Forcing me to become a concubine? Remarrying the Ninth Prince, she'll be pregnant all over the

"Don't be afraid, it's me."

The familiar, deep voice also permeated her ears.

Lin Wantang's breath suddenly became lighter. She looked up at the familiar face in the darkness that made her heart flutter. Her eyes welled up with tears, and she subconsciously buried her head in his arms.

"You've finally come, I knew it..."

Wei Wujiu will not abandon her; given the chance, he will do everything in his power to protect her.

"What do you know?" Wei Wujiu's indifferent voice held a hint of detachment as he gently stroked her cool cheek, wiping away her hot tears. "Knowing I wouldn't abandon you, you still dared to act on your own without my knowledge?"

Lin Wantang was taken aback, and immediately remembered her original plan to let the emperor, who had just returned from his Buddhist pilgrimage, catch Shen Huai'an and Consort Xiao Yu having a "secret meeting" on the Zhuque Bridge on the night of the fifth day of the lunar new year, which would enrage the emperor and inevitably put Shen Huai'an's position as crown prince in jeopardy.

Little did she expect that Shen Huai'an would turn the tables on her and orchestrate this mutiny.

Unexpectedly, she hadn't discussed these things with Wei Wujiu beforehand.

"...It was my fault, it was all my fault." Lin Wantang knew she was in the wrong, so she didn't argue. "But I didn't mean to be wary of you, I just didn't expect Shen Huai'an to..."

"I know." Wei Wujiu interrupted calmly, pulling her behind him. "Let's not talk about this now. Hurry up and go into the side hall. There will be someone waiting for you in the secret passage."

He sneaked in through that secret passage.

Sensing something amiss, the Imperial Guards quickly signaled for reinforcements to surround Hechun Palace, while others outside rammed the doors with wooden stakes.

"Open the door! Listen up, you inside! The imperial palace is heavily guarded; how dare you act so presumptuously!"

"If you come out now, you can at least be given a complete corpse!"

"Stubborn fool! Break down the door!"

Seeing the heavy palace gates about to be smashed down, Lin Wantang dared not delay and hurriedly grasped Wei Wujiu's hand, "Quick, let's go!"

Wei Wujiu didn't want to put up a futile resistance. He intertwined his fingers with hers and quickly leaped into the right side hall.

The mother-of-pearl inlaid cabinet had been moved, and the bluestone slabs had been pried up, revealing a dark, gaping hole right in front of us. There seemed to be firelight inside, flickering and exuding an eerie atmosphere.

"Stop right there! Trying to run away?"

But the imperial guards outside also broke through the palace gates, and a large contingent of soldiers filed in—

Wei Wujiu's expression remained calm, but his aura suddenly turned cold and somber. He gripped Lin Wantang's hand tightly, lifted her up, and quickly placed her inside, saying, "Let's go, quick!"

Then, Wei Wujiu drew his sword, his eyes sweeping coldly over the imperial guards who had followed him in. His brows were filled with an unyielding coldness, so gloomy that he seemed to regard no living people as if he were looking at them, his indifference devoid of any warmth.

Without wasting words, he leaped forward, his black-clad figure weaving through the Imperial Guards. His movements were swift and fluid, each move executed flawlessly. The blade reflected the palace candlelight, gleaming with a chilling light. The wind howled as swords clashed.

After entering the tunnel, Lin Wantang found the space cramped, but she quickly followed the light in the distance and soon met up with Li Jinzhi, who had come to meet her after hearing the commotion. "Miss, are you injured?"

Lin Wantang hurriedly shook his head: "I'm fine. The Commander-in-Chief is behind me; he must be entangled by the Imperial Guards!"

Li Jinzhi nodded, urging Lin Wantang to hurry up, as there were others waiting for her ahead. He then led four Imperial Guards out of the secret passage and, without saying a word, engaged the Imperial Guards in battle with his Embroidered Spring Blade.

