No worries about malaria

  "What's wrong?" The county master who had been talking until his mouth was dry finally noticed the abnormality of the listener, and brought his face close to Hua Xiuyan's face to ask.

  Huayexuan's eyes blinked, and she slightly yawned with a somewhat sleepy look, saying: "Young Mistress, where did you just get to? I'm listening and it's a bit confusing."

  Li Jiya's face turned red: "Look at me, I was so busy talking that you haven't even had a chance to drink your tea." She then hastily rolled up the painting scrolls in their hands and called Sanqi over to refill their cups with hot tea.

  Hua Yucai watched as she took the painting back into the house, and with the gust of wind that came in when Sanqi pushed open the door, suddenly many things became clear to her.

  No one around her had noticed, just a moment ago, within the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the seven souls and six spirits in her body had undergone a grand transformation. The memories of the true owner of this body were slowly coming back. What was inconceivable was that she felt these memories, saying she was returning was not as good as saying - she was originally that person who was slowly coming back.

  Holding a cup of hot tea in his palm, he blew on the rim and took a sip to moisten his throat. He said to the princess, "Princess, I'm afraid it will rain tomorrow. If you want to go out, remember to bring an umbrella."

  Li Ji-yao looked out of the window and didn't notice anything unusual. She asked: "How did Yan Shangshu know that it would rain tomorrow?"

  "The minister thinks so."

  Not hearing the change in her tone, Li Ji Yao scratched his forehead.

  After waiting for a while, without seeing the imperial palace sending another carriage to pick them up, Liu Gugu felt a bit anxious. Li Qiuyue saw this and asked Sanqi to arrange for a carriage from the Princess's mansion to send them back. When sending off Hua Xiyan, Li Qiuyue said with some regret: "Xiyan Shangshu, I really wanted to keep you here to accompany me overnight. However, thinking of my imperial brother's moral character, if I kept you, I would be forbidden from entering the palace for who knows how many years, it wouldn't be worth it, so let's just forget it. After the ban is lifted, I'll come to the imperial palace to find you."

  Huayu lowered her head and looked at the hand holding hers, suddenly feeling a little dazed. She thought that this hand was still small seven years ago, just like when her son held it. Now, the ten-year-old girl had grown into a marriageable young woman.

  Time flies, and the years pass quickly, yet slowly.

  Liu Auntie helped her onto the carriage. In the Princess's mansion, the lantern festival was still ongoing, and with this lively atmosphere, it would probably continue until late at night or even till dawn.

  Li Ji-yao watched as their carriage disappeared around the corner. San Qi followed her back to the mansion, when suddenly he heard her exclaim "Ah!" and was startled, saying: "Young Mistress, what's wrong?"

  "No, I just suddenly thought of it. A long, long time ago, my imperial sister-in-law also asked me to bring an umbrella. That day, it was clearly not going to rain, but the next day, it really did rain." As she said this, Li Ji-yao tapped her own forehead and suddenly smiled, "This Yan Shang-shu, the more I look at him, the more he looks like my imperial sister-in-law. San Qi, don't you think so?"

  Sanqi glared at the young master with a flicker of her eyes: What does this little maid understand? If she had to say it, she would only rely on her intuition, feeling that Hua Xiyuan was much smarter and more terrifying than their own master.

  Huā Yùyán sat in the carriage with her hand on the window frame, listening to the creaking of the wheels. She seemed to be asking casually and asked Liu Auntie: "Are the palace maids who have done wrong and are being punished still locked up in the laundry department?"

  "Yes, miss." Lao Liu looked at her in surprise, "Why did you ask about the laundry agency?"

  "No, but wasn't my maid living in the palace before? She said she heard that some palace maids were sent to the laundry department and was worried, afraid that if she got sick and couldn't work, she would be punished by the empress dowager and sent to the laundry department too. I said how could this be possible? Isn't the empress dowager a kind-hearted person? I heard she's a Buddhist who doesn't even kill animals."

  Liu Auntie listened to her words and, not quite understanding herself, could only follow along with her explanation: "Nowadays, the internal affairs of the palace are basically managed by the Imperial Household Department. After the Empress Dowager passed away, it was all taken over by the Grand Empress Dowager. The Laundry Bureau is also under the management of the Grand Empress Dowager. However, since your maid has arrived at Yongning Palace, if there's anything going on, as long as you explain it clearly to His Majesty, he will step in and the Grand Empress Dowager won't dare to take her away against his wishes."

  "Is Yongning Temple now under the management of the Emperor?"

