Qu Shujie was so scared that he soiled himself.
His face was unnaturally pale.
He stumbled, scrambled, and fled from the Gu family's doorstep.
If his grandfather found out about today's events, he would be finished! He had actually offended someone from the Ruan family!
Watching Qu Shujie flee in a dejected manner, Gu Zhiruo bit her lip.
Seeing this, Ruan Xi grinned and said, "He's just a dog. It's not worth letting him ruin your mood."
Gu Zhiruo came back to her senses and looked at Ruan Xi. "Is what you said earlier about the Qu family's old master true?"
"Hahaha, do you think Qu Shujie would have been so scared if it were false? Coincidentally, I'll send someone to send greetings to the Qu family's old master later and let him know what good deeds his grandson has been up to." Ruan Xi made the decision as he spoke.
Gu Zhiruo wanted to say something but swallowed it back, finally saying only two words, "Thank you."
...
The Imperial Palace.
On her way to the palace, Yun Shu already knew why she was summoned.
Jiang Luoxi had been bitten by a snake, and they wanted her to examine her.
She entered the palace and bowed when she saw Zhan Tianhong.
Then she looked at Jiang Luoxi, who was lying in bed.
Were they mistaking her for a royal physician?
They summoned her to the palace for a minor ailment like a headache or a cold? xxs壹贰
"Thank you, Miss Yun. The snake that bit me is a Snow Spirit Snake, and its venom is too potent. The medicine prescribed by the imperial physicians, and even the divine physician Zuo, had little effect. I still feel very weak," Jiang Luoxi said weakly.
Her complexion indeed had a strange pallor.
It didn't look like a normal paleness.
The venom of the Snow Spirit Snake was difficult to neutralize.
However, with Zuo Yan's medical skills, neutralizing snake venom should not be difficult.
Seeing that Yun Shu only glanced at him with a cold attitude, Zhan Tianhong's expression flickered, and he spoke, "Miss Yun, thank you for your trouble."
"Your Majesty, I have a few words to say. I am a commoner. Repeatedly entering the palace will easily cause gossip. Moreover, I have three children at home who need care. Most importantly, my medical skills are shallow, and I cannot treat the venom of the Snow Spirit Snake," Yun Shu replied indifferently.
The implication was clear, Zhan Tianhong should understand.
Asking her to save Jiang Luoxi?
Unless the sun rose from the west.
Jiang Luoxi's face grew even more displeased. "Miss Yun, please do not be humble. Your medical skills are even admired by the divine physician Zuo."
One had to admit, Yun Shu had great audacity to even disregard the Emperor's face!
Zhan Tianhong's heart sank. "It was my oversight. Since Miss Yun cannot treat the venom of the Snow Spirit Snake, perhaps you can rest in the palace for a while before leaving?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Luoxi was stunned. What did he mean? He agreed to her suggestion to invite Yun Shu in, but Yun Shu found an excuse, saying she couldn't treat it, and he agreed so readily?
Why did she feel like he hadn't actually intended for Yun Shu to treat her?
Yun Shu nodded. "Thank you, Your Majesty. There's no need to trouble yourself. My heart is with my three children, and I will leave the palace now. I take my leave."
With that, she turned and walked out.
Watching Yun Shu's determined back, Zhan Tianhong's thin lips pressed together.
Jiang Luoxi was furious at this moment. Yun Shu hadn't even looked at her, let alone taken her pulse!
This was clearly a blatant disregard.
She had initially thought that Yun Shu, out of respect for Zhan Tianhong, would at least put on a show and help her with the snake venom.
The venom of the Snow Spirit Snake had exceeded her expectations; she still felt weak since yesterday.
According to Zuo Yan, she would need several days to recover.
However, she didn't want to waste time; there were many things in the capital that needed her attention!
She felt that the Emperor's indulgence and trust in Yun Shu would cause trouble in the future.
"From today onwards, if you fall ill, have the imperial physicians attend to you directly," Zhan Tianhong retracted his gaze and said to Jiang Luoxi in a cold tone.
Jiang Luoxi was momentarily speechless.
Was he blaming her?
Jiang Luoxi pursed her lips and reminded him, "Your Majesty, Miss Yun is about to marry Prince Ye. Prince Ye has had many grievances with Your Majesty recently. Could it be that Miss Yun has also been influenced?"
She wanted to make Zhan Tianhong's gratitude towards Yun Shu disappear!
Otherwise, she would truly be a problem in the future!
She wanted to remind him that Yun Shu was backed by Prince Ye.
Zhan Tianhong's dark eyes narrowed, and he fell into silence.
Seeing this, Jiang Luoxi sneered inwardly.
...
On her way out of the palace, Yun Shu felt an urge to relieve herself.
While looking for a place to do so, she inadvertently overheard several palace maids whispering to each other.
"I just heard from someone delivering food to the Cold Palace that the Empress Dowager went mad on her first day and smashed almost the entire Cold Palace."
"That's nothing. There are many imperial consorts in the Cold Palace. Those imperial consorts were all sent to the Cold Palace by the Empress Dowager herself!"
"The next day, when those imperial consorts saw that the Emperor had truly punished the Empress Dowager, they went to settle scores with her and beat her black and blue! Who would have thought that the high and mighty Empress Dowager, who used to hold the lives of so many people in her hands in the palace, would end up in the Cold Palace? It's truly pathetic!"
"What's pathetic about it? We servants have it worse! We are ordered around by our masters every day, and if we don't do a good job, we might lose our heads. So don't pity the Empress Dowager."
"I heard the Empress Dowager was not lightly beaten. She didn't even get up this morning and was groaning in bed. No one in the Cold Palace is attending to her. Who knows how long the Empress Dowager will live now."
"The Empress Dowager did so many things that disgraced the royal family. It is because the Emperor is benevolent and respects filial piety that he did not sentence her to death. However, the Empress Dowager has committed many evils and is now being cursed in the Cold Palace; it is entirely her own doing!"
"..."
Waves of discussion about the Empress Dowager could be heard.
Yun Shu heard them clearly.
She had almost forgotten about the Empress Dowager in the Cold Palace. Given the animosity between the Empress Dowager and Zhan Tianhong, the Empress Dowager in the Cold Palace would surely suffer greatly, perhaps even be tortured to death by the imperial consorts there.
However, if no one had instigated them, the imperial consorts would not dare to beat the Empress Dowager so severely.
Unless someone had leaked information to them, letting them know that once the Empress Dowager entered the Cold Palace, she would never leave.
It would be best if she died in the Cold Palace.
If they couldn't kill her, the imperial consorts would continue to beat her.
Even if the Geng family's influence could reach a nunnery, it certainly couldn't reach the Cold Palace.
This was the punishment method Zhan Tianhong should have foreseen long ago.
One had to admit that Zhan Tianhong was indeed an emperor who knew how to play mind games.
Yun Shu pondered for a moment and silently walked past.
Without alarming anyone, these palace maids had found a rare place to chat, so she shouldn't appear and scare them.
...
Prince Ye's Manor.
A figure in fiery red rushed into Prince Ye's Manor.
Qiu Lu looked at the fiery red figure with surprise. "Esteemed Scholar Xie, you're back?"