Mo Yuan glanced around; only he, Yun Zhuo, Qiu Shen, and the child were in the hall.

The rest of the people stayed outside to keep watch.

He continued, "However, according to the previous divination, Xiao Bao will not return so soon... Therefore, the main purpose of my visit today is to persuade Your Highness the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess to continue to keep the ever-burning lamp lit until you are certain that Xiao Bao will return. During this period, the ever-burning lamp must not be extinguished."

Yun Zhuo frowned and took the child from Qiu Shen's arms. After half a month of care, the child had become much plumper and looked to be in good shape, clearly a miniature version of Xiao Bao.

Both he and Ye Qingxue felt that the child was Xiaobao, so why did Mo Yuan say he wasn't sure?

Before Yun Zhuo could ask a question, Mo Yuan had already noticed the doubt on his face and said, "Your Highness, please do not ask. I am currently unable to perform divination and cannot say for sure. To be on the safe side, it is best not to extinguish the eternal lamp for now. As for the child, let him live for two or three years, and then we will know the situation."

After saying this, Mo Yuan, with an expression that said nothing more, bowed and took his leave of Yun Zhuo.

Yun Zhuo sent Zhan Shuang to escort Mo Yuan.

He carried the child back to the main courtyard. Although the weather was hot in July, even in the evening, Ye Qingxue's body was severely weakened, and she could only lie in bed most of the time.

Even if I get out of bed and walk around, I get tired after a short while and have to lie back down.

"Did your visit to the palace go smoothly today?" Ye Qingxue asked Yun Zhuo as he entered the room. "Did Lord Mo Yuan from the Imperial Observatory say anything when he came to see Xiao Bao earlier?"

Yun Zhuo brought the child to her, and Ye Qingxue couldn't help but reach out to tease him. Yun Zhuo then told her about the emperor sending someone to fetch Prince Xuan and his wife.

Ye Qingxue remained silent for a long time before saying, "Your father can't tolerate us. He just got rid of the Prime Minister and Liu Qinghe, and he couldn't wait to bring Prince Xuan and his wife back to deal with us!"

Yun Zhuo then relayed Mo Yuan's words to Ye Qingxue.

Ye Qingxue stopped teasing the child, and after a long while, she finally looked up from the child's face and onto Yun Zhuo's face.

Xiao Bao was in her arms, right between the couple, but Mo Yuan said that Xiao Bao might not have come back!

"Alright, tell Granny Xing to make the arrangements. Keep the ever-burning lamp burning and don't let it go out," Ye Qingxue said.

Yun Zhuo asked in surprise, "Aren't you going to ask why?"

Ye Qingxue said, "When it comes to children, it's better to be safe than sorry. We've already been doing this for so long, what's another two or three years?"

The baby cried, and the wet nurse knocked on the door and came in, taking the baby away to breastfeed. Ye Qingxue suddenly felt an emptiness in her arms.

After what seemed like an eternity, she finally said, "As long as the child comes back eventually, it doesn't matter how many years we have to wait!"

Granny Xing came in to set out dinner.

Yun Zhuo got up and placed the cushion on the chair before helping Ye Qingxue to sit down. After washing her hands, she personally brought the soup bowl to her and blew on it to test if it was hot enough.

Ye Qingxue left only Granny Xing and Chunqian to serve her, and the rest of the people left.

After drinking the soup, Ye Qingxue asked, "What are your plans regarding Father Emperor sending people to Liangzhou to fetch Prince Xuan and his wife?"

As Yun Zhuo served her food, he said, "If Prince Xuan and his wife return to the capital safely, it will definitely be a big problem for us."

Ye Qingxue continued, "But Father Emperor has sent many people openly and secretly. Even if we send people to intercept and kill them, it will be difficult to succeed, and we will also lose many manpower."

"Furthermore, if we send people to intercept and kill Prince Xuan and his wife, I'm afraid my father will immediately send people to surround and kill us!"

In other words, they need manpower around them.

Their power was not yet strong enough to intercept and kill the Xuan King and his wife while ensuring their own safety.

Yun Zhuo said, "So, you mean you want Father Emperor to bring Yun Xun and his wife back to the capital?"

Ye Qingxue pondered for a moment before replying, "The journey to Liangzhou is long. A round trip would take at least a year and a half to complete the mission. We still have more than half a year to decide whether to intercept and kill Prince Xuan and his wife."

Upon hearing this, Yun Zhuo pondered for a long time before looking up at her: "You want to wait for Xiang Si Zi to bring back the antidote and for the poison in my body to be neutralized before making a decision?"

Ye Qingxue smiled and said, "We also need to find Chu Xianyun and see if he ran away on his own or was hunted down by the emperor during the past year or so before we can make a final decision!"

Yun Zhuo recalled Ning Hongxi's unfinished words and the true purpose of his father, which Liu Qinghe was unaware of. Perhaps he could find the answer after Chu Xianyun returned and the antidote for the acacia seeds was delivered.

During this time, he needed to secretly strengthen his own power.

After Ning Hongxi was executed in the autumn, Yun Zhuo secretly promoted one of his own people to the position of prime minister.

When the first snow of winter fell, he unexpectedly saw Chu Xianyun.