  "Yes, since the empress dowager passed away, His Majesty wanted to personally raise the crown prince, so he took over both the Crown Prince's Palace and his own office in Yongning Hall. Aunt Liu couldn't comment on this arrangement, but it had indeed infuriated the Empress Dowager."

  This proves that after the queen's death, Li Zimo didn't quite trust Empress Hu.

  Upon hearing these words, Huajiu's gaze turned towards the outside of the carriage, as deep and unfathomable as the night.

  Liu's aunt sat opposite her, feeling that she was even more quiet and mysterious tonight, the aura she emitted seemed stronger than before, pressing in on people, yet all the sharp edges were shrouded in her silence.

  "Grandma Willow."

  "Ah."

  "In front of the corner, I saw a shop and thought about going down to buy something."

  "What's missing, miss? If there's anything you want, I'll tell Li the steward, he told me to let him know if you're short of anything."

  Huā Yèyán smiled slightly at her words: "Aunt, sometimes Huā Yèyán wants to buy something she likes herself and not always have to ask others for it."

  Liu Auntie heard her say this and had no choice but to accompany her down from the horse carriage.

  Huā Yù Yán walked into the jewelry store that was still open at night, and browsed around for a while. Liǔ Gūgu (Maternal Aunt Liu) kept watch outside. The shopkeeper yawned and waited until she had finished browsing, then asked: "Miss, what kind of thing are you looking for? Our store is small, if we don't have something you like, you can leave a note or message, and when we get it in stock, we'll let you know."

  This is exactly what Huayexuan wanted. He took out a gold ingot from his sleeve and put it in the shopkeeper's hand: "Trouble the shopkeeper, go to a place to help me get some sample jewelry. The jewelry I want can only be found in that place. After the matter is done, the reward will be doubled."

  The glittering gold ingot dazzled the shopkeeper's eyes, and he nodded: "Don't worry, miss, I'll help you get it back tomorrow."

  Huā Yùyán finished this matter, turned around and walked out of the shop, met up with Liǔ Gūgu, got on a horse-drawn carriage, and returned to the palace.

  Returning to the palace, it was only then that she found out that His Majesty had not returned after parting ways with her at the Princess's residence that night.

  The young prince and the young emperor, one mother went to attend the lantern festival, and one father, heard that he also disguised himself out of the palace. Although the young emperor couldn't stand the young prince wanting to snatch his mother, although the young prince knew the young emperor was always on guard against him, however, this didn't hinder these two friends who were about the same age and looked like brothers from being together almost every day and night. This proved that their parents' original intention, which they had unknowingly and unintentionally made, was correct.

  As usual, at night, the young prince brought some gifts and bribed the small eatery owner again.

  Today, the young master brought some fresh lychees. The little foodie ate with relish, juice dripping from the corner of his mouth, and said to the young master: "I know you want to curry favor with my mother, but are you stupid? Why don't you send things for my mother to eat when you want to curry favor with her? You always send them for me to eat. Don't you know I dislike you?"

  Li Dongyun tossed his handkerchief to him to wipe his mouth, and the beautiful corners of his lips seemed to smile but not quite: "I like your mother, but I also like you, so of course I have to give you something to eat."

  "Do you like me?" The little eater ate with a stuffed face, his two cheeks puffed up like buns, and rubbed down the bridge of his nose in disbelief, "Why?"

  Li Dongyun couldn't say it directly, because he thought you were like his younger brother. Chong Xiaohe mysteriously hooked the corner of his mouth and cleared his throat: "Last time, I said I wanted to invite you to ride a white horse, but you said no."

  "You're talking about your little white horse?" The little foodie raised his nose, looking at the other person's white egret, who was inexplicably chasing after his little pig Nini and pecking her head. He thought of how he had also been pecked on the head by this egret before, and just happened to say, "Your pets are all like you, princess disease. What's so special about that? Who hasn't ridden a horse? If you're capable, like me and my mom, we rode water buffalo in the countryside. Have you ever ridden a water buffalo?"

  The crown prince's eyes flashed with a hint of light, and he saw that the young man had taken the bait. He said slowly, "I have never ridden a water buffalo. But I know there is one thing you definitely haven't ridden either."

  "What haven't I ridden?" The little foodie was indeed not convinced.

  "Come with me."

  The little servant jumped down from his chair and followed the young prince out.

  Li Dongyun followed Yi Feng and made a gesture with his eyes. Yi Feng nodded. A sedan chair stopped in front of the house door. Li Dongyun got into the sedan, looked around, and for an instant, hesitated, wondering if he was going to be cheated by this prince again and sold somewhere else.

  "Come on in, Mu Mu, I promised your mother that I wouldn't hurt you." Lei Dongyuan said with a wave of his hand.

