Killer Queen: Tyrant, prepare to die!

Chapter 5: A Night Visit to the Imperial Pharmacy! Overhearing the Imperial Concubine's Secret!

At midnight, the Cold Palace resembled a giant tomb.

Shen Qingci changed into a dark gray old palace dress that Jinshu had somehow found.

The color was dark and inconspicuous, and the cuffs and trouser legs were tied tightly with strips of cloth to prevent noise when moving.

His face was covered with a dark cloth, revealing only his eyes.

"Your Majesty, you must be careful..."

Jinshu's hands were trembling with nervousness as she stuffed a small cloth bag into her hand.

"There's some loose silver in here, just in case, just in case..."

"There's no 'what if'," Shen Qingci interrupted her, her voice calm. "I'll be back before dawn."

She opened the back window.

The moonlight outside the window was mostly obscured by clouds, and the night was so dark it was impossible to see through.

The backyard of the Cold Palace was overgrown with weeds, and the faint footsteps of patrolling guards could be heard in the distance, growing ever more distant.

Right now.

Shen Qingci flipped out of the window, landing very lightly, like a leaf drifting down.

Her body was still weak, but the pill from Eunuch Li temporarily restored some of her strength.

More importantly, Ling Ye's stealth instincts have been fully awakened.

She moved close to the shadows along the base of the wall, her steps quick and light, each step precisely avoiding dead branches and pebbles.

Eyes scanned rapidly in the darkness, ears picked up the slightest sounds around them.

The Imperial Pharmacy was located in the northeast corner of the palace.

To get there from the Cold Palace, you have to pass through most of the Western Six Palaces, go around the Imperial Garden, and then pass through a row of houses where eunuchs lived.

There are at least seven fixed checkpoints along the way, as well as three mobile patrol teams.

This information was secretly brought back by Jinshu by Physician Chen in the evening.

In addition to the layout diagram and shift change times, there was also a reminder: "At three-quarters past midnight, I will leave a crack open at the small door on the south side of the medicine storehouse."

Time is very tight.

Shen Qingci moved like a ghost through the shadows of the palace.

If you encounter a patrol team, hide behind the artificial hill or in the flower bushes in advance, or simply climb over the low wall and wait for the team to pass before coming down.

When encountering a fixed sentry post, take a longer route or use blind spots to pass through quickly.

Her movements were all precise, with every pause, acceleration, and turn as if calculated countless times.

This is a killer's basic skill.

It's also the only thing she can rely on right now.

Fifteen minutes later, the outline of the Imperial Pharmacy came into view.

It was an independent courtyard, with blue bricks and gray tiles, shorter than the surrounding palaces, but covering a large area.

The courtyard wall was very high, and there were four guards at the gate, holding long guns and yawning.

Shen Qingci went around to the west side of the courtyard.

There was an old locust tree there, with lush branches that stretched right into the courtyard wall.

According to Physician Chen's map, the area under the tree was a corner where discarded medicinal residues were piled up, and few people usually went there.

She glanced around to make sure no one was there, then took a deep breath—

Take a running start, push off the wall, and reach out to grab the lowest branch.

The movements were completed in one smooth motion.

But just as she climbed over the wall and was about to jump, her body suddenly swayed!

My vision went black, and cold sweat broke out instantly.

I'm physically exhausted.

Shen Qingci gritted her teeth and clung tightly to the tree branch, waiting for the dizziness to pass.

The little one inside her seemed to sense the danger and moved slightly, as if to encourage her.

After a few breaths, she steadied her breathing, silently slid down the tree trunk, and landed in the yard.

My feet sank into the soft, mushy dregs of the medicine, making a soft, rustling sound.

She immediately crouched down and held her breath.

Fortunately, no one noticed.

The courtyard was quiet, with only two lanterns hanging at the entrance of the warehouse in the distance, swaying gently in the wind.

The air was thick with the smell of herbs, mixed with a musty odor.

Following the map's directions, Shen Qingci moved along the base of the wall toward the small door on the south side.

As she passed the back window of a row of pharmacies, she suddenly heard hushed voices coming from inside.

"...Her Highness the Imperial Concubine wants that medicine again, and this time the quantity is quite large."

They stopped in their tracks.

