Chapter 318: Injured

“Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen, may Her Majesty be well and safe.”

When Yao Zhi approached, there was a chorus of greetings. No matter if they were maids or servants, they were all extremely polite, worthy of being people in the prime minister’s mansion.

Yao Zhi paused, shouted, and went straight to He Xiang’s yard.

“Quick, stop her!”

He Xiang shouted subconsciously, and the eldest master beside him hurriedly took action.

The fifth young lady of the He family, who was also standing guard by the bed, couldn’t help but frown when she saw this. She felt that her great-grandfather seemed to be a little mean.

No matter what happened between the two of them before, the Queen would never harm him at this time.

But in the end, the fifth young lady didn’t say anything. She just looked outside with a slightly tense look.

On the other side, as soon as Yao Zhi stepped into the courtyard, the eldest son came out in a panic. Seeing the extremely noble and elegant woman in front of him, the eldest son, who was nearly sixty years old, lowered his head quickly after just one glance, not daring to look again.

Because the emperor went on military campaigns, the Empress acted as regent on both occasions. As time went on, Yao Zhi’s power became more and more obvious.

Nowadays, anyone who has dealt with her will no longer regard her as the helpless woman of the world several years ago.

Then the eldest son hurriedly bowed and said, “I didn’t know that the queen had arrived. I am sorry for not coming to greet you. I hope the queen will forgive me.”

“This place is humble and I am afraid I am neglecting Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty will move to the main hall.”

Yao Zhi pondered for a moment and figured it out. She didn’t hesitate and said, “I came here today just to visit Old Master He in your house.”

The eldest son’s heart tightened, and then he remembered his father’s instructions. He almost gritted his teeth and spoke: “In reply to your majesty, I shouldn’t have stopped you from coming. It’s just that my father is seriously ill right now, and I’m afraid he will effect you. Please take care of your health…”

“If the queen contracted the disease in He’s mansion, I, the humble officials, would be held responsible even if I were to die.”

Yao Zhi didn’t take it seriously: “I personally went to the epidemic area that year. What’s the point of talking about Old Master He’s minor illness?”

The eldest son suddenly remembered that the reason why the plague was able to subside in time was due to the contribution of the current Queen.

The eldest son wanted to say something when he saw the woman with a phoenix hairpin in front of him glance at him. The eldest son was startled and changed his words in an instant.

“In that case, please ask the Queen to follow me.”

“Thank you, Queen, for your consideration and for taking the trouble to visit me personally. I am very grateful to you.”

This bastard is really useless.

Old Master He watched helplessly as his eldest son started out arguing with reason, but quickly changed his tune later. The whole process took only a few words, and he suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

When the eldest master pushed the door open and Yao Zhi stepped in, He Xiang had no choice but to force himself to salute with the support of the fifth lady.

“I pay my respects to Her Majesty the Queen. May Her Majesty be well and at peace.”

Now that Old Master He has lost his official status, he is no longer a subject of the Great Zhou.

However, before his knees hit the ground, the senior palace maid beside Yao Zhi helped him up with great tact.

“Master He, there is no need to be so polite. I came here today specifically to visit you.”

Not only did Yao Zhi come herself, she also brought two imperial doctors.

Since Prime Minister He resigned, the highest official position in the entire He family is the fifth-rank official held by the eldest son. Naturally, he is not qualified to invite the imperial physician from the palace.

After the two imperial doctors had examined him, Yao Zhi, seeing Old Master He’s flushed face, very naturally took a handkerchief and placed it on the old man’s arm, then reached out to examine him.

This, this, this, how shameful! Especially when the other party is a woman whom he has always looked down upon.

Old Master He is an eighty-year-old man, and now he feels uneasy.

The results of the examination were similar to what Yao Zhi had guessed beforehand. Once a person gets older, all kinds of problems will begin to emerge, but overall it is not a big deal.

Yao Zhi first breathed a sigh of relief, then noticed that Old Master He’s expression was not right. Combined with the eldest master’s attitude just now, what else did Yao Zhi not understand?

I’m afraid I don’t know what Old Master He is thinking at this moment.

Yao Zhi had originally planned to ask the two imperial doctors to take charge, but now she suddenly gave up the idea.

“Bring me my silver needle.”

Hearing this voice, the two imperial doctors were startled at first, but the senior palace maid beside them reacted very quickly and hurriedly took the wooden box that the young eunuch had been carrying all the way.

“Is this…” Not good…

He understood her intention instantly. The eldest son bravely said a few words, and then he saw the queen in front of him holding such a thick needle and stabbing it into his father’s body through his clothes.

The eldest son felt his scalp tingling, and even the fifth lady beside him couldn’t help swallowing.

Old Master He didn’t even dare to move at this moment, and soon he was sweating all over.

Upon seeing this, the two imperial doctors nearby immediately looked away and pretended they saw nothing.