  Xiao Chi thought to himself, "Am I afraid of him? I need to protect my mother, why would I be afraid of this kid? Let alone that he's the crown prince, even if his father were the emperor, I wouldn't be afraid."

  She got into the sedan chair with a swagger, twitching her little nose and saying: "That day, my mother had me pretend to be you and take her out of the palace. No one suspected me. If you want to harm me, I'll just pretend to be you and harm you back."

  Li Dongyun pulled him down to sit beside her, a small dimple on the corner of her lips smiling shallowly: "You want to pretend that we have no relationship. But I can't let you pretend to be me and get hurt because of me."

  Huā Mù Róng turned his head, looking at him with a gentle and peaceful smile. Suddenly, he felt that apart from being deceived by him like his father, this kid's smile was actually a bit like his mother's, very warm and tolerant.

  He remembered that when his uncle smiled at him, he also thought it was very much like a girl.

  The snack vendor was torn in his heart, why this kid looked like a devil on one side and an angel on the other, what should he do.

  The sedan chair sets off.

  I don't know how long the sedan had been traveling, but after eating, the little foodie started to feel drowsy. Before long, his eyelids began to droop and his head nodded forward, bumping into someone's shoulder. Li Dongyu lowered the corners of his eyes, gazing at this small face that was almost identical to his own, and gently lifted his fingertips to wipe away the remaining food from the corner of the other person's mouth.

  This child is going to be in trouble.

  The Emperor must have taken pity on the child, specially ordering the Imperial Kitchen to prepare delicious food for him every day. This was a rare exception for an Emperor who advocated thriftiness in the palace and led by example.

  No one knew what relationship this child had with him, not even the emperor. The emperor's confusion and perplexity could be sensed from the conversation he had with her that night. So he thought, in this world, there might be someone who knows the relationship between them, tonight, he would take the child to ask that person.

  As for the person he was going to ask for guidance, it's not clear if he should be called a human or not. All that is known is that "this person" has lived for several thousand or hundred years. However, the way spirits calculate age is somewhat different from humans.

  Yi Feng escorted the sedan chair of the two young masters until it entered a place similar to an underground palace. But this underground palace was absolutely beyond people's imagination. Here, not only were there jade stone-cut steps and streets, but also a nine-hole long bridge spanning the water flow, like a rainbow flying over the ground, and the palaces built in the underground palace were as magnificent as those on the ground.

  Huā Mù Róng was startled awake by the sound of running water. She immediately sat up straight and asked: "Where is this place?"

  "The dwelling place of Qilin, the temple built by the Emperor and the previous emperor for Qilin."

  Qilin?

  As the young foodie looked puzzled, Li Dongyuan slowly explained: "Have you forgotten? Zhang Taifu just told us in class. The royal families of all countries under heaven claim to be descendants of the dragon. However, among the four spirits, only the dragon cannot be subdued by humans as a spirit pet. As for dragons, people have only heard rumors and never been able to confirm whether they existed in the world. In the beginning of creation, Qilin and Phoenix were created first, but Qilin was replaced by the illusory dragon, becoming the most noble spirit pet under heaven. Therefore, the Dongling royal family, who can tame Qilin as a spirit pet, has always been revered by the world as the Dragon Respect, which is an unparalleled branch of divine bloodline."

  After hearing these words, the little foodie touched his own two ears: "You brought me to see your father's spiritual pet? Are you showing off again that your family is much better than mine, and that Nini is more excellent than me?"

  Of course not! Lei Dongyu almost spilled the secret.

  The snack vendor saw that he couldn't answer, so he let out a sigh and said: "Don't worry, I know my daughter Nini is only good at eating. And my wife has always said, what's the use of being excellent? Being too excellent will only make people jealous, like me and Nini, we're doing just fine by cheating and scamming our way through life."

  Li Dongyun, the young prince, helped him up: He knew that every time he talked to this kid, he would easily get angry and vomit blood if he wasn't careful. In fact, he had long admired Hua Xiyan for being able to tolerate such a son until now.

  "What do you want to be in the future?"

  "Let's go beg with Niuniu, this way we can eat wherever we go."

  With a small hand holding onto the sedan chair, Li Dongyu took a deep breath to prevent himself from vomiting blood. He spoke with a heavy heart: "You've grown up, haven't you ever thought of showing filial piety to your mother? How can you show filial piety as a beggar?"

  "This I've thought of." The little foodie smugly raised an eyebrow, "With my and Nini's skills, finding something to eat isn't hard. My mom will definitely not go hungry with me around. Because if Nini and I are hungry, we won't let our mom go hungry either."

  Should I say this child is simple and kind? Li Dongyu couldn't help but touch the child's head.

