Not long after the Ghost Valley Valley Master led those guards away, the Vajra Death Warriors were all killed by Leng Ruoli and the four of them.
Because Leng Ruoli and the others still needed to take the children from the space back, they gave up pursuing the Ghost Valley Valley Master.
Afterwards, Yin Yi and Yin Er immediately climbed onto the carriage to untie Yin Chen and Chu Mingxuan.
"Consort, Commander Yin and Doctor Chu have been poisoned with the three-day soft bone powder."
Yin Yi and Yin Er said as they helped Yin Chen and Chu Mingxuan off the carriage.
Upon hearing this, Leng Ruoli directly took out two antidotes from her sleeve pocket and placed them in Yin Chen and Chu Mingxuan's hands, allowing them to resolve the poison.
After a moment, Leng Ruoli waited for Yin Chen and Chu Mingxuan to regain their strength before returning to the inn.
Upon returning to the inn, Leng Ruoli found a large room on the second floor and released all the children from the space. She then had Yin Yi call the innkeeper up and instructed him to have the parents who had lost their children in the town come to collect them as soon as it was light.
Leng Ruoli and the others then returned to their own rooms to rest.
Alas, they were exhausted these past few days. With two hours left until dawn, they could still get some sleep.
---
Two hours later, Leng Ruoli and Jun Mohan woke up. The first thing they did was go to the large room on the second floor to check on the children. However, as they reached the top of the stairs, they saw that the ground floor hall was already filled with adults and children.
Seeing Leng Ruoli and the others emerge, the children's parents knelt down and kowtowed to thank them.
"Miss and sirs, thank you for saving our children."
"Oh, oh, you don't need to be like this. Please get up and talk," Leng Ruoli said, unaccustomed to such a scene. Seeing the entire hall filled with people kneeling, she quickly went downstairs and asked everyone to stand up.
"Miss, you are worthy of everyone's three kowtows. If you hadn't saved these children, who knows how many families in Beiguan Town would have been shattered, and how many parents would have been heartbroken. Due to poor living conditions and frequent wild beast encounters, our town's population is dwindling, and the number of newborns is decreasing each year. With the sudden loss of thirty children, Beiguan Town's population will face extinction in the future," said the innkeeper with great sadness.
Thus, Leng Ruoli and the others received everyone's three kowtows. Only then did the people take their children and leave. However, one little boy had no one to claim him and could only watch blankly as other children were led away by their relatives.
This little boy was the one who had called Leng Ruoli "Fairy Sister" last night.
"Miss, this child's family is gone. Let me raise him. My wife and son passed away many years ago, and I am now alone. It would be good for us to have company. I will take good care of him," said the innkeeper, his eyes moist.
"Then I shall entrust him to you. We are leaving here today. I wish you all happiness in the future," Leng Ruoli said with a smile.
Afterwards, Leng Ruoli also patted the little boy's head.
"Little one, be good with this uncle from now on. We are leaving. This is a gift from your sister."
As Leng Ruoli spoke, she took a small teddy bear toy from her sleeve pocket and gave it to him.
The little boy glanced at the small cloth doll Leng Ruoli had given him and said with red eyes, "Thank you, Fairy Sister. Can I bring Uncle to find you when I grow up?"
"Of course. If you wish to find me when you grow up, you can take this jade pendant to the capital of Tianwu to find me," Leng Ruoli said, taking out a jade pendant carved with the character "Li" from her sleeve and giving it to the little boy.
The little boy nodded vigorously.
He looked at the exquisite, translucent, and beautifully carved jade pendant, secretly resolving that he would find this Fairy Sister when he grew up.
Later, after bidding farewell to the innkeeper and the little boy, Leng Ruoli and the others quickly went to the tribe of Darga Chi on the Keqin Grassland. They gave Darga Chi the antidote for the wolf poison and had him distribute it to the knights of his tribe. Then, Leng Ruoli and the others embarked on their journey to Haōjīng.
---
Two days later, in the Northern Chen Kingdom, Haōjīng, the Third Prince's Estate.
As night fell, eight upright court officials gathered here.
Murong Lichen had just received news from his informant in the imperial palace that his father, the Emperor's, condition had worsened. The imperial physicians in the palace, fearing the First Prince's revenge, had sided with him and dared not treat the Emperor.
However, if his father did not receive effective treatment soon, he would die within days. He really wanted to bring a doctor into the palace to see his father, but the entire imperial palace had been controlled by Murong Qiansong. Even he, as a prince, could not enter the palace, let alone bring an outsider in.
"Third Prince, what should we do next? With the Emperor's current condition, he probably cannot hold on for more than a few days," said the Minister of Justice, his brow furrowed and his expression worried.
Because he remained neutral and refused to side with the First Prince, his position as Minister of Justice would likely not last much longer.
He was not worried about not having an official post, but rather about the safety of his family's lives.
Murong Qiansong and Murong Shaolan, this brother and sister pair, had been cruel and vicious since childhood, with brutal methods. For the position of the Son of Heaven, they could even use their own mother as a stepping stone, torturing her to death after using her. What more could be said of unrelated ministers like them? If he succeeded, he and his family would not be far from their death.
"Yes, Third Prince, please hurry and find a way to enter the palace to see the Emperor. We cannot just sit idly by," said the Left Prime Minister with a troubled expression.
The Northern Chen Kingdom's court originally had a Left and a Right Prime Minister. However, the Right Prime Minister had already defected to the First Prince, leaving only him to remain neutral.
Having served as Left Prime Minister for so many years, while not an absolutely good official, he had never done anything to collude with villains and harm the common people of the Northern Chen Kingdom.
If Murong Qiansong were to become Emperor, the Northern Chen Kingdom would face endless wars, its people would suffer greatly, and he, the Left Prime Minister, would also be resented by Murong Qiansong.
Subsequently, the other officials in the room also voiced their opinions, hoping that the Third Prince, Murong Lichen, would enter the palace to check on the Emperor's condition and devise a strategy to deal with the Murong Qiansong siblings.
"My Lords, this Prince is aware of your concerns. I will find a way to sneak into the palace as soon as possible to check on my father's condition. Please give me one or two days, and I will give you a reply as to whether or not to surround the imperial palace with troops from outside the city," Murong Lichen said resolutely.
If the Murong Qiansong siblings dared to murder their father, Murong Lichen would never let them off.
Afterward, Murong Lichen discussed many matters with the eight ministers until late at night. Only then did Murong Lichen order his guards to escort the eight ministers back to their respective estates.
After the ministers had all left, Murong Lichen sat alone in his study, lost in thought.
Just then, a small stone suddenly flew in from outside the window and struck the jade crown on top of his head.
He stood up abruptly and cast a cold glance out the window, "Who is outside? Come out!"