Took a Deep Breath

By noon, almost no one was left. Chloe and the others had all left the Sacrificial Hall, ready to return to their own residences.

Just then, Silver arrived.

It was the same Silver mentioned in Sierra's message—Grace's first-ranked maid and Mrs. Hu's trusted confidante.

"Miss Grace, your brother asks you to come over. He's just behind the Memorial Hall," Silver whispered in her ear.

Chloe paused for a moment and asked, "Does he want something?"

"I don't know, miss," Silver replied. "I was just called to help tidy up the offerings in the back. I ran into your brother, and he asked me to pass on the message."

"Alright, I got it," Chloe said, her expression unchanged. "You all stay here. I'll go check it out myself."

With that, she headed to the back.

All the way there, she kept wondering—just what kind of scheme was this?

And now her brother was involved too?

When she reached behind the Memorial Hall, she couldn't see anything clearly before someone grabbed her from behind.

A neatly folded handkerchief, smelling strongly of medicine, was pressed against her mouth and nose.

The medicinal scent was extremely pungent; it was the smell of Paralysis Powder.

And it was low-quality Paralysis Powder.

Grace could have easily killed the person behind her with a single move.

But she hesitated, reached behind to the person's waist, grabbed something, and secretly placed it into her Sanctum.

Then, she took a deep breath.

A sharp scent rushed from her nose straight into her brain; her whole body went limp and collapsed to the ground.

Paralysis Powder wouldn't make her faint, but it would make all her bones go soft and powerless, and she couldn't even make a sound.

Then, everything went dark; something was tied over her eyes, and she couldn't see anymore.

She was picked up by someone and placed on a bed.

And her clothes were removed.

She couldn't see who was undressing her, but the soft touch and fragrant scent made it clear it was a woman.

Then came the sound of a door closing.

The reason Grace dared to take that breath was because she judged, based on her current cultivation, that even after being affected by Paralysis Powder, she could still raise her hand to her mouth.

She took the antidote from her Sanctum, struggled to lift her hand, and swallowed it.

Gradually, her strength returned, and Grace tore off the cloth from her eyes.

There were some rooms behind the Memorial Hall.

The beds in the rooms were fully made, prepared for those keeping vigil.

At this moment, she was lying in one of those rooms.

There was another person on the bed—it was... Sam Yuan.

He was only wearing his underclothes, his face flushed, breathing unevenly, and unconscious.

A deep coldness flashed in Grace's eyes.

She hadn't entered the palace in this life, but someone was still scheming with her and Sam.

But, thinking about it, it wasn't really a coincidence.

In Danyang City, Sam and she shared the same birthday, and he was the only man she got along with. If someone wanted to fabricate a scandal, who would be more suitable than him?

But who did this?

She took out the jade pendant she had just snatched from that person, from her Sanctum.

It was a jade pendant identical to her own, made in the Zhuo family crest style. The name on it was: Cindy Zhu.

Every child in their family had such a jade pendant.

Grace had one too, and was wearing it on her waist!

Just now, when she smelled the scent on that person, she felt it was her.

Sure enough!

Grace's eyes grew colder. She put the jade pendant back and checked Sam's pulse.

He was drugged too, but not with Paralysis Powder—with an aphrodisiac.

Most spiritual pharmacists don't have the antidote.

And Sam couldn't relieve himself through normal means.

Luckily, it was Grace today. Otherwise, he would have suffered terribly...