Xin Zizhao watched Wei Shuxuan pick up a clothes-drying pole placed in the corner and dash out quickly. A look of confusion crossed his handsome face. What on earth was she up to this time?
When Wei Shuxuan rushed to Jinghua Courtyard, she opened the back door. Instead of seeing the little palace maid who had lent her the clothes-drying pole just now, she saw an older maid. The moment the maid saw Wei Shuxuan, she immediately knelt down. "Your, Your Majesty the Queen! This servant pays respects to Your Majesty the Queen!"
Wei Shuxuan had been thinking of chatting with the little maid for a while longer, but unexpectedly, she wasn't there. The maid noticed Wei Shuxuan looking around and politely inquired, "May this servant ask who Your Majesty the Queen is looking for?"
"Isn't there a newly-entranced little palace maid in your courtyard?"
"Your Majesty the Queen, there is. May I ask what Your Majesty wants with her? Did she do something to offend Your Majesty?" The maid looked at Wei Shuxuan in terror.
"No, I just have something to talk to her about. By the way, here's the clothes-drying pole. She lent it to me." Watching the maid take the pole in astonishment, Wei Shuxuan turned around and took a few steps. Suddenly, she remembered something important. She turned back to look at the still-stunned maid. "By the way, don't tell that little maid that I'm the queen. Got it?"
"Yes, Your Majesty the Queen."
Wei Shuxuan returned to Fenghe Palace in high spirits. When she got back, she saw Xin Zizhao reading a medical book. "Reading a medical book again?"
"What were you up to this time?" Xin Zizhao looked up from the medical book and stared at Wei Shuxuan who was sitting beside him.
"Nothing. You're overthinking it." Wei Shuxuan winked playfully at him. Xin Zizhao looked at her helplessly. "By the way, since we've got some free time recently, how about we go out of the palace to check on the people's livelihood?"
How could Xin Zizhao not know what was on the mind of the person in front of him? He pinched Wei Shuxuan's nose. His deep eyes were filled with affection. "Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? You tell me it's about checking on the people's livelihood, but actually you just want to go out and have fun, right?"
"But it's been ages since you went out with me!" Wei Shuxuan looked at Xin Zizhao pitifully.
However, this trick didn't work on Xin Zizhao. He looked at Wei Shuxuan and flatly refused. "No way. The matter of the Phoenix Feather Mirror hasn't been resolved yet, and you're already thinking about going out of the palace to have fun. What if something else goes wrong? We'll go out later, at least after you've figured out the secret of the Phoenix Feather Mirror. Besides, I'm the emperor of the country. I can't just abandon the whole country and go out for fun."
Wei Shuxuan knew how responsible Xin Zizhao was. However, being restricted from even going out together made her feel extremely dissatisfied, but she was helpless. She also knew that as the emperor, there were many things to worry about. If only Xin Zizhao didn't have to be the emperor, then they could roam the world together...
"Don't think about such unrealistic things," Xin Zizhao saw what was on Wei Shuxuan's mind at a glance. "Unless you can find a better heir, I'll have to keep sitting on this throne until a suitable heir appears."
Just then, Wei Shuxuan suddenly remembered that the little boy she had brought back looked somewhat similar to Xin Zizhao... Oh no, she had forgotten about Sima Yongheng!
"Xin Zizhao, speaking of it, have you sent someone to investigate that little boy I brought back? I promised him that I'd go and see him. I've completely forgotten about it!"
"Sima Yongheng?" Actually, Xin Zizhao had already sent Xin Shang and Xin Shi to investigate, but the result showed that there was nothing special about his background. His mother had passed away from illness six years ago, and there was no news about his father. It was really difficult to find out what had happened six years ago. "I did investigate. There's nothing out of the ordinary."
"Can I bring him into the palace then?" Wei Shuxuan carefully observed Xin Zizhao's expression.
"It's not that I won't allow it, but if you bring him here, under what pretext?"
"Of course, as my younger brother! Besides, I'm the one who brought him back. It's not good for him to stay with Zi An all the time..." Wei Shuxuan's voice trailed off. "Also, I really think he looks somewhat similar to you."
"Looks somewhat similar to me?" Xin Zizhao looked at her suspiciously. Wei Shuxuan's words did arouse Xin Zizhao's curiosity. "We need to think this over carefully. Although I didn't find anything strange about his background, we still can't let our guard down. If it turns out that his background is clean, then it might be okay."
"Okay, fine..." Wei Shuxuan couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. However, she understood Xin Zizhao's concerns and didn't want to make things difficult for him.
After staying bored in Fenghe Palace for three days, Wei Shuxuan thought the time was right. She waited until the sun set, then took Wei Wei with her to go to Fengyu Palace to retrieve the mouse cage. She got a very long clothes-drying pole from Fenghe Palace, and Wei Wei was in charge of using the pole to take out the mouse cage.
As soon as they opened the door to the inner hall, a stench hit their noses. Since the weather had been getting hotter recently, the corpses would rot quickly. Wei Shuxuan pinched her nose and looked inside. Before Wei Wei even managed to pick out the mouse cage, she could already see that the two fat mice were dead inside the cage.
It had been sunny for the past few days since the day the mice were thrown into Fengyu Palace. It seemed that sunny weather was an important contributing factor.
"Miss, I've got it out."
Wei Wei also found the smell of the dead mice extremely unpleasant. He couldn't help but frown. Wei Shuxuan gave him a handkerchief. "Quickly cover your nose and mouth. It stinks!"
"Yes, miss."
"Take this back. I want to check the result of my experiment."
They took the dead mice back to Xin Zizhao's pharmacy. Wei Shuxuan picked up a knife. She originally wanted to do it herself, but she was completely clueless about it. She'd better wait for Xin Zizhao to come back and help her.
That night.
"You want me to dissect the mice for you?" Xin Zizhao looked at Wei Shuxuan in surprise.
"Yes. You're the only one who can help me. I really don't know how to use this knife. You're well-versed in medical principles. You should be able to dissect the mice without damaging their body structures."
"Even if you say so, I can't guarantee that..." Xin Zizhao had never done such a thing before, but he'd give it a try for Wei Shuxuan.
Xin Zizhao carefully used the scalpel to cut open the head of the mouse. Both Wei Shuxuan and he showed looks of surprise.