RWNEFE -Chapter 327 What Will Happen if Something Happens to Shen Lanxi

After the court was dismissed, Emperor Renxiao became even more convinced of the thoughts in his heart, yet he could not help feeling regret—how good it would have been if Shen Lanxi had been a man.

That night, the people guarding Shen Lanxi began to doze off uncontrollably. Their heads nodded again and again; after nodding three times, they fell into a deep sleep.

A shadow, ghost-like in movement, leapt down from the roof and skillfully slipped into the darkness, blending with it.

With a creak, the door opened. The figure moved as if entering an unguarded place and flashed to Shen Lanxi’s bedside.

A hand gently rested on her, confirming something. Then the person took a pill from a pouch and fed it into Shen Lanxi’s mouth.

After finishing, the shadow left just as swiftly, so fast it was as if they had never been there.

Once she was sure the black-clad figure had gone, Shen Lanxi sat up and spat out what had been in her mouth.

Ban Sicao took it, sniffed it, and raised his brows in surprise. “It’s actually an antidote.”

Shen Lanxi was also startled, but she had no time to talk much. She told him directly that the person who had just come was very important.

“You stay here. I’ll go after him.”

Ban Sicao agreed. After Shen Lanxi left, he administered half a dose of medicine to the people in the room so that they would remain unconscious until she returned.

Shen Lanxi followed the trail, watching with her own eyes as the person jumped into an old residence. Realizing the danger, she immediately followed.

There had to be secret passages in that old house. If the person slipped into one, it would be very difficult to catch them again.

With the help of Nu Bai’s detection, she quietly followed. Fortunately, there was no one else in the tunnel; otherwise she would have abandoned the pursuit and captured the person immediately for questioning.

Keeping a safe distance, she followed all the way until she saw the person enter a princess’s residence.

It was the mansion in the capital belonging to the Third Princess, Zhou Qiwou.

As guards patrolled past the gate, Shen Lanxi considered several possibilities. Perhaps the black-clad man was merely passing through and would leave again—but no one came out.

She found a corner and slipped into the princess’s residence.

“Nu Bai, where is that black-clad man?”

For once, Nu Bai did not answer immediately. After hesitating, he said, “There are several black-clad men here, Master. I can’t tell which one.”

She had finally lured someone out and did not want to return empty-handed. “Take me to see all of them.”

“Yes.”

The first black-clad man was being received by Zhou Qiwou.

“Is Shen Lanxi really poisoned?” Zhou Qiwou asked.

The man knelt. “Princess, it’s absolutely true. She was poisoned with Green Silkworm. Shen Lanxi will surely die.”

Zhou Qiwou showed a ferocious smile. “Once that little wretch dies, it will be about time for this princess to leave as well.”

Shen Lanxi was certain that the person who had fed her the antidote was not one of Zhou Qiwou’s people.

She went to another black-clad man’s quarters. This one, after returning, changed out of his night clothes and went to rest.

Several others were the same.

Shen Lanxi could not help sneering inwardly. The dignified princess’s residence had been infiltrated like a sieve.

At the same time, she confirmed one thing: the person who had detoxified her was not allied with Zhou Qiwou. For some reason, that person was temporarily staying in the princess’s residence.

Once she confirmed this, she immediately turned back.

If the people guarding her remained unconscious too long, it would arouse suspicion.

“Did you catch him?” Ban Sicao asked in a low voice.

“No,” Shen Lanxi replied. “I saw him enter the Third Princess Zhou Qiwou’s residence.” She then told Ban Sicao everything she had seen there.

Ban Sicao looked annoyed. “I always thought that poison expert was hiding in the imperial palace. I didn’t expect them to be hiding in the princess’s residence.”

Shen Lanxi recalled something suspicious. “Zhou Qiwou was summoned to the capital only a few years ago. When Green Silkworm poison first appeared, she was in Dongchuan.”

Ban Sicao’s eyes turned. “You mean the one skilled in poison is someone else?”

Shen Lanxi said firmly, “The person who came tonight is definitely not from the same group that poisoned me before.”

One group had fed her an antidote, clearly intending to save her life. The other group wanted her dead at every moment.

After pondering for a while, Ban Sicao said, “The other group must be hiding in the imperial palace.”

Shen Lanxi glanced at the unconscious people in the room. “Remove the effects of the medicine from them.”

Ban Sicao waved his hand reluctantly. “You risk your life for the court, yet these people treat you like this. I’d rather kill them all.”

Shen Lanxi laughed softly, her eyes cold. “I want them to know what will happen once something happens to me, Shen Lanxi.”

Ban Sicao was full of worry. At first he had supported her plan to lure the snake out of its hole, but now that so many monsters and demons had emerged, he began to feel uneasy.

The court soon received another urgent dispatch carried over eight hundred li—but this time it did not come from the northwest. It came from Shu, Qiannan, and the southwestern tribal regions.

“Your Majesty, scouts report that three forces are assembling troops, showing signs of taking advantage of the situation to rebel. We request that reinforcements be sent immediately!”

Emperor Renxiao was so agitated that his vision darkened and he nearly fainted.

“How could they assemble at the same time? Have they already formed an alliance?”

The scout replied cautiously, “They seem to have heard that there is turmoil in the northwest and intend to seize the opportunity to rise.”

Hearing that it was connected to the northwest, the emperor became furious with shame and anger.

Rebels were always looking for openings. With unrest in the northwest, they had seized their chance.

He had never expected Shen Lanxi’s poisoning to trigger such a great disturbance.

If he had known earlier…

“Continue scouting. Also spread news that the northwest has already been reinforced with elite troops and capable generals and is as secure as an iron wall!”

The ministers exchanged glances—some unconvinced, others disdainful.

Wasn’t it just one Shen Lanxi who had fallen? How much trouble could that cause?

They could simply send other generals. Surely those generals would be better than Shen Lanxi, a mere woman.

Emperor Renxiao had not yet made a final decision. After dismissing the scout, he immediately ordered that the former soldiers of the Zhenbei Army be summoned back.

Generals such as Xiao Fang and Qian Feng had already been assigned to distant posts. A round trip would take at least a month.

The emperor was already beginning to regret sending them away so hastily.

Meanwhile, the families who had previously arranged meetings with the Shen family did not even show up. They simply sent someone through a side gate to deliver a message that their sons and daughters were away and the meeting was canceled. The messenger, afraid of being seen, dropped the message and hurried away in a furtive manner.

The younger members of the Shen family, who had been waiting to meet prospective matches, felt a shadow fall over their hearts.

“Do you think our family will be exiled again?” one asked.

“Bah, don’t talk nonsense!”

“It’s only that eldest sister was poisoned. How did things become like this?”

“Did Uncle say anything? Don’t those people consider Uncle and Aunt’s standing at all?”

The younger generation complained and sighed, while the elders were not much better.

“Congwen, why aren’t you going to court?” Old Madam Shen asked early in the morning when she saw her eldest son appear at the Zhenbei Marquis’s residence, his face full of worry.