The Empress is Dead

Commotion immediately broke out the moment Xing Baihe fell from her seat. Her unprepared servants can only watch ash she hit the ground. The fifth prince's concubines could only look on in dread at the side. They can't help but be afraid that they would be blamed and might cause trouble to their husband. Even the escort that Liu Yeyin sent to watch over her was caught of guard. Fortunately some were able to snap out of their shock and immediately called an imperial physician. One of Xing Baihe's servant also ran towards her palace to inform Liu Yeyin.

Not long after the physicians arrived, they decided that they should send her back. The informed Liu Yeyin waited for them inside Xing Baihe's inner chamber. Her face filled in disapproval and suppressed anger. She more or less knew why Xing Baihe fainted. It was probably due to backlash from using Gu poison again, which Liu Yeyin told her to stop using for the time being. And to a stupid reason and person at that.

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In Xing Baihe's palace, the servants outside the inner chamber are in chaos. After Xing Baihe passed out none of the imperial physicians could identify the cause of her health deteriorating. They were only able to tell that her body, specifically her pulse indicated that she suddenly aged by at least twenty years, although it didn't show on her face. As a result they were thrown out and made to kneel at the palace's entrance.

Inside the inner chambers. Liu Yeyin administered accupuncture at almost all of Xing Baihe's accupoint to forcefully subdue her chaotic internal energy. Because Xing Baihe exceed her capability and used Gu poison with her own internal energy as medium, her meridians gradually swell. So when she suddenly lost control of even one Gu poison bug, it was like a pipe that was abruply pulled out causing her internal energy to leak out. And since her meridians became larger, her body couldn't handle the amount of internal energy that leaked out.

Gritting her teeth, Liu Yeyin pulled out a jade bottle of about a thumb in height and two fingers width from her pouch. This is the draught she had prepared for Xing Baihe in case her body couldn't hold out until the end of their plan. This draught will temporarily allow her body to accept and utilize other people's internal energy. But she couldn't control that energy. It would seem like her body is controlled remotely. However this will also prevent it from leaking unwantedly. In turn, Liu Yein would need to refill her energy to continue living and to let her have enough energy to control the existing Gu poisons she have. Especially the fifth prince's.

The downside is she could no longer cultivate her own internal energy. So once her own ran out, she could only rely on others. Another downside is the draught's effects can only last for half a year. In conclusion, after today, Xing Baihe only have six months to live. In Liu Yeyin's observation, six months is not enough. But who told Xing Baihe to act rashly and unreasonably. When in fact she could use other method to harm those women without getting her own hands dirty. She could only curse internally while administering her treatment.

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Back in their headquarters, Lin Xulian exited the underground chamber with a solemn look. Earlier after they were able to calm Gu Kei down, Mo Jin informed her that they had captured three Liu clan members and they asked her opinion how to deal with them. Lin Xulian immediately remembered that she had planned to experiment on using the royal Gu in treating other poison that she can't find an antidote of. She tought those captured were a great practice sample. She also conveniently have such kind of poison, the ones use on Feng Jun Yi. So she dragged Gu Rin and Xiang Guang who conveniently arrived not long later, to partake in her experiment. Gu Kei followed along obviously.

Unfortunately, it wasn't fruitful. For some reason, after the poison entered the body and took effect, the royal Gu could no longer detect the poison. Thus it is also imposible to extract it from the patient. This discovery shocked Lin Xulian. It wasn't her first time seeing a poison that was claimed to be undetected. But she could still be able to detect them although faint. Liu Yeyin's poison is the only undetectable poison that Lin Xulian is able to acknowledge. However, it was still a total shock that even the royal Gu can't detect it despite being able to identify it in its container.

Gu Rin on the other hand wasn't surprised but equally worried. "Princess, it isn't really impossible for Liu Yeyin to be able to make such poison. Aside from her clan's medical knowledge, she also learned a lot about Gu poison indirectly through me. We were always together even during the times i need to study those books that was shown to you by the clan head. But it is still out of my expectation that she would make a poison undetected by the royal Gu. This shows the extent of what she had understood about Gu." Gu Rin solemnly stated.

Lin Xulian breathe out harshly in attempt to ease her frustration. "No wonder. Still, this totally derailed my plan in treating the emperor. I had thought that using the royal Gu is feasible so I had neglecterd finding other cure. Making my own antidote is also out of the question. Even a genius like me is powerless against colorless and odorless substances." 

"Does that mean you acknowledge that Liu Yeyin is more of a genius that you mistress?" Gu Kei interjected.

"Of course not! She just has the age advantage. She just lived longer and seen more of the world. Surpassing her would not be a difficult thing for me." Lin Xulian bragged with raised chin in Gu Kei's direction.

"What do you plan to do then Lian'er? Will you give up in treating emperor Feng for the time being? We can take him out of here and place him somewhere safe. It won't be too late to cure him after everything is done. You can take your time." Xing Guang suggested honestly. Truthfully there is part of him that wants Feng Jun Yi to sleep a little longer. He may seem selfish but he wants to use this time to move Lin Xulian's heart. Unfortunately it was harder than he thought although Feng Jun Yi caused her pain.

Lin Xulian only shook her head. "It's not a good idea. It would cause a bigger commotion if the emperor disappear. Internal strife may arise and it would not be a good thing if the war reach the capital at the same time. Feng Jun Yi is the citizen's symbol of hope." Lin Xulian then straightened her posture and added. "Actually, I still have one idea in mind. But it will require extreme luck and relies on my charm."

The other three curiously leaned in, waiting for Lin Xulian to give details. But they are only met with a mysterioys smile. "I'll tell you tomorrow. I need to rest. Gu Kei, I will go back to our courtyard first. Go deal with those three with Mo Jin. He already knows what to do." She then stood up and casually left, leaving the three bewildered and extremely curious.

Once Lin Xulian left the courtyard of the headquarters, her casual and calm demeanor collapsed. Truthfully she is extremely worried. The success of her alternative idea is slimmer than she made it out to be. It also sound absurd that the others would likely dismiss it, so she decided to act on it alone.. Act first and deal with the aftermath later.