“This is it.”

Liya brought out a pot of pitch-black potion. The moment everyone saw it, they instinctively covered their noses.

The potion reeked so badly that even the imperial physician, standing closest to it, started coughing.

But unlike everyone else, he didn’t look disgusted at all. He hurriedly took out a glass vial, filled it with some of the potion, and downed it without hesitation.

Alisha and the imperial physician’s apprentice were both startled.

But the imperial physician quickly waved for them to be quiet. As if savoring some heavenly nectar, he held the foul-smelling black potion in his mouth for a long moment before slowly swallowing it.

Under everyone’s disbelieving gazes, the imperial physician slowly nodded.

“If that’s really the case, then…”

The imperial physician muttered to himself, looking at Mu Nanyan with a hint of fear in his eyes.

“Take some of this to the Demon Emperor at once.”

The imperial physician hurriedly handed the potion to Alisha. As she looked at the pot of crudely made, pitch-black liquid, clear disgust flashed through her eyes.

“Can this stuff really be drunk?”

Alisha eyed Mu Nanyan warily. This woman was the culprit who had poisoned the Demon Emperor.

Even though the imperial physician had tasted the antidote first, Alisha still didn’t dare give it to the Demon Emperor. What if it was a specially made poison?

“Please take it to the Demon Emperor quickly. The longer we delay, the worse the poison will eat away at her, Princess Alisha.”

The imperial physician urged her anxiously.

Alisha looked at the potion in her hand, then at Mu Nanyan beside her. In the end, she decided to give it a try.

Once she carried the potion inside, everyone’s hateful gazes gathered on Mu Nanyan once more.

The maid who had given Mu Nanyan a hard time earlier stepped up to her and warned her in an unmistakably threatening tone, “If you try any more tricks, don’t blame me for showing no mercy. Even if I’m punished afterward, I’ll finish you off with my own hands!”

Mu Nanyan showed no reaction to the maid’s threat beyond giving her a calm glance.

Mu Nanyan’s indifferent response infuriated the maid. She was just about to slap her when an old hand stopped her.

“Don’t do anything yet. Let this old man ask her a few questions.”

The imperial physician waved his hand, then bowed to Mu Nanyan with the utmost respect, using the formal greeting reserved for nobility.

He was a Demon Clan member from an older era, and he had absolute faith in the appointments made by the Demon Clan’s imperial family. No matter what wrong she had done, the Empress personally appointed by the Demon Emperor was untouchable.

That would only change if the Demon Emperor had stripped her of her title as Empress. But the Demon Emperor hadn’t done so, which meant she was still the Empress.

As for how to deal with her transgressions, that was the Demon Emperor’s private affair. As a subject, he had no say in it.

“Your Majesty, the Empress, forgive my impertinence. May I ask for the formula for this antidote? How can it have such remarkable effects?”

“To be honest, I’ve suffered from a chronic ailment for many years. It isn’t fatal, but it has affected my daily life considerably. Yet after drinking the medicine you gave me, all those symptoms vanished. A potion that works so quickly and so well…”

“Could you be the heir to some great master of alchemy?”

The imperial physician was curious. Mu Nanyan was beautiful, but beauty alone could never be why the Demon Emperor had married her.

Mu Nanyan had to have some other remarkable quality.

“No. I’m just the daughter of an ordinary farmer.”

Mu Nanyan shook her head. This old man was much more polite than the others. He even addressed her by her title as Empress.

She just didn’t care for it.

Right now, Mu Nanyan wanted nothing more than to get away from the Demon Clan as soon as possible. She didn’t think her best possible future was making a name for herself among the Demon Clan. It was getting away from the Demon Emperor—and the Demon Clan.

First, she had to find a way to lie low. Then she could deal with the threat Long Aotian posed.

“Impossible. Absolutely impossible. Could you give this old man a copy of the potion’s formula?”

The imperial physician looked troubled. He’d thought Mu Nanyan would demand something in return, or refuse outright.

“Of course.”

Mu Nanyan agreed readily.

Her easy agreement brought a delighted smile to the imperial physician’s face. He’d thought this would be difficult.

“Quick, bring me some paper and ink.”

“How am I supposed to write like this?”

Mu Nanyan raised her bound hands, then glanced at the maid standing nearby, watching her like a hawk.

The maid hesitated, then pulled a dagger from beneath her skirt and cut Mu Nanyan’s ropes.

Once free, Mu Nanyan quickly wrote down the formula. The imperial physician stared at the list of poisonous ingredients and the remarkably simple method of preparation, nearly dropping his jaw in shock.

“This? That’s all?”

“Yeah. If you want to make it more complicated, you could start with the potion’s taste.”

“No, I mean…”

The imperial physician scratched his head. He couldn’t believe such a simple yet effective formula had gone undiscovered until now.

It was like spending your whole life seeking out teachers and studying to no avail, only to discover that the best teacher was the beggar sitting on the street.

The contrast was so jarring that the imperial physician could only think that either Mu Nanyan was playing him, or he’d wasted all those years studying medicine.

But he didn’t dare question her. Whether or not the formula was genuine, Mu Nanyan had certainly made that potion.

If he offended her, he wouldn’t get the real formula—he wouldn’t get a fake one, either.

“In that case, I’ll try it out first.”

The imperial physician put the formula away. Before he could talk with Mu Nanyan any further, Alisha emerged from the Demon Emperor’s chambers with a grave expression.

As soon as she stepped outside, the first person she looked at was Mu Nanyan.

“How is she, Princess Alisha? Did the Demon Emperor improve after taking the medicine?”

The imperial physician slowly turned to look at Alisha as he spoke.

Alisha didn’t answer directly. Instead, she gestured for Mu Nanyan to come over.

“The Demon Emperor wants you to go back to the Cold Palace for now. Once she’s recovered, she’ll settle accounts with you.”

“Huh? She’s not going to divorce me?”

Mu Nanyan felt a little disappointed, but she was also somewhat relieved.

At least she wasn’t in any immediate danger of losing her life.

And from the imperial physician’s attitude, it was clear she was still quite useful.

“Dream on! I really don’t understand why the Demon Emperor doesn’t just have you executed.”

Alisha said viciously.

“Princess Alisha, you mean…the medicine worked after the Demon Emperor took it?”

The imperial physician hurriedly pressed her for an answer.

“Yes. She woke up soon after taking it. But you should go examine the Demon Emperor again.”