  "Master, we've arrived." Yifeng lifted the curtain of the sedan chair.

  Two children walked down together.

  Hua Mu Yong looked around in a circle, and was shocked again by the rich and magnificent scenery of this place. He thought that this kid's home was so luxurious everywhere, and it was getting more and more luxurious, making him, a poor boy, feel even more unbearable.

  When the master wanted to see the divine beast, others could not be present because the divine beast did not like it. Yi Feng and several sedan chair carriers retreated immediately.

  Li Dongyun saw that a lamp seemed to be lit in the temple, and he walked over with a hint of a smile on his lips.

  Huā Mù Róng was still standing there in a daze, hesitant to move forward. This place made him feel inexplicably hairy all over. Unbeknownst to him, goosebumps had already appeared on his skin. When he finally realized the reason, he turned around and saw two huge eyes staring back at him, each eye as big as a human head. The little foodie let out an unprecedented shriek: "Wow!"

  His buttocks fell onto the jade stone.

  Li Dongyun hastily turned around and saw that it was a divine beast emerging from the pool of water, and he smiled.

  Qilin!

  "Your Highness."

  The divine beast Qilin, half-exposed from the pool, lazily crouched by the poolside, nodded its head at the young prince, then turned to look back at Xiao Yan, who sat in front of it and looked exactly like the young prince.

  Huā Mù Róng's whole body trembled, and the water in the pool splashed onto him due to the sudden movement of the Qilin's tail. He felt a chill run down his spine.

  This monster in front of me, can't say it's scary to look at, compared to the beautiful snake-like creatures my mother and she talked about, it's already much better, although, it looks a bit strange, such as having a horse-like head, big eyes like a lion's, strong and powerful muscles on its back called tiger back, with a slender body like that of an antelope, but its skin is covered with dragon scales like armor, making it impervious to knives and guns. As for that long tail, it looks just like a dragon's tail, no wonder it can replace the dragon.

  The thing that made Huamu feel fearful was the gaze of this divine beast, its condescending gaze made him feel like an insignificant little ant. There had never been anyone or anything that could make him feel this way before. It wasn't that he was arrogant, but when he was very young, he didn't even fear the vicious dogs in the village that were much bigger than him.

  What is called "heaven outside of heaven", a little foodie who fears neither heaven nor earth, felt fear for the first time in his life.

  "Crown Prince, this child is quite interesting." The Kirin's whisper to the two little friends was low and thick, with a sense of having gone through many experiences, like the voice of an elderly human. After all, it had lived for too long, its wisdom already surpassing that of the animal kingdom, or perhaps even that of ordinary humans.

  Li Dongyun walked over to Xiaochi's side and pulled him up. As soon as Huamu Rong grabbed his hand, a warmth flowed in, making him feel slightly better, no longer shaking so much. Xiaochi immediately regained his spirits and asked: "You said it was your father's spiritual pet?"

  "Yes."

  "How can this be? It's grown so big, it can't follow you by your father's side, isn't that useless?" Where is his little pig Nini, so good, at night can be hugged and slept with as a pillow.

  Who dares to say that Qilin is a waste? Is there anyone in the world who dares to do so? Maybe it's just this kid. Li Dongyuan was embarrassed on the surface, but his heart was actually a bit nervous, seeing the divine beast Qilin up close, and hearing the child's rebellious words.

  The corners of his eyes swept away the momentary melancholy, and he found that Qilin's mouth had hooked up, completing an arc of a smile. Before long, the old man's cheerful and mellow laughter came out from the throat of the divine beast.

  The divine beast smiled, and it was called earth-shaking.

  Huā Mù Róng finally understood why the Qilin usually maintained a leisurely attitude, as if dozing off. The Qilin burst into laughter, causing the entire underground palace to shake. The water in the pool splashed and gushed out like a joyful fountain, shooting up into the sky, and then fell back down like heavenly flowers, soaking Huā Mù Róng and the young prince, turning them into dripping wet chickens.

  Two little friends looked down at their wet clothes and shoes around them, both quite helpless.

  The little prince said to the little glutton: "I saw Qilin smile for the first time."

  Implicitly, you're awesome, even the number one divine beast in the world can be amused by you.

  The little foodie scrunched up her nose: "You should have told me the punchline earlier, I would have tried to avoid it. How was I supposed to know he'd compare himself to Little Piggy Nini? He's a divine beast, yet he compares himself to my family's little pig - isn't that lowering his own status?"

  As soon as he finished speaking, the divine beast burst into a thunderous and earth-shaking fit of loud laughter.

