After being thoroughly violated, he ran away with the enemy emperor's child.

He sat on the edge of the bed, quietly looking at his face, feeling that he could never get enough of looking at him.

Before long, the young apprentice appeared stealthily: "Your Majesty, your medicine is ready."

The medicine, infused with Aci's heart's blood, emitted a bloody smell. Mo Yan's eyes darkened, and he stared at it for a long time before finally drinking it all.

After the medicine boy left, Mo Yan bent down and kissed Chu Junci's forehead: "Aci, get well soon..."

As he straightened up again, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and then he went to the Imperial Study.

When he arrived, the guards were already waiting. They quickly bowed to him upon seeing him.

Mo Yan raised his hand: "How is the situation in Yong Kingdom?"

"In response to Your Majesty..."

The guards lowered their heads. "We failed."

"A few days ago, Yong soldiers searched the entire city and rescued Chu Li after discovering his whereabouts."

They were already incredibly lucky to have captured someone since they were already on Yong Kingdom's territory. It was no surprise that Chu Li was rescued.

Mo Yan pondered for a moment, then said, "Summon General Fu to the palace."

Half an hour later, General Fu stood in the imperial study, looking puzzled: "Your Majesty summoned me here so late at night, is it...?"

"Deploy 100,000 elite troops to approach the border of Yong Kingdom."

"Choose an envoy to go to Yong Kingdom and tell Chu Ling that if he doesn't want war, he should obediently offer up the snow lotus from the national treasury."

The Imperial Advisor once said that snow lotus can not only detoxify, but is also a great tonic that can replenish qi and blood and accelerate wound healing.

Now that Aci is injured, it is precisely the time when she needs snow lotus.

Therefore, he had to seize the snow lotus from Yong Kingdom to nourish Aci's body.

"Snow lotus?"

General Fu asked in confusion, "What does His Majesty want the snow lotus for?"

Few people knew that Mo Yan had been poisoned, and the poisoning was kept well hidden. Therefore, General Fu was unaware of what had happened in the palace in the past few days.

"I have a use for it; just do as I say."

"Yes."

Although General Fu had doubts, he still followed Mo Yan's orders, dispatching elite troops and selecting envoys.

The envoy led a small troop of soldiers to Yong Kingdom and will arrive soon.

While they were on their journey, Mo Yan was not idle. He instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare some nourishing soup every day and send it to the Empress after she woke up.

Seven days passed, and Chu Junci's complexion finally returned to normal.

That day, he was held in Mo Yan's arms, looking at the nourishing soup in front of him, his brows slightly furrowed.

"Mo Yan, I don't want to drink anymore."

After drinking the soup for several days in a row, he now feels nauseous just from the smell.

"Good girl, Aci, be a good girl."

"Drink the soup, and you'll get better."

"I do not want."

Chu Junci really felt like vomiting. He covered his nose and said, "Move it away."

"Aci".

Mo Yan's voice was full of disapproval, "You're so thin, and you're injured, you've lost your energy and blood. Listen to me, drink this."

"I don't."

Chu Junci struggled and pulled away from Mo Yan's embrace. Mo Yan, afraid of hurting him, could only let him go, saying, "A-Ci."

Chu Junci was determined not to drink, and Mo Yan was at a loss. "You don't want to drink your medicine, and you don't want to drink your soup. How can you get better like this?"

"I'm all better now."

Thanks to Mo Yan changing his dressings every day and supervising him to drink his medicine and soup, the wound on his chest had long since scabbed over, and he could no longer feel it unless he touched it forcefully.

Mo Yan still treated him like a porcelain doll, keeping a close eye on him at all times, afraid that he might get hurt again if he wasn't careful.

"Aci, I'm afraid."

He carefully pulled the person into his arms: "I'm afraid your injury hasn't healed properly and will leave lasting effects; I'm also afraid you'll get hurt again."

He would never forget the scene he saw when he woke up in bed—his Aci was as pale as paper, lying beside him, as if she had stopped breathing.

Thinking of that scene, Mo Yan pursed his lower lip: "I want you to live a long and healthy life, free from worry and anxiety."

Mo Yan's words made Chu Junci fall silent for a moment. "I'm really alright now, don't be afraid."

He sighed, turned around, picked up the soup, and swallowed it all.

Just as he put down the bowl, Mo Yan suddenly bent down and kissed his lips. He blinked and said, "You..."

The rest of the words were swallowed by Mo Yan. He kissed him gently and carefully, as if afraid of hurting him.

Chu Junci's heart skipped a beat, and after a while, he closed his eyes.

Meanwhile, at the Diligent Governance Hall of Yongguo.

"Mo Yan is dreaming!"

Chu Li felt like he was about to be driven mad by Mo Yan. Just now, Mo Yan actually sent an envoy to say that if they did not hand over the Snow Lotus, he would let the two countries go to war.

One hundred thousand elite troops have approached the border and even set up camp there, showing a clear intention to fight to the death.

Chu Li knew that his brother went to Snowfall Cliff for the snow lotus. Although he didn't say it directly, he knew that his brother didn't want Mo Yan to get that snow lotus.

Now Mo Yan has the audacity to even covet the Snow Lotus from their national treasury! It's simply... simply...

"Bang!"

Slamming his right hand on the table, Chu Li gritted his teeth: "Let's start a war then! Are you afraid of Mo Yan?"

"Your Highness, please reconsider."

Lin Chen, the commander of the secret guards, also looked displeased: "His Majesty is still in Mo Yan's hands, and he has sent elite troops to garrison the border. Once war breaks out..."

"The people are suffering terribly; His Majesty would not want to see this."

"What should we do then? Are we really going to give the snow lotus to that scoundrel Mo Yan?"

"In my opinion, Your Highness could pretend to agree first, and exchange the snow lotus for Mo Yan's agreement to a condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"The hunt in Zhao Kingdom is approaching. According to His Majesty's secret plan, there is a loophole in the hunting grounds. Your Highness, why don't you persuade Mo Yan to allow Dayong to participate in this hunt as well?"

"Your subordinate is willing to lead men there. At that time, I will be in the open, while General Xie will be in the shadows. Together, we will surely be able to bring His Majesty back to Dayong."

Lin Chen's words made Chu Li ponder for a while before finally deciding, "Okay."

So he summoned the envoy from Zhao again, saying, "My brother is still recovering from his illness, so I will handle the affairs of Yong on his behalf."

"Tell His Majesty of Zhao that we can give him the Snow Lotus, but he must exchange it for a treasure of equal value and agree to let our people participate in the Zhao Kingdom's hunt."

"this……"

The envoy stroked his beard. "I still need to report this matter to His Majesty. Would Your Highness please wait a few days?"

"Can."

The carrier pigeon carried Chu Li's words back to Zhao Kingdom. After listening, Mo Yan didn't say anything, just said, "Promise him."

If he could easily obtain the snow lotus, Mo Yan would not want to start a war. Firstly, it would be too much trouble and a waste of money, and secondly, he couldn't wait that long.

However, to his surprise, Yong Kingdom was so cooperative.

Could it be...

His gaze shifted to Chu Junci, who was fast asleep beside him. He wondered: Could it be that Chu Ling still has feelings for Aci and plans to snatch Aci away from him on the day of the hunt?

The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He narrowed his eyes and walked out of the Zichen Palace: "Wu Xu."

"exist."

After recovering from his injuries for a few days, Wu Xu returned to his side yesterday to take care of him.

"With less than half a month left before the hunt, I have a feeling that this hunt will not be peaceful."

"Go to the hunting grounds beforehand to check for any weaknesses and arrange for defenses. Remember not to let anyone take advantage of any loopholes."