Mo Lingxi thought for a long time but couldn't figure out how to make Sheng Lengshuang stay. If it weren't for this pile of troubles, he and his wife wouldn't have reached this point.
The key was that given his wife's personality, if she said she wouldn't stay, she definitely wouldn't.
He had finally gotten 'sick' once, and he was determined to use this opportunity to reconcile with his wife.
What Mo Lingxi didn't know was that Sheng Lengshuang was currently asking Xiao Feng about Mo Lingxi's illness.
"Xiao Feng, tell your mother honestly, is your father really sick, or is he faking it?" To this day, she still didn't quite believe Mo Lingxi was ill.
That man was stronger than an ox, never even coughing throughout the year, so how could he suddenly fall ill, and with just a common cold?
Xiao Feng shrunk his neck, his eyes darting slightly. "Mother, Father is really sick. Mother should just stay and accompany me. We don't need to worry about Father; there are plenty of servants and imperial physicians to take care of him. Father will be fine."
Sheng Lengshuang lightly tapped his forehead and smiled, "If your father finds out, he'll have to deal with you again."
Xiao Feng stuck out his tongue, grabbed her hand, and gently swung it. "With Mother here, Father wouldn't dare do anything to me. So, Mother must protect me."
"I can't always protect you. Your father has plenty of opportunities and ways to deal with you."
"...As long as Mother speaks up for me, Father won't really deal with me." He had helped his father with such a big favor.
If his father dared to use this as an excuse to deal with him, he would expose his father's feigned illness to his mother.
Sheng Lengshuang didn't disturb Xiao Feng's martial arts practice any further. She sat in a cool spot watching the child practice, thinking about who would emerge and what events would unfold with Mo Lingxi's illness.
As the God of War and the belief of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, if anything were to happen to Mo Lingxi, countless people would stir.
Just as Sheng Lengshuang had thought, as soon as people learned of Mo Lingxi's illness, they all made their moves.
For example, Gui Lao.
After suffering a great loss at Sheng Lengshuang's hands last time, he had used countless methods to barely detoxify himself, but a small amount of residual poison still tormented him, causing him to feel weak and powerless from time to time.
"Have you found out what illness Prince Mingrui has?" Gui Lao asked sinisterly to the cloaked woman sitting opposite him.
The cloaked woman nodded. "It's said he has an incurable illness, but the specifics are still being investigated. You know, the guards at Prince Mingrui's mansion have always been very strict, making it almost impossible to find useful clues."
Gui Lao cursed her as useless. "Then how was I able to enter Prince Mingrui's mansion so freely last time? I think you're not putting in enough effort." httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The cloaked woman impatiently dealt with Gui Lao but also feared his methods, saying resentfully, "You're overthinking it. The reason you could enter Prince Mingrui's mansion freely last time was that the dark guards of Prince Mingrui's mansion intentionally let you in, intending to catch you all at once."
"The master's intention is for you to stop acting rashly. She will help you capture Sheng Lengshuang and her son. For the time being, you should refine more puppets. The master has great use for them."
Gui Lao also knew that capturing Sheng Lengshuang and her son was not easy, but he couldn't swallow his pride. He had been famous for many years, and he had always been the one to deal with others, especially when it came to poison. No one could cure his poison, and no poison was effective against him.
Only Sheng Lengshuang, he had fallen into her hands, and how could he tolerate this?
"While Prince Mingrui is ill, find a way for me to capture Sheng Lengshuang and her son. It doesn't matter if you can't catch that little bastard, the main thing is to capture Sheng Lengshuang."
He threatened fiercely, "If you can't accomplish this, I will refine you into a puppet."
The cloaked woman gritted her teeth in hatred but could do nothing about Gui Lao. Even if she reported this matter to her master, her master would side with Gui Lao.
This was because Gui Lao could bring greater benefits to the master.
"I will find a way. You know better than I do how difficult it is to capture Sheng Lengshuang. Let alone her countless poisons, just the dark guards protecting her are not so easy to deal with."
Gui Lao chuckled sinisterly, "Isn't this simple? Use the medicine that can cure Mo Lingxi's illness to lure Sheng Lengshuang into the trap."
The cloaked woman felt it was worth a try. Sheng Lengshuang cared deeply about Mo Lingxi, and now that Mo Lingxi was ill, Sheng Lengshuang would naturally try to cure him.
"By the way, how is Tao Li's condition?"
Gui Lao clapped his hands twice at the mention of her.
The cloaked woman saw the stiff-looking Tao Li walk in. She frowned, "Is Tao Li like this because she hasn't completely turned into a puppet, or because the refinement isn't complete?"
Gui Lao replied, "Both. I'm currently researching how to retain some consciousness in the puppets, which might make the puppets better."
The cloaked woman didn't understand these things and didn't dare to interfere with how Gui Lao refined puppets. Her master had given orders that puppet matters were to be handled entirely by Gui Lao, and no one was allowed to say a word.
Tao Li had a sliver of residual consciousness. The thought of not wanting to die made her try to leave or seek help, but she failed.
She didn't understand why she had become like this.
Clearly, she had obtained the antidote from Sheng Lengshuang and only needed to take it to become normal.
But who knew that as soon as she returned, she was knocked unconscious.
When she woke up, she found herself in a large vat filled with a foul-smelling liquid. The water in the vat was greenish and constantly bubbling.
She was terrified at the time and wanted to escape but had no strength, so she could only cry for help.
As a result, she saw this man named Gui Lao. He said that her master had given her to him to refine into a puppet.
She kept begging Gui Lao, but all she received was his mockery and humiliation. This man had no intention of letting her go and forcibly refined her into this ghastly state.
She hated it! She truly hated it!
If it weren't for Sheng Lengshuang, how could she have ended up like this? Sheng Lengshuang, that lowly wretch, should be the one suffering this.
...
Prince Mingrui's Mansion.
Sheng Lengshuang ultimately stayed, partly to take care of Mo Lingxi and Xiao Feng, and partly to see what tricks Mo Lingxi was planning.
She glanced at the man working behind the desk. It had been several days, and Mo Lingxi's cold showed no signs of improvement.
The most amusing thing was that his condition seemed to be worsening.
The medicine Mo Lingxi had been taking these past few days was prescribed and brewed by her personally.
"Aren't you planning to do something? They've already spread the word that there's medicine that can cure your illness."
Mo Lingxi felt that Sheng Lengshuang's words were hinting at something. He put down his brush and said, "It's just a trap. It's only the beginning; we have to wait patiently."
Sheng Lengshuang placed a bottle of medicine on the desk, gesturing for him to take a pill. "When do you plan to make your move?"
Mo Lingxi took a pill, glancing at her. "At least until these people can no longer hold back and make a bigger move."
Sheng Lengshuang said "oh," then suddenly added, "Mo Lingxi, you know the consequences of deceiving me. I hope you don't do anything you shouldn't."