In just a short while, the imperial guards who rushed into the hall suffered heavy casualties, and the pools of blood on the ground terrified the imperial guards who were still trying to rush in.

"withdraw!"

Wei Wujiu did not linger in battle. As soon as he uttered the word, he jumped into the secret passage first, followed closely by Li Jinzhi and the four Imperial Guards.

After this attack, regardless of whether the Imperial Guards pursued or not, Shen Huai'an ordered the secret passage to be destroyed. In this critical moment, Wei Wujiu and his group hurried through the secret passage, but the sound of gunpowder explosions still came from behind.

Collapse ensued...

"Be careful!"

Li Jinzhi swiftly swung his sword and cleaved a fallen boulder. After rescuing Wei Wujiu, he didn't have time to say anything more and fled in haste with the others.

The sky seemed to collapse and the earth to cave in, with a deafening roar. Amidst the smoke and dust from digging and shoveling, they managed to escape the secret passage unharmed, only to find themselves back on the surface in an abandoned city temple on the outskirts of the city.

Lin Wantang escaped the secret passage first with several Imperial Guards, and then waited anxiously for Wei Wujiu and the others to appear. Ignoring her weakness, she quickly stepped forward. Just as she was about to speak, she saw that Wei Wujiu's expression was restrained and something was wrong.

Then, he pushed her away with one hand, turned to the side, and spat out a mouthful of dark blood.

Then, his body, which he had been trying so hard to maintain, finally gave way to his old ailment and the residual poison within him. He staggered and fell unsteadily into Lin Wantang's arms. "I'm...I'm alright..."

His voice was incredibly hoarse, with a barely perceptible tremor. His bloodied fingers, devoid of their usual warmth, gripped her hand coldly: "Don't worry, I'm just too tired. Who will... that's all..."

Just as he finished speaking, he exhausted all his strength, leaned against her shoulder, and lost consciousness.

"The Governor-General? The Governor-General..."

Lin Wantang called out to him, then hurriedly tried to calm herself down, wanting to take his pulse. But in a flash, she also thought of him and Lin Rucong, both of whom had been poisoned by the emperor. The poison must have flared up again.

"What's wrong with Senior Brother?" Li Jinzhi quickly stepped forward, crouched down to check Wei Wujiu's breathing, and after confirming that he had only fainted, his expression also turned grim: "How could he suddenly be perfectly fine..."

"It's the poison acting up, plus the governor's old ailment."

Lin Wantang interrupted the examination and began taking Wei Wujiu's pulse. This time, the pulse was extremely erratic, and his eight extraordinary meridians seemed to be entangled and blocked by something, causing his breathing to be unstable and his heart to be in disarray. "The Commander is too tired. He probably hasn't slept a wink these past few days, has he?"

With a pained expression, she repeatedly checked his pulse while gazing intently at Wei Wujiu's sleeping face, illuminated by the torches held by the Imperial Guards in the distance. He seemed to be enduring some intense pain, his brows constantly furrowed, and the dark circles under his eyes were particularly pronounced. His tired face did not appear haggard, but rather revealed a rare sign of illness.

"Poison... is there still no antidote? Then I'll go talk to Zhang Qian and ask him to find a way to get Shen Hu to talk and see if he can find out the antidote?" Li Jinzhi was also in a state of panic and couldn't help but offer his advice.

Lin Wantang sighed, pondered, and shook her head slightly: "The Governor's old illness is easy to treat; it can be cured in time. But the residual poison in his body... that is difficult to cure. Even if we ask the Emperor, he probably won't tell the truth. If he does, I'm afraid the Emperor doesn't even have an antidote for the Mirage Heart Sand of Miao territory."

Mirage Heart Sand is a forbidden secret in the Miao region. Unlike ordinary evil spells and poisons, Mirage Heart Sand does not require poisonous insects but uses poisonous herbs. Yet it can control people's minds, causing them to become confused and hallucinating. Occasionally, there are so-called antidotes, but they can only delay and suppress the effects and cannot completely eradicate the poison.