When Xiao Qi returned to the Wan family, he was covered in blood, which greatly frightened the Wan family. Wan Yuechi quickly cleaned up the bloodstains he had left on the road, while Wanwan and Wan Suizhou helped him into the room to treat his injuries.
On the other side, Marquis Xi Ning felt increasingly uneasy. After discovering that the trap in the abandoned study had been activated, he began to suspect the Wan family.
Regardless of whether it was the Wan family who infiltrated the Marquis's residence, the entire Wan family is inextricably linked to the investigation of Prince Sui'an.
Marquis Xining knew that if he didn't act decisively, his fate would be the same as that of Prince Sui'an!
Without delay, he gathered his cronies overnight, even going so far as to personally take action and use his familiar and skilled methods of framing, falsely accusing the Wan family of embezzling public funds under the guise of imperial merchants. Within just a few hours, he had gathered witnesses and evidence and submitted them to the emperor.
In the Imperial Study late at night, the young Emperor looked at the mountain of memorials piled up by the Marquis of Xining with a worried expression. Eight out of ten of them advised him to revoke the privileges of the Wan family and order them to make reforms.
He had long known that Marquis Xining would one day deal with the Wan family, but he didn't expect this old fox to find out so quickly. As soon as the matter was investigated to a crucial point, he started biting people like a mad dog.
Seeing the emperor so distressed that he didn't even have time to wipe the sweat from his brow, the eunuch beside him assumed he was hot and quickly ordered the palace maids to fan him vigorously.
The emperor gazed silently at the corner of the scroll that had been suddenly lifted.
Now, the only people who would obey his orders and read his mood were the palace maids and eunuchs around him. All the officials in the court were biased towards Marquis Xining, and the memorials on the imperial desk were all in agreement with him.
"Issue my imperial edict," the Emperor put down his pen, his expression dark and unreadable, his usually gentle and bright eyes filled with conflict and seriousness. "Strip Wan Jiaren of all his posts."
This move was a last resort; even the Emperor has to give Marquis Xining some face now.
The imperial eunuch received the imperial decree and carefully took his leave. Not long after he left, another eunuch came in to report.
"Your Majesty, a young man named Lin Lan is requesting an audience outside the palace. He says he was sent by Miss Wanwan."
The emperor's tightly furrowed brows immediately relaxed, and a hint of joy flashed across his face.
He had heard Wanwan mention Lin Lan, saying that he was intelligent and upright, and that if she was in trouble and could not help the Emperor, she would recommend him to assist in the investigation of this case.
It seems that Wanwan had already noticed something amiss even before the imperial edict arrived; she truly is an exceptionally quick-witted girl.
The Emperor immediately agreed.
Not long after, a young man in white entered, holding a folding fan.
The newcomer was handsome and refined, dressed in white, with slanted eyebrows that reached his temples, and clear black eyes. There seemed to be a hint of youthful cunning and mischievousness in his brows, but overall he was mature and composed, much older than Xiao Qi and Wanwan.
Lin Lan entered and was about to bow when the Emperor stopped him, saying, "Time is of the essence; we need not concern ourselves with such formalities."
After saying that, he pulled out a dossier from under the mountain of memorials. Seeing that the emperor was so informal, Lin Lan didn't stand on ceremony and took the dossier from him.
"Minister Lin, please take this and read it briefly. Now, the followers of Marquis Xining are already threatening me. Miss Wanwan and Shen Yuheng are busy with important matters. Please find a way to get rid of some of Marquis Xining's subordinates for me."
Lin Lan met the Emperor's trusting yet anxious gaze and immediately felt a weight on his shoulders. When he spoke, his voice became much deeper and more muffled. "Your Majesty, rest assured, it is my duty to relieve Your Majesty's worries and troubles. I will certainly live up to your expectations."
Meanwhile, Xiao Qi on the other side had been poisoned to the bone marrow and had fallen into a deep coma. Black blood kept gushing from his hideous wound, and even the meridians around the wound spread to his limbs like a blackened spider web.
Wanwan's arms were covered with wounds of all sizes. She had cut herself many times, trying to detoxify with her blood, but to no avail. Seeing Xiao Qi's increasingly weak breathing and increasingly pale face, Wanwan finally couldn't hold back and buried her face in the bedside, crying her heart out.
The sound of pearls tinkling as they fell to the ground filled the air, leaving Wan Yuechi and his grandson Wan Suizhou feeling helpless and anxious.
The two spent the night searching through medical books, but found no record of anything. The exhaustion of many days left Wan Suizhou, who was already physically weak, completely worn out, and his eyes were even covered with a layer of white film.
Xiao Qi's injuries worsened. When he was first brought back, he could barely open his eyes and say a few words, but a few hours later, he could no longer even breathe heavily.
As night deepened, Wanwan once again tried in vain to feed him her own blood, only to find that he no longer had the strength to even swallow.
Is Brother Xiao really leaving like this? But he just found out about it! And he only just confessed to him not long ago!
Wanwan was on the verge of tears, holding Xiao Qi's body which was already losing its warmth, and then picked up the knife...
As long as he comes back to life, it doesn't matter how much blood I bleed.
"Wanwan, stop." A clear and melodious female voice suddenly appeared behind Wanwan. It sounded very familiar. Wanwan's overworked mind thought for a while and then found the matching face.
It was her own mother, Xunying.
When Wanwan turned around, she saw that it was her mother. She was stunned for a moment, thinking that she was hallucinating from despair.
"Why are you so stubborn? If this method doesn't work, can't you try another one?"
Xunying rushed over and snatched the knife from Wanwan's hand. Only when her mother's warm hand grasped her wrist did Wanwan vaguely realize that she hadn't seen wrong.
"Mother...Mother?" Wanwan looked at Xunying's face through teary eyes. After seeing her clearly, the grievances in her heart burst forth, and she threw herself into her arms. "Mother, please save Brother Xiao, Brother Xiao, he..."
The rest of the words were cut off by sobs.
Xunying lovingly stroked the hunched back, "Mother came to save people, please let me go first..."
"Oh." Wanwan quickly stopped her tears, let go of Xunying, and stared at her with hot tears in her eyes, her expression changing so quickly as if she was afraid her mother would run away at any moment.
Xun Ying glanced helplessly at her hopeful daughter, then gently lifted Xiao Qi's clothes with her delicate hand, revealing the terrible wound. Her brows furrowed slightly, and Wanwan was startled again, like a terminally ill patient seeing a doctor listening to her condition with a serious expression.
However, the next second, Xun Ying's brows relaxed considerably. Although her clumsy method had not cured the poison, it had saved Xiao Qi's life.
She channeled her magic power and touched the wound. A red light gradually flowed from her fingertips into the wound. Soon, the hideous black veins disappeared, and the ink-black wound returned to normal, healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Xiao Qi's long eyelashes trembled slightly as he slowly opened his eyes, and Xun Ying's face immediately came into view.
“I… I think I recognize you,” Xiao Qi uttered from his chapped lips. “I’ve seen you in my mother’s picture book… You’re a good friend of my mother’s.”
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