Before long, they arrived at the inn in town.
After paying the coachman's fare, Qin Xiaolin drove the carriage towards the capital without stopping.
Just as the city gates were about to close, they finally made it back to the embassy.
After entering the embassy, Li Xi first made sure Hong Gu was settled in properly.
Immediately afterwards, he went to the Emperor Emeritus and reported in detail that he wanted to bring a distant relative back to Jingyuan.
After hearing this, the retired emperor did not question it further, but simply nodded slightly to indicate his understanding.
In fact, this was a plan that Qin Xiaolin and Li Xi had come up with together.
Given the current unpredictable situation, they felt they had to prioritize their own safety.
On the other side, Li Xi helped her grandmother into Meng Zhelan's room.
Coincidentally, Meng Zhelan happened to return from outside at that moment.
Today, she went to the palace to examine the Queen, and she was utterly exhausted and worn out.
The empress's illness was not complicated; it was the interpersonal relationships within the palace that made her feel extremely exhausted.
The concubines, princes, and princesses from various palaces would frequently come to pay their respects to the Empress.
But the way they were acting made it seem like they were there to spy on the "enemy's situation."
"Xi'er, this is..." Meng Zhelan looked at the elegant old woman in front of her with some confusion.
“This is my maternal grandmother…” Li Xi told Meng Zhelan the truth: “We just told others that she was a distant relative of the Feng family head.”
Her words carried a hint of helplessness, as if there were some hidden reasons she couldn't say directly.
Upon hearing this, Meng Zhelan felt relieved.
She understood that Li Xi must have her reasons for doing this. She nodded to Hong Gu in respect.
Hong Gu returned her smile.
"Lan'er, could you please take a look at my grandmother? She lost her memory thirty years ago and hasn't recovered yet." She didn't want her grandmother to live in a daze.
Meng Zhelan recalled what Li Xi had mentioned earlier about the ancient people.
If her maternal grandmother regained her memories, perhaps Xi'er could find a way to control the domineering true energy within her body. Then she wouldn't be unconscious anymore.
After a careful examination, Meng Zhelan discovered that Hong Gu had suffered a chest injury, but the wound had long since healed, leaving only a faint scar.
They also checked her pulse—it was steady and strong, with no abnormalities.
She couldn't help but feel a little strange; her body was normal, but she hadn't regained her memories.
After a moment's consideration, she said to Li Xi, "Xi'er, use your internal energy to probe your grandmother's dantian."
"Let's go there and see if we find anything."
Li Xi did as instructed, slowly channeling his inner energy into Hong Gu's dantian.
Suddenly, she sensed a strange fluctuation emanating from Hong Gu's dantian, as if it concealed some secret. She tried to probe deeper, but the fluctuation seemed unwilling to be touched, always cleverly avoiding her internal energy.
Li Xi frowned, withdrew his inner force, and shook his head at Meng Zhelan, "Lan'er, I can't detect anything unusual. There seems to be a peculiar power hidden in my grandmother's dantian, but I can't reach it."
Upon hearing this, a hint of doubt flashed in Meng Zhelan's eyes. "Hidden power? Perhaps we should ask Master Feng. He is very knowledgeable. Maybe he has a way."
Soon, Li Xi brought Qin Xiaolin over and explained the situation to him.
Upon hearing Li Xi's description, a look of seriousness flashed across Qin Xiaolin's eyes.
He walked to Hong Gu's bedside, stretched out his palm, and gently placed it on her lower abdomen.
A powerful surge of internal energy emanated from Qin Xiaolin's palm and slowly seeped into Hong Gu's dantian.
His brows were furrowed, as if he was trying to find the source of that strange fluctuation.
After a long while, Qin Xiaolin withdrew his hand, his expression somewhat solemn.
He turned around, looked at Li Xi and Meng Zhelan, and said in a deep voice, "That power is indeed extraordinary, and it is extremely similar to the one in your body. I also cannot touch its core. However, I can sense that it seems to be a sealed power, bound by some kind of powerful restriction."
"The power of the seal?" Li Xi and Meng Zhelan exclaimed in surprise at the same time.
Qin Xiaolin nodded and continued, "This power is extremely strong. Perhaps we should go to the ruins of the ancient clans; maybe we can find the answer there."
Li Xi remembered the map she had found at the manor before; it should be the map to the ancient tribe.
The place is located within the territory of the Western Yue Kingdom. It is currently the end of the year, and the Emperor Emeritus, along with the Empress Dowager and Prince An, frequently travel between the palace and the embassy. They do not need to worry about security.
I will return to Jingyuan after the Spring Equinox, so I will still have plenty of time to visit Xiyue.
However, Meng Zhelan was unable to travel with them, as she needed to enter the palace to treat the Empress's illness during this period.
After much deliberation, Li Xi finally spoke up: "I'll take my grandmother to Xiyue and try to get back before we have to go back."
Upon hearing this, Qin Xiaolin frowned slightly, clearly somewhat uneasy.
After a moment's thought, he said, "I'll go too. The situation with the Emperor Emeritus has stabilized, so I'm finally free. But I'll have to trouble Doctor Meng with business matters. I'll leave some people behind to follow your instructions."
Although Meng Zhelan was somewhat worried about Li Xi's decision, she also understood that it was an unchangeable fact.
She took a deep breath and said to Qin Xiaolin, "Don't worry, I will do my best. The Princess is also very talented in this area. Since we are cooperating with her, it is only right that we let her take on more responsibility."
And so, the three of them finalized their initial plan.
Xiyue and Xuanyue are two neighboring countries, and it takes twelve days to travel from here to the place marked on the map.
They purchased the highest-performance carriages from Xuan Yue Kingdom, planning to change horses at the next post station, believing this would shorten the journey.
The Princess helped Xuan Yue obtain the necessary travel documents to Xi Yue.
Before setting off, Qin Xiaolin had a private talk with the retired emperor.
They talked for a long time, and finally the Emperor Emeritus agreed to their decision to go to Xiyue.
They originally intended to keep the information about the ancient tribe a secret.
However, considering the urgency of the mission, they ultimately decided to inform the retired emperor.
Upon learning that some members of the ancient tribe were still alive, the Emperor Emeritus was greatly relieved. He had always been concerned about the ancient tribe, and now that he knew there was still hope of finding them, he was naturally overjoyed.
So, after obtaining permission from the retired emperor, they set off for Xiyue on a sunny morning.
After seeing Li Xi off at the embassy entrance, Meng Zhelan remained in a daze for a long time.
She didn't realize it until Tian Tian came to call her to prepare to enter the palace.
Prince An, who was standing upstairs watching her, did not come downstairs to have his meal.
He felt a pang of jealousy when he saw the concerned look in Meng Zhelan's eyes as she looked at Li Xi.
But realizing he had no right to ask her, he stared blankly at Meng Zhelan's back.
The Empress Dowager behind him was also very displeased with this taciturn man.
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