In a quiet small courtyard.
The gentle evening breeze blew comfortably.
It was in sharp contrast to the hustle and bustle near the palace walls earlier.
Zhao Shuning brought Gu Zhiruo here.
She dispelled the remaining stasis in his body.
Gu Zhiruo had a fever again in the second half of the night.
Zhao Shuning took simple measures to reduce his fever.
After seeing that Gu Zhiruo's breathing had become much more stable, she fed him the pill for regulating qi, and then went back to her room to sleep.
Time passed through the night like this.
Early the next morning.
Zhao Shuning opened the door and saw Luo Qiu, looking a bit exhausted.
Seeing her elder sister come out, Luo Qiu showed a faint smile.
"Miss, you're awake."
"Xiao Qiu, why didn't you rest?"
"I wanted to tell you some new information I found in the palace. It concerns the Emperor Venerable. I think it should be important to you, miss."
"You could have gone to rest first or woken me up."
Luo Qiu just smiled gently and said nothing.
Zhao Shuning only felt that since she recognized Luo Qiu, this girl had been so sensible that it made her feel heart - aching. She was always so cautious in everything she did. Sometimes, Zhao Shuning felt that she owed Luo Qiu something.
Luo Qiu followed Zhao Shuning into the room.
The door closed.
What they exactly talked about, probably only the two of them knew.
When the door opened again.
Zhao Shuning's face looked a bit solemn.
She covered her chest.
Zhao Shuning knew the importance of the karma - fire red lotus in her body, but she never expected how crucial it was to Buran.
"Miss, what I found are just some clues and haven't been verified yet. Whether what's in that silver plate will really happen is still uncertain. You don't need to worry too much. Maybe it's just a deliberate prank by someone with an ulterior motive."
If it was really a prank.
With Xiao Qiu's ability, how could she not have found out?
This information should be about 80% true.
Could it be that.
She and Buran were really fated to be apart?
Or rather.
Their fate ended here. They could only look at each other from afar and could never be together?
"Miss, maybe I made a wrong speculation about these things."
"I know the gravity of the situation, Xiao Qiu. You don't need to comfort me. I've lived through many lifetimes, and I couldn't end up well with the Emperor Venerable in each of them. I thought—"
Zhao Shuning let out a bitter laugh.
She didn't say any more.
She used to think it was because of the situation.
She used to think it was because they didn't work hard enough.
She never thought.
It was predestined.
"Miss, no matter what, Xiao Qiu will always be by your side."
"Moreover, miss, there's no real basis for this matter. Maybe we're just over - thinking."
"I know."
Zhao Shuning gathered her emotions.
Then she stretched.
Looking outside the door.
The spring scenery was wonderful.
Those things hadn't happened yet, right?
It was still early. Why think so much? She didn't want to muddle through the rest of her life. Submitting to fate would never happen to her, Zhao Shuning.
She put down her hands.
On Zhao Shuning's face.
The usual calm and composed expression reappeared.
In the warm sunlight.
Her smile was so refreshing.
"Xiao Qiu, the matter in this flower capital should be completed in about five or six days. You go back to Jiangning first and meet Gu Hanxun. You two send my parents back to the Zhao Family in the Great Wilderness of Dongze first. I'm too busy to spare time, so I can only rely on you."
"Don't worry, miss. I'll never let anything happen to the madam and the master."
"Of course, I trust you."
Luo Qiu looked worried.
"What about you, miss?"
"Don't worry. I'm not seriously ill and on my last days. Since I still have some time, I have to handle these follow - up matters properly before I can go to Dongzhou with peace of mind. By then, you wait for me in Dongzhou."
She didn't know if she could finish handling these matters in five or six days.
The matter in Dongzhou was also urgent.
"By the way, Xiao Qiu, tell me everything you know about Mo Bai and what Moyan has been up to these years."
Previously.
What Zhao Shuning knew about the father - son duo was only a general idea.
But now the situation had changed, and she needed to know more.
When the sun was high in the sky.
Outside the door.
Zhao Shuning took a deep breath, put on a different expression, and pushed open the door of Gu Zhiruo's room.
Luo Qiu had already left.
She needed to solve these matters quickly.
Gu Zhiruo on the bed had actually woken up long ago, but his body was extremely tired. What had happened yesterday had exhausted all his strength.
When he woke up, Gu Zhiruo even suspected.
Whether what he had experienced last night was just an illusion of Sister Ling because he had gone mad.
It wasn't until the sunlight shone on him again.
He reached out his hand to block the sunlight.
Seeing the woman walking towards him.
He then knew that what had happened last night wasn't a dream.
He had really seen Sister Ling again.
Gu Zhiruo struggled to sit up.
But he opened his mouth.
He couldn't call out.
After all.
This wasn't Ye Ling's face, and he still couldn't be completely sure.
"Kid, are you feeling better?"
Gu Zhiruo's eyes became slightly moist.
It was really Sister Ling.
"Sister Ling. It's really you."
"Of course it's me. You too. After all these years, why still don't know how to defend yourself?"
For a moment, Gu Zhiruo was distracted.
Zhao Shuning asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
"The poison of the love - less flower in my body wasn't put by that Doctor Min. He was just the one who prepared the medicine. I've always been on guard against him."
"Then?"
Gu Zhiruo's expression confirmed Zhao Shuning's suspicion.
Was it really Concubine Mei Xuan?
It seemed that when a woman was ruthless, it was really unimaginable.
Gu Zhiruo nodded with a bitter smile.
Zhao Shuning understood Gu Zhiruo.
He had no relatives since childhood. When he met Concubine Mei Xuan, although he didn't have much affection for her at first, since she became his wife, he gradually began to care about her.
However, he never thought that the woman in his bed was the one who had plotted against him.
"Kid, it's all in the past. Don't think about it anymore."
Gu Zhiruo said, "Sister Ling, I just can't figure it out."
"You can't figure out why she clearly said she loved you but still agreed to poison you with the love - less flower? Why she clearly cared about you and you cared about her, but she shouldn't have taken the contraceptive decoction and then got pregnant with Qi Huan's child, right?"
Gu Zhiruo nodded.
He couldn't figure all these out.
If Zhao Shuning hadn't done some research on Concubine Mei Xuan and Qi Huan in advance, she might not have been able to answer Gu Zhiruo's question now.
"Concubine Mei Xuan cared about you, but your timing was wrong. Earlier, she didn't fully fall in love with you. You were just using each other. So, she followed Qi Huan's instructions and poisoned you with the love - less flower. You should know that there will be after - effects when the love - less flower enters the body. If she really got pregnant with your child, she probably wouldn't be able to give birth. Later, since you never took another concubine, she probably fell in love with you and wanted a child of your own. But by that time, there should already be a rift in your relationship."
It was also at this time.
Qi Huan took advantage of the opportunity.
Concubine Mei Xuan was a woman, and she was lonely. Qi Huan was an old acquaintance of hers, and they had feelings for each other before. She couldn't resist the temptation, which led to what happened later.
"Sister Ling—what about Concubine Mei Xuan?"
"Don't worry. I've already told them to give her a grand burial."
Gu Zhiruo nodded.
"Even though she did you wrong, you're still willing to give her a place?"
Gu Zhiruo replied, "At least, she once treated me sincerely."
Even if it was just for a moment.