However, in just a short time, Old Master He was pricked like a hedgehog by Yao Zhi. Only then did Yao Zhi slowly exhale, and then began to wash her hands in the basin of water.

“This needle is unique to our sect. It can only be removed after half an hour. It should be used once a day until Old Master He recovers.”

After hearing this, Old Master He felt that she was taking revenge on him.

Yao Zhi still had other government affairs to attend to, so it was inconvenient for her to stay for long. She casually instructed the doctor employed by the He Mansion to remove the needle. She didn’t even wait for half an hour, and was ready to take her people away while everyone in the He Mansion was struggling and hesitant to speak.

The eldest son was anxiously running around, while the fifth daughter calmed down and said, “Thank you, Queen.” on the way to send Yao Zhi off.

The fifth young lady figured it out. If the queen really wanted to do something, there was no need to go to such great lengths.

Yao Zhi paused for a moment after hearing this, then spoke up, “Your thanks are a little too early. Aren’t you afraid that I will tamper with the needle? Look at your great grandfather’s expression.”

“The Empress is kind hearted. Even though my great-grandfather once had a disagreement with her, now that he has resigned from his post, I’m sure the Empress will not deliberately make things difficult for him.”

Even if the Queen Mother really had some resentment in her heart, at this point, she would not bother with her great-grandfather anymore.

Because…it’s not worth it.

Yao Zhi stopped suddenly: “Your name.”

At first, the Fifth Miss didn’t react at all. What did the Queen mean, but she still spoke subconsciously: “To answer your question, my surname is He, and my name is Panfeng.”

Hope for the wind…

Yao Zhi remembered almost instantly that she was the talented woman famous in the capital. The popular “Spring Wishes” and “Spring Night Flowers and Birds” were created by her.

No wonder among so many people in the He Mansion, she is the only junior who can serve the old man of the He family.

It is rumoured that this girl has been known for her talent since she was a child. When Old Master He was still the prime minister, he even expressed his regret in public why his great-granddaughter was not a boy. But I don’t know whether this is a rumour or a true story.

Yao Zhi thought for a moment, and suddenly said, “I am still short of a female official by my side. I wonder if Miss He is willing to enter the palace?”

Female official?

Hearing such a slightly unfamiliar word, He Panfeng didn’t even have time to hesitate, her mouth quickly surpassed her brain and gave an answer: “Thank you for your kindness, Queen. I am willing to do so.”

Yao Zhi nodded without saying anything else. She stepped on the pedal of the carriage and entered the carriage in an instant.

“Let

“Miss He, this is the token to enter the palace. After the morning court tomorrow, you will take the token and someone will take you to the Qinzheng Palace.”

Before the girl in front of her could react, the senior palace maid stuffed the sign into her hand and trotted after her.

He Panfeng was in a trance for a moment and subconsciously put the token into his sleeve. He returned to the courtyard where his great-grandfather was. After a while, the doctor in the mansion hurriedly removed the needle. He Panfeng then discovered that after the ordeal, his great-grandfather had sweated and seemed to be more energetic. His originally sallow complexion was now a little rosier than before.

At this moment He Panfeng realised what she had just agreed to. He Panfeng covered her sleeves, her heart beating wildly out of control.

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed. Every ten days or half a month, there would be war reports coming from the border. From being terrified in the beginning, everyone has now become accustomed to it.

Looking at the map hanging in the Qinzheng Hall, if I am not mistaken, Xiao Shuo should have already reached here.

Yao Zhi pointed in the distance and suddenly realised that most of the territory of Chen State had already fallen.

Yao Zhi couldn’t help but take a deep breath, her heart filled with excitement.

At the same time, Ye Shuo, who was in Chen State, finally encountered new troubles.

General Tan and Dou Pan of the State of Chen had been defeated by their cousins, General Wei Xiao and Xu Kui respectively three months ago. Among them, Xu Kui, the grandson of General Xu Lao, became famous in one battle and is now the fifth-rank General Dingyuan under Ye Shuo. Dou Pan’s death directly promoted Xu Kui three levels, from a small minion to the middle level in one breath. Now he is a member of the emperor’s family. Old General Xu could only watch and was unable to do anything about him.

Young people are bound to become arrogant after they succeed, and even Xu Kui is no exception. After killing Dou Pan, Xu Kui was too radical in his flanking attack and almost wiped out his entire army. Ye Shuo did not take sides. If Xu Kui had not made up for his mistake later, Ye Shuo would have almost fired him. Since then, Xu Kui never dared to act recklessly again, and he grew up at a speed visible to the naked eye.

But now Ye Shuo met a person of the same type as General Xu, General Huo Rong of the State of Chen, who was also very good at defending the city. Ye Shuo and his soldiers had not been able to make any progress for more than two months. Even with sufficient food and grass, the soldiers were still exhausted.

What’s more troublesome is that during the siege, even Ye Shuo suffered serious injuries at his hands.

By chance, an arrow hit his shoulder.