"You useless fool! They were trying to get information from you. You've ruined all the scheming we've just done. I should never have brought you along."
The shadowy figure winced in pain and fell to the ground. By the time he came to his senses, it was already too late.
The leading shadow impatiently pulled off the light veil covering his face.
"Nothing can be hidden from Lord Zhao. It's no wonder. We've clashed with your family so many times, and we've always ended up on the losing side."
"Du Yan! Your Du family are really lackeys of the royal family. One of you helps that woman in the harem, and the other helps the King of the Western Regions."
"Didn't your Zhao family do the same things back then? What right do you have to judge us now?"
Du Yan was different from his upright older brother Du Heng. Having lived in the shadows for a long time, he exuded an evil aura, which made people feel extremely uncomfortable at first sight.
Almost without hesitation, he fixed his eyes on the Empress Dowager.
"In any confrontation, casualties are inevitable. Your Majesty, it would be better if you cooperate voluntarily. This way, you won't have to watch your subordinates suffer unnecessary pain."
Shi Muyuan gritted her teeth. "There's not a single decent person in the Western Regions. They're all so calculating. It seems the King of the Western Regions deliberately let the poisonous bug enter the general's body, waiting for me to come here for the medicinal herbs."
"Some things are better left unsaid. It'll save everyone's face. Your Majesty, the lives of your subordinates are now in your hands. Are you really going to watch them die?"
As he spoke, Du Yan snapped his fingers, and a dense mass of shadowy figures emerged from around them. There were about several dozen of them.
They had only brought a few people here to get the medicinal herbs. Even if Shi An and the others could fight against multiple enemies, they wouldn't be able to take care of her in the end, and she would only be a burden to them.
For a moment, a sense of helplessness washed over Shi Muyuan again.
Had she made another mistake?
While lost in thought, she didn't notice the furry feeling on her hand gradually disappearing. Then, a roar she had never heard before echoed through the sky. After that, some creepy sounds slowly approached.
The sounds were like those of animals crawling on the ground, and not just one but many, a dense mass, coming this way.
A few people broke out in cold sweat. They clenched their fists, and a thought crossed their minds. Could it be that they had brought poisonous bugs with them? If so, their side would have even less chance of winning.
This thought was quickly dispelled by what they saw in front of them.
What crawled up were not poisonous bugs at all but snakes of different colors.
Generally, the more colorful the snake, the stronger its venom. As soon as they appeared, they pounced on the shadowy figures and bit them one after another. Before long, all the shadowy figures had fallen to the ground, replaced by vivid colors.
They thought the snakes would attack them next, but to their surprise, when they came to their senses and were about to retreat, there was another roar, and the snakes crawled down and prostrated themselves on the ground. The scene looked as if they were bowing in submission.
A few people just managed to close their dropped jaws when they looked at the source of the sound and opened their mouths wide again.
It was none other than the huge white rabbit that had summoned these snakes to help them.
Shi Muyuan smacked her lips and her eyes sparkled. "Big White Rabbit, you're really my treasure. You're so smart and even found helpers. It's really worth it that I fed you osmanthus cake when we first came."
"What? Your Majesty, you fed the osmanthus cake to the rabbit?"
Xiao Xiao seemed to think of something and stared at her with wide eyes.
But the young girl looked serious. "Is there a problem?"
"Of course there is. There's a big problem. Your Majesty, you haven't been sleeping well these days, so I added some osmanthus wine to the osmanthus cake when I made it."
After saying that, the usually cold-faced Aunt Xiao fell silent. What should she do now that her master had let the white rabbit drink wine? Would the white rabbit perform a drunken boxing routine in front of them later?
Just thinking about that scene, she couldn't keep a straight face anymore.
Shi Muyuan coughed twice. She didn't know there was such a hidden secret. Looking at the big white rabbit, she was also a bit anxious. "Little rabbit, what should we do? How about you spit it out?"
She fidgeted with her fingers, but the white rabbit seemed to understand her words and was a bit dissatisfied. It covered its mouth with its paw, afraid that the person in front of it would force it. It looked rather comical.
Finally, Zhao Jin, who knew a bit of medicine, was reluctantly called in to check on the big white rabbit. It took a long time before he came to a conclusion.
"The problem is not serious. Osmanthus wine is not fatal. At most, it will make the rabbit drunk for three days and three nights. It'll be fine after a good sleep."
Hearing this reply, Shi Muyuan finally breathed a sigh of relief. After this ordeal, they collected the medicinal herbs and descended the cliff. The only difference from the beginning was that there was a new member following them. Every step this new member took made the ground tremble three times.
When they returned to the military camp, the soldiers all looked at this scene curiously. The divine doctor also found it rather novel when he took the medicinal herbs.
"Is the Empress Dowager going to cook this big rabbit for our meal?"
As soon as the words were out, the rabbit sensed danger. Its small red eyes widened. Just as it was about to roar, Shi Muyuan stopped it. Qin Feng nervously led the divine doctor aside.
Everyone was still in a state of relief about what had happened on the cliff. They didn't want such a thing to happen again in their own military camp.
"Little white rabbit, be good. I'll go and get you some delicious osmanthus cake later. Don't make a sound. They're all good people."
As soon as it heard the osmanthus cake, the little white rabbit immediately calmed down and squatted there, looking like a docile big dog.
Qin Feng felt relieved and told the divine doctor everything that had happened.
"So, Divine Doctor, you must never think about the rabbit again. It might even help us in battle."
"Alright, then I'll go and prepare the antidote first."
...
After all the twists and turns, with the antidote brought back by Shi Muyuan and the others, the general finally recovered, and the poisonous bug was vomited out.
They discussed the next plan.
"The King of the Western Regions has given us such a big gift. We must return the favor."
"Does the Empress Dowager have any plans?"
"The King of the Western Regions probably doesn't know that there's trouble brewing in his own backyard yet, does he?"
Her words implied something else, and the people present understood. They started to prepare for the next plan.
When the plan was almost ready, they glanced at each other and gave a sly smile.
So, when night fell, there was an incident that made the King of the Western Regions extremely angry.
He covered his chest and sat in the tent. Looking at the letter that had just been suddenly delivered, it took him a long time to calm down.