Seeing her close friend suddenly in a daze, Concubine Mo looked full of doubt. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just suddenly remembered something. So what was the end of his father later?"
Speaking of this, Concubine Mo's face lit up with excitement.
"Of course, he died a miserable death. It was said that he was found in his bed. He had been missing for several days at that time. No one knows which chivalrous hero was so decisive."
At this moment, Fan Zhen coughed softly in the shadows. Concubine Mo suddenly seemed to remember something and looked over in surprise.
"Could it be that you were the one behind the incident of Li Daren back then?"
Since he had been found out, there was no need for him to continue hiding.
Fan Zhen raised his head proudly. "Yes. After I learned that this man not only mistreated women but also kept so many concubines in the backyard, some of whom were forcibly taken, I couldn't stand such a person after traveling the world for so many years. Of course, I didn't let him have a good end. I used many means before killing him."
The two of them didn't miss the expression on Fan Zhen's face, which was wildly arrogant and a bit evil.
Shi Muyuan helplessly rubbed her forehead. Just as she was about to say something, she suddenly noticed a commotion in the crowd.
As the organizer of today's Hundred Flowers Banquet, she couldn't just sit back and do nothing. So she had no choice but to get up and go over to check the situation.
As soon as she walked under the main hall, she saw a crowd gathered in a circle. It seemed that something had happened.
She raised her eyebrows. Xiao Xiao beside her was the first to react.
"Everyone, make way! What's going on? The Empress Dowager is here."
Hearing the voice, everyone automatically dispersed to both sides. Soon, a path was cleared.
Only then did the situation inside come into view. Shi Muyuan frowned. She suddenly felt a bit confused.
"Why is this maid lying on the ground?"
Hearing this, an official's wife stepped forward.
"Empress Dowager, we don't know either. This maid was serving beside us just now. For some reason, she suddenly collapsed and hasn't woken up yet. Should we call an imperial physician to take a look?"
As soon as the lady finished speaking, her close friend immediately pulled her back.
"Are you crazy? How can you say such a thing in front of the Empress Dowager? Moreover, this is just a maid. There are countless maids in the palace. If we call an imperial physician to treat this maid, then everyone will break this rule in the future. By then, there will be no distinction between high and low in the palace. Isn't this demeaning the status of the Empress Dowager?"
This statement did make sense, but the lady still looked at the maid on the ground with pity.
Everyone present heard their conversation clearly, but no one refuted. This world was just so cruel. As a low - ranking person, one would be a low - ranking person for a lifetime.
Just when they thought the Empress Dowager would simply throw the maid out, she did something that no one had expected.
"Someone! Go and call the imperial physician quickly."
The lady who had just been persuading her friend stood up in surprise.
"Empress Dowager, this is just a little maid. There's no need to make such a big fuss, is there?"
Shi Muyuan shot her a cold look.
"Is a maid's life not a life? Or do you think I'm just putting on a show? I've even forbidden you to harm the fireflies here."
At this, the lady finally shut up.
After the imperial physician arrived, he quickly felt the maid's pulse. The result made everyone heave a sigh of relief.
"Empress Dowager, don't worry. It's nothing serious. She should just be too tired, which is why she fainted."
Shi Muyuan replied, "Then help her down to rest first. Don't let her do any work for the next few days."
As soon as she finished speaking, just as Shi Muyuan was about to return to the main hall, the maid had already woken up.
Hearing that it was the Empress Dowager who had saved her, her eyes were filled with excitement. She knelt at Shi Muyuan's feet.
"Thank you, Empress Dowager, for saving my life. This maid hopes to serve by your side from now on to express my gratitude."
Xiao Xiao stepped forward and refused the maid on the ground.
"The Empress Dowager already has enough people around her. You don't need to follow."
The maid hesitated, and her eyes quickly welled up with tears.
"This maid knows that it's a wild dream to serve by the Empress Dowager's side. But I must repay the Empress Dowager's kindness. My father once said when I was a child that one should repay a drop of kindness with a gushing spring and never be an ungrateful person."
Her sincere look finally touched Shi Muyuan.
Sure enough, she was still too young to bear seeing someone cry.
Shi Muyuan sighed in her heart and finally took the little maid under her wing.
"What's your name?"
"This maid's name is Ziyi. I hope to always be by the Empress Dowager's side from now on."
"That's a nice name."
Concubine Rui, who was standing in the middle of the crowd, quietly hid herself. Her goal for today had been achieved. The rest would depend on Ziyi's means.
...
At night, after the banquet was over, Shi Muyuan finally managed to take off her cumbersome clothes and lay in bed, too lazy to move.
"Xiao Xiao, let me have a good sleep tomorrow. I really can't take it anymore."
Xiao Xiao helplessly covered her master with the quilt and then backed out. She instructed the maids on night watch at the door.
"The Empress Dowager is sleeping at night. You should all be quiet. Don't wake her up."
"Yes."
After it was quiet all around, Ziyi opened her eyes. She quietly used her internal energy to check. After confirming that everyone was asleep, she quietly rolled over to Shi Muyuan's bedside.
Looking at the woman with her eyes closed, smacking her lips, Ziyi showed a look of disgust on her face.
This was the legendary decisive Empress Dowager? She looked more like an ungrown child. Moreover, she had already come here to kill her, yet this woman didn't even make a sound. Was she really sleeping that soundly? Didn't she have any sense of vigilance at all?
Ziyi took out the knife from her sleeve. "Don't blame me for this. It's all your own fault. If you hadn't offended her, I wouldn't have taken action against you. But it's really a bit difficult to get close to you."
Shi Muyuan didn't notice at all that in the moonlight, a cold - glinting knife was about to stab at her.
But at the critical moment, Ziyi still withdrew her hand.
She didn't know what was wrong with herself. She had never had such a situation before. Why did she suddenly soften her heart now?
Had she lost her potential as a killer? No, she had just carried out a mission not long ago, and she hadn't hesitated like this then.
Just as Ziyi started to doubt herself, there was a sound outside, as if the sound of the wind blowing against the window had startled the maid outside.