In the end, it was Qin Feng, who had insisted on coming along, who received a signal from the martial arts alliance leader and stepped forward to persuade.
"Go back. Let's go back and discuss the situation here with the Empress Dowager. Maybe Shi An has recovered from his injuries and returned already. Even if he hasn't, the Empress Dowager will feel bad seeing you like this."
Hearing this, the man fell silent for a moment. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly toppled to one side. If it weren't for the quick action of the martial arts alliance leader, Qin Feng, who had just woken up, surely wouldn't have been able to catch him.
"Sigh, the national advisor is too stubborn. Let's hurry back and get a doctor to examine him."
Just like this, the group returned to the Huang Mansion.
When Shi Muwǎn saw the unconscious man, she quickly walked over.
"What happened? Didn't the national advisor go out to look for someone?"
Qin Feng had no choice but to tell her what had happened. After she heard it, she didn't know what to say and could only change the topic.
"Someone! Go and invite a doctor."
The doctor was the same one who had come to treat Shi Muwǎn last time. After feeling the national advisor's pulse, he sighed helplessly.
"The national advisor and the Empress Dowager really need to take care of your health. You two have the same symptoms. If you don't get proper rest, you'll surely develop chronic ailments in the future."
Shi Muwǎn responded and had someone see the doctor out. She looked at the man lying on the bed with his eyes closed, not knowing whether to cry or laugh.
"If you can't hold on, why didn't you come back earlier?"
It was just a casual remark, but unexpectedly, in the next moment, she locked eyes with the man and received a reply from him.
"I promised the Empress Dowager that I would bring back the eldest young master. It seems I've broken my promise. But rest assured, Your Highness, I will definitely find the eldest young master."
As he spoke, he was about to throw off the quilt. The young girl stepped forward and pushed him back onto the bed, pinning down his limbs with her own. Just like this, her body naturally pressed on top of his to prevent him from getting up again.
But she didn't think there was anything wrong with this. Her mind was filled with what the doctor had just said.
"I'll return what the national advisor said last time. Do you want the eldest brother to come back and see your corpse before you're happy?"
The man's mouth twitched slightly. He hadn't been so straightforward before. Was she being a bit too vindictive?
While thinking, Cui Qizhou observed the current position of the two of them. His ears unconsciously turned slightly red.
"Your Highness, why don't you get up first and then talk?"
After he specifically pointed it out, the young girl realized that her behavior was inappropriate.
How could she forget that this was ancient times, different from modern times?
Shi Muwǎn coughed twice, trying to brush off this incident.
"You just rest well in bed. Since he's my elder brother, I will surely go out to look for him. Don't worry. I've recuperated in the mansion quite well these days."
After she finished speaking, she turned around, walked out, and closed the door. Her actions were as smooth as if they were part of a single movement. But no matter how the man looked at it, he seemed to detect a hint of fluster in her back.
Thinking of their position, the corner of his mouth involuntarily lifted.
Shi Muwǎn fled back to her own room. She splashed cold water on her face several times before she calmed down.
Seeing that something seemed off about her, Xiao Xiao curiously leaned closer.
"Where did you go, Your Highness? I remember you just went to check on the national advisor's injuries. Why is your face so red?"
Hearing the teasing in her words, the young girl quickly replied.
"Nothing happened. Don't ask so many questions. By the way, I'm going to lead people myself to look for the trace of elder brother. You should bring as many people as possible."
When it came to serious matters, Xiao Xiao became serious. Facing that young master, she didn't dare to delay.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. Everything has been arranged. By the way, this is the ginseng soup that Lady Huang just sent. She knows that you haven't been feeling well recently, so she specially had someone cook it. Why don't you drink it before you go?"
As she spoke, Xiao Xiao approached with a bowl of soup. Looking at the floating fat on the surface of the soup, the young girl only felt a headache.
"I don't even know how many bowls of soup Lady Huang has sent. How about we skip this bowl today? I think it's more important to find elder brother."
Xiao Xiao seriously shook her head and refused, holding the bowl of soup firmly in her hand. "It's all Lady Huang's kind intention. And I've already asked the doctor. This ginseng soup is really good for your health."
Helplessly, under her repeated insistence, the young girl could only endure and drink the ginseng soup in one gulp.
She closed her eyes as if there was some ferocious beast in front of her.
After she finished drinking, she put down the bowl and hurriedly walked out.
"Hurry up. Don't keep the others waiting."
"Yes."
Although that place had been searched countless times, Shi Muwǎn's intuition still told her that there might be the clues she was looking for.
She opened her mouth, pointing in a direction. Just as she was about to speak, she felt dizzy, as if something was about to burst out.
Then, she lost consciousness and fell to the ground. This scene immediately panicked everyone.
It was Xiao Xiao who regained her composure first.
"Everyone, don't panic. First, go and find a doctor. The rest of you check around to see if there are any assassins."
After she finished speaking, she carried the young girl back to the Huang Mansion.
It was still the same doctor this time. When he rushed over in a hurry, he didn't even have time to wipe the sweat off his forehead before he was pulled into the room.
"Quickly check what's wrong with the Empress Dowager."
The doctor frowned. "It must be because she has been overworked again. I've already said before that the Empress Dowager mustn't overexert herself anymore. Didn't you all listen?"
Xiao Xiao shot him a fierce look, and the doctor swallowed the rest of his words.
...
Half an incense stick later, the doctor withdrew his hand, with a solemn expression on his face. It was unclear what he was thinking.
Seeing this, Xiao Xiao became impatient.
"What's wrong with the Empress Dowager? Just say it."
Hearing this, the doctor said in a solemn tone.
"I don't know what's wrong with the Empress Dowager like this. How about inviting some other colleagues to check on the Empress Dowager's condition?"
Xiao Xiao got anxious and directly grabbed the doctor's collar. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying that you can't tell what illness the Empress Dowager has? Does that mean she's been poisoned?"
The doctor was already quite old. In his whole life of practicing medicine, he had never been treated like this before. But he could understand Xiao Xiao's feelings.
"Auntie, don't be impatient. We doctors all have areas we're not good at. How about you invite a few more colleagues to take a look? I also want to know what's wrong with the Empress Dowager. But you have to hurry. If we can't confirm the cause of the Empress Dowager's fainting quickly, the Empress Dowager will be in more danger."
The doctor's words made Xiao Xiao's heart sink. She loosened the doctor's collar weakly and could only wave her hand, asking others to go and find doctors to come back.
Soon, the whole room was filled with doctors.