Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 1188 - 1185_1

The spirit liquid had a faint sweet taste. Under the day’s scorching sun, even when sleeping, the baby subconsciously moved his mouth.

Xiao’er carefully fed the baby some space water. The medicine quickly took effect and the baby woke up. Upon seeing his mother and father, he pouted and immediately burst into loud cries.

However, his voice was hoarse, almost as if he had no voice at all.

"The baby was not only drugged with an anesthetic, but also a mute drug, which harmed his throat. His internal organs have been damaged due to poisoning, and he even shows signs of being sunburnt! The master needs to feed him an Ashoka fruit and its leaf quickly! Moreover, his buttocks and arm have also been pinched!" Bai Tian urgently informed Xiao’er in the spatial radius.

Mute drug? Xiao’er was both furious and heartbroken!

No wonder! She had never seen the baby cry like this before!

As Xiao’er took out an Ashoka fruit and its leaf, she tried to soothe the baby, "Calm down, darling. Mommy is sorry for being late. Don’t cry, you’ll hurt your throat!"

However, the baby still continued to cry with almost silent, hoarse sobs. Regardless of Xiao’er’s attempts to soothe him, he just kept crying as if he had been greatly wronged!

Xiao’er’s heart ached profoundly.

Seeing this, Shangguan Xuanyi suggested, "The child might be hungry. Let’s go inside and find a place to feed him."

"No, Bai Tian said: He was drugged with a mute drug, and his throat has been damaged. His internal organs are also injured due to excessive poisoning, and he has signs of sunburn! Also, his buttocks and arm have been pinched!" Xiao’er took out an Ashoka fruit and its leaf, placed them in a bowl, and readied to crush them.

Upon hearing this, a murderous intent flashed in Shangguan Xuanyi’s eyes. He lifted the baby’s sleeve and indeed saw that his chubby arm was full of bruises. He also took off the baby’s pants, revealing his plump little bottom which was marked with bruise dots.

Shangguan Xuanyi was livid, and though he tried hard to control himself, he was worried that his force would harm the baby. Thus, he said, "You hold the baby, I’ll do it."

"Okay!" Xiao’er, seeing the baby in this condition, was heartbroken. Her eyes were filled with tears.

It was too cruel! Even if they kidnapped him, did they have to torture such a small baby?!

Shangguan Xuanyi stretched out his hand to take the bowl from Xiao’er.

Xiao’er carefully took the baby back, lightly rocking him to comfort him.

Shangguan Xuanyi quickly mashed an Ashoka fruit into a paste.

Xiao’er found a chair and sat down.

He knelt on one knee beside Xiao’er and began to feed the baby the Ashoka fruit, in small mouthfuls.

After the baby had eaten the fruit, Xiao’er took out a leaf and placed it in the bowl.

Shangguan Xuanyi crushed the leaf in the same way and then fed it to the baby.

After the baby finished eating the Ashoka fruit and its leaf, he gradually stopped crying. After a while, he turned his head to Xiao’er’s chest, opened his little mouth, and shook his head, indicating that he wanted to be fed.

Upon seeing this, Xiao’er finally relaxed and gave a slight smile, then began to breastfeed.

Shangguan Xuanyi walked out of the courtyard, casually closing the doors of the main room behind him, so nobody could see the situation inside the room from the outside.

He then stood in the center of the courtyard and sent a city-wide signal to lift the lockdown.

The child was found. It was time to let the people waiting in the city leave and go home.

The soldiers who had been searching for the baby all day could also stand down.

The signal to lift the ban resonated in the sky, and everyone in the city saw it.

When the people waiting at the city gates heard the sound and looked up at the sky, they asked the soldiers guarding the city, "Was the assassin captured? Can we leave the city now?"

Zhao Yong, seeing the green smoke in the sky, happily announced, "The lockdown is lifted; everyone is free to leave the city now."

After a while, Zhao Youhe and another soldier appeared at the city gate, carrying two people on their shoulders.

Zhao Youhe dropped the prisoners in front of Zhao Yong: "Prince Rui said to hand these two assassins over to you."

Zhao Yong nodded in acknowledgement.

At this time, people waiting in line to leave the city heard Zhao Youhe’s words and inquired, "Are these the two that kidnapped Prince Rui’s child? General, when will they be paraded through the streets? I would like to prepare some things to greet them when I go home!"

Zhao Youhe, remembering what the people had said in the morning, replied, "I will report your words to Prince Rui. Once a decision is made, it will be announced at the city gate. These two assassins still need to be interrogated."

"Good, we must not be lenient in dealing with people like these! We must use harsh interrogation methods!"

Zhao Youhe nodded, thinking that the public really knew a lot, they even knew about harsh interrogation tactics.

While being inspected, the common people babbled a lot. Zhao Youhe simply agreed to their comments.

By the time all the civilians had left the city, the sky was completely dark. Zhao Youhe wiped the sweat from his forehead and exclaimed, "The common people are really enthusiastic now!"

...

Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er returned to the palace together. On seeing them, the Empress sighed in relief that they had managed to rescue the baby.

"Poor child, his eyes are swollen from crying, and even in sleep, there are still tears in his eyes." The Empress took the baby from Xiao’er’s arms and said with a heartache.

The baby, having eaten the fruit and leaf of Ashoka, had no visible injuries on his face or neck.

So, the Empress simply thought that he had cried until his eyes were swollen.

The Emperor also couldn’t resist leaning over to take a look at his grandson. Seeing that he was safe and sound, he finally relaxed. As for crying until his eyes were red, it was normal for a child who was kidnapped to cry. This was nothing to be surprised about.

At this moment, Shangguan Xuanyi said to the eunuch next to the Emperor, "Summon Doctor Luo!"

The night shift was Doctor Luo’s turn.

Even though the child had already eaten the Ashoka fruit, Shangguan Xuanyi was still not at ease.

The eunuch glanced at the Emperor.

The Emperor nodded, "Quickly!"

"What’s wrong with the child?" The Emperor looked closely at his grandson again.

Xiao’er explained, "The assassin fed the baby a mute drug, which damaged his throat and internal organs. I’ve already given him the antidote and he is now alright."

On hearing this, the Empress couldn’t help but scold, "How could they be so inhuman! They actually fed such a small baby a mute drug! How evil can their hearts be!"

The Emperor, hearing this, was also angry, "They must have done it out of fear that the child would cry and attract soldiers!..." They’ve committed such a heinous crime!

Before the Emperor could finish, the Empress, who was feeling both angry and pitiful, cut him off:

"So, you’re saying they were right to feed the baby mute drugs!"

"I didn’t say that!"

"But you’re making excuses for them!"

"I was just making educated guesses!" The Emperor defended himself.

He wasn’t the culprit, so why was the Empress directing her anger at him!

"Everything is alright now, Father Emperor and Mother Empress don’t need to worry." Seeing their reactions, Xiao’er instantly regretted speaking out and hastened to reassure them.

At this moment, Shangguan Xuanyi spoke, "The imperial doctor is here, let me check his pulse."

As soon as Shangguan Xuanyi finished speaking, Doctor Luo entered hurriedly following the eunuch.