“Then I shall comply with the imperial command. To abandon the Son of Heaven’s guests and become a prisoner instead—would I have to be a fool to do such a thing?!”

Suzhen suddenly let out a laugh and sprang to her feet.

Everyone was momentarily stunned, having expected this troublemaker to cause chaos over A’luo’s matter. Who knew she would be so sensible? Lian Qin had already prepared to “educate” Suzhen, but upon hearing her words, the words on her lips were forcibly swallowed back, causing her to cough loudly.

Ming Yanchu, who had spent the entire evening examining Lian Yu’s wound with his face wrinkled in worry, now almost burst out laughing.

Not only the crowd, but even Lian Yu, seeing her sudden change in attitude, had his anger freeze on his face as he shot up from his seat.

Suzhen laughed again and clasped her hands together in salute. “Your Majesty, now that Shuang…”

She had grown accustomed to her old manner of address and couldn’t change it immediately. After pausing briefly, she continued: “Now that Miss A’luo needs to rest quietly, the interrogation of the assassin must be postponed. When the time comes, should Your Majesty have any matter requiring the services of the Court of Judicial Review, please command it, and Li Huaisu will certainly handle the case with full effort.”

At this moment, even Xuanwu, who had remained relatively composed, looked at her several times, while the imperial physicians’ expressions became subtly complex.

Lian Yu stared at her intently, his lips pressed tightly together, without uttering a word.

Everyone present were “veterans” who had walked beside the Son of Heaven for years. They could all see that Lian Yu was forcibly suppressing his anger, though no one could understand where this fury came from. Clearly, this Li Huaisu ultimately dared not defy the imperial will and could be considered sensible.

“Your Majesty, could you ask Director Li to come over? A’luo has a few words she’d like to say to her privately.”

From the bed, Shuangcheng suddenly spoke.

Lian Yu’s brows furrowed. “Your injuries haven’t healed yet…”

Yet she actually struggled to sit up halfway. Being a decisive man, he immediately stepped forward and looked toward Suzhen.

Suzhen cursed inwardly: “Damn you, you little fool!” But her face showed no hesitation as she quickly walked forward.

Their eyes met. Shuangcheng’s gaze appeared quite calm, making it impossible to fathom her depths for the moment.

Suzhen’s heart skipped a beat as she lowered her head.

“I don’t know what relationship you truly have with that man in black, but regardless, regarding the matter at the ruined shrine, you have shown me kindness. I owe you a debt of gratitude. When Lian Yu asks about it later, I won’t say anything. How you choose to fill in that blank period is up to you. However, if you ever dare harbor ill intentions toward Lian Yu in the future, or dare conspire with others to threaten his life, I will never forgive you!”

Shuangcheng’s low, measured voice fell bit by bit into her ears.

Suzhen was momentarily stunned. Shuangcheng’s words were beyond what she had anticipated!

“Then Feng Suzhen thanks you first.” She was decisive enough and quickly responded.

“As for other matters, once I recover, I shall compete with you to the end!” Shuangcheng added quietly.

“Director Li, can you guess which of us will be the winner?”

“Everyone guesses it will be themselves, don’t they? I’d also like to say it’s you, but why should I belittle myself?” Suzhen replied with a smile. She naturally knew what this “other matters” referred to.

“I thank Miss A’luo for her guidance. Your Majesty, if there is nothing else requiring this humble minister, I shall take my leave first.”

As she spoke, she bowed slightly and retreated.

“You may go.” Lian Yu said flatly, walking back to A’luo’s side without another word.

Everyone thought tonight’s matter was temporarily concluded, but unexpectedly, Suzhen suddenly stopped at one spot. Simultaneously, Baihu, who had been kneeling on the ground, let out another sharp cry.

Everyone felt their vision blur as an iron object and a spray of fresh blood splattered to the ground!

It was Suzhen who had viciously kicked her on the back of her hand.

Moreover, Suzhen was cruel enough to specifically choose the injured hand to stomp on. Several fingers were nearly crushed flat, and under the heavy pressure, the wound on her hand immediately gushed blood. Even the half-broken arrow that Lian Yu had driven into the flesh of her hand was kicked out, showing how forceful that kick had been.

This sudden twist shocked everyone. Lian Qin’s mouth gaped open: “Li Huaisu, you—”

Qinglong could no longer restrain himself and moved to help Baihu up. “Li Huaisu, by what right do you lay hands on her?”

“My apologies. Who told the young lady to keep kneeling on the ground? I was momentarily careless. Also, I used my foot, not my hand.” Suzhen stood before her and made a bow.

Qinglong was furious, instantly feeling that his sympathy for this person at the Hitching Post had been utterly wasted. He smiled coldly: “If it was truly unintentional, could it have been delivered with such force?”

Suzhen replied indifferently: “One should not fear godlike opponents, but pig-like teammates. You can consider that I gave this fool another lesson on His Majesty’s behalf.”

Upon hearing this, Baihu’s eyes immediately turned red, her teeth nearly grinding to pieces as she hissed: “I may have erred, but it’s not your place to teach me lessons. His Majesty and Master A’luo are still here!”

“Then consider it personal revenge. As for what personal grievance, you should understand.”

