(This is still for the 21st, I'm late again by a few minutes, sigh)

  Morning 'dew' sat up with some effort, but with slight movement, cold sweat had already dripped down one by one. The undergarment made of silk gauze shone brightly in the lamplight and was instantly drenched in a patch.

  "Qiu Yun hastily helped her sit up, gritting his teeth in anger and urgency: 'You go out for a trip and end up like this, you're still so reckless and willful!'"

  At this time, two 'servants' entered the room and set up a small four-panel ink screen in front of the bed. They helped Chen Lü change into comfortable clothes and apply medicine. Qu Yun's voice was somewhat muffled from behind the screen: "This time you were pierced through the chest by a long spear and suffered serious injuries. Fortunately, you avoided the vital parts of your heart, but you will still need to rest for several months to recover!"

  Chen 'Lu' bowed her head to examine her injuries, she was well-versed in the art of medicine, and with one glance, she knew that Qu Yun's words were not false. She smiled and said: "You know I'm unparalleled in the field of medicine, with a little treatment, I'll be as good as new!" Qu Yun had no more anger to express, his full heart of worry could only turn into a long sigh.

  The maids changed their medicine, put away the screen and knelt out.

  Morning 'dew' felt a coolness in her chest, and the pain had eased a lot. She listened to the commotion outside the palace and couldn't help but ask curiously: "What happened inside the palace?"

  Gu Yun didn't answer directly. After a long sigh, he asked instead: "Guess why the Emperor hasn't come to visit you by your bed?"

  At dawn, a gleam of insight struck me. I recalled the turbulent and mysterious undercurrents, those iron-like hands that gripped so tightly, and the solemn expression on Qu Yun's face. Suddenly, my heart skipped a beat: "Could it be that he...?"

  "What's on your mind?"

  Yu Yun couldn't help but laugh: "The Emperor is really infatuated with you, to the point of jumping into the river to save you in front of everyone. He was hit by rocks all over his body and injured more than a dozen places, I'm afraid he won't be able to review memorials for a month or so..."

  He glanced at Chen Lu with a hint of mockery, but saw that her eyes were gloomy and depressed, as if shrouded in multiple layers of dark clouds. He was taken aback, and the teasing words he had been about to utter stuck in his throat.

  "Does everyone in the palace know about this?"

  Morning dew in her eyes was calm and indifferent, reflecting the dazzling sunlight projected from the window, icy cold. Compared to before, it had become even more vibrant, Qi Yun looked at her, and for an instant, he felt a slight stinging sensation.

  He smiled wryly and replied, "Originally, the Empress Dowager's side couldn't be deceived no matter what, but the palace above and below has already lost interest in entangling this kind of topic----the current 'chaos'. Let everyone have a headache as big as a bowl!"

  He looked out the window: "What are those noises? That is Empress Qi's father, leading a group of officials, kneeling and petitioning in front of the imperial garden. They want the Emperor to give his 'daughter' justice."

  "Empress Qi? What happened to her......" She's dead...... At the top of Fei Yan Pavilion, there was a sword wound on the chest. The sternum was almost completely shattered --- the murderer must be a master swordsman."

  Gu Yun was extremely annoyed. A hint of anger could be seen between his eyebrows, and the guards in the palace were on high alert. It was within his responsibility, but now that such a big thing had happened under his nose, it was simply a provocation to him!

  "Are there any leads on the perpetrator?"

  "If there wasn't, it would be peaceful all over the world..." Qu Yun said helplessly: "At that time, the night was dark and her personal maid Xiang Ying was standing far away, she didn't see anything. We were at the scene, but we found a piece of black silk handkerchief with exquisite purple orchids embroidered on it."

  "What's with the black color...?"

  "Is it Princess Zhou?"

  In the palace, she was the only one wearing a black wide robe with a sense of ancient elegance.

  "Look at that embroidery pattern, it must be from her palace without a doubt."

  Gou Yun listened to the distant, muffled sounds of people's voices and continued: "Someone in her palace couldn't withstand the 'pressure' of questioning and confessed that on that afternoon, a maid serving beside Empress Zhou secretly went to the relay station to meet with the military envoy."

  "Messenger?"

  Gufeng saw the morning dew and was shocked, explaining: "It is a messenger sent by Zhou Jun. At that time, you and the emperor were both injured, and the imperial carriage moved slowly all the way. General Zhou specially dispatched an envoy to inform the palace."

  Kui Yun said, rubbing his temples: "Near Feiyan Pavilion, we searched carefully and found another copper nail on a military boot. The Ministry of War identified it as a special issue for the Zhennan Army."

  Chen 'Lu' listened carefully, and when she spoke, she expressed the unspoken meaning of Ju Yun: "You mean that Zhou Guifei and that envoy had a secret meeting in Feiyan Pavilion?"

  Gu Yun nodded and said, "Not only did I think so, but Lin Yuan also sensed that something was wrong. She has already questioned all the guards at Xi Hua's gate, and as a result, someone testified that on that evening, there really was an eunuch in uniform who entered the palace with a waist card from Zhou Guifei's palace. The guard thought he was new and didn't ask much."

  "What is Empress Qi doing at Fei Yan Pavilion so late at night?"

  Morning 'dew' heard the gaze piercing, completely forgot the chest mouth pain, she raised her head, softly asked, as if in a monologue.

  I've also been thinking about this... Her personal maid, scared out of her wits, couldn't recall anything clearly, only stubbornly insisting that the master has been in good health these past few days and wanted to take a stroll in the palace.

  Qu Yun suddenly remembered that crying and wailing 'servant girl' Xiang Ying, and felt a wave of headache.

  "Going out for a stroll, Qi Fei accidentally stumbled upon the secret meeting between Zhou Guifei and the messenger, and thus died an unjust death - is it really that coincidental?"

  Chen 'Lu' thought for a moment, muttering to herself.

  "It's hard to say, only heaven knows. But for now, Qi Rong has died an unjust death as a 'daughter', and he won't let the matter rest. He's already making a scene in the imperial court at dawn - he wants the emperor to severely punish the murderer to comfort the spirit of Concubine Qi in heaven."

  "How is Empress Zhou doing now?"

  Chen 'Lu' looked at Qu Yun and asked.

  Qu Yun couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh: "Lin Wan is indeed all-knowing and all-powerful, managing to dig up the messenger's identity and background from someone in the know - it turns out he and Empress Zhou were childhood playmates who grew up together, their feelings for each other ran deep, until the empress was chosen to enter the palace, at which point they lost contact with each other."

  "He continued: 'The evidence is as solid as a mountain, and Empress Zhou has already been banished to the Cold Palace, awaiting the Emperor's verdict!'"

  Chen's eyebrows furrowed slightly as she said coldly, "Regardless of whether this matter is true or false, it's extremely troublesome. If we were to deal with Concubine Zhou, who knows what extreme actions Zhou Hu might take in his anger."

  Gou Yun nodded in agreement: "So the Emperor is sandwiched between two powerful ministers, it's really difficult for him to do anything --- he hasn't slept for two days and nights already."

  Just as they were talking, someone outside the corridor announced: "The Emperor has arrived!"

  How did he come?

  The two of them exchanged a glance, both shocked and bewildered.