After my father was sent to marry into the princess's household, I became the darling of the en

As the carriage turned into the alley, Shen Jingque was still savoring the aftertaste of the honey-roasted pigeon.

The sound of wheels was suddenly drowned out by a rapid clatter of hooves, which came from afar and sounded like drums pounding in the night.

Xiao Changqi lifted the carriage curtain and peeked out. He saw a dark figure rush out of the night and kneel on one knee in front of the carriage shaft.

It is Xuanqi.

His chest heaved violently. "Second Young Master, something has happened in the palace."

"Someone poisoned her at the banquet. Her Highness the Princess was vomiting incessantly, and the Imperial Hospital staff were helpless."

Xiao Changqi grabbed Xuan Qi by the collar and almost lifted him up.

"Brother, how is Mother now? What did the imperial physician say?"

Xuan Qi: "The imperial physicians said they couldn't identify this poison and couldn't concoct an antidote."

"Young Master, I urge you to return to the manor immediately and beg the young lady for the antidote."

When Shen Yan got out of the car, his legs were weak. He held onto the car wall for a couple of breaths before he could steady himself. His face was deathly pale.

When Shen Jingque heard him say he wanted the antidote, she froze on the spot.

The two I gave to Ji Qianshang for research have been used up, and I don't have any left in stock.

There's no time to waste; we'll have to refine it on the spot.

She lifted her skirt and jumped out of the car, quickly assigning tasks.

"Father, go and tell Uncle Xu to prepare another carriage, one that you can lie down in and is comfortable."

"Second brother, find Master Ji and have him carry the medicine chest. Don't delay for a moment."

Shen Yan paused, then asked, "Que'er, what about the antidote...?"

Shen Jingque had already run towards the inner courtyard.

"I'll go back to my room to get the medicine. Once you've taken care of it, we'll head to the palace immediately!"

Xiao Changqi calmed down at this moment and exchanged a glance with Shen Yan.

Of all the people in the courtyard, the most composed was surprisingly this twelve-year-old girl.

Shen Jingque rushed into the room and bolted the door shut.

Once she confirmed that there was no one else outside the courtyard, she moved her mind and entered the Shennong Space.

The patch of spiritual spring grass by the spring had just ripened, but it was sparse, with only a few plants left.

She gritted her teeth and gathered as much as she could, then selected the herbs she had previously grown and put them into the alchemy furnace according to the recipe.

After an unknown amount of time, a plume of smoke rose from the alchemy furnace, and a pile of pills gurgled out.

Shen Jingque counted them; there were fourteen in total.

Judging from Xuanqi's words, quite a few people have been poisoned this time, and they all need to be saved.

Otherwise, if only Xiao Mingyue is given the medicine without saving the others, it will only lead to suspicion and trouble.

I don't know if it's enough.

Without thinking twice, she poured all the pills into her purse, tied the strap tightly, and pushed open the door to leave.

The carriage was ready in the courtyard, the horses puffing out white steam and pawing at the snow.

Ji Qianshang arrived with a medicine box on his back, his face flushed with a slight intoxication, clearly having been dragged out of the restaurant.

Shen Jingque jumped into the car and patted her bulging purse.

"Everyone's here, let's go!"

The carriage crunched through the snow as it left the mansion gates, heading towards the imperial city.

Inside the carriage, Ji Qianshang was restless and opened his palm towards her.

"Girl, bring me your medicine, let me take a look at it first."

Shen Jingque took off her purse, poured out a few coins, and handed them over.

Ji Qianshang carefully examined the object by the light inside the car, scraping off a small amount of the residue and placing it on the tip of his tongue.

After a long while, his brows relaxed a little.

"The medicine is pure; it is indeed the same antidote you gave me that day."

But in the next sentence, the tone shifts abruptly.

"Last time you swore that the main ingredient was missing and that a second batch could not be prepared."

"And where did these fourteen come from?"

Shen Jingque lowered her eyes and did not reply immediately.

She had anticipated that she might be suspected.

This time, I can't just brush it off with a few words like last time.

If she continues to fabricate lies, a shrewd person like Ji Qianshang will become suspicious sooner or later.

Rather than creating discord later, it's better to tell the truth now.

She looked up, her eyes quickly scanning the lamplight outside the window.

"Master Ji, I do indeed have a secret."

"But right now I'm very confused, my mind is filled with thoughts of my mother."

"I'll tell you everything after Mother is safe and sound, okay?"

Ji Qianshang stared at her for a long time.

There's a strange sense of contradiction about this girl.

Mature yet innocent, romantic yet decisive.

But it is precisely this sense of contradiction that makes people want to give their trust.

Finally, he let out a long breath and nodded in resignation.

"Girl, I've never cared for any junior as much as I have for you."

"I've always treated you like a personal disciple, but you've been keeping it all hidden."

He paused, his tone turning somber.

"When we get back, I hope to hear the truth from you about this matter."

Shen Jingque nodded emphatically.

"Okay, I promise."

After dealing with one side, she retreated to the corner of the car, but the tension in her heart only grew tighter.

The palace banquet was meticulously planned, so why did this have to happen right before my mother's wedding?

Was someone taking advantage of the situation, or is there something else going on?

She silently asked the system in her heart if her mother's poisoning this time was due to the power of Heaven forcibly pulling the plot forward.

[Sorry, host, this question is beyond your current privileges and cannot be answered.]

Shen Jingque cursed inwardly in anger.

Pretending to be deaf and dumb at crucial moments is utterly useless.

She lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, and the outline of the palace walls emerged in the night, tall and imposing, with dim lights.

The carriage came to a stop outside the palace gate.

Ji Qianshang was the first to lift the curtain and jump down, landing very steadily. He turned around and offered a hand to the carriage.

Shen Jingque lifted her skirt and leaned out. He caught her with his large hand and brought her to the snow.

"Girl, stay close, save the important people first."

"understood."

The palace doors were half-open, and inside, weeping and coughing mingled together.

The candlelight flickered in the draft, and several pale-faced people lay sprawled on the floor.

Shen Jingque spotted the figure in green below the platform at a glance, lifted her skirt, and ran inside.

"Mother!"

Xiao Mingyue lay on her back on the soft couch, a dark mark on her lips, while two palace maids hurriedly tried to help her catch her breath.

Ji Qianshang immediately placed his hand on her wrist to check her pulse, his brows furrowing more and more tightly.

"The poison has entered the bloodstream. If we delay any longer, even a miracle won't save us."

He turned his head and opened his palm towards Shen Jingque, "Medicine."

Shen Jingque untied her purse, poured out a pill, and stuffed it into his hand. She then helped Ji Qianshang pry open Xiao Mingyue's teeth and feed it to him.

"Mother, just swallow it, you'll be fine once you swallow it."

An old imperial physician trembled as he approached the bedside, his white beard shaking.

"Miss, this item is of unknown origin and has not been examined. How can you feed it to Her Highness the Princess without authorization? If anything goes wrong, can you bear the consequences?"

"Old man, do you have the antidote?"

The imperial physician was speechless for a moment, and it took him a long time to finally manage to utter a sentence.

"This poison... I have never seen anything like it in my forty years of medical practice."

"If you can't match it, then please step aside."

Shen Jingque kept pouring a glass of warm water and feeding the baby little by little.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Xiao Mingyue's throat moved, the bluish color on her lips faded, her chest heaved evenly, and she exhaled a long breath.

"Que'er..." She opened her eyelids a crack, her voice barely audible, "You child, what brings you to the palace?"