  Two little friends rushed up the steps in a panic, and with the sound of laughter, the water in the pool was like a huge wave, rushing towards them like a landslide, and could drown them at any moment.

  While running, Little Prince had to scold Little Glutton: "Don't speak anymore."

  You can say anything and hit the funny bone of Shen Beast, awesome!

  The snack vendor ran after him with all his might: "Need you tell me? I won't speak to it again unless I'm dead."

  As a result, this remark immediately made Qilin stop laughing, he didn't want to miss the opportunity to talk to Xiaomu forever.

  The Qilin leaped out of the pool, treading on the water flowers, and gently landed in front of two fugitive children, saying: "No one can harm you. Come, let's talk in the hall." After finishing speaking, a white light enveloped its massive body, and after a moment, the divine body disappeared, transforming from the light circle into an old man wearing a snow-white immortal robe, with white whiskers, no different from an old Taoist priest with a sacred wind and bone.

  Huā Mù Róng looked at it with wonder, never knowing that animals could transform into humans, and exclaimed: "Can my Ni Ni also transform?"

  "Ni Ni?" The old man's white eyebrows rose up like a startled qilin.

  "I raised a little pig," said Huā Mù Róng, looking around everywhere, only to remember that Little Pig Ni Ni hadn't followed because it was being chased by the White Egret.

  "If it were you who raised it, I think it's highly likely that it would change. Because the blood of the gods flows within your body." Qilin said.

  Xiao Mu's body retained the blood of his own divine race. Lei Dongyuan's eyes lit up.

  Qilin led the two little friends into his own palace. The little foodie looked around in the palace, didn't find anything to eat, and said disappointedly: "Don't you guys eat or drink? My family's Nini can eat."

  "What would you like to eat? I'll conjure up whatever you want." Qilin's face was filled with affection as he wrapped his arms around Xiao Chi Huo's shoulders.

  In Li Dongyin's eyes, Qilin's behavior was extremely rare. Qilin rarely transformed and it was impossible for him to be so good to a child he had just met for the first time. Divine beasts all have their own arrogant temperaments. What does this mean? The little prince's mind kept turning.

  The changed plate of grapes was given to the little foodie to satisfy his hunger, and at the same time, he noticed the abnormal expression of the young prince. Qilin walked up to the young prince's side and whispered: "Your Highness brought him here for what reason, this palace seems to have understood a bit."

  "Do you know?"

  "He and you share the same bloodline, Your Highness."

  Li Dongyun's eyes sparkled with excitement: So, does this mean that he and his father's hopes have a chance of coming true?

  "Although I don't know who raised him, this palace knows that with your father, Li Zimo, it's absolutely impossible to raise a child like this. He can only raise a prince like you." Qilin said, and couldn't help but burst out laughing, "Fortunately, it wasn't your father who raised him. If both children were like Prince You, I wouldn't be able to laugh at Li Zimo anymore."

  Upon hearing this, Lei Dongyuan's eyebrows furrowed in surprise and concern: "Laugh at my dad?"

  "This kid can get on your nerves to death, right? Just thinking about how he gets on Your Highness's nerves is imaginable." Qilin mentioned being able to get on his master's nerves, and suddenly looked several thousand years younger, radiant and refreshed. "This palace has watched Leizi Mo grow up, you Eastling royal family members are all like Leizi Mo and the Crown Prince, so stiff and uninteresting. This kid is good, this palace likes him!"

  Lí Dōngyù's excitement didn't last for a moment, his mood was immediately doused with cold water. If his dad found out about this, what would he do? It wasn't his fault, he also didn't know that the world's number one divine beast was so playful.

  Gazing lovingly at the little foodie eating over there, Qilin placed both hands on the small shoulders of the young prince that were heavy with responsibilities beyond his years and said in a low voice, "Your Highness is very happy, isn't he?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Your Highness doesn't need to worry. No matter what happens, Qilin will protect Emperor Dongling and also protect Your Highness and this child."

  Li Dongyun sniffled: "Qilin, can I ask you to protect someone for me again?"

  "Is Your Highness referring to Her Majesty the Queen Mother?"

  Her bright eyes shone as she gazed at him.

  Qilin sighed: "This palace cannot. In fact, this matter was asked by your father seven years ago. Unfortunately, this palace cannot. Your Highness is young and may not understand, some things are called heaven's will cannot be violated."

  The year she died, how many people knew that she was destined to die? Perhaps only those who harbored evil intentions towards her, because they had plans to murder her, thought it was a matter of course that she would die. However, definitely no one knew that in fact, she had long known that this life of hers was not long for this world, and that it was an unalterable fate.

