Over there, Xiao Ran woke up. The noise he made woke Yi Qing up. Yi Qing got up and checked on Xiao Ran. He had completely recovered, and there were no other symptoms. Only then did Yi Qing heave a sigh of relief.
"How are the Empress and the Crown Prince?" Yi Qing had fully regained her energy after waking up. She guessed that she was just too tired yesterday. Lately, she seemed to get tired easily.
"As Madam ordered, we fed the Crown Prince a little medicine this morning. He can eat now," Ruo Hong whispered.
After Yi Qing finished washing and dressing, she turned around and picked up Xiao Ran. "Come on, let's go and see the noble Crown Prince."
The place where the Empress lived was very close to hers for the convenience of dealing with any emergencies. When she arrived, the Empress was wearing casual clothes and had simply done her makeup.
"Is the Crown Prince okay?" Yi Qing walked over to the small bed and took a look.
"He seems fine now. Thanks to you this time," the Empress said gratefully.
"I'm a doctor," Yi Qing said as she felt the Crown Prince's pulse and checked the color of his mouth. "It seems that he's okay."
"What on earth were those bats?" The Empress had also heard their conversation yesterday. "Could they really be from the Southern Border..."
"I guarantee with my personality that this matter should have nothing to do with the Southern Border," Yi Qing said firmly.
After she came back, Zi Su had written her a letter. The Southern Border was now in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. Zi Su wouldn't cause trouble at this time, especially with the King Zhen in the middle.
"It's good that there's no connection. If a war breaks out, I don't know how many people will die," the Empress sighed.
Yi Qing was also a bit confused about what was going on.
These bats could kill children under two years old silently. So the other party's initial goal should have been just children under two.
Regardless of family background or anything, what on earth did the other party want to do?
A large number of bats suddenly appeared last night, and it was obvious that they were targeting the General's Mansion and the Emperor. Did something happen in the middle that made the other party change their plan?
She was just a doctor, and now she had to do detective work. It was so difficult.
Xiao Jinghan didn't see Yi Qing when he got back, so he followed her here. But he only saluted in the courtyard and didn't enter the Empress's room.
"I'll leave first. If the Empress needs anything, she can find me at any time," Yi Qing said. She didn't plan to go out these days. It was too dangerous.
Xiao Jinghan was about to tell her about Lu Tianxun's visit when someone outside reported that Lord Xu and Lady Xu had come. The two of them went to the front hall.
Xu Maozhi was so anxious that he was almost sweating. When he saw Xiao Jinghan coming, he hurriedly walked over. "General Xiao, you must save me this time."
"What's going on?" Yi Qing looked at Xu Maozhi, who was usually so calm but now was starting to panic.
"Last night, more than a dozen children died in the capital overnight. I was impeached in court today," Xu Maozhi came here just to ask for help.
"Did the Emperor not make a statement?" Yi Qing looked at Xiao Jinghan.
Xiao Jinghan often didn't go to court, so he wouldn't know these things immediately.
"How did Sister-in-law know?" Xu Maozhi thought it was more direct to curry favor with Yi Qing.
"The Crown Prince almost had an accident," Yi Qing said angrily. "Sit down first and tell me what exactly happened."
Last night, Xiao Jinghan had already told the city defense army to pay attention to the bats, but the city defense army was not responsible for investigating the deaths of the children. They just needed to watch out for the bats.
Xu Maozhi had wanted to gather the children together for easier protection, but many families were unwilling. As a result, more than a dozen children died last night.
Those who impeached Xu Maozhi said that he clearly knew about it but didn't report it, which meant he was an accomplice.
"Do you think there's such an unlucky accomplice like me?" Xu Maozhi felt very aggrieved.
Yi Qing looked at Xiao Jinghan. "Why do I feel like those in court are all storytellers? They can come up with all kinds of strange reasons."
Xiao Jinghan thought so too. "So many children died overnight. Is there any clue?"
"They were those bat-like moths, red ones," Xu Maozhi said helplessly. "No one knows where those beasts came from."
"The Emperor won't punish you. Go and find Lu Tianxun. Find Wu Min as soon as possible," Xiao Jinghan ordered.
Yi Qing was stunned and looked at Xiao Jinghan. "Wu Min is missing?"
"Yes. Lu Tianxun just said that Wu Min fainted on the street yesterday and was taken away by an old man in a cloak."
"What?" Yi Qing was startled. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I was about to say it when they came," Xiao Jinghan explained.
Yi Qing didn't have time to argue with them. She handed Xiao Ran to Ruo Hong. "Where was Wu Min taken away? Take me there and have a look."
"You..." Xiao Jinghan grabbed Yi Qing's wrist and didn't want her to go out. "I'll go with you."
Yi Qing smiled and took her people to the place where Wu Min was taken away.
Previously, the snow lotus and dragon tendon grass in the capital were taken away by an old man in a cloak. Now Wu Min was also taken away by an old man in a cloak. Without a clear description of his appearance, Yi Qing didn't know if it was the same person, but subconsciously, she felt that Wu Min might be in big trouble.
Xu Maozhi was better at analyzing things than Lu Tianxun. They started searching from the place where Wu Min was taken away and followed the trail to a pond.
"According to the descriptions of the shop assistants on both sides, that person might have come here," Xu Maozhi said in surprise when he got here.
"But there's nothing here," Yi Qing looked around.
The pond was not big, and the scenery was not good. The residents around often came here to wash their chamber pots. The cattails on one side grew densely, so there were no mosquitoes here.
"Go and check who lives here," Xiao Jinghan ordered.
"I'll check the archives. That way we won't tip them off," Xu Maozhi said cautiously.
Xiao Jinghan nodded.
As they were walking back, they saw a group of women cheering around a place. They didn't know what was going on. Yi Qing subconsciously stretched her neck to take a look.
Xiao Jinghan immediately squatted down, picked her up on his shoulder, and stood up. "Can you see?"
Yi Qing was startled by him. "Oh, that's Jin Xiao's mansion. I only heard before that there were always women surrounding his mansion. I didn't expect it to be true."
When Xiao Jinghan heard it was Jin Xiao's, he immediately put Yi Qing down. Yi Qing couldn't help laughing when she saw Xiao Jinghan like this.
Xu Maozhi didn't have time to watch them flirting. "I'll leave first. Can I let Ran Ran stay in the Xiao Mansion for a few days?"
"Has Xi'er never stayed outside before?" Only then did Yi Qing think of this.
"Yes," Ran Ran nodded. Xi'er had always been by her side since she was born. She didn't have any relatives, so she had to take care of her alone.
"You don't know how much he cried yesterday. It's good for you to stay there," Yi Qing thought about it and felt a headache.
Ran Ran felt a bit sorry.
Wu Min thought she was having a hallucination. She seemed to hear Yi Qing's voice. She tried to move a bit towards the small hole that let in light to call for help when the door on one side suddenly opened.