Forced to die for his loyalty, he was reborn in the arms of the cold and cruel regent!

Xiao Qi simply shook his head: "I was sleeping soundly, you scared me, I didn't meet any strangers, I didn't even dream about them."

Shen Mengyao felt strange. They had been chasing them all the way and could only go in this direction. There was no yard behind them, only a wall nearly three meters high.

Did he escape by jumping over the wall? But why didn't I hear any movement?

Shen Mengyao hesitated for a moment, feeling uneasy. She turned to Queyue and said, "Queyue, you are good at Qinggong. Go to the courtyard wall and check if there is any sign of someone climbing over the wall."

Upon hearing this, Queyue nodded immediately, and in a flash, like a light swallow in the night wind, she instantly jumped onto the courtyard wall and carefully searched the surroundings in the faint moonlight. Soon, she turned back, her face solemn: "Princess, there are no footprints on the wall, only some soil marks, and I am not sure if someone climbed over the wall."

Shen Mengyao frowned and sighed, "This person must be coming for the mansion. If it's not the eldest princess, then it must be someone else. We need to be more careful."

Xiao Qi also became nervous when he heard this and asked quickly, "Then what should we do?"

Shen Mengyao pondered for a moment, then said to Luochuan and Xiaoqi, "What happened tonight must not be made public. Queyue, go investigate tomorrow morning to see if there are any suspicious people around. Xiaoqi, teahouses and restaurants are great sources of information, so be more careful."

They both nodded in agreement, and Luo Chuan volunteered: "Princess, why don't I go and ask around."

Shen Mengyao smiled and glanced at Luo Chuan, secretly thanking herself for having such a group of loyal and reliable people around her. She still rejected his kindness: "You are not as familiar with the capital as Queyue, so let her go."

Queyue naturally obeyed the order and stood quietly behind Shen Mengyao. Her sharp eyes seemed to be able to see through all the secrets in the darkness.

Luo Chuan just curled the corners of his mouth and said nothing.

Shen Mengyao lay in bed all night, tossing and turning, her heart filled with worries about the unknown. She knew that the turmoil in the palace was far from over, and she seemed to have been dragged into the vortex of power against her will.

Early the next morning, Shen Mengyao got up early and after washing up, Queyue took the initiative to ask to see her.

"Princess, I went back to the palace. The prince also said that there are several unknown forces in the capital recently. They seem to be looking for something important. But their whereabouts have been difficult to predict. Maybe... this matter is related to these people."

Shen Mengyao felt nervous when she heard this: "Could it be the eldest princess again?"

Queyue shook her head: "It is still uncertain at present. Although the eldest princess is very ruthless, she has lost a lot of secret guards recently. She should not dare to attack in the short term. And from what I know about her, she never does anything without confidence. I am afraid that sending one person here will not be able to harm the princess at all."

Shen Mengyao pondered for a moment, thinking secretly in her heart.

She knew very well that there must be a bigger conspiracy brewing behind this, and she might have become a pawn in this conspiracy.

Just as she was lost in thought, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door. Shen Mengyao looked up and saw a maid rushing in with a panicked look on her face: "Princess, it's bad! Someone is coming from the palace. It's Aunt Fuqing who has sent you a message asking you to enter the palace immediately."

Shen Mengyao's heart trembled, and she felt that something was wrong. She quickly stood up and said to Queyue, "Queyue, follow me into the palace, just in case."

Queyue nodded in agreement.

Shen Mengyao straightened her clothes, took a deep breath, and walked out of the room.

Luo Chuan was waiting outside the door. She called Luo Chuan over and said, "Protect everyone in the Princess's Mansion."

Luo Chuan nodded solemnly.

Although she didn't know what had happened, what happened in her previous life told her that the empress dowager's health had been deteriorating since she fell ill.

Now the palace is hastily spreading the news, most likely the Queen Mother's condition has worsened again. But when she entered the palace to give advice a few days ago, the Queen Mother looked very strong. How could her condition suddenly take such a turn for the worse?

Entering the magnificent palace gate, Shen Mengyao and Queyue walked through long corridors. The whispers of palace maids and the footsteps of eunuchs echoed in the empty palace, adding a bit of solemnity and depression.

The palace gate opened slightly, and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted into the air. Shen Mengyao stepped into the palace and saw the empress dowager lying on the bed, her face pale and her eyes closed. In just a few days, her cheeks had become thinner.

She was about to go forward to take a closer look at the empress dowager, but suddenly she heard a voice from outside: "The emperor has arrived."

She immediately turned around and knelt on the ground. She saw a pair of bright yellow boots embroidered with golden dragons approaching from afar and stopped in front of the bed with an anxious voice.

"How is your mother?"

All the imperial doctors turned around, knelt on the ground, and said in a trembling voice: "The Empress Dowager's condition has been recurring and has not improved. After taking the medicine today, she fainted and has not woken up yet."

"Incompetent." The emperor's words frightened those people so much that they trembled and knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "We are incompetent, please punish us, Your Majesty."

She knew the emperor's anxiety and anger, but she could not change the current situation. She knelt quietly, her eyes fell gently on the queen mother, and silently prayed for a miracle to happen.

"Everyone, get up. Now is not the time to pursue responsibility." Although the emperor's voice was filled with anger, it also revealed a bit of helplessness and fatigue. "Mother, you are blessed by heaven. You will surely turn misfortune into fortune."

The imperial doctors stood up tremblingly and continued to gather around the bed, nervously discussing the condition, trying to find a glimmer of hope. Shen Mengyao slowly stood up, walked to the Queen Mother's bedside, gently held her cold hand, and felt the familiar kindness that seemed to slowly flow from her fingertips.

"Grandmother, Mengyao is here." She spoke softly, as if she was afraid of disturbing the empress dowager's sleep, but also hoped to awaken the dormant will with her gentleness.

At this moment, the Queen Mother suddenly moved her fingers. Although her eyelids were still tightly closed, the slight tremor of her fingers made everyone excited. The Emperor quickly stepped forward and looked at the Queen Mother nervously, with hope in his eyes.

"Mother?" He called softly, with a barely perceptible tremor in his voice.

The Queen Mother smiled feebly and said, "I am really old, and my health is not as good as it used to be. Now I am suffering from a minor illness over and over again, and I am really useless if I drag my feet and refuse to get better."

"Mother, what are you talking about? I wish you a long life. How can you be old?"

"Don't say these coaxing words, they sound so fake." The Queen Mother was very weak, but she was tired even if she slept, so she wanted to sit up.

Shen Mengyao immediately stepped forward to support her, and leaned a soft pillow against her back: "Grandmother, please be careful."