua Yuanzhao quickly reached out to help her up: "You are injured, get up quickly."

The palace maid's face was pale and she was trembling, not daring to look up at all.

Hua Yuanzhao held the person in his arms and asked patiently, "Can you see who drugged you?"

The maid froze, closed her eyes and shook her head, choking and saying, "I didn't see anything! Please forgive me!"

Hua Yuanzhao narrowed his eyes. This reaction didn’t seem like he saw nothing!

She stood up with the help of the palace maid, who supported her and walked out.

"Are you scared?" Hua Yuanzhao lowered his voice and whispered in her ear: "Come to think of it, you are also someone who walked out of Yama Palace."

The palace maid trembled, her eyes still on Gu Ci.

"Don't you want the person who hurt you to be punished?" Hua Yuanzhao coaxed: "He is going to kill you, do you still want to help the murderer?"

"Or do you think that if you don't tell him, he won't kill you to silence you?"

The palace maid's legs went weak and she almost hung on Hua Yuanzhao.

Hua Yuanzhao supported her and walked step by step towards the imperial study, and said the last words near the door.

"The person you are about to meet is the only one who can possibly help you." Hua Yuanzhao said meaningfully, "Whether you can be rescued depends on you."

The maid knelt on the ground, trembling and gritting her teeth, saying: "Your Majesty, I saw the person who drugged you. He is——"

Before she could finish her words, her eyes suddenly bulged out and her body involuntarily fell forward.