Shen Qingci's eyes sharpened, and she silently approached the window.

There was a small hole in the window paper, and she peered closer to take a look.

An oil lamp was lit in the room, and two men dressed as eunuchs from a pharmacy sat facing each other at the table.

One of them was holding a small porcelain bottle and was filling it with gray powder.

"How many times has this happened?" another eunuch muttered. "It's always the two of us handling it. What if something goes wrong..."

"What are you afraid of?"

The eunuch who was loading the medicine sneered.

"What is the current status of the Imperial Concubine? She is the apple of His Majesty's eye."

Besides, this medicine isn't fatal; it just gradually weakens the body, making it undetectable by tests.

"But what happened with Empress Shen last time..."

"Shut up!"

The eunuch who was loading the medicine immediately interrupted him, glancing warily out the window.

"Is that something you can bring up? Hurry up and pack it up, send it to Chunxi Palace first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes, yes, yes..."

The two stopped talking and focused on loading the medicine.

Shen Qingci, standing outside the window, had eyes that were as cold as ice.

Imperial Concubine.

That medicine.

It gradually weakens the body, making it undetectable by medical examination.

Every word felt like a needle piercing her brain.

It turns out she wasn't the only one who contracted the virus.

It turns out that this wasn't the first time Liu Ruyan had used this poison.

good very good.

She remembered it.

Continue moving forward.

The small door on the south side is not far ahead, and a faint light shines through the crack in the door.

Just as Shen Qingci was about to go over, the door of a room next door suddenly opened!

An elderly man with gray hair, dressed in the robes of an imperial physician, came out carrying an oil lamp, seemingly heading to the outhouse.

The two met face to face in the narrow passageway.

The old man was startled, nearly dropping the oil lamp in his hand: "You, you are...!"

Shen Qingci did not move.

She saw shock on the other person's face, but no hostility. And this face... she remembered it from the original owner's memories.

Physician Chen.

The most unsuccessful deputy director of the Imperial Medical Academy was demoted to manage the storeroom of the Imperial Pharmacy because he refused to curry favor with the powerful.

"Imperial Physician Chen," Shen Qingci said, her voice very low.

Physician Chen stared wide-eyed at her under the lamplight, then suddenly gasped, "You...you are...Empress Shen?!"

The oil lamp in his hand began to flicker again.

Shen Qingci reached out and steadyed the lamp base, her movement so quick that Physician Chen didn't even see it: "Physician Chen, may I speak to you in private?"

Without saying a word, she pushed Physician Chen back into the room they had just been in, and then closed the door behind her.

The room was small, filled with medical books and herbs. A thick pharmacopoeia was spread out on the table, with pen and ink beside it, clearly indicating that Physician Chen had just been studying it.

"Your Majesty, how could you..." Physician Chen was both shocked and suspicious, his voice trembling. "This is the Imperial Pharmacy, how could you..."

"I need three herbs." Shen Qingci didn't have time to explain and directly gave the names: "Blood-Dried Vine, Jade Marrow Fungus, and Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass."

Physician Chen's expression changed: "These three herbs are all rare treasures, especially the Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass. There are only three left in the storeroom, prepared for His Majesty..."

"I've been poisoned," Shen Qingci interrupted him. "Zhu Yan is dead."

The three words struck like a thunderclap.

Physician Chen took a step back, his face instantly turning pale: "It really is...it really is that poison..."

He looked at Shen Qingci's ashen face and purplish lips, then at her flat but subtly unusual abdomen, and suddenly understood something.

"Your Majesty, you..." his voice trembled, "you are pregnant?"

"Two months." Shen Qingci said calmly, "The child is absorbing toxins and won't die for now. But without an antidote, neither he nor I will live for more than a month."

Physician Chen was stunned.

He stood there, his chest heaving violently, as if struggling with something.

After a long while, he let out a long breath, as if he had made up his mind.

"This humble official... will help you."

Shen Qingci looked at him: "Why?"

"Because Lord Shen has been kind to me," Physician Chen said with a wry smile. "Back then, when my mother was seriously ill, Lord Shen generously donated money to bring in a renowned doctor and even forgave my family's debts. I have always remembered this kindness."