  This ability, similar to precognition, was something she was born with. For example, when she was very young, before it rained, she would cry and refuse to let her nanny take her out for a walk in the courtyard, because at that time she couldn't speak and could only use crying to remind others. Her family thought she was just clever, but who would have thought that this ability to predict weather changes could also predict her own death? Of course, at that time, she had an attitude of half-belief and half-doubt towards this ability, because until the day she died, even she herself couldn't know if it was correct or not.

  However, she has been doing preparatory work all along.

  Before dawn broke, Green Phoenix, who had recovered from her injuries, brought her a basin of water for washing her face.

  Huā Yùyán washed her face, and Lǜ Cuì handed her a hairpin from under her hand: "I took a look, it's exactly the one that Big Miss told me about last night."

  Taking over the hairpin, flipping it over to the back, carefully feeling the joint of the hairpin, a familiar mark can be felt, which was left by her that year.

  Green Delphinium continued: "The one who handed me the hairpin was a palace maid, and she also asked me to ask you, Miss, how are you doing? I didn't dare answer her."

  "What does it look like?"

  "The slave most remembered that on her left eyebrow, there was a mole."

  This remark made Huayexiang's heart skip a beat: Yurong!

  When she was about to leave, among the few people in the world who were most concerned about her, there was a maid named Yu Rong, who had been with her since childhood and accompanied her into the palace.

  "She is not a palace maid." Huā Xīyán said softly, "She should be the wife of some minister, a madam, and should have disguised herself to enter the palace. She is more familiar with this place than anyone else."

  Green Delight was surprised: "Does Big Sister know her?"

  How could the young lady of the Flower family know the wife of a minister from Dongling State?

  Huayexi couldn't explain clearly to Lücuì, so she told Lücuì: "Later there should be someone else coming. If you see a man with a mustache, holding a hairpin identical to this one and bumping into you, let him come see me."

  "Aren't you afraid to meet here?" asked Lü Cuì, this is the emperor's bedroom, everywhere are the emperor's eyes and ears, thinking of doing anything under the emperor's nose, she was afraid.

  "It's all right," said Hua Yihong, "The Emperor didn't return last night, and Li Shunde hasn't come back either. No one will notice."

  Miss seems to have calculated everything in her heart. Green thought.

  Huā Yù Yán had made up her mind, if he returned, with so many people around, she could only meet him outside. If not, meeting him in this place was actually the safest, because Liǔ Gū Gu said that the Empress's hand couldn't reach here.

  It wasn't long before Green Delight brought the person over as she had intended. As she described, the man was disguised as a eunuch but sported a richly characteristic goat beard, and his age was over thirty but not old. This person entered the room, and Green Delight closed the door behind him. He looked at Hua Yu Cai for a while, with a pair of small eyes that were sharp and capable, as sharp as knives. Quickly, he knelt down in front of Hua Yu Cai: "Your servant Du Youzhi pays his respects to Your Ladyship."

  "Get up," said Hua Xiyue.

  This man was none other than the one who had previously impeached her in front of the Emperor, asking him to abolish her. Later, thanks to the kindness of Empress Dowager, this man was not imprisoned but instead became an official and is now serving in the Ministry of Revenue. However, Empress Dowager also did not know that Sun Gu Gu's collaboration with her was just following her script, at that time, she had already foreseen that this man would be the key to saving her life.

  Du Youzhi stood up, standing upright in front of her, with a look of surprise and smile on his face, saying: "I congratulate Your Highness on your return."

  "How can you be certain I am the princess?"

  "Only the princess knows about this hairpin, and not only that, but also the way she spoke to me seven years ago when we first met. More importantly, it's her eyes. The princess's eyes are one of a kind in the world, how can they be faked? Eyes cannot deceive people."

  This man indeed has two brushes. At that time, it was only when she suddenly appeared and exchanged a few glances with him that they immediately knew she had plans for him.

  "It's been seven years." Hua Yu Yan said, "I've walked for exactly seven years. My seven souls and six spirits have just returned not long ago, and some things are still not very clear in my memory, so I kept you in the palace as a spy, does the Empress Dowager suspect you?"

  Du Youzhi smiled with a deep meaning: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager doesn't even know about the play you performed seven years ago, how can she guard against me? Moreover, I have always thought highly of myself, but only Your Majesty is the one person in my life who has made me lose face from the very beginning."

  "You didn't misjudge." Looking back, Huajie Yan was not the one who felt this way, but rather Gong Qianxi. She had countless emotions. Back then, when she walked down that road, she too was unable to do anything. She had tried her best to gain everyone's liking around him. However, as Du Youzhi said, if you do something too well and make it even more perfect, it will only make people hate you even more. Moreover, these people wanting to harm her wasn't simply because of their jealousy towards her.

