After being thoroughly violated, he ran away with the enemy emperor's child.

Today, Zhao Guo skipped court for a day, and Mo Yan drank a bowl of medicinal soup, but it had little effect.

The desire to devour Aci grew stronger, making him afraid that he would hurt him.

So he instructed Wu Xu: "Send over a few more squads of Imperial Guards."

The Imperial Guards surrounded the Zichen Palace. Mo Yan leaned against the couch, veins bulging on his forehead.

The fragrance of lotus flowers seemed to waft from the Moon Palace to his nose. His eyes were bloodshot as he struggled to control his instincts.

"His Majesty……"

Wu Xu clenched his fists in worry, but he was powerless to do anything about it and could only watch him suffer.

He couldn't help but wonder: what if Yong Kingdom didn't have snow lotus either?

Looking through the wall at Qiyue Palace again, Wu Xu pursed his lips, his eyes filled with struggle.

Suddenly, he heard a noise behind him. He turned around and saw Mo Yan, his eyes bloodshot, getting out of bed and heading straight towards Qiyue Palace.

"His Majesty!"

He hurriedly chased after him and saw Mo Yan surrounded by guards in the courtyard.

The guards, holding long spears with the tips pointed at Mo Yan, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing him: "My lord! His Majesty, he..."

Half an hour ago, His Majesty gave an order that if he lost his mind, he must be stopped. However, His Majesty is skilled in martial arts, and they are afraid of hurting him. How can they stop him just like that?

"His Majesty!"

Wu Xu was in a panic, not knowing what to do. He wanted to go up and knock him unconscious, but he couldn't get close enough to do so.

The situation reached a stalemate for a moment, but Mo Yan eventually regained some composure and gritted his teeth, ordering, "Knock me out."

"…yes."

Mo Yan was knocked unconscious and carried back to the bed by the guards. Wu Xu stood by his side, waiting for him to wake up.

After an unknown amount of time, Mo Yan woke up.

Recalling his recent loss of control, he pressed his temples and asked, "How is Chu Li doing?"

"Our men have succeeded, but since last night, Yong Kingdom soldiers have been searching the entire city. They cannot leave the city and cannot send messages by carrier pigeon."

"Therefore, I am not aware of the current situation."

If they cannot leave the city, even if they obtain the snow lotus, they will not be able to bring it back to Dazhao.

"Keep an eye on it."

"Yes."

After the conversation, Mo Yan drank another bowl of herbal medicine.

The medicine tasted bitter in his mouth, and he suddenly thought of Aci, whose greatest fear was drinking medicine.

Aci...

His eyes lowered slightly as he made a worst-case scenario plan: "Wu Xu, if I die, I want you to take Aci out of the palace, send him to a safe place, and ensure his future well-being."

"His Majesty……"

Wu Xu gritted his teeth: "You won't die."

Mo Yan smiled and said, "I hope so. I don't want to die either."

He and Aci had only known each other for a short time. If he died, his Aci would surely find another good man...

That person will be just like him, embracing him, kissing him, and even ascending to paradise with him...

Just thinking about it makes Mo Yan furious!

He closed his eyes briefly, suppressing his rage, and said, "Summon the secret guards of Qiyue Palace."

Half a month ago, when he first fed Aci medicine, he was afraid that Aci would doubt his words after waking up, so he withdrew all the secret guards of Qiyue Palace.

It wasn't until seven days ago, when Aci escaped to the city gate, that he allowed his secret guards to resume monitoring his every move.

Before long, a guard appeared, holding a booklet in his hands: "Your Majesty, this contains records of the Empress's and Consort's daily life these past few days."

"Give it to me."

"Yes."

The guard handed the booklet to Mo Yan and knelt on the ground, awaiting orders.

Mo Yan read very slowly, imagining Chu Junci's appearance through the words, but then he came across a sentence—

After lunch, the Queen sat in the courtyard and suddenly felt nauseous. She put her hand to her chest and recovered after three breaths.

He frowned slightly: "Has the Empress summoned the imperial physician?"

"No." The guard shook his head.

Mo Yan remained silent for a moment, then said, "Have Physician Liu examine him."

"Yes."

Placing the booklet beside his pillow, Mo Yan waved his hand and said, "Go back. Don't let him see you."

The guards took their leave, and Mo Yan picked up the booklet again, examining it carefully.

"How's the investigation into that village going?"

"Your Majesty, the spies have reported back that he will return to the capital today and personally report to Your Majesty."

"Um."

That night, the spy who had gone to the village to gather information returned to the palace. He knelt in the Zichen Hall and said, "Your Majesty, I have fulfilled my mission and have found out the details of the village."

"speak."

"Yes. The village is located at the foot of a canyon and is named Shengzi Village."

"The village has a small population, with only a dozen or so households, but they all have one thing in common."

"It is said that their ancestors once studied under the Medicine King Valley and developed a secret medicine while studying there."

"Those who take it will have radiant skin, delicate complexion, and a subtle fragrance emanating from their bodies."

"Of course, most importantly, after taking the secret medicine, they can..."

The spy recounted everything he had seen and heard in Shengzi Village, and concluded by saying, "I have investigated, and Xie Yunzhou of Yong Kingdom has never been to Shengzi Village."

"It seems that the late Emperor of Yong Kingdom visited once twenty years ago."

"Oh?"

Mo Yan raised an eyebrow, uninterested in the second half of his sentence: "You mean Xie Yunzhou hasn't been there?"

"Yes."

The guard nodded: "Xie Yunzhou's movements in Yong Kingdom were very simple. Before Chu Ling ascended the throne, he only traveled between the General's Mansion and the Eastern Palace."

"After Chu Ling ascended the throne, he would occasionally enter the palace, but he spent most of his time at the Xie residence and did not leave."

Having obtained the information he wanted, Mo Yan waved for the spies to leave. It seemed he had indeed been overthinking things.

The imperial physician also said that Aci's body was normal that day, and the only abnormality was probably because he kissed him.

Unbeknownst to him, the guard who had come to report the situation had just stepped out of the courtyard when he suddenly remembered something.

He forgot to tell His Majesty that the pulse of the people of Shengzi Village is somewhat strange, and at times, it is not possible to confirm whether there is an illness through the pulse.

Standing there, he looked back with a conflicted expression, and finally thought: Oh well, it's not that important anyway.

It makes little difference whether you say it or not.

So he left the Zichen Palace with a clear conscience and returned to the Dark Guard Camp.

At the same moment, in the Moon Palace.

Chu Junci clutched his chest, looking unwell.

Before him, Liu Ji bowed and said, "My master is busy, so he asked me to take the Empress's pulse."

"Um."

Chu Junci didn't say anything, but slowly extended his hand.

With a silk handkerchief draped over his wrist, Liu Ji examined it carefully. The previous incident seemed like a fleeting moment, yet it had frightened him greatly.

Fortunately, nothing bad happened this time, and he withdrew his hand, saying, "The Empress is in good health."

"understood."

Chu Junci felt he was not sick and did not need to see the imperial physician; it was Mo Yan who was making a fuss.

From childhood to adulthood, he disliked seeing imperial physicians, simply because every time he summoned one, the next step was to drink medicine.

What he disliked most was taking medicine.

Thinking of this, he looked up at Liu Ji's face and said, "Tell Mo Yan that I'm fine and don't need you to keep taking my pulse."