He paused, his voice even lower: "Moreover... I know that Your Majesty was wronged. The witchcraft case was full of loopholes, but no one dared to speak out."

Shen Qingci nodded.

"The medicinal herbs are in warehouse number three, section A. The key is with me." Physician Chen took out a bunch of keys from his waist. "But there are eunuchs on duty in the warehouse. You'll have to wait until they change shifts and sneak in. The shift changes at 1:45 AM, so there's about half a cup of tea's time between shifts."

"That's enough." Shen Qingci took the keys. "Physician Chen, about today's events..."

"I know nothing," Physician Chen said immediately. "I have been studying medical books in my room all night and have not left or seen anyone."

A smart person.

Shen Qingci said no more and turned to leave.

As Physician Chen watched her disappear into the darkness, he wiped the cold sweat from his brow and muttered to himself, "Lord Shen, your daughter... is no ordinary person."

---

The Jiazi No. 3 warehouse was one of the most important warehouses in the Imperial Pharmacy, where rare medicinal materials were stored.

Sure enough, there were two eunuchs guarding the entrance, leaning against each other and dozing off.

Shen Qingci went around to the back of the warehouse, where there was a small ventilation window nailed with wooden strips, but it had been in disrepair for many years and some of the wooden strips had become loose.

She pulled out a thin razor blade she carried with her—sharpened from a piece of iron salvaged from a broken table in the cold palace; it wasn't very sharp, but it was sufficient.

Carefully pry open the loose wooden strips to reveal a gap just big enough for a person to squeeze through.

Go inside.

The warehouse was pitch black, but Shen Qingci's eyes had already adjusted to the darkness. She could see rows of tall medicine cabinets with small labels on them.

Following the number given to her by Physician Chen, she quickly found her target.

The Blood-Dried Vine, housed in a jade box, resembled a dried-up blood vessel. The Jade Marrow Fungus, placed in an ice box, was pure white, gleaming faintly. The Nine Deaths Resurrection Grass, the most precious of all, was kept separately in a small medicine niche, padded with red silk; its leaves were dark gold, and one could vaguely see the shimmering light flowing within the veins.

She carefully took one of each, wrapped it in the prepared oil paper, and put it in her bosom.

Just as I was about to leave, my gaze suddenly fell on a shelf next to me.

There were several white porcelain bottles there, with labels on them: Wound Medicine (Imperial Use).

Shen Qingci paused in his steps.

He reached out and grabbed a bottle, then tucked it into his pocket.

Then, she went back the way she came, crawled out of the small window, and pressed the wooden strips back in, trying to restore it to its original state.

The whole process took less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea.

When I returned to the small door on the south side, the light was still shining through the crack in the door.

Shen Qingci slipped the key through the crack in the door, then turned and disappeared into the night.

The road back to the Cold Palace was more difficult than the way there.

She was exhausted and had to stop to catch her breath every few steps. The little one in her belly seemed tired too, and remained quiet and still.

But she gritted her teeth and persevered.

The three packets of medicine in her arms felt like three balls of fire, burning her chest.

Finally, as dawn broke on the horizon, she climbed back through the back window of the Cold Palace.

Jinshu had been waiting anxiously, her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. When she saw her return, she almost burst into tears: "Your Majesty! You've finally..."

"Shh." Shen Qingci gestured for her to be quiet, then took out three oil paper packets and the bottle of wound medicine from his pocket.

Jinshu took the medicinal herbs, then saw the wound medicine and was stunned: "Your Majesty, this..."

"I just grabbed it." Shen Qingci pulled off the cloth covering her face. Her complexion was even worse than before she left, but there was a light in her eyes. "I'll need it later."

She lay back on the bed, feeling as if every bone in her body was screaming.

But I feel at ease.

The first step was successful.

Next, we just have to wait for Eunuch Li to come and inspect the results.

then……

Detoxify, nourish the fetus, and accumulate strength.

Outside the window, the sky was gradually brightening.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Pharmacy, the eunuch on early morning duty opened the Jiazi No. 3 warehouse to check the medicinal materials, when he suddenly felt that something was wrong.

He walked to the medicine shelf and counted the number of Nine-Death Resurrection Grasses.

One, two...

and many more.

Where did one plant go?!