  "No, I didn't see it as deeply and far-sightedly as Your Majesty did. I'm short-sighted, only seeing that Your Majesty is trapped in a difficult situation, but not knowing the details." After seven years, Du Youzhi also gained a deeper understanding of this matter, and humbly admitted that he was inferior to Dao.

  "They probably thought that once I die, the Phoenix Seal would naturally return to the Emperor's hands. However, they didn't think that the Emperor had already given the Phoenix Seal to me, and as long as my body doesn't die, my seven souls and six spirits will return, and the Phoenix Seal won't fall into the Emperor's hands either. What they want isn't me, but the Phoenix Seal, and half of Dongling Country's power. Their target isn't me, it's the throne of Dongling Country."

  "It's all because of you, Concubine, that His Majesty is willing to hand over the Imperial Seal to you."

  This is not a false statement. Although the marriage contract of the gods states that the other party can obtain half of the emperor's power, how many emperors have actually achieved this? It is basically impossible. For example, the previous emperor, who had abolished the queen several times, would never hand over the imperial seal to any woman, lest the country fall into chaos. Only Li Zimo, from the beginning, married her and handed over the imperial seal to her. This is precisely why she was most resented by Hu Taihou and others.

  Why did Li Zimo want to hand over the Phoenix Seal to her? She thought about it, and it was likely that when Li Zimo first ascended to the throne, he faced a complex situation of domestic instability and foreign invasion. He divided half of his power to her in order to prepare for the future. Of course, this was also because he trusted her and trusted their palace family.

  "Does Your Majesty suspect that the princess is still alive?" Du Youzhi asked based on her words.

  "No, he doesn't know. He thought that the Phoenix Seal was buried with my body in the underground palace. At first, he did this to ensure that my body would remain intact for a thousand years after entering the divine register, and anyone who wanted to seize the seal would have to destroy my body first. But whoever destroys the body of a god will be struck by heavenly lightning, so no one dares to do it. As long as he doesn't establish another heir within a day, this seal will remain out of reach, and he can sit on the throne for the rest of his life."

  Perhaps only after so many years of sedimentation can she better understand him. He is an emperor, a high and mighty emperor, his every move too profound, containing both love and calculation.

  "Since you're back, Princess, shouldn't you clear up all this with His Majesty?" Du Youzhi asked as he looked at her.

  Hua Yuexuan knew what he was thinking and smiled: "Of course, this palace cannot formally meet with the emperor before seeing those 'old friends'."

  "The princess thought so, and I felt at ease in my heart. How the princess died initially, even the princess herself might not remember clearly."

  How could she have known how she would die? If she had known, she wouldn't have died. Heaven's will cannot be violated. It can be predicted, but not prevented. She was destined to make two trips through the Ghost Gate. Unless she sent her soul to another time and space, experiencing reincarnation, she couldn't become a transformed soul. If she came back without going through a seven-year cycle of reincarnation, her memories as Gong Xiuzi's seventh soul and sixth spirit would not be able to return to this body and perfectly merge with the soul that had experienced one cycle of reincarnation.

  Every step is carefully calculated, hiding one's light and enduring humiliation, all for the sake of truly returning, to see everyone from before. Of course, her approach has no precedent, with extremely high risks, essentially equivalent to death. So, she doesn't dare tell even family members, because she completely doesn't know if she can succeed.

  Her eyes flashed slightly, and she lowered her voice: "After all these years, what have you found out for me?"

  "The princess initially knew clearly, but also couldn't investigate. I know this matter is very difficult. Just going to follow the suspicious person of the princess, it's probably just catching a corner of an iceberg. However, since the princess ordered me with her life on the line, I was able to see the symptoms before she died. Based on the symptoms of her death, it wasn't poison or accident, only possible is heavenly curse."

  Heavens curse!

  These two words are enough to make people feel icy cold.

  From ancient times to the present, cursing someone to death is not something that no one has ever done, it's just that the price is too high. Generally, taking someone's life requires offering one's own life as collateral. Not to mention cursing someone who has already entered the divine register to death, this price is unimaginable.

  However, being able to discern the two heavenly oaths that others cannot see, this man is indeed worthy of her choice back then.

  Du Youzhi felt a chill run down his spine, lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty can rest assured, this life of mine has long been yours."

  "This palace naturally trusts you, otherwise it wouldn't have put all the bets of seven years on you first." With a light sigh, the corner of her mouth hooked up, revealing a thin smile, "However, since you said that, this palace has returned, and these people are not far from their death date."

