Crowned by the Treacherous Big Shot
Chapter 548 - 467 Phoenix Girl Returns to Place_2

Chapter 548: Chapter 467 Phoenix Girl Returns to Place_2

Who would have thought—it was such a simple acupuncture point.

She suddenly regretted not bringing Ziyu into the palace.

After all, Wuyou was a man. He needed the Empress’s summons to enter the inner palace, and everything depended on confirming Lu Yuan’s identity first.

At this moment, Wuyou was still sitting in her father’s National Master Hall; there was no one available to send him a message and bring her father to her rescue.

Wait.

Perhaps the Imperial Concubine and the Empress could find a way to contact her father.

Her gaze swept over the Empress and Consort Hu.

The Empress lowered her gaze and sipped her tea.

Consort Hu seemed willing to help, but alas, this was Consort Jiang’s residence.

Consort Jiang had blocked the doors, ensuring no one could leave to summon reinforcements.

Lu Yuan said discontentedly, "Miss Gongsun, my grandfather already has forty-eight needles in him. How much longer do you intend to keep him like this?"

Consort Jiang replied lazily, "So what if he dies? At worst, the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion can be buried alongside him. You’re the Phoenix Girl, not some bringer of misfortune. It’s not like you’ll doom the whole family to their deaths, right?"

Lu Yuan turned to Lu Zhaoyan and said, "She’s won."

Even now, he didn’t dare curse Emperor Liang’s demise directly.

Gongsun Liuying reached out and hesitated as she picked up the silver needle.

Lu Yuan said to Meng Qianqian, "Miss Yan, you must protect your senior sister at all costs. Don’t let her fall, trip, or hurt her hands. If she can’t move her hands, she won’t be able to perform the acupuncture."

Meng Qianqian calmly replied, "Thank you, Young Master Linyuan, for the reminder. I will certainly keep my senior sister’s hands safe."

Gongsun Liuying’s last avenue of retreat was completely cut off.

She stepped around the folding screen and stood before Emperor Liang.

Eunuch Yu held his breath.

Emperor Liang looked at her with deep, inscrutable eyes, showing no trace of fear.

Gongsun Liuying forced herself to remain calm, her expression steady as she extended her hand.

But just as she was about to insert the needle, her mind suddenly went blank.

Where was the needle supposed to go...

Large beads of sweat rolled down her temples.

Outside the screen, everyone waited anxiously, except for Consort Jiang and the father-son pair of Lu Zhaoyan and Lu Yuan.

Consort Jiang didn’t care if Emperor Liang was stabbed to death, while Lu Zhaoyan and Lu Yuan believed that Meng Qianqian could turn the situation around at the critical moment.

Lu Yuan urged, "Why haven’t you inserted the needle yet? Miss Gongsun, can you do it or not? If not, let your junior sister take over! She could already have inserted forty-eight needles by now, yet you’ve been dithering over one!"

"Qihai Acupoint,"

Meng Qianqian said.

"I know. I don’t need your reminder,"

Gongsun Liuying coldly replied.

Her fingertips grasped the silver needle and, under Emperor Liang’s hawk-like, piercing gaze, aimed for his Qihai acupoint.

"Ah—"

Eunuch Yu let out a scream.

Everyone immediately stood up.

The Empress exclaimed, "Your Majesty!"

The palace maids quickly helped her around the screen.

Consort Hu and Consort Jiang also stepped forward one after another.

Prince Jin, Lu Qi, King Qi, Prince Rui, and Prince Fu couldn’t sit still either, covering the distance to the screen in a few quick strides.

Emperor Liang was unharmed—but Eunuch Yu had been stabbed instead.

Eunuch Yu awkwardly smiled and said, "This old servant’s legs went weak and I lost my balance."

But it wasn’t that he lost his balance.

He simply couldn’t gamble the Emperor’s life away!

Gongsun Liuying’s fingertip had also been pricked, a small bead of crimson blooming from her wound. "Your Majesty, it was Liuying’s mistake. Please punish me."

Eunuch Yu quickly interjected, "It was all this servant’s fault!"

Consort Hu stared at Gongsun Liuying’s injured finger. "Oh dear, Liuying’s hand is hurt. She surely can’t give acupuncture to His Majesty now, can she?"

Gongsun Liuying replied calmly, "It’s nothing. I can continue administering the acupuncture for His Majesty."

At this moment, the long-silent Elder Yan finally spoke: "Little Nine, you will give acupuncture to His Majesty."

Meng Qianqian stared fixedly at Gongsun Liuying. "Yes, Master."

Gongsun Liuying clenched her injured hand and arrogantly averted her eyes.

Consort Hu and Prince Jin let out relieved sighs, the burdens on their hearts lifted.

Consort Jiang, however, looked deeply disappointed.

The duck was almost cooked, but it had flown away just like that. The next time she wanted to make Consort Hu and the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion pay a price, who knew if such an opportunity would arise again?

Lu Zhaoyan patted his son’s shoulder.

Although he, too, regretted the outcome—Gongsun Liuying had shown so many flaws, and she had been so close to public disgrace—it was always the unexpected that thwarted their plans.

Nonetheless, today’s gains were not insignificant.

At the very least, his father, the Emperor, had officially granted Yuan’er the title of Imperial Grandson. From this moment on, no one could question his legitimacy again.

The Thousand Mechanism Pavilion’s attempts to slander him as Lu Yuan were now completely impossible.

Lu Yuan said nothing.

Meng Qianqian completed the acupuncture on Emperor Liang and walked back to Elder Yan’s side.

As she brushed past Gongsun Liuying, Gongsun Liuying spoke in a low voice: "Junior Sister, I don’t care who you are or what your intentions are, but I advise you not to overreach."

Meng Qianqian replied calmly, "Oh? Senior Sister, do you really think you’ve narrowly escaped disaster?"