In a flash, a dark figure appeared before Gu Qianying.
The person was clad in black night-blooming clothes, their face obscured by a black cloth, making it impossible to discern their identity. However, their purpose was self-evident.
"Just you alone?" Gu Qianying spoke first, causing the black-clad figure to pause slightly.
"To deal with you, I am enough," the man declared boastfully. It seemed those who wished for her demise knew nothing of her strength.
Gu Qianying burst into laughter.
"How pitiful. Even if you meet your end here today, no companion will return to collect your corpse."
Her words incensed the man before her.
"You truly court death, girl. No wonder someone doesn't want you to treat the Empress. To speak such arrogant words, you truly cannot be spared."
It appeared the ones who wanted her dead were not her competitors in the physician's race. Those who wished for the Empress's illness to remain untreated could only be foreigners or courtiers within the palace.
With this thought, Gu Qianying felt increasingly certain that coming to the imperial palace was the right decision. Perhaps the person who wished to end the Empress's life was connected to the severe inequality between men and women in this country.
Observing the woman who was still lost in thought even at a moment of life and death, the black-clad figure felt belittled for the first time.
He was a top assassin of the Nan Yi Kingdom, having slain countless individuals. Yet, this woman was the first to remain so calm under the cold glint of a sword.
"Could she truly possess some skill?" A hint of caution crept into the assassin's mind. Unwilling to waste more words, he raised his sword and lunged forward.
Facing the approaching figure, Gu Qianying remained unperturbed. She shifted her steps lightly, and as the sword's shadow lunged towards her, she sidestepped, her soft sword unsheathing from her waist.
This person was no ordinary foe. They fought amidst the courtyard, even reaching the rooftops. Gu Qianying intentionally aimed to lure the man outside the walls before dealing with him.
After all, many people resided here, and she did not wish to attract too much trouble upon her arrival.
The day's events had occupied Duan Xifeng's attention for the most part. When he sensed something was amiss, Gu Qianying had already vanished from the courtyard.
"Not good."
Having grown up amidst the clash of swords, he knew that a quiet night often heralded trouble. He picked up the sword hidden in his satchel and pushed open the door.
However, just as he reached the doorway, Gu Qianying's figure descended from the roof tiles behind the house.
"What just happened?" Duan Xifeng saw the soft sword still in her hand and knew something had occurred.
It was not his fault for not noticing sooner; the person's abilities were indeed extraordinary. If he hadn't been standing outside, he might not have sensed the person's approach even if she were inside the house.
Gu Qianying gestured for them to enter the house before explaining the situation.
"What? After only two days, someone can't wait any longer?" Upon hearing Gu Qianying's account, Duan Xifeng couldn't help but raise his voice slightly, then quickly silenced himself.
Seeing Xiao Yihao merely turn over and no one outside paying attention, Duan Xifeng spoke again.
"The Nan Yi Kingdom is remote and its territory is small. Other countries are unwilling to expend much effort on such a nation. Therefore, those who wish for the Empress's demise are unlikely to be from other countries. It is more probable that they are from within the country."
His analysis held some truth, and Gu Qianying ventured a bold guess.
"I suspect it is more likely to be a man. Under the Empress's leadership, women have attained a very high status in this country. If she were to lose her life, the Nan Yi Kingdom would undoubtedly fall into turmoil. If men were to rebel, women's status in this country would be precarious."
Duan Xifeng supported her analysis.
"It seems we must quickly secure a position here and investigate more deeply."
Their opinions aligned. Gu Qianying, recalling her encounters with Su Cheng and his behavior, felt that this person would become a pivotal figure in the turning point of the Nan Yi Kingdom's current situation.
The next day, after much inquiry, they finally learned the location where Su Cheng was being held.
All male servants who entered the palace were confined in a place called the Private Treasury Courtyard. Although they were household servants brought from various influential households, they were, after all, men and of low status.
Therefore, when not summoned by their respective masters, they performed miscellaneous palace chores here.
The Empress indeed kept her word. She did not imprison Su Cheng in the imperial prison but returned him to the Private Treasury Courtyard.
Gu Qianying walked along the corridor and, upon reaching the entrance, saw a figure in ornate robes, holding a wooden stick, beating someone kneeling before them.
"Su Zirong?" Recognizing the familiar back, Gu Qianying realized who she was punishing.
"Stop." She stepped forward, and as expected, the one kneeling on the ground, receiving the blows, was Su Cheng.
Seeing that it was this woman who stepped forward, and recalling the losses she had suffered in front of her these past few days, Su Zirong glared fiercely at the person on the ground.
"You're lucky," she said, before leaving.
Looking at the battered figure kneeling on the ground, a pang of pain flashed through Gu Qianying's heart. She quickly stepped forward, tore off a piece of her skirt, dampened it with water, and began to clean his wounds.
"No need, Miss Gu."
Su Cheng tried to evade, but Gu Qianying paid no mind to the impropriety of men and women, forcibly pulling him to her side to bandage him.
Seeing the old and new wounds on Su Cheng's arms and body, she finally couldn't help but ask.
"Do they often beat you like this? Haven't you ever thought of resisting?" In other countries, if someone were treated so cruelly, let alone men, even women would have long ago been unable to bear it and resisted.
But Su Cheng shook his head vigorously upon hearing this.
"As a man, how could I resist? Like my boldness the other day, if you hadn't stepped forward to rescue me, I would likely have met my end by now."
Despite being a man of stature, his words sounded like a wronged young lady.
Gu Qianying shook her head helplessly, wondering how to make him understand.
"Actually, in this world, men and women are equal. It is wrong for men to abuse women, and conversely, it is also wrong. Do you understand?"
She tentatively shared the truths that should exist in the world with this man, but Su Cheng's eyes were filled with confusion.
"Gender equality? How could such a place exist?"
Perhaps due to being steeped in the ideology of female superiority and male inferiority since childhood, Su Cheng ultimately could not comprehend her words.
Seeing his obstinacy, Gu Qianying sighed. It seemed that instilling such thoughts into his mind would not be a matter of a day or two.
Thus, the most important thing now was to win the competition, successfully treat the Empress, and then keep this person by her side.
It was nearing noon, and the others who had been sent out to work would soon return. To avoid attracting too much attention, Gu Qianying finished bandaging his wounds and quietly left the Private Treasury Courtyard.