  According to the law of Tian Zhao, it is so. Once the curse fails, the wheel of heaven turns back, these people, the old sky cannot take the life of Niangniang, the lives of these people, the old sky must be taken to compensate for their lives.

  "Are you sure it's Tian Jue?"

  "Why don't you give it a try?"

  Two people exchanged a fleeting glance.

  Looking out of the window, the jade buildings and towers in the imperial palace rose and fell one after another, hazy and indistinct in the mist. Not far away was the Yongshou Palace: "It seems that this palace can try to take a nearby person first."

  Yongshou Palace

  Empress Hu was coughing all night and couldn't fall asleep. Auntie Sun started patting her back before dawn.

  "Has His Majesty returned?" Empress Hu asked.

  Last night, her carriage went ahead of the Emperor's and only when they arrived at the palace did she realize that Li Zimo had not followed behind. This made her uneasy for the entire night, feeling that the Emperor was already suspicious. As early as seven years ago, it could be known that the Emperor would be suspicious, but in these seven years, she had done very well, leaving the Emperor with no handle to grasp. How could all her efforts be undone by a sudden accident?

  Sun's aunt let all the other palace maids withdraw and walked over to Empress Hu's side, shaking her head.

  "Hasn't he come back? Why? Doesn't anyone know where he went?"

  "Our people are only at the city gate, and if the Emperor doesn't enter or exit the city gate, we can't track him." Aunt Sun said this to comfort her, "Your Majesty, why don't you go back to sleep for a while? I think the Emperor is just in a bad mood and wants to clear his head outside. The Emperor has to come back to preside over the court, he'll be back soon."

  "The Empress Dowager wants to take her medicine, otherwise she won't be able to sleep," said Empress Hu.

  Aunt Sun immediately went to get the Chinese medicine that had been prepared early and was already on the table.

  Empress Hu took over the medicine bowl and stared at the dark brown Chinese medicine liquid as if she was in a trance.

  "Empress Dowager?"

  "My heart is uneasy, where did he go last night? He had never been there before. When he opened the coffin, I thought the person inside would suddenly jump out and face me..." Empress Hu's hand holding the medicine bowl trembled like autumn leaves falling, her chest heaving up and down.

  Aunt Sun was just about to help her pat her back, when suddenly a gust of wind blew in from the window. Ah, hadn't she closed it properly? So she walked over to close the window. As soon as she had closed the window with both hands, she suddenly heard a loud "crack" behind her, which startled her and made her turn around immediately.

  All that could be seen was a piece of broken medicine bowl on the ground, Empress Hu covered her chest with one hand and pointed forward with the other, her lips turned purple as she trembled: "You, you, you——"

  Sun Auntie followed the gaze of Lady Hu and looked over to see a woman who had appeared inside the house at some unknown time. Seeing that this woman was wearing brocade clothes and finery, which was the most noble national dress of Dongling, and on her head she wore that nine phoenix pearl hairpin. This hairpin, in this country, only the empress can wear. Therefore, it didn't take long for Sun Auntie's two kneecaps to follow Lady Hu and start trembling with cold.

  Are they dreaming?

  The person who appeared before them was none other than the one they had just seen in the coffin last night.

  A person who should have died seven years ago!

  The young lady's quiet and noble apricot eyes looked at Aunt Sun. In an instant, Aunt Sun only thought of the scene when she first saw this little girl that year. At that time, Prince Lei Zimo asked her to pay respects to this little girl, and she had been serving the empress for a long time, so she was not very willing in her heart. The little girl just used one glance, making her kneel down with both knees obediently.

  "Your Majesty..." Aunt Sun knocked her head on the ground, her body shaking like a sick person.

  Empress Hu heard the two words "imperial concubine" and her breathing became even more urgent, her lips turning purple as she struggled to take in air: "Palace... imperial concubine..."

  "It's me, your servant, Empress Dowager. I've come to pay my respects to you." The woman faced Empress Hu and made a deep bow, then raised her head, looking surprised at the empress's appearance. "Empress Dowager, what's happened to your body? It's been seven years since we last met, how did you become so ill? I studied medicine with my brother, I have some basic knowledge, let me take your pulse."

  As she approached, Empress Hu retreated behind the bed, waving her hand: "No, no need, I don't need it——"

  Sun Auntie's heart contracted violently, feeling her spirit was shaken to the point of confusion. She raised her head and saw that Empress Hu's hair was disheveled and her eyes were unfocused, making her look even more like a madwoman. As she was suddenly grabbed by one arm by the woman, Empress Hu let out a cry of surprise, as if something had bitten into her heart.

  Along with the empress's sleeve, a bright red mark like blood appeared on Empress Hu's arm. When she saw the mark on her arm, her body trembled and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.