In times of chaos and famine, I traded one pound of rice for two royal flushes.

"Since he's already handed me the knife," he sneered, "wouldn't it be incredibly impolite of me not to return the favor with a grand gesture?"

He turned to look at Wei Qing: "General Wei, you said before that Xue Yi's eyes were strange when he saw you?"

Wei Qing nodded: "Yes, he seems... to recognize me."

A thought struck Qin Shaolang, and a bold plan began to take shape in his mind.

Dark as ink.

In a corner of the courtyard, Wei Qing sat in a wheelchair, wiping his spear repeatedly in the moonlight.

It was a keepsake left by her father; the gun was covered in scars, yet it still gleamed coldly.

A dark figure appeared silently on the roof behind her.

It's Xue Yi.

"General Wei, what a pleasant mood." His voice was very soft, like a breeze.

Wei Qing paused, but did not turn around.

"Isn't Guard Xue afraid of being mistaken for an assassin for visiting so late at night?"

"This courtyard is full of my men, who dares to challenge me?" Xue Yi jumped down from the roof and landed in front of her.

His gaze fell on Wei Qing's leg, which was wrapped in gauze.

"If you want your leg to fully recover and return to the battlefield, Qin Shaolang's acupuncture alone is not enough."

Wei Qing raised his head and looked at him coldly: "What do you mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it." Xue Yi's expression remained completely calm. "I just think it would be a great pity if the Zhenbei Army's 'Snow Wolf Spear Technique' were to be lost forever."

Wei Qing's heart skipped a beat.

The Snow Wolf Spear Technique is a unique skill passed down through generations of the Wei family. No one outside the direct descendants of the Wei family could possibly know about it!

"Who exactly are you?"

"Someone who...doesn't want to see the descendants of loyal and virtuous people buried in obscurity." As Xue Yi spoke, he took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and threw it over.

"Take one pill daily, mixed into your wound medicine. After half a month, you will be able to move freely again."

After saying that, he turned and left.

"Stop!" Wei Qing called out to him. "What exactly is your relationship with Wei Zhongxian?"

Xue Yi paused for a moment.

"Some things are better left unsaid than known." He left behind this ambiguous statement before disappearing into the night.

Wei Qing held the cold porcelain bottle, his heart churning with turmoil.

This Xue Yi is both righteous and wicked; he's impossible to understand.

……

This was his third time entering the palace.

The atmosphere inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation was even more somber than the previous two times.

Qin Shaolang discreetly added a "mind-awakening herb" to the medicine he prepared for the emperor.

This medicine can bring a person in a deep coma back to consciousness for a short period of time.

Wei Zhongxian remained standing guard like a door god, his eyes sharp as an eagle's.

After the emperor drank the medicine, his eyelids twitched slightly on the dragon bed.

He slowly opened his eyes, and a glimmer of light appeared in his cloudy pupils.

"Qin...Qin Aiqing..." The Emperor's voice was so weak that it was almost inaudible.

"Your Majesty!" Wei Zhongxian immediately stepped forward, standing between Qin Shaolang and the Emperor. "How are you feeling?"

The Emperor ignored him and only looked at Qin Shaolang.

Taking advantage of the moment when Wei Zhongxian turned to pour water, the emperor mustered all his strength, his lips barely moving, and uttered a few words.

"The medicine... came from the inner palace... Empress..."

Before he finished speaking, Wei Zhongxian had already turned back with his water glass in hand.

"Your Majesty is in poor health and should not speak further! Please rest now!"

As he spoke, he winked at the eunuch beside him.

The eunuch immediately understood and stepped forward to draw the curtain.

"Wait a minute."

A gentle yet authoritative female voice came from outside the palace.

A graceful woman dressed in a phoenix robe and wearing a pearl crown slowly walked in, surrounded by palace maids.

She is none other than the current Empress of the Great Wei Dynasty, Lady Wang.

"I heard that His Majesty's condition has improved, so I came to see him." The Empress wore a polite smile, but her gaze lingered on Qin Shaolang.

"This must be Doctor Qin, right? He is indeed a promising young man."

"This humble subject pays respects to Your Majesty the Empress." Qin Shaolang bowed respectfully.

"Physician Qin, there's no need for such formalities." The Empress walked to the Emperor's bedside and said softly, "Your Majesty, you should rest well. As for state affairs, with Eunuch Wei and the other ministers there, you don't need to worry about them."

Her words sounded like she was concerned about the emperor, but in reality, she was implying that the emperor no longer had the final say in the court.

Then, she turned to Qin Shaolang and asked casually, "Dr. Qin, how do you intend to treat His Majesty's illness? I heard from the imperial physicians that His Majesty is simply suffering from overwork. I hope you will use gentle medicine and not those strong drugs that could harm the foundation of His Majesty's health."

She was testing the waters.

This was a test to see what Qin Shaolang had figured out, and also a warning to him not to meddle in other people's business.

"Your Majesty, please rest assured," Qin Shaolang replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "I know how to use medicine properly."

The Empress nodded in satisfaction, said a few more polite words, and then turned to leave, saying she would not disturb the Emperor's rest.

Just as she turned around and flicked her sleeve, Qin Shaolang's nose caught a very faint scent of medicinal powder.

His gaze fell on the wide sleeves of the Empress's phoenix robe.

There, a tiny, almost invisible, pale yellow powder clung to it.

Qin Shaolang's heart sank.

He was all too familiar with the color and smell of that powder.

Just a few days ago, Wei Zhongxian used ordinary cicada molting powder to replace "Golden Cicada Flower"!

The Empress and Wei Zhongxian were actually in cahoots!

Do not……

A sudden inspiration struck Qin Shaolang.

wrong!

If they were in cahoots, why would the Emperor point the finger at the Empress? And why would Wei Zhongxian direct the attack at Zhou Mu?

There must be some key points he hasn't figured out yet.

The Empress departed in a grand procession with her palace attendants.

Qin Shaolang stood there, watching her departing figure, then glanced at Wei Zhongxian, whose face was gloomy, and at the Emperor, who had fallen into a deep sleep on the bed once again.

He felt as if he were in a giant maze.

Everyone wears a mask, and everyone's words are half true and half false.

And he was the only intruder kept in the dark, trying to find out the truth.

Upon returning to the villa, Qin Shaolang immediately locked himself in his study.

He told Wei Qing and Su Jin everything that had happened in the palace that day.

"The Emperor himself identified the Empress? And there was cicada molting powder on the Empress's sleeve, the same powder Wei Zhongxian used when changing her dressing?"

Upon hearing this, Wei Qing frowned deeply.

"This is very strange. If they're in cahoots, why are they sabotaging each other?"

"Perhaps they aren't even in cahoots," Qin Shaolang said in a deep voice. "They're just using the same thing to achieve their own goals."

"What do you mean?" Su Jin asked, puzzled.

"Wei Zhongxian wanted to use the 'Emperor's poisoning' incident to eliminate dissidents and consolidate his power. As for the Empress..." Qin Shaolang paused, "Perhaps, she was the one who truly wanted the Emperor dead."

This deduction caused everyone present to gasp in shock.