Sheng Lengshuang gently tapped his nose. "You little rascal!"
Little Feng looked pitifully at his father, hoping he would speak up for him.
Mo Lingxi indicated he was unable to help. He hadn't even managed to appease his wife, so how could he go against her to help his son? He wouldn't do something so foolish.
"Daddy's bad!" Little Feng stomped his foot in annoyance and turned his head away, ignoring him.
Mo Lingxi chuckled twice, rolled his eyes at him, and knew that Little Feng, his leaky little cotton-padded jacket, was truly like this.
"Your Highness, Consort!" At this moment, a dark guard landed in front of Mo Lingxi and his wife, bowing. "His Highness the Crown Prince requests your presence at the palace for a discussion."
Upon hearing this, Mo Lingxi and Tao Lengshuang, with Little Feng in tow, entered the palace.
Hall of Mental Cultivation, Side Hall.
Zi Cheng saw the family of three arrive and, with a gentle smile, picked up Little Feng and sat him on a chair. "Little Feng, do you miss your cousin?"
Little Feng tilted his head and looked at him for a moment, then asked in a milky voice, "Which kind of miss does cousin mean? If it's the kind of miss between brothers, then Little Feng misses you. If it's any other kind of miss, Little Feng doesn't miss you."
Zi Cheng was both amused and annoyed. "After all the good I've done for you, cousin, you treat me like this."
Little Feng earnestly explained, "Cousin, that's not right. We are brothers, so it's only natural for you to be good to me. Besides, Little Feng is also very, very good to cousin. I always think of cousin when there's good food and drink."
Zi Cheng pinched his nose. "You little imp, truly worthy of being your parents' child."
Little Feng proudly raised his head. "That's right."
After teasing him a few more times, Zi Cheng began discussing serious matters with Mo Lingxi and his wife. "Uncle, Aunt, I asked you here to tell you two things."
He looked serious, his tone slightly grave. "First, Zhou Wenxing is missing."
"Missing?!" Sheng Lengshuang asked in astonishment.
Zi Cheng nodded gravely. "Those guarding Zhou Wenxing have no idea when or how he disappeared. By the time they discovered it, Zhou Wenxing was already gone."
"The guards searched for a long time but couldn't find him, so they reported it. I have some doubts about Zhou Wenxing's disappearance. Given his character, he shouldn't have gone missing without reason. So, could it be that someone made some kind of deal with him?"
Sheng Lengshuang and Mo Lingxi exchanged a look, sensing that things were not that simple.
"Zhou Wenxing's men have been mostly eliminated. Logically, Zhou Wenxing wouldn't have the ability to escape from under our noses."
Mo Lingxi tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers, his brow furrowed. "The only possibility is that someone rescued him by offering him a deal to help him obtain my mother-in-law."
Sheng Lengshuang pondered. "Could the person who rescued Zhou Wenxing be connected to the mastermind behind this series of events?"
Both Mo Lingxi and Zi Cheng felt this was the most likely scenario, but they also believed other possibilities should not be ruled out, as too many people might want to take advantage of the situation.
Sheng Lengshuang understood this and thought about strengthening the security in their residence, preventing anyone from having an opportunity to act.
"I have already posted a reward for Zhou Wenxing's capture, but whether we can catch him is uncertain for now," Zi Cheng said.
Mo Lingxi and Sheng Lengshuang both understood this. Finding Zhou Wenxing, who was in hiding and had help, was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
"Didn't Zhou Wenxing want to obtain my maternal grandmother? Then he should just stay by my maternal grandmother's side," Little Feng piped up.
Sheng Lengshuang knew this.
"The crux of the problem isn't whether we can find Zhou Wenxing, but rather identifying the person hiding in the shadows and preventing similar incidents from happening again."
"Actually, Little Feng's suggestion is not bad. We might as well pay more attention to Madam Sheng. Perhaps we can find the mastermind by following Zhou Wenxing's trail."
The three of them discussed how to protect Madam Sheng, how to find Zhou Wenxing through her, and how to track the mastermind using Zhou Wenxing as a lead.
Just as they finished their discussion, a eunuch with a bowed back entered.
"Reporting to His Highness the Crown Prince, the diplomatic documents from various countries have just arrived." He bowed and handed the documents to Zi Cheng with both hands.
After Zi Cheng finished reading several documents, he looked at Mo Lingxi and Sheng Lengshuang with a peculiar expression. "Uncle, Aunt, this... the matters in these documents are related to you two."
Sheng Lengshuang suddenly said, "Could it be that these are documents requesting marriage alliances?"
Zi Cheng gave an awkward laugh. "Consort is truly clever; she guessed it right away."
These documents were all requests for marriage alliances, and all of them wanted to ally with Uncle.
"Wife, let me explain!" Mo Lingxi hurriedly explained to Sheng Lengshuang. "By heaven and earth, I truly don't know what's going on with these countries. I swear, I've never provoked any of these princesses or anything."
Sheng Lengshuang believed this. She pressed her throbbing temple. "I know you didn't provoke them, but you know better than I do that this is just the beginning, just as I told you before."
"You can refuse once or twice, but how many times can you refuse? Especially in a situation where the situation is unstable, using one person can temporarily stabilize the situation, and the cost is the smallest. What do you think the court officials and the people will choose?"
Mo Lingxi opened his mouth but couldn't speak. Yes, just as his wife said, in an unstable situation, using him could bring about the greatest benefits.
Anyone would know how to choose.
Sheng Lengshuang sighed. "This matter is not easy to resolve. Compared to one country seeking a marriage alliance, now several countries are seeking alliances. If this matter is not handled properly, it will leave the Eastern Jin Dynasty isolated and helpless."
But if she agreed, she would have to divorce Mo Lingxi.
Divorce...
"This is my biggest concern," Zi Cheng said, his face ashen, very worried. "It's clear that this marriage alliance was secretly planned by several countries. If our Eastern Jin Dynasty does not agree, then these countries will find an excuse to join forces and attack our Eastern Jin Dynasty."
"Our Eastern Jin Dynasty is still in the recovery period. If it were to suffer war again, the consequences would be unimaginable."
Even with Uncle and General Sheng, the Eastern Jin Dynasty was no match for several countries.
Sheng Lengshuang remained silent for a long time, then said in as calm a tone as possible, "Agree. I will divorce Mo Lingxi."
Each word felt like a sharp blade piercing her heart, causing immense pain.
But no matter how much it hurt, she understood that there was no room for negotiation. She and Mo Lingxi had only one path: divorce, otherwise, they would place the Eastern Jin Dynasty in a perilous situation.
Mo Lingxi opened his mouth to refuse, but the words caught in his throat. At this point, it wasn't a matter of whether he wanted to divorce or not.
The atmosphere became heavy and oppressive.
Little Feng glanced at his father, then at his mother, and tearfully fiddled with his fingers. He didn't want his father and mother to separate, but it seemed they had to.
Why did father and mother have to endure so many hardships?