C72

The only people here who could be considered to have a grudge with the little girl were two people. One of them was Dongfang Li, who had long hated Xia Si Zhu, and the other was Yan Ao Xuan's father, Yan Tian Hua, who had been humiliated by Xia Si Zhu.

"Grandmother, she is not injured. That blood belongs to second brother." Dong Fang Li, who had been targeted by the empress dowager, braced herself and explained.

Only then did the empress dowager notice Dongfang Hao lying on the ground, not knowing if he was alive or dead. When she saw that Xia Sizhu's face was rosy and looked fine, the killing intent in the empress dowager's eyes gradually subsided.

"Let's talk about this after returning to the palace. Little girl Zhu, let's go." The empress dowager pulled Xia Sizhu's hand and looked at the crowd with a variety of expressions.

Xia Si Zhu followed the empress dowager into the carriage. The moment they got in, the empress dowager pulled Xia Si Zhu to her side and looked her up and down before speaking.

"In the past few days, I've lost a lot of weight." Her Majesty's voice was filled with pity.

Seeing that Xia Sizhu was silent, the empress dowager thought that she was afraid. The empress dowager patted her hand and said, "Little girl Zhu, don't be afraid, this one will not let anyone touch a single hair on your head. If you don't like Dongfang Li, then don't.

"Really?" Xia Si Zhu looked curiously at the benevolent empress dowager. Could she really break off the engagement so easily?

"Don't worry!" "I won't lie to you. Come and tell me if anyone bullied you after I left these past few days. Have you been well?" The empress dowager's eyes were filled with care and concern. She really wanted to know if the little girl had suffered any grievances in her past few days.

Xia Sizhu could feel that the empress dowager truly cared about her. If that was the case, then what was there to be afraid of? Xia Sizhu directly told her everything that had happened in the past few days in full detail.

Seeing the Empress Dowager's eyes darken as she listened, Xia Sizhu knew that some people should be out of luck.

"Little Zhu, don't worry. I will make them pay the price." Indeed, when the empress dowager finished listening to Xia Sizhu's words, her face immediately darkened.

The atmosphere on Xia Sizhu's side was harmonious and warm, while on Dongfang Li's and Yan Tianhua's side, it was completely overcast.

The carriage slowly headed towards the imperial city. As soon as it came to a halt, Xia Si Zhu discovered that the emperor was already guarding the door of the carriage. When the empress dowager stepped out, the emperor immediately went to welcome her.

"Mother, you're finally back." He had known it when the Empress had first arrived in the southern mausoleum, and he had been waiting here for her ever since.

"I'm afraid you don't think so!" The empress dowager glanced at the emperor and spoke in an unhappy tone.

"Cough cough, that's not the case!" The emperor, who had been caught by the empress dowager, had an awkward expression on his face. He hadn't even thought of how he could tell his mother about Xia Sizhu when his mother came back, catching him off guard.

"I'll deal with you later. Go find the imperial physician, Hao'er is injured." Her Majesty glared at the emperor.

"Hurry and call the imperial physician over, let Second Brother take a look." Only then did the emperor notice the unconscious Dongfang Hao.

"Yes sir!" Someone had gone to get an imperial physician. The imperial physician had been invited, and Dongfang Hao had been placed on his bed.

"May I ask everyone, who treated the poison for King Hao?" The imperial physician came over to check on him, and the moment he opened his mouth, he immediately asked who was treating Dongfang Hao.

Dong Fang Ye and Dong Fang Li looked at Xia Si Zhu at the same time. The former had a calm expression, but the latter had a questioning expression.

"It's me." Xia Sizhu rubbed her nose and said somewhat helplessly.

"Did you treat that little girl, Hao'er's, wound?" The empress dowager looked at Xia Sizhu in surprise. She had watched the little girl grow up, and she was well aware that the little girl didn't know how to treat doctors.

"You two princes aren't joking with this official?" Although Dongfang Ye and Dongfang Li didn't say anything, they had already used their actions to prove it. However, the imperial physician was still not too sure.

"Is there a need for this crown prince to lie to you?" Dongfang Li's low voice was filled with displeasure.

"Your majesty, the poison in King Hao's body was cleared before coming here, leaving only a little bit of the poison." Your majesty, the poison in King Hao's body was cleared before coming here, leaving only a little bit of it.

The imperial physician lowered his head in shame. He'd practiced medicine for so many years, but he couldn't do anything about the poison. He was ashamed!

The Imperial Physician's words astounded everyone. In an instant, all eyes gathered on Xia Sizhu.

Dong Fang Ye's gaze was still very calm, while Dong Fang Li's eyes were filled with disbelief. The Emperor's gaze was filled with doubt and the empress dowager's eyes were filled with astonishment.

"Xia Sizhu, where did your ability come from?" After a long time, the Emperor slowly spoke up, his scrutinizing gaze falling on Xia Sizhu.

Xia Sizhu's eyes narrowed as she lowered her head without saying a word. She quickly thought of a countermeasure in her heart.

"Little girl Zhu, ignore him. This Dowager doesn't want to know where your medical skills are coming from. It's good to have medical skills to defend yourself, but since the imperial physician said that the remaining poison needs to be cleaned up by you, then you'll have to put in some effort to help Hao'er expel the remaining poison!"

"Muhou!" The emperor yelled unhappily. Imperial Mother is spoiling Xia Sizhu too much!

"Don't worry, son. Once mother has dealt with some matters, I will naturally tell you the reason." The empress dowager's words successfully calmed the emperor down.

"General Yan!" With that, the Empress Dowager turned to look at Yan Tianhua, her cold gaze causing him to feel fear.

"This official is here!" Yan Tianhua suppressed the fear in his heart and calmly said.

"This one is not unreasonable. On the account that you have contributed greatly to the Southern Tomb, you were in the wrong in what happened today. Can you accept the fact that I've punished half of the property in your general's estate?"

Yan Tianhua had the army in his grasp, so he couldn't afford to offend the empress. He'd be able to avenge his daughter, and he'd also be able to weaken Yan Tianhua's power and strengthen the treasury.

"This official has no objection!" Yan Tianhua saluted. Although he was unwilling, he could not because he had injured the Second Prince. If the empress dowager didn't squeeze out some of the oil, how could he just let it go?

"Su Qiu, go with the imperial guards to the General's Estate and confiscate that half of the family's wealth. You can go with them to bring General Yan's daughter and her wet nurse back together." The thought of someone trying to ruin Xia Sizhu's innocence filled the Empress Dowager with fury.

"I wonder why the empress dowager is looking for my daughter and her wet nurse?" When Yan Tianhua heard that he was going to bring his daughter to the Imperial Palace, he felt a sense of foreboding.

"You'll know in a while." The empress dowager only cast a sideways glance at Yan Tianhua before closing her eyes to rest.

"Please, General Yan!" Su Qiu ignored the complicated feelings in Yan Tianhua's heart. All he knew was that he had to fulfill the orders of the empress dowager.

Yan Tianhua had no choice but to follow Su Qiu to the general's estate.

The Emperor glanced at the empress dowager, who was sitting leisurely on a chair. He had all sorts of doubts, but he did not voice them.

"Little girl Zhu, come sit over here. I'll bring justice for you later." Empress Dowager pointed to a spot next to her and then beckoned to Xia Sizhu.