Wei Zimiao felt a sense of unease and turned to the young servant beside him, "Smash the door..."
"Bang!"
Before he could finish speaking, a loud noise erupted, and Shen Wei directly kicked the door open.
Wei Zimiao hadn't even registered what happened when Shen Wei charged in.
The side hall wasn't large, its layout almost visible at a glance, yet there was no one inside.
The next moment, Shen Wei sensed something and abruptly turned his head towards the screen.
Just as he was about to walk over, a figure suddenly emerged from behind the screen.
Li Yue Shu looked at the few people in the room, her expression one of surprise, "How did you get in?"
Shen Wei rushed over, "Ah Shu, are you alright?"
Li Yue Shu quickly stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and pulled him out, "I'm fine, I just slept too late last night and overslept."
Shen Wei felt her intention to stop him and glanced in the direction she had come from, but the screen blocked his view, and he saw nothing.
He hadn't sensed anyone in the room earlier, and even the moment he sensed Li Yue Shu's presence, it had appeared suddenly.
Shen Wei suppressed his doubts and pouted at Li Yue Shu, "Ah Shu, you haven't eaten all day."
Li Yue Shu froze for a moment, then belatedly realized.
Seeing their worried and anxious faces, she sheepishly rubbed her nose, "Sorry, I always get lost in my research and forget to eat."
As she spoke, she looked at a servant carrying food, "Is this breakfast? I'll eat it shortly. You all can leave now. The antidote is at a critical stage, and I cannot be easily disturbed."
There was nothing inside, and she couldn't let them see.
Wei Zimiao naturally said nothing and was the first to walk out.
Although Shen Wei hesitated, seeing Wei Zimiao leave so decisively, he immediately gave up on pretending to be oblivious and trying to peek behind the screen, following him out.
He couldn't appear useless in front of that sickly pale young man.
Closing the door behind them, Li Yue Shu finally let out a sigh of relief.
She had stayed up almost until dawn last night and had slept directly in her personal space, almost being discovered.
Just as Li Yue Shu was about to go eat breakfast, she happened to see the broken half of the door bolt on the ground.
Li Yue Shu: "..."
Shen Wei's strength was that great?
...
After this near-discovery incident, Li Yue Shu became much more cautious, appearing at mealtimes to open the door on time.
Two days later, the antidote was finally prepared.
When Li Yue Shu emerged from the side hall, Shen Wei and Shen Ting Yi, who had been waiting outside, immediately ran over.
"Ah Shu, you've finally decided to come out..." Shen Wei pouted, as if complaining about her having abandoned him.
"Mom~" Shen Ting Yi also looked wronged.
Unfamiliar with the surroundings and unable to leave the courtyard, she was suffocating.
Li Yue Shu looked at the father and daughter with their identical expressions and couldn't help but smile, "Once this matter is resolved, we'll have a good two days of fun in Hong Ning City before we go back."
Shen Ting Yi was a child after all. Hearing about fun, her eyes instantly lit up, "Mom, you promised! Let's give the antidote to Young Master Wei now!"
Li Yue Shu dotingly stroked her head, letting her pull her along as they walked out.
As the family of three exited the courtyard, they saw Wei Tong Hao and his son approaching with serious expressions, followed by several people.
Upon seeing Li Yue Shu, the father and son paused.
Wei Tong Hao recovered first, "Madam Shen, has the antidote been developed?"
Li Yue Shu nodded and took out a small porcelain bottle from her embrace, handing it over.
Wei Tong Hao looked overjoyed and was about to step forward to take it, but someone was faster.
A figure suddenly darted out from behind, shoving the unsuspecting Wei Tong Hao aside, and lunged directly at Li Yue Shu with fierce determination on their face.
Everything happened too quickly for anyone to anticipate.
Shen Wei had been by Li Yue Shu's side. Seeing the person pounce, he immediately moved to intervene, but Li Yue Shu was faster, raising her foot to kick.
"Bang!"
With a loud thud, the lunging figure was sent flying like a kite with a broken string, landing on the ground and unable to get up for a long time.
Everyone looked at Li Yue Shu in shock, clearly not expecting the seemingly delicate and petite Madam Shen to possess such strength.
The servants, having recovered, immediately seized the person. Li Yue Shu then noticed it was an old wet nurse in her forties or fifties, and she looked somewhat familiar.
That's right, the first meal she had at the City Lord's mansion was when this old wet nurse looked at her with a strange expression.
The old wet nurse, her face pale, raised her head and glared at Li Yue Shu fiercely, "It's all your fault, you damned woman! You had so many doctors, why was only you able to figure it out? Why did you meddle! Our hard work of over twenty years of planning has all been ruined by you!"
Wei Tong Hao, having regained his senses, strode forward and slapped her across the face, "You wretched woman! You are Zimiao's wet nurse, you watched him grow up, and you poisoned him! You are worse than an animal!"
Wei Tong Hao, with his martial arts skills, showed no mercy in the slap, causing the old wet nurse's eyes to roll back, and she fainted.
Wei Tong Hao was still furious, "Take her away and guard her strictly! I will interrogate her myself!"
The servants quickly dragged the unconscious old wet nurse away, and Wei Zimiao's expression was also not good.
However, he still smiled at Li Yue Shu, "I apologize for disturbing Madam Shen. She is my wet nurse. I found some things in her room today, but she explained it wasn't poison, so I wanted to bring it for Madam Shen to see, but I didn't expect..."
Wei Zimiao's gaze was somewhat cold.
Anyone betrayed by someone they trusted would not have a pleasant expression.
Li Yue Shu did not inquire further about the specifics of what he had done, handing over the small porcelain bottle, "One pill daily for three consecutive days will detoxify you. The rest is for recovery, and you will be able to fully recover within half a year."
Wei Zimiao took it with both hands and sincerely bowed to Li Yue Shu, "Thank you, Madam Shen."
Li Yue Shu returned the bow, then, as if remembering something, asked, "Young Master Wei, I heard from that wet nurse just now that she was likely not alone. To endure and plan for over twenty years, do you know who is behind this?"
She had thought about it carefully. The original book did not mention the details of the Wei family's destruction, only that by the time the Crown Prince arrived with his troops, Hong Ning City was deserted, the copper mines had been destroyed, and all the refined copper had vanished. This was enough to show that the former Crown Prince's remnants attacking Hong Ning City was not a matter of a day or two.
Hearing the wet nurse mention "we" just now, she immediately thought that if the person closest to them was a spy, and they had planned painstakingly for twenty years, it was not impossible for the Wei family to be destroyed.
After all, the former Crown Prince in the original book was the eldest legitimate son of the late Emperor, and the current Emperor of Chen Nan's elder brother.
Rumor had it that ten years ago, the former Crown Prince's coup failed, and he committed suicide in the Eastern Palace. His remaining followers scattered across the land, posing the greatest threat to Emperor Chen Nan.
The male protagonist, the Crown Prince, became Emperor Chen Nan's most favored son precisely because he eradicated the former Crown Prince's remnants.
Such a force would be most desperate for copper and iron mines, so it was not surprising that they would plot for a Hong Ning City for over twenty years.
In fact, they might have been plotting for more than just one Hong Ning City.