Mo Lingxi's brows furrowed, and he shook his head, indicating he didn't know. "The imperial physicians haven't said anything; they've just been surrounding Sheng Lengshuang as if facing a difficult problem."
Zi Cheng's heart skipped a beat. He patted Mo Lingxi's shoulder and comforted him, "Uncle, don't worry too much. If it really comes to it, I'll recruit renowned physicians, and we'll surely be able to cure Auntie."
Mo Lingxi wasn't worried about that. Instead, he was thinking, "What did those people do to Sheng Lengshuang? With such a good opportunity, they wouldn't let it pass."
Zi Cheng understood and hummed in agreement. "Uncle suspects those people tampered with Auntie?"
Mo Lingxi said he couldn't rule out that possibility.
Seeing the head of the imperial hospital approaching, he asked calmly, "Head of the Imperial Hospital, what is Sheng Lengshuang's condition?"
General Sheng and his wife, along with Xiao Feng, also looked at the head of the imperial hospital expectantly.
The head of the imperial hospital bowed and stroked his beard, sighing. "Miss Sheng's condition is not very good. After our diagnosis, we found that Miss Sheng is not only poisoned but also seems to have other issues."
"Miss Sheng's unconscious state is due to someone administering a special drug to her. We haven't yet figured out the exact situation, so we cannot wake Miss Sheng up for now. No one knows what will happen if Miss Sheng is suddenly awakened."
Mo Lingxi and the others understood.
"Head of the Imperial Hospital, will my daughter's body be alright?" Madam Sheng asked with great concern.
The head of the imperial hospital replied that it was hard to say. "We'll have to wait until we figure out Miss Sheng's specific condition before we can determine if it's harmful to her. However, all medicine has side effects, especially this kind of drug, which is even more harmful to the human body."
Madam Sheng's body went limp, and she cried with self-reproach, "It's my fault for not protecting Lengshuang again!"
General Sheng hugged her, offering weak comfort. "It's alright, it's alright. With so many imperial physicians here, they'll surely cure Lengshuang."
Xiao Feng hugged Mo Lingxi's leg and cried, "Daddy, will Mommy sleep like this forever?"
Mo Lingxi couldn't answer this. He could only pat his head. If possible, he wished he could suffer in Sheng Lengshuang's place.
"Head of the Imperial Hospital, please do your utmost to cure Miss Sheng," Zi Cheng decreed.
The head of the imperial hospital accepted the decree and went to consult with the imperial physicians on how to ascertain Sheng Lengshuang's condition and how to treat her.
Zi Cheng left a trusted eunuch to keep watch, forbidding anyone from approaching without permission, with immediate execution for any violation. He then invited Mo Lingxi and the others to a side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation for a discussion.
"Uncle, General Sheng, Madam Sheng, given the current situation, I suggest it would be more stable to temporarily keep Miss Sheng in the palace." He held the listless Xiao Feng. "The palace has everything, and the imperial physicians won't have to run back and forth. If anything is needed, I can find it in the shortest possible time."
Mo Lingxi and General Sheng and his wife discussed it and decided to temporarily keep Sheng Lengshuang in the palace for treatment. As His Majesty had said, it would be better for Sheng Lengshuang to stay in the palace.
Zi Cheng knew how worried Mo Lingxi and the others were about Sheng Lengshuang. He advised, "At least Auntie has been rescued. All we need to do now is wait for the imperial physicians to cure Auntie."
"During this time, Uncle and the others must take care of yourselves. If Auntie wakes up and sees you in a bad state, it won't be conducive to her recovery."
Mo Lingxi and the others knew this but couldn't help but worry.
"I don't know what Lengshuang's condition is. The most hateful are the kidnappers. You kidnap her, and then you harm Lengshuang."
"This indicates that the kidnappers still have a backup plan."
Zi Cheng thought the same. "If I had gone to great lengths to kidnap Auntie, I wouldn't let her be rescued so easily, and I would tamper with her."
The problem was that they didn't know what the people had done to Auntie for now.
"Your Majesty!" At this moment, a guard walked in and bowed. "Your Majesty, the dark guards of His Highness Prince Mingrui have sent a message saying that Zhou Wenxing has been rescued."
Upon hearing this, Zi Cheng decreed a city-wide search for Zhou Wenxing and his associates. Turning, he said to Mo Lingxi, "Uncle, have you made all the arrangements on your end?" Based on his understanding of his uncle, it was impossible for his uncle to let Zhou Wenxing escape. It was likely that his uncle had done it intentionally.
Mo Lingxi's eyes were filled with blade-like coldness. "All arrangements have been made." He would not let such a good opportunity slip away.
Zi Cheng was somewhat relieved. "Uncle, I've identified quite a few spies here and am interrogating them one by one to see if I can find any useful clues." There were too many people with their own agendas in this imperial palace.
Mo Lingxi noticed that General Sheng and his wife looked exhausted and signaled Zi Cheng to talk later. "Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, why don't you temporarily stay in the side hall next to the Imperial Hospital?"
"I'll have the palace servants take you to rest. We can talk about anything after you've rested." General Sheng and Madam Sheng were indeed very tired and didn't want to stay here. More than anything, they wanted to be with their daughter, so they agreed.
Mo Lingxi arranged for palace servants to escort General Sheng and his wife and Xiao Feng to the side hall to rest. Then, he continued to discuss matters with Zi Cheng while waiting for messages from the village's dark guards.
When the two had almost finished talking, the message from the dark guards arrived.
After reading the letter, Mo Lingxi handed it to Zi Cheng, his handsome face slightly沉. "All those villagers were hired to pretend to be villagers."
Zi Cheng placed the letter on the small table, very confused. "Uncle, there are many things I don't understand. Why didn't the kidnappers take Auntie directly to their territory, but went to such lengths?" Those people only knew that their employer was a woman wearing a veiled hat. That woman's attitude was very arrogant. She had paid a considerable sum of money to hire these people to pose as villagers, and even how these people should speak and act was all arranged. This seemed like a play specifically staged for Auntie.
Mo Lingxi hadn't figured this out either. "They must have had some purpose for doing this. Perhaps we'll only know once Zhou Wenxing is caught."
Zi Cheng thought of another matter. "Uncle, the kidnappers deliberately arranged a husband and in-laws for Auntie. Could it be targeting you?"
Mo Lingxi replied, "I'm afraid it's not just targeting me. Moreover, I suspect Sheng Lengshuang was not unconscious when she was kidnapped. Something must have happened that caused the kidnappers to knock her out."
Zi Cheng still felt something was wrong, but he couldn't quite figure it out for a moment. "Uncle, go and see Auntie. I will investigate these matters as quickly as possible."
Mo Lingxi gave Zi Cheng a few instructions and then went to the Imperial Hospital to visit Sheng Lengshuang. As soon as he arrived at the Imperial Hospital, he saw General Sheng and his wife and Xiao Feng guarding Sheng Lengshuang. He walked over.
"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, you must take care of yourselves and not worry Sheng Lengshuang."
General Sheng's tired face was full of bitterness. "It's alright. Right now, we just want to stay by Lengshuang's side to feel more at ease."
Mo Lingxi understood too well, because he felt the same way. Sitting on a nearby chair, he picked up Xiao Feng, had a palace servant bring a thin blanket to cover Xiao Feng, and signaled him to sleep for a while.
"Father-in-law, Mother-in-law, you should also sleep nearby. I'll watch over her."