Following closely, Otani’s voice rang out: "Minister Jiang, Minister Bai, have you gone to rest?"

Jiang Yichun said rather curiously, "Gone to rest!"

He used his inner strength to transmit his voice, which didn’t sound loud but could be heard at the door.

The knocking outside suddenly stopped, perhaps Otani was too embarrassed and didn’t know what to say for a moment.

Bai Ruozhu pouted, got up and dressed, "Forget it, let’s go see what’s going on, it’s surely urgent at this late hour."

Jiang Yichun’s face showed displeasure. He wanted his wife to have a good rest, and for this, he had suppressed his inner flame without even touching his wife, but they got disturbed by an outsider.

Otani’s voice came quieter, speaking with reluctance, "I really apologize, but it’s indeed a matter of great urgency."

Others heard the commotion and got up too, Jianqi went to open the door, he hadn’t slept at all.

Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun stepped out of the room, Jiang Yichun asked with a cold face, "What’s the matter?"

Otani lowered his voice and said, "The Crown Prince has escaped from the Imperial Palace."

"After the incident with Anben earlier, the Emperor had a talk with the Crown Prince, who expressed he had nothing to do with Anben anymore and didn’t wish to vie for power, agreeing to be confined by the Emperor. Out of kindness, the Emperor didn’t punish him but just moved him to the Leng Palace for house arrest. Unexpectedly, while everyone was present at dinner, he knocked out the guard half an hour ago and escaped!"

"Did he escape on his own or was assisted? Any traces found?" Jiang Yichun asked, "Could it be he escaped through the secret passage ordered sealed by the Emperor a few days ago?"

Otani showed a look of embarrassment, "The secret passage was sealed by the Emperor a few days ago. No traces were left by anyone on the Crown Prince’s side, but the Emperor fears he and Anben might be in cahoots, and the palace doesn’t know how many spies they may have."

Jiang Yichun replied crossly, "Why are you looking for us now? Should have executed the Crown Prince earlier, given that he’s a Poison Master; escaping with poison shouldn’t be too hard for him."

Bai Ruozhu didn’t interject this time, she really didn’t want to get involved in Fusang Royal Family’s domestic affairs, hence she hadn’t even asked about how the Emperor dealt with the Crown Prince. After all, it’s family matters after all.

With the Crown Prince now missing, they shouldn’t come to seek their help.

Decisions they made themselves, any mishaps are for them to sort out; the bitter fruit of leniency they should taste themselves.

"The Emperor is soft-hearted, after nearly twenty years of father-son relationship with the Crown Prince, he can’t bear to be harsh, and hopes to give the Crown Prince a chance to start anew, but never expected..." Otani couldn’t help but sigh.

"Alright, we got it, inform the Emperor to tighten the guards and first confirm if he has left the Imperial Palace and poses a threat to the Emperor." Jiang Yichun said coldly.

Remembering the Emperor’s orders, Otani still tried to persuade them, "The Emperor wishes to remind the emissaries, fearing the Crown Prince and Anben may return to Capital City and trouble you all."

"We will be cautious, thanks to the Emperor." Jiang Yichun replied, still indifferently.

"It’s a domestic matter of the Imperial family between the Emperor and the Crown Prince, not convenient for us to intervene." Bai Ruozhu added.

Otani was left with no choice, saying, "Yes, I’ll go report back to the Emperor then."

Once people left, the room was filled with sighs, Gao Zhou grumbled, "This is truly because the Emperor is too kind-hearted. If it were the old Emperor of Chengshui, not only would the Crown Prince be executed but everyone around him as well, including the womenfolk, to prevent any descendants and future troubles."

"The old Emperor of Chengshui was too ruthless, but the Crown Prince indeed should be executed, the Emperor’s excessive kindness equals stupidity." Tang Feng commented.

The crowd discussed back and forth, but they all shared Jiang Yichun’s sentiment: What does it concern us?

Midway, Shanhu suddenly said she felt unwell and needed to return to her room to rest, Qiu Zhi quickly followed her, while Yuan Licheng chuckled twice, seemingly having guessed what the two might be up to.

Soon Bai Ruozhu heard the sound of dry retching, but Shanhu had already closed the room door, so only those with extremely good hearing could catch it.

When everyone dispersed, Gao Zhou suddenly called out to Bai Ruozhu and asked, "Is Shanhu pregnant? Qiu Zhi’s?"

Gao Zhou, being a doctor with excellent hearing, could surely find out.

Bai Ruozhu nodded, replied, "They aren’t sure what their decision will be yet, pretend you don’t know."

"That Qiu Zhi kid seems simple-minded but quite lucky with women." Gao Zhou nodded and returned to his room smiling.

The next day, they received reports that another miscarriage happened in town, with women, previously in good health, suddenly losing their babies without cause.

Receiving the news, Bai Ruozhu and Jiang Yichun quickly hurried to inspect secretly, indeed finding some residual poison from poisonous insects on the miscarried woman. Although the poison was light and would clear out naturally within three months through metabolism, it posed no threat to the woman, yet the well-conceived fetus was gone. What difference is there from murder?

The woman and her family had no idea about poisonous insects, Bai Ruozhu had someone suppress the news. The woman was just an ordinary city folk, sometimes knowing less allows them to be happier.

Bai Ruozhu secretly administered medicine to the sleeping woman, helping her clear the residual poison and recover faster. Her family didn’t blame her but made braised chicken soup, showing great concern for her.

What a pity for that newly conceived child.

This is too cruel!

Bai Ruozhu gritted her teeth, not out of concern for the Fusang Royal Family or their feud with Wu Yunfeng, but for those fetuses murdered by the poisonous insects. She would definitely not let Song Yi go and must destroy that sinister Yin Mother Poisonous Insect!

"How do you think Song Yi managed to afflict those pregnant women? He probably didn’t do it himself, right?" Bai Ruozhu asked frustratedly.

Jiang Yichun frowned, "I’m not sure, you know I’m clueless about poisonous insects."

The two returned gloomily to the Posthouse, Bai Ruozhu chatted for a while with Ning Yu, hoping to inquire more about the Yin Mother Poisonous Insect. Sadly, the books only contain a rough description without detailed content.

At night, under the wall of the Posthouse’s courtyard, a small ant emerged from the earth. But upon closer look, although it looked like an ant, its eyes were blood-red, moved fast, way faster than any normal ant!

It crawled towards the room where Shanhu stayed, its antennae twitching as if smelling some delicious food.

Soon, it squeezed through the gap under the door, slowly making its way toward the bed where the person was sleeping.

It was cautious, as if possessing intelligence.

Suddenly, Shanhu turned over, emitting a faint golden light from her body. The "ant" stopped as if fearing that golden light, hesitating for a while without moving forward...