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As of now, it was uncertain if the Xing family would fight to the bitter end. It was also unknown if Empress Qi would continue to support him after Emperor Jiaoyu's passing. He couldn't allow that girl to remain in the capital until he took his rightful place.

When the carriage bearing the emblem of the Kunning Palace arrived at Phoenix Avenue, the rain that had been pouring for most of the day finally ceased.

"Wait here. There's no need to follow me."

Gu Changjin strode towards Songsi Courtyard, while Heng Ping approached from Liuyi Hall and whispered in his ear, "The people from Liuyi Hall have vanished."

Vanished?

Gu Changjin furrowed his brows. Before long, Chang Ji panted through the Moon Cave Gate and said, "Master, Madam has gone to the Supreme Court Prison. The guards there wouldn't let this subordinate enter."

Chief Minister Li Meng of the Supreme Court was allied with Prime Minister Xing. After so many years of plotting, how could the Xing family give up on that position so easily?

Furthermore, the Shen and Rong family cases were not only tools to topple the Qi family but also weapons to undermine him. Since Chang Ji was his man, Gu Changjin wasn't surprised that the Supreme Court would cause trouble for him.

"Take my identity badge and go to the Supreme Court Prison to fetch her."

He was about to take off his badge when a sudden commotion caught his attention. Looking up, he saw the girl rushing in, lifting her skirt, followed by Mother Zhang, Yingyue, Ying Que, and two palace maids from the Kunning Palace.

Gu Changjin's hand slowly dropped from his waist, fixating on the young woman in the courtyard.

She had grown thinner and her complexion was wan, yet the determination and composure in her eyes remained unchanged.

Gu Changjin's gaze swept across the imperial nanny standing by the moon gate. He instructed Chang Ji and Heng Ping to escort her away, but she gently tugged at his sleeve, asking, "Gu Changjin, don't you have anything else to say to me?"

Gu Changjin paused in his steps, gazing down at her fingers that had turned white from gripping his sleeve tightly.

He had many things he wanted to tell her.

But the immediate priority was for her to go to the Sishi Garden. Chang Ji would deliver his letter to her; once she read it, she would understand everything.

His sleeve slipped from her fingertips as he continued walking. Suddenly, a chill crept across his brow – the gloomy sky had started to pour again.

His pace faltered slightly. In the corner of his eye, he saw the girl standing dazed in the rain.

"Your Highness," Nanny Zhu stepped forward with a smile, holding up an umbrella for him, "Since your foster mother is not here, why not return to the palace first?"

Gu Changjin acknowledged with a soft "Mm," and proceeded to leave the Songsi Courtyard.

Three days later, he personally went to the Supreme Court prison to investigate the case of the Cheng'an Marquis Estate's collusion with the enemy. Then, he went to Yangzhou and Wanping County, gradually uncovering the truth about who in the estate was truly colluding with Shen Zhi.

Chang Ji and Heng Ping sent him letters every two days. On the eighth day of the ninth lunar month, he hadn't received any message from the Sishi Garden for three days.

Gu Changjin had fought side by side with these attendants for years; he knew that only if something happened to them would their letters cease to arrive. And if they were in trouble, it meant she was too.

Leaving everything behind, Gu Changjin rode his horse towards the Sishi Garden. Midway through the journey, a heavy downpour drenched him as raindrops pelted his face.

Upon arriving at the garden, an eerie silence greeted him, sending chills down his spine. Chang Ji was absent, as was Heng Ping, even Mother Zhang and the others were missing. In the rumble of thunder, the carved lanterns swayed wildly under the eaves.

Gu Changjin strode through the veranda and forcefully pushed open the main door.

In that instant, he told himself that the worst-case scenario was her being captured to leverage against him. He would find those people and rescue her.

What he didn't expect was that the young lady had not been taken away.

There she was.

Sitting quietly by the window on a couch, her gaze was distant and fixated on an empty spot in midair.

She wore an exquisite skirt embroidered with golden threads depicting red plum blossoms all over, which was now stained with a large, dark blotch of blood. Drops of blood trickled down her cheeks.

"Pat... pat..."

All sounds seemed to fade away at that moment.

The rumble of thunder, the whistling wind, the pitter-patter of rain, and the clanging of lanterns against wooden eaves – they all vanished abruptly.

Gu Changjin could only hear her cry out in pain.

Chapter 75

The vast room was eerily empty, and her solitary figure was elongated by the dim daylight.

"Rong Zhaozhao..."

Gu Changjin murmured, swiftly approaching her. He drew a pill from his waist, wiped the blood off her face with one hand, and trembled as he tried to open the pill with the other.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here," he urged, hurriedly crushing the pill and feeding it into the girl's mouth. "Swallow it, hurry and swallow."

The girl seemed oblivious, blood dripping from her chin in increasing amounts. Suddenly, she let out a loud cry, vomiting a large mass of dark, black blood that expelled the pill untouched from her mouth.

Gu Changjin took out another pill.

"It's alright, there's still one more. Don't be scared, you can't chew it, I'll feed it to you."

He broke the wax seal on the pill and pushed it into his own mouth. However, his throat was too parched, producing no saliva at all.

Without hesitation, he used the short dagger at his waist to cut his wrist, using the fresh blood to chew the pill. Then, he opened Rong Shu's jaw and fed the mixture of blood and medicine into her mouth.

The scent of the medicine intertwined with the stench of blood, filling her nostrils and mouth.

With his tongue pressing against the root of her tongue, Gu Changjin's hands gripped her jaw. His low voice held a hint of desperate pleading.

"Swallow it, Rong Zhaozhao, swallow it quickly!"

The girl in his arms had her eyes half-closed, her body gently convulsing as a mixture of medicine and bright red blood trickled from the corners of her lips, dripping "tick-tock" onto her garment.

She could no longer swallow.

It was the "Third Watch," a time even the most experienced imperial physician would be powerless to help.

Gu Changjin's calloused fingertips continuously wiped away the blood from the corners of her mouth, his vision gradually blurring with tears.

"No," he shook his head, "Rong Zhaozhao, you can't do this."

In her blurred vision, her lips moved gently. Gu Changjin leaned in to catch her words by her ear.

"Mama, Zhaozhao hurts so much."