Hearing this, the man rolled his eyes helplessly.
"Your mouth never spits out anything good. Do you think I'm that kind of person? Besides, this pigeon was sent by someone else."
After he finished speaking, Qin Feng curled his lips. "The people we know here are either in a coma or after our heads. Who would dare to send us a pigeon? You must be joking with me."
"I'm telling the truth, but you don't believe me. Here, read this letter and you'll understand everything."
With that, he picked up his chopsticks and began to eat. The two of them turned their attention to the letter that had been thrown over.
In a moment, Qin Feng exploded. "So there's someone like this in the shadows? Hiding where we can't find him. If we can't figure out who this mastermind is, we'll always be at his mercy."
"I'm thinking the same thing. But that's the problem. No one but Concubine Rui knows where this person is. And according to the letter, this person must be hiding very deep. Concubine Rui is just a pawn for him."
As they were talking, the pigeon soup on the table was slowly emptied.
"Since we can't find this person for now, let's arrest Concubine Rui and Qiao Meng first. With this letter, we can then ask the divine doctor to take us to see Cui Qizhou. Then everything will come to light."
"I just wonder how the Empress Dowager is doing."
Xiao Xiao stared out of the window, looking worried.
...
At this moment, Shi Muyuan still had her eyes closed as she lay in bed. That man had quietly come to stand beside her bed.
"Empress Dowager, what's wrong with you? It's been so long. Why haven't you woken up?"
"I'm afraid I'll have to break my promise. I still haven't found the whereabouts of the eldest young master after all this time."
Looking at the unmoving figure on the bed, he felt a complex mix of emotions he couldn't quite put into words.
Outside the window, Qiao Meng watched everything that was happening inside. Under the moonlight, her face looked twisted.
After the man left, she stepped out of the shadows.
"Empress Dowager, since my brother can't forget you, don't blame me. I'll be leaving tomorrow. You can rest well. When I come back, all this will be over."
Using the same method as last time, she made Shi Muyuan's breathing become rapid before it finally returned to normal.
The next day, she went to find the man on her own initiative.
"Brother, it's my foster parents' birthday soon. I want to go back and see them. Is that okay?"
"Are you leaving today?"
The man looked up in surprise but understood her request.
"Yes."
After getting her confirmation, the man asked someone else to make the necessary arrangements.
But at noon, Qiao Meng left without delay.
As soon as she left, Shi An arrived at the Huang Mansion with evidence. Looking at the man at the door, he was a little confused.
"Shouldn't the national teacher be in the mansion?"
Cui Qizhou was stunned. He never thought that the person he had been looking for for so long would suddenly appear in front of him one day.
After a moment, he calmly replied, "Meng'er left today because of something. I came to see her off. I heard the eldest young master was seriously injured. Why are you suddenly here?"
"What? She left?"
The man was surprised by Shi An's strong reaction.
"Yes. Since the eldest young master is back, please come with me to see the Empress Dowager. She has been in a coma for days because she was worried about you."
"I know. Send someone to bring Qiao Meng back right away."
Hearing that he wanted to stop Qiao Meng, the man immediately became unhappy.
"Meng'er is going back for her foster parents' birthday. It's not easy for her to go back. Eldest young master, don't cause any trouble."
"Humph. It seems you don't know at all. Your childhood sweetheart is actually in cahoots with Concubine Rui. She's leaving now to find the lost gold and silver jewels for Concubine Rui. If you don't believe me, you can send someone to check if anyone has left the city gate."
Cui Qizhou was skeptical but still sent someone to investigate.
To his surprise, his subordinate came back with shocking news.
"Miss Qiao never left the city gate. The carriage she was in is also missing. We only found the body of the coachman."
This was like a thunderbolt to the man. He never thought that the girl who had always followed him around, calling him "brother," would one day lie to him like this.
He bit his lip and tried to deny everything.
"Is there some misunderstanding? Meng'er has never been a liar since she was a child."
As he spoke, there was a hint of panic in his voice that he didn't even notice.
Although Shi An could understand his feelings, he would never let Qiao Meng go. She was the one who had caused his little sister to fall into a coma.
The two looked at each other, and Cui Qizhou led him to the study.
"I wonder how the eldest young master knew that Meng'er... Qiao Meng was in cahoots with Concubine Rui?"
"Read this letter, and you'll understand everything."
Yes, this was the same letter that had been tied to the pigeon.
After reading the letter, the man's face became increasingly solemn.
He never thought that one day, there would be such a big problem right under his nose.
"I'm sorry, Empress Dowager. If I had listened to you all back then, this wouldn't have happened. I wonder when the Empress Dowager will wake up."
Seeing the man's guilt-ridden expression, Shi An patted him on the shoulder.
"We all know you feel guilty about your childhood sweetheart. You never thought she would be such a person. The most important thing now is to wake up my little sister. The divine doctor should be here soon after receiving the news."
"Thank you, eldest young master."
"First, send someone to revoke the wanted notice."
Hearing about the wanted notice, the man felt even more guilty and quickly sent someone to take care of it.
They thought the divine doctor would take a few days to arrive, but as soon as the sun set, he appeared at the Huang Mansion, looking exhausted.
"Quickly take me to see the Empress Dowager. I need to diagnose her right away."
Shi An was touched by his loyalty and had someone lead him in.
When the divine doctor felt Shi Muyuan's pulse, he noticed something was wrong.
"Someone has drugged the Empress Dowager."
Everyone present knew who the "someone" was, even if no one said it out loud.
Xiao Xiao's eyes were a little red. "Then, divine doctor, will my mistress wake up?"
"Yes. As long as I'm here, I won't let anything happen to the Empress Dowager. Although someone drugged her, they don't know that I've treated this kind of case before."
The divine doctor's words made everyone breathe a sigh of relief.
After leaving a few assistants for the divine doctor, they all left.
Cui Qizhou, a proud man, looked dejected as he reached the door.
Xiao Xiao never thought that in just a few days, her mistress would end up in such a state.