"Father, Li'er will use this thousand-year snow toad to suck the蛊 worm out for you now," Leng Ruo Li said seriously as she looked at the Emperor.
The Emperor and Prince An were instantly astonished to hear Leng Ruo Li say she had a thousand-year snow toad.
"Li'er, you actually have a thousand-year snow toad on you? That's a legendary item. I never imagined such a thing could actually exist in this world," the Emperor said, smacking his lips in curiosity.
"Father, you don't need to be so curious. This thousand-year snow toad in Li'er's possession was given to me by Prince Murong Li Chen, the third prince of the Beichen Kingdom. I'll release it, and you can see for yourselves."
Leng Ruo Li said with a chuckle and immediately opened the small wooden box containing the snow toad. A small, thumb-sized, pure white snow toad jumped onto the Emperor's desk.
The Emperor, Prince An, and Eunuch Li all widened their eyes, looking at the small creature on the desk with curiosity.
"Oh, so this is what a thousand-year snow toad looks like!" the Emperor said with some curiosity.
"Yes, it doesn't look particularly special. Has everyone seen this snow toad clearly? Then, Father, I'll start the acupuncture treatment now. The 蛊 worm in your brain must be treated with acupuncture to prevent it from moving around. I'll also make an incision on your middle finger to allow the snow toad to suck out the 蛊 worm."
After satisfying the Emperor and Prince Ning's curiosity about the thousand-year snow toad, Leng Ruo Li immediately proceeded to extract the 蛊 worm for the Emperor.
She walked in front of the Emperor, took out a silver needle, and skillfully pricked the acupoints around the location of the puppet 蛊. Then, she took out a scalpel and cut open the Emperor's middle finger. The wound on the middle finger soon began to bleed. The thousand-year snow toad, which had been waiting on the desk, smelled the blood and immediately jumped to the Emperor's middle finger, gently sucking at it, attempting to lure the 蛊 worm out.
After a short while, a moving worm appeared inside the Emperor's arm that was exposed to the skin. It crawled towards the cut on the middle finger at a steady pace. Two minutes later, the snow toad swallowed the 蛊 worm in one gulp.
Immediately, Leng Ruo Li put the snow toad back into its small wooden box, then directly tucked it into her sleeve, transferring it to her spatial snow mountain.
"Father, Li'er has already removed the puppet 蛊 from your body. From now on, you must rest well for a period of time. Eunuch Li, you must remind him regularly."
Leng Ruo Li gave the Emperor some instructions and then added a sentence to Eunuch Li.
A moment later, Leng Ruo Li seemed to remember something and continued, "Li'er has two bottles of top-grade nourishing and vitalizing pills here. Remember to take one every day. Your body will recover completely before long."
As Leng Ruo Li spoke, she took out two small porcelain bottles filled with her specially made pills from her sleeve and handed them to the Emperor.
The Emperor looked at his obedient and sensible daughter-in-law, feeling deeply moved. Unlike his own daughters, the first bowl of sweet soup they brought him had been poisoned with 蛊 poison, which truly chilled his heart.
Leng Ruo Li saw the Emperor staring blankly and guessed his thoughts; he must have been comparing her to Princess Anle.
Therefore, Leng Ruo Li said considerately again, "Father, if you want to drink sweet soup another day, Li'er will personally make it for you and bring it to you."
"Good, you are such a sensible girl. Father is so envious of your parents for giving birth to such a filial, capable, and intelligent daughter," the Emperor said directly to Leng Ruo Li.
"Father, why are you envious of my father? Have you forgotten that I am still your daughter-in-law? Moreover, you have always treated me as your own daughter."
Leng Ruo Li said earnestly with a sweet smile on her lips.
"Yes, yes, that's right. In that case, I have gained a good daughter for free."
"Hahaha..."
Leng Ruo Li's words immediately made the Emperor laugh heartily.
This was also the first time the Emperor had laughed so happily today.
In the evening, Leng Ruo Li and Jun Mo Han left the imperial palace and then went to General Leng's mansion. General Leng Jin Yu had just finished handling the matters at the military camp for the day and had returned home.
"Father, are you done with your work?"
Leng Ruo Li felt very distressed seeing the tired look on Leng Jin Yu's face.
Upon seeing his precious daughter, all of Leng Jin Yu's fatigue vanished.
"Li'er, Your Highness, you've returned from the palace as well. Are the Emperor and Empress Dowager alright?" Leng Jin Yu asked with concern.
"Father, don't worry, the Emperor and Empress Dowager are fine now. Those traitors will also be executed tomorrow. By the way, does the wound on your hand still hurt?"
Leng Ruo Li looked at Leng Jin Yu's injured hand and asked with concern.
"With your presence as a divine physician daughter to help treat Father's wounds, any wound will heal quickly," Leng Jin Yu said with a smile.
Hearing this, Leng Ruo Li felt speechless.
"Father, you must take good care of your hand. Li'er and His Highness have discussed it, and we plan to arrange affairs in the capital and set off for the East Sea in three days to find my mother. Father, after you've arranged matters in the military camp, you can come with Li'er and His Highness."
"When you have time, please write a letter to my elder brother and ask him if he'd like to join us."
Leng Jin Yu was stunned upon hearing Leng Ruo Li's words. Could he finally go find Wan'er?
Wan'er, Wan'er, I'm coming to find you with the children...
"Father, what's wrong?"
Seeing her father standing there in a daze and not speaking for a long time, Leng Ruo Li called out to bring Leng Jin Yu back to his senses.
"Alright, Li'er, Father will write to your elder brother when I get back to my room later."
"No rush, Father. You definitely haven't eaten tonight, have you? Li'er and His Highness haven't had dinner either. The weather has been hot these past few days. How about I make some simple dishes, and we three can eat and chat?"
"Okay, Father will do as you say. But you've also been busy for a day and a night, aren't you tired?"
Leng Jin Yu also felt pity for his daughter.
"It's nothing, Li'er is still young, and she can endure this bit of hardship. Heh heh..."
After that, Jun Mo Han and Leng Jin Yu went to the living room. Steward Qi served them tea, and the father-in-law and son-in-law began chatting about the battle outside the city gate today.
Meanwhile, Leng Ruo Li went into the kitchen and made a dish of spicy stir-fried chicken, a dish of twice-cooked pork, a dish of stir-fried greens with minced garlic, and a dish of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, along with a pot of mushroom and lean meat soup. Two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, and one soup – all very ordinary home-style dishes that go well with rice. They were served in less than forty minutes. The three of them sat around the small table in the living room and ate with great relish.
Since all three had been busy for a day and a night without eating a proper meal, they were all famished. They didn't talk much during the meal.
Only after all three had put down their chopsticks did Leng Jin Yu say, "After you left today, Huo Ying died. Her body is still hanging on the city wall. What do you plan to do with her?"
"Father, it's summer now, and the weather is hot. The body will easily start to smell. Since she's dead, have someone drag her to the mass grave to feed the wolves."
Leng Jin Yu nodded in agreement, "Alright, then Father will do as you say."