The grand hall was deathly silent. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the little girl, as if they had forgotten about the dying imperial concubine on the bed.
Lin'er gently bit her lip, and the determination in her eyes was unmistakable.
It seemed that she was eager for a new life. However, the little girl kept stealing glances at the bed from time to time. The divine doctor immediately understood her concern.
He grinned and took out a candy from his pocket. Yes, just a single candy.
Shi Muwǎn was quite surprised. She wondered where this old man had conjured up the candy from.
Right in front of everyone, he walked up to the little girl with the candy in his hand.
"Come on, don't be scared. Grandpa will protect you. I heard that you don't have any relatives left. Why don't you consider me your family? If there's anything, just come to me. You can choose not to come with me. I won't blame you, and I'll help you deal with Concubine Rui."
The little girl hadn't felt the warmth of family for a long time, and she hadn't heard the word "grandpa" for ages. She was on the verge of tears.
Her voice choked with emotion, she tightly clutched the candy in her hand. A look of determination gradually appeared on her face.
"I want to go with grandpa to learn medicine. I've avenged my family today. I'll leave the rest to the Empress Dowager. I'm willing to trust the Empress Dowager this time. I'm sure you'll seek justice for my clan."
Shi Muwǎn gently patted her on the head and promised, "I will surely make her pay the price she deserves."
Everything was settled, and now it was Sanqi's turn to examine the girl.
He walked up with a look of impatience on his face and felt the girl's pulse. However, he still felt something was amiss. Why did this little girl still have some internal energy? She looked like a frail and delicate little thing.
However, considering the little girl's sensitive identity, Sanqi decided to keep his mouth shut.
After he withdrew his hand, he said calmly, "She fainted because of excessive blood loss. She'll recover after drinking some tonic soup."
Shi Muwǎn could tell that Sanqi was eager to leave, so she was about to let him go. However, something unexpected happened.
The woman on the bed slowly regained consciousness. The next moment, she let out a shrill scream.
"No, don't kill me. I was wrong back then. I can apologize."
Lin'er stopped in her tracks. At the mention of this, she couldn't contain her anger.
"Do you think that just by apologizing, what happened back then can be erased? Or do you think that by apologizing, you can bring back the dozens of people in my family?"
Concubine Rui's eyes were filled with fear, like a wounded rabbit. However, this rabbit could bite painfully.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry. But what do you want me to do? Anyway, you can't kill me. Otherwise, you'll be going against the late emperor."
As soon as she said this, even Cui Qizhou beside her felt something was off.
"Why do you say that, Concubine? The late emperor has been gone for several years. It's probably useless for you to use the late emperor as a shield at this time, isn't it?"
Concubine Rui feigned innocence. In front of everyone, she took out something from under the pillow beside her. When everyone saw what it was, their faces turned pale.
Ze Ze gasped and blurted out,
"The imperial amulet of immunity from death!"
Shi Muwǎn never expected that she would have such a thing. Didn't the late emperor show that he didn't care much about Concubine Rui back then? Why did he give her such an important thing?
Concubine Mo's face turned slightly pale. The late emperor had always said that he loved her so much and had pursued her relentlessly. However, he had never given her such a thing. Even when she went to Baotuo Temple, he had left nothing behind.
Oh, this was the man who had thousands of beauties in the harem but still claimed to love only her.
It turned out that all his love couldn't withstand the rise of a new concubine. Concubine Rui had still received such an important thing from the late emperor.
This meant another outcome. Everyone looked at the little girl at the door with complicated expressions.
Among them, only the little girl didn't know what the imperial amulet of immunity from death meant.
Shi Muwǎn suddenly didn't know how to break the news to her. Should she tell her that she had let her down?
But that would be too cruel.
The divine doctor frowned. Knowing the gravity of the situation, he decided to take the little girl away first. Who knew if this imperial concubine would turn the tables on them later.
"Lin'er, come back with grandpa first. Grandpa has a lot of things that he's always wanted to pass on to his descendants."
Lin'er shook her head, a hint of innocence on her face. "Grandpa, what's that yellow medal in Concubine Rui's hand? Why does she say that the late emperor can protect her from harm?"
"Sigh, girl, come back with grandpa first. The Empress Dowager will handle things here. We just need to go back and wait for the result."
The little girl refused to leave no matter what. She clenched her fists tightly. "Can she really get away with it? Or is the Empress Dowager unable to keep her promise to me?"
Her tone was filled with despair and sarcasm. Shi Muwǎn felt heartache. If this were in modern times, Concubine Rui would never have had the chance to be so arrogant. But this was ancient times. In this era they lived in, there were bound to be many people who would abuse their power for personal gain.
"Just trust me this once. One day, I will make her pay for what she has done."
"I've been waiting for that day for too long. I can't wait any longer. Let's just settle this today."
She decided to force the Empress Dowager to give her an explanation today. Xiao Xiao, who was standing beside her, couldn't stand it anymore.
"It's no use forcing the Empress Dowager on this matter, Lin'er. The Empress Dowager doesn't want to help the evildoers, but once the imperial amulet of immunity from death is taken out, even the emperor would be helpless."
"Then let the emperor give me an explanation. I'd like to see if there's any justice in this great Liang Dynasty."