Suzhen smiled, completely unconcerned. Xuanwu watched from the side, shaking his head secretly. The old court physician was a kind man and kept winking at her, but Suzhen pretended not to see.

This time, she had finally successfully stirred up a hornet’s nest. By the bedside, Lian Yu suddenly flicked his sleeve robe and pointed directly at her: “The state has its laws. What gives a mere third or fourth-rank official the audacity and authority to pass judgment before Us! Xuanwu, take her away and lock her room. Until she learns to reflect, she shall remain there!”

His eyes darkened with anger, veins bulging on his forehead. The old court physician and several imperial doctors all broke into cold sweats. If not for the presence of a patient here—Lian Yu’s peripheral vision caught sight of Shuangcheng, who had been startled awake again, causing his brows to furrow once more—they feared the next person they’d need to treat wouldn’t be this Baihu attendant, but the champion scholar before them.

“This humble minister… obeys the imperial decree!” Suzhen declared loudly, slowly turning around and striding past everyone out of the room.

Outside the palace, the silver moon hung high, the night was cool as water, guards were stationed everywhere, and lanterns flickered between bright and dim, creating a misty atmosphere among the various magnificent or elegant pavilions and towers.

After walking for a while, Suzhen stopped and jumped to sit on the corridor’s railing.

The numerous imperial guards stationed inside and outside all looked curiously at this absurd and unruly Director of Judicial Review.

Suzhen waited for a while. Xuanwu, Ming Yanchu, and Lian Qin came out one after another, along with the imperial physicians. Naturally, Lian Yu stayed behind to accompany Shuangcheng.

“My ancestor,” Ming Yanchu helplessly pressed his forehead and said to her, “can’t you be a bit more settled? Must you poke a hole in something before you feel at ease? Look how angry you’ve made His Majesty…”

Suzhen jumped down. “Thank you for the reminder, Eunuch Ming.”

Xuanwu beside them suddenly said: “Director Li, why did you help Baihu?”

Lian Qin was obviously startled and instinctively looked at Suzhen. When Xuanwu asked this question, Suzhen paused.

“Yes, why did you help Baihu remove the arrowhead? According to reason, if not for her leading people there this time… She probably didn’t expect that person’s identity either, but she simply couldn’t stand you, yet you and the master wouldn’t have…”

Ming Yanchu also straightened his expression, adopting a serious demeanor. Of course, there were some things he didn’t say explicitly.

The old court physician and several imperial doctors were passing by and quietly stopped upon hearing this.

“An arrowhead left in flesh for several days is no laughing matter. If inflammation sets in, the entire hand might be ruined. Wouldn’t it be a pity for a good young lady to have one hand crippled? Of course, that’s secondary—I’m not that kindhearted. I originally wanted to kick her anyway. She deserved it.”

“Chief Attendant Xuan, Eunuch Ming, I’m also tired after a night of commotion. Thank you for your concern. Please proceed.”

After speaking flatly, Suzhen jumped down and walked ahead. Xuanwu and Ming Yanchu looked at each other for a long while before silently following.

When the sound of heavy locks falling came from outside the door, Suzhen sat down inside the room.

She casually glanced around. This room was indeed luxurious and spacious, with exquisite furnishings and everything one could need. There was even an elegant cosmetic case on the dressing table, half-opened to reveal a full box of gold, jade, pearl and other ornaments of considerable value.

On the table, Ming Yanchu had ordered palace servants to arrange dishes—while not exactly a hundred delicacies, there were no fewer than a dozen courses from appetizers and main dishes to desserts, all fragrant and appealing. Knowing her fondness for drink, there were even two small jars of fine wine.

This standard could probably match that of ordinary imperial concubines. Lian Yu’s treatment of her wasn’t too bad, was it?

This was the second time she’d been imprisoned by Lian Yu, but this time she didn’t care about the imprisonment itself. What she cared about was…

After half the night of powder and makeup, half the night of laughter and jest, Suzhen’s vision finally blurred.

She rolled up her right sleeve, and her left palm, which she had been carefully concealing under her wide robe sleeve, slowly emerged and rested flat on the table.

The palm was tightly wrapped in a torn cloth.

The little finger was missing a large section, with the fingertip soaked red through the bandage.

This was hastily bandaged with torn inner lining at the time. The wound needed proper treatment immediately, or while Baihu might be fine, she could develop inflammation, which would be amusing indeed.

If she had known, she should have found a way to secretly ask that gossipy old court physician for some wound medicine just now.

Well, although there was no medicine, some things in this room could still be used—the bronze basin with clean water for washing hands, clothes from the cabinet could serve as bandages…

She quickly prepared the necessary items, planning to rebandage the wound. However, during her escape, fearing that the injured Lian Yu might notice and become worried, she had tightly bound the wound to prevent blood from flowing out, intending to tell him once they were safe. Now that damned rag was tightly stuck to the severed finger.

She tugged at it—

Damn, it hurts so much!

She suddenly stood up, wanting to pound on the door loudly to alert Xuanwu, thereby alerting his master. But if she had felt it inappropriate to speak earlier when Shuangcheng was severely injured, now hadn’t she lost all meaning to do so? Since he had never asked, what was the point of telling him?